UK: Armed man warns Jewish girls to ‘run before I kill you’

A man armed with a meat cleaver stormed two shops while shouting “you Jews run away from here before I kill you” at young Jewish girls.

A man armed with a meat cleaver and two knives was arrested in Hackney, north London, on Tuesday after storming two Jewish-owned shops and shouting “you Jews run away from here before I kill you” at young Jewish girls.

The 61-year-old suspect was apprehended by armed officers and remains in custody. No one was hurt in the incident.

He tried entering a shop, but after finding it locked, reportedly entered a second store, brandishing his knives and shouting, “where is the boss, I will kill him!”

Told the owner was not there, the man then ran screaming towards the two girls, aged eight and 14 years old.

He then fled to a block of flats where volunteers from Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish neighborhood watch patrol, cordoned off the area until Metropolitan Police officers arrived, the UK’s Daily Mail reported.

He was arrested on suspicion of disturbance and possession of an offensive weapon, a police spokesman stated, without commenting on his motives.

Gideon Falter, chairman of Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, said the attack intimidated the Jewish community. “This is an extremely frightening incident and it is very fortunate that there are no injuries reported,” he stated.

Falter commended Shomrim and the Police Service for their “bravery in rushing to the scene to protect the public.”

Stamford Hill boasts a large Jewish population.

The UK’s Jewish community experienced a surge in anti-Semitic attacks in the past year. A report published by the Community Security Trust (CST) on anti-Semitic occurrences in the UK in 2016 shows an alarming record number of hate incidents.

In their report published in February, CST recorded 1,309 anti-Semitic incidents nationwide during 2016, a 36-percent increase from the 960 recorded in 2015.

The highest annual total of anti-Semitic incidents recorded by CST was 1,182, in 2014. CST has been recording anti-Jewish incidents since 1984.

“Anti-Semitism is a deplorable form of hatred that has absolutely no place in a tolerant, open and diverse Britain that works for everyone,” said Home Secretary Amber Rudd. “It is vital we ensure the safety and security of our Jewish community.”

The government recently allocated £13.4 million (approximately 16.5 $US) to protect Jewish sites and has worked to improve police recording of religious hate crimes.

By: World Israel News Staff

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