A man who shouted death threats at a synagogue manager and other members of the Jewish community in north London has been sentenced to 5 years in prison at Southwark Crown Court today.
Tavius Jean Charles, 35, shouted “Jew, I’m going to kill you” at the manager of Belz Synagogue in Stamford Hill, north London, said “it would be good if we blew up one of their schools,” and threw a rock at the window of a moving car.
Barry Bard, the synagogue manager, said the incident “made him feel petrified” and that some of his congregation were “terrified for their lives”.
Bard also described Jean Charles as a “danger to society”.
Her Honour Judge Spiro, sentencing, described Jean Charles’ “repeated and escalated” behaviour as a “sustained campaign of antisemitic behaviour… deliberately targeting people who were visibly Jewish”.
Judge Spiro told the defendant, “such conduct strikes at the fundamental values of a tolerant society. Any attack on the Jewish community is also an attack on all of society”.
Judge Spiro also imposed a restraining order on Jean Charles from entering Stamford Hill in north London.
Jean Charles was also ordered to pay £25 in damages to the man whose car window was shattered.
The total 5-year sentence also includes a two-and-a-half-year sentence for two drug-related offences in 2024, of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and possession of cannabis.
Last month, the 35-year-old pleaded guilty to eight counts of religiously aggravated threatening behaviour against six victims and religiously aggravated criminal damage between October 2025 and March 2026.
Jean Charles, of Hackney, east London, was arrested on March 24 following reports of a man shouting antisemitic abuse and throwing a rock at the window of a moving car.
The week before his arrest, on March 16 at 1.45pm, while outside Belz Synagogue, Jean Charles shouted “Oi, I’m gonna kill you, not just you, all of you f****** Jews” at Barry Bard and his son.
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Around 30 minutes later, Jean Charles shouted “I will kill you Jews” as he drove past a man who described his appearance as ‘orthodox Jewish’.
Jean Charles then threw a stone at the car, smashing the Toyota Estima’s passenger window and causing £205 worth of damage.
On March 24, Jean Charles was heard saying on his phone: “It would be good if we blew up one of their schools,” the prosecution told the court.
The court heard on Monday that the man who heard the remark believed Jean Charles was referring to a Jewish school after asking him: “Are you Jewish?”
On November 24 last year, Barry Bard’s nephew David Bard was standing by his car outside the Belz Synagogue when Jean Charles demanded to know his personal details, including his address, and Mr Bard replied he was not obliged to do so.
The court heard Jean Charles, who lived near the synagogue, then said: “What do you mean you’re not obliged. Do you want to lose your life?
“Do you want to lose your life? No. Then leave now.”
Barry Bard attended Belz Synagogue on November 26 and noticed Jean Charles loitering outside and taking photographs at 11.10pm.
Jean Charles then shouted across the road: “Jew, I’m going to kill you”, the court heard.
On December 18, Jean Charles told Shloime Bard “your people have called police on my address, so I will come and bash your door down”, the court heard.
Mr Lyon said Shloime Bard believed he was targeted “due to his visibly Jewish appearance”.
In a victim personal impact statement read to the court, David Bard said Jean Charles was “hateful” and that he “remembered every single word”.
Mitigating for Jean Charles, Mercedes Pascal said the defendant had developed PTSD after being the victim of a shooting in 2024.
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