Children as young as six were encouraged to make badges celebrating the intifada and praising Palestinian martyrs as part of a charity workshop.

The badges, featuring slogans such as “Long Live the Intifada” and “If I must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale”, were part of a series of arts and craft activities staged by the charity Metroland Cultures. The event was held in London’s Kilburn on June 28 to raise money for Palestine and Sudan.

They have been criticised as “propaganda designed to sow hatred of Jews” by campaigners against anti-Semitism, who said it is inappropriate for children so young to be encouraged to imitate Palestinian slogans celebrating death and the armed struggle against Israel.

Badges made by children also included phrases such as, “Free Palestine” and  “If I must die, you must live to tell my story”, on the background of keffiyeh scarf material.

Critics say the Intifada badge could be interpreted as a promotion of anti-Israeli terrorism and the death badges, as promoting martyrdom.

The last two slogans were taken from a poem by Refaat Alareer, who had, in a BBC interview, described Hamas’s massacre of Israelis on  October 7 as “legitimate and moral”.  He has since been killed in an airstrike by the IDF.

The Metroland Cultures event was advertised with flyers featuring watermelons, which have now become the symbol used instead of a Palestinian flag, since the colours of the fruit match those of the flag.

Critics say the event could have the effect of “sowing hatred of Jews” in the minds of children in the borough, which has a large Jewish community.

The group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) claims that Metroland Cultures breached its charitable objectives by staging a “partisan” event and “engaging in political activities” outside of its charitable remit.

Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, said: “Instead of promoting arts, culture and heritage for the people of the London Borough of Brent, the centre has promoted divisive activities, designed to sow hatred of Jews and Israelis amongst its participants.

“Instead of developing skills and capacities to enable young people to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals, as set out in their charitable objects, Metroland is using propaganda to encourage young people to adopt an anti-Israel political narrative.”

Accusations of discrimination

UKLFI, which has submitted a complaint about Metroland Cultures, claims that the group has breached section 29 of the Equality Act 2010 by providing a service which discriminates against Jews, Israelis and Zionists.

It said: “No Jew, Israeli or Zionist would feel comfortable participating in the workshops created by Metroland Cultures, or in the strike that they organised on May 31.

“UKLFI believes that Metroland Cultures, as a service provider, has discriminated against Jews and Israelis by providing services which they would feel unable to participate in and have also harassed these groups, in breach of the Equalities Act, by creating an intimidating, hostile and offensive atmosphere for them.”

The chair of trustees of Metroland Cultures is Rachel Dedman, a writer, curator and art historian who has specialised in Palestinian art and culture, particularly its tradition of embroidery.

Metroland Cultures, which describes its mission as being “to build, share and support art and culture in the London Borough of Brent”,  did not respond to requests for comment from The Telegraph.

However, in a letter to UKLFI, Lois Stonock, the group’s founder and director, indicated it may be prepared to launch an internal investigation into the event.

She wrote: “I confirm that the Trustees have received your letter and are taking the matters raised seriously.”