Man arrested after bust of Israeli leader stolen from the University of Manchester and defaced
8 November 2024, 19:49 | Updated: 8 November 2024, 19:53
A man has been arrested after a bust of an Israeli leader was stolen from the University of Manchester and defaced, police said.
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Greater Manchester Police received reports of a suspected burglary in Oxford Road, Manchester, shortly before midnight on Friday November 1.
Two busts were stolen, one of Chaim Weizmann, a Zionist leader and Israel's first president who worked as a reader in chemistry at the university, and another of Harold Baily Dixon, a former professor of chemistry at Manchester.
Police said a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary on the morning of Friday November 8 and remains in custody ahead of being questioned by detectives.
The force said the stolen busts were defaced, with footage of the vandalism posted on social media.
'Act of vandalism'
In a statement on Sunday, the University of Manchester's president and vice-chancellor Duncan Ivison said: "This was an act of vandalism and makes no contribution whatsoever to a better understanding of the current conflict in the Middle East.
"Over more than a year, we have seen peaceful protests on campus and the exchange of strongly held views.
"We welcome this as part of our fundamental role as a university - a place dedicated to the discussion of often difficult ideas and beliefs."
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Greater Manchester Police said officers have "trawled and reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage" as part of their investigation into the burglary.
Other officers have been out speaking with the university community and members of the public to "provide reassurance to those people who have been affected", the force said.
Officers have also conducted two search warrants in Greater Manchester.
Detective Chief Inspector Jill Billington said: "We know that this incident has caused considerable distress across the community, many of which have come to Manchester to work and study.
"We understand that this has caused upset and unrest and we know that the shockwaves are being felt much wider than the local student community.
"We will always take incidents of this nature very seriously and we have been working with partners around the clock, and I am pleased to say that this morning we have made an arrest.
"This is only the first step, there is much more work that is happening behind the scenes to apprehend all those involved.
"I hope the latest action reassures our communities and sends a message to those intent on committing these types of criminal acts. It's not acceptable and is not tolerated in Greater Manchester.
"We are continuing to appeal for information and ask anyone who may have seen something suspicious to contact us as a matter of urgency, please don't assume we already know this information."
Anyone with any information is asked to contact police via 101 or gmp.police.uk, quoting log 4035 of 01/11/24.
