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LondonReuters

The London Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation into an incident which occurred on Tuesday night, when a woman set fire to an Israeli flag at a venue hosting an event for Jewish university students, a police spokesperson told the Jewish News on Wednesday.

Israel advocacy group StandWithUs said some 250 students were in attendance at an Israeli party which was held at a London venue, parts of which were still open to the public at the same time as the event was ongoing.

Witnesses reported that individuals who were not guests at the event shouted “Free Palestine” upon noticing Israeli-themed decorations at the venue. Venue management warned them they would be removed if the chanting continued.

Later, one individual allegedly approached the DJ stand during and used a lighter to burn Israeli flags. The person was stopped, escorted out, and spoken to by police, who have launched an investigation into the incident.

A StandWithUs UK spokesperson stated they were “appalled by the actions of the individual who felt that they could burn the emblems of the only Jewish State in the world during a party for Jewish students. We appreciate the support of the police and the CST and are cooperating with the investigation into this incident.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told Jewish News, “At 00:00hrs on Wednesday, 20 November, officers were called to a venue in Curtain Road, Hackney. An off-duty officer had detained a woman on suspicion of racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage. The incident followed an altercation between members of a Jewish student group who were holding an event at the venue and another group of customers. During the altercation, a woman was seen to use a lighter to burn one of a number of Israeli flags that had been put up as decoration.”

“The details of all involved were taken by the officers at the scene, who initially determined that no further action should be taken. The circumstances have since been reviewed and a decision taken that the investigation will remain open so that the matter can be fully investigated,” the spokesperson added.

The incident comes amid an increase in antisemitism in Britain in the year that has passed since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Data released last month by the government found that religious hate crime in England and Wales surged by a record 25 percent over the past year, driven by an increase since the onset of the Gaza war.

The highest annual tally of religious hate crimes in over a decade was attributed to a rise in offenses "against Jewish people and to a lesser extent Muslims" following the Hamas attack on October 7 last year, the interior ministry reported.

Hate crimes against Jewish people more than doubled, reaching 3,282 cases, while offenses against Muslims also climbed to 3,866.

The data was released days after protesters carrying banners in support of Hezbollah marched through central London.

Incidents of antisemitism in Britain in recent months include one which occurred in May, when a woman carrying a large knife was arrested in Stamford Hill, north London.

The woman allegedly told a Jewish man that he is a "provocation" before adding, "You people, you Jewish...all the trouble you’re creating in the world."

A month earlier, a Jewish man was attacked by four men in Stamford Hill. According to the Stamford Hill Shomrim, a Jewish civilian watch organization, the four individuals approached the Jewish man, threatened him, and demanded he get into the trunk of their car.

Several days before that, two men were arrested at a pro-Palestinian Arab march in London. One of the men was taken into custody for carrying a swastika emblazoned placard and another for allegedly making racist remarks towards counter-protesters, the Metropolitan Police said.