The Green Party has suspended a Camden Council candidate who shared social media posts blaming Israel for the arson attacks on Jewish volunteer ambulances in March.
News of the suspension comes at the end of week of intense political campaigning where the Green Party leader Zack Polanski faced criticism over his own public remarks and was himself on the receiving end of a racially-aggravated offence.
A repost on the social media profile of Aziz Rahman Hakimi, one of the Greens’ election candidates for Haverstock ward in Camden, provoked outrage in April as it alleged that the fiery destruction of Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green was in fact a “false flag” operation carried out by Israel.
When the social media posts first emerged, leader of Camden Greens, Lorna Jane Russell said the local party “unequivocally rejects anti-Semitism and all forms of racism”.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) approached Camden Greens to ask if they would still be endorsing Hakimi’s candidacy following his suspension, but the party did not respond in time for publication.
A dossier of election candidates’ social media activity shared with the press revealed that Hakimi’s account also reposted allegations that “Zionists” were responsible for 9/11. Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the time urged the Greens to drop him as a candidate for allegedly peddling “abhorrent and anti-Semitic” conspiracy theories.
The Green Party at the time told the LDRS the comments “did not reflect the party’s views or values” and subsequently placed him under investigation. Now, the LDRS can confirm Hakimi has been suspended by the party as a result of the probe triggered over two weeks ago, while the issue is investigated.
A civil engineer and local business owner, Hakimi’s account posted directly in 2021 that Sir Keir Starmer was an “Israeli poppet” [sic]. His account also shared a post urging Muslims not to smoke because it helped the tobacco industry to “fund the Jews to kill our brothers”.
The candidate did not respond to a request for comment. Labour sources have claimed Green Party election posters have since been removed from his shop window.
However, even if the party withdraws support for its candidate, there is now no legal way for his name to be removed from the ballot paper.
If a party nominates someone as their official candidate with a political party description and a logo, once the nomination deadline has passed, the ballot paper cannot be amended even if that candidate is suspended or expelled. If they are then elected, the result would stand and they would sit as an independent, in the event they are stripped of their party membership, though there has been no finding of fact by the Green Party against Hakimi.
The Metropolitan Police is treating the Hatzola arson attacks as an anti-Semitic hate crime and has arrested four people in connection with the incident. They have all since been charged.
Hakimi’s suspension comes as other Green Party election candidates have been involved in controversy surrounding social media posts, including two in Lambeth and one in Croydon who has also been suspended.
Golders Green became the site of another attack on Wednesday, 29 April in a double stabbing of two Jewish men aged 34 and 76. Both individuals remain in a stable condition and the alleged perpetrator has since appeared in court on suspicion of the attempted murder of three people.
The incident, which is being treated as a terror attack, has led to Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis claiming that anti-Semitism is being “normalised” in the UK.
On Friday 1 May Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley urged the government to fund putting 300 more officers on the streets to combat an “epidemic of anti-Semitism”.
On the same day, Green Party leader Zack Polanski issued a public apology to Rowley after he shared a social media post criticising the way the Golders Green attacker was arrested.
“Everyone in leadership has a responsibility for lowering the temperature at a time of such tension, and I apologise for sharing a tweet in haste,” said Polanski.
“Police responses to emergency situations such as these do need later reflection in the right forums, but I accept that social media is not the appropriate channel for doing so. I have invited Mark Rowley to meet with me to discuss the police response and the wider issues raised in his letter,” he stated.
Keir Starmer said Polanski is “not fit to lead a political party“.
Polanski, who is Jewish, was the target himself of anti-Semitism when on a visit to Hastings on Thursday.
“Today the Prime Minister uses his office to attack the only Jewish party leader to score political points,” said Polanski in response to Starmer’s comments.
Police arrested a man who “gave a series of Nazi salutes” as the Green Party leader was speaking, reported the Independent.
Sussex Police said: “Following swift enquiries, a 62-year-old man from Hastings has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated Section 4A public order offence of causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress.”
Additional reporting by Linus Rees.
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