A pair of thugs filmed themselves blaring a Hezbollah battle song from their car at children outside a Jewish school in Hendon, north London, as they laughed hysterically.
They posted the video to TikTok with the caption: “Drove past the Zionist school on full blast.”
A pair of thugs have filmed themselves blasting a Hezbollah battle song at Jewish children outside a school in Hendon pic.twitter.com/A8ibzjdC3B
— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) May 5, 2023
The song is the soundtrack to a 2020 video disseminated by Hezbollah’s media propaganda unit. The footage shows ranks of militants performing the Hitler salute.
The lyrics, translated from Arabic by the JC, state that terrorists from the Iran-funded group fighters “are immortalised by blood,” adding: “We are Hezbollah… we will not accept humiliation or compromise”.
The men, whose identities remain unknown, can be heard laughing and clapping while filming the bewildered-looking children, some of whom are wearing kippot and holding Israeli flags.
In response to the video, a TikTok user with the name “I hate kikes” wrote: “Why not run them over? You missed the opportunity.” A second added: “Ah my brother I know exactly where you are and what the school is around that corner! That’s brilliant what you did!!!”
Others suggested that next time, they should “use Hitler song” or “play the Hamas album”.
In addition to the Hitler salute, the video shows scenes of combat and the funerals of Hezbollah “martyrs”. It was originally shared by a Twitter account that promoted material linked to the terror group.
The original song, released by the Hamas propaganda unit has a video in which fighters perform a nazi salute.
— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) May 5, 2023
The lyrics state that the terrorists “are immortalised by blood,” adding: “We are Hezbollah… we will not accept humiliation or compromise”. pic.twitter.com/RzW71nFti8
Hezbollah has been proscribed as a terrorist entity in Britain since 2019, meaning that it is an offence to show support or promote the organisation in public.
The incident took place on April 26, Israel’s Independence Day, on the corner of Green Lane and Brent Street, between Hasmonean Primary School and the Independent Jewish Day School.
It is now being investigated by the Community Security Trust (CST) and the Metropolitan Police.
A CST spokesman told the JC: “This appalling incident was reported to CST last week and we have been working closely with the police to gather evidence, both of the incident itself and the online hate that the video of the abuse has stirred up.
“We would ask anyone who witnessed this incident to come forward and contact CST or the police to assist with the investigation.”
The JC understands that among the evidence being examined by investigators is CCTV footage taken outside the school during the attack.
Lord Carlile KC, the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said the police must investigate the incident with the utmost urgency.
He told the JC: “It’s appalling that this has happened as we approach the coronation of King Charles – and the very opposite of the cohesion between communities that it embodies.”
The educational charity Stand With Us UK drew attention to the incident on their website and on Twitter.
“It is NOT normal for Jewish schoolchildren to be targeted and bullied because of their identity,” it wrote. “However, it is a sad reality that many Jewish individuals and communities in the UK and around the world face.
“Antisemitic individuals are no longer hesitant to display their hate out in the open. It is unacceptable for any group of people to fear being targeted, physically, emotionally, or mentally, because of their identity, whether in public or online.”
The incident is reminiscent of the convoy of vehicles that descended on Golders Green in 2021, which saw threats being screamed at Jewish passers-by that they would “f*** the Jews” and “rape their daughters”.
In an interview with the JC in March, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said it was “outrageous” that those responsible were not brought to justice, blaming a police response that “just wasn’t quick enough” because officers treated antisemitism as “racism lite”.
However, she declined to comment on the playing of the Hezbollah song in Hendon, saying this might prejudice the ongoing investigation.
There were 93 antisemitic hate crimes in London during the first two months of 2023, according to data collected by the Metropolitan Police.
In its annual report in February, the CST said an increasing proportion of incidents target children, with 15 per cent of victims being under the age of 18. Conversely, 20 per cent of offenders were minors themselves.
Last year, the Home Office reported that Jews were the victim of nearly a quarter of all religious hate crimes in the UK, despite making up less than one per cent of the population.
Between March 2021 and March 2022, there were 1,919 hate crimes targeting Jews, an increase of 49 per cent from the previous year.
