The UK Labour Party has released a video containing antisemitic quotes from Green Party candidates ahead of the local elections on May 7.
The video, released on Monday night, features a woman anonymously sharing antisemitic statements later revealed to have been said, written, or shared by people who are standing for election for the Green Party local elections.
This needs to be called out. pic.twitter.com/SmqtdcaHME
— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) May 4, 2026
The statements read out in the video contain incitement and outright antisemitism, such as: “Ramming a synagogue isn’t antisemitism; it’s revenge,” “It takes a serious effort not to be a tiny bit antisemitic,” “the money-grabbing thieves have built mountains of money over centuries,” and “Jewish cockroaches.”
Other statements feature conspiracy theories, such as “England has a government overrepresented with Zionist jews and it appears they care more for Israel than England,” “the leaders of Israel and Gaza conspired to carry out what happened on October 7 for financial gain,” and “The London ambulance attack? Of course, it was a false flag.”
The woman in the video then says she has “lived in the UK for almost 60 years in a wonderfully diverse community as a Jewish person.”
“None of these statements are criticisms of Israel. They are all stereotypes, demonizations, or conspiracy theories of Jews at large. They are antisemitic. They are racism towards Jews,” she said, before warning viewers that the candidates who said them may be standing for their locality.
Following the release of the short video, the Labour Party entered into a social media spat with the Green Party.
Green Party leader: They’re trying everything to stop us
Leader of the Greens, Zack Polanski, said the video is one of several “relentless attacks on the Greens across the media.”
“They’re trying everything in their power to stop us,” he said.
Green’s deputy, Mothin Ali, then said, “Labour have invested significant resources trying to bring us down. It’s not working. The public sees through these shameful tactics!”
In response, the Labour Party tweeted, “We don’t want you to get away with having candidates who call Jews ‘cockroaches.’ It’s as simple as that.”
It then released a statement saying “Green leaders are more concerned about [antisemitism] being pointed out than dealing with it.”
On Tuesday, Environment Secretary Steve Reed told GB News: “These people are spreading antisemitic hatred. You cannot put them up for election. You cannot back them, and you cannot shut your eyes and pretend this problem doesn’t exist.”
What have Greens candidates said?
Labour’s video comes in the wake of multiple reports of antisemitic statements made by Green Party candidates. Most recently, two candidates, Saiqa Ali and Sabine Mairey, were arrested by the Metropolitan Police last Thursday on suspicion of inciting racial hatred online.
Mairey reportedly shared a post describing a ramming attack on a synagogue as “revenge” [as mentioned above], and Ali allegedly posted an image of an armed man wearing a Hamas headband with the slogan “Resistance is freedom.” She also shared posts blaming Israel for the September 11 attacks.
Aside from these two, candidate Joe Belcher claimed Israel may have paid Hamas to carry out the October 7 attacks.
“Why would Hamas commanders order October 7 to then have their territory destroyed and their people killed or displaced from Gaza?” he said. “For money? If so, who offered them this money? The Israel government? If so, the Israel government also sold its own people down the river on October 7.”
Belcher was suspended by the Labour Party for these social media comments and blocked from running to be the MP for Aldridge-Brownhills in 2024. However, it has been revealed that he is running for the upcoming local elections.
Then there is Tina Ion, who posted from a Threads account using the handle “thereal.anne.frank” that “every single Zionist” should be killed. Ion used the account to describe Zionists as “vermin” and “rats.” She also posted an image of an industrial shredding machine labeled a “Zionist juicer” and made the following comment: “The money-grabbing thieves have built mountains of money over centuries.”
The account she used featured a profile image depicting Anne Frank wearing a keffiyeh, which Ion said she chose “because Ann Frank wearing a keffiyeh pisses Zionists off.”
Aziz Rahman Hakimi, the candidate who made the comments about the Hatzola ambulance attack being a “false flag,” was suspended on Tuesday.
Candidate Mark Bittlestone, who is also a history teacher, reposted material suggesting the October 7 attacks were a “false flag.” He has also shared other individuals’ posts describing Israel as a “colony of inbreds, rapists, and thieves.”
Professor Kamel Hawwash, another candidate, was found to have described October 7 as “occupied people have the right to resist the occupation.”
Then there is Ifhat Shaheen, who shared a post after the attack on the Hatzola ambulances, saying, “Since Golders Green is now in the news, I want to take the opportunity to make people aware that the Jewish community in North London host IDF soldiers in their synagogues and raise funds for the IDF during a ‘family fun day.’” She also tweets frequently about the “Zionist lobby.”
