Overview
- Kent Police, in letters disclosed Tuesday, said drawings at Joseph Wales Studios did not meet the legal test for a hate crime or even a non-crime hate incident because they were judged as criticism of a nation state.
- Labour Against Antisemitism formally asked Chief Constable Tim Smith to reassess the case, and Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp urged the force to reopen it, with former attorney general Sir Michael Ellis calling the stance “bizarre inaction.”
- The exhibition includes repeated Stars of David on violent figures, swastikas shown with the Israeli flag, an IDF soldier over blood and a skull, and a drawing of Sotheby’s figures eating babies linked to owner Patrick Drahi.
- Thanet District Council removed the show from its Visit Thanet listings on Monday and issued an apology after complaints about promoting the event.
- Artist Matthew Collings rejects claims of antisemitism and says his target is Zionism, while Jewish groups warn the imagery normalizes dehumanization at a time of rising anti-Jewish incidents in the UK.