Advocacy groups and social media accounts have launched public witness appeals following reports that a Jewish schoolboy was beaten outside Belsize Park station in northwest London last Friday.
The appeals state that the victim was attacked on his way home from Hasmonean Boys Middle School on Friday afternoon. According to notices circulated online, a pictured group of boys was allegedly involved in the assault. Some social media posts noted that the police were appealing for information.
In response to inquiries from The Jerusalem Post, both the Metropolitan Police and the British Transport Police stated they had no record of any report matching the incident or any active official police appeal.
Met has no record of police report
A media officer for the Metropolitan Police stated that after speaking with the duty inspector for Central North London, "the Met has no record of any report of this nature on the date and location you've given - so any appeal for information has not come from us."
A media officer for the Metropolitan Police said, after speaking with the duty inspector for Central North London, that “the Met has no record of any report of this nature on the date and location you’ve given – so any appeal for information has not come from us.”
Similarly, a media relations advisor for the British Transport Police stated, “I can’t see anything on our logs since Monday last week referring to an assault at Belsize Park, and cannot see that we’ve put out an appeal in relation.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism urged witnesses to come forward with information and direct any details to community channels. Hertfordshire Friends of Israel shared a public notice asking anyone who recognizes anyone pictured or who has information to send a private message, while advising the public not to approach anyone they believe may be involved.
The Jerusalem Post was contacted a day after the article was published, on Wednesday evening, by the Metropolitan Police, who told the Post they found the filed report after further investigation.
The police stated, “At around 13:30hrs on Friday, 4 September, police received reports of an assault on Haverstock Hill, Belsize Park. Officers quickly attended a nearby school and spoke with a teenage boy, who reported that he had been assaulted by two other boys. The incident is currently being investigated as a hate crime, and inquiries are ongoing. The Met does not tolerate antisemitic behavior and remains committed to tackling all forms of hate crime and supporting those affected by it. Anyone with any information that may assist police is urged to call 101 quoting CAD3541/04SEP.”