Police hunt for man in his work hi-vis who was caught scrawling ‘coloniser’ onto posters of innocent children kidnapped by Hamas – as figures show sevenfold increase in anti-Semitic incidents since Hamas attacks
- The incident took place yesterday morning on West End Lane in West Hampstead
- Do you know the man defacing the posters? Please email [email protected]
Police are hunting a man caught scrawling ‘coloniser’ over posters of innocent children kidnapped by Hamas – as figures revealed a sevenfold increase in the number of antisemitic incidents since its terror attacks on Israel.
Footage of the encounter in London shows the man, who is wearing a high-vis jacket revealing his employer’s logo, being confronted by a member of the public as he walks up to the billboards.
The woman slams him for his actions, saying ‘I know people who have died’ in the conflict that has claimed thousands of lives so far in the Middle East. His company last night confirmed to MailOnline it was investigating and would not tolerate ‘such behaviour’, while the Met Police said they had launched an investigation.
It is the latest sign of how conflict in the Middle East has sparked a backlash on the streets of the UK.
Today, the Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish charity, revealed it had recorded 320 antisemitic incidents between October 7 and 16 – a sevenfold increase on the 47 incidents recorded over the same period last year.
The CST said 15 of the 320 reported incidents were assaults, 14 involved damage to Jewish property and 244 abusive behaviour, while 86 happened online. Meanwhile, Tell Mama UK reported a tripling of anti-Muslim incidents in Britain since Hamas killed more than 1,400 Israelis in a terror attack on southern Israel on October 7.
Do you know the man defacing the posters? Please email [email protected]
Footage of the encounter uploaded onto Twitter shows the man, who is wearing a high-vis jacket revealing his employer’s logo, being confronted by a member of the public as he walks up to the billboards
Carlisle Support Services told MailOnline it does not ‘tolerate such behaviour and are dealing with the incident accordingly’
Examples of antisemitic incidents include ‘free Palestine, kill Jews’ being shouted in a Jewish community in London and a kosher shop in Liverpool being told in a phone call ‘we are coming to get you’.
Pro-Palestine demonstrators have previously been seen targeting posters which have been put up to raise awareness of the innocent civilians kidnapped by the terrorist group and taken into Gaza after their surprise attack.
Last week one woman was seen angrily tearing down flyers of kidnapped children which had been put up in Oxford Street, while shouting ‘This is for Palestine’ in front of an aghast British-Israeli woman.
There have also been mass pro-Palestine demonstrations on the streets of major cities around the world which have been marred with ugly scenes of violence targeted towards police and vile chants aimed at Jewish people including one in Sydney where a protester called for them to be ‘wiped out’.
It comes as footage emerged of pro-Palestine activists throwing flares and waving Palestinian flags at a factory in Leicester run by UAV Tactical Systems, an Israel-French drone company which activists believe supplies the Israeli military.
Dramatic video shows a security guard trying to use a weapon to push demonstrators down from the top of a van as they fought back with a ladder. Police then arrive and threaten to Taser the man as he shouts ‘I’m security!’
It comes as footage emerged of pro-Palestine activists throwing flares and waving Palestinian flags at a factory in Leicester run by UAV Tactical Systems, an Israel-French drone company
Dramatic video shows a security guard trying to use a weapon to push demonstrators down from the top of a van as they fought back with a ladder
Police then arrive and threaten to Taser the man as he shouts ‘I’m security!’
Pro-Israel supporters have been putting up posters showing people who have been kidnapped by terrorist group Hamas in last weeks attacks
The posters have been put up to show the innocent civilians who have been caught up in the bloodshed following the terrorist attacks on October 7
The video of a man defacing posters was shared online by the Campaign Against Antisemitism yesterday.
The organisation wrote: ‘This man was caught writing ‘coloniser’ on posters of hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
‘The incident took place this morning on West End Lane in West Hampstead.’
The person filming the clip shouts to the man: ‘Excuse me can you please stop it? Writing coloniser on an innocent two-year-old girl?
‘I know people who have died.’
READ MORE HERE: Palestinian supporters tear down more posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas as one man confronted over the Oxford Street vandalism says: ‘I don’t feel bad – I feel so good’
The man, who is wearing a jacket with Carlisle Support Services on it, looks as if he is not going to back down before the clip finishes.
A spokesperson for the firm told MailOnline: ‘We were recently notified of a member of staff writing discriminatory messages on posters on West End Lane in West Hampstead.
‘We do not tolerate such behaviour and are dealing with the incident accordingly, with the relevant authorities also notified.’
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: ‘We are aware of a video posted on social media allegedly showing a man defacing posters in #WestHampstead.
‘Officers are assessing the footage and an investigation is ongoing.
‘Witnesses should call 101 ref CAD 2578/17 Oct.’
Scotland Yard said that there had been a 700 per cent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the capital in the past two weeks when compared with the same period last year.
On Monday, Beis Chinuch Lebonos Girls’ School just a few hundred yards away – was also hit at 11am, whilst children were already in school.
This time paint was thrown over a security gate, which stopped the vandal getting to the school buildings.
The area, which has a large strictly Orthodox community, is being targeted by protesters in the wake of the Israel and Hamas war.
This is the shocking moment a vandal walks up to a Jewish girls school and hurls paint over the property, in what is being investigated as an anti-Semitic attack
A vandal hurled red paint over Beis Chinuch Lebonos Girls’ School in Hackney, which police are investigating as a ‘hate crime’
Paint was thrown over four parts of the school building, including the front door, before the vandal walked away
Footage caught one perpetrator wearing a mask and carrying an umbrella approach the front of the school and throw red paint over the front door before leaving.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police are now investigating both incidents.
A spokeswoman said: ‘We are investigating incidents at two Jewish schools and treating these as hate crimes.
‘At 9:00hrs on Monday 16 October officers attended a school on Lordship Road, N16 after reports that red paint had been thrown onto the school building.
‘Police attended the scene, and spoke to a member of staff at the school.
‘Police were told that the incident took place on Thursday 12 October at 06:51hrs.
‘Police are aware of a second incident at a school in Woodberry Down N4, in which paint was also thrown onto the school building. We are investigating whether these two incidents are linked.
‘The incidents are being treated as hate crimes, at this early stage there have been no arrests, and the investigation is ongoing.’
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, who leads policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets said extra police patrols had been introduced in the area since the attacks in Israel to provide reassurance.
He added: ‘We are working closely with our partners in the Community Security Trust, the Shomrim, Hackney Council and other key local partners.
‘These incidents will be robustly investigated and we have been clear that we have a zero tolerance for hate crime.’
The vandal can be seen approaching the school walls with a pot of red paint
Vishnitz Girls’ school – just a few hundred yards away – was also hit in the early hours of the morning on Monday
This time paint was thrown over a security gate, which stopped the vandal getting to the school buildings
A spokesperson for Shomrim, an organisation which organises civilian security patrols in Jewish areas, said: ‘The first attack happened early in the morning at the Vishnitz Girls School in Hackney.
‘The attacker threw red paint against a door and some windows and walked off.
‘There was another attack at the nearby BCL Girls school in Stamford Hill which had red paint thrown all over the front gates.’
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