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To think this so called art exhibition in Margate is nothing short of a hate crime

(240 Posts)
TerriBull Sun 29-Mar-26 13:35:41

We've been down this road before with the so-called banker cartoons, distinct and insulting caricatures of Jewish men depicted getting rich with their feet on supposed ground down subjugated workers. Now here we are again, how is it even allowed? Jews, or Zionists if you prefer, are represented in the most racist and anti semitic way possible. For instance, the Jewish owner of Southeby's eating a baby, next to the words "Hey look I'm selling a fantastic painting while eating a baby alive"

At a time of a resurgence of unfettered prejudice against our Jewish community, always in the firing line and collectively targeted for all the ills the Israeli government has inflicted on Gaza, this timely exhibition, "Drawings Against Genocide" arrives at the gallery almost simultaneously with the Golders Green attack. Unbelievable hate filled tropes that have been passed down through history time again and again. Would it be tolerated against any other demographic? for example, different genocides, such as the one going on in Sudan, the rage level for those other atrocities where are they? and how would the supporters of this exhibition react if the perpetrators of similar acts of ethnic cleansing/genocide were cast in such a way to slur an entire race or ethnicity?

*Thread title edited by GNHQ to reflect the fact the exhibition is not at the Tate gallery*

ronib Mon 30-Mar-26 15:38:06

I do wonder what the names of the police officers were who made this decision.

GrannyGravy13 Mon 30-Mar-26 15:45:21

Lemonandjam I would like the law to protect all citizens of U.K. from those who hate them and hide behind art work

As it appears that at the moment it doesn’t protect Jews, as Judaism has become the same as Zionism for some.

Allira Mon 30-Mar-26 15:48:58

Ah, now why would you assume that? Clevervtwisting of what
😂😂😂

No, the converse.
Why should so-called "artwork" full of hatred for a group of people, inciting anti-semitism, be exempt from the laws against racial hatred? Because they are pictures, not the written word?

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Allira Mon 30-Mar-26 15:50:00

Clevervtwisting of what
Clever twisting of what I am saying.
😂😂😂

Allira Mon 30-Mar-26 15:52:39

LemonJam

I also recall reading Gransnet posts at the time agreeing with Frage that the law was wrong if it led to Lucy Connell being arrested and prosecuted.

So who would posters like the wording of the law to be changed that protects people like Lucy Connelly inciting racial hatred openly but would lead to prosecution of Collins for his art as exhibited in Margate last week?

My post was in response to Lemonjam's above which twisted what I said.

Graphite Mon 30-Mar-26 16:09:44

By the time Connolly deleted the post that saw her jailed, just three and a half hours later, it had been viewed 310,000 times and reposted 940 times.

Page 2:

www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Lucy-Connolly-v-The-King.pdf

I doubt whether Collings exhibition would have attracted even a tenth of 310,000 had it not been for the media storm created by Telegraph columnist and self-confessed contrarian, Zoe Strimpel.

She claims to have made a video of “a disgusting exchange with the artist” which “didn’t record”. Convenient, else she would have had evidence.

She includes in her social media post a Collings drawing of a women inscribed underneath - Käthe Kollwitz - No More War.

Hopefully, people will know who Kollwitz was and be familiar with her work. (Opposite is The Survivors.)

Now why would Collings reference Kollwitz?

The expression is derived from her famous 1923 poster Never Again War. The poster was used in a demonstration in Augustusplatz in Leipzig; the aim of the demonstration to remind people of the horror of the 1914-18 war and to speak out against any new wars.

Isn’t that evidence of what Collings’ exhibition is about, that he is speaking out against war and not Judaism?

LemonJam Mon 30-Mar-26 16:18:33

Allira 15;22: My post was in response to Lemonjam's above which twisted what I said.

Allira I have not quoted or referred to you or any other poster directly- thus you are incorrect in accusing me of twisting your words. I have quoted the law and invited posters generally, not you specifically, who feel the law is not fit for purpose as it stands to suggest a different form of words so fit for purpose in their view.

