Rob Rinder has said he was confronted by a youth shouting ‘Heil Hitler’ at him as he warned that ‘hatred is learned’ days after the terror attack in Golders Green.
The barrister and television presenter, 47, took to social media this afternoon and described the incident, which took place just two days after two Jewish men were stabbed in north London on Wednesday.
Essa Suleiman, 45, a Somali-born British national, appeared in court yesterday charged with the attempted murder of the two men, as well as trying to kill his friend of 20 years at an address in Southwark earlier the same day.
In the aftermath of the attack, Mr Rinder, who is Jewish, hit out at ‘months of poison’ that he said contributed to anti-Semitism and has made hostility feel ‘normal’.
Now he has said he was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse by a young person in central London.
Mr Rinder said a ‘kid’ on a bicycle recognised him while he was on Carnaby Street, Soho, and told him ‘Heil Hitler’.
Taking to social media, he said: ‘On Carnaby Street last night, a kid on a bike cycled up, saw it was me, looked friendly at first, then offered up his favourite “lyric”: “Heil Hitler”.’
He continued: ‘I wasn’t sure whether to share this. I hadn’t experienced that personally before. The most striking thing: I wasn’t shocked.
Rob Rinder has told how he was confronted by a youth shouting ‘Heil Hitler’ at him as he warned that ‘hatred is learned’ days after the terror attack in Golders Green
‘No threat. No anger. Not a victim. Just: what has he been taught?
‘Hatred is learned. We are not defined by it. We answer it by what we teach.’
The incident comes just two days after the horror terror attack in Golders Green, in which two Jewish men were stabbed.
Suleiman appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday charged with attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place in relation to the attack in north London.
He was also charged with attempted murder in relation to a separate and earlier incident on the same day in Great Dover Street, south London.
Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Ben Baila, named locally as Moshe Shine, 76, were attacked by a knifeman on Wednesday morning and rushed to hospital. Fortunately their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
It came just a few hours after Suleiman is also accused of attacking his friend of 20 years, Ishmail Hussein, with a knife after arriving at his home earlier on Wednesday. Mr Hussein sustained minor injuries in the incident.
After the attack, Mr Rinder took to social media and said: ‘This does not come out of nowhere.
‘It follows months of poison that downplays anti-Semitism, treats Jewish fear as suspect and turns public space into a place where that hostility feels normal.
‘We’re told “anti-Semitism has no place in our society.” Then act like it.’
After he was Tasered, the suspect was kicked in the head by officers as they shouted at him to ‘drop the knife’
Essa Suleiman, 45, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with three counts of attempted murder and the possession of a bladed article in a public place on Friday
Moshe Shine, 76, was one of two Jews stabbed in a north London terror attack on Wednesday morning
He was joined by Countdown’s Rachel Riley, who accused politicians of having ‘stoked the crisis’ as she described the incident as ‘horrific’.
‘Waiting for the bingo card response of “no place for antisemitism in our society” from politicians and media who have helped stoke this crisis,’ she wrote.
Mr Rinder’s experience last night came amid mounting backlash against Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, for sharing a tweet which criticised the police officers who disarmed and arrested the suspect in the attack.
He reposted an online critic who said: ‘So essentially his [Sir Mark Rowley’s] officers were repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by Taser’.
It has led to accusations that Mr Polanski, who has previously said he would like to be the next prime minister, was ‘more concerned’ about the suspected terrorist’s wellbeing than those he is accused of stabbing in the street.
Video footage showed how two officers bravely confronted the alleged terrorist and Tasered him.
They then approached the man on the ground and repeatedly yelled at him to ‘drop the knife’, before kicking him several times in the head.
Met Police Chief Sir Mark Rowley vehemently defended his officers as he hit out at Polanski, saying they had been dealing with an armed suspect who they feared could have explosives in his backpack.
Sir Mark described the claims in the tweet as ‘inaccurate and misinformed commentary’, adding that ‘without their efforts to stop him, I dread to think what the outcome could have been.’
Zack Polanski retweeted a post suggesting hero policemen who disarmed the Golders Green terrorist were heavy-handed
Bodycam footage of the horrifying incident in Golders Green on Wednesday showed the alleged terrorist walk towards officers while armed with a knife before he was Tasered
Polanski eventually apologised for sharing the tweet ‘in haste’ but appeared to suggest ‘reflection’ was still needed.
He said: ‘Everyone in leadership has a responsibility for lowering the temperature at a time of such tension, and I apologise for sharing a tweet in haste.
‘Police responses to emergency situations such as these do need later reflection in the right forums, but I accept that social media is not the appropriate channel for doing so.
‘I have invited Mark Rowley to meet with me to discuss the police response and the wider issues raised in his letter.’
On Friday, the UK’s terror threat level was raised to ‘severe’ from ‘substantial’, meaning an attack is now highly likely.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) had already been looking to raise the threat level, it is understood, and the attack on Wednesday was not the only reason for the increase.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the change yesterday as she said that anti-Semitism in Britain has become a ‘national emergency’.
It came as the Government unveiled an additional £25 million in funding to protect the Jewish community, to be spent on policing and security.
