A Green Party parliamentary candidate has been dumped after a JC exposé revealed he had made a comparison between Netanyahu and Hitler.
The Bristol East contender Naseem Talukdar has been removed from the party’s official list of candidates following an internal investigation into his controversial social media activity.
Talukdar circulated photographs comparing Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu with Adolf Hiter. One photo depicted Jewish prisoners being taken on a pickup truck to a Nazi death camp. Talukdar captioned the photos “it’s becoming REALLY hard to spot the difference” and the “past becomes the present”.
He also liked a video clip in which anti-Israel activist David Miller said “we have to destroy Zionism [...] it’s fundamentally a racist ideology”.
He liked another post that showed a cartoon of an IDF soldier pointing a gun at an incubated baby and saying “But do you condemn Hamas?”
Talukdar no longer describes himself as the Green Party candidate on X, formerly Twitter.
This week the Green Party co-leader failed to condemn his posts.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday, Carla Denyer said she had not seen the comments but claimed there was a “real danger” in conflating criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism.
“I think it is really important to have a clear distinction between comments that are outright antisemitic which, just like Islamophobia and all other forms of racism, is completely unacceptable, [and] comments that may be problematic and I may strongly disagree with them, but perhaps are not antisemitic and [are] legitimate criticism of the actions of a foreign government.”
A further three Green candidates exposed for sharing extreme anti-Israel views continue to claim they are standing in the general election.
The candidate for the London seat of Bethnal Green and Stepney, Elizabeth Waight, posted an Instagram video in which a woman said: “What’s left for the Zionists [is] to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Palestinians… I think this will happen soon.” She also posted a statement justifying Palestinian “resistance”.
The party’s candidate for Chingford and Wood Green, Chris Brody, shared an article that suggested 9/11 and October 7 were “false flag operations executed to open the path toward more slaughter and mayhem”.
Meanwhile, Maddison Wheeldon, who is standing for Warrington North, said that both Israel and Hamas were “culpable” for October 7 and has said that ordinary Israelis “are akin to the Germans that supported the Nazi’s [sic]”, according to a report in the Telegraph.
Naseem Talukdar said: "The Green Party is on the verge of making major breakthroughs in the general election - and we need strong Green representation now more than ever."
“Recently, my father passed away, which was reminder that spending precious time with my family is important. Therefore, I have chosen to step aside so that a new candidate can take forward our Green message. However, I will continue to advocate for peace and the importance of environmental conservation.”
A Green Party spokesperson said: “We respect Naseem Talukdar's decision and wish him well with his ongoing work in the community, especially around providing support for those experiencing homelessness."
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