Police have ramped up patrols in Bournemouth after a spate of ‘extremely concerning’ anti-Semitic attacks.

A Jewish teenager was shot with an airgun on his way to his synagogue and swastikas were daubed on Jewish homes over the weekend.

The attacks come amid reports of rising anti-Semitism across Britain, sparked by Israel’s invasion of Gaza following the October 7 atrocities.

The most serious of the incidents in the seaside town came on Saturday afternoon, in the East Cliff area, which houses a significant Jewish community, when a teenage boy was walking to the synagogue accompanied by one other person.

A car stopped close to them, and the driver shouted obscenities at the pair before firing an airgun at the boy. The pellet struck the teenager on the forehead. Luckily it caused only superficial physical injuries. Police are treating it as a ‘hate crime’.

Hours earlier, the nearby homes of a number of Bournemouth’s prominent Jews were graffitied with Nazi swastikas in an overnight attack.

One of the properties was the home of Rabbi Benzion Alperowitz – who discovered that the emblem had been spray-painted on his house as he set off the synagogue on Saturday morning with two of his five children, daughters aged ten and seven.

Rabbi Alperowitz said: ‘As I walked out of my door with my children we discovered that some cowards had visited our home and decorated it.

Rabbi Alperowitz saw the swastika on his walls as he left his house with his children

‘This is very upsetting and alarming and we have been in touch with the police and they are trying to track down the perpetrators who did this.

‘We should be proud of who we are and never allow these forces of darkness and evil to instill fear in our hearts.’

Several other homes on Manor Road were also graffitied in the same manner.

Rabbi Alperowitz said: ‘Jewish people should feel safe to walk around in Bournemouth. I was born and grew up here, and this is not the Bournemouth I know.

‘We all together are responsible to bring back Bournemouth to what it truly is – a place of kindness, a place of unity, and everyone has a part in that.’

In a video to members to fellow Jews, Rabbi Alperowitz told them: ‘Be proud to be Jewish and never allow these forces of darkness and forces of evil to instil fear into our hearts.’

Rabbi Alan Lewis of the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation, said the attacks had left the community shocked.

He noted that all the homes targeted with swastikas were houses which followed tradition by displaying the Jewish mezuzah scroll, sometimes seen as a protection against evil, beside their front doors.

A number of homes in Manor Road were targeted in the anti-Semitic attacks

Rabbi Lewis said: ‘The young man who was shot is a religious Jew who was wearing a skull cap. It was very obvious he was Jewish.

‘Then several people living on Manor Road woke up to find that Swastikas had been painted on their homes. The homes had a mezuzah outside so it was obvious that Jewish people lived there.

‘We are well aware of what is going on in the world, but this is very shocking because the majority of the members of the Jewish community are retired people.’

Some Bournemouth Jews are so worried about anti-Semitic attacks they have removed the mezuzah scrolls – featuring Hebrew verses from the Torah – from beside their front doors.

Last night the Board of Deputies of British Jews vice president Andrew Gilbert said: ‘These hateful attacks on people and property in Bournemouth are extremely concerning. We have been informed that the police are investigating and hope that the perpetrators will be arrested and face the full force of the law.’

Jewish charity the Community Security Trust says there were 1,521 anti-Semitic incidents across the country in the first half of the year, the second highest ever recorded.

A Community Security Trust spokesman said: ‘CST is appalled by a series of anti-Jewish hate crimes in Bournemouth over the weekend. These are abhorrent acts of racism that are deeply distressing for the Jewish community and should alarm everybody.’

A survey of Jewish teachers last month revealed more than half had suffered abuse – with swastikas and chants of ‘Free Palestine’ becoming more frequent.

A police spokesman said: ‘Dorset Police takes hate crime extremely seriously and a full investigation is under way to identify those responsible. Enquiries are being carried out to establish whether the incidents are linked.’