Two women, a mother and daughter, were acquitted by a jury in only 28 minutes after being filmed chanting a slogan referring to the killing of Jews at a protest in London, soon after October 7, 2023.
Fatiah Boumazouna, 55, and Hadjer Boumazouna, 28, had been arrested after the protest took place on October 28, where they had chanted "Khaybar Khaybar Ya Yahud Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud" ("Khaybar Khaybar, oh Jews, the armies of Muhammed are coming"), referring to a historical battle in which Jews were slaughtered by Muhammed's forces in the early years of Islam.
The two handed themselves in to the police the day after the protest, stating that they were unaware that the chant was one of racial or religious hatred, and apologizing for the offense caused.
“It is very disappointing that this case did not result in a conviction, but we hope this outcome will not dissuade the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from continuing to prosecute cases of people allegedly inciting antisemitic hatred wherever possible,” a spokesperson for Community Security Trust (CST) stated.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said that it was the second time that the attempted prosecution of people who had chanted the Khaybar chant had failed. "The chant is unmistakably threatening to Jewish people," they stated, "But a jury apparently somehow disagreed. Nothing, it seems, can possibly be construed as being threatening to Jewish people if it means someone might be held to account. Another miscarriage of justice that will do nothing to reassure British Jews that the system is up to the job of protecting them and deterring haters.”
“Chants of 'Khaybar, Khaybar, ya yahud' are among the clearest examples of incitement against Jewish people heard at regular anti-Israel demonstrations," a spokesperson for the Jewish Leadership Council stated. "This slogan cannot credibly be misconstrued as a legitimate political slogan against the State of Israel. Rather, it is a direct expression of racial and religious hatred towards Jews.
“Such chanting should be met with the full force of the law. The police and CPS must not allow a disappointing failed prosecution to deter them from taking robust action to protect British Jews.”
ADL explains problems behind Khaybar chant
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes the invoking of the Khaybar chant at an anti-Israel protest as something which "problematically shifts the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a religious battle between Islam and Judaism.
"Moreover," it adds in its description of the chant, "in celebrating a past military defeat of Jews, this chant can be perceived as a threat of armed violence or forcible expulsion against Jews today."