A man who hurled antisemitic abuse at Jewish travellers on a packed London bus has been jailed.
Ian Campbell, 42, of Bowes Road, London N11, was handed a 16-week prison sentence for a racially aggravated public order offence.
He also received a 4-week sentence for a separate theft offence.
The abuse was reported in September by JC journalist Rosa Doherty, who saw Campbell shout "get the Jews off the bus, all they do is f*** us" on a packed 102 bus travelling through Golders Green.
Jewish schoolchildren were on board at the time.
He threatened to "burn the bus" and "the Jews" before getting off, only to be let on for a second time by the driver.
After exiting the bus, Campbell was heard shouting “long live Palestine and long live Gaza” along Temple Fortune road.
The police were called but said they were unable to attend unless the bus driver stopped, which he refused to do.
Police were later able to identify Campbell using CCTV footage.
Campbell pleaded guilty to the offence on October 9 at Hendon Magistrates’ Court and was sentenced on the 31.
When sentencing Campbell Judge Mark Jabbit said: “The 102 bus is a popular bus with many Jewish people, including children. Many Jewish people live in that area and you plainly knew that.
“You used grossly abusive and offensive language. You clearly caused alarm and distress and regrettably I don’t think this conduct is particularly unusual.
“This time there was Ms Doherty who wasn’t prepared to let you get away with it and she should be commended for that.”
Steve Burton, TfL’s director of enforcement, said: “All of our customers deserve to use our services without fear of being abused.
"Offensive behaviour like this will not be tolerated. This was an appalling incident and we are pleased to see the offender jailed for his crimes.
“We will continue to work closely with the Metropolitan Police Service to ensure every journey on our bus network is safe, secure and reliable.”
Chief superintendent Matt Bell, Roads and Transport Policing Command said: "The Roads and Transport Policing Command are committed to keeping London's transport network safe and this sentence sends a strong message that this type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and will result in tough penalties.
"If you do encounter this type of incident, we encourage you to report it to police."
Vice president of the Board of Deputies, Jonathan Arkush, said: “The sentence sends the right message to would-be racists and helps to reassure our community, which stands united in its condemnation of antisemitism in whatever form it takes.”
The court heard Campbell suffered from alcohol and mental health problems and told police he had watched The Passion of the Christ film which had “changed his views on Jews”.
