Leaders of Birmingham’s Jewish community have urged Sir Ed Davey not to agree to a coalition between the Liberal Democrats and the Greens on the city council, where no single party has a majority.
It comes after a senior Jewish Liberal Democrat councillor told the JC that he has “concerns” about emerging coalitions between Zack Polanski’s party, which has been beset with allegations of extreme antizionism, and the Liberal Democrats, with a confirmed joint administration agreed last week in London’s Southwark council.
In Birmingham, discussions are continuing between the Liberal Democrats, independents and Green Party in the city, with no party securing overall control of the council at last month’s elections.
In a letter to the Liberal Democrat leader and seen by the JC, the Jewish Representative Council of Birmingham and West Midlands Jewry have called on Sir Ed to “stop an antisemite from playing a key role in running Birmingham.”
Their concerns centre on Cllr Kamel Hawwash, the Green Party deputy leader on Birmingham City Council and the city’s first councillor of Palestinian origin.
Hawwash shared a video of the October 7 attacks using the name “Al-Aqsa Flood” - a phrase used by Hamas to describe the massacre – and wrote about “resistance in the face of aggression” on his blog titled “Brum2Jerusalem”.
In a post on X last June, he wrote about Israel: “Their lie that Hamas is killing them is just that a lie. A state built on the lie of a land without a people for a people without a land, that they are god’s chosen people and that Palestine had been promised only to the Jews. Lie after lie after lie.”
The Jewish Representative Council also cited posts attributed to Hawwash, who represents Stirchley ward, in which he described Hamas as “A liberation & resistance Islamic movement” and wrote that the terror group “understands Islam to be moderate, inclusive & fair 2 all.”
I have been sworn in as the Councillor for Birmingham Stirchley for the Green Party.
— Professor Kamel Hawwash بروفيسور كامل إسحق الحواش (@kamelhawwash) May 12, 2026
I am now a member of the Green group, which has 19 members, rising from 2!
Very proud but feel the weight of responsibility.
The first Birmingham Councillor of Palestinian origin. pic.twitter.com/cRlgIJ0jh0
The letter argued that the “antisemitic and hateful views” attributed to figures in the Green Party are incompatible with Sir Ed’s recent calls for “tough action” on antisemitism.
“You have the power to stop an antisemite from playing a key role in running Birmingham,” the letter said.
In May’s local election, Reform UK secured 23 seats on the council, Greens 19, Labour 17, Conservatives 16, Liberal Democrats 12, Workers Party 1 and Independents 13.
The Green, Liberal Democrat and Better Birmingham Independent groups have been in discussions over a potential coalition, saying they are working “to create a sustainable administration”.
The group leaders; Julien Pritchard, Roger Harmer and Harris Khaliq, said following a meeting last month, “there are still many questions about the council's leadership.”
The groups said they had committed “to come together for a safer, greener and fairer city,” and “are working to create a sustainable administration to serve Birmingham's residents.
They said an agreement would be finalised soon.
It comes as the Liberal Democrats in Southwark have agreed to enter a narrow coalition with the Greens, ending a post-election stalemate in which the council was under no overall control.
On May 6, Zack Polanski’s party won 22 seats, Labour 29, and the Liberal Democrats 12, leaving no party with an outright majority and positioning the Liberal Democrats as potential kingmakers for either Labour or the Greens to form a 32-seat majority.
Last Thursday, as the Green-Liberal Democrat coalition was agreed, Labour councillor Sarah King warned about potential instability and described the deal as “an insult to the thousands of voters who supported Southwark Labour”.
The council was been Labour-run since 2010.
A senior Jewish Liberal Democrat councillor, who did not want to be named, said there were “concerns” about emerging coalition arrangements.
“I do have concerns that most Liberal Democrats, certainly at local government level, recognise that the majority of people in this country, local councillors included, do not have sufficient information to make a balanced judgment on the Middle East conflict and that Israel is not a pressing issue for most people at local government level,” he said.
He added: “There are plenty of people within the Liberal Democrats who recognise the Greens as a protest party and would certainly not adopt its platform on the Middle East (or in many other things).”
But he suggested that some coalitions involving the Greens may be “needed to keep Reform out.”
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel honorary chair Gavin Stollar OBE said: “Agreements that Liberal Democrat groups take up will uphold our party's values and policies, which includes full adherence to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and zero tolerance to anti-Jewish racism, within the council and in the behaviour of members of a governing coalition.”
Sir Ed and Cllr Hawwash have been approached for comment.
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