In the past five weeks, the Jewish community of the Stamford
Hill section in north London, has suffered six separate
attacks -- described by police as racially motivated -- in
which the front doors of homes have been sprayed with petrol
and set alight. So far, no one has been hurt but the attacks
have left the Orthodox community concerned for its safety
and anxious that it does not get caught up in the kind of
race hatred seen recently in the English cities of Oldham
and Burnley.
Virtually no one on the streets of Stamford Hill was willing
to discuss the attacks with a reporter of the London based
Independent. Stamford Hill is said to have the
largest Orthodox population after Israel and New York, with
21 Hebrew schools and 56 synagogues.
Councilor Joe Lobenstein, the Mayor of Hackney, warned
against widespread panic and called for calm and
vigilance.
Rabbi Abraham Pinter said: "People are obviously concerned
and they are being more vigilant, checking smoke alarm
batteries and so on. But they are not panicking -- nobody is
moving away. The belief is that these attacks are not the
work of an organized group. It is more likely to be one
person working on their own, possibly with a mental health
problem."
According to the Independent detectives agree that
the fires are probably the work of a lone, deranged
individual rather than the sinister activities of organized
antisemites.
They have released an image from a CCTV camera of a woman of
Afro-Caribbean origin, aged about 35, who they believe may
be setting the fires. She was filmed shortly after one of
the attacks last month by a camera at a nearby bank.
The arsonist has so far restricted the attacks to using a
small amount of flammable liquid, causing minor damage, but
in at least one incident the flames spread across carpets
inside the door. Smoke forced the occupants - a family of 13
inside, including six children - to take refuge in the
garden.
All but one of the attacks were between 12.30am and 6.30am
while the victims were asleep. The other fire was started at
about 12.30p.m.
Detective Inspector Dave Whellams, who is leading the
investigation and is based at the Hackney Community Safety
Unit, said:
"There is no doubt that this is causing a scare among the
Jewish community. Although these attacks appear to be at the
lower end of the scale, and carried out by an individual
with local knowledge, they still have the potential to cause
harm. There is always that concern about just what an
individual is prepared to do."
Police have stepped up patrols in the area but, such is the
sensitivity surrounding the campaign, officers refuse to
reveal the streets were the attack took place.
