LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM | Two offenders convicted in separate antisemitic cases in Britain have received suspended prison sentences after targeting Jewish institutions, families and children.
Michael Brown, 45, of Newhaven, East Sussex, received an eight-week prison sentence suspended for one year after admitting that he published an offensive or menacing message through a public communications network.
In a separate case, Syeda Khatun, 39, of Hackney, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, following an antisemitic assault outside a Jewish secondary school in Stamford Hill.
Neither offender will serve the prison term immediately unless the conditions of the suspended sentence are breached or another offence is committed during the suspension period.
Facebook Post Targeted Synagogues and Businesses
Brown published his message on Facebook on Feb. 28 in response to a post by the Brighton and Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign concerning military action involving Israel, the United States and Iran.
He encouraged people to target synagogues and Jewish businesses with eggs, overripe fruit, flour and stink bombs.
Brown concluded the post by asking whether anyone had a recipe for what he called a โroasted synagogue.โ
The message was reported to police the same day. Brown was arrested on March 1.
During a police interview, Brown acknowledged writing the post but claimed it was intended as a joke and that he had not meant to cause offence.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message through a public communications network.
District Judge Sam Goozee ruled that the offence was aggravated by racial hostility.
โThe message was targeting the Jewish community and their synagogues and Jewish businesses,โ the judge said during sentencing at Westminster Magistratesโ Court.
The judge said Jewish community members who encountered the post would inevitably have been alarmed by its contents.
In addition to the suspended prison sentence, Brown was ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity days and 80 hours of unpaid work, according to court reporting published by Jewish News.
Jewish Families and Children Targeted
Khatunโs case involved physical violence and antisemitic abuse outside a Jewish secondary school in Stamford Hill on May 10.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, Khatun approached children waiting near the school gates after they returned from a school trip.
The children heard her shouting antisemitic abuse at a mother carrying a baby.
Khatun then turned toward the students and swung her arms at them aggressively.
When the father of one of the children confronted her and asked why she was targeting children, Khatun struck him in the face and pulled his beard while continuing to shout antisemitic slurs.
The prosecution relied on eyewitness accounts and security-camera footage.
Khatun was convicted following a July 3 trial at Stratford Magistratesโ Court of three counts of racially aggravated assault, one count of racially aggravated assault causing actual bodily harm and one count of racially aggravated words and behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress.
Prosecutors successfully argued that hostility toward the victimsโ Jewish ethnicity should be treated as an aggravating factor.
The hate-crime sentencing uplift increased Khatunโs sentence from eight months to 12 months. The resulting prison term was suspended for two years.
The court also imposed a restraining order.
Prosecutors Condemn Antisemitic Violence
โThis was a shocking attack where Syeda Khatun targeted people with antisemitic abuse in a public place, including children who were waiting outside their school,โ said Ragvesh Singh, senior Crown prosecutor with CPS London North.
Singh said violence motivated by antisemitic hatred was abhorrent and that no one should fear conducting their daily life because of their race, religion or identity.
Detective Chief Superintendent Brittany Clarke described the incident as a โdespicable assaultโ on young members of Stamford Hillโs Jewish community.
Clarke said Metropolitan Police officers reached the scene within minutes and worked with prosecutors to bring charges within two days.
The two cases involved different conduct and were prosecuted separately. Brown used social media to encourage attacks against Jewish institutions and businesses, while Khatun directly abused and assaulted Jewish adults and children.
Both courts formally recognized hostility toward Jews as an aggravating factor, but neither offender was ordered to begin serving the custodial sentence immediately.
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