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‘Anti-Semitic’ Labour councillor readmitted to party
Nottingham Cllr Ilyas Aziz says he's back in the mix after being suspended for offensive comments in May
A Labour councillor from Nottingham who was suspended after being accused of sharing blood libels online and for saying Israeli Jews should “relocate” to America has been readmitted to the party.
Ilyas Aziz, an avid supporter of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who is listed as a manager of a Pakistani community centre in the East Midlands city, tweeted on 31 December: “Can resume my Labour Party activities now that my suspension lifted. Thanks to all who stood by me in difficult times.”
Labour lifted the suspension of Aziz, who has been approached for comment, after political website Guido Fawkes revealed that he had written a string of anti-Semitic social media posts. He was subsequently suspended in May.
Among the more incendiary posts attributed to Aziz was one urging Israelis to “stop drinking Gaza’s blood,” which he allegedly retweeted from a Muslim youth group. He has also compared the actions of Israelis towards the Palestinians to the actions of Nazis towards Jews, and said Jews in the Middle East could move to the U.S.
“Jews and Muslims lived together in the Middle East, in peace pre 1948. Perhaps it would have been wiser to create Israel in America it’s big enough,” he wrote. “They could relocate even now.”
The Labour Party has been approached for comment.
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