FURY OVER ELECTION HATE BANNER

A GIANT political banner has been taken down after it was condemned as antisemitic for portraying Theresa May wearing Star of David earrings.

The banner, which was hung at the Bearpit roundabout in Bristol, depicted Jeremy Corbyn and Mrs May facing each other, with slogans endorsing the Labour leader and attacking Mrs May’s policies.

The word “Balfour” was also written on the poster next to Mrs May. This November will mark the centenary of the signing of the Balfour Declaration, which supported the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

A Jewish resident of the city told the JC he was “incredibly sad and angry that the place both me and my partner, who is also Jewish, live is rife with such disgusting views.

“It’s even more worrying that the Bristol city council have given these views credence by allowing them to be shown in such public space such as The Bearpit, which is driven past by thousands of motorists a day”.

He said the banner was antisemitic, because “the Magen David earrings are clearly implying that the Jews/Israel have hegemony over our government, which is a century-old antisemitic trope.”

Nima Masterson, a pro-Corbyn activist who put up the banner, told the Bristol Post that it was not meant to be antisemitic, saying that the earrings were “a tiny element of the whole banner.

“What we are doing with that symbol — it’s an earring — is a reference to Theresa May’s government’s relationship with Israel. It is a critique of her foreign policy, rather than against religion.

“I’m definitely not an antisemite”, Mr Masterson added. “I have Jewish friends, and my half-brother and sister are Jewish. This is about foreign policy.”

Bristol City Council confirmed on Wednesday that the banner had been “voluntarily” removed.

In a poll by the Bristol Post, 75 per cent of people agreed that the banner was antisemitic.