A Jewish woman who confronted another woman removing yellow ribbons remembering hostages on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks has spoken of her anger and fear.
Miranda Levy had gone out for a coffee near her home when she noticed a memorial of yellow ribbons fluttering on the railings of a small park in Muswell Hill on Monday.
“We don’t really see the yellow ribbon very often,” she said. “And on the rare occasion the ribbons do get put up, they last for minutes before they are unceremoniously ripped down by people who can’t bear to think there are humans on both sides of the conflict.”
On Monday, Ms Levy said she came across “one of those ribbon-rippers in the act”, yet this woman was cutting down ribbons instead, using a pair of dressmaking scissors.
Writing in the Mail, Ms Levy said she approached the “ribbon-snipper” — now identified as Palestinian-Jewish artist Nadia Yahlom — demanding to know why she was cutting down ribbons that had been put up to remember the 48 Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.
“What are you doing? What's your name? If you're so proud of yourself, please tell us your name,” she asked.
Ms Levy then took out her phone and began filming the encounter. Ms Yahlom, undeterred, told her she could call the police if she believed her actions were illegal.
At that moment, a man joined Ms Levy and told Ms Yahlom that her behaviour was “disgusting”, to which she replied: “I think committing genocide is disgusting.”
Ms Yahlom is currently an Arts Council-funded PhD student at the Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (Cream) at the University of Westminster.
According to Cream, Ms Yahlom is a "Palestinian-Jewish and British artist and visual anthropologist, looking at hauntedness, supernatural life and the bio/necropolitical between Palestine and the UKs."
Later, sitting in a coffee shop after the confrontation, Ms Levy said the encounter had left her feeling a mix of sadness, anger, and fear — fear for the place of Jews in the UK.
Until two years ago, Ms Levy said being Jewish was a “secondary part of my identity.”
As far as she knew, she had never experienced antisemitism and would often tell friends they were being paranoid for claiming the UK was “no longer a place for Jews.”
But since the start of the Hamas-Israel war, she admitted, she’s begun to think they may have a point.
On social media, Ms Levy said she has been subjected to vile abuse and now avoids going near Trafalgar Square during pro-Palestinian marches.
“There are neo-Nazis out there,” she said, “but I'm afraid the vast majority has been from Islamists and Left-wing anti-Semites.”
Ms Levy now takes daily “precautions” to reduce the risk of confrontation — for example, by removing her surname from her Uber account.
The incident took place on the same day a funeral was held for Adrian Daulby, 53, one of the victims of the attack on a synagogue in Manchester last week.
Met Police said it had stepped up patrols in the Muswell Hill area following reports that yellow ribbons were removed from fence poles.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “ At approximately 4.25pm on Monday, October 6, officers were made aware of a video circulating online which appears to show a woman removing the ribbons in Muswell Hill, Haringey.
“Officers attended the location and are reviewing the footage to determine whether any offences, including hate crime or criminal damage, have been committed.
“Enquiries remain ongoing.”
