Anti-Israel signs pop up all over London

Pro-Palestinian activists recently posted anti-Israeli adverts on bus stops across London, with a caption reading "Israel is a racist endeavour" written in the colors of the Palestinian flag.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan ordered the removal of the posters while a spokesman for Transport for London said: "These adverts are absolutely not authorized … we have instructed our contractors to remove any of these posters found on our network immediately."

 

London bus stop with an unauthorized advert reading 'Israel is a racist endeavor'

The provocative posters were placed on the bus stops in a reference to the British Labour Party's decision to adopt the definition of anti-Semitism as defined by the International Organization for Holocaust Remembrance (IHRA).

Point five of the definition defines "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" as anti-Semitism.

The British Daily Mail reported that some London residents said the posters are disturbing and anti-Semitic. "I'm sure Jews passing by the signs will be offended," Jonathan, a London resident, said.

 

A spokesperson for the London mayor noted that the posters were unlawfully put up, and therefore constitute acts of vandalism. 

"These offensive adverts are not authorized and are acts of vandalism which Transport for London and its advertising partner takes extremely seriously. They have instructed their contractors to remove any posters found on their network immediately," the spokesperson said. 

The pro-Palestinian organization "London Palestine Action" also posted several pictures of adverts across London with a caption reading "Created by ethnic cleansing; maintained by ethnic exclusion."

The campagin was also not limited to the public domain, with anti-Israel slurs being posted on Twitter.

"1.8 million Palestinians, mainly refugees, locked in Gaza for being the wrong ethnicity," read one tweet. 

In addition, in a tweet about Britain's actions regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the group wrote: "70 years of UK government-approved dispossession, destruction and displacement. Israel is a racist endeavour."

Amid reports concerning the statements and conduct of the British Labour Party's leader, Jeremy Corbyn—a staunch critic of Israel—the party tried to put an end to the anti-Semitic tumult by adopting the international definition of anti-Semitism, while adding the caveat that "free speech" was permissable when it came to Israel. 

The party was harshly criticized last July after it adopted major parts, but not all, of the IHRA's definition of anti-Semitism.

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