A Jewish family say they feel like a “target” after their baby’s birth certificate returned from the Home Office ripped and with the birthplace of Israel scribbled out.
Father-of-three, who is called Israel, said his family were in disbelief and said it was as though they had “been taken back to 1930’s Germany”.
The family – who live in Edgware, North London – found five-month-old Ronnie’s identification papers had been tampered with.
They were advised to contact the Campaign Against Antisemitism who launched a complaint against the Home Office.
The birth certificate was returned with a rip down the right hand side and with the birth place of Ronnie’s father’s scratched out.
Despite Ronnie’s mother, Dorin also having Israel down as her place of birth, this was left untouched.
“She found it was ripped half way through and my place of birth – which was Israel – had been scribbled out with a pen,” Israel told The Daily Mail.
“We felt as if we had been taken back to 1930’s Germany where the Nazis would put notes on Jewish people’s documentation.
“It is completely warped and it hurts my heart that my daughter is not even six-months-old and she has already been discriminated on in the worst way.”
As the certificate is damaged, it is no longer valid so a new document must be re-sent by the Home Office.
The father has now called for the person behind the attack to be removed from the Home Office and for the Government to apologise.
He added: “This is our Government and we are putting our faith in their hands so we want the Home Office to first apologise.
“Afterwards we need to make sure this person, man or woman, cannot put their hands on other people’s private documents.
“Unfortunately this birth certificate is not valid any more because it’s been scribbled on. So this person has destroyed my child’s identity, their birth certificate, just because it’s a Jewish person.
“We are terrified because if this is the environment within the Home Office this is not a place we want to live. We are just as British as everyone else.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is completely unacceptable.
“The Home Office has responsibility for law enforcement and the security of the Jewish community and the wider public. Confidence in the authorities among British Jews is at painfully low levels and must be restored.”
https://www.gbnews.com/news/jewish-family-birth-certificate-ripped-israel-birthplace-london