Kentish Town, London – A LA fitness manager has apologised for
his club’s failure to remove graffiti that compares Israelis to Nazis.
Chris Smith, regional manager of the leading healthclub’s branch in
Kentish Town, north-west London, said the club would now remove a message that
read: “Israelis are Nazis”.
The message, which was sprawled on the inside of a locker in the men’s
changing room, was spotted by a club member.
Mr Smith said: “It has now been dealt with. The locker’s been locked and
[the graffiti] will be dealt with, with immediate effect.”
Composer Benjamin Till, who appeared in Channel 4 show Our Gay Wedding,
saw the graffiti on Thursday evening. He said he had initially reported the
offensive slogan to another manager three months ago.
The 41-year-old from Highgate, who is Jewish, said he was told that the
locker would be permanently shut in July. He said he was surprised to see it
again.
“It’s astonishing that it’s still there,” he said. “It’s deeply
troubling.
“To discover that it is still there is offensive.”
He added: “The Israel conflict seems to excuse antisemitism – that’s the
thing that I find most upsetting.
“It’s a very dark thing to compare Israelis to Nazis.”
