Koleinu calls out horrific attack on London Jewish woman

A young, pregnant Jewish woman walks down a London street without a care in the world. Behind her, a man strides purposefully, quickening his steps as he gets closer. As he reaches her, he takes out a bag or pillowcase that he throws over her head. He then punches her four times in the stomach, throwing his full weight behind each blow. The woman somehow breaks free and runs away, and then man runs off in the opposite direction.

It sounds like something out of a movie, but this scene played out on a London street on the evening of 18 March 2021, in the neighbourhood of Stamford Hill, which has a large Haredi population. The assault was captured on surveillance cameras, but local neighbourhood watch group Shomrim has since deleted the video from its Twitter feed, saying, “It’s a very violent attack, and can be triggering for many victims.”

The 20-year-old woman, who is about 28 weeks pregnant, was taken to hospital for treatment for minor injuries. A man in his late 50s has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, and is now in custody at an East London police station.

Rabbi Herschel Gluck, the president of Shomrim, said the woman was left “deeply traumatised”. He noted that “[The perpetrator] followed her for about a mile. In other words, it was clearly premeditated. It wasn’t an opportunistic incident.” The brother of the woman later told the Jewish Chronicle that “It was because she was Jewish. She was wearing a Jewish headscarf at the time.” He confirmed that she did not know her attacker, and he had followed her for almost 20 minutes before the attack.

Describing how over the past month, there have been seven similar assaults on women and girls in the area, Gluck said, “It has reached a new level of violence. It seems he wanted to kill her. It’s a very shocking picture.” He said the Jewish community was “deeply concerned”.

The attack comes just weeks after 33-year-old Sarah Everard disappeared in South London on the evening of 3 March. On 9 March, Metropolitan Police Officer Wayne Couzens was arrested on suspicion of Everard’s kidnapping and later her murder.

On 10 March, her remains were discovered in a woodland near Ashford, Kent. Couzens was charged with kidnapping and murder two days later.

South African organisation Koleinu SA, which supports victims of abuse in the Jewish community and runs education programmes to prevent it, said the attack on the pregnant woman was “a wake-up call that shows how vulnerable women are when they walk alone in cities all over the world”. The organisations’ founders, Rebbetzin Wendy Hendler and Rozanne Sack, said they were “shocked to see something so horrific and inexplicable”.

“Pregnant women are much more vulnerable and less able to defend themselves, as they have a baby to worry about,” Sack said. “That could be the reason he chose her as a target.

“We are desensitised as South Africans to violence against women as we are exposed to horrific acts of femicide on an almost daily basis. So it’s interesting that we are still shocked to see something like this. And not necessarily because she’s religious. As South Africans and Koleinu, we should be aware of the trauma and long-term consequences that such an incident can have on someone’s life, no matter who or where they are.”

Hendler notes that the man is full of rage, and said it was important to pinpoint why men were so angry, and why they would take out that rage on a woman.

“This incident is extreme,” she said. “But we see thousands of daily incidents of a violent nature – verbal and physical. It highlights its prevalence, and how many women live in fear. This video shows how violence against women happens in every community, country, and stream of religiosity.” She urges people to report any act of violence they witness or abuse they suspect. “We need to be brave enough to take a stand and hold others accountable.”

“The attack was totally frightening and just so awful, especially on a pregnant lady who was walking, minding her own business,” said 37-year-old Talya Zwiers, who emigrated to London in 2007. “Attacking her in broad daylight shows that we are all vulnerable, in spite of us thinking it’s safe to walk during the day.

“I left South Africa after my twin brother was hijacked and kidnapped, and as a result, lost all sense of safety and security in South Africa. I didn’t have the naïve belief that attacks and muggings don’t happen in London, but I most definitely went for a safer way of life, especially for my family,” she said.

“This attack left me feeling vulnerable, exposed, scared, and actually quite worried. It has made me aware that as women, we need to be constantly vigilant, aware of our surroundings, and cannot let our guard down. We cannot just walk carefree, unaware of who is behind us. I do feel much safer in London than I did in Johannesburg. I’m not on edge 24/7, but I have a heightened sense of awareness.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity, another South African Jewish woman in her 30s who emigrated to London in 2019 said, “Obviously the attack on the Jewish pregnant woman is shocking as in South Africa, we weren’t exposed to religiously-motivated attacks.

“It makes me more aware of not letting my son walk around in public with his tzitzit and kippah. Regarding Sarah Everard, this can happen anywhere. I haven’t really had a false sense of security coming from South Africa. I’ve always been overly cautious where possible.”

Another ex-South African woman who emigrated to London decades ago was shocked to hear of the attack as she hadn’t seen reports about it in the mainstream British press. “The volume of violent attacks against women is really overwhelming. Perhaps it’s because she ‘sustained light injury’ that it isn’t newsworthy. Last year, a mother and daughter were murdered in a park and it didn’t get the coverage that this most recent horrific murder [of Everard] received. The mother and daughter were black …”

The attack on the pregnant woman was condemned by Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy, who said on Twitter, “This hateful attack on a pregnant Jewish woman in Stamford Hill is absolutely gruesome. As a society, we have to do so much more to tackle antisemitism as well as violence against women.”

Also on Twitter, author Professor Kate Williams wrote, “The footage from the #StamfordHill attack is so distressing. She looks so happy, walking and swinging her handbag. And then he attacks her and her unborn baby in a despicable act of antisemitism. And we are still being told that attacks on women in the street are rare.”

“This seems to be yet another example of Orthodox Jews being physically and violently assaulted because of their Jewishness,” said educator and author Ben M. Freeman, whose recent book, Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People, aims to empower Jews to reject the “shame of antisemitism”.

“Orthodox Jewish communities regularly endure violent anti-Jewish racism,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to stand with them in solidarity, and to condemn the normalisation of violence against Jews.”