Antisemitic hate crime in London: overhearing Hebrew, mob assaults 3 Israelis

Three Israelis were the victims of an antisemitic attack in London's West End on Saturday after their assailants overheard them speak Hebrew. 

The victims, two men and a woman in their 20s, told Israeli journalist Elad Simchayoff they were accosted by a large group of young men who identified them as Israelis.

“They heard us talking and said, ‘are you Jewish?’” The female victim, identified by her first name Tehilla, replied “yes, I’m Jewish," which led the assailants to start chanting "Free Palestine and fuck Jews." 

The men then started assaulting them, causing head injuries to the men.

“I tried to stop them and stood in front as I was sure they would never hit a woman,” Tehilla told Simchayoff, “they couldn’t care less, they hit me as well.” 

They managed to escape and sought shelter in a nearby shop, which the attackers vandalized. When the incident was over, the shop's owner demanded that the Israelis pay him for the damage caused by their attackers.  

Tehilla then called the police who responded that they were "too busy" and asked the victims to "calm down." 

The Israelis then went to a nearby hospital to receive medical treatment.

A subsequent message posted to the X platform confirmed the incident was investigated as an antisemitic hate crime.