- Shakeshuka, a Palestinian restaurant/takeaway in London, is experiencing frequent abusive calls amid a surge in Islamophobia.
- Members of staff have been subjected to death threats, prompting a climate of fear and necessitating operational adjustments among the team.
The well-regarded Palestinian eatery, Shakeshuka, located just a short distance from Regents Park Mosque in London, has faced a series of threatening phone calls.
“Hello, do you do takeaway?
“OK. I’ll come over and take away your life….Israel for life!”
This type of concerning conversation is becoming a regular occurrence at Shakeshuka, a Palestinian takeout spot in London, amid a growing wave of abuse directed at the Muslim community in the U.K.
These threats have left some of the restaurant’s staff too afraid to come to work, resulting in significant operational changes. Audio recordings of some of the conversations have been shared online. In addition, the restaurant’s manager confirms that such incidents happen on a daily basis.
The incidents often start with seemingly harmless requests before quickly turning into abusive and intimidating calls. The restaurant’s owner, Haleem Kherellah said “they have been happening “every day, every single day.”
“They call maybe 10, 20 times. To a degree, we’ve stopped taking orders on the phone, to be honest”.
Haleem Kherellah reports receiving abusive phone calls everyday.
“It’s frightening and intimidating. I keep assuring my staff they are sick people”, said Mr Kherellah.
“I just feel like we are not allowed to talk. It’s frightening. It’s intimidating. One of my staff didn’t turn up the next day; he was so frightened. He felt intimidated.
“I feel I have to assure my staff, every single day, we’re going through a tough period. We’re not going to be frightened.”
According to the Metropolitan Police, there has been a significant surge of 140% in Islamophobic offenses following the recent escalation of events in Palestine. Last year at this time, there were only 42 reported hate crimes, in contrast to the 101 incidents recorded this year. Furthermore, there have been ten instances of Islamophobic graffiti discovered on bus stops in New Malden and Raynes Park in southwest London.
Islamophobic graffiti discovered at a bus stop in London
