A Jewish man was violently attacked in a north London supermarket by an assailant who said he wanted to “find a Jew to kill”.

The Metropolitan Police has released a CCTV image of a man they need to speak to following the violent assault in West Hampstead. 

The attack, which took place at 7.20pm on December 2, happened as the victim left West Hampstead Underground Station after work. His alleged attacker was desecrating a public menorah, erected to celebrate Chanukah, when he approached his victim and asked: “Are you Jewish?” 

He added: “I want to find a Jew to kill.”

The victim phoned the police but was told it did not warrant a priority response.   He fled to the nearby Marks and Spencer where his attacker, now wearing a face mask, followed him in shouting: “You are Jewish. I am going to kill you.”

The attacker then repeatedly punched the victim, including in the head, shouting: “I am not leaving until you are dead.” 

The victim tried to escape but was followed by the attacker, who shouted in Arabic and appeared to pull a knife, saying: “I will kill you now, you Jew.”  He then made a slit-throat gesture before leaving the shop. 

The assailant was described as being black and possibly of Somali ethnicity, aged between 25 and 30 and between 6’0” and 6’1” in height. He had a slender build and bad teeth, wore a dark green beanie hat, a dark puffer jacket with large pockets, dark trousers and no gloves. He wore a dark face mask when in the shop. He spoke in English, with a mixed East London and foreign accent, and spoke Arabic.

The Community Security Trust, which was called on the night of the assault by the victim, said despite the initially slow response the Met Police was treating the incident seriously.

Dave Rich, director of policy at the CST, said: “This was an incredibly serious, unprovoked assault, clearly motivated by anti-Jewish hatred, that was an extremely frightening experience for the victim. It could have been much worse, had he not managed to fight off his assailant and he showed immense courage in doing so.

"It is alarming that such a blatant racist attack could take place in such a public place, and we appeal to anyone who has any information that could help the investigation to contact the police or CST.”

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “The delayed response of the police, despite the close proximity of a police station just up the road, is deeply concerning, and the result is that a man who apparently wants to kill Jews is now at liberty.

“This is the most heinous of a considerable number of antisemitic crimes that we have reported over the course of Chanukah. The sad truth is that our nation’s capital is not nearly as safe as it should be for Jewish people who wish to celebrate a festival or, in this case, simply go about their daily lives.”

A Met Police spokeswoman said at the time of the first call from the victim, the attacker was no longer thought to be on the scene, but a second call from the victim 15 minutes later was graded a priority with an immediate dispatch of officers to the scene. 

She said:  “Police received a first call about this incident at 19:21hrs during which the caller told the call handler that the suspect had left the area. The caller was unable to say in which direction the suspect had gone.  Each call to the police is graded based on the information available at the time and in this case, the suspect no longer being in the area meant it did not require the highest priority response.  

 “A second call was received at 19:36hrs during which the caller confirmed the suspect had returned. The call was graded as a priority requiring an immediate response and officers were dispatched to the scene.

 “The Met receives many thousands of calls every day and it is not possible for every incident to be responded to immediately. Call handlers use the information they are provided to prioritise accordingly. If the information changes, such as in this incident, that prioritisation can change too.”

If you have any information, please contact the police on 101, quoting reference: CAD6588/02Dec.