‘I am the next Hitler’ shouted at Jewish man during anti-Semitic tube rant
Police investigating 'hate crime' after Orthodox man subject to stream of abuse whilst travelling home to Golders Green
Police are investigating an anti-Semitic attack on the tube this week, with the suspect shouting “will kill you all” and “I am the next Hitler”.
An Orthodox man, who wished not to be named, was verbally abused on a Northern Line train on Wednesday, whilst travelling from Moorgate to Golders Green, where he lives.
He told Jewish News: “Besides hurling the regular swear words at me, he said he “will kill you all”, “I am the next Hitler””, after boarding the train at Old Street.
“I felt shocked that the suspect behaved like he did” he said, adding that this is “probably why I did not even think of videoing or taking his picture.. but also anxious that it could have been a lot worse had he been carrying a weapon.”
A spokesperson for the British Transport Police said: “Officers are investigating an incident of hate crime after a 31-year-old man was verbally abused by a fellow passenger. The incident happened on board a Northern Line Tube service from Old Street to Euston on Wednesday, 16 August. The call came into police at shortly before 4.30pm.”
The man, who asked not to be named, said he reported to the BTP and spent 2 hours in Euston station giving a statement, and added that “the passenger next to me got off at Euston and gave a statement.
“Everyone was shocked on the train and many were shaking their heads. I did feel that had things developed to the suspect hitting me then the big English fellow next to me who gave a statement would have stepped in. He told me he was about to push the emergency button.
“Having said that, I think people were more in shock than anything else and it was mostly children and women in the carriage.”
Explaining that he’s done this journey for three years, the unnamed man, who wears a kippah on his head, said he’d “never experienced any hate on the train at all”, and insisted that he won’t stop wearing a kippah after the incident.
“No” he said, when asked if he’d think twice about covering his head in public. “One must not give into intimidation. Just look at Paris where one has to pretend one is not a Jew. Is that how we want to live?”
BTP have called for “Anyone who was travelling on board the service and witnessed the incident” to come forward by calling them on 0800 40 50 40, or texting 61016 quoting reference number 1700056566.
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