London – A barrister has described how he witnessed a neo-Nazi
attack outside a kosher restaurant just hours after Holocaust memorial day.
Two men performed Nazi salutes and shouted “Heil Hitler” during the
incident.
Neville Kesselman, 71, was with a group of friends when the pair carried
out the attack in Golders Green, north-west London, in the early hours of
Tuesday morning.
Mr Kesselman said: “I saw two men in their 30s in neo-Nazi uniform. They
both had shaved heads and were marching purposefully. In a nasty, growling
voice they shouted ‘Adolf Hitler! Heil!’ and raised their arms in a Nazi
salute. It was clearly racially aggravated. I was shocked and deeply hurt.”
Mr Kesselman, a former senior crown prosecutor, said diners were shocked
that the incident should take place shortly after Yom HaShoah.
The men were pursued by volunteers from the Shomrim community security
force and were arrested by police officers near Golders Green Tube station.
Barnet police confirmed two men were arrested following an allegation of
a public order offence and enquiries were continuing as the JC went to press.
