Jewish building inspector subjected to 'utterly abhorrent' antisemitic attack in Slough claims it's not safe 'go around as a visible Jew' in Britain

By NICOLE LAMPERT and FRANCINE WOLFISZ, NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:19, 24 April 2026 | Updated: 00:19, 24 April 2026 An Orthodox man who filmed a stranger assaulting him and calling him a 'dirty motherf***** Jew' has claimed it is no longer safe to 'go around as a visible Jew' in today's Britain.  The 30-year-old father-of-two, who has asked not to be named, says he is still shaken by the sickening attack in Slough, Berkshire, on Monday. It comes just weeks after four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity were blown up by arsonists close to his home in Golders Green, north London, alongside a spate of attacks on Jewish properties across the capital.  Footage capturing the horrifying ordeal shows the victim, who was standing outside a property while carrying out work as a building inspector, being subjected to a torrent of racial slurs, including that he was a 'baby killer'. At one point, the attacker threatened the man with physical violence, saying 'I'll break your f****** jaw' before accusing the man of 'killing kids in Palestine'. Shockingly, a passerby can also be heard shouting from his car encouraging the assailant to physically attack his Jewish victim.  Heartbreakingly, the victim revealed that even while he was being attacked, he was berating himself for being so obviously 'a visible Jew' and not doing more to make himself less of a target. He has since decided to remove his kippah when he is outside Jewish areas.  An Orthodox man who filmed a stranger assaulting him and calling him a 'dirty motherf***** Jew' has claimed it is no longer safe to 'go around as a visible Jew' in today's Britain The attacker threatened the man with physical violence, saying 'I'll break your f****** jaw' before accusing the man of 'killing kids in Palestine' Speaking to Daily Mail, the victim - who checks properties are fit to be rented out - was looking over a house in Elliman Avenue and had his back to the street when he heard a man on a bicycle shout at him: 'Dirty Jew'. As he was already using his phone camera, he started recording the man who proceeded to accuse him of 'killing kids in Palestine' before warning, 'I'll break your f***** jaw, you dirty little mother f*cker.'  The video also showed him repeatedly lashing out at the phone. He said: 'I was minding my own business, facing the house, taking pictures but being very visibly Jewish as I had on a kippah. I heard him shout out 'dirty Jew' as he rode nearer on his bike. I turned around and saw him coming back towards me, so I pressed record on the phone. 'He said his stuff and then it looked like he was about to leave – he'd done his bit. I think he felt satisfied - but then a car drove past, shouting something that appeared to encourage him. 'At that point, I could see the rage in his eyes. It felt like if he had a knife he could have seriously hurt me.' A Good Samaritan tried to intervene, but struggled to get the aggressor away. It was only when a neighbour shouted from her window that she was going to call the police that the cyclist – calling her a 'Zionist b*tch' - eventually left. 'I'm still trying to digest everything,' says the Jewish man, whose paternal family escaped Nazi Germany to find a safe home in the UK.  'While this guy was standing over me, I was berating myself and asking: "What were you thinking?".  'Only a couple of days before, I'd switched on my phone and seen there had been yet another attack on a synagogue. And I'd heard the ambulances blow up, seen the plumes of smoke. So they all felt very close.  'But even though I knew it was not safe, I would think, "they are not going to come after you. No one is going to jail for attacking you. You are not important enough."  'We live in our cocoons where we try and pretend things are safe, we kid ourselves they are, when actually they are not. 'And then this happened. I was telling myself off for being irresponsible for going around as a visible Jew and thinking that I would be OK.' After the cyclist left, the victim contemplated whether he should call the police and says he was surprised at how they reacted. 'My first thought was, "I just need to get out of this area, I am not safe here," he said. 'I think many of us have a lack of faith in the institutions, that they will do anything.  'But when I called the police, they were extremely supportive. The lady on the phone was lovely and told me to stay on the line until someone came. 'The police were there in ten minutes – they said they'd done a couple of laps to find the guy. This response felt like the Britain I know and love. One where people are supportive and compassionate. 'We are a tolerant nation, one that has been very kind to the Jewish people. I think British people will accept anyone who abides by British values and becomes part of the society. But I think a line has been blurred over being too tolerant of extremism.  