A Jewish man says he was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse by a group of young people returning from a pro-Palestinian rally in central London on Saturday.
Duche Sorotzkin was in Trafalgar Square when he was reportedly approached by the group who shouted abuse and accused him of "murdering babies", before removing his skullcap.
Mr Sorotzkin, who was in Israel when Hamas launched its surprise incursion on October 7, told The Standard he felt "safer in Israel with rockets flying" than he does in London amid rising anti-Semitic attacks.
The 24-year-old, from Hackney, was walking in the Trafalgar Square area, where thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters had gathered for a demonstration demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, earlier on Saturday.
"Around 9pm I started walking back towards Charing Cross Tube station [when] a gang of quite a few individuals starts shouting at me 'Palestine, Palestine, Palestine'," he told The Standard.
"I turned to the main ringleader and I asked 'do you have an actual question or are you just shouting random things?'"
Mr Sorotzkin said the group asked if he supported Palestine or Israel.
"I said yes, I support both," he recalled. "At that point, they started shouting abuse at me.
"There were two women, one of them saying 'you kill babies, you're killing innocent Palestinians'. The other shouted to the men 'hit him, hit him'."
One of the women reportedly began pulling Mr Sorotzkin's scarf, before snatching his kippah - or skullcap - from his head and running away.
"The rest of them are laughing away, and the other girl still shouting 'how are you killing babies?'"
After "a minute or two, though it felt like eternity" Mr Sorotzkin said he pulled his skullcap back from one of the men and walked away.
The Met Police confirmed it was investigating the alleged hate crime.
Mr Sorotzkin, who works in kosher food production, said he has noticed a "much higher level of anti-Semitism in the community" since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas a month ago.
"Literally an hour before this happened I was talking to a friend of mine, he was in Golders Green and somebody slowed down and spat at him," he said.
"In the area where I live there were schools that were vandalised and other acts of anti-Semitism.
"I know people who are avoiding public transport, I know people who are not going out.
"I was in Israel when the war broke out," he added. "When we came back I was speaking to people on my flight, and they were telling me 'we feel safer in Israel'.
"And that's something I stand by. I feel safer in Israel with rockets flying than I do here."
Jewish security charity Community Security Trust (CST) said on Friday it had recorded at least 1,019 anti-Semitic incidents across the UK in the 28 days since the violence began. More than half of these - 578 - were recorded in London.
It marked a 537 per cent rise on the 160 anti-Semitic incidents recorded across the UK in the same 28 days last year, and significantly more than the 803 incidents reported across the first half of this year.
Responding to Mr Sorotzkin's attack, a Met Police spokesperson said: "No-one should be subjected to hate because of their faith or race, this is absolutely unacceptable.
"We are listening to and working with London communities and partners to make sure they feel safe in light of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
"Hundreds of officers are providing high visibility reassurance patrols across the capital. At the same time, we are relentless in targeting those who commit hate crimes.
"Anyone who is the victim of hate crime should contact police on 101 or in an emergency on 999."
Saturday's pro-Palestinian protests in central London largely took place peacefully.
But the Met said around 29 people were arrested, and six people were later charged with offences. It said fireworks were directed at officers and a pamphlet reported to support Hamas was on sale at a march.
Tuesday marked one month since Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,400 people and seizing 240 hostages.
Israel has since bombarded the enclave in an assault officials from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said on Monday has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians, including some 4,100 children.
