Teen Daughter of University of Surrey’s Jewish Chaplain Beaten, Left Bleeding for Hours in Park by Rachel Frommer
Teen Daughter of University of Surrey’s Jewish Chaplain Beaten, Left Bleeding for Hours in Park
The teenage daughter of the University of Surrey’s Jewish chaplain was allegedly beaten by an antisemitic gang and left bleeding in a park for two hours late last month after police failed to respond to an emergency call.
Hannah Goldberg — whose father is prominent community member Alexander Goldberg — was reportedly sitting in a public park with two friends on the Shabbat of May 27, when a group of five men approached them with comments like, “Hitler should have killed all you Jews when he had the chance” and “You should have all been gassed.” The men were also said to have used terms like “c*nt.”
According to Alexander Goldberg, the girls, who were identifiably Jewish in their modest skirts, had started to leave the area when one of the boys threw a basketball at Hannah’s face and kicked her in the chest, while another boy punched her in the face repeatedly.
Hannah’s friends approached a nearby postal worker for help, who in turn called the Metropolitan Police Service.
Officers never arrived and the girls eventually made it home.
The attack was detailed in a Facebook post this week by Alexander Goldberg, in which he wrote, “Proud of my daughter…for standing up to sexism, racism and religious abuse…for continuing to fight for the rights of others despite a viscous assault of her.”
He added that, “Both my daughter and I…shall be jointly writing to the Met Commissioner in light of the lack of police response,” and that he had published the story, with his daughter’s permission, “in the hope that the Met Police sort themselves out here.”
Goldberg, a lawyer, has served as chief executive of the London Jewish Forum and chair of the Faith Forum for London, as well as serving as Jewish chaplain to the 2012 London Olympic Games. He has also reportedly worked closely with police to develop standards in response to discriminatory acts.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) wrote in a statement that it was “appalled by the lack of a police response to a violent antisemitic assault on Jewish children.”
“This incident should have resulted in police officers attending within no more than eight minutes, and the failure of the Metropolitan Police Service to deploy must be investigated thoroughly and transparently,” wrote the CAA. Like the Goldbergs, the CAA said it will be writing to the police commissioner.
According to the CAA, the Metropolitan Police Service agreed to open an investigation, after Hannah’s father contacted Stamford Hill Shomrim — a volunteer Jewish security patrol — which in turn intervened with the police.
The Community Security Trust has also reportedly been in contact with the family.
Last month, a Jewish family enjoying a day at a Kent beach was allegedly abused by youths hurling stones and shouting “Jews.” An investigation into the attack has resulted in the arrest of two teenage males.
Meanwhile, this week in Manchester, two kosher restaurants sustained arson attacks. One of the eateries, Ta’am, was similarly hit last year. Those incidents are under investigation.
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