Man admits racial assault after accusing Orthodox Jew of ‘killing babies’

District Judge Devinder Sandhu described the attack as a “pure hate crime”.

She added: “I am appalled and startled by what I saw on that footage, a completely unprovoked attack on a man who was simply doing his job.”

Rahman appeared in the dock wearing a grey prison jumper and spoke to confirm his name, address and date of birth and admit the charges.

Anushka A, prosecuting, said: “The victim was in the area for some work with his professional commitments, the defendant was on his bicycle, he has shouted ‘Jew, what are you f****** doing here Jew’.”

She added: “I believe the victim was wearing a kippah and believes that for this reason he was targeted in this attack.”

The victim, who gave his name to the BBC as Moshe, was not in court, but part of a statement he gave to police was read out.

It read: “This incident has changed my perspective on what it is to be a Jew openly in public.”

He said that while he had “read about attacks on the news” he had not experienced anything like it before and felt “physically targeted due to my religion”.

Judge Sandhu released Rahman on bail to be sentenced at Reading Crown Court along with other matters on July 10.

Rabbi Herschel Gluck, president of Shomrim north and east London, a volunteer-run neighbourhood watch group, said the victim is “deeply shocked and surprised that a person can behave in such a manner”, telling the Press Association: “He’s recovering, but of course it’s a shock to the system.”

Rabbi Gluck said incidents like this should not take place and that the Government needs to do more to prevent them.

He said: “First of all they need to speak to us to understand what is going on, and then deal with it as a British matter.

“They need to approach this matter from the perspective that British citizens are being attacked, are being subjected to racial abuse, and what can they, the Government, do to change the direction of travel.”

Rabbi Gluck added: “One incident like this is one incident too many.

“I think every decent human being would be shocked by this incident.

“Most people in the UK, of all backgrounds, are decent human beings.

“This shouldn’t happen anywhere, or to anyone.”

A spokesperson from Jewish charity the Community Security Trust said: “This was a disgraceful, terrifying incident and we are grateful to Thames Valley Police and the CPS for their swift action in securing an arrest and conviction.

“No one should be targeted because of who they are, and antisemitic hate crimes like this continue to create fear and anxiety for Jewish people across the country.

“We will keep working with the police, government, and local communities to ensure that antisemitic hate is tackled wherever it appears.”

Investigating officer Detective Inspector Terry Dixon, of the Berkshire East Priority Crime Team, said: “I hope that Rahman’s conviction today shows our communities just how seriously we take incidents of this nature, and how we will do everything in our power to bring those who commit hate crimes to justice as swiftly as possible.

“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 ensure those responsible face the consequences.”