Anti-semitic Nazi slogans daubed on Stamford Hill bus stops

Police are investigating another incident of anti-semitic graffiti in the Stamford Hill area of Hackney.

Anti-semitic slurs, using Nazi language, were written on six bus stops along Manor Road and Lordship Park and were discovered on Saturday morning.

Superintendent Andy Port, of Hackney police said in a statement to Eastlondonlines: “Hate crimes of any nature will not be tolerated, and incidents such as this are taken very seriously. Officers have been conducting patrols in the area and continue to try to identify those responsible for this awful incident.”

The police are working closely with the Transport Safety Team local patrols to lead an investigation into the graffiti. Hackney police announced on Twitter were also appealing for witnesses in the neighbourhood in order to find those who drew the graffiti.

The police were alerted to the graffiti by the Shomrim of Stamford Hill, a volunteer-led neighbourhood watch group, founded by members of the North London Orthodox Jewish community.

The graffiti used Nazi references to aim hate towards the Jewish community in the borough, said Chaim Hochhauser, the supervisor of Shomrim of Stamford Hill, to ELL.

This graffiti is not an isolated incident and follows a trend of recent anti-Jewish offences in the district. During the summer, anti semitic slogans were painted on a map and a boat called ‘Shalom’ near the River Lea in Hackney. And last December, ELL reported, a rabbi was assaulted by two males in Stamford Hill, while they launched a tirade of anti-Semitic abuse at him. Two teenage boys were later found guilty of assault.

During this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day, the Rabbi Herschel Gluk, president of Stamford Hill’s Shomrim said: “What’s important to note is the perpetrators of these incidents generally come from outside Hackney… [they] are looking for trouble and have antipathy towards the Jewish community.”

According to Scotland Yard, Hackney experienced 93 anti-Semitic hate crimes in 2019, making it the London borough with the second highest anti-Semitic crime rate.

Hackney Councillor Sade Etti, said at the October National Hate Crime Awareness Week: “Our shared values of tolerance and inclusivity are what makes Hackney such a wonderful place to live in, work in and visit – and we will never allow these values to be eroded by hatred and discrimination.”

“Now more than ever, we need to come together to reiterate the clear message that Hackney is no place for hate.”

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