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Unathorised London bus stop posters smear Israel as 'apartheid' state
'These adverts are not authorised by TfL or our advertising partner JCDecaux,' the transport network said
February 11, 2022 17:17
'These adverts are not authorised by TfL or our advertising partner JCDecaux,' the transport network said
February 11, 2022 17:17Posters using dictionary-style text to brand Israel as an “apartheid” state have been put up illicitly in bus stops across London.
The campaign of guerrilla adverts comes after last week’s report from Amnesty International accusing Israel of apartheid crimes.
Critics of the human rights group’s report have accused it of being “antisemitic” and say the use of the term “apartheid” is unjustified and disrespectful of the suffering of black South Africans under the racist white regime.
The posters are designed to resemble a dictionary entry.
The text gives the definition for apartheid as a “system of oppression and domination by one racial group over another as imposed by South Africa (1948-1991) and Israel (1948-present).”
The posters, spotted at bus stops in Chalk Farm and other locations, also say: “Usage: Amnesty International called for Israel to end its system of apartheid against the Palestinian people.”
Transport For London (TfL) said the network had not authorised the posters.
The sightings came ahead of Israel Apartheid Week, a programme of events launched in 2005 and returning next month.
The Twitter account Protest Stencil, which regularly shares anti-Israel artwork, posted a picture on Twitter on Thursday with the caption, “Eyes peeled if you're out and about!”
Last year, posters photoshopped to parody the cover of Sally Rooney’s 2018 novel Normal People with a call for a boycott of Israel were also spotted at London bus stops in October.
The author had drawn wide media coverage for blocking an Israel publisher from carrying her latest novel.
A TfL spokesperson said: "These adverts are not authorised by TfL or our advertising partner JCDecaux. 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."
Protest Stencil was approached for comment.