UK police say reviewing video of Helen Mirren facing 'antisemitic' abuse
A video showing UK actress Helen Mirren and her husband facing alleged antisemitic abuse in London has circulated online.
British actress Helen Mirren accepts the Oscar for best actress for her work in "The Queen" the 79th Academy Awards Sunday, Feb 25, 2007, in Los Angeles. (Photo: AP/Mark J. Terrill)
LONDON: UK police said Friday (May 29) officers were trying to contact Oscar-winning actor Helen Mirren and "reviewing" video footage which shows her "being subjected to antisemitic verbal abuse".
Footage of the incident, which London's Metropolitan Police said it believed occurred last year in the British capital, has been circulating online.
It shows Mirren and her husband being approached by someone recording with a camera, who then calls her an "evil Zionist" followed by an expletive, alleging she "was very happy that Palestinians' houses were gone".
"We are aware of a video circulating online, showing a man and a woman being subjected to antisemitic verbal abuse," a police spokesperson said.
"Officers are currently reviewing the footage and making attempts to contact the victims to establish whether they would like to report the incident."
The force noted it had made more than 90 hate crime arrests since the end of March, amid a spike in antisemitic incidents in Britain in recent years amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism group condemned the "appalling" abuse Mirren faced, branding the perpetrator a "pro-Palestine thug".
