UPDATE: Two men admit antisemitic hate crime in Hackney

Two men have been convicted of an antisemitic hate crime after targeting a member of the Jewish community in Hackney.

Adam Bedoui, 20 (24.05.2005), of Park Lodge Avenue, Hillingdon, and Abdelkader Bousloub, 21 (26.02.2005), of Merrivale Mews, Hillingdon, travelled to a predominantly Jewish area to film antisemitic content for social media.

The pair went to Clapton Common, where they approached a Jewish man, verbally abused him and filmed the encounter for TikTok.

Both men pleaded guilty to a religiously aggravated public order offence today, Saturday, 9 May, at Thames Magistrates’ Court.

Detective Superintendent Oliver Richter, who leads policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said:

“This was a deliberate and targeted antisemitic attack, aggravated by the pair’s intention to post the incident on social media to spread hatred. It is completely unacceptable and has no place in London.

“Our officers acted quickly to arrest those responsible, and within 48 hours they have been brought before the courts and convicted. That should send a clear message — we will act decisively against anyone who commits hate crime.

“We know the harm incidents like this cause to communities and we will continue to take all reports with the utmost seriousness.”

Police were called to the incident at around 21:00hrs on Thursday, 7 May. Both suspects attempted to flee but were swiftly detained by officers at the scene.

They were later charged on Saturday, 9 May.

Bedoui and Bousloub will appear for sentencing at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 5 June.

Two 20-year-old men and a 21-year-old man were also arrested and have been released on bail pending further enquiries.

Earlier this week, the Met announced a new dedicated Community Protection Team to tackle antisemitic hate crimes.

In the past four weeks alone, the Met has arrested around 50 people for antisemitic hate crimes, with 10 individuals charged.