Baby’s birth certificate ‘was crossed out’ – after being sent to apply for a passport

The Interior Ministry launches an investigation after a baby’s birth certificate was returned to its parents “with the word Israel crossed out.”

The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said the certificate was sent two weeks ago as part of a passport application and returned on Monday with the father’s place of birth redacted.

The organization, which uncovers cases of anti-Semitism, described the incident as “completely unacceptable.”

The image was posted on X and captioned: ‘Two weeks ago a member of the public sent a passport application for their six-month-old daughter to @ukhomeoffice.

“Today the birth certificate was torn up and returned with the word ‘Israel’ crossed out. The parents are understandably very concerned about this incident.

“We call on the Interior Ministry to investigate how this happened. The Interior Ministry is responsible for law enforcement and the security of the Jewish community.

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“Trust in the authorities is at a painfully low level and must be restored.”

Home Secretary James Cleverly responded, saying he had asked officials to “investigate the matter urgently and will ensure appropriate action is taken.”

The incident came after figures released by the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that ensures the security of Jewish schools and institutions, revealed In the United Kingdom, more than 4,000 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in 2023.

Police Minister Chris Philp said in a speech in the House of Commons on Monday that the report was “deeply disturbing reading” and that the figure cited was “the highest annual total” ever reported to the charity.

“There is no excuse for the behavior described in the CST report or seen in some of the shocking incidents of recent times,” he said.

“Whenever and wherever anti-Semitic crimes occur, the government expects the police to fully investigate the incident and work with the public prosecutor to bring the perpetrators to justice.”

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A spokesman for the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said: “This is completely unacceptable. If you send a passport application to the Home Office, you should not expect to get your child’s birthday certificate back torn up and with the parent’s place of birth crossed out just because it is the Jewish state.”

“We support the parents who are understandably very concerned about this incident. We also ask the Home Office to investigate how this happened.”

“The Home Office is responsible for law enforcement and the safety of the Jewish community and the wider public. British Jews’ trust in the authorities is at painfully low levels and must be restored.”

The Ministry of the Interior was asked for a statement.