Man jailed for antisemitic hate crimes in east London
He made threats towards Jewish people and schools in Hackney.
Last updated 22nd May 2026
A man who shouted abuse at a synagogue manager and said “it would be good if we blew up one of their schools” has been jailed for five years after admitting religiously aggravated threatening behaviour.
Tavius Jean Charles, 35, pleaded guilty last month to eight offences against six victims of religiously aggravated threatening behaviour and religiously aggravated criminal damage between October 2025 and March 2026.
Jean Charles, of Hackney, east London, was arrested on March 24 following reports of a man shouting antisemitic abuse and throwing a rock at the window of a moving car.
Sentencing him at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, Judge Dafna Spiro said: “Your behaviour amounted to sustained and deliberate campaign of antisemitic behaviour carried out over a number of months.
“You repeatedly targeted individuals who were visibly Jewish in the street and outside a synagogue.”
No remorse
She added: “There has been no expression of remorse and no mitigation whatsoever addressing the religiously motivated nature of your conduct.”
Jean Charles was also handed a restraining order banning him from entering the Stamford Hill, north London, area and contacting the victims.
Targeted abuse
The court had heard on Monday that on March 16 at 1.45pm while outside Belz Synagogue in Stamford Hill, Jean Charles shouted “Oi, I’m gonna kill you, not just you, all of you f** Jews” at the synagogue’s manager Barry Bard and his son.
Around 30 minutes later, Joel Scher, who describes his appearance as “orthodox Jewish” and was wearing a black kippah with hair styled in payots, heard Jean Charles shout “I will kill you Jews” as he drove past him along Heathland Road in north London.
Jean Charles then threw a stone smashing the Toyota Estima’s passenger window and causing £205 worth of damage, the court heard.
Threat made over school
Prosecutor Sam Lyon said Jean Charles was heard by George Stamatakis on Dunsmere Road in Stamford Hill on March 24 saying on his phone: “It would be good if we blew up one of their schools.”
The court was told Mr Stamatakis believed Jean Charles was referring to a Jewish school and Jean Charles then asked him: “Are you Jewish?”
On November 24 last year, Barry Bard’s nephew David Bard was stood by his car outside the Belz Synagogue and Jean Charles demanded to know his personal details, including his address, and Mr Bard replied he was not obliged to do so.
The court heard Jean Charles, who lived near the synagogue, then said: “What do you mean you’re not obliged. Do you want to lose your life?
“Do you want to lose your life? No. Then leave now.”
Barry Bard attended Belz Synagogue on November 26 and noticed Jean Charles loitering outside and taking photographs at 11.10pm.
Jean Charles then shouted across the road “Jew, I’m going to kill you”, the court heard.
Barry Bard said the incident “made him feel petrified” as it happened at his place of work.
"terrified for their lives"
In an impact statement read to court, the synagogue manager described Jean Charles as a “danger to society”, adding that some of his congregation are “terrified for their lives”.
On December 18, Jean Charles told Shloime Bard that “your people have called police on my address, so I will come and bash your door down”, the court heard.
Mr Lyon said Shloime Bard believed he was targeted “due to his visibly Jewish appearance”.
In a victim personal impact statement read to court, David Bard said Jean Charles was “hateful” and that he “remembered every single word”.
Mitigating for Jean Charles, Mercedes Pascal said the defendant had developed PTSD after being the victim of a shooting in 2024.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley previously said 300 extra police officers were needed across London as he warned of a growing “pandemic” of antisemitism in the UK.
Earlier this month the force announced there would be a dedicated team of 100 additional officers who would be deployed to protect London’s Jewish communities.
Sentenced for several offences
Jean Charles was sentenced on Friday for four offences between October and December 2025 of religiously aggravated threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause victims to believe immediate violence would be used against them, or to provoke such violence.
This is in addition to three offences in March of this year of religiously aggravated threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress and one offence of religiously aggravated criminal damage of a vehicle.
Jean Charles was also sentenced for possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply on June 29, 2024 and possession of cannabis on August 3, 2024.
He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years for the religiously aggravated offences and the same amount for the drug offences.