Former Leader Demands Immediate Action on Antisemitism in Green Party
The former leader of the Green Party has urged the party to take prompt measures against candidates who have made antisemitic remarks or posts, following several incidents ahead of Thursday’s elections.
Caroline Lucas, who led or co-led the party for six years and was its first Member of Parliament, acknowledged that while the number of such cases is small, they must not be overlooked.
“Statements that have now come to light from a handful of @TheGreenParty candidates are totally unacceptable & require immediate action,” she said. “There’s no place for antisemitism or any hate speech in the party. This is a society-wide problem and needs to be rooted out wherever it’s found.”
Leadership Response and Criticism from Labour
Zack Polanski, the current leader of the Greens in England and Wales, has publicly disowned candidates identified for antisemitic comments. Despite this, the Labour Party has criticized the Greens for acting too slowly in suspending or removing these candidates.
Specific Cases Under Investigation
The issue gained prominence after two Green candidates for Lambeth council in south London, Sabine Mairey and Saiqa Ali, were suspended on suspicion of inciting racial hatred online.
Evidence from screenshots of Ali’s Instagram account showed she had posted an image of an armed man wearing a headband associated with the banned Islamist group Hamas, accompanied by the slogan: “Resistance is freedom.”
Another screenshot revealed that Mairey had shared a post containing the text: “Ramming a synagogue isn’t antisemitism. It’s revenge.” Both candidates have been suspended by the party.
Additional investigations include Brian Capaloff, a candidate in Waltham Forest, north-east London, who is being examined over allegations that he used an anonymous X account to speculate that a recent stabbing of two Jewish men in north-west London was staged by Zionists.
Joe Belcher, a candidate in Walsall, is also under investigation. He was suspended during his campaign for a West Midlands parliamentary seat in the 2024 election after posts surfaced suggesting Hamas might have been paid by Israel to carry out the 7 October 2023 attacks.
Party Structure and Disciplinary Process
The Greens operate a highly decentralised system, granting local parties significant authority, including candidate selection. The party contends that this structure can result in slower suspension processes compared to other political parties.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Polanski condemned antisemitic comments, emphasizing the personal impact of such remarks.
“As a Jewish person, those comments disgust me. It’s important that we let the disciplinary process take its place, and that’s exactly what we have,” he said.
He dismissed the notion that antisemitism is particularly prevalent within the Greens compared to wider society or other parties.
“I don’t believe we have a particular problem compared [with] wider society and other political parties.”
Polanski confirmed he disowned candidates who had made antisemitic comments.
Asked if he would “tell people here today: don’t vote for them, they don’t stand for you”, he replied: “That’s right.”
Party Statement on Antisemitism and Candidate Vetting
A Green Party spokesperson stated:
“Caroline Lucas is right – there’s no place for antisemitism or hate speech in any party. She acknowledges that unacceptable comments have been made by just a small number of the 4,500-plus candidates in these local elections.
Where there are examples brought to our attention that do not align with the values of the Green party, we are looking into them, and in some cases candidates have already been suspended. We are investing in strengthening our vetting procedures to prevent inappropriate candidates slipping through the net.”
