The Green Party and the Jews
At its annual Spring Conference this past weekend, Green Party members were due to vote on at least two motions that would have severe repercussions against Jewish people.
The first motion would have equated Zionism and Racism.
Zionism is the belief that Jewish people have the right to self-determination just like other nations. According to our polling, only 6% of British Jews do not identify as Zionists, and 89% consider anti-Zionism a form of antisemitism.
No political party in Britain should be affirming an explicitly anti-Zionist position. This motion would have effectively declared that self-determination for Jews, uniquely, is inherently racist and opened the door to a witch-hunt.
Decades ago, the United Nations rescinded its repugnant resolution that Zionist is racism, relegating it to the dustbin of history where it belongs. It is beyond words that the Green Party, aspiring to be a major force in British politics, would consider taking the shockingly regressive step of recycling this hate back into circulation.
While Party Leader Zack Polanski remained ambiguous as to his position on the motion, Deputy Leader Mothin Ali backed it.
The second motion would have declared the Party’s opposition to the Government’s plan to fight antisemitism in the NHS.
Yes, you read that right.
The Government has not even released its final plan on tackling antisemitism in the NHS, which is pending an ongoing review. The Green members behind this motion were evidently not interested in the details but in the very principle of fighting the world’s oldest hatred.
It stretches credulity to imagine that the Greens would support a similar motion in relation to other forms of discrimination.
At the eleventh hour, some Greens, including Jewish members, proposed an emergency motion to restrict the use of the terms “Zionist” and “antizionist” in official Party communications. The motion appeared to be a challenge to the ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion which if passed would denounce Zionism as a racist ideology and establish the Green Party as an avowed anti-Zionist party.
It appeared that the only way for Jewish members of the Green Party to prevent fellow members from trashing their identity was to pass a motion which makes sure that no one can mention the word at all.
In the end, the online conference descended into chaos and none of the motions were properly debated and voted on. It is very possible that this was by design, in order to spare the Party embarrassment.
76% of British Jews believe that the Green Party is too tolerant of antisemitism, according to our polling. The Party’s readiness to debate motions like these, rather than condemn them and call out the proposers for what they are and expel them, will only affirm to the Jewish community that its assessment of the Party is correct.
It is as if the Greens have learned absolutely nothing from the EHRC investigation into antisemitism in Labour.
This is becoming a very different Green Party from the one we all remember.
That is not all that came out of the Conference.
Messages from a ‘Greens for Palestine’ WhatsApp group were also leaked. You can see a thread here, including the claim that “They [Jews] are an abomination to this planet.”
It seems as though they said the quiet part loud. Jews and antisemites all know that Jew-haters use the term ‘Zionists’ when they really mean Jews, just in order to muddy the waters. The only people who don’t seem to get it are the authorities.
Our Director of Investigations and Enforcement spoke to GB News about this alarming discovery.
Our lawyers will be examining this correspondence.
These views are straight out of Nazi Germany. The real question is whether the Green Party is going to do anything about people who believe Jews are an abomination, and about the factions that include them and the motions that they propose.
Doing nothing will be the real abomination. This is a major moment for the Green Party to decide what it is and which side of the moral divide it wants to be on.
Now, a Green candidate has been reported to have shared a post about the Golders Green ambulance attack saying: “I can say with almost absolute certainty that the men arrested are white, probably even Jewish.”
Tope Olawoyin is a Green council candidate in Havering, east London, at the local elections in May. She is a member of the Green Party’s London executive board.
Last week, when it was revealed that the Lib Dem Mayor of Bath had shared a post grotesquely alleging that the arson of the ambulances in Golders Green was an “Israeli false flag operation” – before he apologised – the Liberal Democrats suspended him. We also discovered other concerning online rhetoric from him.
Also last week, after it emerged that a Reform UK candidate for a mayoralty had made inflammatory comments about the ambulance attack, the Party dropped him.
