Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Charlotte Dobson

'Does he know about the situation in Gaza?': Man launches into anti-Semitic rant at couple in traditional Hasidic clothing on tram

Video footage has emerged of a Jewish couple being harassed about Gaza on a tram in Manchester.

The anti-Semitic rant emerged on social media after being filmed by another passenger on the Metrolink at the time.

The incident happened on the Bury line in the city centre at around 10.30pm on Thursday.

In the video a man can be heard calling across the carriageway to a young Jewish couple dressed in traditional Hasidic clothing.

"Does he know about the situation in Gaza," he said.

"Does he know about Gaza."

When challenged by three other passengers, he shouts: "Rabbi, come here, mate."

The man, who claimed to be from Palestine , added: "I'm just asking one single question.

"How is that an inflammatory question?"

Read more of today's top stories

The witness who filmed the incident said: "It was really busy.

"The Metrolink had been suspended so a lot of people were standing up.

"This man just went up to this Hasidic Jewsih couple and started saying words.

"He said 'Palestine' and 'what do you think about what's going on in Gaza?'.

"He kept persistently asking them.

"They sat down and that's when the video starts.

"It's clear anti-Semitism. I'm Jewish and I don't look visibly Jewish.

"I said this to him and asked what gave him the right to ask someone about something that's happening 3000 miles away.

"I was outraged by what I was hearing.

"Two other men intervened and stood in his path.

"One of them who had a really strong Mancunian accent said 'I'm not having this in my city'.

"He just kept on asking the couple questions and called the young man a Rabbi.

"It was nice to see that people were prepared to stand up for what was right.

"People should not be afraid on public transport."

In the video another man can be heard asking: "What right have you to ask a question of anybody?"

The woman, 27, who filmed the incident said she reported it to the Community Support Trust, an organisation for reporting anti-Semitic hate crime (TfGM)

The Jewish couple are understood to have been visiting Manchester from London.

The woman, 27, who filmed the incident said she reported it to the Community Support Trust, an organisation for reporting anti-Semitic hate crime.

A spokesperson for Metrolink said: "Hate crime has no place on Metrolink or anywhere else and we’d encourage this incident to be reported to police."

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news. We are on Instagram too. We'll also bring you live updates and notifications of breaking news on the M.E.N. app - download it here.


Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.