PSC accused of intimidating councillors over Israel boycott pledge

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has faced accusations of attempting to intimidate local councillors into signing a pledge to boycott Israeli businesses.

The group emailed every local councillor in the UK, urging them to sign a “Pledge for Palestine” committing to divest from Israeli companies. PSC stated it would publish the names of councillors who sign, “so voters know if their representatives have made this commitment to uphold the rights of Palestinian people.”

With local elections approaching in May, Jewish News has also uncovered attempts to smear a Jewish councillor in the London Borough of Redbridge with accusations of being “pro-genocide” and “anti-Muslim.”

A persistent social media campaign targeting Redbridge Council Labour Group cabinet member Lloyd Duddridge is being conducted by the same anonymous group that previously targeted Wes Streeting in Ilford North on behalf of pro-Palestine activist Leanne Mohamed, who narrowly lost her parliamentary bid.

Attacks on Duddridge, who is Jewish and works closely with Muslim colleagues on the council, have been posted by the Solutions Not Slogans page on X.

These include false claims that he has “intentionally attacked the Muslim community” and accusations that he is a “genocide denier.”

In response, Duddridge stated that those behind the Solutions Not Slogans page were attempting to introduce “sectarian nonsense” into the borough.

Ahead of the May elections, Duddridge condemned the slurs, saying they promoted “politics based on racial and religious lines.”

Health Secretary Streeting had faced smears that he was in the pay of “Zionists” and pro-Israel by the same social media page in an ugly campaign by those seeking to secure an election victory for their candidate in July 2024.

Jewish News has also been informed of other incidents where sectarian foreign policy issues are being pushed to the forefront of local election campaigns in several London boroughs.

In Hackney, local Greens have allied with far-left parties such as the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century (rs21) in an effort to gain influence on the council.

Central to their campaign are claims that Hackney Labour Group, which has long controlled the council, is “complicit” in genocide in Gaza and calls for divestment from pension funds allegedly linked to Israel.

In other boroughs, including Brent, local pro-Palestine activists have sought to label any candidates who do not publicly support their stance as “Zionist.”

Local councillors have also accused the PSC of using intimidation tactics by pressuring elected officials into signing the pledge.

The PSC’s email asks all councillors to make a three-point commitment: to “uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” “support efforts to prevent, and ensure accountability for, Israel’s crimes of genocide, military occupation, ethnic cleansing and apartheid,” and “ensure my council is not complicit and does not help to normalise Israel’s violations of international law.”

It further calls on councillors to ensure their councils “are not complicit in and do not help to normalise Israel’s violations of international law, including through the council divesting pensions and any other funds from complicit companies and through its procurement policies.”

Stuart Fawcett, a Labour councillor in North East Derbyshire District Council (NEDDC), said it was inappropriate for a campaign group to threaten councillors with public shaming for not signing the pledge.

He told The Times: “I have seen firsthand the intimidation by the malign forces of militant PSC activism. The action they advocate does not belong in the legitimate discourse of local government politics, but manifests through a culture of pressure and fear exerted on councillors who enter politics to improve their communities.

“I urge all councillors, as I have at NEDDC, to educate themselves on the facts about the world’s only Jewish state before passing judgment or comment—especially if it could impact the safety of British Jews. Hyper-criticism of Middle East affairs has no mandate in local politics.”

Luke Akehurst, MP for North Durham, added: “It’s disgraceful that at a time of growing communal tensions and dangerous threats to elected representatives, anti-Israel campaigners are seeking to intimidate councillors to further their divisive and dangerous agenda.”

Peter Leary, deputy director of campaigns at the PSC, responded: “PSC supporters are asking councillors across Britain to ensure their councils are not complicit in Israel’s serious violations of international law, including by divesting pension funds from companies enabling Israel’s genocide and apartheid.

“Taking such action is well within the remit of local government, and polling shows it has strong support from the British public, who rightly expect high ethical and legal standards from their elected representatives.”

Steve Reed, the Communities Secretary, recently told Jewish News that councils could face legal action unless they stopped boycotting Israeli businesses.