Green Party candidate ‘tore down hostage balloon tribute’ and backed 7 Oct ‘false flag’ lie

A Green Party local election candidate was filmed allegedly ripping down a balloon display set up to show solidarity with hostages kidnapped by Hamas and also backed “false flag” claims that the 7 October atrocity was actually carried out by Israel.

Bernard Mani is standing for Zack Polanski’s party as a candidate in the Forest Hill ward in the London borough of Lewisham next month.

But Jewish News understands he is believed to be the individual filmed ripping down balloons at a display intended to raise awareness of the plight of Israeli hostages, held in Hove, Sussex, just one month after Hamas carried out its attacks in southern Israel.

Carrying a large Palestinian flag, Mani, who had been at a separate demo organised by the Brighton and Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign, reportedly defended his actions, saying he had ripped down the balloons because they were from “someone else’s demonstration”.

The local Jewish community had been staging a solidarity rally following Hamas masacre at a time when the terror group and its affiliates were still holding 240 people hostage.

Mani was reportedly quickly removed from the area by a Sussex Police liaison officer .

The Daily Mail published a story on the incident at the time, although Mani was not identified in the article.

Social media posts purportedly from Mani also appear to show him backing claims that Israel “killed its own people” on 7 October and then “covered it up to justify genocide.”

Responding to a post showing a photo of a man holding a placard making the “false flag” claims, Mani wrote “Yes” in response to another poster asking, “Is this true?”

In another post, Mani appeared to respond to an accusation that Palestinian terrorists had murdered “a baby, a toddler and their mother” by writing, “They were killed by an IDF bomb, just like most of the 1000s of kids in Gaza.”

The discussion appeared to be in response to the murder of Israeli hostages Shiri Bibas, four-year-old Ariel, and nine-month-old Kfir by Hamas terrorists.

Solicitor General and Labour MP for Lewisham West and East Dulwich Ellie Reeves responded to the claims about Mani posting on X: “I am appalled  by the views of the Green Party candidate in Forest Hill. This man is not fit to be a councillor.”

Labour Mayor of Lewisham Brenda Dacres responded to Mani’s actions by writing to Polanski, calling for the Greens to “immediately remove” him as a candidate.

She said that spreading conspiracy theories about 7 October was “deeply hurtful not just to the Jewish community in Lewisham, but across the world.”

Dacres called for Polanski to condemn Mani himself and said there were serious concerns about the Greens’ vetting process in the borough as Mani’s posts remained online.

Asked to respond to the claims, a Green Party spokesperson told Jewish News: “We don’t comment on individuals.”