“Here we do not have any problem with Arabs – there has never been anything like this before, but now we are worried.”
“Synagogue walls daubed with anti-Jewish graffiti,” by Benedict Moore-Bridger and Robert Mendick in the Evening Standard, May 15 (thanks to Ted):
London’s Jewish community has been targeted by a wave of anti-Semitic graffiti.
Residents were today warned to look out for suspicious activity following the racist attack in north-east London.
Vandals sprayed shops, pavements and walls outside four synagogues in Clapton Common and Stamford Hill on Tuesday night. Worshippers were yesterday confronted with slogans such as “Jihad to Israel” and “Jihad to Tel Aviv”.
Hackney council is removing the graffiti, which consisted of 40 pieces of writing.
David Greenwald, 20, who visits the Chasidey Belz Beth Hemedrash synagogue in Clapton Common, said the close-knit community was shocked.
“This morning I went to synagogue to pray and saw the writing all over everywhere – walls, shops, traffic lights,” he said. “Everyone feels scared. Here we do not have any problem with Arabs – there has never been anything like this before, but now we are worried.”
Another worshipper said: “It makes us feel that we are in exile. It could be kids doing it but even so, it shows something.” The other synagogues were Satmar Beth Hamedrash Yetev Lev, Atereth Zvi Beth Hamedrash, and the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations. Yesterday further racist graffiti appeared in Bethnal Green.
Indeed it does show something.