Racist graffiti on café

8:00am Saturday 22nd November 2008

RACIST vandals have targeted a kosher cafe in Hendon and etched anti-Semitic graffiti on the outside walls.

The “disgusting” attack on the building in Hendon Park was carried out on Monday night and discovered by the park warden the following morning.

“I was very shocked and disappointed. I was gutted. We have had graffiti but nothing anti-Semitic.

Café owner, Jason Ezekiel

The words “dirty Jews” and the image of a gun containing the word “kill” were scratched into the brickwork, along with Nazi Swastika symbols.

Café owner, Jason Ezekiel, who opened the building in May, said: “I was very shocked and disappointed. I was gutted. We have had graffiti but nothing anti-Semitic.

“I opened the café to serve the Jewish community and other park users, and the last thing they want to see is something like this.”

The incident comes amid growing concern over the level of racist crime in the borough. In the 12 months leading up to the end of September this year, the number of racist crimes increased by 16 per cent compared with the same period in 2006/07, which represents a rise of 336 to 391.

Detective Inspector Alison Turner, of Barnet Police, said: “My team and I are working extremely hard to tackle incidents of racist crime wherever we find them.

“There is no doubt that a factor in the perceived increase in racist crime in Barnet is down to better community links being established through our Safer Neighbourhood teams (SNT), making victims feel more comfortable in reporting incidents, but we are not complacent and continue to work hard throughout all communities in Barnet to stamp out these crimes.”

Police Constable Sandy Marwick of the West Hendon SNT, said the graffiti attack was not a cause for great concern. He said: “It is disgusting and it is going to cause a lot of disturbance in the community, although it is not a sign of any trend.”

Community Security Trust (CST) works with the police and residents to protect the Jewish community and monitors anti-Semitic incidents.

Trust spokesman Mark Gardner said: “This is a café that is popular with many Jews and non-Jews and it is very disturbing to see this kind of intimidating and racial hatred.

“Most people will recognise it with sadness rather than being frightened by it, but there is no doubt it does intimidate people and is totally distasteful and disgusting.

“It is important victims of anti-Semitic crime come forward so we can work with the police to ensure we do our utmost to stamp out these types of attacks.”

The graffiti was painted over on Tuesday afternoon by the park warden, and a council spokesman said any form of racial, religious or ethnic discrimination was “strongly condemned”.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0300 123 1212 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.