Rabbi Hospitalised After ‘Religiously Aggravated Assault’ by Two ‘Asian’ Suspects

A man wearing a kippah Jewish skullcap arrives at the synagogue in Halle, eastern Germany,
RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

A rabbi in Britain was hospitalised following a “religiously aggravated assault” outside of his synagogue, allegedly committed by two teenagers of “Asian ethnicity”.

Shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon in Chigwell, Essex — during the Jewish holy time of Shavuot — two “Asian” teenagers are alleged to have stepped in front of a Rabbi’s car and shouted anti-Semitic language before damaging his car.

Upon leaving his car to confront the two teens, the Rabbi was attacked with “an unknown object,” forcing him to seek hospital treatment for a head injury. Before fleeing on foot, the two teens — believed to be aged around 15 and 18-years-old — are also said to have stolen his phone.

The local Essex Police described the alleged attackers as both being of “Asian ethnicity, one was 5ft 9ins tall and wore his hair in an Afro-style and the other was described as being 5ft 7ins tall.”

Both of the teenagers wore black jackets and one of them wore grey tracksuit bottoms, the police said.

In Britain, the word “Asian” typically describes people of Middle Eastern or South Asian heritage, not people with roots in the Far East.

On Monday, Chief Superintendent Stuart Hooper of the Essex Police said: “Our officers will be out across the county to offer support to anyone impact by yesterday’s incident in Chigwell.”

“We know this is a very important time – a time for communities to come together, to be around each other and celebrate. We do not want anyone to feel that they cannot do that safely.

“Detectives are working quickly to progress this investigation, and I’d like to thank locals in the Limes Avenue area who assisted us during our house-to-house enquiries yesterday.”

The local police are currently stating that they do not believe the incident is “related to events taking place overseas or incidents which have taken place elsewhere in the country.”

However, the attack comes amid escalating tensions in Britain following the revival of violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

On the same day, four men were arrested in London after footage emerged online of a car protest in which men were heard shouting: “F*** the Jews”, “F*** their mothers”, “F*** their daughters”, and “Rape their daughters”.

Also on Sunday, a Muslim YouTuber in Birmingham was victimised by a gang of pro-Palestinian thugs who smashed and broke into his home in response to a doctored video that falsely portrayed him as supportive of Israel.

The day prior, protests were staged in at least 33 cities and towns across the United Kingdom against Israel. At a demonstration in London, pro-Palestinian activists were seen chanting “Israel is a terror state” and holding placards comparing the Jewish state to Nazi Germany.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka

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