The Home Office has been accused of scribbling out the word “Israel” on a six-month-old Jewish girl’s birth certificate.

A family from Edgware, in north London, sent off the document on Feb 6 to obtain a British passport for their baby daughter Ronnie. But when they received returned the certificate on Monday morning, the place of birth for her father – Israel – had been scribbled out with a black pen.

The Telegraph understands that the Home Office is looking into the matter and the department has been contacted for comment. It is unclear whether it was a mistake.

A picture of the birth certificate, which was released by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, shows a single scribble on the document in the birthplace box for the father, while the mention of Israel for the mother’s place of birth remains intact.

The girl’s father, whose name is also Israel, claimed that the certificate also arrived ripped, in a soft envelope and invalidated. The 32-year-old engineering company owner is now demanding an apology and explanation from the Home Office and a new birth certificate.

“My wife was very, very upset. The baby isn’t even six months and is already suffering discrimination,” he claimed.

“It’s like going back to the Nazi 1930s when Jewish documents had notes on the side. This baby did nothing wrong and was just born to Jewish parents, that’s all. We sent it to the Home Office which is in charge of our security and should be the most safe place for our private document.”

‘Completely unacceptable’

Israel and his wife Dorin, 29, have lived in Britain for almost a decade.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is supporting the family, said it was “completely unacceptable”.

It added: “When sending off a passport application to the Home Office, the last thing one should ever expect is to have their child’s birth certificate returned, torn, with the parent’s place of birth scribbled out, just because it is the Jewish state,” the group said.

“We are assisting the parents, who are understandably very concerned. We are also asking the Home Office to investigate how this happened.

“The Home Office has responsibility for law enforcement and the security of the Jewish community and the wider public. Confidence in the authorities among British Jews is at painfully low levels and must be restored.”

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.