Two men have been arrested following a widely condemned video showing Orthodox Jewish men being targeted in a drive-by water pistol attack. The men, aged 26 and 36, remain in police custody on suspicion of racially aggravated common assault, according to Greater Manchester Police. The arrests came less than 24 hours after footage went viral online showing the pair laughing as they drove through Manchester spraying visibly Orthodox Jews — including children — with water.

One of the men inside the vehicle has been identified as Jestem Kamil Galanty, a UK resident originally from Poland. Galanty is associated with a group that operates multiple social media accounts across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

The now-private Instagram account that posted their latest prank had previously posted several other videos targeting Orthodox Jews, including staged pranks in an airport and a supermarket, all set to the Jewish folk tune Hava Nagila — a musical choice many interpreted as mocking and intentionally provocative.

The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism across the UK, confirmed the arrests on Wednesday and praised the rapid response of law enforcement.

“Following on from the appalling antisemitic videos, which were widely shared yesterday, two males have been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated common assault,” CST wrote on Twitter/X. “CST would like to thank Greater Manchester Police for their support and swift action in this case.”

Jewish leaders and advocacy groups have expressed deep concern over the incident, warning of a dangerous rise in hate-driven content being disguised as online “humor.”

“This was not a harmless prank,” said a CST spokesperson. “This was targeted, racially motivated harassment. We’re grateful that police are treating it as such.”

The Instagram account — now set to private — has been linked to a string of so-called prank videos that appear to single out members of the Orthodox Jewish community. In one video, the perpetrators confront Jewish men at an airport while playing the Apple Pay sound effect and falsely accuse them of stealing. In another, they film inside a supermarket while making offensive insinuations.

The group did not respond to media requests for comment.

Online, the videos amassed hundreds of thousands of views and triggered a wave of antisemitic comments before public backlash forced the perpetrators to add a disclaimer claiming the content was “purely for humorous purposes.”

Jewish groups rejected the statement as disingenuous.

Police have not yet confirmed whether further charges will be filed or if additional suspects are being investigated. Meanwhile, advocacy groups are calling on social media platforms to take stronger action against accounts that promote or profit from hate-based content.

“This case is a reminder that antisemitism is alive and evolving — often cloaked in viral ‘content,’” said a spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism. “We cannot allow it to go unchecked.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)