A Jewish neighbourhood watch group has reported a road sign which appears to warn “beware of Jews” to the police.
The sign, which appears to depict the silhouette of an orthodox Jewish man wearing a traditional Fedora hat, was found just 200 yards from a nearby synagogue in Stamford Hill, north London, on Tuesday.
It was spotted by a member of a local Jewish neighbourhood group, Shomrim N E London, which then reported it to Hackney Police.
Diane Abbott, shadow home secretary and MP for Hackney North, denounced the sign as “disgusting” and “unacceptable”.
Barry Bard, Shomrim’s operational supervisor in Stamford Hill, said the incident was the first known sighting of such a sign, which had caused alarm in the local community due to its meticulous planning.
He said: “The people of Stamford Hill are very sadly used to instances of anti-Semitic hate crime, but most of those times it will be verbal abuse or even assault.
“A lot of the time it will be more of a person-to-person kind of thing, or graffiti, which is more unprofessional.
“The person who planned (this sign) has obviously gone to an effort to cause alarm and distress to local people.”
Labour’s MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, said the incident amounted to “despicable, nasty behaviour that has absolutely no place in our community”.
Hackney Council is expected to remove the sign on Wednesday morning.
