London Underground Image by Tony Shaw Photography/iStock

By Aiden Pink November 22, 2019

A Jewish family riding on the London Underground was accosted by a man yelling anti-Semitic language – but was defended by a Muslim woman also riding on the train, video posted to social media Friday showed.

The footage, posted by British author and filmmaker Chris Atkins, showed a Jewish man wearing a kippah comforting two young kippah-wearing children as another man preached loudly at them about how they were part of the “Synagogue of Satan.” The preacher, using obscenities, also threatened to “smack” another person on the train who got too close to him. A woman wearing a hijab then told him off about his language, ignoring the preacher’s criticisms of her for wearing trousers.

The video of the incident has over one million views.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Around noon I witnessed appalling anti Semitic abuse towards this Jewish Family on the northern line. Fair play to other passengers who stood up to him. If you recognise the guy please report to ⁦@metpoliceuk⁩ pic.twitter.com/YxzwAnDqTJ

— Chris Atkins (@scatatkins) November 22, 2019

This is the second time in the last three months that footage of British Jews being subjected to anti-Semitism on British public transport has gone viral. In September, a Hasidic couple riding the Manchester light rail was harassed by a man complaining about Israel’s treatment of Gaza. There, too, fellow riders criticized the man accosting the Jews.

Britain saw a record number of anti-Semitic incidents in the first half of 2019, the Community Security Trust, the British anti-Semitism watchdog organization, reported in August.

Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount