Ned Temko, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, is warning that at their worst the posters were “part of a deliberate pattern of frankly anti-Semitic invective”. Temko, whose paper is the voice of Britain’s Jewish community, says the posters may have been “an inadvertent mix of insensitivity and cultural illiteracy”, but “a less charitable conclusion is that Labour, or some within it, sees election campaign advantages in subliminally reminding voters that Howard is Jewish.”

Feelings are growing in the Jewish community that the Labour party, which has a membership which is often hostile to Israel, is less welcoming than the Tories. Trade Minister Mike O’Brien was reported to the Commission for Racial Equality for telling an Islamic paper Mr Howard could not represent Muslims properly and that he could not be trusted on the “Palestine issue”.

Labour Party chairman Ian McCartney caused uproar after accusing Shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin, who is also Jewish, of behaving like a “21st century Fagin”. But its not just the Tories complaining – groups such as the Association of Jewish Refugees and even Liberal Judaism condemned the ads.