A bus carrying Jewish students on their way home from school was attacked by a group of teenagers who threw stones at the vehicle while shouting, “F*** Israel.” London police confirmed to the Daily Mail that officers are investigating the incident as a “potential hate crime.”
A Muslim attacking a Jewish man in London
The students involved attend the Jewish Free School (JFS) in Kenton, North London. An eyewitness told the Jewish Chronicle that when the buses stopped last Wednesday on Edgware Road, a large group of teenagers from another school began throwing large stones at one of the buses.
Following the attack, four teenagers boarded one of the buses, hurling curses and making antisemitic remarks toward the Jewish students. The eyewitness reported that the attackers insulted the Jewish children: "They were also swearing at us, saying, 'F*ck Israel, nobody likes you. F*ck off you b*tches.”
A Jewish bystander who witnessed the incident said that some students fled the bus while others ducked for cover. “They were completely terrified,” he said. He also noted that the attackers filmed the incident on their phones.
According to the Daily Mail, the substitute bus driver did not report the incident immediately. Instead, it was a parent of one of the affected children who contacted the police.
The London Metropolitan Police stated: “Officers in Barnet are investigating a potential hate crime after a school bus was targeted on High Street, Edgware. Stones were thrown at the bus before a group of other students got on and made antisemitic remarks towards those on board. Officers from the safer transport team have spoken to the victims involved, as well as their parents, and enquiries are ongoing.”
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Lorraine Busby-McVey, Borough Commander for Barnet’s neighborhood policing team, described the incident as deeply concerning: “This was a distressing incident for those on the bus and the behavior of the individuals responsible is completely unacceptable. There is no place for hate crime either here or across the rest of London, and a thorough investigation is underway.” Despite the seriousness of the incident, no arrests have been made so far.
Transport for London (TfL) also addressed the attack in a statement: “We are deeply concerned to hear about this incident and fully support the police investigation. No-one should ever have to fear or experience abuse when using our network.”
The statement continued, “We take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of hate crime, and work with the police to pursue anyone who is abusive to our customers or staff. Alongside the bus operator, Uno, we are supporting the police with their investigation and are supplying footage from the CCTV cameras, which all buses are equipped with. We encourage anyone who experienced or witnessed this incident to contact the police.”