My phone began flashing alerts late on Saturday night. Since then I have probably received over 200 expressions of concern from across the globe as well as local political and civil leadership and members of the Synagogue I serve.
A short reel emerged on Instagram and Twitter which showed a
man wearing a Keffiyeh spraying green smoke into the air while he, and a man
unseen in a car, waved aloft Palestinian flags. The version of the film I saw
was captioned, “Pro-Hama protesters stopped by Abbey Road Synagogue in London,
setting off flares and screaming at Jewish families who are leaving Shabbat
service.” The Synagogue I serve as rabbi is, of course, the only Synagogue on
Abbey Road.
The story was picked up by the Telegraph and the Daily Mail who carried a confirmation from the Campaign Against Antisemitism that they were “'aware' of Jewish families 'being targeted on their way out of synagogue' and had 'received multiple reports of police having to escort congregants away in groups for their own safety'” The report in the Jewish Chronicle made explicit the Campaign Against Antisemitism's claim that "Families attending the Masorti New London Synagogue on Abbey Road, St John’s Wood, in northwest London, on Saturday were "being targeted on their way out of synagogue."'
The report in the Daily Mail carried a quote from the Campaign Against Antisemitism, “‘Naturally the Jewish community is terrified.’”
Oddly, the Twitter account where the film was posted no longer exists. And the IG reel is no longer current. Links to the original Social Media postings and press reports are all posted below.[1].
What Happened?
The location where the protestor stood with his spray can (under a sloped bough in front of a nearby house) is immediately recognisable.
It’s around 50m away from the Synagogue. Stood under the same bough, I was just about able to make out a weather vane on the Synagogue roof.
The weather vane is outlined in blue above.
Or, if a video is easier ...
On the morning of 11th November, roadworks along Abbey Road resulted in a significant backlog of traffic. The car would have been held up by these roadworks and it seems likely the man got out of the car while it was in traffic. It’s less likely that the protestor
deliberately stopped 50m away from the Synagogue to target the Synagogue.
The protestor may have acted in ways I would oppose. But it
is not correct to say his actions should be construed as an attack on the Synagogue.
I have also been in touch with Borough and Ward police
representation, our own security leads, and contacts at two other Synagogues in St
Johns Wood and three Synagogues closer to Central London and the site of
the pro-Palestinian rally on Saturday. None of us is aware of police being
called to escort congregants for their own safety. It may be that some group was targeted and we understand that there is a police investigation but we have found no evidence of a targeting of the building or our members.
There is nervousness among the members of the community I
represent. I feel it in myself. I went down to Central London on Saturday 4th
November to experience the end of the pro-Palestine march last week. There were
chants, fliers and signs which, at the very least, seemed to call for the ethnic
cleansing of some 7 million Jews between ‘the river and the Sea.’ Reports of
injuries suffered by Police officers and video footage of angry and
occasionally violent behaviour are a cause of deep concern for me, my community
and, I know, all decent-thinking people in this country. There has also been an
escalation of largely minor antisemtic attacks on members of the Jewish
community in this country in these awful times.
But that part of the community I know best is not ‘terrified.’
And I do not wish to be characterised as such. Aside from being untrue it also
suggests that those who wish to instil terror amongst us are more powerful
than those who persist in trying to find ways to live together.
[1] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12738885/Police-launch-probe-Jewish-families-leaving-north-London-synagogue-targeted-pro-Palestinian-activists-spraying-green-smoke-shouting-cars-Armistice-Day-march.html
https://www.thejc.com/news/news/anti-israel-activists-target-jewish-families-leaving-london-synagogue-1AFAHdVsTKoFboS0fu8NFu
https://x.com/Christo89092169/status/1723460969752342942?t=gvun3po7t4EvhIwTuynfpw&s=08
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzhRCfQNUU7/?igshid=YnVkcmZmZHJzOTZn
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