Image by shomrim

A French freelance photographer apologized on Wednesday for any offense caused by a mock road sign he placed in a Jewish neighborhood of London.

The red triangular warning sign, featuring a silhouetted image of a man in Orthodox Jewish clothing and hat, was seen near a synagogue in Stamford Hill.

Photographer Franck Allais told Reuters that it had not been meant as an anti-Semitic slur but was part of a wider art project. He said he had put up about 20 others featuring several characters such as an elderly woman with a shopping bag.

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“I have a big, big apology to the Jewish community,” he said, explaining the project was about the identity of people crossing the road, using the format of traffic warning signs.

“It’s all about the characters in London who make London so rich and nice,” said Allais, whose work has appeared in British newspapers and magazines including Newsweek.

A Jewish neighborhood watch group reported the sign to police. Municipal authority Hackney Council said it believed the sign had already been taken down.

Stamford Hill is home to Europe’s largest Haredi community of strictly Orthodox Jews, with an estimated 30,000 living in the area.—Reuters

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