Israeli minister brands Shabana Mahmood an ‘Islamist’ over refugee plans

Israel’s minister responsible for combating antisemitism has branded Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood an “Islamist” in an attack on Britain’s new refugee plans, in comments described by the Jewish Labour Movement as “clear racism”.

Amichai Chikli, Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, made the comments after Mahmood announced new routes allowing charities, community groups and universities to sponsor refugees coming to Britain.

He also took aim at New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, writing on X: “When people speak of the political takeover of a country by Islamism, they imagine bearded sheikhs in robes.

“In reality, political Islam often looks exactly like this: Oxford English, fashionable clothes and progressive rhetoric. That is true of the Islamist Mayor Mamdani, and it is equally true of the Islamist Shabana Mahmood.

“I sincerely hope, for the sake of the British people, that the lunatics BDS activists who have taken over their country do not drag Britain into an abyss from which there is no way back.”

In response to Chikli’s comments, the Jewish Labour Movement said: “The sooner Netanyahu’s cronies are voted out, the better. Solidarity with Shabana Mahmood – these attacks are clear racism.”

Israel is due to hold a general election in four week’s time.

Shadow Attorney General Lord Wolfson also condemned the remarks, saying that while he disagrees with Mahmood on “plenty”, describing her as an Islamist was “ridiculous”.

He wrote on X: “Politics is better when we attack bad arguments, not smear people with labels and slogans.”

Chikli was responding to footage of Mahmood announcing that charities and non-profit organisations will be able to apply from October to sponsor refugees under a new community sponsorship route.

The intervention comes after the government also reopened the UK Resettlement Scheme, with around a quarter of referrals expected to be Afghan women and girls and Palestinian refugees.

The first arrivals under the reopened scheme are expected before the end of this year, while refugees sponsored through the new community and student routes are due to begin arriving in autumn 2027.

The government says the schemes will initially bring hundreds of people to Britain, with numbers expected eventually to rise into the low thousands as illegal migration falls. Annual numbers will be capped.

Those arriving will undergo identity, security and criminal checks and will be placed on a five-year route to permanent settlement.

Announcing the plans at Labour conference, Mahmood said: “We will take vulnerable refugees from across the world, and give them the chance of a new and better life here in Britain, with the first arrivals beginning this year.

“I am proud to say that around a quarter will be Afghan women and girls, fleeing persecution under the Taliban, and Palestinians who have fled the horrors of Gaza.”

The Jewish Leadership Council has already sought assurances from Mahmood over the plans, including how security checks will operate and whether measures will be taken to address extremism and antisemitism among new arrivals.

Jewish News has approached the Home Office and Labour Friends of Israel for comment on Chikli’s remarks.

Last year the Israeli Minister was widely condemned after inviting English far-right activist Tommy Robinson to Israel, describing him as a “British patriot” and a “courageous leader on the front line against radical Islam.”

It is understood that the Board of Deputies has raised the matter of Chikli’s latest comments with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.