A Jewish man subjected to antisemitic abuse twice in an hour in central London was physically threatened because of his appearance, his family have said.
The man, named only as Yosef, was on his way home when he was subjected to a “torrent of abuse”, with threats made to his life.
Footage showed the researcher from north London travelling on a bus to Oxford Street just before midnight on 3 July when another passenger got up and began to verbally assault him.
Later the same evening while walking down an escalator at Oxford Circus tube station, he was subjected to further antisemitic abuse by another male.
Yosef’s brother, who asked not to be named, said Yosef had been targeted because he looked “obviously Jewish”, and said the offenders “were not concerned about the repercussions”.
The Metropolitan police, which said the victim was subjected to “a torrent of antisemitic abuse” while travelling on the bus, and British Transport Police have launched separate investigations into the incidents.
Yosef had been left traumatised, said his brother. “The bus incident happened when the suspect noticed my brother. There was no prior communication before they lashed out [at him]. It wasn’t just a mere verbal assault. He was very close to being physically attacked by this vicious assailant.”
The brother said the passenger leaned in close to Yosef’s face and tried to punch him but Yosef stopped him. “He [the other passenger] was shouting angrily ‘I’ll give you an uppercut, I’ll give you an uppercut’,” he said.
Yosef managed to “de-escalate” the situation by talking to the passenger but was still faced with “ugly racist remarks and death threats”, the brother added. The incident ended after the bus driver called the police, he said.
Yosef’s brother added: “It’s the fact that antisemites are willing to do this when knowing there is CCTV means we’ve reached the level where they’re not concerned about repercussions.”
According to the brother, Yosef was wearing a hat and kippah that evening.
Footage from the first incident showed the passenger calling Yosef a “fucking Jewish dude” and then getting off the bus and banging on the doors.
No arrests have been made over either of the incidents and inquiries are continuing.
Last month a charity that monitors antisemitism and provides security for British Jewish groups reported a “horrific surge” in racist attacks, which campaigners said surpassed anything they had seen before.
The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 351 antisemitic incidents between 8 and 31 May, more than for any single month since records began in 1986.
The CST said the rise was fuelled by antisemitic reactions to the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza. It called the situation “utterly predictable and completely disgraceful”.
The previous highest number of antisemitic incidents, 314, was recorded in July 2014, which also coincided with an escalation in violence in the Middle East.
Siwan Hayward, the director of compliance, policing operations and security at Transport for London, said: “We are appalled by the shocking incidents. All our customers have the right to travel without fear of abuse or intimidation, and hate crime has absolutely no place on our network.”
The Met police said: “Officers are aware of a video posted on social media following the incident and will be meeting the victim to gather further information about this incident.”
Any witnesses for the first incident are being urged to contact the Met on 101 and quote 8333/3July, and witnesses for the second incident should call British Transport Police on 0800 405040 or text 61016 quoting ref 90 of 4 July 2021.