Schoolgirl allegedly shouted ‘Jew, Jew’ and made gestures at JW3 from London bus
Witness says visibly Jewish passenger was onboard as TfL launches investigation into the incident
Transport for London is investigating after a schoolgirl allegedly shouted “Jew, Jew” and made gestures towards JW3 while travelling on a 113 bus in north-west London.
The incident was witnessed by DJ and presenter Edward Adoo, who told Jewish News he intervened after seeing the behaviour unfold on the top deck of the busy bus on Friday afternoon.
Adoo said several schoolgirls boarded the bus near a local school in St John’s Wood between around 2.45pm and 3pm.
“As we went past JW3… they started giggling,” he said. “All I heard her say was ‘Jew, Jew’ and then she made some kind of gesture towards the centre.”
Adoo said he then noticed a visibly Jewish man wearing a kippah sitting a few rows ahead.
“What was more upsetting for me was that straight away there was a Jewish gentleman who was sitting probably three rows ahead. I just felt for the gentleman. I thought this was not right.”
He said he initially hesitated before responding because the girl appeared to be a school pupil.
“It took me five minutes just to think,” he said. “I was thinking, look, first of all, she’s a schoolgirl.”
But after one of the girls later pointed towards the Jewish passenger while leaving the bus, Adoo decided to intervene.
“I said, ‘I saw what you did when the bus went past the JW3 centre. That is disgusting. You were being antisemitic. You need to be more respectful to people.’”
Adoo later apologised to the Jewish passenger, who he said appeared to be “shocked” but thanked him before continuing his journey.
The broadcaster also informed the bus driver before later reporting the incident to the police, Metroline and CST.
He told Jewish News he was disturbed by what he believes is the growing normalisation of antisemitism in public spaces.
“This is the reality of what’s going on,” he said. “A lot of people are accepting or normalising it because of what’s happening elsewhere.
“Whatever’s happening elsewhere, people in London or in the UK should not be affected.”
Adoo, whose family is originally from Ghana, said he would challenge any form of racism or prejudice.
“If you had somebody on the bus using the N-word, I would call it out,” he said. “Any example towards any form of hate crime or hatred… I would call it out.”
He also criticised the lack of intervention from fellow passengers.
“Nothing. Nobody (stepped in),” he said. “People are just letting it slide, which is wrong.”
A spokesperson for the school said: “We take allegations like this very seriously and are fully investigating what happened. “If it turns out that one of our students was involved in this incident, we will not hesitate to take the strongest possible action.
“We teach our students that anti-Jewish racism is abhorrent and we will not tolerate it.”
Siwan Hayward, TfL’s Director of Security, Policing and Enforcement, said: “We are absolutely appalled by this report. No one should ever have to fear or experience abuse when using our network.
“We take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of hate crime, and work with the police to pursue anyone who is abusive to our customers or staff.
“The police are investigating this incident, and we are supporting them, alongside the bus operator, who’ll supply footage from the CCTV cameras when requested, which all buses are equipped with.
“We encourage anyone who experienced or witnessed this incident to contact the police.”
A Metroline spokesperson said: “We are aware of an allegation of antisemitic abuse involving passengers on one of our buses. We are deeply concerned by reports of behaviour of this nature and take such matters extremely seriously.
“This incident is under investigation, and we are working closely with the police and TfL.
“We want everyone who uses our services to feel safe and respected when travelling, and we recognise that coming forward is vital in addressing incidents like this.
“We would encourage anyone who witnessed what happened to contact the police.”
A CST spokesperson said: “The incident has been reported to CST, and we urge anyone who witnessed it to report it to the police and to CST.
“Everyday settings, including buses and trains, should be safe spaces, and Jewish people should be able to go about their daily lives without fear or harassment.”
Jewish News has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
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