The woman filmed removing yellow ribbons from an Israeli hostage memorial in north London has been revealed as a Cambridge-educated PhD student married to a Palestinian actor.
Nadia Yahlom used scissors to cut down memorial ribbons that the Jewish community had tied to railings in Muswell Hill to honour the 251 people kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The ribbons, erected on the eve of the second anniversary of the attacks, serve as the symbol of the Bring Them Home campaign for hostages held in Gaza.
Yahlom, a pro-Palestine artist whose work centres on “hauntedness and supernatural life” in the Palestinian territories, justified her actions by claiming the ribbons were “condoning genocide. Her identity had remained unknown until now.
The activist studied at Cambridge University and Goldsmiths before pursuing an Arts PhD at the University of Westminster. Her husband, a Palestinian actor and filmmaker, was born in the West Bank and moved to London in 2011. Yahlom also co-founded Sarha Collective, an organisation promoting experimental art from Palestine and the wider Southwest Asia and North Africa region.
Furious residents confronted Yahlom on Fortis Green Road outside The Pocket Park, mere yards from Muswell Hill’s synagogue. Despite protests from onlookers, she continued removing the ribbons whilst insisting she was not breaking the law.
Today, local residents led by Miranda Levy and Ben Paul gathered at the site to restore the memorial. Mrs Levy, who filmed the original incident, described the emotional impact of witnessing the vandalism.
“As a Jewish person I felt that pull to do something. It feels personal,” she said. “These ribbons are to remember all the people who were kidnapped and those who are still there.”
Mrs Levy condemned what she sees as growing acceptance of anti-Jewish actions. “There is a climate that it’s acceptable, you can get away with it and even more than that, that people applaud it,” she stated. “People think [they] are on the side of the good, the side of the righteous by standing against Israel and the Jewish people. Frankly what she was doing was anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and anti-humanity.”
She recounted discovering Yahlom “methodically” cutting down ribbons whilst heading to get coffee. “Immediately I was furious,” Mrs Levy said. “It was like an instinct and I just said: ‘What are you doing?'”
Yahlom ignored her and continued, telling shocked bystanders: “No, you are not going to do this. Because I’m not committing a crime.” When informed she was breaking the law, she responded: “Call the police and then let them know that you have an issue with this.
A man called her a “disgusting little human being”, to which Yahlom, clutching the removed ribbons, replied: “I think condoning genocide is disgusting, yeah, because that’s what this is.”
The Metropolitan Police are investigating the incident. “Officers have stepped up reassurance patrols in the Muswell Hill area, following reports that yellow ribbons were removed from fence poles,” a spokesperson confirmed.
“At approximately 16:25hrs on Monday, 6 October, officers were made aware of a video circulating online which appears to show a woman removing the ribbons in Muswell Hill. Officers attended the location and are reviewing the footage to determine whether any offences, including hate crime or criminal damage, have been committed. Enquiries remain ongoing.”
Ben Paul, another Muswell Hill resident who helped restore the ribbons, explained their significance through a deeply personal connection. His friend Guy Gilboa Dalal was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova festival in 2023.
“Guy is paraded around like a trophy in Gaza. These ribbons are to say, don’t forget,” Mr Paul said. “These ribbons may come down by tomorrow and I accept that. But on today of all days. Just give us one day. Just one day.”
The incident coincides with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s statement that the UK will “always stand tall” against those who wish harm upon Jewish communities. He urged students to avoid protests on the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, which killed approximately 1,200 people.
However, students across Britain defied the Prime Minister’s appeal, staging demonstrations at multiple universities. Around 100 protesters gathered outside Sheffield University’s students’ union, chanting “From river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The slogan, adopted by Hamas and featured in the terror group’s charter, is widely considered antisemitic and a call for Israel’s destruction. Flag-waving students also accused Israel of perpetrating a “holocaust” and shouted: “Your uni is covered in Palestinian blood.”
Some demonstrations promoted the phrase “long live the intifada”, an antisemitic rallying cry associated with violent attempts to overthrow the Jewish state.
In Liverpool, a “Palestine bake sale” was cancelled following fierce backlash. One woman, requesting anonymity for safety reasons, said: “I know that Jewish students at the university are very distressed by this. It has made them feel unwelcome and unsafe. The event was posted on their Instagram on Friday, the day after Manchester’s attack.”
A planned protest at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, where students were urged to “grab your flag and keffiyeh” for a “Protest 4 Palestine”, was also postponed amid mounting anger.
The ribbon removal and subsequent campus protests underscore deepening divisions within British society over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly in academic settings where tensions have escalated dramatically since October 7.
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