London Underground hit with fake ads denouncing Israeli 'war crimes'

A series of fake advertisements that appeared on the UK capital's metro system, known as the London Underground, has marked the latest form of British public expression condemning Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The posters, spotted on the Victoria Line, were designed to mimic genuine adverts from the Tel Aviv-based company Monday.com, accusing Israel of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and cultural erasure.

The adverts — which closely imitated Monday.com's branding — included the tagline: "Monday.com – for whatever you run. Even... an apartheid state".

Listed beneath were references to "Genocide", "Ethnic Cleansing", and "Cultural Erasure", each marked with project statuses such as "Needs attention", "On track", and "At risk."

The campaign is part of a wider trend of culture jamming that has emerged across the UK and other Western countries since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Palestinian visual artist and researcher Beesan Arafat believes such creative approaches can be a powerful tool for advocacy.

"British public may resort to cultural jamming tactics as a peaceful means of protest to raise awareness and express their concerns about the ongoing issues in Palestine," Arafat told The New Arab. "As an artist who uses my work as a tool for soft resistance, I find that delivering a message in a smart, peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing manner can be far more effective. People are often overwhelmed by images of violence, and I believe that art, as a universal language, can convey the real narrative more powerfully than words."

Arafat added that creative arts can be a smart and visually appealing way to capture the public's attention.

"In a society that values freedom of speech, it is important to recognise that this freedom can sometimes be selective, depending on the topic," she said. "These forms of creative protest serve as a powerful tool for advocacy, ensuring that our message is heard and our cultural heritage is preserved."

Activists have increasingly used cultural jamming tactics to subvert corporate advertisements and public messaging, drawing attention to what they describe as Israel's war crimes and Western complicity.

"Tech industries are the cornerstone of Israel's economy and they help bankroll the state's apartheid and genocide," Palestinian-British filmmaker and activist Saeed Taji Farouky told The New Arab.

"A lot of people who are disgusted by Israel's crimes are unwillingly helping to fund them, so we should see this kind of cultural hacking as an important form of cultural activism," he said.

"The British public have a right to know where their money is going, and companies that finance Israel's genocide shouldn't be safe from the British public's outrage."

The fake Monday.com posters, which condemned Israel's actions in Gaza, have rattled pro-Israel groups. This includes UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) — a group that has faced criticism for its aggressive legal tactics, which opponents argue are designed to silence pro-Palestinian activism and suppress criticism of Israel.

"[...] I consider them, and I urge others to consider them, not as a legitimate law firm but as a cheap propaganda outfit fully dedicated to defending Israel and criminalising any expression of Palestinian identity or show of support for Palestinian liberation," Farouky said.

The group has announced plans to pursue legal action against the activists involved, condemning the stunt as "vandalism" on public spaces.

Yet, pro-Israel campaigners had previously carried out a similar unauthorised stunt on London's Underground without facing comparable backlash.

On the anniversary of the 7 October attack, a small group of pro-Israel campaigners plastered Tube stations with provocative posters depicting a mock Gaza metro map featuring alleged Hamas tunnels labelled "Hostage Execution Tunnel" and "Hamas Rape Tunnel".

The posters referenced widely discredited claims made by Israel, which alleged Hamas fighters had committed mass sexual violence on 7 October. A recent UN investigation found no evidence to conclude that rape had occurred during the attack, concluding that it could not verify reported incidents of rape.

Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 61,700 people, most of whom were women and children. Tel Aviv now faces accusations of war crimes and genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are the subjects of arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their roles in the devastating Gaza onslaught and besiegement.