Will the Green Party emulate the decisive action that other political parties have taken on this exact issue just days ago?
Politics in Birmingham
These are not the only local officeholders and candidates that we are looking at.
Shahid Butt was convicted in Yemen on terror charges in 1999 amid claims he was part of a terrorist enterprise targeting the country. He was reportedly found guilty of forming an armed gang and conspiring to bomb the British consulate, an Anglican church and a Swiss-owned hotel in Yemen. He was jailed for five years in Yemen, and before that had reportedly been jailed in Birmingham for violence.
Mr Butt is a candidate in the upcoming local elections in Birmingham, and we recently publicised further revelations about him, which you can read about here.
Another candidate in Birmingham we are watching is Akhmed Yakoob. A lawyer and previous candidate for Parliament who came close to defeating the current Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, in the last general election, he was recently arrested after allegedly racially abusing a police officer.
The incident occurred at a vigil which he and Mr Butt attended in memory of the assassinated Ayatollah of Iran, in which participants carried pictures of the deceased dictator, chanted “Allahu Akbar” and burned an Israeli flag before stamping on it. Organisers with megaphones also reportedly led chants of “bomb, bomb Tel Aviv”. The arrest is not related to the flag burning.
Mr Yakoob, now running in the local elections, was caught by Sky News promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories. In a report, Sky said: “Whilst he was speaking to voters and our cameras were still rolling, we heard him repeating conspiracy theories widely acknowledged to be antisemitic.
“‘The thing is, the Zionists control everything. And that’s what happens. They try to silence us.’
“Sky News approached Mr [Akhmed] Yakoob again after uncovering this. He told us he stands by his comments. He did not think they were antisemitic, and it was something he said regularly.”
Sectarianism is a big and growing problem in our politics. The overwhelming majority of British Jews identify as Zionists – only 6% do not, according to our polling. This is a politics of division and scapegoating.
This rhetoric cannot be allowed to become normalised in our country.
A background of hate
Far-left ideologues and sectarian activists are hellbent on putting a foreign conflict in which Britain is not involved at the centre of national and local politics in this country. This is the context in which local elections up and down the country are being fought.
For example, a once local door-knocking boycott campaign now has a nationwide reach.
Knowing that they cannot actually effect change thousands of miles away, activists are left pursuing intimidatory tactics here at home, going door to door to impose purity tests on Jews and other Britons, demanding that they denounce the world’s only Jewish state.
The trend has also now inspired a more partisan movement, with some thirteen groups operating in cities around the UK, from Edinburgh to Woking, under the banner Vote for Palestine 2026.
Unlike regular canvassing, which is designed to identify supporters, these activists are making lists of those who don’t agree with them.
This is despicable intimidation masquerading as virtuous activism, and with local elections upon us, it risks becoming voter intimidation. All political parties should condemn this conduct and the authorities must investigate.
It is not the only activism. Whether you go to your local supermarket or to our nation’s Parliament, you will encounter ‘Palestine’ and all the hate that comes with it.
Love March?
On Saturday, an anti-far-right group called the Together Alliance, backed by celebrities, conducted a ‘love march’ in London.
It was not so much love as hate.
Here is what we saw and heard:
- A Jewish man leaving synagogue had “Free Palestine” yelled at him.
- Protesters chanted “Zionists are not welcome here”.
- A man called Jews “Nazis”.
‘Love march’? ‘Peace march’? Hardly.
This is what ‘anti-racism’ looks like in Britain.
Last week, CAA’s Gideon Falter appeared on TalkTV to discuss what it is like being Jewish in Britain today.
You can hear what he said here.
Ambulance attack witness appeal
Counter terrorism police are reportedly now leading the investigation into the firebomb attack that destroyed four ambulances and likely targeted the synagogue outside which they were parked.
The attack, which police are also treating as an antisemitic hate crime, is now feared to have been orchestrated by Iran.
