‘A cruel and painful year’: how 7 October tore apart UK Jewish families and friends

Rabbi Charley Baginsky of Progressive Judaism says there’s a huge amount of guilt within the Jewish community. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

The young couple getting on the 310 bus at Golders Green were unquestionably Jewish. He wore a black hat over his peyot, or sidelocks, and a heavy black coat despite the warmth of the day. Her hair was covered, her clothes modest, her shoes plain. On the 45-minute journey to Stamford Hill, they conversed quietly in Yiddish.

Until a few weeks ago, the journey on public transport between two areas of north London with significant Jewish populations required a change of bus midway. Jewish passengers had reported antisemitic abuse while waiting for the connection.