Kevin Joseph, a 60-year-old man living in the United Kingdom, was fined £200 (approximately NIS 981.67) by the Thames Magistrates’ Court on October 18 after he had threatened a Jewish man and used antisemitic language, Jewish News reported.
The fine was increased from £120 to £200 due to the seriousness of the offense, the site reported.
Joseph had pleaded guilty to religiously aggravated harassment following an incident that happened the day before. At 9:30 a.m., Joseph attended a bakery in a Jewish area of London, where he became verbally abusive and threatening to a man wearing orthodox clothing.
Joseph is said to have used antisemitic language during the encounter.
Within 24 hours of the incident, Joseph was identified and brought before the court.
Varinder Hayre, CPS London North Hate Crime Lead said, according to Jewish News, that “[a]ll hate crimes have a significant impact on victims and the wider community, so it is vitally important prosecutors use Community Impact Statements to demonstrate the dangerous and corrosive affect hate crimes have, and apply to the court for sentence uplifts to ensure that perpetrators receive increased punishments.
Jaswant Narwal, Chief Crown Prosecutor, said that “[t]here is simply no place for hate of any kind on the streets of London.
“We will continue to support victims and witnesses who come forward to report examples of any hate crime they have experienced, prosecuting perpetrators whenever our legal test is met.
“We would like to thank the victim for supporting the prosecution of this case, and extend further thanks to Dr. Dave Rich and Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway for making it clear how hate crime affects our local communities.”
Was justice served?
Despite Narwal’s comments, and the speed of the case, not every member of the Jewish community is satisfied with the legal conclusion.
Gary Mond, Chairman of the National Jewish Assembly in the UK told the Jerusalem Post that "Every effort needs to be made to prosecute hate crimes like this. While the speed of brining the matter to court was commendable, the amount of the penalty, at just £200, was derisory.”
“I believe that substantially higher fines should be levied in cases like this, and prison sentences should be given in the more extreme incidents."
Antisemitism in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a dramatic rise in the number of reported incidents of antisemitism, the Post reported on October 13. London's Metropolitan Police said there had been 105 reports of antisemitic incidents and 75 antisemitic offences between Sept. 29 and Oct. 12, compared with 14 incidents and 12 offences in the same period a year ago.