The BBC has been hit by accusations of anti-Semitism by Jewish groups following the airing of its new crime drama McMafia.

McMafia explores the world of organised crime and follows the story of Alex Goodman, played by actor James Norton, the English-raised son of Russian exiles with a mafia history.

But since the first two episodes were aired this week, it has been hit by complaints, with viewers saying it contained 'gratuitous slurs' and 'lazy stereotyping' against the Jewish community.

The BBC's new drama McMafia has been criticised over its depiction of Semiyon Kleiman, a well-connected Israeli played by American actor David Strathairn (pictured)

The UK Lawyers for Israel group (UKLFI) has issued a statement over the portrayal of Semiyon Kleiman, a disreputable businessman and politician, played by American actor David Strathairn.

The group also claim the eight part big budget thriller makes references to Israel which are not contained in the 2008 book of the same name by author, Misha Glenny.

In a further criticism, UKLFI also accused the programme-makers of misquoting the motto of Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad.

In a statement posted on UKLFI's Facebook page, the group encouraged those offended to write in and complain formally to the BBC.

James Norton's character Alex Goodman (pictured) was shown becoming more and more embroiled in corrupt deals involving the smuggling of counterfeit goods

It added: 'McMafia uses gratuitous slurs against Israeli businessmen and makes references to Israel which aren't mentioned in the original book.

'Furthermore, the mini-series distorts the motto of Mossad which was quoted in the drama, as 'By deception we will do war'.

'The actual motto comes from Proverbs, 24.6 and says 'For by wise guidance you can wage your war'.

'The use of the word 'deception' in substitute for the words 'wise guidance' attacks the integrity of Mossad and insinuates that Israel officially sanctions deception in its intelligence activities.'

The influential UK Lawyers for Israel group have accused the BBC series of 'gratuitous slurs' against Israeli businessmen and references to Israel which weren't mentioned in the original book by Mischa Glenny

In the opening episode of the series, watched by more than 5.7 million viewers, Kleiman was shown hatching plans for a multi-million floating casino off the coast of Eilat.

In its description of the series, the BBC describes Kleiman as a 'well-connected Israeli businessman with a twinkle in his eye that betrays deeper secrets'.

Stephen Pollard, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, tweeted: 'Watching McMafia. Pretty appalling that all the villains so far are explicitly Jewish.'

His tweet elicited a reply from John Meredith, who said: 'In fact, I think, after only one ep, all the heroes are Jewish and the baddies (real baddies, not devious loveable uncle Boris) not.'

Mr Pollard replied: 'Fair enough. I gave up after half an hour. Seemed very very tedious to me.'

John Brissenden added: 'McMafia: at best liberal, Harry Potter know-nothing nonsense. At worst, anti-semitic propaganda.'

Ze'ev Rosenstein: Drug kingpin who inspired BBC drama's characters Israeli police escort alleged mafia boss Ze'ev Rosenstein in a Jerusalem court in 2004 While the storyline in the BBC drama and its characters are fictional, the inspiration comes from journalist Misha Glenny’s non-fiction book McMafia: Seriously Organised Crime. The prominence of Russian-Israeli gangsters on the show comes from Glenny’s material. In his book, he writes about the rise of organised crime in Israel following the huge influx of Russian-Jews into the country following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The character of Semiyon Kleiman, played by American actor David Stathairn, appears to be an amalgamation of various criminals - including Ze’ev Rosenstein, a notorious Israeli drug kingpin who is featured in the book. Rosenstein, who was born in Tel Aviv to a Romanian Jewish father and a Mountain Jewish mother, was a burglar who later moved into ecstasy distribution. Although not Russian, like Kleiman, he dabbled in politics, which often intersected with crime in Israel, according to Glenny. Kleiman is also relevant in one of few scenes that were lifted directly from the book – when a young trafficked woman tries to escape her captors is knee-capped and left to die. He later takes delivery of another trafficking victim. However, while Rosenstein was primarily involved in the drugs trade, human trafficking and prostitution increased in Isreal after the Soviet Union collapsed. Advertisement

Noah Katz posted: 'I'm sitting here confused as to why they included the unnecessary Jewish stereotyping...just more anti-semitic/Zionist c**p from the BBC.'

There were also complaints on the Jewish Britain Facebook group.

Damon Lenszner wrote: 'Jews run the banking system - check. Jews are crooks - check. Jews are filthy rich - check', to which another viewer replied: 'Ticks all the boxes for people who are already anti-semitic and they think all these things already.'

One commentator posted: 'You may have been disturbed, as I was, at the gratuitous slurs against Israeli businessmen and the many references to Isreal.

'But in particular I took great exception to the reference to the motto of Mossad...an attack on the integrity of Mossad.'

The BBC refused to comment.