London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned a recent assault of a 64-year-old Orthodox Jewish man in an August 23 tweet.
Video footage of the attack, which occurred on August 18, shows a man dressed in Islamic paraphernalia punching the Jewish man in the face as they are about to walk by each other on the street. According to the local neighborhood watch known as Shomrim, the victim sustained “broken foot/ankle & nasty head injuries”; the victim was later discharged, according to police.
#HateCrime #Antisemitism #StamfordHill 18/8 8:30pm
Shocking footage of a vicious #Racist attack, the unconscious victim, was rushed to hospital with broken foot/ankle & nasty head injuries @MPSHackney specialist #HateCrime officers are keen to speak to this male
4492 20/08/21 pic.twitter.com/GWtip256E0— Shomrim (Stamford Hill) (@Shomrim) August 20, 2021
Khan tweeted, “I utterly condemn this appalling attack. Let me be clear, racist abuse and hate crime[s], including anti-Semitism, have absolutely no place in our city. If you know any information about this horrific incident, please contact [London’s Metropolitan Police Service] immediately.”
I utterly condemn this appalling attack. Let me be clear, racist abuse and hate crime, including anti-Semitism, have absolutely no place in our city. If you know any information about this horrific incident, please contact @MetPoliceUK immediately. https://t.co/QP1RGEutOc
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) August 23, 2021
Jewish groups praised Khan for denouncing the attack.
“Thank you @MayorofLondon Sadiq Khan for your strong condemnation of this vicious assault,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted. “We hope the police will find the attacker soon and bring him to justice.”
Thank you @MayorofLondon Sadiq Khan for your strong condemnation of this vicious assault. We hope the police will find the attacker soon and bring him to justice. https://t.co/2BiTgT4paJ
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) August 24, 2021
The European Jewish Congress similarly tweeted, “Thank you @MayorofLondon Sadiq Khan for your unequivocal condemnation of this hateful act. We hope the police can bring this cowardly individual to justice.”
Thank you @MayorofLondon Sadiq Khan for your unequivocal condemnation of this hateful act.
We hope the police can bring this cowardly individual to justice. https://t.co/0vRxWVQszw
— European Jewish Congress (@eurojewcong) August 24, 2021
The assailant is still at large. The police have connected the assailant to at least two other attacks against Jews on August 18: a 30-year-old man being hit in the head with a bottle and the assault of a 14-year-old boy. Both sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The police also said they have “been informed of a fourth victim who has yet to contact police”; on August 24, Shomrim posted a video of what appeared to be the assailant assaulting another Jewish man:
Yet another racially motivated #Assault
Wed 6:40pm Orthodox Jew struck in the face with a bottle @MPSHackney are urgently trying to identify the assailant who went on a racist rampage assaulting multiple Jews over a 3 hour period
CAD 6513 22/08/21 pic.twitter.com/9VeTCyTnqK
— Shomrim (Stamford Hill) (@Shomrim) August 24, 2021