One particularly striking piece also depicted a naked Benjamin Netanyahu with blood spewing from his mouth and suggested that he was using “hypnotism” to convince others to “invade Iran”.
The drawings had already been exhibited at a gallery in Margate last month, sparking widespread controversy.
The JC reported at the time that Collings had responded to negative reviews of the event, saying: “I see my drawings are being criticised by right-wingers for being about ‘hate’. This is to distract from their real meaning.
Matthew Collings (Image: Instagram/ Matthew Collings)[Missing Credit]
“They are called Drawings Against Genocide. Their inspiration is Goya, and his series called Disasters of War. He was horrified by inhumanity.
“Well, I want to stop Israel from murdering people. Israel created a narrative to defend not only this genocide it’s perpetrating now, but also all its historic atrocities. The message of the narrative is that anyone who criticises Israel is ‘antisemitic’.
“It is a bizarre and irrational Orwellian doublespeak fantasy, yet many believe it. The reality is that children are dying. Families are dying. Men and women are dying. And no one feels they can say anything because of this fake ‘antisemitism’ justification.”
And the JC also revealed that Collings had made a number of inflammatory social media post, including claims that Israel controls British politicians, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, like string puppets and that the “Holocaust industry” would collapse if people lost the ability to lie
He has also reposted posts which openly defend Hamas, including one last October which said its author was not a “Hamas apologist” because the group “has nothing to apologise for”.
The London exhibition was called off after a complaint from lobbying group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).
Following receipt of UKLFI’s letter, the gallery owners confirmed that the exhibition would not go ahead.
In an email response to UKLFI, Tom Berglund, chairman of Pineapple Corporation, confirmed that the exhibition had been cancelled and wrote: “We were unaware of this intention for an exhibition as it was arranged without any consultation with the owners of the artist studios at Riverside Road.
“We all hope the issues on the ground in the Middle East can eventually be resolved.”
A spokesperson for UKLFI said: “We welcome the decision to cancel this exhibition. Freedom of expression is a fundamental right, but it does not extend to the promotion of material that relies on antisemitic tropes, dehumanising imagery, and conspiracy narratives about Jews.
“There is a real danger in normalising antisemitic imagery and narratives in cultural spaces. When material that demonises Jews or recycles classic antisemitic tropes is presented as legitimate artistic expression, it risks lowering the threshold for what is considered acceptable in public discourse.
“At a time when Jewish communities in London and across the UK are already facing a significant rise in antisemitic incidents and attacks, it is particularly important that institutions act responsibly. The wider environment in which hatred is trivialised or excused can contribute to a climate in which such attacks become more likely.”
