Victim of antisemitic pub incident tells court he feels unsafe wearing kippah in public

A man who faced antisemitic abuse in a pub has told a court it “shook him to his core” and left him “very anxious about wearing a kippah”.

Edward Ossian verbally attacked the man in Southport’s Beer Inn on 21 September last year, Merseyside Police confirmed.

The victim told Sefton Magistrates’ Court the abuse had impacted his family life and made him question where he felt safe.

In a court statement the Jewish man said the “comments said to me shook me to my core”.

“I should be able to go out without the stress of being verbally berated,” added.

“The incident has impacted on my daily life.

“I have changed my routines to avoid any further confrontation.

“It has impacted on my family life and where I feel safe to go.”

He said he now felt “very anxious” about wearing his kippah in public “because the stress of antisemitism and all that comes with being openly Jewish today”.

Ossian was handed a 12-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months.

The 68-year-old, from Southport, admitted racially and religiously aggravated harassment and was ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirement.

He was also handed a three-year restraining order and ordered to wear an electronic tag for eight weeks.

Det Insp Matthew Kerr said hate crime “simply will not be tolerated” on Merseyside.

“Ossian will now have a criminal record and the consequences of this in the future could prove to be significant,” he said.