Rabbi Maurice Davis with synagogue volunteers outside Ahavas Torah Synagogue Pic: Angela Phillips
Six teenagers arrested after they drunkenly tried to gain access to a synagogue on their way home from a house party have been bailed.
Police are treating the incident at the Ahavas Torah Synagogue in Craven Park Road, on the boarder of Hackney and Tottenham as anti-Semitic, due to remarks made by one of the teenagers.
But Maurice Davis, the Rabbi at Ahavas Torah claims the incident was not anti-Semitic. He said: “It was not anti-Semitism. We are good neighbours here.”
“There were some drunk boys on the street after a party down the road. There was a fight and one of them ran in here for protection. He hid in the toilet. The others tried to come in after him and the young women tried to stop them.”
“We had some young boys here having a bit of a sing song after the end of the Sabbath. We do that every Saturday. This is a shul for youngsters and we are open to everyone. ”
Davis described how the mother of the people who organised the house party came to apologise to him on Sunday morning. “She was crying we had a bit of a hug. We get on well on this street,” he said.
At around 1.15am on Sunday morning, the police responded to a call about a disturbance in Stamford Hill.
Six people in their late teens, four men and two women, were arrested for public order offences and assault. They were taken into custody in a north London police station.
Inspector Jonathan Waterfield said: “We are investigating to establish the full circumstances of the incident and to identify anyone else involved in the disturbance who has not yet been arrested.”
“We have also increased police patrols in the Stamford Hill area to provide reassurance to the community.”
A man sustained facial injuries after attempting to prevent the group from entering. The injuries are not believed to be serious, as he was treated at the scene and did not require further treatment at a hospital.
At this stage, the police say there is no suggestion that this was a far-right or extremist attack but rather the “completely unacceptable” actions of a drunken group. They also said there is nothing to suggest that it was a planned or targeted attack.
Volunteers for Shomrin, a Jewish neighbourhood watch group, provided assistance to police officers at the scene, helping with statements and to find local CCTV footage.
Police urged anyone with any information to call Haringey CID on 101.