Green Party candidate: ‘Jewish Nazis’ are ‘money grubbing thieves’
Tina Ion is standing as a Green Party candidate in Newcastle
The Green Party is facing further questions regarding one of its local council candidates in Newcastle, after it emerged that she runs a social media account under the alias “the real Anne Frank” in which she has referred to “Jewish Nazis” as “money grubbing thieves” who “have built mountains of money over centuries.”
Yesterday, Jewish News published a piece with information on Tina Ion, a Green party candidate in the Blakeley and Cowgate ward of Newcastle, showing social media comments on her facebook account which included a rant about Israel containing the sentence: “you have designed with psychopathic patience and care all these years the narrative of ‘Jews eternal victims’ and ‘Islamic=terrorist’ and all this time we believed it and all this time the truth was exactly the opposite”. Other posts from Ion disparagingly referred to Israeli Jews as “the chosen people”. One said “God’s people: the chosen ones. Tell me again not to wish death on these shits.”
However, new information, uncovered by Labour Party activist and antisemitism campaigner Steve Cooke, shows that Ion is also the person behind a social media account on Threads, a platform run by Meta, under the name “the real Anne Frank”, featuring a picture of the teenager who was murdered by the Nazis wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh. The account has been identified as Ion’s, as she posted pictures of herself using it, as well as writing “although I use an anti-Zionist off-pissing [sic] alter ego on here, my identity, my real face and my name aren’t actually secret cuz I don’t give a fugg”. Ion runs a business creating stuffed animal toys, and also used the account to share pictures of some of these.
Statements made by the “real Anne Frank account” include “Israel must be eradicated. Even if it means killing every single Zionist”, as well as describing Zionists as “vermin. And vermin must be eradicated so they can’t harm children”.
In a social media posts about an Israeli settler, Ion’s Threads account referred to “Jewish Nazis”, describing them as “the money grubbing thieves have built mountains of money over centuries that they use to buy their way in the world through the lowest and most corrupt individuals in high places”.
The modern state of Israel has only existed for 78 years.
Referencing a fake story which claims that Israelis are using missile warning sirens to avoid paying for restaurant meals, the “real Anne Frank account” shared it with the caption “Even when death’s a good chance they won’t skip a ‘ bargain’”. In another post, Ion describes the “beautiful tradition of planting a tree to mark crucial events”, saying that she can’t “plant trees in my residential area…but for now I am buying a pair of new pyjama [sic] for every dead relevant Zionist.”
Responding to Ion’s comments, the Holocaust Educational Trust said:
“Comparing Jews to vermin and calling for their murder is straight from the Nazi playbook. Doing so under the persona of a Jewish teenager murdered by the Nazis is grotesque and a profound desecration of their memory. It is unthinkable that a national political party sees this individual as fit to be in any way associated with them, let alone as a candidate.”
Darren Johnson, a former Green Party London Assembly member, tweeted: “This is BNP/NF level-stuff. The vile people they let into the Green Party these days to represent them in elections to public office.”
Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle on Tyne Central, responded to the latest revelations about Ion by tweeting: “If you are thinking of voting Green in Newcastle, please check out their candidates first. This is just one example of what they stand for”.
Catherine McKinnell, Labour MP for Newcastle North, said she was “appalled by the views now expressed by multiple Green Party candidates in Newcastle. We are proud to be a city of welcome to those of all religions and none.
“How can they still remain Green Party candidates at next week’s election with such abhorrent views?”
This week, Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, visited Newcastle, telling local news that he stood behind “99%” of his candidates, after accusations of antisemitic comments made by some Green party local election hopefuls in the city.
As reported by the BBC, Dr Philip Brookes, a Green Party candidate for Newcastle’s Manor Park ward, had posts on his Facebook page which included an image describing Israel as “a bunch of Polish, Russian, Hungarian terrorists killing Palestinian people for 76 years”. His account also published an image of an Israel flag being torn to reveal a Nazi swastika flag, and in a post about the war in Gaza said it “takes serious effort not to be a tiny bit antisemitic”.
The BBC also reported that Mohammed Suleman, a candidate in the Arthur’s Hill ward of the city, shared a TikTok video which claimed Jewish prisoners of war were willing to bury Soviet prisoners alive under Nazi instruction during World War Two.
Ion released an extended statement on Thursday titled “A refusal to renounce humanity”, in which she claimed that “isolated fragments of my statements [were] being used to distort my core values”.
She went on to say: “I want to be very clear: I absolutely reject any accusation oif antisemitism. Throughout my life and work, I have consistently stated my solidarity with the Jewish people”. While admitting that she had used “dehumanising” language, she went on to ask “why a politician’s lapse in vocabulary generates more media outrage than the systematic dismantling of international law.”
Responding, the Newcastle Green Party said:
“Newcastle Green Party has referred complaints regarding social media posts by some of our local election candidates to the Green Party of England and Wales, which is investigating. GPC (Green Party Committee) will determine what action to take. While that process is ongoing we cannot comment on specific cases.”
The statement went on to say that the Newcastle Greens “stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, who face rising antisemitism in this country and internationally”. It also said the local party also stood with the Palestinian people, whom it described as “suffering genocide at the hands of the Israeli state”, and said that “These commitments are not in tension. Solidarity with one oppressed people is not a licence to demean another.
“Newcastle Green Party will not allow antisemitism to go unchallenged in our party or anywhere else, including when it hides behind professed support for other oppressed peoples. We are organising antisemitism training for members and we will act on GPC’s findings.”
A subsequent statement from Newcastle’s four sitting Green councillors said: “We are appalled by the racist material written and shared by Tina Ion. We are anti-racists and are clear that antisemitism has no place in our party or in society. We do not support her candidacy.
“As soon as concerning material was shared with us, we immediately referred these cases to the Green Party’s disciplinary processes. We have requested these cases are reviewed urgently.
“This is a very serious situation. We are reviewing our vetting processes and will act on the national party’s findings. Robust action is needed.”
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