The video then showed an image from an article by the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought titled “The Evil Nature Of Zionism”, which alleged: “While the zionists [sic] claim that they are the victims of Nazi-ism, they indulge in the same barbaric practices that their tormentors perpetrated during the Second World War.
"The zionists have even surpassed the Nazis. They openly declare that they will continue the genocide of innocent women and children in Gaza. The hundreds of thousands of Palestinians killed, maimed or displaced provide ample proof of this.
[Missing Credit]
“It must be understood that the zionists are alien invaders in Palestine. The zionist state is a settler colonial entity that serves as a beachhead for Western colonialism and US imperialism in the heartland of Islam.
"That is why it is fully backed, armed and financed by the collective west. In this, it even surpasses the Nazis in Germany. The latter went about their racist project on their own.”
As the image appeared on screen, Yakoob said: “We have, everything in black and white, but people fail to see it. People start calling me conspiracy theorist when I say these kind of things”.
As the image came off the screen, he continued: “But if someone does their research properly, then they will know what I am talking about.”
As he speaks, a second article appeared on screen, this time from Scottish Left Review, titled “The Dangers of Zionism”.
.jpeg?f=3x2&w=732&q=0.6)
[Missing Credit]
In it, a highlighted section read: “For many years, the left (both Jewish and non-Jewish) has argued that Zionism has been a disaster for the Jewish and non-Jewish peoples in Palestine/Israel and that the solution to the problems is a democratic secular state in the area for all Jews and Palestinians.”
The screenshot from the article is also critical of the IHRA definition of antisemitism and laments that “British and other Western governments claim that 'From the River to the Sea...' is race hate, and that any attempt to put the Hamas attack on 7 October in a context of 75 years of oppression of the Palestinians is antisemitic.”
Yakoob went on to say that: “If you side with a faith, you are generally going to be a better person than if you don't side with a faith. I will never be antisemitic.
"I can't be antisemitic because I am a Muslim. Our forefathers are the same, which is the Prophet Abraham. Peace be upon him. So, we can never be antisemitic as Muslims. Remember that.”
Yakoob is the co-founder of the Independent Candidate Alliance, a network of pro-Gaza, largely Muslim, candidates hoping to challenge for control of Birmingham City Council in May.
One of the candidates they are supporting is Shahid Butt, who was convicted of terror offences in Yemen in 1999 in connection with an alleged plot to blow up the British consulate. Butt has claimed the conviction was based on a confession extracted from him under torture.
Yakoob has campaigned alongside Butt in Sparkhill ward, where Butt is seeking a seat, and posted a video of the two of them together as part of a canvassing group this week.
The solicitor is a frequent critic of Zionism and in a speech in 2024 claimed that “Allah” put him in a position “to challenge the Zionist regime, challenge the elites of this country and the world… We live in a world that slowly is getting controlled by these elites.”
