Police are probing a man’s "race-hate" rant on a packed train after Sunday's march against antisemitism in London.
A pro-Palestine activist was filmed hurling vile abuse at Israel supporters labelling them “killers” and “child molesters” on the Thameslink service to Luton on Sunday evening.
The altercation between West Hampstead and Mill Hill Broadway stations starts with him telling a man: “Wallahi (by Allah) on the holy Quran, I’ll smack you across your head.”
He adds to others returning from the rally organised by the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism: “Look at you, a bunch of Israel supporters.
“Look at this clown here, biggest clown here, why you got that flag on you?“
Several passengers, including the person recording the video, repeatedly ask why he is “starting” on them.
He records from his own phone before accusing the pro-Israelis of “supporting killers”, being “donkeys and retards” and brands them “child molesters”.
He then says: “Do you know who’s land you’re in?”
A crowd on the train start shouting “shame”, before he responds: “F*** all of you! Free Palestine.” A fight appears to break out and the man asks why he is being kicked.
British Transport Police said: “Detectives are investigating a racially aggravated incident on a Thameslink train from West Hampstead to Mill Hill Broadway yesterday, November 26, at around 5.30pm.”
Former prime minister Boris Johnson was among the high-profile figures joining the demonstration, a day after crowds also gathered in the capital to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.
Those who addressed the marchers included Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and immigration minister Robert Jenrick, as organisers claimed the pro-Palestinian rallies in recent weeks had made the capital a “no-go zone for Jews”.
The start of Sunday’s march saw English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, arrested by police after he tried to join marchers.
Organisers called the rally the largest gathering against antisemitism London had seen since the Battle of Cable Street in 1936, when hundreds of thousands of people blocked a planned march by Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists through an area populated by many Jewish families.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information is asked to please contact the British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 528 of 26 November 2023.