LemonJam Mon 30-Mar-26 16:20:03

So far nobody has suggested a law wording change- so be it.

GrannyGravy13 Mon 30-Mar-26 16:23:41

LemonJam

So far nobody has suggested a law wording change- so be it.

I answered 🤦‍♀️

silverlining48 Mon 30-Mar-26 16:23:54

I don’t think most sensible people dislike Jews in general, why would they, but they do dislike what the Israeli government has been/is doing.
I don’t think that people supporting Gaza and the West Bank support Hamas. Again why would they.
I do believe that Israel has now lost its post ww2 ‘protection’ from criticism. That means for the first time the Jewish state can and is being openly criticised when previously no one felt comfortable doing so.
This has made things uncomfortable for Jews, over the world sensitive to this criticism seeing it as personal attacks, when generally, that is not the case.

Rosie51 Mon 30-Mar-26 16:27:42

I wonder if anybody who defends Collings' 'art work' would like to comment on his sharing a tweet that stated Hamas had nothing to apologise for as they had done nothing wrong. He is endorsing that the rapes, murders and kidnappings of October 7th were not wrong. Why would that be? Is it because it was Jews that were raped, murdered and kidnapped? Just because someone claims not to be antisemitic doesn't make them so.

TerriBull Mon 30-Mar-26 16:31:14

So! An exhibition displaying "Grotesque anti semitic tropes including imagery of Jewish people or Israelis eating babies with blood dripping teeth, demon like figures and references to "blood libel"and Jewish lobbies". Some images specifically targeted individuals and denied Hamas atrocities on October 7th" were deemed " no offence has been committed" by Kent Police Officers. Which begs the question, who are these people to make that judgement? do they know anything about contextual anti Jewish propaganda and how it has been used against them for centuries, tropes that have manifested time and time again to scapegoat their communities, demonise them and finally kill them!!!! ...and here we are again, but it's feckin' art so that's ok then! ..Furthermore do the Jewish people here in Europe ever kick off in the same murderous way as those who were insulted by the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. So much so, in the aftermath we had a load of posturing politicians march through Paris with banners proclaiming "Je suis Charlie Hebdo" yeah of course you were Charlie Hebdo, you bunch of posturing, grandstanding pseuds, like that brought peace to Paris until later in the year the city was rocked by the Bataclan attack.

Some mother on MN was arrested mob handed and marched off to police cells for an on line spat with a trans woman where she said something along the lines of "actually you're not a woman at all you're a man" the actual truth! for which she gets arrested.

Right now, I'm of the opinion we do have a two tier system relating to hate crime and it's shocking and sickening what certain people can get away with these days.

sixandahalf Mon 30-Mar-26 16:36:19

Oreo

You haven’t said what you think about this exhibition as yet Sixandahalf
At least Graphite is clear about excusing it as art.
There’s no excuse for it of course.

I commented fairly early on.

Many Thanks .

LemonJam Mon 30-Mar-26 16:39:57

I've just read you 15.45 post GrannyGravy : 'Lemonandjam I would like the law to protect all citizens of U.K. from those who hate them and hide behind art work. As it appears that at the moment it doesn’t protect Jews, as Judaism has become the same as Zionism for some.

How would you actually word that revised law then so that it includes artists who make art against Zionism, ie making art expressing their political view against Zionism? If artists are not allowed to express their political views would it also be against the law for posters to express their political views on Gransnet for example?

I appreciate 'Zionism' has become the same as Judaism for some but is that is that how the law sees it? Ie Zionism is defined as a political view- and at the moment we have free speech laws in the UK for expression of political views.

Rosie51 Mon 30-Mar-26 16:40:00

Well said TerriBull the apologists and deniers never cease.
Anti Zionism is a very convenient hook to hang antisemitic views on. Just like the transwomen issue has given space for lots of men who hate women to vent their spleens while portraying themselves as 'kind' people.

AGAA4 Mon 30-Mar-26 16:40:22

LemonJam

So far nobody has suggested a law wording change- so be it.

I did earlier!

