“If even high-profile hate crimes such as these are not solved and the perpetrators brought to justice, what hope do the many other antisemitic crimes against Jews have of being satisfactorily investigated?” asked the Committee Against Antisemitism.
By Pesach Benson, United with Israel
London’s Metropolitan Police have quietly dropped an investigation into a shocking antisemitic attack, the Jewish Chronicle reported on Friday.
In December, a busload of Jewish teens celebrating Chanukah were harassed by a group of young men shouting “Free Palestine,” making Nazi salutes, spitting at the windows, and making profane gestures. The incident took place on Oxford Street, in the heart of downtown London.
The attack was caught on video and police released images of three suspects, but no arrests were ever made.
According to the Chronicle, the police dropped the investigation in July. A police statement issued on Friday said authorities were unable to identify the suspects in the video.
“On 29 November 2021, officers responded to calls about antisemitic abuse being directed at passengers on a private bus in Oxford Street by a group on the pavement outside,” the statement said. “The bus left the scene of the incident to avoid further confrontation and officers met it nearby. The suspects had also left the area and could not be located.”
The statement added that names provided by the public in response to an appeal for information were eliminated and “A decision was taken in July to close the case.”
In response, the Campaign Against Antisemitism criticized the police and announced a £10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction of the perpetrators.
“If even high-profile hate crimes such as these are not solved and the perpetrators brought to justice, what hope do the many other antisemitic crimes against Jews have of being satisfactorily investigated?” said the CAA in a statement.
“Indeed, the revelation that the investigation was closed comes at the same time as the Home Office has announced that last year police forces recorded the highest number of antisemitic crimes yet.”
A study by the Community Security Trust, Britain’s antisemitism watchdog, reported the highest levels of antisemitic incidents in 2021 since the organization began tracking data in 1984. The CST attributed the spike to a 15-day war between Israel and Hamas in May of that year.