A man who was filmed “intimidating” Al Jazeera journalists in London has been identified by Declassified as a serving Metropolitan Police officer.
Special Constable David Soffer was at the front of a mob that surrounded the film crew on Monday, shouting “go home”.
Footage shows Soffer directly approaching one of the Al Jazeera journalists, who is Palestinian, calling him a “dog” and a “donkey” in Arabic.
“Go back to Qatar,” he is heard saying. “Get out of here, you donkey.”
After Declassified revealed Soffer’s involvement, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “We are aware that an off duty serving Met officer was involved in the altercation. The matter has been referred to the Department of Professional Standards for assessment.”
He now faces the possibility of disciplinary action – and has already deleted the police role from his LinkedIn account.
And police have said they will “review” the footage to identify whether any offences were committed by anyone involved in the incident.
The incident happened in the Golders Green area of London on Monday, as Al Jazeera tried to report on the arson attack on Jewish charity ambulances.
Police are treating the arson attack as an antisemitic hate crime, with CCTV showing people setting the vehicles on fire and running away.
Two British men were arrested on Wednesday and later released on bail while an investigation continues.
Later, footage of a group of men surrounding and intimidating an Al Jazeera film crew near the scene sparked outrage on social media.
The Met Police spokesperson said: “We’re aware of the footage showing the verbal altercation between local residents and journalists.
“Freedom of the press is important and journalists must be able to do their job without being subject to intimidation or harassment.
“Officers did intervene but we recognise that there was an extended period where the journalists were put in a difficult situation which led them to leave the area. Officers on duty in the area have been asked to be alert to any similar altercations in the coming days.”
David Soffer – who also runs a reputation management firm according to records filed at Companies House – is seen making his way to the centre of the mob and insulting the cameraman.
A prolific user of X/Twitter, Soffer has publicly expressed his support for Israel.
In 2024, the far-right activist Tommy Robinson posted an image on Twitter saying “Fuck Palestine”, adding: “The shithole is full of inbred Islamist parasites and terrorists.”
Soffer responded, saying that Robinson “is telling the truth” and that Israel will “justly finish” the war in Gaza.