Shafiq Rahman has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for a racially aggravated assault on Moishe Posen, an Orthodox Jewish building inspector he cornered and threatened in a Slough garden while accusing him of “killing babies in Palestine.”
A man has been jailed for 16 months at Reading Crown Court after subjecting a Jewish building inspector to a racially aggravated assault while he was carrying out his work in a residential garden. Shafiq Rahman, 48, confronted Moishe Posen, a married father-of-two, without provocation on 20 April in Slough, Berkshire, cornering him and blocking his path while hurling antisemitic abuse and threats.
What the Court Heard
During the attack, Rahman called Posen a “dirty motherf***** Jew” and screamed at him “Jew, what are you f****** doing here Jew,” before threatening to “break his jaw.” He went on to accuse him of “killing babies in Palestine.” The court heard the abuse left Posen fearing he was about to be physically assaulted. A passerby was heard shouting encouragement from a car for Rahman to attack his victim further.
Judge Lesley Rowley concluded the attack was motivated by hostility towards Posen’s Jewish faith, finding that the abuse caused significant emotional harm in addition to the physical intimidation involved.
The Toll on the Victim
Posen later told the court the attack had shaken his confidence and left him feeling unsafe because of his visibly Orthodox Jewish appearance. In particularly striking testimony, he said that even during the assault itself, he found himself blaming his own visible Jewish identity, questioning whether he should have done more to make himself less of a target.
Wider Context of Antisemitic Attacks
The assault took place just weeks after four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity were targeted in an arson attack in Golders Green, north London, and only days before an attempted murder of two men in the same suburb.
Additional Offence and Sentencing
Alongside the racially aggravated assault, Rahman was also sentenced for a separate incident involving an XL Bully dog attack, which occurred while he was on licence following an earlier conviction. As he was sentenced, Rahman was seen smirking in the dock, prompting Judge Rowley to pause proceedings and address him directly: “You seem to think something is funny. You’re not helping yourself.”
Police and Prosecutors Respond
Prosecutors said the case underscored the serious harm caused by religiously motivated hate crime, with the sentence reflecting both the racial aggravation involved and the threatening nature of the incident. Thames Valley Police said they remain committed to tackling hate crime and urged anyone subjected to abuse because of their race or religion to report it to officers.
