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The Green Party has been embroiled in a new anti-Semitism crisis after a prominent Jewish group said the party was “at risk of sinking into a growing quagmire of racism”.
The National Council of British Jews called on the Green Party to remove three general election candidates over their social media activity, saying it was “increasingly concerned” about the party’s vetting procedures.
Joe Belcher, a candidate for the Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, posted an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on X/Twitter in November that Israel had paid Hamas to carry out the October 7 atrocities.
Belcher argued that this was part of a “huge payoff” to Hamas leaders that allowed Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, to claim rights to “billions of dollars worth of oil and gas” in Gaza waters.
“I condemn the attack and the occupation,” he added, saying he “cannot believe that the Hamas leadership is acting in the interests of the Palestinian people,” but added: “My intuition is that the Israeli and Gaza leaders conspired to carry out what happened on October 7 for financial gain. But there is no evidence. That’s why this is just a hunch.”
Meanwhile, Sherif Hassan, the party’s parliamentary candidate for Hemel Hempstead, liked posts saying “Israel must be removed” and one which claimed Jeffrey Epstein ran a blackmail operation on Israel’s behalf.
Madison Wheeldon, the parliamentary candidate for Warrington North, compared Israel and Zionists to the Nazis in posts on X this month, saying in one post that “Israelis and others who support Zionism are like Germans who supported the Nazis.”
The news comes after Leeds Green Party councillor Motin Ali called his election a “victory for the people of Gaza” earlier this month and shouted “Allah is great”, sparking fears among the city’s Jewish community, with Ali saying he did not support violence but “sorry if it caused upset”.
The Green Party is hoping that adding Bristol West to Brighton and Hove will give them a breakthrough in the general election.
The party won more seats than ever before in the 2024 local elections, came in first in Bristol despite falling short of a majority, while it won first place in Hastings and made strong gains in Suffolk, Lewes and the Forest of Dean.
A spokesman for the House of Commons said the organisation had previously written to the party about concerns about anti-Semitism, and said: “We are increasingly concerned that the Green Party is not doing enough due diligence when it comes to candidates.”
“Through their social media activity, some candidates appear to be sympathetic to the crudest anti-Semitic slurs. Unless the Green Party starts to show some principle on this, it risks sinking its wider policies into a quagmire of racism.”
I I have attempted to contact Belcher, Hassan and Wheeldon and have tried to contact the Green Party offices to inquire about the vetting process.
Carla Denier, co-leader of the Green Party, said: I The interviews were conducted separately as part of an election campaign program at Bristol Central.
Denier said there is typically a due diligence process for candidates, and all candidates for public office are asked to sign a declaration of fitness to serve, he said.
Asked about anti-Semitism linked to the candidate, she replied: “I am very aware of the rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia across British society. This is truly worrying and has no place in politics.”
“I am very conscious of the hurt caused to those in Jewish communities across the country who feel anxious about what has been said.
“And I want to be clear that the Green Party takes any allegations of anti-Semitism or racism very seriously. I have confidence in our internal party investigation process.”
“I’m not personally involved in those processes, but I think that’s absolutely correct.”
Denier said this was to avoid errors identified in the Equality and Human Rights Commission report into antisemitism in the Labour Party, which criticised political interference in the complaints process.
A Green party spokesman said they could not comment on individual cases, adding: “The Green party takes allegations of anti-Semitism extremely seriously. We have robust internal procedures for dealing with all allegations that are raised. It would not be appropriate for us to comment further.”
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