London police are seeking a group of men seen on camera hurling antisemitic abuse at a busload of Jewish teens out to celebrate Hanukkah.
Footage of the Monday night incident, in which the men can be seen spitting, shouting threats, and banging on the windows of the bus, drew outcry from Jewish groups and British politicians as it circulated on social media Wednesday.
“We are appalled by the horrifying footage of Jewish people targeted on Oxford Street,” the Board of Deputies of British Jews said in a statement. “We note that besides attempts to spit at them, at least one of the perpetrators appears to be performing a Nazi salute. We hope the police will swiftly identify and arrest those involved in this disgusting incident.”
The open-top bus carrying a Chabad group of British and Israeli Jews had stopped on Oxford street, the Jewish Chronicle reported, when some of the teens exited to sing and dance in the street. The assailants first began mocking the teens, and then became more aggressive as the group returned to the vehicle — later hitting the bus and its windows with their shoes and fists.
Met Police said officers were deployed at the time of the incident, and later spoke with the victims in Grosvenor Place, after the bus had left the scene to avoid further confrontation.
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