A car was driven towards three Jewish schoolboys in north-west London in what police are now treating as a religiously aggravated assault. The incident took place shortly before 3.40pm on Monday, April 20, on Holders Hill Road in Finchley, close to the pedestrian crossing near October Place. The Metropolitan Police said the vehicle, described as a black saloon-type car, drove towards the students, mounted the kerb and forced them to move quickly out of the way before driving off towards Henlys Corner and the A406. No injuries were reported.
The three boys, all 14-year-old pupils at Hasmonean High School for Boys, were waiting to cross the road at the time. James Fisher, the headteacher of the Orthodox Jewish secondary school, sent a letter to parents describing it as an “antisemitic traffic incident” and urging anyone with dashcam footage or information to come forward. The father of one of the boys said the driver “saw these kids and saw an opportunity”, noting that the children were “visibly Jewish kids” in kippot. His son was left “shaken, but with it”, he added.
Police inquiry and classification
The Metropolitan Police confirmed they are investigating the incident as a “religiously aggravated assault”. The classification, which falls under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, means officers suspect the offence was motivated by hostility based on the victims’ religion. A Met spokesperson said: “While inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances, this is currently being treated as a religiously aggravated assault. We remain in close contact with the nearby school. At this stage, no arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.”
The force has appealed for witnesses to contact them quoting reference 2017/24APR. The Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish charity that works closely with the police on hate incidents, confirmed the incident had been reported to them and urged anyone who witnessed it to contact both the police and CST.
The school, which has more than 750 pupils and round-the-clock security at its gates, said the alleged incident occurred about 100 metres from the school grounds. A school spokesperson said: “At this challenging time we are working closely with all in our community and appropriate agencies to support our students’ safety.”
Rise in antisemitic attacks across London
The incident comes amid a sharp increase in antisemitic offences recorded in the capital. The Metropolitan Police logged 140 antisemitic offences in April 2026 — the highest monthly figure since the force changed its counting method in March 2024. Of those, 51 (36 per cent) occurred in the borough of Barnet, which includes Finchley and Golders Green.
Just over a week after the car incident, a double stabbing in Golders Green on April 29 was declared an act of terrorism. The alleged attacker, Essa Suleiman, 45, is also accused of attempting to murder a friend in Southwark earlier that same day. Other recent incidents include attempted arson at Finchley Reform Synagogue on April 15, arson attacks on four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Hatzola charity in March, an arson attack on a former London synagogue in Whitechapel on May 4, attempted arson at a memorial wall in Golders Green on April 28, and an attack on a former Jewish charity building in Hendon on April 17. A Jewish man was pushed into traffic in Finchley on March 8 in an incident being investigated as a racially aggravated assault.
In response to the surge, the Metropolitan Police announced the creation of a dedicated Community Protection Team of 100 extra officers, initially focused on protecting London’s Jewish communities. The force said the team would bring together “neighbourhood policing, specialist protection and counter terrorism capabilities” to provide a “more visible, intelligence-led and coordinated presence”. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has previously said 300 more officers were needed to tackle the rise in antisemitism across the capital. As of early May, the Met had arrested approximately 50 people for antisemitic hate crimes in the preceding four weeks, with eight charged.
Nationally, the Community Security Trust recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2024, the second-highest total since records began, and 3,700 incidents in 2025 — a 4 per cent rise. School-related antisemitic incidents doubled to 204 in 2025 compared with levels before 2023. The charity noted that the number of incidents has soared since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Anyone with information about the Holders Hill Road incident is asked to contact the Metropolitan Police quoting reference 2017/24APR or to report to the Community Security Trust at [email protected].
