Two Teenagers Convicted of Anti-Semitic Attack on Rabbi in Stamford Hill

Two teenage brothers who kicked a visiting Rabbi to the ground as he walked along the street in Stamford Hill, London, last November have been convicted of an anti-Semitic attack.

The boys, aged 15 and 16, picked out the victim due to his Jewish attire, shouting “dirty Jew” and “kill the Jews” as they launched the violent assault on him.

The Rabbi, 54, who was visiting the U.K. from Israel for a wedding, was punched and kicked repeatedly until he fell to the ground, his glasses were knocked off, and he was left with an injured back and bleeding fingers.

The two teenagers, who cannot be named due to their ages, ran away laughing after the attack in Amhurst Park, Stamford Hill at around 9.45 p.m. on November 29 last year.

They denied a racially aggravated assault but were convicted on Thursday following a two-day trial at Stratford magistrates court.

Both boys will return to be sentenced on July 21.

Peter Alexandrou, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “This was an unprovoked and despicable act against a Jewish man who was holidaying in the U.K. He was clearly targeted in this hate crime and should not have been subjected to such behavior in our society

“The prosecution case included strong witness evidence and CCTV footage of the attack as well as CCTV tracking the defendants leaving the scene after the assault.”

The shaken victim reported the attack to the Shomrim, who then contacted the police.

They said the Rabbi had been punched, kicked, and thrown to the ground, and the attack only stopped when a woman passed the scene and shouted at the assailants to stop.

Following a media appeal, the boys, were identified on surveillance images and turned themselves in to the police.

Their sentences are likely to be increased due to the racially-aggravated nature of the crime.