Voice of the Jewish News: It’s time to draw a yellow line

It shouldn’t need a campaign. It shouldn’t need petitions and letters.

It shouldn’t need Assembly members’ questions to London’s mayor.

Because there shouldn’t be a get-out.

There shouldn’t be a loophole.

If you fly a terrorist group’s flag in the streets of London, as those waving yellow Hezbollah flags did during the recent al-Quds Day march, you shouldn’t get to say: “Ah, yes, but I only meant the group’s political wing.”

Sadly, what “should” be the case isn’t. Hence the need to step up our communal cajoling of those who can right this annually wretched wrong.

That’s why Jewish News has teamed up with the Zionist Federation to launch a campaign to clarify that it is illegal to fly the flag of a proscribed terrorist group, even if said group has a political wing which is not proscribed.

That’s why we welcome London mayor Sadiq Khan’s words this week, in which he acknowledged the concerns of the Jewish community and promised to follow through with the Met Police.

This is not dual standards. If another of London’s faith-based communities felt threatened by those waving flags of a terrorist group bent on killing their kin in some other far-flung corner of the world, we would be just as appalled, and would help put a stop to it. Flying the emblem of your enemy in your face is race-related provocation, any which way you look at it, and must be met with arrests, not officers looking on.

We call on the authorities to recognise common sense, and for the community to support our call.

• Jewish News campaign to outlaw Hezbollah flags in UK