GrannyGravy13 Mon 30-Mar-26 16:42:09

LemonJam

I've just read you 15.45 post GrannyGravy : 'Lemonandjam I would like the law to protect all citizens of U.K. from those who hate them and hide behind art work. As it appears that at the moment it doesn’t protect Jews, as Judaism has become the same as Zionism for some.

How would you actually word that revised law then so that it includes artists who make art against Zionism, ie making art expressing their political view against Zionism? If artists are not allowed to express their political views would it also be against the law for posters to express their political views on Gransnet for example?

I appreciate 'Zionism' has become the same as Judaism for some but is that is that how the law sees it? Ie Zionism is defined as a political view- and at the moment we have free speech laws in the UK for expression of political views.

I am not a lawmaker, I put my X in the box on election days.

I expect those elected to ensure that the law is enforced equally for all U.K. citizens.

It’s not rocket science Lemonandjam

GrannyGravy13 Mon 30-Mar-26 16:43:53

Lemonamdjam unfortunately it is not free speech for all in the UK in 2026.

LemonJam Mon 30-Mar-26 16:45:40

Rosie51 16.27- I am not one of the posters defending Collins art and neither have I seen the wording of his tweet you mention so can't specifically comment on that either. However are you aware whether anyone who read the tweet at the time report it to the police if they believe he was inciting racial hatred of the Jews? If so what was the outcome?

LemonJam Mon 30-Mar-26 16:48:12

GrannyGravy 16.42- thats ok, it's completely up to you whether you wish to suggest how the law can be changed. The police can only enforce the law as on statute.

LemonJam Mon 30-Mar-26 16:54:09

AGAA4 16.40: LemonJam So far nobody has suggested a law wording change- so be it.- "'I did earlier!"

Do you mean this post of yours AGAA4?- "It would be fair to say that those who have drawn up the guidelines for what a hate crime is are at fault here. The police only act within those parameters. This sort of "art" should be stopped because anyone can put an innocent interpretation on a a vile piece of work. It is time that the laws on hate crime include anything which can be interpreted as discriminatory whatever the artist says. It's a good way of getting away with antisemitism as it stand now".

I actually agree with you that the police can only enforce the law as it is currently worded.

valdavi Mon 30-Mar-26 17:00:08

silverlining48

I don’t think most sensible people dislike Jews in general, why would they, but they do dislike what the Israeli government has been/is doing.
I don’t think that people supporting Gaza and the West Bank support Hamas. Again why would they.
I do believe that Israel has now lost its post ww2 ‘protection’ from criticism. That means for the first time the Jewish state can and is being openly criticised when previously no one felt comfortable doing so.
This has made things uncomfortable for Jews, over the world sensitive to this criticism seeing it as personal attacks, when generally, that is not the case.

Really good points.

I criticise Israel. I believe the UK Jewish Council would define me as antisemitic because of that statement. I also criticise the USA, Russia, used to criticise South Africa.

However I'd never dislike or treat differently an individual or group because they were Jewish, & I acknowledge the evil of the Holocaust that has obviously echoed down the generations because it was such horror.

I do think there are people in the UK who are antisemitic and they have come out of the closet as the protection from criticism of Israel has waned. I deplore this.

AGAA4 Mon 30-Mar-26 17:00:27

I find that so many people believe the police make the laws. They just carry them out however they personally feel about a particular law.
I know police officers can get frustrated by some laws that may seem wrong to them. Those police people who dealt with this may have been as sickened by that so called art as many of us are.
Some officers are Jewish.

LemonJam Mon 30-Mar-26 17:12:12

AGAA4- I agree with you again- the police do not make laws- they only can enforce them. They arrest and charge and gather evidence. Then refer to Crown Prosecution Service/CPS.

I often go into police custody suites supporting and advising those in custody. The police can only arrest, charge and gather evidence "within the letter of the law". If the police feel they do have sufficient evidence they then refer to CPS. It is the CPS who decides whether there is a realistic prospect (over 51% chance of success) of prosecution and only the CPS that makes the decision to prosecute.

Maremia Mon 30-Mar-26 17:59:06

Has this exhibition been reported to the Police?