In the latest anti-Semitic incident in the UK, posters with the message “Israel is a racist endeavour” were posed on bus stops around London.
By: Word Israel News Staff
The police in London launched an investigation following the appearance of signs on the city’s bus stops reading “Israel is a racist endeavour.”
The signs are believed to be in protest of the British Labour Party’s decision on Tuesday to accept the official definition of anti-Semitism formulated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA).
The UK’s Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) watchdog noted that the poster offensive “explicitly mocks and breaches the International Definition of Antisemitism which states that ‘Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour)’ is anti-Semitic.”
The large signs have appeared in at least four locations, including bus stops in Westminster, Waterloo and Bloomsbury, the UK’s Evening Standard reported Wednesday. One was posted opposite Parliament.
Transport for London (TfL) said the sign were “absolutely not authorized.”
“It is fly posting and therefore an act of vandalism which we take extremely seriously. We have instructed our contractors to remove any of these posters found on our network immediately,” the transit authority stated.
The Evening Standard reported that Londoners reacted with outrage to the offensive campaign, with many describing the posters as “vile” and “terrifying.” Others said the signs were a “hate crime.”
“Beyond words. I hope you’re proud of yourself Mr. Corbyn,” tweeted Jonathan Goldstein, referring to UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has been accused of being an anti-Semite and supporter of Palestinian terrorism.
Most recently, 2014 footage showed Corbyn attending an anti-Israel rally where he made the claim that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians, while a Hamas flag fluttered in the background.
“The posters are a yet another glaring example of how anti-Semites have been emboldened by Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to address anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, and by his ongoing and vocal support for extremists and terrorists who have called for the destruction of the Jewish state,” CAA charged.
“We expect that action will now be taken against those responsible for this anti-Semitic vandalism,” it added.