4 held over antisemitic ‘F*** their mothers, rape their daughters’ London convoy

Police say suspects detained for ‘racially aggravated public order offenses’ after shouting abuse during drive through Jewish areas; PM: No place for antisemitism in our society

A convoy of cars filmed on London's Finchley Road, with passengers yelling antisemitic obscenities, on May 16, 2021. (Screenshot)
A convoy of cars filmed on London's Finchley Road, with passengers yelling antisemitic obscenities, on May 16, 2021. (Screenshot)

Police in London on Sunday said four people have been arrested over a video in which pro-Palestinian demonstrators were heard screaming antisemitic abuse while driving through Jewish areas of north London.

The four were arrested on suspicion of “racially aggravated public order offenses,” according to the Metropolitan Police. They remain in custody after being arrested Sunday.

“This behavior was utterly shocking and will not be tolerated. I understand that this would have caused considerable concern within the community and we have arranged extra patrols in the St. John’s Wood and Golders Green areas this evening,” a police superintendent said in a statement.

In the video, cars with Palestinian flags are seen driving through areas of the British capital with many Jewish residents while honking their horns and screaming “F*** their mothers, rape their daughters.”

The Community Security Trust, a Jewish watchdog and security group, linked the incident to anti-Israel protests held in London by pro-Palestinian protesters amid the ongoing fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas terror group.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson denounced the incident.

“There is no place for antisemitism in our society. Ahead of Shavuot, I stand with Britain’s Jews who should not have to endure the type of shameful racism we have seen today,” he tweeted, referring to the Jewish holiday that began Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, German police said 59 people were arrested and dozens of officers injured during violent clashes at an anti-Israel rally in Berlin this weekend.

Around 3,500 people had gathered in the German capital’s Neukoelln district on Saturday afternoon in one of several rallies over the conflict in the Gaza Strip, according to police.

Protesters threw stones, bottles and fireworks as police tried to break up the demonstration, injuring 93 officers and prompting them to use pepper spray.

Several people are being investigated for shouting anti-Israel slogans, the police said.

Around 900 officers were deployed to several demonstrations during the day, with the others passing mainly peacefully.

Germany has seen several scattered demonstrations over the escalating conflict, with protesters shouting antisemitic slogans, burning Israeli flags and damaging the entrance to a synagogue with stones.

Pro-Palestinian protesters in Berlin take part in a demonstration against Israel amid the fighting in Gaza between the Israeli military and Hamas terror group, May 15, 2021. (Stefanie Loos/AFP)

The Central Council of Jews in Germany on Sunday said it had received “a torrent of the most vile anti-Semitic insults” on social media.

Council president Josef Schuster urged the police to take a hard line against antisemitism and said recent events had been “reminiscent of the darkest times in German history.”

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on Sunday said Germany would crack down hard on anyone found to be spreading “antisemitic hatred.”

“We will not tolerate Israeli flags burning on German soil and Jewish institutions being attacked,” he told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Speaking at an ecumenical church congress, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also said “nothing can justify” threats to Jews in Germany or attacks on synagogues.

Some six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.

The Jewish community in Germany has been growing since reunification in 1990, notably with the arrival of many thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union.

The arrival of refugees from Arab nations hostile to Israel, in 2015 and 2016, added to the prevailing antisemitism in some Muslim circles in Germany.

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