'They could have killed me': Jewish man feared for his life during Golders Green antisemitic attack
Shalev, 22, an Israeli national visiting family in the UK, said he was attacked by half a dozen men after they overheard him speaking Hebrew on the phone in the early hours of Monday.
A Jewish man who was brutally beaten by a group of masked men in Golders Green has told LBC he feared for his life.
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Shalev, 22, an Israeli national visiting family in the UK, said he was attacked by half a dozen men after they overheard him speaking Hebrew on the phone in the early hours of Monday 18 May.
Shalev said attackers repeatedly shouted “are you Jewish?” as he attempted to shield himself from punches and kicks to the face. He was treated in hospital for injuries to his face and back.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed to LBC that they are investigating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime. The attack comes after two Jewish men were stabbed in a suspected terrorist attack against the community in Golders Green last month.
Shalev stepped out of his hotel at around 02:00 on Monday morning to call friends abroad, hoping he would not disturb other people in the building.
He was approached by half a dozen men wearing black hoodies and masks.
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“It felt a bit suspicious, and then the group started running at me and attacked me,” Shalev recalled.
“They [heard] I was speaking Hebrew, and they asked me, ‘are you Jewish?’... I remember they were saying something negative about my religion.
“They could have killed me - this is what I feared at the time… I think that, honestly, God was with me at this time.”
Shalev says he had not previously felt unsafe in London, but that the attack on him, along with rising levels of antisemitism across the continent, shows that “it is a dark time in Europe”.
“Something needs to change in Europe,” Shalev lamented. “It cannot continue like that. I have a friend here from the community and my family lives here [but] it's not safe. It's not really safe.
“My parents told me a lot of times to ‘stay safe and don't talk in Hebrew' [in London] - after what happened to me, I understand… It feels terrible.”
“I love London, I love the Jewish people, and I hope that something is going to change for the community.”
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, and the local MP, Sarah Sackman, were heckled and faced intense criticism from the community after Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, were stabbed in April. Essa Suleiman, 45, faces three charges of attempted murder, including a separate incident alleged to have taken place in south London.
Ms Sackman, the Labour MP who also serves as justice minister, described the attack as “intolerable” and pledged to “push for more action at every level”.
In response to last month’s attack, the government also announced a £25m funding package for extra patrols in communities with a larger Jewish presence, £18m of which has been handed to the Metropolitan Police.
The Met is setting up a dedicated team of 100 additional officers to combat antisemitic abuse.
London Mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, described the attack as “abhorrent” and said antisemitism has “no place” in the capital.