EJP | News | Western Europe | Livingstone target of witty sticker campaign

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Livingstone target of witty sticker campaign

Updated: 11/May/2006 16:13

London's Mayor Ken Livingstone

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London Mayor Ken Livingstone has become the target of a sticker campaign that seeks to draw attention to the Mayor's attitudes to Israel and Jews.

The sticker was the brainchild of Londoner Mark Rivlin who came up with the slogan "Say lo to Ken" which combines Hebrew and English (lo means no in Hebrew).

Rivlin said he decided to launch the campaign because he is fed up with Livingstone's comments on Jews and Israel.

"I dislike the mayor of London on a personal level. I don't like what he says about the Jewish people; I don't like what he says about Israel," Rivlin told Haaretz. "The only way to get back at him is for the Jewish people who don't like what he says to make a stand."

he sticker costs almost 1.5 Euros and 10 percent of the revenue will go to an Israeli charity that helps the disabled participate in sports.

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The London Jewish community has become incensed about Livingston's comments since he took office in 2000. The former Labour MP has in the past compared the Likud party with Hamas, which is regarded by most of Europe as a terrorist entity. The London Mayor has called former Israeli Prime Minister Sharon a "war criminal" and ""would like to see Ariel Sharon locked up in the next cell to Slobodan Milosevic."

Livingstone has also been accused of anti-Semitism and has almost earned him a suspension. After comparing a Jewish reporter to "concentration camp guard", Livingstone earned a rebuke from an inquiry that found his comments "unnecessarily insensitive and offensive."

More recently, Livingstone has made comments about Jewish property developers David and Simon Reuben. The Mayor told them to "go back to Iran and try their luck with the ayatollahs."

Then when many called on Livingstone to apologise, he said, "I would offer a complete apology to the people of Iran to the suggestion that they may be linked in any way to the Reuben brothers. I wasn't meaning to be offensive to the people of Iran."

Something must be done

Rivlin feels that the Jewish communal organisations have not done enough to draw attention to the Mayor's meanderings, and this is where his campaign idea came from.

Rivlin told SomethingJewish, "Either we take it on the chin like the Board of Deputies and don't do anything, or we stand up and say what we think about Livingstone. I wanted to see how much feeling there is in the community and judging by the responses I have been getting, I would say Mr Livingstone is about as popular as a Manchester United fan at Elland Road."

North Londoner Robert Elias echoed Rivlin's feelings, "I bought one of these stickers because it is about time the Jewish people make public that you shouldn't slander Jews and just brush it under the carpet."

"We have just as much right as other communities to feel protected from racist comments, especially when he (Livingstone) is in such a position of power," Elias told the EJP.

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