‘My pregnant sister was attacked because she was Jewish’
THE BROTHER of a pregnant Jewish woman who was the victim of an vicious assault in Stamford Hill last week has told the JC that he believes the assault was antisemitic.
Solomo Reis, 18, said: “It was because she was Jewish. She was wearing a Jewish headscarf at the time.
“She felt someone was following her. Then he put a bag of some kind over her face and punched her a few times.
“She lives with her husband, and was visiting her father when it happened.”
Mr Reis confirmed that his sister did not know her attacker, suggesting that she had been targeted because of her Orthodox clothing.
She had travelled by bus from her home in Tottenham to Stamford Hill to visit her father on the day of the attack, he said.
He confirmed the baby had been unharmed and the mother-to-be, who received hospital treatment for minor injuries, had made a full recovery. She is now in Israel on what is believed to be a planned trip.
It comes as a 55-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm at an address in Haringey in connection with the attack.
The victim, who was 27 weeks pregnant, was visiting her father, a local teacher, at the Latitude Apartment development on Manor Road at 6.30pm on Thursday, the JC understands.
She had been shadowed for almost 20 minutes as she walked through the streets. Footage captured on security cameras showed the attacker lurking in the area of Amhurst Park with a trolley before starting to follow the woman after she stepped off the bus.
The assault came as she was buzzed inside the gate of the apartment building. After she made her way through the gate, a man slipped inside after her and approach her from behind before she reached the door of the building.
Video of what happened next was released by the Jewish neighbourhood watch group Shomrim.
It shows the unidentified male creeping up on the woman before throwing a pillowcase over her head and punching her repeatedly.
Moments later, he is seen making his escape back towards the gate leading back onto Manor Road.
A neighbour said: “I heard a commotion and looked outside.
“There were people speaking to the woman in Yiddish trying to find out what had happened.
“I’m surprised the man managed to get away, because there aren’t too many places to hide.
“There are approximately 30 flats in the development, and around half a dozen of these are [lived in by] Orthodox Jews. We’ve had a few burglaries in the past, but nothing like this.”
The woman’s father is believed to be a teacher at Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz school nearby.
He and his wife refused to discuss the incident.
The victim’s husband is with her in Israel, though her family has emphasised that the trip was planned before the vicious assault.
The police investigation into the attack comes amid a national debate on the safety of women on our streets following the Sarah Everard murder inquiry.
A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “Detectives are investigating after a woman was assaulted in a Hackney street. Police were called shortly after 7pm on Thursday, 18 March regarding an assault that had occurred approximately 30 minutes earlier on Manor Road in Stamford Hill.
“The victim, a 20-year-old woman, informed officers that she had been approached from behind by the suspect, who put a cloth or pillow case over her head before assaulting her.
“The woman was taken to hospital for treatment to minor injuries.”
Police said enquiries were continuing to establish a motive.
Anyone with information is asked to call police via 101 quoting reference Cad 6517/18Mar.