A 22-year-old Israeli man was kicked like an animal in an antisemitic attack in Golders Green after being overheard speaking Hebrew on a phone call. Shalev Ben Yakar was assaulted by a group of five or six men who asked if he was Jewish before chasing him in the early hours of Monday. The Metropolitan Police is treating the case as a hate crime, with the victim hospitalised for injuries to his face, neck and back.
The incident has heightened fears in the Jewish community of north London, a hub for Orthodox Jews on high alert following recent violence.
Israeli Visitor Targeted in Street Assault
Ben Yakar, 22, had left his flat on Golders Green Road at about 2 a.m. to take a call from friends in South America without waking his flatmates. The group of five or six Arabic-speaking men in tracksuits heard the Hebrew conversation and pursued him down the street.
They dragged him across the road, tore his clothes, stole one of his shoes and damaged his phone during the ordeal which lasted roughly six minutes. The men began shouting abuse at him in Arabic as they set upon him.
'They kicked me like an animal and didn't stop. They were shouting ''Are you Jewish?"' the Israeli told the BBC. He said he thought they could kill him as he tried to defend himself with his eyes closed. Ben Yakar was left with bleeding cuts to his forehead, nose and cheeks plus bruises to his back and neck. He required hospital treatment after the brutal beating which he compared to darker times in history.
Met Police Probes Antisemitic Hate Crime
Officers are investigating the assault in The Grove area of Golders Green and have appealed for information from the public. No arrests have been made as inquiries continue. A spokesman for the Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism, described the incident in The Jerusalem Post report as 'a violent and appalling attack in the heart of Golders Green' and thanked police for their swift response.
An Instagram post from the verified Jerusalem Post account shared details of the beating, stating that the 22-year-old Israeli was hospitalised after the group beat him until he nearly lost consciousness.
The attack comes just weeks after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green in an incident declared a terrorist attack by police last month.
Community Security Funding Increased
Golders Green, with its large Orthodox Jewish population, has been on high alert amid a surge in antisemitic incidents across the UK since October 2023. The Community Security Trust receives an £18 million ($24.1 million) government grant to provide security guards at Jewish schools, synagogues and other communal buildings across the UK.
During the past year the organisation has referred almost 200 individuals to counter-terrorism policing as part of its efforts to combat rising threats.
Leaders have called for greater protection as residents report feeling unsafe when visibly Jewish or speaking Hebrew in public. Ben Yakar, who often travels to London, said the assault evoked feelings reminiscent of the 1940s. Police have not yet identified the suspects, who fled the scene after the six-minute attack. The investigation remains ongoing with no further updates released on Tuesday as the community processes the latest violence in the area.
