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British Jews Call on London Ad Company to Put Back Billboards of Hamas Hostages Removed Due to Complaints
One of the digital billboards of Hamas hostages that were taken down in London. Photo: Provided
A major Jewish organization in the United Kingdom has lambasted an advertising company in London for removing digital billboards showing the hostages taken by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 after facing public scrutiny and threats.
“It cannot be right that in Britain, in 2023, an advertising company is intimidated into withdrawing a campaign about hostages taken by a terrorist group,” the Board of Deputies of British Jews said in a statement, calling for the advertisements to be put back up. “The company should reverse its decision and the police should provide support and urgently investigate these threats.”
The nonprofit organization also noted that the advertising company’s actions followed two months of rampant anti-Israel activity in London, where people have been ripping down or defacing thousands of posters of the 240 people kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during their Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel and taken back to the Gaza Strip.
The Algemeiner previously reported that the advertising company in question, London Lites, signed an agreement with an organization called the Hostages Families’ Forum UK to have the digital billboards displayed throughout London. The billboards went up on Dec. 5 but were taken down after six days.
London Lites told the Hostages Families Forum UK, which organized the billboard campaign with help from the Embassy of Israel in London, that because of “an unusual volume of complaints from the public,” as well as personal threats made to the company’s staff, the billboards would be taken down immediately.
“Following discussions with the Metropolitan Police about community safety concerns regarding billboard site advertising this campaign, we have regrettably taken the decision to cease advertising on community cohesion grounds,” London Lites further said, noting that it has previously carried advertising for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and “supports freedom of speech.”
“However, we received an unprecedented number of concerns from the public in response to the advertising campaign last week, and the safety of all members of the local communities where we advertise is paramount,” it added.
The Embassy of Israel in London is seeking legal counsel regarding the matter and slammed London Lites for playing “into the hands of terrorists by actively ignoring the war crimes of Hamas and also by succumbing to intimidation and threats in London.”
CAA, a volunteer-led charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism, had its own share of issues displaying images of the Hamas hostages in London. The charity revealed in mid-October that it had vans driving around central London featuring digital billboards of children kidnapped by Hamas and calling to bring them back home. When anti-Israel supporters stopped the vans and began protesting, Metropolitan Police in London told CAA to turn off the billboards and clear the area or they would be “in breach of the peace.”
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Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
The post Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack
A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
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Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
The post Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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