Israel flag defaced on Borehamwood & Elstree Town Council office

Elstree & Borehamwood Town Council has taken down the Israeli flag at its Fairway Hall offices in Borehamwood

Police are investigating after an Israeli flag in one of Britain's largest Jewish communities was defaced with red paint.

Elstree & Borehamwood Town Council in Hertfordshire put up the flag on its offices on 7 October following Hamas' attack in Israel.

The council said it had acted in solidarity with Shoham - its twin town in Israel.

Hertsmere MP Oliver Dowden condemned the attack as "a horrifying act".

Members of the council discovered the stained flag on Thursday morning - the same week that leaflets were put through the door of its offices.

"My first thoughts were for the safety of my staff who work at the town council," said council leader Richard Butler.

He said that after the two incidents they had "decided to remove the Israeli flag and leave it off for the time being".

Mr Butler said the incident was reported to the CST (Community Security Trust), which monitors anti-Jewish incidents across the UK, and the police.

Hertfordshire Police said it was investigating the incident and reviewing CCTV footage.

The council flew the Israel flag on Brook Close during a visit from members of its twin town Shoham and after Hamas' attack in October

He said the council recognised "the concerns people have with what is going on in Israel and the Gaza Strip" and the "tensions around that".

"But at the same time we also want to show unity to our twin town," he said.

"We are a council that is open to everyone, but I think we need to be very clear at this point in time - what happened on 7 October was a terrorist act and we will stand by our twin town."

According to 2021 Census, 17% of Hertsmere's population identified themselves as Jewish, more than in any other UK borough.

Mr Butler said this was a factor in deciding to twin with a town in Israel and fly the flag from the council offices.

"We have a significant Jewish population and seven Jewish members on our council," he said.

Mr Butler said he was "disappointed" by the "malicious act".

"I appreciate everyone has their freedom of speech and so forth, but I would prefer them to use that freedom of speech to challenge the council on why they would fly any particular flags," he said.

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