Victims of the Oxford Street bus attack have returned one year on to the site where a gang of thugs hurled abuse, obscene gestures and a shopping basket at them as they celebrated Chanukah.

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The victims of last year's Chanukah attack return to celebrate on Oxford Street (Marc Morris)

On November 29, 2021, a Chabad-organised Chanukah tour stopped outside Oxford Street Primark.

The group of around 40 British and Israeli revellers began playing music and dancing when a group of four men approached.

The yobs quickly became aggressive and started shouting “free Palestine” and making obscene gestures.

Video has emerged of a group of men spitting at a bus full of Jewish teenagers in Oxford Street where the group were celebrating the first night of Chanukah. pic.twitter.com/orOrA9kJEu

— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) December 1, 2021

When the Jewish group retreated into the open-top bus, the men began shouting profanities, spitting at the bus, and banging on the windows with their shoes. 

And now, a year later, the teens have returned in a defiant show of strength, to celebrate Chanukah once again.

The victims of last year’s Chanukah Oxford street attack have returned to the scene to celebrate Chanukah once again. pic.twitter.com/32TYjfopKT

— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) December 21, 2022

Rabbi Glitsenstein, who organised both last year's event said: "My feeling is that London is open to everyone, everyone can be proud of his nation.

"I give thanks to everyone who was involved in organising this event. We want to spread the light of pure happiness, we pray it will spread to everyone who needs it."

Devorah Bloom, and her son Michael chose to attend this year, though they were not present during the 2021 attack.

She said: "We want to show the world the light of Judaism, can be a light to anybody and anyone can join in. Just because of some crazy people, we’re not going to stop celebrating Chanukah."

Rabbi Yisroel Lew, of Bloomsbury Chabad, who organised the event told the JC: “There are two ideas [about why we’re attending].

"One general idea is that Chanukah is about shining a light in busy places with lots of Jews and non-Jews. Specifically, we are here because we don’t do protests, we just being light. We want to bring love, unity and light.

“We want to show that London is safe and welcoming. I don’t think [last year’s attack] has put Jews off celebrating Chanukah in public. There have been lots of these gatherings, Jewish people want to express their identity.”

Asher Bnaim, who was on the bus when it was attacked last year, said: “It feels like nothing bad should happen this year.

"Generally when we have correct security, social services, the police and Chabad it it really helps... We’re just trying to have a good Chanukah.”

Joanne, who did not wish to provide her surname and was also a victim of last year's attack, said, "we should be able to celebrate our festival without feeling threatened."

In a statement released last year after the attack, Rabbi Glitsenstein said: “We were attacked on the streets of London for being Jewish and celebrating Chanukah. While our bus contained no references to Israel, we were clearly a Jewish group. 

“The young men who surrounded us were not engaged in political protest; this was a bigoted antisemitic attack in the heart of London.”

Despite a Met police investigation into the alleged hate crime, no suspects have ever been identified.

In October of this year, the police announced that they had dropped the case, citing a lack of resources.

The BBC's coverage of the attack sparked widespread concern in the Jewish community after they asserted that the children had made Islamophobic comments before their attack.

After an Ofcom investigation, the BBC eventually issued an apology for its coverage earlier this year.

The JC, alongside the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and the Jewish News, is offering a joint £30,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for the Oxford Street incident.

Earlier this week, at the Trafalgar Square menorah lighting, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that he was “disappointed" that police inquiries did not lead to a prosecution and appealed for the public to share more information.