Heidi Bachram from Brighton, England whose relatives were murdered in Hamas' terror attack on October 7 and are now held captive in Gaza, claims that police advised her to stop posting about controversial topics like Gaza after she faced a wave of antisemitic attacks on social media, the British Telegraph reported.
Bachram is well-known on social media for raising awareness about the condition of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, who have been in captivity for 674 days. Her Twitter account has more than 42,000 followers, and she actively shares information about the murdered and the hostages, as well as incidents of antisemitism in Britain and around the world.
"Tonight at our 7/10 memorial in Brighton we dedicated to Oran Alfasi who was at his girlfriend’s house when Hamas invaded. He was shot in the safe room and shielded her with his body, dying of his wounds," she wrote on X. "While we told his story, a pro-Pal shouted “Free Palestine” from a car. Murdering Oran did not free anything or anyone."
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Among the hateful posts directed at her were comments such as: "Ugly Zionist scum," along with humiliating mockery of her relatives—Tsahi Idan, who was kidnapped to Gaza and murdered in Hamas captivity, and his eldest daughter Maayan, who was killed by terrorists who broke into the family’s home in Nahal Oz on October 7.
Bachram told the Telegraph: "The attacks were terrifying and relentless. It felt like I was being attacked not just by the troll but also by the police. It was a classic case of victim-blaming. When the troll posted about my husband’s relative who was murdered, I felt sick. We are still in shock over Tsahi’s death. I couldn’t believe someone could be so intentionally cruel."
According to her, instead of launching an investigation against the attacker, Sussex Police suggested that she stop posting about "sensitive political topics" like Gaza and even told her she was "making herself a target." Bachram claims that the police advised her to "avoid" controversial topics to prevent further provocation.
She further noted that two weeks earlier, she had received a warning from the police after an officer alerted her to an antisemitic post published by a far-right troll. In response to a photo Bachram shared of a memorial in Brighton commemorating the victims of the October 7 terror attack—which had been vandalized with feces—a user named NoticeBanned wrote on X on June 23: "None of these people died in Brighton. Go f*** yourself, Jew."
In response to Bachram’s claims, a spokesperson for Sussex Police stated: "We are aware of the concerns raised by Ms. Bachram and have received a formal complaint. The complaint will be fully investigated. Sussex Police maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards hate crimes—there is no place for hatred in the county. We urge anyone affected by hate crimes to report them to Sussex Police, and we are committed to ensuring that every reported incident is thoroughly investigated in accordance with the law, taking all factors into account."