Police have been notified that election posters in east London that portray a Jewish IDF soldier as “Labour’s monster” are “stirring up anti-Semitism.”
The posters on Cable Street in Shadwell, Tower Hamlets, show the words “Labour’s monsters” alongside a picture of an armed Israeli settler smiling and holding up his phone.
According to a report Alex Hearn of Labour Against Anti-Semitism filed with the Metropolitan Police, the image was “selected to appear menacing,” which violated the Public Order Act.
The horrible description is not based on Israeli military behaviour in general, but rather on Jewish religious identification markers. The report said, “This incites hatred against Jews.”
“The poster weaponises visual religious identity,” Mr. Hearn said to the Daily Mail.The portrayal of Jews as a subhuman “monster” is similar to that of traditional racist propaganda.
This is an intentional attempt to incite animosity in a constituency that has a substantial Muslim population.
At a time when the Jewish community is already under constant attack, it uses anti-Jewish prejudice for political purposes.As a result, Jews experience feelings of exclusion, loneliness, and demonisation.
“I hope the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice, sending a clear message that such cowardly, anonymous campaigns are unacceptable.”
The posters on Cable Street in Shadwell, Tower Hamlets, have the words “Labour’s monsters” next to a picture of an armed Israeli settler smiling and raising his phone.
The original image, which depicted the Palestinian woman the settler was aiming his phone at, appeared on the front cover of the left-leaning Italian magazine L’Espresso in April under the title “The Abuse.”
Another sign that can be spotted on Shadwell’s Cable Road states, “Labour wants you to forget the genocide.”
The initial image, which depicted the Palestinian woman the settler was aiming his phone at, appeared on the April front cover of the left-leaning Italian magazine L’Espresso with the issue headline “The Abuse.”
Israel reacted diplomatically to L’Espresso’s cover, calling the image’s use “anti-Semitic” and “manipulative,” according to the country’s envoy to Italy.
The photographer, Pietro Masturzo, confirmed the image’s validity in a statement and supplied a video taken on October 12, 2025, near Idhna, west of Hebron, after users on the internet questioned its veracity.
He clarified that video was taken on the first day of Idhna’s olive harvest, when a group of armed Israeli settlers allegedly “prevented the Palestinians from picking their olives.”
He claims that the settler’s facial expression “mimics the sound a shepherd makes when gathering his flock, addressing the Palestinians as if they were his own animals.”
The monthly issue of L’Espresso was devoted to criticising Israeli expansionism and the continuous violence committed by settlers against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.
The magazine has declined to issue an apology or take down its cover.
Before Thursday’s municipal elections, a number of anti-Labour posters appeared outside Shadwell station.
One criticised Sirajul Islam, Labour’s local mayoral candidate, who was defeated by Lutfur Rahman of the Aspire Party, the incumbent.
The ‘Labour’s monsters’ poster may be illegal under the Representation of the People Act because it did not ‘carry a printer’s imprint or the name and address of the promoter, as required by law,’ according to the report to the Met Police.
Additionally, Mr. Hearn asked the Electoral Commission to look into the posters.
He claimed that one of the posters, which read, “Labour are complicit in genocide,” seemed to “frame the Labour Party as acting in the service of Israeli government policy.”
According to him, the phrase “activated the anti-Semitic trope of Jewish or Israeli control over Western political institutions.”
“This framing has the potential to inflame community tension in an electoral district with a large Muslim population by presenting political opponents not just as wrong on policy but as agents of a foreign power associated with Jewish interests,” he continued.
An supposed email from Labour Councillor Marc Francis requesting that Palestinian flags hanging in the area be taken down because they “clearly aren’t appropriate” is shown on a banner on Shadwell’s Cable Street.
Along Cable Street, several posters were shown in different locations, mostly at bus stops or close to tube stations.
“Police received a report of posters which displayed hate messaging on Cable Street, E1, at around 11.50am on Saturday, May 9,” a Met Police spokesman stated. “Officers are investigating the circumstances.” The Met is dedicated to taking strong action when anti-Semitic hate crimes occur and treats them with the highest seriousness.
“When it comes to campaigning, the Commission offers advice and guidance to help ensure that campaign material by parties and campaigners includes information to identify the person or organization which has caused it to be published, which is known as an imprint,” an Electoral Commission spokesperson stated. “The Electoral Commission encourages all campaigners to undertake their vital role responsibly and respectfully.”
With nearly 39% of the vote, Lutfur Rahman, the leader of the Aspire Party, was re-elected as mayor of Tower Hamlets in last week’s municipal elections.
In addition to winning 33 seats in the borough, the party characterises its philosophy as a type of democratic socialism.
In 2015, Mr Rahman, who was mayor at the time and leading the Tower Hamlets First party, was suspended with the Government stepping in to manage key departments, after a report accused him of leading an administration that was ‘at best dysfunctional’ and ‘at worst riddled with cronyism and corruption’.
According to a High Court judge, Mr. Rahman used bribery, intimidation, invalid ballots, and misleading claims against his rival mayoral candidate to win the May 2014 election. Mr. Rahman has consistently refuted the accusations.
Mr. Rahman was barred from entering public office for five years, and Tower Hamlets First was taken off the list of political parties.
He was re-elected as mayor in 2022 after returning as the leader of his recently established Aspire Party.
More recently, an Aspire member was elected to the Tower Hamlets Council after being suspended in May due to a slew of anti-Semitic social media posts.
Abul Monsur, a candidate for the Lansbury ward, was suspended by Aspire due to posts on his public Facebook profile in 2025 that seemed to support Adolf Hitler and deny the Holocaust.
Monsur shared a picture of a “Zionist victim card” with the phrase “Holocaust” scratched out and replaced with “Holohoax” on May 30, 2025.
‘There is NO reference of a “Holocaust” in papers made after WW2 by Churchill, Eisenhower, and De Gaulle,’ according to a post dated May 1, 2025. Additionally, it claimed that “Jews gaining control of the media.”
“ADOLF HITLER OUTLAWED USURY (INTEREST – MAKING MONEY WITH MONEY)” was written by Monsur on September 23, 2025, and it was followed by three bullseye emojis.
He shared several anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in addition to other anti-Semitic tweets, such as the idea that “Zionists” were behind the Bondi Beach massacre and the killings of former US president John F. Kennedy and right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk.
Monsur expressed his “deeply sorry for these social media posts and ashamed of them” to the LDRS following his suspension.
“I sincerely apologise to Jewish people in our community and in society at large,” he declared.These social media posts were inappropriate, and I will pursue education and training because I still have a lot to learn.
“I didn’t understand a lot of what I posted because I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“The party had no idea about these appalling and unacceptable posts and once informed, took immediate action,” a spokesperson stated.We apologise and are deeply sorry that this was not discovered during due diligence procedures. Abul Monsur has apologised for not telling the Party about this when he was questioned about social media accounts during candidate screening.
“We are reviewing how we can improve social media checks to make them as thorough as possible to ensure this mistake can never happen again,” they continued.
