Police are searching for attackers who beat up an Israeli man in the heart of Golders Green after being he was overheard speaking Hebrew.
Shalev Ben Yakar, 22, had stepped out of his flat on Golders Green Road, close to the King Solomon Hotel at around 2am on Sunday night in order to receive a phone call from friends in South America without disturbing his flatmates.
He alleges that, after hearing him speaking Hebrew, a group of five or six men wearing tracksuits set upon him and left him close to losing consciousness.
The men began to chase him and, shouting abuse at him in Arabic, they dragged him across the road after catching him, tore his clothes, and stole one of his shoes. They asked him “Are you Jewish?”.
They left him with bleeding from wounds sustained across his forehead, nose, and cheeks, with bruises across his back and face. His trousers were torn in several areas.
Speaking to the JC, Ben Yakar said: “I had that feeling, like I thought I was going to die.
“[They caught me] completely off guard. I was not ready. I saw [them] coming [towards] me, and I had a suspicious feeling [about them], but in one second suddenly one of them was running [towards] me and jumped me.”
Ben Yakar says that after being dragged across the road, about three or four of them formed a circle around him and repeatedly began kicking him as he attempted to defend himself with his eyes closed.
“They yelled at me in Arabic, they kept saying the word ‘whore’ in Arabic at me,” he said. Though he lost track of time, he said it felt like it went on for “about five minutes” before they finally took one of his shoes and ran away, leaving him barely conscious.
A neighbour, after hearing the commotion, called the police, who arrived on the scene after the attackers had already fled.
This morning, Ben Yakar says he is “feeling shocked… obviously traumatised” by the incident. “I just was waiting for it to be over. Eventually, they ran away like mice, you know. I just can’t believe it happened.”
The Metropolitan Police and the CST are currently trying to identify those responsible.
According to the CST, the police are treating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime.
The CST said: “This was a violent and appalling attack in the heart of Golders Green. The incident is being treated by the Metropolitan Police as an antisemitic hate crime, and we thank them for their swift response. CST is providing support to the victim and his family.
“We urge anyone who witnessed what happened, to contact the police and CST immediately. At a time of heightened antisemitism, incidents like this underline the very real dangers facing Jewish communities.”
The Metropolitan Police has been approached for comment.
