London Man Who Terrorized Belz Hasidic Community is Jailed for Five Years
A Hackney man who screamed death threats at a synagogue director, smashed a car window, and discussed bombing a Jewish school has been jailed for five years and banned from Stamford Hill permanently.
A 36-year-old Hackney resident was sentenced to five years in prison at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to eight offences against six victims during a months-long antisemitic campaign targeting the Orthodox Jewish community around the Belz Hasidic synagogue in Stamford Hill, north London.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced the sentence following a case that laid bare a systematic pattern of threats, harassment, and property destruction carried out between October 2025 and March 2026. The total sentence also incorporates a concurrent two-and-a-half year term for two drug offences from 2024, possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply and possession of cannabis.
The defendant, who lived close to the area, was charged primarily with religiously aggravated threatening behaviour and religiously aggravated criminal damage. He initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea within 30 days, admitting all counts. He appeared at sentencing via video link from prison.
A campaign of targeted intimidation
Court proceedings revealed a series of specific incidents that illustrated the severity and deliberateness of the campaign.
On 16 March, at 1:45 p.m., the defendant approached the entrance of the Belz synagogue building and directed threats at its director, Boruch Bard, who was standing outside with his son. "I am going to kill you — not just you, all of you, cursed Jews," he shouted.
Approximately thirty minutes later, he spotted community resident Yoel Shar driving a Toyota Estima on Heathland Road. He screamed "I will kill you Jews" at the moving vehicle, then hurled a large stone that shattered the front passenger window.
On 24 March — the day of his arrest — a passing member of the public on Dunsmore Road heard the defendant say loudly on his phone: "It would be good if we blew up one of their schools." The witness understood this to refer to a Jewish educational institution. The defendant then turned to the witness and asked him directly and menacingly: "Are you Jewish?"
Police arrested him hours later following urgent reports of a man shouting antisemitic abuse and throwing stones at moving vehicles.
The court also heard that the campaign had begun months earlier. On 24 November 2025, the synagogue director's nephew, David, was standing by his car when the defendant approached and demanded his personal details and home address. When he refused, the defendant threatened him: "Do you want to lose your life? Then get out of here now."
Sentencing and community response
Judge Daphna Spiro, presiding over the case, described the defendant's conduct as a sustained, planned, and targeted campaign of serious antisemitic behaviour carried out over several months.
Beyond the custodial sentence, the court imposed a strict and permanent restraining order barring the defendant from entering or returning to the Stamford Hill area, and prohibiting any direct or indirect contact with his victims.
Varinder Hayre, District Crown Prosecutor and head of hate crime for CPS London North, said the evidence against the defendant had been overwhelming, forcing him to abandon his not guilty plea within a month. "The evidence presented was so crushing that the defendant realized he had no chance of escaping guilt," Hayre said.
Members of the Jewish community expressed satisfaction with the sentence and said they hoped the restraining order would help restore a sense of security to the neighbourhood's streets.