Labour deputy chair of Newham Council suspended over post relocating Israel

Exclusive: Councillor Nazir also shared series of social media posts accusing Israel of trying to destroy Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Two posts by Nazir Ahmed

Labour’s deputy chair of Newham Council has been suspended over a series of social media posts, including one suggesting Israel should be relocated to the United States.

It has emerged that councillor Nazir Ahmed shared an image in December 2017, which places Israel in the centre of the United States.

The graphic is the identical image Labour MP Naz Shah shared in 2016, leading to her apology and suspension from the party.

He said on his profile it is an: “easy solution for Israel Palestine conflict!”

In another Facebook post from 2014, he shared a video which asked whether “Israel have USA in the pocket..”, while another two posts from 2017 reference false claims that Israel is trying to destroy the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem – Islam’s third holiest site.

Post by Nazir Ahmed saying Israel is digging under Al Aqsa Mosque

In January 2017 he shared a video about neturei karta, a sect of anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews saying “not all Jewish [sic] are the same. There are some very good Jewish”.

A Labour spokesperson said the “party takes all complaints of antisemitism extremely seriously and they are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken.”

Nazir Ahmed has been approached for comment.

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