A rabbi has warned of a rising tide of antisemitism and called for peace following the appearance of pro-Hamas graffiti in Kent.

The vandalism reading “Love Hamas”, with the ‘o’ replaced with a heart, was spotted just off Northgate in Canterbury.

It adorned a white brick wall in an alleyway, connecting Northgate to Sainsbury’s car park, before the city council removed it yesterday.

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamist militant group which has governed Gaza since 2007.

Dan Cohn-Sherbok, a Jewish Reform rabbi and Emeritus Professor of Judaism, said: “There is rising antisemitism in general. Since October 7 [2023], there has been an explosion of Jew hatred around the world in both Western countries and Arab lands.

“There is no doubt that the war in Gaza is increasing hatred of Jews. It is not surprising in that light that somebody would put up graffiti saying ‘Love Hamas.’

“That does not justify writing support for Hamas on walls. That does no good for anyone. I can understand that people support the Palestinian cause, but what Hamas did on October 7 was utterly evil.”

Originally from America, the Canterbury-based academic, who previously taught at the University of Kent, has been involved in organising local vigils for peace alongside Muslims, Christians and other Jews.

He emphasised that the message of love and peace, rather than violence, should guide communities.

“Love Hamas is a minority view and it’s completely misguided. It should say ‘Love peace and Stop the War!’” he said.

The graffiti appeared on a residential wall next to the Penny Theatre pub

Proscribed as a terrorist group in much of the world, including Britain, the organisation has been engaged in armed struggle with Israel for years.

More recently, it was responsible for the attacks on Israel of October 7, 2023, which killed over 1,100 people, largely civilians.

Those attacks have led to the bloodiest resurgence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades, with over 67,000 Palestinians and almost 2,000 Israelis killed in the Gaza War, which has raged since.

In Britain, protests in opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza have been commonplace since 2023, with some also held in Kent.

They have attracted significant controversy, culminating in the proscription of radical activist group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.

In July, Kent Police in Canterbury threatened a woman with arrest after accusing her of supporting the banned organisation.

Later the same week, a protest was held to show solidarity with her.

On the graffiti Cllr Connie Nolan (Lab), cabinet member for community safety at Canterbury City Council, said: “In my opinion it’s graffiti and should be removed.

“One can express support for a political party but not deface public property.”

Hamas itself is a political party - but in common usage it usually refers to its military wing, the Al-Qassam brigades.

Both organisations are proscribed in their entirety in Britain.

A spokesperson for Canterbury City Council said: "We were made aware of this graffiti yesterday morning (Wednesday 8 October).

“Urgent arrangements were made to clean it off and this was completed by lunchtime the same day.

"Tackling offensive graffiti is a priority for us and we aim to remove it as soon as we can once it has been reported to us.

"This can be done on our website at canterbury.gov.uk/graffiti."

Kent Police have not received any reports of the graffiti.