Green Party local election candidate apologises for sharing Hamas press conference post
Concerns raised about comments made by local council candidates from across the political spectrum in relation to antisemitism and Israel ahead of Thursday's local elections
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
A Green Party candidate in Thursday’s local elections has apologised after he claiming he “unwittingly” shared footage of a Hamas press conference on social media.
Bristol Greens candidate Abdul Malik, standing in the Ashley ward, was found to shown part of a Hamas press conference in the aftermath of the terror group’s October 7 massacre.
While Mohamed Makawi, standing for election in Bristol’s Cotham ward, was said to have also undertaken social media training after making false claims about the killing of Israeli citizens.
Both cases were flagged to the Greens by the the government’s antisemitism adviser, Lord Mann.
A Green Party spokesperson said it has responded to Lord Mann with “evidence of the actions we have taken to remove these ill-judged and offensive communications” and offered to meet him to continue discussions.”
In one case, it appears the candidate was unwittingly tagged into an offensive post that he assures us he did not himself publish,” they said.
“He deleted this post from his timeline as soon as we made him aware of it. “In the other case, the candidate gave credence to some egregious misinformation by sharing it online. He has since apologised and undertaken social media training.
“In our response to Lord Mann we also reiterated that the Green Party has repeatedly condemned the appalling Hamas attacks of 7th October, and called for the unconditional release of Israeli hostages, as well as calling for a bilateral ceasefire.”
Malik told the BBC he did not put up the post showing Hamas spokesmen and said he completely condemns the attacks on Israel.
Jewish News was also alerted to offensive social media posts made by another Green candidate Mohammed Azix Munir, who is standing in Peterborough in Thursday’s elections.
Munir, standing in the city’s Central ward, wrote “F**k The Zionist state of Israel! To Hell with the Zionist state ….” in one Facebook message.In another he wrote of concerns that within “our very own community” there are people who have become “Zionist sympathisers.”
Last year the Jewish Labour Movement wrote to Green Party’s leaders urging them to do more to clampdown on issues around antisemitism in the party.
But as thousands of candidates prepare to stand at the local elections, Jewish News has learned about concerns over further candidates in Labour, the Conservatives and amongst those standing as independents.
Geoff Budd, standing for Labour in the Eastleigh Borough Council election, had previously claimed that antisemitism under former leader Jeremy Corbyn hand been “completely and utterly manufactured”.
Budd, standing in Hedge End North ward, wrote the post the day after Corbyn’s 2019 election defeat, claiming the “antisemitism issue” was used “beautifully for political gain.”
Meanwhile, Christine Thomas stands for Labour in Coventry, attempting to secure re-election on to the city council.
Two years ago, Jewish News published leaked Whatsapp messages in which she had used the term “Jewess” to describe a colleague.
She had been praising a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, who at the time described allegations of antisemitism against him as “a load of crap.”
Thomas was suspended by Labour at the time pending an investigation. The party has been contacted for comment about Budd and Thomas.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives also faced further problems with their candidate selections after it emerged that Shajan Ali, who is standing in Rochdale.
Jewish News was alerted to a series of posts from Ali, including one from November 2023, in which he shared a video by a leading figure in the proscribed group Hizb ut-Tahrir calling Israel “the occupying entity.”
Ali is standing for the Tories in the town’s Central ward.
A Conservative spokesperson said: “Any form of discrimination or abuse is wrong and where cases have been reported to CCHQ the party has acted decisively,”
Another former Conservative local election candidate, Nick Peterken, is now standing as an independent in Bradford’s Wibsey ward.
Peterken, who stood as a Tory candidate in the town last year, has produced a leaflet for the Bradford Independent Group which states “a vote for the Tories or for Labour is a vote for Israel.”
A video of a speech delivered by a candidate standing for George Galoway’s Workers Party in the Bury East ward also raised concerns.
Syed Muarif Hashmi was recorded telling locals: “I can’t hold a sword. I am not trained. But I can do jihad with my pen.”
Local elections will take place across 107 English councils, including 31 metropolitan boroughs, 18 unitary councils and 58 district councils.
A total of 2,636 seats – the smallest number of any local electoral cycle – are up for grabs.
Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) are also being elected across England and Wales, with 33 in the former and four in the latter.
There are also nine mayoral elections for combined authorities: the East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North East, South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, and York and North Yorkshire.
In London, as well as the mayoral election there will also be elections to the London Assembly, with 25 seats available.
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