A Jewish father called Israel has revealed his family feels like a ‘target’ after their five-month-old daughter’s birth certificate was returned from the Home Office ripped with the birthplace of Israel scribbled out.
Israel, a father-of-three who lives in Edgware, North London, said his wife Dorin, 29, was left in disbelief when she opened the envelope only to find baby Ronnie’s identification papers had been tampered with.
‘She found it was ripped half way through and my place of birth – which was Israel – had been scribbled out with a pen,’ the 32-year-old engineer, 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.’
Five-month-old baby Ronnie’s birth certificate was returned to the family defaced, with her birth place of Israel scribbled out
The family of five, who live in Edgware, North London, feel that they have been ‘targeted’
People attend a Campaign Against Antisemitism rally outside New Scotland Yard in central London, seeking police action amid a rise in anti-Semitic incidents
‘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As the certificate has been defaced it is no longer valid and the family will need to wait for the Home Office to re-send the document.
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.’
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.
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
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
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 birthday certificate returned, torn, with the parent’s place of birth scribbled out, just because it is the Jewish state.
‘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.’
Home Secretary James Cleverly said on X this evening that he had 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.’
Security Minister Tom Tugendhat also posted on X confirming the Home Office is investigating the matter.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in central London for a rally against antisemitism in November
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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