A Londoner whose baby’s birth certificate was ‘defaced’ by Home Office staff no longer feels safe in the UK as cases of anti-Semitism continue to rise across the country.
Israel, a father-of-three who lives in Edgware, North London, and his wife Dorin, 29, were left in disbelief when they found five-month-old baby Ronnie’s identification papers had been tampered with.
The certificate, returned from the Passport Office, had been ripped and her father’s place of birth – which was Israel – had been scribbled out with a biro pen, leading the Home Secretary to launch an investigation into the case.
‘I felt horrendous when I saw it for the first time,’ the 32-year-old engineer said. ‘It took me a few more times to look at that and understand what’s going on.’
Ever since Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on October 7, the family have been living in fear and have started to feel ‘unsafe’.
The family of five, who live in Edgware, North London, feel that they have been ‘targeted’
Five-month-old baby Ronnie’s birth certificate was returned to the family defaced, with her birth place of Israel scribbled out
Father-of-three Israel said ‘being Jewish in the UK is getting worse’, with his family fearing for their safety
‘The situation here is not good,’ Israel told Sky News. ‘To be Jewish in the UK is very hard. And it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse and worse.
‘I think my daughter, in 20 years, that’s her future, because London is not London any more, and I literally feel unsafe.’
Yesterday Israel, who is also father to eight-year-old Adiel and five-year-old Ella, told MailOnline his family felt like a ‘target’ as if they were living in 1930s Germany where Nazis would put notes on Jewish people’s documents.
‘[My wife] found it was ripped half way through and my place of birth – which was Israel – had been scribbled out with a pen,’ Israel, who did not want to reveal his surname, told MailOnline.
‘We felt as if we had been taken back to 1930’s Germany where the Nazis would put notes on Jewish people’s documentation.
‘It is completely warped and it hurts my heart that my daughter is not even six-months-old and she has already been discriminated on in the worst way.’
‘The Home Office is in charge of our safety as a minority in the UK and they deal with our most private documents but instead of sending us back the certificate in the right way someone within their system has scribbled out Israel because they have hostile feelings,’ Israel added.
The shocked family were advised to contact the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism who approached the Home Office on behalf of the family to raise the issue.
The birth certificate was returned to the family with a tear on the right hand side, while the birth place of Ronnie’s father’s was scratched out in what appears to be a biro pen. Her mother’s birthplace of Israel, however, was left untouched.
As the certificate has been defaced it is no longer valid and the family will need to wait for the Home Office to re-send the document.
Home Secretary James Cleverly (pictured outside Downing Street on February 6) said the incident would be looked into ‘urgently’
The Home Secretary took to X to inform the public officials within the Home Office will investigate the matter immediately
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay meanwhile called the incident ‘absolutely appalling and shocking’
The concerned father, who had only sent the application for the birth certificate off two weeks ago, has now called for the person behind the attack to be removed from the Home Office and for the Government to apologise.
Israel, who runs an engineering company, added: ‘This is our Government and we are putting our faith in their hands so we want the Home Office to first apologise.
‘Afterwards we need to make sure this person, man or woman, cannot put their hands on other people’s private documents.
‘Unfortunately this birth certificate is not valid any more because it’s been scribbled on. So this person has destroyed my child’s identity, their birth certificate, just because it’s a Jewish person.
‘We are terrified because if this is the environment within the Home Office this is not a place we want to live. We are just as British as everyone else.’
Responding to the incident yesterday evening Home Secretary James Cleverly said on X that he called for an immediate investigation into the matter.
Responding to the image of the invalid birth certificate, which has since been shared widely on social media, he said: ‘I have asked my officials to investigate this urgently and will see that appropriate action is taken.’
Last week, the Community Security Trust said it had recorded 4,103 instances of anti-Semitism, up from 1,662 in 2022. Pictured: Orthodox Jewish men pass police officers on patrol in Stamford Hill
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay meanwhile called the incident ‘absolutely appalling and shocking’ adding that the Government ‘absolutely needs to get to the bottom of what’s happened.’
Israel said Mr Cleverly’s response was ‘very swift’ and gave him some ‘hope’ but he still feared for Jewish people in the UK.
He said while people ‘can debate if what Israel is doing is legitimate or not’ people ‘cannot debate if Israel is a legitimate as a state or not.’
‘Scribbling it out is like saying “no, I’m not legitimate”‘ he added.
Ever since the war broke out in the Middle East following Hamas’ October 7 attacks Israel has warned his eight-year-old son and five-year-old daughter to avoid revealing their Jewish identity in public.
The father said: ‘We are hiding our identity as much as we can and we are telling our children to hide any signs of being Jewish because the environment around here is not friendly towards Jewish people.
‘We are seen as targets and we have seen a sharp rise in the hostile environment.’
‘We expect the Home Office to apologise. We need a new document because this one has been destroyed and is not valid anymore,’ Israel said.
‘I hope it is a one-off, but maybe it’s the beginning of something bigger and maybe.’
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism told MailOnline: ‘This is completely unacceptable.
‘When sending off a passport application to the Home Office, the last thing one should ever expect is to have their child’s birth certificate returned, torn, with the parent’s place of birth scribbled out, just because it is the Jewish state.
People attend a Campaign Against Antisemitism rally outside New Scotland Yard in central London, seeking police action amid a rise in anti-Semitic incidents
Tens of thousands of people gathered in central London for a rally against antisemitism in November
‘We are assisting the parents, who are understandably very concerned about this incident. We are also asking the Home Office to investigate how this happened.
‘The Home Office has responsibility for law enforcement and the security of the Jewish community and the wider public. Confidence in the authorities among British Jews is at painfully low levels and must be restored.’
Security Minister Tom Tugendhat also posted on X confirming the Home Office is investigating the matter.
The defaced birth certificate has led to a public outcry from people on social media.
One wrote: ‘Horrendous antisemitism. Time for some serious consequences for antisemitism in the UK.’
Another added ‘What is going on? Disciplinary investigation is required in this case’ while a third labelled the incident ‘absolutely disgraceful’.
MailOnline has contacted the Home Office for further comment.
The incident comes just days after a report by The Community Security Trust revealed the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had jumped 147 per cent in the last year, with a massive surge occurring in the wake of October 7.
The charity recorded 4,103 instances of anti-Semitism in Britain, up from 1,662 in 2022.
It included 266 violent assaults on Jews, up 96 per cent year-on-year and the highest figure since the CST started gathering data 40 years ago.
For the first time, it recorded at least one anti-Semitic incident for every police force in the UK, with the majority – more than 2,400 – in London, including some at vigils for Hamas’s Israeli hostages.
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