A man who asked a barrister 'Are you Jewish?' before punching him in the jaw outside a cricket club has been convicted of racially aggravated assault. Tony Steer, 35, targeted Nathaniel Bor as he left a birthday party at Finchley Cricket Club in north London on December 13 last year.
Mr Bor, a barrister, said he and a friend were waiting for an Uber when they noticed Steer standing across the road, smiling and giving them two middle fingers. Steer then approached and asked if they were 'together', insinuating a romantic or sexual relationship, before repeatedly asking 'Are you Jewish?' Mr Bor said he was taken aback and replied, 'What on earth has that got to do with anything?'
After Mr Bor gave the same response a second time, Steer smiled and punched him hard in the jaw. Mr Bor, who is Jewish, said he did not know why Steer asked the question. The victim suffered a painful jaw and bruising inside his lip. Steer fled the scene but was later arrested.
In court, Steer claimed he had been drinking and thought Mr Bor and his friend were shouting 'go home' and pursuing him. He said he ran away and was 'absolutely traumatised'. However, Recorder Emma Greenwood rejected his account, noting the punch followed immediately after the anti-Semitic questions.
Steer, of Greenwich, was released on conditional bail ahead of sentencing on April 16 at Willesden Magistrates' Court. Louise Ahmad of the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'Tony Steer launched a cowardly and unprovoked attack based on his perception of the victim’s race. Antisemitism has no place in our society.'
