Man convicted of punching a barrister in antisemitic attack

Bor, who had just left a birthday party and was waiting for an Uber with his friend, told the court on Wednesday that he was “quite taken aback” by the question.

He said he responded with a slight chuckle and asked the man, “what on earth has that got to do with anything?”

“Having said that to him, he then asked the exact same question: ‘Are you Jewish?’ to which I gave exactly the same response: ‘What on earth has that got to do with anything?” Bor said.

He said he had never been asked the question before, but that “incidentally I am, and that probably added to my surprise because I didn’t know why I had been asked.”

He went on: “The defendant then smiled and then, out of nowhere, pulled back his fist and punched me very hard in the jaw.”

Steer subsequently walked away and jumped over a fence while Bor called the police, the court heard.

Bor said he suffered from tooth and jaw pain for several days after the incident, and that he still has a bruise on the inner side of his lip.

Despite Steer’s not guilty plea, prosecutors were able prove the incident was an unprovoked attack motivated by hostility towards Bor’s race, according to CPS.

Louise Ahmad, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Tony Steer launched a cowardly and unprovoked attack on a member of the public based on his perception of the victim’s race.

“Antisemitism has no place in our society. Everyone has the right to go about their daily lives without fear of hate, and I hope this conviction sends a clear message that such hatred will not be tolerated.”
The CPS, she said, “will continue to work closely with the police to ensure that those who commit hate-fuelled offences are robustly prosecuted and face the full force of the law.”