Shocking moment four men ‘try to force a Jewish pedestrian into a car boot’ in North London: Police probe claims of ‘attempted kidnap’
This is the shocking moment four men in north London tried to force a Jewish pedestrian into the boot of their car.
Police have launched an investigation into an alleged anti-Semitic hate crime after images posted online showed the man appearing to be targeted by the group in Stamford Hill.
The men are seen parking and getting out before allegedly demanding their victim get into the boot.
While on the phone, the Jewish man backs away from the men on the street, before someone appears to jump towards him menacingly.
Only when the Jewish man threatens to call the police do the men get back into their car and drive away.
North London neighborhood watch group Shomrim, which monitors areas with large Jewish communities, issued a warning this afternoon about what they called an ‘attempted kidnapping’.
The incident comes amid growing concerns about anti-Semitic abuse in Britain, fueled by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas following the militant group’s terror attacks on October 7 last year.
A young Jewish man was threatened by a group who stopped their car to approach him
Footage of the incident in Stamford Hill, north London, has been shared online
Neighborhood watch group Shomrim called for information about the ‘attempted kidnapping’
The video was shared on X, accompanied by the words: ‘Jewish man threatened by 4 men who demanded he get into the trunk of their car.’
Shomrim said they and the Metropolitan Police were appealing for any information and sightings of the car involved, a black VW T Cross with registration number EA24 VXF.
The incident took place on Moundfield Road in Stamford Hill, near Tottenham in north London, an area with a significant Orthodox Jewish community.
Shromrim’s online post said the “incident ended when the victim said he called police and other vehicles approached.”
They appealed for anyone who can help to contact Hackney Police, using crime reference CAD 3224 28/04/24.
Online, shocked viewers responded, saying: “That’s absolutely terrifying.”
Another wrote: ‘He’s just a boy. How dare they treat people like that.’
Shomrim was also told: “That’s certainly a crime, but it looks more like idiots behaving like that than a real kidnapping attempt.”
Images of the alleged kidnapping attempt were shared by Shomrim on X, formerly Twitter
The outrage comes after Gideon Falter, who leads the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), was threatened with arrest for appearing “openly Jewish” at a pro-Palestinian march last week.
The Mail On Sunday today reported how a Holocaust memorial in London’s Hyde Park was hidden amid fears it could be targeted by vandals in a pro-Palestine demonstration.
Officials in Hyde Park yesterday hid Britain’s first public memorial to the 6 million victims of the Nazi genocide under a blue tarpaulin, a move one Holocaust survivor called “shameful”.
The monument was then guarded by Metropolitan Police officers to prevent it being targeted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators marching through London in protest against the war in Gaza.
Holocaust survivor Noemi Ebenstein, 82, urged the world to wake up to the scourge of anti-Semitism after another day of swastikas being waved across London.
When she saw the covered shrine, she said, ‘It is a shame. When you see this, it feels like they are winning.
“Those who are Jew haters, those who are Holocaust deniers, they win because we are afraid of them.
“I just wish the Western world would stand up to these people, instead of running away, covering monuments and apologizing.”
Tory peer Lord Pickles, Britain’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, said the sight of the memorial wrapped in plastic sheeting “sends a terrible message to the Jews of London and across the UK.”
Lord Pickles, who has spearheaded moves to have a national Holocaust memorial built next to the Houses of Parliament, said: ‘The sight of this precious Holocaust memorial wrapped in plastic sheeting is truly shocking.
“Have we become so intimidated and afraid in this country that, instead of expecting pro-Palestinian protesters to obey the law, we hide the monument to save it from vandalism?”
Scotland Yard faced further anger from Jewish groups on Saturday after a Holocaust memorial was covered up over fears it would be vandalized by pro-Palestinian activists.
The monument consists of two boulders lying in a gravel bed, surrounded by a grove of silver birches. It is inscribed in both English and Hebrew with the words “For this I weep.” Rivers of tears flow from my eyes because of the destruction of my people,” a quote from the Book of Lamentations
‘Shameful’: Holocaust survivor Noemi Ebenstein, 82, called for tougher action on anti-Semitism after Hyde Park memorial was covered up as a ‘precautionary measure’
The outrage comes after Gideon Falter, who leads the Campaign Against Antisemitism, was threatened with arrest for identifying himself as “openly Jewish” at a pro-Palestine march last week.
He planned to lead a counter-protest with the CAA yesterday, but stopped because he feared for the safety of Jewish participants.
Instead, only a few dozen counter-protesters gathered at Pall Mall, where they were protected by lines of police as up to 200,000 pro-Palestinians marched past.
Officers arrested two men, one for holding a sign with a swastika on it and another for an alleged racist comment towards counter-protesters.
Police also investigated other offensive messages, including one comparing Israelis to the Ku Klux Klan, and another stating that the media and government are “controlled by Zionists.”
According to CAA polling, nine in 10 British Jews say they would avoid traveling to a city center if there were a major anti-Israel demonstration.
Royal Parks said it had been in contact with the Met about protests, saying: ‘The Holocaust memorial in Hyde Park is routinely covered with tarpaulin during various events as a precautionary measure.’
Matt Twist, deputy commissioner of the Met, said before the march: “Our objectives this weekend are to protect the right to protest and keep the peace.”
There have been regular marches in the capital to condemn Israel’s attacks on Gaza in response to the October 7 massacre by Hamas militants, which killed 1,200 civilians and took another 235 hostage from southern Israel.