Three Muslim YouTubers have filmed themselves standing in front of a billboard bearing the words “Did we not learn from the Holocaust?” while pushing Jews for their views on Israel.
The incident took place on Saturday last week in Golders Green, one of London's most heavily populated Jewish suburbs.
Ali Dawah, Mohammed Hijab and a self-described comedian who goes by the name of Smile2Jannah, targeted identifiable Jewish passers-by, asking them for their views on Israel and delivering speeches about “the killing of children” to their camera in the interim.
When Jewish members of the public refused to engage with the men, one of them said: “When people are being butchered in this way the least you should be able to do is have a conversation and provide your view. Why would you cross the road and not be willing to engage?”
Police were present at the scene and upon their arrival one of the YouTubers approached an officer and asked: “What’s the reason you came so fast - has there been kids blown up by bombs by Israel?”
The Community Security Trust also responded to the incident as part of its security operation on the day.
Between them, Mr Dawah, Mr Hijab and Smile2Jannah have more than 1.5 million subscribers.
All three men have now uploaded videos of themselves harassing the Jewish community to their respective YouTube channels.
The videos, which were uploaded yesterday, have already been watched by hundreds of thousands of people online.
Mr Hijab has previously been filmed at a pro-Palestinian rally yelling: “The difference between us and them is that for them they think life begins, for us we think believe that death begins. We believe that life begins at death, we don’t care about death, we love death.”
Dave Rich, Director of Policy at CST, told the JC: "CST security teams responded to this incident as part of our security operation that day, and our advice to the Jewish community is to remain vigilant and report any antisemitic incidents or suspicious activity immediately so that we can respond in real time.
"The decision by these bloggers to go to Golders Green on Shabbat with a giant screen showing pictures of the Holocaust is a disgusting and seemingly deliberate act of incitement that was inevitably going to alarm the community and stir up tensions. It’s the equivalent of Britain First going to Newham or Tower Hamlets and confronting Muslims on the streets there and we utterly condemn it.
"We have raised it with the Police and flagged the videos to YouTube because of their potential to cause serious harm to relations between Muslim and Jewish communities."
A spokersperon for the Metropolitan Police said: "Police are aware of a video circulating on social media of two men in Golders Green on Saturday, 22 May with a van displaying messages and images on a screen.
"Officers were called at approximately 19:28 hrs and engaged with those present. No offences were identified.
"We have since been made aware of concerns that have been brought to our attention from the community and will liaise with the appropriate partners. Local officers had already increased patrols in the area in response to recent community concerns and will continue to provide additional reassurance in coming days."
Responding to the incident, Mohammed Hijab told the JC: "We have good relationships with leaders of the orthodox Jewish community and have been unequivocal about our stance against antisemitism, as can be seen in the many videos we have done combatting antisemitism using our YouTube platforms...
"It should be noted that the van with the messages printed on them was taken to many locations, including the BBC studios and the Israeli embassy. The messaging was intended to demonstrate that just as the rest of the world watched on whilst Jewish people were brutally incinerated at the hands of fascists, so to it looks on whilst Arab Palestinians are brutally bombed in the most densely populated area in the world, which has been blocaded from all sides."
