Car driven at Jewish school boys in north London 'religiously aggravated assault'

Police are investigating after a car was driven towards three 14-year-old Jewish school children in north London.

Officers say they are treating the incident as a "religiously aggravated assault".

"It was reported a car had mounted the kerb near where the boys were standing, they moved out of the way," the Metropolitan Police said.

There were no reported injuries.

In a letter to parents, the headteacher of Hasmonean High School for Boys asked any witnesses to get in touch with police about what he called an "antisemitic traffic incident".

He said a black saloon-type car reportedly drove towards the students while they were waiting to cross Holders Hill Road, Barnet, on 20 April.

The vehicle mounted the curb and caused the students to move quickly out of the way before driving off, the letter said.

The police said: "We remain in close contact with the nearby school. At this stage, no arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing."

The Hasmonean High School is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status for pupils from Orthodox Jewish families.

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It comes after a spate of antisemitic attacks in London.

A double stabbing in Golders Green on April 29 saw two Jewish men, Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Ben Baila, 76, also known as Norman Shine, taken to hospital.

The alleged attacker, Essa Suleiman, 45, is also accused of attempting to murder his long-time friend of 20 years, Ishmail Hussein, in a knife attack at Hussein's flat in Southwark, earlier the same day.

On April 18, a teenage boy smashed the window of Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow before lighting a bottle and throwing it inside, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard. A 17-year-old admitted arson not endangering life.

The day before, a former Jewish charity building was attacked in Hendon, Barnet, where a plastic bag later found to contain three bottles of fluid was set alight.

Attempted arson attacks were carried out at Finchley Reform Synagogue, and later outside the offices of a Persian media company, both in northwest London, on April 15.

Bottles, one thought to contain petrol, were placed near the synagogue in Fallow Court Avenue, Finchley.

In March, four Jewish community ambulances belonging to volunteer-led ambulance service Hatzola were torched in Golders Green.

The resulting fire caused gas canisters inside the ambulances to explode, resulting in around £1 million of damage.

The Metropolitan Police has announced it will deploy a community protection team of 100 extra officers to help safeguard the Jewish community.

The force said the new team will initially be "primarily focused on protecting the Jewish community, which faces some of the highest levels of hate crime alongside significant terrorist and hostile state threats".

(c) Sky News 2026: Car driven at Jewish school boys in north London 'religiously aggravated assault'