This is the shocking moment four men appeared to try and force a Jewish pedestrian into the boot of their car in North London.
Police have launched a probe into an alleged anti-Semitic hate crime after footage posted online showed the man appearing to be targeted by the group in Stamford Hill.
The men are seen parking and getting out their car before allegedly demanding their victim gets into the boot.
The Jewish man backs away from the men in the street while on the phone before one appears to jump towards him in a threatening manner.
Only when the Jewish man threatens to call the police do the men get back in their car and start driving away.
North London neighbourhood watch group Shomrim, which monitors areas with large Jewish communities, issued an alert about what they called an ‘attempted kidnap’ this afternoon.
The incident comes amid mounting concerns about anti-Semitic abuse in Britain, fuelled by the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict following the militant group’s terror attacks last October 7.
The clip was shared on X, accompanied by the words: ‘Jewish male threatened by 4 males who demanded he gets into the boot of their car.’
Shomrim said they and the Metropolitan Police were appealing for any information on and sightings of the car involved, a black VW T Cross with the licence plate number EA24 VXF.
The incident happened in Moundfield Road in Stamford Hill, near Tottenham in north London, an area with a significant Orthodox Jewish community.
Shromrim’s online post told the ‘incident ended when the victim said he was calling police and other vehicles approached’.
They appealed for anyone who can help to contact Hackney Police, using the crime reference CAD 3224 28/04/24.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘An investigation is underway after a reported kidnapping attempt of a male in Stamford Hill.
‘At around 17:24hrs on Friday, 26 April, the victim – a Jewish male – was walking on Moundfield Road, N16 when a car pulled up beside him and two males got out of the vehicle.
‘The victim was approached by one of the males and allegedly told the victim to get into the boot of the car, shortly before driving off.
‘The incident was reported to the police and an investigation was launched by officers based in Hackney.
‘We are aware of a video being shared online and this will form part of our enquiries. We are in contact with the Shomrim and our enquiries are ongoing. No arrest have been made at this time.
‘Anyone with information should call 101, giving the reference CAD 5836/26APR. Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.’
Horrified viewers responded online, with one saying: ‘That is absolutely terrifying.’
Another wrote: ‘He’s just a boy. How dare they treat people like that.’
Shomrim was also told: ‘That’s surely a crime but it looks more like idiots behaving like such more than a genuine attempted kidnap.’
The Mail On Sunday reported today how a Holocaust memorial was covered up in London’s Hyde Park for fear it could be targeted by vandals in a pro-Palestine demo.
Officials in Hyde Park yesterday hid Britain’s first public memorial to the 6million victims of the Nazi genocide under a blue tarpaulin in a move one Holocaust survivor called ‘shameful’.
The monument was then guarded by Metropolitan Police officers to stop it being targeted by pro-Palestine protesters who marched through London in protest against the war in Gaza.
Holocaust survivor Noemi Ebenstein, 82, urged the world to wake up to the scourge of anti-Semitism following another day of swastikas being waved through London.
On seeing the covered shrine, she said: ‘It is shameful. Seeing this, it feels like they are winning.
‘Those who are Jew haters, those who are Holocaust deniers, they are winning because we are afraid of them.
‘I just wish the Western world would stand up to these people, instead of running away, covering up monuments and being apologetic.’
Tory peer Lord Pickles, the UK’s special envoy on post-Holocaust issues, said the sight of the memorial wrapped in plastic sheeting ‘sends a terrible message to Jews in London and across the UK’.
Lord Pickles, who has been spearheading moves to get a national Holocaust memorial built next to the Houses of Parliament, said: ‘The sight of this precious memorial to the Holocaust being wrapped in plastic sheeting is truly shocking.
‘Have we become so cowed and fearful in this country that instead of expecting pro-Palestinian protesters to obey the law, we hide away the memorial to save it from vandalism?’
The outrage comes after Gideon Falter, who leads the Campaign Against Antisemitism, was threatened with arrest for appearing ‘openly Jewish’ at a pro-Palestine march last week.
He had planned to lead a counter protest with the CAA yesterday but called it off citing fears for the safety of Jewish participants.
Instead, just a few dozen counter-protesters gathered at Pall Mall where they were protected by rows of police as up to 200,000 pro-Palestinians marched past.
Officers arrested two men, one for holding a placard with a swastika on it and another for an alleged racist remark towards counter-protesters.
Police were also investigating other offensive signs, including one comparing Israelis to the Ku Klux Klan, and another stating that the media and Government are ‘controlled by Zionists’.
Nine in ten British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place, according to polling by the CAA.
Royal Parks said they liaised with the Met over protests and said: ‘The Hyde Park Holocaust memorial is routinely covered with tarpaulin during various events as a precautionary measure.’
The Met’s Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said before the march: ‘Our objectives this weekend are to protect the right to protest and to keep the peace.’
There have been regular marches in the capital condemning Israel’s attacks on Gaza in its response for the October 7 massacre by Hamas militants which killed 1,200 civilians with a further 235 taken hostage from southern Israel.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
