Unidentified individuals placed bread outside several Jewish homes in north London during the Passover holiday, in what community members have described as a provocative and distressing act.
The incidents occurred on Saturday and again on Monday in Stamford Hill, a neighbourhood with a large Haredi Jewish population. Dozens of pita breads were found outside residential properties in the area, according to reports by Behadrei Haredim, an Israeli news outlet.
Local Jewish security group Shomrim said it is reviewing CCTV footage to try to identify those responsible. No arrests have been made.
The motive remains unclear. Elad Simchayoff, the London correspondent for Israel’s Channel 12 News, described the incidents as “anti-Jewish hatred and harassment”. However, two local residents quoted by Behadrei Haredim said they believed the culprit may be Jewish, though they did not provide evidence to support the claim.
A similar act was reported outside the home of Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman. In that case, pitas were used to spell out the phrase “one pita a day”, referencing the food rations reportedly given to Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Silman condemned the action as the work of “vile people devoid of basic human values”.
During Passover, observant Jews do not consume or keep leavened products, known as chametz, in their homes.
