Image from Twitter An Orthodox Jewish man was subjected to chants of “I’ve got a foreskin, haven’t you f—ing Jew” while on an airplane.
The video of the chant was posted to social media on November 4; according to The Jewish Chronicle (JC), the chanting took place on a Ryanair flight to Belgium among fans of the London-based West Ham United Football Club.
.@Ryanair will you be helping @WestHam to identify their fans taunting a Jewish passenger: “I’ve got a foreskin haven’t you, f***ing Jew”?
Did your crew take action and alert police?
These racist thugs must face the consequences of their actions. pic.twitter.com/GPaqcFdPEv
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) November 4, 2021
A 55-year-old man was arrested when the plane landed in Belgium and faces hate crime charges, the Jewish News reported. Essex Police Chief Superintendent Tom Simons told the Jewish News, “Essex Police will not tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind. Having been made aware of the incident this morning, officers worked quickly to secure an arrest at the earliest possible opportunity.”
West Ham United released a statement saying they were “appalled” by the chanting.
“We have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination,” they said. “Any individuals identified will be issued with an indefinite ban from the club. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of the football club and we do not welcome any individuals who do not share those values.”
David Moyes, who coaches the team, told ESPN, “We have incredible supporters who follow us home and away but I don’t want any labels connected to this whatsoever — discrimination or racism, none at all. We don’t want to be associated with supporters like this. I want us to fully move on from this.”
British Home Secretary Priti Patel also denounced the chanting in a statement to The JC. “There is no place in football or our country for this vile, racist, antisemitic abuse,” she said. “In the UK, we have some of the toughest laws in the world to deal with hate crime, and the police and West Ham Football Club have my full backing to take the toughest possible action against these individuals.”
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement for the Campaign Against Antisemitism, wrote a letter to Ryanair asking “what your crew did to protect the Jewish victim from the abuse and humiliation inflicted on him by these racist thugs, and confirm whether Ryanair alerted the police.” He also asked if the airline is working with West Ham United “to identify the individuals responsible so the club can fulfill its pledge to ban these fans for life.”
We have written to @Ryanair asking what was done to protect the Jewish victim of #antisemitic chanting by @WestHam fans and how the airline will help the club identify and ban these supporters for life pic.twitter.com/60tndN7Ejq
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) November 5, 2021
Ryanair did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment.
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