Mr Cohen said there should be an inquiry into why no selection process went ahead.
Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl was among those to condemn Mr Bashir's comments after the JC revealed them on Monday.
She said: “We are extremely concerned at the language used by Amjad Bashir, the Conservative candidate for Leeds North East, who described British Jews travelling to Israel and returning as ‘brainwashed extremists’, blaming ‘rabbis and politicians’.
“We would urge the Conservative party to consider the suitability of allowing someone who has publicly aired such repellent views to stand as their candidate anywhere, let alone in a constituency with a vibrant Jewish community.”
Many local members of the Jewish community called for Mr Bashir to be withdrawn as the Tory candidate – but with nominations now closed it would be impossible to replace him on the ballot.
There were also calls for Mr Cohen to resign as his agent – but again this was not allowed under election rules, although it is possible for Mr Bashir to remove him as an agent.
Angelo Basu, who chairs the Leeds North West Conservative Association, told the JC: "From a personal perspective, I can’t begin to express my disgust and disappointment at the comments from our Leeds North East candidate and am confident this view is shared by my colleagues."
Mr Bashir issued a statement saying: "I deeply regret the comments I made around brainwashing - this was borne from a personal experience but it was completely wrong and I apologise unreservedly for it."
The JC has learned that Ms Bashir was forced to deny he was a member of George Galloway’s Respect Party in 2012.
When Mr Bashir was welcomed back into the Conservatives in 2015, Grant Schapps praised his “successful” defection from Ukip.
