2 Schoolgirls Arrested After Jewish Woman Robbed and Assaulted in London

Metropolitan police officers are seen patrolling the ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in Stamford Hill, north London on Oct. 13, 2023. Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images

Two schoolgirls have been arrested after a young Jewish woman was robbed and assaulted in Stamford Hill, an area of north London which has a large Orthodox Jewish community.

The Metropolitan Police said the 20-year-old woman was approached on Rostrevor Avenue at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon and was punched by two females who stole her handbag before running off toward the A10 road.

The woman, who is from the Orthodox Jewish community, was left bruised and shocked but did not need hospital treatment.

The Met said it was being treated as a “possible hate crime” amid a surge in anti-Semitic incidents which followed the Hamas attacks on civilians on Oct. 7 and the military response by Israel which has led to the deaths of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip.

Footage of the incident was circulated online last week after it was shared by a neighbourhood watch group on X, formerly known as Twitter.

CCTV footage close to the scene of the attack suggested the attackers, who were both black, were wearing school uniforms, and detectives have been working with schools in north London in an attempt to identify the pair.

The Met said two girls, aged 13 and 14 and from the London Borough of Haringey, had been arrested on suspicion of robbery on Sunday.

Detective Sergeant Asli Benson, who has led the investigation, said: “This was a terrifying incident for the young woman who was attacked. We will continue to ensure she has the right support. Officers have been pursuing all available lines of enquiry since the incident, and these arrests are a very positive development.”

‘It Would Have Been Obvious she was Jewish’

She said: “The victim is from the Orthodox Jewish community. It would have been obvious from her appearance that she was Jewish, and there has been significant concern that she was targeted for that reason.”

“In the current climate, when fears and uncertainty in the wider Jewish community are heightened following the terror attacks in Israel and the subsequent rise in antisemitic hate crime here in London, these concerns are entirely understandable,” added Det. Sgt. Benson.

“While we are keeping an open mind as to the motive behind the incident and will continue to explore all avenues, we are treating this as a possible hate crime,” she added.

Last week the home affairs committee was told the upsurge in anti-Semitic incidents as a result of the Israel-Hamas war had had an “absolutely profound” impact on the British Jewish community.

Dave Rich, from the Community Safety Trust, said many Jews were scared to come into central London as a result of pro-Palestinian protests and added, “Of course, this has happened at a time when there is an unprecedented spike in anti-Jewish hate crime happening across the country, and also very much in London that is still ongoing.”

The committee was told by Gideon Falter, the chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, that 69 percent of British Jews said, in a survey, they were less likely now to show visible signs of their Judaism since Oct. 7.