‘It’s about humanity’: Pro-Palestinian campaigners defend graffiti on Hackney border following complaint

The graffiti on Hackney’s side of the station. Photograph: Noora Mykkanen

Campaigners have defended pro-Palestinian graffiti found on the border of Hackney and Tower Hamlets after a complaint was made demanding its removal.

Messages of support for Palestine and Gaza appeared recently around Hackney Wick Overground station, including colourful ‘Free Palestine’ slogans and ‘From the river to the sea’ – a phrase that some people consider to be antisemitic.

Hackney Palestine Solidarity Campaign said some of the slogans were painted by a young woman who has lost more than 100 members of her family in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The group defended the graffiti, with secretary Sussan Rassoulie saying it had no “political axe to grind” and that the messages are “about humanity”.

Martin Sugarman, chair of the Hackney Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women (AJEX) and Hackney Haifa Twinning, complained to Hackney Council and urged it to remove the graffiti.

He told the Citizen he would be “appalled” if the “hateful” messages are not quickly painted over.

“I’ve been in touch with Jewish and non-Jewish people and they are sickened by it,” he said.

He views the phrase ‘From the river to the sea’ as a call to “get rid of Israel”, and said that the hoardings outside the station are full of “pro-Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and anti-Israel” slogans – something Rassoulie denies.

She said it is “unbelievable that we could even be talking about hate crime”.

“There is no PLO graffiti and nobody is for the PLO. All we and the people who painted them want is equal treatment of Palestinians. They are treated worse than third-class citizens.

“There is an apartheid in Israel and we need equal treatment of Palestinians. How can a regime like Israel get away with murder?”

Sugarman claims the graffiti creates an environment in which “young, thuggish elements will attack you, verbal attacks”.

“When it just says ‘Gaza’, we can live with it. But we know why it’s been put there – it’s meant to cause division within the Palestinian cause.”

Sugarman emailed Hackney Council about the graffiti on 3 February.

Hackney Wick ward councillor Chris Kennedy, also a cabinet member, said on 9 February that teams in Hackney had the “northern side of the station in their sights”, and that he had copied in the Tower Hamlets councillor responsible for south of the station.

The graffiti was still present on both sides of the station when the Citizen visited again today.

The messages on the Hackney side of the tracks are believed to be on private property, and the council has been in contact with the landowner.

Rassoulie said removing the graffiti would be “outrageous”, while Sugarman said he would feel “awful” if it remains, and that he would consider taking direct action.

A Hackney Council spokesperson said it “recognises the deep distress, fear and anger in our communities here in the borough about the ongoing crisis in Israel and Gaza”.

They added: “Hackney is home to tens of thousands of residents from the Jewish and Muslim faiths, and we know they have been particularly affected by the conflict.

“They have also been impacted directly or indirectly by the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in the borough and more widely across London.

“Our first and foremost concern is their safety and wellbeing. Safety includes living free from fear or intimidation – or the perception of it.

“Hackney Council removes tens of thousands of instances of graffiti or fly-posts every single year.

“Our actions are informed by the considerations set out in the council’s graffiti policy.

“Some of our staff have been verbally abused while carrying out this work. This is unacceptable. Our staff must be allowed to undertake the work they are employed to do without fear or harassment.

“Graffiti should be reported at hackney.gov.uk/report-a-problem or on the Fix My Street app.”

A row erupted last year when Hackney Council removed graffiti with the words ‘Free Palestine’.

Tower Hamlets Council did not respond to a request for comment.