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, and released on bail. The investigation continues.
The Met Police is seeking evidence to assist with identifying the perpetrators of the attack and bringing them to justice.
The incident is believed to have taken place at around 01:40 in the early morning of Monday 23rd March.
Please contact the police through the designated portal if you have any information, evidence, footage or audio relating to the attack that may assist their investigation, at ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk.
Iran is here
Following concerns that the ambulance attack may have been linked to Iran, The Telegraph reports that an Iranian spy recruitment ring is operating openly in London.
The Islamic Republic is exploiting Britain’s “permissive environment” as a base for its Western intelligence-gathering and propaganda campaigns, according to the newspaper.
Our country’s permissive environment is common knowledge at this point, with charitable organisations linked to the antisemitic regime operating freely here, repeated glorification of the terrorist IRGC and regime leadership on our streets, propagandistic events on campuses and vigils for assassinated terrorist figures that run absolutely counter to our values. Iranian state television still operates in the UK, and the regime itself continues to enjoy a diplomatic foothold.
Speaking of the state broadcaster, The Telegraph went on to make strong allegations against Press TV, Iran’s English-language channel.
At a time when Jewish institutions, synagogues, schools and individuals are being targeted by Iranian assets and extremist cells, we are in desperate need of a crackdown.
Meanwhile, in a rare breach of convention, retired directors from MI6, MI5 and GCHQ have come forward to express their alarm about the “Government’s continued reluctance” to ban the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Here is a rundown of the history:
• Then Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy promised, prior to the last general election, that a Labour Government would ban the IRGC.
• After a year in office, Business Secretary Peter Kyle said that the IRGC would not be proscribed, and that sanctions were as far as the Government could go, in other words that they were breaking their pre-election promise.
• Shortly thereafter, the European Union proscribed the IRGC, and Ministers apparently U-turned and said that the UK would follow suit, seemingly returning to the pre-election pledge but insisting that the move would not be fast-tracked.
• Now, in what appears to be yet another reversal, the Prime Minister said in answer to a question in Parliament on a topic that the matter is simply “under review”.
We are now slowly coming up to two years since the election and the IRGC is still not proscribed.
A war is raging in the Middle East and we already know of several Iranian plots against British Jews and other targets in this country, let alone those that are not public.
Still, the Government waits.
We cannot wait any longer. Tell the Government to keep its word. Sign the petition now at antisemitism.org/BanTheIRGC.
Torah scrolls stolen in Manchester
Golders Green was not the only place where antisemites targeted assets that one would have hoped might be spared.
In the latest crime against the Jewish community, two Torah scrolls were reported to have been stolen from a synagogue in Manchester.
CCTV footage from Friday 20th March showed three men enter the Beis HaMedrash Torah Etz Chaim in Salford and leave with a large safe containing the stolen scrolls.
The suspects also reportedly caused damages to the building’s floor and walls.
An appeal has now been issued for the return of the scrolls, which are between 50-100 years old and hold significant religious and sentimental value for the congregation, in addition to their financial value.
Further details are not clear at this stage, but this is a shocking sacrilege.
When it comes to how British Jews are treated nowadays, nothing is sacred.
First-ever Antisemitism Awareness Week
Against the background of a new report that revealed that one in five students would be reluctant to live with a Jewish student at university, CAA was proud to lead the very first Antisemitism Awareness Week in the UK.
Our CAA Student Ambassador at UCL spearheaded this incredible initiative at University College London.
It is vital to raise awareness of the Jewish experience on campus, including the challenges that Jewish students and staff face, and to educate others about how anti-Jewish racism manifests and its effect on victims.
Unfortunately, not all the interactions that week were so positive.
A Jewish student was called a “white supremacist b****” while masked protesters chanted “Zionists are not welcome here” just metres away.
We spoke to the students involved.
Elsewhere this week, CAA Chief Executive Gideon Falter was invited to speak at a whole-school assembly at Immanuel College.
