A teenager accused of punching two Jewish men in Stamford Hill on the eve of International Holocaust Memorial Day has appeared in court.
Malaki Thorpe, 18, of north London, has appeared in Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court charged with two counts of racially aggravated ABH and one count of possession of an offensive weapon.
Haringey Police arrested Thorpe after CCTV footage showed a man striking the blows.
Israel Grossman and Erwin Ginsberg were reportedly treated by Hatzola before treatment in hospital. It has also been reported that one victim had severe bruising, broken nose and fractured wrist, the other suffered bruising and injuries to a wrist and eye.
The incident is believed to have taken place on Cadoxton Avenue and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim.
Thorpe has been remanded in custody by District judge Michael Oliver until March 3rd. He is due to stand trial at Wood Green Crown Court.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel condemned the attack as “despicable”.
Johnson stated on Twitter, “I’m appalled by this despicable footage and I thank police for making a swift arrest.”
He added: “This attack is a terrible reminder, on Holocaust Memorial Day, that such prejudice is not consigned to history, but remains a very real problem in society. We must stamp out antisemitism”.
Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted that the attack was “absolutely despicable” and a “sickening reminder” of what happens when antisemitism takes root in the UK.
She noted, “We won’t tolerate abuse towards our Jewish community”.
Chair of the Conservative Party Oliver Dowden MP condemned the attack as “absolutely disgusting behaviour”.
He added, “No one deserves to be attacked like this. It is an awful reminder of the work we still need to do to weed out antisemitism. The perpetrator must face the full weight of the law”.
In other incidents, youths reportedly smashed windows belonging to Jewish homes in north London.
The incident is believed to have occurred on Gladesmore Road on Saturday was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim. (Reference number: CAD 6556 29/01/22).
Gang members reportedly spat in the face of a five-year-old Jewish boy in Clapton Common, north London. The gang is believed to be associated with the nearby Webb Estate who have been are accused of harrassing Jewish residents.
The incident was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim. (Reference number: CAD 4791 30/01/2022).
It has also been reported that on Shabbat afternoon as shul congregants were leaving services a bus drove through Stamford Hill. Onboard “go home Yiddos” could be heard on speakers.
The incident was reported by Shomrin. (Reference number: 4602717/22).
Ensignbus in response to the news tweeted that it hired out the bus to who they believed was a church group. They added, “We had absolutely no idea that this would happen or was planned and we are now investigating the matter and will be speaking to the client. We are happy to assist the Police with any investigation.”
Ensignbus later noted, “Our driver unfortunately did not hear anything due to the general amount of noise from the number of people upstairs. If anyone has audio (or video with audio) of what was said, we would like to hear it to help with our own investigation.”
Anyone with information on any incident should contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123.
