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Woman Arrested Following Antisemitic Insults, Spilled Fries, Alleged Assault at Kosher Cafe in London

Illustrative: Police officers block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in protest against Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

Police in central London arrested an unnamed woman, 32, on Thursday and began an investigation into a potential hate crime after she allegedly attacked employees and patrons at a Reubens Cafe and Bakery, a Kosher establishment, after yelling antisemitic statements.

In a statement, law enforcement described how the woman’s remarks “related to the conflict in the Middle East.” They suspected her of racially aggravated criminal damage and assaults before later releasing her on bail.

An X user with the name “Akiva” and the handle “@kivafein” shared a video of the encounter on Sunday which reached more than 100,000 views as on Monday, writing that “while sitting at a bakery in London, a friend of mine was assaulted in an antisemitic attack just for being Jewish and eating at a kosher bakery. This isn’t history. This is now. If you’re still pretending antisemitism isn’t real, just watch. Don’t look away. Don’t stay silent.”

The blurry, 1-minute and 20-second video starts from the perspective of the victim and shows the alleged attacker bellowing at her incoherently. The phone perspective rises from capturing the bowl of golden fries – or “chips” to use the local vernacular – on the table. The woman approaching has long brown hair, wears a dark gray baseball cap, black tank-top, and yells “terrorist” before flipping over the fries and smacking the phone down onto the ground.

The perspective shifts for 10 seconds to provide a view of the underside of the table before pink fingers emerge to pick up the phone and the victim continues filming her assailant who has walked over to another cafe table to loudly express her feelings about Jews. “She threw my phone on the floor, it’s broken,” the young woman behind the camera says in a British accent.

The view then returns to the suspect lecturing people at the other table, her words out of earshot. She jabs her finger in the air multiple times, pointing at people in the cafe. Then the woman suddenly points toward the camera and yells “I ask them!” She then shifts her attention back and swears at her interlocutors in the cafe with whom she had argued.

“In general, we couldn’t understand half the things she was saying,” Yael Isaac told Jewish News. “But at one point during her tantrum, I asked her, ‘What if I don’t support Israel?’ She said she didn’t care and that I was Jewish, so that’s all that mattered to her.”

Instagram creator Moriel Lee Shviki witnessed the attack and said, “Unfortunately, it took the police quite a long time to get there. She went on to harass a lot of other people.”

The UK-based watchdog group Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) shared the video and wrote, “Now it seems that they are freeing Palestine by throwing food over Jews at a kosher restaurant. Do you recognize our country anymore? Thuggery is commonplace and the people of the solidarity movements and anti-racism awareness initiatives have gone awfully quiet.”

CAA shared the statistic that “fewer than half of British Jews (43%) feel welcome in the UK” and asked, “With attacks like these, is it any wonder?” The group noted that “police have made an arrest and are reportedly treating this as a hate crime. Those responsible for any attack must face the full force of the law.”

Akiva followed up the video with a post where he praised the cafe staff, writing, “If you’re based in London or the area, please show love and support to Reubens Bakery. They made sure my friend and all those affected were comforted and safe. They called authorities right away and took care of the scene. They need and deserve the support.”

Reubens provides customers “a taste of NYC in the heat of LDN.” The menu offers a wide variety of bagel options and New York deli staples, while also listing London classics like fish and chips with tartar sauce for £24.

On Monday, meanwhile, the UK’s National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) shared a report with The Jerusalem Post which polled 138 Jewish teachers. The research showed that approximately 51 percent of respondents said they experienced antisemitism at school in the last year. Seventy-eight percent of those who reported such incidents said it occurred against them personally while 37 percent said they witnessed the hate and 38 percent heard about the abuse.

The Jewish teachers also revealed seeing swastika graffiti in schools (44 percent) and hearing Nazi-related comments (39 percent). Teachers working in secular schools experienced antisemitism more regularly (79 percent) compared to faith-based institutions (29 percent).

The post Woman Arrested Following Antisemitic Insults, Spilled Fries, Alleged Assault at Kosher Cafe in London first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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