Boris asked ‘what’s political’ after ZF ads refused

A London politician has said he will force Boris Johnson to clarify Transport for London’s policy on political advertising, after Zionist Federation adverts linking Hamas to Islamic State terrorists were turned down.

Labour’s Andrew Dismore, the Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden who will be writing to the Mayor, said: “We should have very clear rules about what is and isn’t allowed, to make sure there are no double standards.”

He added: “We need to do more to promote a positive image of Israel, if all people see are the adverts for DEC [Disasters Emergency Committee], which effectively give a very bad image of Israel.”

The adverts, which warn that “the civilised world is under a dark new threat from religious extremists,” were turned down by Exterion Media, the company that handles TfL’s advertising.

A TfL spokesman said: “Exterion rejected the advert as it contravened our advertising policy which states that adverts will not be approved if they relate to a political cause.”

ZF director Alan Aziz said he was “disappointed” at the rejection of what he described as “an eye-catching campaign that would clearly and memorably make the case that Hamas represents the same brand of evil as ISIS”.

He added that the international humanitarian appeals for Gaza “inadvertently supported the notion that Israel was waging a war on innocent children”.