‘No place for hate’: Hackney’s deputy mayor sends out message of support to all residents affected by Middle East conflict

Hackney’s deputy mayor Anntoinette Bramble (ninth from right) last week visited a Jewish school that had been daubed in red paint. Photograph: Met Police

Senior politicians say they are standing with residents against hate following a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks in London.

Hackney’s deputy mayor Anntoinette Bramble said the huge loss of life in Israel and Gaza over the last month has had “a direct impact on our residents, and we stand in solidarity with them”.

She added: “The trauma of what has happened has been felt very much here in Hackney.”

Several Jewish schools in Hackney have been targeted since the conflict between Hamas and Israel escalated this month.

Bramble said: “We absolutely stand against antisemitic attacks in all forms.”

Councillors have visited Jewish schools and the North London Muslim Community Centre in Stoke Newington to offer support to residents.

Bramble added that the council’s anti-graffiti team has acted swiftly to remove slogans appearing on the borough’s streets.

Hackney Council’s enforcement patrols and mobile CCTV van have also been visiting areas to prevent any incidents.

Town Hall bosses are working closely with Hackney’s borough commander James Conway and Shomrim, the community neighbourhood watch organisation.

Bramble said: “Hackney continues to be no place for hate. Anything contrary to that, please contact us and the police. All our community is important to us.”

She led a minute’s silence at yesterday’s cabinet meeting for all those who have died in Israel and Gaza.

Cllr Mete Coban, who has been involved with the graffiti removal, said: “We mustn’t allow what’s happened in the Middle East to spill over into the streets of Hackney.”

Cabinet member for community safety, Susan Fajana-Thomas, praised the anti-graffiti team for their swift action in covering up offensive images and slogans in Hackney.

“As soon as we get a message out to them about an incident, they have been clearing it up,” she said.

Bramble stressed the importance of community cohesion.

She described a visit to a community centre where a rabbi and an imam hugged each other in greeting.

“This is not because a country is in a state of war. This is because this is how people of different faiths greet each other in Hackney,” she said.

“Community leaders coming together, standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder, supporting their community isn’t something that we do in Hackney when terror or horror is upon us.

“It is something that we do in Hackney day in and day out, because we believe in diversity.

“We celebrate diversity and peace, togetherness, humanity.

“Caring for one another through our different faith and views is the integrity of Hackney and for that, I am so proud.”