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Charity trustee called for ‘death to Zionist scum’
Nasima Begum also compared Israeli Jews to Hitler
November 12, 2021 15:26
Nasima Begum also compared Israeli Jews to Hitler
November 12, 2021 15:26A trustee on a youth charity funded by the Arts Council called for “death” to “Zionist scum” and compared Israeli Jews to Hitler, prompting a complaint to the watchdog.
Nasima Begum, a board member of a Manchester poets’ group called Young Identity, has also described Israel as inflicting a “Holocaust” on the Palestinians.
Ms Begum, who is also a Young People’s Officer at the Bangladeshi women’s organisation Ananna, boasts about being a “bad b**ch” on her Twitter profile.
In one exchange on the platform from 2012, Ms Begum is challenged by a user called “Israel Under Fire” about Hamas rockets being launched at civilian populations in Israel from Gaza.
She replies: “Exiling a people from their own land justifies anything. It’s the Holocaust all over again except this time its innocent Palestinians and ironically the perpetrators are you Zionist scum.”
In 2011, she posted: “What’s sad is that the Jewish population faced genocide themselves in Hitler’s Germany but they’ve implemented the same on Palestine for years.”
And in a third tweet from November, 2012, she wrote about Israel: “You will always remain an illegal state. Death to you, Zionist scum.”
Ananna, where Ms Begum is employed, lists “human dignity” as one of its core values, insisting on “the right of all people to be valued and respected for their own sake.”
As well as her work with Young Identity, which is part funded by the Arts Council England, she also advocates for the Manchester youth theatre group Contact.
The group’s core values include a “commitment to anti-racism”, while Young Identity offers children and young people the chance to take part in poetry and performance workshops and offers professional mentoring.
The online campaign group against antisemitism, Gnasher Jew, has forwarded the posts to the Charity Commission, arguing that Ms Begum should not be near children or in any position of responsibility, given her views. The JC contacted Ms Begum, Ananna and Young Identity for comment.