The London Jewish community was rocked by what appeared to be
an anti-Semitic hate crime, after doorways of several Jewish homes
in Stamford Hill were smeared with blood in the shape of a cross.
The neighborhood in North London boasts a 15,000 strong Chasidic community. Local police are investigating the incident in which three homes were daubed with what appeared to be a cross drawn in blood, according to a Daily Mail report.
No arrests have been made concerning this incident, but police say they believe the culprit could be a local resident with ‘mental health’ issues.
Shomrim Stamford Hill tweeted about the attack on Sunday, writing: ‘Hate Crime and Antisemitism 2am, several Jewish houses had crosses daubed onto their homes, offender appears to have used blood.”
Three homes were left with the mark on the doors of their home, the Metropolitain Police confirmed. Police hope to locate the offender through DNA samples and closed circ
The President of Shomrim, Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE said that: ‘This attack bears similarities and invokes comparisons with actions by the KKK.
‘It has a deep and profound meaning – the smearing of blood in this manner is deeply troubling for our community and invokes traumatic memories of pogroms and murders.
‘When a person chooses to specifically place these daubing’s on three Jewish homes, he is probably aware of its traumatic effect.’
One Stamford Hill resident said: ‘Some guy was knocking on doors in the middle of the night.
‘No one answered, they didn’t take notice. The next morning there was real blood on the wall like a cross, drawn from real blood.’
The resident added that no one saw the culprit and it is unknown if it was an individual or a group.
The Shomrim spokesman added: ‘The families involved are shocked to wake up to find a cross drawn in blood.
‘As a whole, the community has seen a sustained growth in antisemitic hate crime over the last few years.
‘Shomrim are supporting the victims and have asked police to take DNA samples of the blood before it is removed.
‘The homes targeted all had a prominent Mezuzah and the crosses were daubed onto the homes near the Mezuzah.’
Rabbi Gluck added: ‘Over the past four months, antisemitic attacks have risen exponentially and there hasn’t been any proportionate and resolute action by the
police to counter this.
‘This feeds into the racist mindset that Jews are a soft target, which is of profound
concern to us.’
The Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘On the evening of Sunday, 10 January police were informed that during the previous night, small crosses had been daubed on the walls of three homes in Portland Avenue, Stoke Newington.’
‘Officers attended to speak to the residents of the three properties and ascertained that the person believed to be responsible was a local resident who is well known to people in the area but who suffers with mental ill health.’
‘Local officers have been made aware and will ensure that the incident is addressed in the most appropriate way.’
(Vosizneias).