Jewish father arrested for using Nazi slur against rabbi on Facebook

A father was arrested in front of his young child and locked up for more than 12 hours after he called another Jewish man a 'kapo' in a private Facebook post.

Rupert Nathan, 63, is terrified his career may now be 'destroyed' after police put his case to the Crown Prosecution Service to assess whether he should be charged with 'malicious communications'.

It is the latest example of heavy-handed policing with thousands of potentially innocent people being probed by police for 'non-crime hate incidents' including children as young as nine.

Mr Nathan made a series of insulting Facebook comments on a close friend's post in which he described Rabbi Gabriel Kanter-Webber as a 'creep', a 'fake Rabbi' and a 'kapo boy'.

During Nazi Germany, a 'Kapo' was the name given to Jewish people who were made to supervise other Jewish people in concentration and extermination camps and is used now by Jewish people to call others of the faith a traitor.

While Mr Nathan admits his remarks may have caused offence he disputes that he said anything illegal or anti-Semitic.

Rabbi Kanter-Webber - who is the Rabbi at Brighton and Hove Progressive synagogue - reported Nathan's comments to the police and his professional body the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment [CISI].

On July 18, 2024, the CISI decided not to take any action, but just over a month later the police showed up at Mr Nathan's front door to arrest him.

He told the Mail: 'My [12-year-old] daughter was in tears - completely inconsolable. Still now she has this deep fear that the police are going to take me away and put me in jail.

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'The other day she heard about Peter Lynch on the radio, who is essentially my age and committed suicide after he received a two-year jail sentence for participating in the far-right riots, and now my daughter keeps asking if that's what will happen to me.

'In the police station I was treated like a proper criminal. I was fingerprinted, DNA tested, photographed and then kept in a cold cell completely alone for ten hours. It was humiliating'

Rupert was released on bail but on Monday [ Nov 11] he was told that police had sent his case on to the CPS.

'I have a young daughter who I have to support.

'But if I get a criminal conviction against me it would completely destroy any chance I have of getting another job in my industry.

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'I admit that calling someone a 'kapo' is not a nice thing to do but it is not a crime.

'I am astounded that police waste their time on cases like mine and Allison Pearson's when they could spend their time tackling real hate-crimes instead.'

Toby Young Director of the Free Speech Union said: 'If it's not a criminal offence for pro-Palestinian protestors to call for a global intifada, I don't see how a Jew calling another Jew a 'Kapo' can possibly be against the law.'

In September the police watchdog warned that forces were getting involved in disputes that include 'hurt feelings' rather than exclusively cases that transgressed into being a hate crime.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'We are investigating alleged anti-Semitic posts on Facebook and enquiries are ongoing.'

Rabbi Gabriel Kanter-Webber declined to comment.