London schoolboys arrested for alleged anti-Semitic chants

According to Telegraph, arrest followed a complaint by a Jewish teacher who had seen the chants against him on a YouTube video.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
uniform 88 (photo credit: )
uniform 88
(photo credit: )
Eight British schoolboys have been arrested for allegedly shouting anti-Semitic chants at their Jewish teacher, the Telegraph reported over the weekend. The pupils, aged 15 and 16, were reportedly directing the chant at David Appleman, a technology teacher at Chauncy School in Ware, Hertfordshire. According to the Telegraph Web site, officers from the Hertfordshire Police arrested the boys at the school following a complaint by Appleman, who had seen the chants on a YouTube video. Dennis O'Sullivan, the school's head teacher, immediately criticized the police's move, saying that the chants of "Yid Army" seen on YouTube were merely a copy of Tottenham Hotspur supporters' affectionate chants at FA Premier League games. O'Sullivan expressed outrage at the arrests and said he wondered whether police would go to Tottenham's White Hart Lane field and carry out mass arrests there. "David is seen on the video looking delighted, smiling and shaking hands with the boys," he told the Telegraph. "At one point, someone can be heard calling out 'Yid Army' twice. We have Spurs supporters chanting 'Yiddo! Yiddo!' about themselves at matches. I wonder if we will see the police making arrests at the next home match." Supporters at games frequently use the chant in a friendly reference to the club's large Jewish fan base. The pupils, who allegedly made the remarks at a farewell party for Appleman, have reportedly been released on bail. A Hertfordshire Police spokesman was quoted as saying: "We take allegations of this nature seriously and believe we acted accordingly and are conducting a thorough investigation into this incident."