A heroic builder has opened up about how he stepped in when he saw an ‘evil geezer’ trashing an October 7th memorial ahead of the massacre’s anniversary.
Former soldier Ryan Jackson said he confronted a man who was vandalising the shrine in Brighton where local families honour the innocent men, women and children murdered by Hamas last year.
He had picked up a plant, had thrown it to the ground and was about to rip a photograph of one of the Israeli children into pieces when Ryan, 37, stepped in to stop him on Thursday evening.
Footage of the atrocious attack on the memorial was spread over social media, with the perpetrator branded an ‘evil old man’.
It comes as a 58-year-old man from Hove was arrested on suspicion of racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage after footage of the incident was circulated online.
Builder Ryan Jackson, 37, intervened when he saw a man attacking the memorial, and BA air-stewardess Kim Woods, 35, helped rebuild the shrine afterwards
Atrocious footage shows a man heartlessly destroying a memorial in the UK to victims of the October 7 massacre yesterday
A man, dressed in beige trousers and a shirt with a black cap, was filmed tossing flowers, throwing the plaque, a football and teddy bears which had been left in Hove, Brighton as a tribute to those who tragically lost their lives
Builder Ryan told MailOnline: ‘The memorial is at the top of our street.
‘Young kids go there with their parents to pay tribute to the children who were killed in Israel.
‘There are teddy bears and footballs to remember the kids by. I’ve taken my five-year-old daughter there.
‘So, when I saw this geezer throwing everything around I couldn’t just let it happen.
‘It doesn’t matter which side of the argument you are on, this a memorial to the children that died.
‘I’m not an aggressive guy but this man was very angry.
‘He was saying, ‘you don’t know what they’ve done, you don’t know what they’ve done’.
‘He looked like he was ex-military, so I didn’t know what to expect
‘But I wanted to make him stop so I told him to back off.
‘I’m no hero but when you see something wrong you’ve got to do something.
He was seen picking up a planter and throwing it so that all of the soil fell out
Ryan then positioned himself between the man and the tributes before telling him to go
‘I couldn’t just walk past it.’
The shocking film was posted on X with the caption: ‘Breaking: A memorial honouring the victims murder on October 7, 2023, in Israel by Hamas in Brighton, UK was completely destroyed by this man.
‘Even dead Jews cannot be left alone in peace.’
‘Vandalism at its worst—disrespecting the memory of the innocent lives lost,’ another caption read.
‘This breaks my heart,’ one person commented. ‘I just cannot imagine how evil you have to be to do something like this’ a second added.
Others labelled him an ‘evil old man’ and ‘disgusting’.
A man, dressed in beige trousers and a shirt with a black cap, was filmed tossing flowers, throwing the plaque, a football and teddy bears left in tribute to those who tragically lost their lives.
Destroyed cars and personal items are scattered around the Nova festival site, on October 13
Survivors and family members of revellers who tragically died at the Nova Festival during Hamas’ deadly incursion on October 7 commemorating the victims at a memorial concert
The woman filming can be heard gasping and asking ‘what the f**k…why’ quietly.
Loud bangs can be heard in the atrocious footage as he continued to mess up the mementos which had been painstakingly placed there.
He was seen picking up a planter and throwing it so that all of the soil fell out.
As he picked up a photo of a person and looked as if he was going to rip it up, Ryan, who was walking by, shouted ‘oi’ at him.
They both pointed at the ruined memorial as Ryan seemed to tell him off.
He then positioned himself between the man and the tributes before pointing and telling him to go.
‘Go, go, get back, f**k off, go on’ he said, walking after the first man before turning back.
Some praised him for intervening, commenting: ‘Well done to the guy who sorted it out.’
Charred and damaged cars along a desert road after an attack by Hamas militants at the Tribe of Nova Trance music festival near Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel on Saturday, October 7
Destroyed cars and belongings left at the Supernova Music Festival site where hundreds were killed and dozens taken by Hamas militants near the border with Gaza, on October 12, 2023
A photo of the ruined shrine was posted on Instagram with a caption claiming it’s been attacked ’20 times’ in 10 months, but ‘never this ferociously’.
‘It’s chilling to imagine what they could be capable of doing to a human being.
‘Enough is enough.’
It came ahead of today’s anniversary of the massacre which began with Hamas militants attacking music lovers at the Nova Festival, but continued with waves of horrifying attacks which led to 1,195 people dying.
After the perpetrator fled, Ryan and his girlfriend Kim Woods rebuilt the memorial, that is in Palmera Square in the Hove district of the city.
Kim, 34, a British Airways air stewardess, said: ‘After the man ran off we did our best to rebuild the shrine.
A 58-year-old man from Hove was arrested on suspicion of racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage.
Tonight he remained in custody. Detective Superintendent Ben Newman said: ‘We understand that this incident has caused great upset within many communities, and we would like to reassure the public that our investigation team is working hard to gather all the facts and bring this matter to a positive conclusion.’
A previous statement said: ‘Following a report to police on October 4, we were saddened to learn of this act of vandalism against a memorial that holds great significance for many people.
‘We understand the distress this may cause and we are treating this incident as a hate crime.
‘An investigation is underway, and if you have information to help us identify the person responsible, we ask you to contact police.’
Sadly, this is not the first time the memorial has been vandalised.
Towards the end of June, a yellow ribbon which the wife of the Chief Rabbi tied around a tree was vandalised with stickers reading ‘Boycott Israeli Apartheid’ and ‘Free Palestine’.
The ribbons were also targeted by vandals when a link to an antisemitic website was scrawled on the back of them.
The shrine was created in November and people visit from all over the southeast to leave flowers and attend a daily service held there.
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