Charity suspends MP’s aide after Israel ‘Holocaust conditions’ tweet

A Birmingham education charity Jess Phillips’s office manager was involved with has been suspended from her trustee duties over alleged antisemitic tweets.

The St Paul’s Community Development Trust in Balsall Heath announced its decision on Monday in the wake of the allegations. 

Salma Hamid became a trustee and chair of the organisation’s trustee board in October last year. 

A spokesperson for the trust said it “aims to create a culture that respects and values people’s differences, that promotes dignity, equality and diversity and that encourages individuals to develop and maximise their true potential.”

Phillips suspended Hamid at the weekend as she faces a disciplinary process over material posted between 2014 and 2016 before she joined the MP’s team, the Mail on Sunday reported. 

Among the posts unearthed by the newspaper was a tweet apparently accusing Israel of “inflicting Holocaust conditions on Palestinians” and another message branding the Jewish state a “murderer.”

The act of likening Israeli policy to those of the Nazi regime is among the examples of antisemitism listed in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition adopted in full by Labour’s ruling body in 2018.

Another tweet appeared to compare Israel to the Islamic State terror group, according to the report.

Phillips, who is vying to replace Jeremy Corbyn, told of her sadness to take action in a statement released on Twitter on Sunday.

The statement read: “It is easy to call out and challenge our adversaries, it is far harder to do this when it is our friends and close colleagues. I am really sad that I’ve had to take this action against a hard working and valued member of staff.

“But we can’t have one rule for those we don’t like and another for those we do. I pledge to always take action quickly and effectively, without fear or favour.

“This is the right thing to do and the only way to start building a bridge again with the Jewish community.”

Phillips joined other candidates in backing ten pledges to stamp out antisemitism and restore trust with the community drawn up by the Board of Deputies.

Pledges include efforts to make Labour’s “disciplinary process independent” and “ensure transparency” in its disciplinary process for tackling antisemitism.