He offered the pupils an insight into CAA’s work, achievements and opportunities, all of which are underpinned by an unwavering commitment to fighting against anti-Jewish hatred.
Whether it be Jewish university students or school pupils, it is a privilege to be involved in educating, inspiring and supporting the next generation.
Dr Rahmeh Aladwan charged with multiple terrorism offences
Notorious suspended NHS doctor Rahmeh Aladwan has reportedly been charged with “multiple counts of inviting support for Hamas and other offences”.
According to the Metropolitan Police Service, Dr Aladwan was arrested for the fifth time for breaching police bail conditions which were imposed following her previous arrests.
In September 2025 the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service declined to suspend her while she was under investigation by the GMC. Amid a public outcry, and CAA even threatening legal action, a new hearing was held two months later, at which she was suspended for fifteen months.
Like so many other investigations, it is still ongoing even after so many months.
It is therefore encouraging to see the authorities finally taking some real action after so many arrests and a campaign of anti-Jewish incitement by Dr Aladwan.
She appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, where there were some disturbing scenes.
An account named ‘GLOBALISE THE INTIFADA’ – featuring inverted red triangles, a symbol inspired by the appearance of the symbol in Hamas propaganda videos to indicate targets for attack – encouraged people to turn up outside the court and show “support” for the suspended doctor.
It speaks volumes about pro-Palestine activists in Britain that they rush to the defence of those charged with supporting Hamas – some of whom are found within our esteemed National Health Service. Antisemitism in the NHS is clearly an extremely serious problem.
Also in healthcare, the Government recently announced that it plans to make it easier for the General Medical Council to strike off doctors who use “intolerably racist and antisemitic language” from the medical register and enable the NHS to fire them.
You can read more about the developments here.
The NHS – and healthcare in general – has been as infected by the surge in antisemitism as other parts of our society, and rules will only help remedy the problem if there is a profound cultural shift in these institutions, as elsewhere.
Blood libel in Margate
This weekend finally saw the end of a grotesque exhibition by Matthew Collings entitled “Drawings Against Genocide” at Joseph Wales Studios, an independent gallery in Margate, Kent.
The exhibition included depictions of prominent Jewish public figures, including one of the French–Israeli owner of Sotherby’s auction house, with blood dripping from his mouth alongside the words “Hey look I’m selling a fantastic painting, while eating a baby alive.”
That was just the tip of the iceberg. You can read more here.
This wasn’t art but incitement, drawing on classic tropes.
That is why we and others called on Thanet Council to stop promoting the exhibition, and we are grateful to the Council for doing so and apologising.
Modern art is often as much, if not more, about the inner feelings of the artist than about the subject, and here the artist’s inner feelings about Jews and the Jewish state are all too clear.
Mr Collings, previously a prominent art critic, has denied the accusations levied against his exhibition, arguing that “nothing in the drawings says ‘Jews’” and that “the message is that Zionism is a brutal ideology”.
This is not Mr Collings’ first encounter with controversy in relation to the Jewish community, and you can read more about his past here.
Kent Police were made aware of the exhibition and advised that they would be making inquiries, only to decide not to pursue action.
We are considering next steps and are in touch with a number of stakeholders about this appalling display.
In every generation, our enemies rise up to destroy us.
That is what Jews around the world will read on Seder night this week.
The past few weeks, from the Hatzola ambulance attack to reports from around the globe of the targeting of synagogues and Jewish community centres and schools, have painfully reaffirmed that dictum once again.
At CAA, we are doing everything we can to fight this evil in our generation, from creating innovative campaigns to tirelessly working to bring justice to victims of antisemitism.
To continue do so, we need like-minded people to join both our Litigation and Communications teams – for more information, please click here. Those who wish to support us financially on the eve of the holiday can do so here. Donations of any amount are gratefully received.
CAA wishes everyone a happy Pesach.
