Orthodox Jews To Protect North London Mosque

Well, this is very nice of them. The Orthodox Jewish 'Shomrim' patrol has agreed to protect a mosque in the predominantly Jewish town of Hackney in north London. After the beheading of British soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, there has apparently been an increase in hate crimes targeting Muslims, so the North London Community Center in Hackney asked for help.

The deal was brokered at a recent meeting coordinated by Ian Sharer, a member of the local council, the Hackney Gazette reported this week.

[snip]

Sharer, who is Jewish, told the Gazette that he was asked by “Muslim friends to chair the meeting. The meeting was a great success. The Shomrim patrols have agreed to include the local mosques and other buildings as part of their routine patrols.”

Unlike the Muslim Patrol that aggressively harasses non-Muslims and Muslims alike in Muslim London neighborhoods, members of the Shomrim patrol the streets in order to protect.  It was created in 2008 to protect Jews from anti-Semitic hate crimes. There are 22 members who have been trained by local police. The streets are patrolled day and night.

If there was a mosque in a mostly Muslim British borough, I wonder if the Muslims would agree to provide the same protection?