They were first reported by local residents and members of the community group East Bank West Bank Nature Reserve in February last year and have now been seen again.
The posters are titled “Making the World Into a Beautiful Gem.” They list the seven Noahide Laws of Judaism, which lay down the rules by which non-Jews can be seen as righteous according to the Torah.
The fourth Noahide law states: “Respect the family: do not commit immoral sexual acts,” and continues: “Nations which have condoned immorality – adultery, homosexuality, sodomy, incest – have never lasted long.
Sexual immorality is the sign of an inner decay which spawns a ruthless society, bringing confusion into G-d’s life plan.”
Stamford Hill, which has a Haredi Jewish community of over 20,000 – the third largest in the world – is on the northern boundary of Hackney.
Official figures for the borough show a 10 per cent reduction in overall hate crime, including racially and religiously motivated incidents, over the past decade, but a rise in homophobic crime.
Residents are keen to see the homophobic posters dealt with by police.
“The posters aren’t attributed to anyone specifically, but they are clearly coming from someone who follows a strict form of Judaism, and it’s important that we don’t allow some of the condemnatory values expressed to find a platform in Stamford Hill just because we have a very strong Orthodox presence here,” says Lorraine Tillett, a member of East Bank West Bank Nature Reserve.
“We live in relative harmony here and it would be considered utterly unacceptable to display anti-Semitic writings; it should be regarded as equally serious when the claims are homophobic.”
Tillett, 62, said she had spoken to police officers after finding the first poster last year.
Please email Lorraine Tillett, (a member of East Bank West Bank Nature Reserve) on eastwestbankreserve@gmail.com to explain the comments posted on http://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2012/03/homophobic-posters-seen-in-stamford-hill/ claiming that the disgraceful anti-semitic writings was done by a Hareidi Jew of Stamford Hill.... Don't stay quiet at a time when hatred is purring our way from residents that live between us, email eastwestbankreserve@gmail.com for the attention of Lorraine Tillett.
ReplyDeletePlease also file a complaint about this article to the Press Complaints Commission at http://www.pcc.org.uk/complaints/form.html
By the text of the posters quoted in the article it is based on the 20 year old Chabad booklet originally sponsored by Israel Gemological Association (not sure if i remember the name of the Assn correctly, but something similar) .
ReplyDeleteI Think this is the text of the original flyer in the linked page:
MAKING THE WORLD INTO A BEAUTIFUL GEM
Have you ever thought about how precious gems are made?