A Labour Party office in London was vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti on Saturday, and a Barclays Bank branch in Bolton, a town in Greater Manchester, had its windows smashed and covered with graffiti on Monday, The Telegraph reported (Labour; Barclays).
Over the weekend, the headquarters of the Labour Party in the Chingford and Woodford Green area was defaced with graffiti expressing anti-Israel sentiments. The vandals scrawled “Israel Lobby Out. Work 4 Us. UK MPs Work For UK. Not Israel.” across the windows.
Chingford & Woodford Green Labour office attacked by its own loony left anti semitic idiots. ?? The Muslim lobby scorned it seems.
Graffiti on Labour office investigated by police https://t.co/bHMmSYUuw0
— Matt Davis ????Am Yisrael Chai (@matt_t_davis) June 2, 2024
This incident occurred shortly after Faiza Shaheen, a left-wing candidate who had been selected to represent the party in that constituency, was blocked from running. Shaheen subsequently accused the party of discriminatory conduct, claiming there was “a systematic campaign of racism, Islamophobia and bullying” against her.
She alleged facing “unfair treatment,” such as being prohibited from speaking about the racism she experienced within the party. Shaheen also said she was told to “curb the attitude” when voicing concerns that the party was not adequately addressing issues important to the Muslim community.
The vandalism was discovered by passersby on Saturday morning. Images circulated online showed people working to remove the graffiti later on Saturday. The Metropolitan Police were notified, and an investigation into this incident is currently underway.
On Monday morning, a Barclays branch on Market Street in Bolton was found vandalized, with shattered glass on the pavement and red paint covering the building.
This is the latest incident targeting Barclays in recent months, as the bank has joined a growing list of corporations facing protests and property damage related to the Gaza war. A cross-section of companies, including Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Google, have also been targeted by protesters.
Just last Friday, four individuals between the ages of 20 and 37 were arrested after two Barclays branches in Manchester were defaced with red paint and graffiti. The protest group Palestine Action claimed responsibility for that incident.
Protesters have long argued that Barclays has significant financial ties to the defense industry and companies that supply arms to Israel. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has specifically accused Barclays of funding the IDF through its investments and loans to military technology companies.
According to the PSC, Barclays holds £1.6 billion worth of shares and provides £3 billion of loans to companies that manufacture equipment used in Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The group alleges that this makes Barclays “complicit” in attacks on civilians in Gaza.
