Five Jewish sites in Golders Green have had excrement smeared or thrown onto their buildings over the past two weeks by what appears to be the same vandal, according to Jewish neighborhood watch group Shomrim North West London and the Metropolitan Police, with the latest incident occurring on Sunday.
A suspect approached a Jewish school, according to the Met, and threw a “liquid” onto the building. Jewish News reported that the liquid was urine. Police are investigating the incident and preceding events as religiously motivated criminal damage.
Shomrim said on X/Twitter on Monday that police made their presence visible at the school, and the institution also took additional precautions to ensure there was no threat to the students.
The same vandal was suspected by Shomrim to have been responsible for four other incidents involving excrement flung at Jewish sites in North London, including a synagogue defacement the day before.
The Met and Shomrim said that feces had been smeared on two synagogues and a private residence on August 31, September 3, and September 4.
Police were first made aware of the crime spree on Wednesday last week, when a synagogue was defaced. Jewish News reported that feces had been smeared on the walls and the door security buzzer.
However, Shomrim announced on Tuesday that it had discovered that another synagogue had been defaced with excrement last Tuesday by the same suspect.
Five attacks in just over a week
“With five confirmed attacks in just over a week, it is clear that this is a deliberate and targeted campaign of antisemitic hate,” Shomrim said on social media. “Synagogues, a school, and even a passageway used by worshipers have now all been defiled. Our community will not be intimidated, and Shomrim is working hand-in-hand with the police to ensure this individual is caught and brought to justice.”
Met North West Command Unit team leader Detective Superintendent Tony Bellis said that the crimes were “revolting and appalling” and urged the public to help authorities in finding those responsible.
“We are very aware of how distressing this must have been for those who use the synagogues. We will not tolerate this kind of behavior,” he said. “We are actively engaging with the local community and remain in discussions with community partners and key stakeholders to provide reassurance and support.”
Finchley and Golders Green MP Sarah Sackman assured that she was working closely with the police to find the vandal responsible and that antisemitism and hate would not be tolerated in the community. She had visited one of the synagogues on Sunday night to offer her solidarity, she said in a Monday statement, and was sickened to learn of the primary school incident.
“The vast majority of people in Golders Green live side-by-side with mutual respect,” Sackman said. “We will not let hatred win.”
The Jewish Leadership Council responded to the September 3 feces-smearing of a synagogue by calling for “those responsible for this disgusting attack” to “face the full force of the law.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said on X that the Wednesday incident was indicative of the state of Britain.
“This is utterly disgusting in more ways than one,” said the CAA. “Imagine being Jewish and going to attend morning prayers, only to find out that your place of worship has been desecrated in this way.’
In an unrelated antisemitic incident on Tuesday, a man shouting antisemitic abuse was detained by Shomrim and later arrested by police. Shomrim did not believe the incident was connected to the synagogue incidents but still represented the sixth antisemitic incident in the area in just over a week.
“Whether verbal abuse on the street or desecration of synagogues, it is all part of the same hatred that our community faces,” Shomrim wrote on X.