Woman Arrested Following Antisemitic Insults, Spilled Fries, Alleged Assault at Kosher Cafe in London

Police in central London arrested an unnamed woman, 32, on Thursday and began an investigation into a potential hate crime after she allegedly attacked employees and patrons at a Reubens Cafe and Bakery, a Kosher establishment, after yelling antisemitic statements.

In a statement, law enforcement described how the woman’s remarks “related to the conflict in the Middle East.” They suspected her of racially aggravated criminal damage and assaults before later releasing her on bail.

An X user with the name “Akiva” and the handle “@kivafein” shared a video of the encounter on Sunday which reached more than 100,000 views as on Monday, writing that “while sitting at a bakery in London, a friend of mine was assaulted in an antisemitic attack just for being Jewish and eating at a kosher bakery. This isn’t history. This is now. If you’re still pretending antisemitism isn’t real, just watch. Don’t look away. Don’t stay silent.”

The blurry, 1-minute and 20-second video starts from the perspective of the victim and shows the alleged attacker bellowing at her incoherently. The phone perspective rises from capturing the bowl of golden fries – or “chips” to use the local vernacular – on the table. The woman approaching has long brown hair, wears a dark gray baseball cap, black tank-top, and yells “terrorist” before flipping over the fries and smacking the phone down onto the ground.

The perspective shifts for 10 seconds to provide a view of the underside of the table before pink fingers emerge to pick up the phone and the victim continues filming her assailant who has walked over to another cafe table to loudly express her feelings about Jews. “She threw my phone on the floor, it’s broken,” the young woman behind the camera says in a British accent.

The view then returns to the suspect lecturing people at the other table, her words out of earshot. She jabs her finger in the air multiple times, pointing at people in the cafe. Then the woman suddenly points toward the camera and yells “I ask them!” She then shifts her attention back and swears at her interlocutors in the cafe with whom she had argued.

While sitting at a bakery in London, a friend of mine was assaulted in an antisemitic attack just for being Jewish and eating at a kosher bakery.

This isn’t history. This is now. If you’re still pretending antisemitism isn’t real, just watch. Don’t look away. Don’t stay silent. pic.twitter.com/qSB8N4eoXJ

— Akiva (@kivafein) July 20, 2025

“In general, we couldn’t understand half the things she was saying,” Yael Isaac told Jewish News. “But at one point during her tantrum, I asked her, ‘What if I don’t support Israel?’ She said she didn’t care and that I was Jewish, so that’s all that mattered to her.”

Instagram creator Moriel Lee Shviki witnessed the attack and said, “Unfortunately, it took the police quite a long time to get there. She went on to harass a lot of other people.”

The UK-based watchdog group Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) shared the video and wrote, “Now it seems that they are freeing Palestine by throwing food over Jews at a kosher restaurant. Do you recognize our country anymore? Thuggery is commonplace and the people of the solidarity movements and anti-racism awareness initiatives have gone awfully quiet.”

CAA shared the statistic that “fewer than half of British Jews (43%) feel welcome in the UK” and asked, “With attacks like these, is it any wonder?” The group noted that “police have made an arrest and are reportedly treating this as a hate crime. Those responsible for any attack must face the full force of the law.”

Akiva followed up the video with a post where he praised the cafe staff, writing, “If you’re based in London or the area, please show love and support to Reubens Bakery. They made sure my friend and all those affected were comforted and safe. They called authorities right away and took care of the scene. They need and deserve the support.”

Reubens provides customers “a taste of NYC in the heat of LDN.” The menu offers a wide variety of bagel options and New York deli staples, while also listing London classics like fish and chips with tartar sauce for £24.

On Monday, meanwhile, the UK’s National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) shared a report with The Jerusalem Post which polled 138 Jewish teachers. The research showed that approximately 51 percent of respondents said they experienced antisemitism at school in the last year. Seventy-eight percent of those who reported such incidents said it occurred against them personally while 37 percent said they witnessed the hate and 38 percent heard about the abuse.

The Jewish teachers also revealed seeing swastika graffiti in schools (44 percent) and hearing Nazi-related comments (39 percent). Teachers working in secular schools experienced antisemitism more regularly (79 percent) compared to faith-based institutions (29 percent).

The post Woman Arrested Following Antisemitic Insults, Spilled Fries, Alleged Assault at Kosher Cafe in London first appeared on Algemeiner.com.