'We are tolerating intolerance and no-one seems to be sticking up for our values, for who we are as Brits.' The man says that as a visible Jew, like many within his community, he has long become used to having racial slurs thrown at him. But after the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023 things felt immediately more dangerous. 'It used to be 'f****** Jew' or 'dirty Jew' and you get used to it. I used to think that after they had shouted their abuse, they would just move on. I had a strange sense of safety because I felt that no-one was going to actually get themselves into trouble just to hit a random Jew. 'But we have seen a growing amount of violence. People shout "baby killers" at us and its much more frequent.  'And it is just a few days since a boy pleaded guilty to an arson attack on a synagogue and was granted bail. You wonder how that can happen.' He was so shaken by the attack that he took him several hours to tell his wife. And he has kept it from his daughters, who are aged five and seven. 'The kids know about the ambulance fire – but only that bad people had done a bad thing. I didn't tell them that it was an attack on Jews.  'They will learn about this all soon enough when they grow up. I don't know how we explain all of this to them.' Since the attack he has been back at work, and has returned to the site in Slough, but is now conscious to remove his kippah when outdoors.  'There is now an avoidance of being too visibly Jewish,' he says.  He has also looked into self-defence lessons and is increasingly wondering whether he should move his family to Israel. 'Britain has always been my home and I have been happy here. This is where I grew up, where I am from. But now I am considering whether it is a place I can stay.' On Thursday there was widespread outrage over the incident, with Campaign Against Antisemitism calling it 'Jewish-hatred without disguise'. It said: 'Jews going about their daily lives are not safe from being subjected to vile assault and violent threats. This is simply untenable for Jewish life in Britain.' Community Security Trust (CST) a charity which protects the Jewish community, called the attack 'utterly abhorrent', while a Rabbi who knows the victim revealed he now feared for his safety. Thames Valley Police confirmed on Thursday that a 48-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of racially/religiously aggravated assault and racially/religiously aggravated public order and is in police custody. Rabbi Levi Schapiro, who knows the victim, told Daily Mail the Jewish man has been left fearing another attack. He said: 'He's hiding [his identity]. He's scared. Can you imagine?  'We have a keyboard warrior government. All they're doing is putting out tweets and statements, but no amount of tweets will actually deal with the issue.  'Our politicians and the police need to start taking this seriously. People have to know [the culprits] will be arrested and actually jailed.  'All that happens is, even if they are arrested, they are out in a couple of hours. They don't get charged, they don't get prosecuted.  'This is [our] new norm. It's happening to people in the Jewish community across the country. We are getting used to it.  'There are copycat attacks and people can see the Government is not interested in taking a muscular approach to this new antisemitism. 'We have seen in the last few years verbal attacks and spitting have become more violent. [Now] there's arson attacks, physical attacks. The government has to realise what they have done so far has not had any impact whatsoever in dealing with the core issue. It keeps the community awake at night.' As a member of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in north London, he added that the victim was particularly vulnerable. 'We are visible. We are so easy to be identified. When I leave Stamford Hill I am looking over my shoulder, thinking, who is behind me, who is in front of me.  'We're worried, we're scared. I can't hide my identity. I'm Jewish. And why should I hide my identity in Britain in 2026?' Thames Valley Police moved to reassure the Jewish community following the attack. Investigating officer Detective Inspector Terry Dixon, of the Berkshire East Priority Crime Team, said: 'We know this incident will cause a great deal of concern within our Jewish communities, I would like to reassure you that we are progressing this investigation as a priority. 'We urge anyone who was in the area at the time and saw what happened to please get in touch with us if you haven't already. 'Antisemitic incidents, or indeed any hate-related incident reported in the Thames Valley, will not be tolerated by police and we will do everything in our power to bring those responsible to justice. 'At the current time, we have not received any similar reports in the area. If you do witness or have been the victim of any similar incident, please do report it to police so we can investigate it.' Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 101, quoting reference 43260192511. Reacting to the footage, Alex Hearn from Labour Against Antisemitism said of the incident: 'This is the UK, where being Jewish is considered provocative. Where people chant 'violence is justified' on the streets, and then we see it played out.' Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: 'Sadly it seems the UK is becoming an intolerant and dangerous place just to walk around looking Jewish.  'Antisemitism has been normalised to the point that this man felt totally at ease abusing someone just because of their faith. This comes after a week of almost daily arson attacks on Jewish places of worship and charities.  'This hasn't happened in a vacuum. We've seen antisemitism growing largely uncontrolled for more than two years and now we are seeing alarming levels of hatred in our communities.'  Meanwhile, Labour MP for Slough Tan Desi called the incident 'heinous'. He said: 'I am horrified by the vile antisemitic incident shared online that occurred in Slough. 'No community should feel unsafe or targeted for who they are. Such heinous hate crimes must be condemned. 'I know this will understandably cause considerable concern among our Jewish community, particularly as antisemitic incidents rise across the UK. Thames Valley Police have informed us they are not seeing similar types of offences in Slough. 'I will continue to stand against any form of prejudice or racism. Antisemitism has no place in our society. 'My thoughts remain with the victim and the Jewish community.' The latest incident happened following a spate of attacks targeting Jewish premises in London. Pictured: Volunteer-led Jewish community ambulances were set alight in Golders Green The antisemitic attack took place just a day after a Jewish-owned shop in Lower High Street, Watford was targeted in a racially-aggravated attack. A fire door was set alight and antisemitic graffiti left on a building between 4.15pm and 4.20pm on Sunday. Hertfordshire Police said it was keep to trace a group of young men in the area at the time and called in an 'isolate incident' not connected to a spate of attacks that have targeted Jewish community venues over the last month.  At midnight on Sunday, a 'bottle with some sort of accelerant' was thrown through the window of a medical room at Kenton United Synagogue, in Harrow, causing smoke and minor damage to the premises. The incident was noticed by Met officers conducting security checks at local synagogues, who came across the scene.  A 17-year-old boy from Brent has since pleaded guilty to arson not endangering life and has been freed on bail conditions, including not to enter any synagogue. A 19-year-old man was also arrested after the attack and has been released on bail pending further inquiries. Last Friday, suspicious items - including two jars containing powder - were found near the Israeli embassy in West London, forcing Kensington Gardens to be closed off while detectives investigated. Police said the embassy was not attacked but officers are investigating whether the items were linked to a video posted by an Iran-linked Islamist group claiming to have targeted the building with drones carrying radioactive substances. A 39-year-old man had since been arrested in Ealing under the Terrorism Act.  Last Friday night, there was an attempted arson attack against the former offices of educational charity Jewish Futures, in Hendon, north-west London. Met Police said a man had approached the premises with a plastic bag containing what was later found to be three bottles containing 'fluid'.  Two days previously, balaclava-clad suspects threw a brick and two bottles, thought to contain petrol, at Finchley Reform Synagogue. A 47-year-old man and 46-year-old woman in Watford were arrested in connection with the incident.  Arsonists also targeted four Jewish community ambulances run by Hatzola - a volunteer-led service - in Golders Green, north London, on March 23. Forty firefighters and six fire engines rushed to Highfield Road, near the Machzike Hadath synagogue, at approximately 1.45am following the incident.  The firebombing caused gas canisters stored in the ambulances to explode, with the force from the blast causing windows to break in a block of flats close by. The synagogue, one of Europe's oldest, had its roof damaged and stained glass windows smashed in the fire. There were no injuries.  Over the last month, 23 people have been arrested in connection with these incidents. Pro-Iranian regime group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia - the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right - has claimed responsibility for the arson attacks, releasing video footage of the perpetrators shortly after each incident has taken place. Met Police is now investigating whether Iranian-linked criminal proxies - people being paid money to carry out a crime - are being used to commit the attacks. And on Monday, counter-terrorism police arrested seven people as part of a 'proactive investigation' into an alleged plot against a venue 'related to the Jewish community'. The intended venue or target has not however been revealed by police.  Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.