The mother of an 11-year-old Jewish boy at Hasmonean High School for Boys who was assaulted at Belsize Park Tube station has said her family is now considering fleeing Britain following the shocking attack.
The woman, who spoke to MailOnline on the condition of anonymity, said that her son was now “struggling to sleep” and “deeply shaken” after being beaten up with his school friends in an incident currently being investigated by police as a hate crime.
She told MailOnline: “There's a lot of support being given by the British Transport Police and the school but my son is very shaken and he's struggling to sleep.”
“We love this country, and we participate and we contribute but now we're being singled out in exactly the same way as Jews were singled out in 1936 in Berlin.
“And for the first time in my life I am terrified of using the tube. What's going on?”
At around 4pm on Monday officers were called to the tube station over reports that Jewish children had been assaulted.
The Community Security Trust said that while no one was seriously injured, the incident was, “a threatening and distressing incident for those involved and a further example of the unacceptable levels of antisemitism in our country.”
Speaking to the Jewish News, a mother of one of the victims said: “They ran ahead of my son and kicked one of his friends to the ground. They were trying to push another kid onto the tracks. They got him as far the yellow line.
"I’m not sure how he managed to get away. My son ran a few steps up to try and get help. They ran after him, he was elbowed in the cheek and he hit his head against the wall.
"They dislodged a tooth and shouted ‘Get out of the city Jew!'”
The mother added: “The child who was being pushed was being taunted all the way from school and on the way to the tube.
"They followed him. My son is very shaken. He couldn’t sleep last night. He said ‘It’s not fair. Why do they do this to us’.
“I feel that encapsulates what antisemitism feels like. Why? What have we done?”
Reports circulating online that children had been pushed onto the train tracks were false, however, a Hasmonean staff member told the JC.
Claims on social media about the nature of the attack had been “greatly exaggerated,” they said, adding that the children are “absolutely fine now”.
The school is currently speaking to the victims and the police to discover what happened.
The alleged offenders are believed to be a group of children from another school.
There will be an extra police presence in the area in response, the CST said.
They added: “Our ongoing priority is to ensure that Jewish children can go about their daily lives free from harassment and anti-Jewish hatred.”
In a statement, the British Transport Police said: “Detectives are appealing for witnesses after an assault on a group of Jewish schoolchildren. The incident is being treated as a hate crime.
“Enquiries are ongoing to identify the offenders who are believed to be a group of children from another school.”
The CST recorded 4,103 antisemitic incidents in Britain in 2023 compared to just 1,662 the year before.
Following the October 7 attack, the charity’s director of policy, Dave Rich, said: "Normally it's a great city to be Jewish, but right now a lot of Jewish Londoners are not feeling that way."
