Police are hunting a man who threatened to behead ‘dirty Jews’ in a shocking antisemitic clip.
Viral footage showed a man saying ‘f*** Israel’ and ‘big up Palestine’ before he claimed that Jews are ‘gonna (sic) get beheaded one-by-one’.
He added: ‘Palestine will be free. But Israel, if I catch that government, on my mother’s life, I will f*** you out.’
A different man then came into the camera’s shot and seemingly gestured for him to stop his rant.
Undeterred, the man continued to chant: ‘Free, free Palestine. From the river to the sea (Palestine will be free).’
The chant, which is often heard at pro-Palestine demonstrations, has been branded antisemitic by some Jewish groups who claim that it calls for the destruction of Israel.
In response, the Metropolitan Police said its officers attended Whitechapel Road in Tower Hamlets, east London, after they became aware of the clip yesterday afternoon.
A force spokesman said officers were carrying out ‘urgent inquiries to identify the man’.
‘We understand that incidents like this cause significant concern and we take all reports incredibly seriously,’ he added.
‘Hate crime of any kind has no place in our communities.’
The footage was highlighted by Jewish community group Shomrim (London North & East), which branded the man’s words ‘horrific’.
In a post, the organisation said it was ‘aware of the fact that the Orthodox Jewish community is exceptionally concerned about these threats’.
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It explained that it was ‘working closely’ with the Met and hoped this would reassure London’s sizable Jewish Orthodox community.
British Jews have faced numerous attacks since the war in Gaza erupted between Hamas and Israel in October 2023.
It has since spilt out in the wider Middle East, leading to the involvement of numerous other countries, including Lebanon, Iran, and the USA.
Controversy over the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government, particularly against Palestinians, has prompted protests to be held across the globe as well as accusations of genocide.
This has been strenuously denied by Israel, which insists it is battling the proscribed terror group Hamas.
Amid this backdrop, Jews across the UK are facing rising antisemitism, with incidents rising four per cent last year, according to charity Community Security Trust (CST).
This has contributed to the ‘normalisation’ of antisemitism in the UK, according to the UK and Commonwealth’s Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis.
He spoke after a man was charged with trying to murder two Jewish men in Golders Green, north-west London, earlier this month.
Essa Suleiman, 45, is also accused of trying to murder a long-time friend.
The incident came shortly before the UK’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre raised the national threat level to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely in the next six months.
Around the same time, the Met said that London’s Jewish communities will be further protected by a dedicated team of 100 additional officers.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley previously said 300 extra officers were needed across the capital as he warned of a growing ‘pandemic’ of antisemitism in the UK.
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