Twenty-five Green Party candidates contesting Thursday’s elections have a history of antisemitism and extremism, according to a dossier circulated by the Labour Party.
At least ten of the candidates have justified or downplayed violence against the Jewish community, with five referring to such violence as “false flag” attacks committed by Israel.
Dozens of others have repeatedly posted vehement opposition to Zionism, including one candidate in Newcastle who suggested Zionists should be killed in a combine harvester, and another in Hackney who claimed Israel was harvesting organs to help “alter DNA of Zionists”. Several others have shared material claiming Israel was behind the arson attack on a Jewish volunteer ambulance service in Golders Green and others have posted in support of proscribed terror groups.
Despite the volume of shocking material, very few of the candidates have been officially sanctioned by Zack Polanski’s eco-populist party, which is predicted to make major gains during Thursday’s local and regional elections.
Labour’s Communities Secretary Steve Reed is now urging Polanski to rid his party of these “toxic” views ahead of polling day.
“This isn’t one or two bad apples. This is serial hatred from candidates handpicked by Zack Polanski and the Green Party to represent them at the ballot box,” Reed said.
“Polanski can’t stay silent on these abhorrent candidates. He needs to take action against them, withdraw his support and boot them out of the party,” he went on.
Among the candidates highlighted in the dossier is Camden Green, Aziz Hakimi, who reposted an article on Facebook describing the Hatzola attack as a “false flag”, convenient for the “Zionist narrative” and reshared a video alleging that “Zionists” were responsible for the September 11 terror attacks.
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In a post from 2018, Hakimi, standing in the Haverstock ward, also expressed support for Hamas – which had not been proscribed in the UK at the time – writing: “Stay strong Hamas, you’re the pride of the sleeping ummah”.
Elsewhere in north London, Ifhat Shaheen, a candidate in Stoke Newington, Hackney, reposted a message on X following the Golders Green arson attack in March, that said, “Since Golders Green is now in the news, I want to take the opportunity to make people aware that the Jewish community in North London host IDF soldiers in their synagogues and raise funds for the IDF during a ‘family fun day’.”
Ifhat Shaheen's post on X under the name Ifhat Smith[Missing Credit]
On October 7 2023, as Hamas terrorists were attacking southern Israel, Shaheen wrote: “If you say nothing when Palestinians especially children are under attack, murdered imprisoned, buy Israel then stay quiet when Palestinians inevitably try to defend themselves.”
In another post, Shaheen – who works in the NHS and is a school governor – suggested Israel was harvesting organs “to help alter [the] DNA of Zionists to claim land, ancestry”.
The Green candidate in Newham’s Manor Park, Rajeev Kumar, referred to Jews as “devil worshippers” and suggested the community “should be hated”.
Posting on X last June, Kumar wrote: “I haven’t met a single person in my life who hates Jews, but I have met dozens of Jews continuously saying, ‘people hate us’. Now I think they know something about themselves that we don’t, and they fear hate because they know they should be hated for that.”
Mohammed Suleman, a candidate in Newcastle Upon Tyne, reposted a claim that “Israel kills babies as a hobby” and a video that alleged Jewish prisoners of war were willing to bury Soviet prisoners alive under Nazi instruction.
Newcastle City candidates Joseph Gartland and Chandni Chopra have both shared posts comparing the situation in Gaza to the Holocaust.
Another Newcastle candidate, Phil Brookes, wrote that “it takes serious effort not to be a tiny bit antisemitic”, while Tina Ion, also in Newcastle, allegedly posted on X under the name “thereal.anne.frank”. Ion allegedly shared a photo of a combine harvester with the caption “Zionist juicer. Feet first of course.”
In Birmingham, Kamel Hawwash shared a video of the October 7 atrocities using the name “Al-Aqsa Flood” and wrote about “resistance in the face of aggression” on his blog titled “Brum2Jerusalem”.
In Walsall, near Birmingham, Joe Belcher posted on X about his “hunch” that “Oct 7 attack was paid for by Netanyahu and/or the West” and reshared a claim in 2014 that ISIS was run by Mossad. He was suspended by the party in 2024 over his comments, but has been allowed to stand for the Rushall-Shelfield seat at the local elections
Joe Belcher - Green Party candidate (Image: Walsall Green Party)[Missing Credit]
Hau-Yu Tam, a councillor in Deptford, Lewisham, shared a social media post that said Zionism is “the Nazism of our time” and should be “abolished”.
Several other Green candidates have voiced support for Pascal Robinson-Foster, the lead singer of Bob Vylan, following his anti-Zionist remarks at Glastonbury.
In Lewisham, Rebecca Jones has repeatedly demonised Zionists, resharing a post depicting an illustration of an Israeli flag in flames and the words “burn Zionism to the ground”.
Jones, who is a doctor, said chants of “Death, death to the IDF” were “amazing” and described a reading of the last will and testament of Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, as “so beautiful”.
After reports about Jones emerged, she claimed to be the victim of “right wing… smear” because of her opposition to Zionism.
Laura-Louise Fairley, standing in Hackney Downs, has called on the Greens to proscribe the Israel Defence Forces as a terrorist organisation.
Jam Anker, a candidate in Hackney Wick, reposted a video on Instagram featuring a quote from Holocaust-revisionist and antizionist writer, Norman Finkelstein, stating: “I won’t condemn H***s”.
Despite the swathe of material – much of which has been reported in newspapers in recent weeks – very few of the candidates identified in the dossier have faced disciplinary action from the Green Party.
Mark Adderley, previously exposed by the JC for ranting about the “chosen people” and attributing “false flag” attacks against Jews to Israel, has been suspended. However, his local Green branch has since encouraged voters to support him.
Croydon Greens told voters to back Adderley (Photo: Instagram)[Missing Credit]
Tope Olawoyin, who shared a conspiracy theory suggesting those arrested over the Golders Green arson attack were “probably” Jewish, has withdrawn from standing in Havering, but she remains a member of the London Greens’ steering committee.
In Lambeth, Saiqa Ali – who was arrested after allegedly posting an image suggesting Donald Trump is “owned by Jews” and another appearing to depict a Hamas fighter with the caption “resistance is freedom” – has also been suspended.
Sabine Mairey, arrested at the same time as Ali after allegedly reposting a claim that “ramming a synagogue isn’t antisemitism. It’s revenge”, was pictured canvassing for the Greens over the weekend following her arrest.
One of the posts shared on Saiqa Ali's now-deleted Instagram[Missing Credit]
Another candidate highlighted in the dossier, Carlotta Alum, served a prison sentence in America after being caught smuggling 10,000 ecstasy tablets, while a separate candidate, Stephanie Golder, was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence after being convicted of vandalism for her role in causing £100,000 of damage to a service station on the M25.
The Green Party was contacted for comment.
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