Budget cuts mean local police cannot investigate hate crimes properly, a Jewish neighborhood watch tells JNS.
By Faygie Holt, JNS
A 50-year-old man grabbed a Jewish boy by the throat and threw him off a public London bus last week, according to Jewish neighborhood watch Shomrim of Stamford Hill.
The boy was wearing a yarmulke at the time, Shomrim told JNS exclusively.
At the time, the boy’s parents contacted Shomrim, which in turn reported the attack to the police. Nobody on the bus intervened to protect the boy, Vos Iz Neias reported.
Shomrim acts as a third-party reporter to local law enforcement in cases where people are reluctant to do so themselves. In recent days, it has reported several other antisemitic incidents, including a Jewish man who was punched in the face and another whose hat and yarmulke were knocked off.
There were 786 antisemitic incidents reported in the United Kingdom in the first six months of 2022, the most recent numbers available, according to Community Security Trust, which represents the Jewish community on antisemitism and security,
Chaim Hochhauser, CEO of Shomrim Stamford Hill, told JNS that the attack on the bus was shocking, “but sadly we see hundreds of hate crimes each year reported to Shomrim.
“Each has a victim, who is often left traumatized. We see young children being targeted,” he said. “Sadly, the hate crime numbers increase each year.”
Well-meaning local police simply cannot investigate most hate crimes properly due to budget cuts, Hochhauser said.