Vandals have targeted Hannukah festival symbols in west London, just days after the Bondi beach terror attack, in what police are treating as a racially aggravated hate crime.
The Jewish community has condemned the attacks as ‘appalling and disgraceful’ after a painting of a Menorah, a candelabrum used in Jewish worship, was daubed with white paint.
The painting was on Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, while a menorah was also damaged in Holland Park, Kensington. The incidents are currently being treated as possibly connected.
Synagogues and Jewish schools across the UK have been on high alert after the Sydney attack, where 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah festival by two gunmen on Sunday.
Both incidents of vandalism in London were reported on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the Community Safety Trust, which works to keep Jewish communities safe, said: ‘The vandalism in London is appalling and disgraceful, particularly in the wake of the horrific terror attack in Sydney.
‘These desecrations are not isolated incidents; they are just two examples of damage, with other cases having been reported to us.
‘The story of Chanukah is one of light and hope and Jewish people should be free to celebrate this holiday without fear or hatred.’
Police have been trawling through CCTV and carrying out door-to-door enquiries in the hunt for those behind the vandalism.
Superintendent Owen Renowden said: ‘We are keeping an open mind as to whether these incidents are linked.
‘This has been a tremendously difficult week for the Jewish community following the terror attack in Australia and I appreciate how these incidents will cause hurt, harm and distress.
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‘We have put in place visible patrols. We are treating these incidents extremely seriously.’
The Metropolitan Police has dispatched more officers in north London to reassure the community following the attack in Australia.
The Jewish community also raised its security levels to ‘high alert’, bolstering security in synagogues and Jewish schools with more patrols and CCTV coverage.
Naveed Akram, the prime suspect for the Bondi Beach massacre, now faces 59 charges over the terror attack.
In October, two people were killed at a synagogue in Manchester when Jihad al-Shamie ploughed his car into a gathering in Heaton Park, Manchester, before stabbing worshippers. He was shot dead by police.
The author of a report warning of ‘intensifying’ antisemitism in Britain said he was ‘not surprised’ by the attack in Manchester or similar incidents.
More than a third of Jews in the UK surveyed feel unsafe, up from just 9% in May 2023, with 47% saying antisemitism is a ‘very big’ problem, according to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.
The police are asking anyone with information on the vandalism incidents to contact them on 101 quoting CAD5183/16Dec and CAD5739/16Dec.
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