Appeal after car drives towards Jewish children

An investigation has been launched after a car drove towards three Jewish school children in north-west London.

The headteacher of Hasmonean High School for Boys said in a letter to parents on Wednesday that the Metropolitan Police was appealing for witnesses after what the school called an "antisemitic traffic incident".

The letter said a black car reportedly drove towards students waiting to cross Holders Hill Road, Finchley, on 20 April at approximately 15:40 BST. The car mounted the kerb and the students moved away, the letter added. No-one was injured.

The Met said it was treating the incident as "religiously aggravated assault", and enquiries were ongoing.

The father of one of three 14-year-old boys involved in the incident said his son was "shaken" afterwards.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "There were dozens of kids walking around in kippot [skullcaps]. Three of them – my son and two friends – were round the corner from the school waiting to cross the road.

"A black saloon car was waiting on the inside lane closest to them. As the lights turned green, the car sped up significantly and mounted the kerb where they were standing. They jumped backwards out of the way as the car hurtled towards them and then the car sped off. Had they not jumped, they would have been hit."

He added: "My son was shaken, but with it.

"They couldn't see a driver. Nothing was said to them or shouted at them. But it's pretty clear that whoever it was was trying to scare them.

"They were visibly Jewish kids. He was waiting at the lights and saw these kids and saw an opportunity."

The father said he believed the driver of the car was trying to "terrorise" the children, adding: "I'm not convinced that he or she would have intended to hit or hurt them.

"There's no question in our minds – and in the mind of the investigating officer that I've spoken to – that there appeared to be intent.

"Otherwise, if you had narrowly missed three children, you would get out and see what happened. There's no evidence of that. The car literally screeched off afterwards.

"It was somebody who clearly saw an opportunity to clearly target young, visibly Jewish children and take a pop at them in a way that could have caused serious injury, had they not jumped out of the way."

The father said he had safety concerns over sending his children to school.

"As people who identify openly as Jews and want to show our identities, you feel like you are gambling with your children's safety," he said.

"I would like people to realise that when we send our children as Jews off to school in the morning there are thousands of parents who wonder what kind of world we let our children go into and whether they will come home safe.

"I hope the general public will now show open support for the Jewish community, by reaching, speaking out, and saying clearly this isn't the Britain we want for all our children."

A spokesperson for Hasmonean High School for Boys said: "At this challenging time we are working closely with all in our community and appropriate agencies to support our students' safety."

Community Security Trust (CST), a charity set up to protect British Jews from antisemitism, said the incident was reported to them and was being investigated by the Met Police.

A spokesperson for the force said enquiries were ongoing to establish the circumstances of the incident.

"We remain in close contact with the nearby school. At this stage, no arrests have been made," they added.

On Wednesday, the Met Police announced that a team of 100 additional officers would be deployed to protect London's Jewish communities.

The force said the new Community Protection Team would comprise of officers from neighbourhood policing, specialist protection and those with counter terrorism capabilities.

It comes as the number of antisemitic hate crimes recorded by the Met rose sharply last month, with 140 offences logged in April, compared with 98 in March and 67 in February.

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