Two men have been charged with religiously aggravated harassment after they were accused of travelling to Stamford Hill to film videos harassing Jews.
Adam Bedoui, 20, and Abdelkader Amir Bousloub, 21, are due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court later today.
The pair are said to have gone to Stamford Hill – a predominantly Jewish area in North London – where they allegedly approached, harassed, and filmed residents.
Officers were called to reports of a hate crime at around 9pm on Thursday, the Metropolitan police said in a statement.
Cops were at the scene within minutes and arrested five men.
Bedoui and Bousloub, of Hillingdon, West London, have been charged with religiously aggravated intentional harassment and intentional harassment and were remanded in custody.
Detective Superintendent Oliver Richter, who leads policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: ‘Our investigation continues, but two men have been charged and will appear in court for their alleged part in this incident.
‘We will not tolerate any form of hate crime against our communities.’
Two men have been charged with religiously aggravated harassment after they were accused of travelling to Stamford Hill to film videos harassing Jews
Officers responded to reports of people traveling to Stamford Hill to harass the local Jewish community for social media clicks
It comes after a ninth suspect was arrested in connection with an arson attack on Jewish ambulances in Golders Green in March.
A 48-year-old man was detained in East London on Thursday and taken into custody.
Four Hatzola ambulances were set alight in the early hours of March 23 in front of a synagogue in Golders Green, which has one of the highest percentages of Jews in London.
The firebombing caused gas canisters stored in the ambulances to explode, with the force from the blast causing windows to break in a block of flats close by.
The synagogue, one of Europe’s oldest, had its roof damaged and stained glass windows smashed in the fire.
Three men and a youth have previously appeared in court accused of destroying the ambulances.
The Metropolitan Police announced this week a new dedicated Community Protection Team of 100 extra officers that will provide a more visible, intelligence‑led and coordinated presence focused on protecting Jewish communities across London.
The Met said the new team is a combination of neighbourhood policing, specialist protection, and counter terrorism capabilities.
It comes after a ninth suspect was arrested in connection with an arson attack on Jewish ambulances in Golders Green in March. Pictured: Burnt out remains of Hatzola ambulances at the Jewish Community Ambulance service in Golders Green, London.
Read More
Anti-Semitic hate crimes in London hit two-year high, new figures reveal
It comes after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green last month in what police called an act of terror.
Police arrested 45-year-old Essa Suleiman on suspicion of attempted murder after the attack left two men, ages 34 and 76, hospitalised with knife wounds.
The security organisation Shomrim said that a man was seen running along Golders Green Road armed with a knife and attempting to stab Jewish members of the public.’
It said that a suspect was detained by Shomrim members and arrested by police, who used a stun gun on him.
Surveillance camera footage showed a man beside a bus stop donning a kippah, or traditional skullcap, before a passerby with a knife lunges at him.
Arson attacks in recent weeks targeted Jewish sites in London, including a charity’s ambulances in Golders Green and a synagogue a few miles away.
Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley said that it was ‘another horrendous act of violence directed against our Jewish communities.’
But some British Jews expressed anger at the authorities’ failure to keep them safe.
