Brian of London with some news from the old country. I’ve changed a couple of key details in the story, see if you can work out what:
A taxi driver ranted racial abuse outside a Muslim school after getting stuck in a traffic jam.
Zvi Goldberg shrieked ‘All Muslim children must die!’ after his car was hemmed in by parents picking up pupils outside Manchester Central Mosque.
The court heard Goldberg launched his tirade on October 5, after a traffic jam formed outside Manchester Central Mosque on Upper Park Road.
…..
Goldberg was on his way to Synagogue when he got stuck in the congestion lost his temper at the driver in front of him, Aysha Mohammed.
Muslima Mahmet told the court that she had collected her children, aged four and six, from the school, when she saw him shouting at Mrs Mohammed.
When Mrs Mahmet got out of her vehicle to help the woman manoeuvre her car, Goldberg screamed vile racial insults at them both.
Mrs Mohammed said her daughter began to cry and her son asked ‘Why’s the man shouting at you mummy?’ She told the jury the incident ‘scared the hell out of my children and out of me’.
Mrs Mahmet said the abuse continued even after she got back in her car, and Fatimah Bin Laden, a teaching assistant, said she was ‘shocked’ by the rant, which led the victims to contact people.
…..
Sentencing him to a 3 years in prison, Judge David Stockdale QC said it was a ‘particularly nasty offence’ that warranted a jail sentence.
What an horrific tale. Disgusting. And for sure he deserves his 3 years in prison.
Only it didn’t happen like that.
Zvi Goldberg is really Taha Osman. He shrieked “All Jewish children must die“, and strangely enough, his offence wasn’t serious enough to warrant a prison sentence.
Here’s the real story from the Manchester Evening News:
A taxi driver ranted racial abuse outside a Jewish school after getting stuck in a traffic jam.
Taha Osman shrieked ‘All Jewish children must die!’ after his car was hemmed in by parents picking up pupils outside King David School in Crumpsall.
Two mums on the school run and a teaching assistant were singled out in a foul-mouthed and ‘frightening’ tirade witnessed by kids, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Osman – an Iraqi Kurd who has settled in Britain – also shouted that Jewish people were ‘animals’ who ‘should not be allowed in this country’.
The 36-year-old denied causing religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress in a trial, but was found guilty by the jury.
Sentencing him to a community order, Judge David Stockdale QC said it was a ‘particularly nasty offence’ – but did not warrant a jail sentence.
The court heard that Osman, who was off-duty from his job with a Manchester firm at the time, now faces having his private hire licence withdrawn.
The court heard Osman launched his tirade on October 5, after a traffic jam formed on Seymour Road outside King David School.
Osman was on his way to Tesco when he got stuck in the congestion lost his temper at the driver in front of him, Sigal Bar-Ilan.
Caroline Franks told the court that she had collected her children, aged four and six, from the school, when she saw him shouting at Mrs Bar-Ilan.
When Mrs Franks got out of her vehicle to help the woman manoeuvre her car, Osman screamed vile racial insults at them both.
Mrs Bar-Ilan said her daughter began to cry and her son asked ‘Why’s the man shouting at you mummy?’ She told the jury the incident ‘scared the hell out of my children and out of me’.
Mrs Franks said the abuse continued even after she got back in her car, and Joanne Cantor, a teaching assistant, said she was ‘shocked’ by the rant, which led the victims to contact people.
Sentencing Osman, of Roch Bank, Blackley, Judge Stockdale said that his language had been of the ‘utmost offensiveness’.
He added: “Your rant on that afternoon crossed the boundary between what would have been ill-mannered, foul-mouthed loutish behaviour into the territory of criminal behaviour.
“This was because you launched into a racist verbal attack on the Jewish community in general.
“Your behaviour and language was precisely the language and behaviour the legislation is designed to prevent. This was a most serious offence of its type.”
