Labour councillor who apologised for calling Israel a “racist state” then reacted to the antisemitism investigation by saying she “will not bow down to white supremacy”
It has emerged that a local Labour councillor who had previously apologised for calling Israel a “racist state” then reacted to the ensuing antisemitism investigation by saying she “will not bow down to white supremacy”.
Nichole Brennan, a councillor in Brighton and Hove, apologised and resigned from her role as deputy housing chairwoman and rough sleeping chief pending an investigation after pictures emerged showing her holding a sign calling Israel a “racist, apartheid state” in a protest two years before at Hove Town Hall against the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by the local authority. The Definition lists “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour”) as an example of antisemitism. Brighton and Hove City Council adopted the Definition. In a statement, Cllr Brennan apologised for her actions prior to becoming a councillor and declared her support for adoption of the Definition.
However, it has now emerged that just three days later she posted on Facebook: “Let me make something clear. 1. I have not resigned as a councillor and I will go on speaking up for the people who elected me. 2. I will not bow down to white supremacy and I will always challenge racism in ALL its forms as I always have.” She appeared to be referring to allegations of antisemitism and/or her own Party’s prospective investigation as “white supremacy”.
Cllr Brennan reportedly deleted the post two days ago after being approached by local media. She was originally elected on a Momentum slate.
On 28th May 2019, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.
In the first release of its Antisemitism in Political Parties research, Campaign Against Antisemitism showed that Labour Party candidates for Parliament in the 2019 general election accounted for 82 percent of all incidents of antisemitic discourse by parliamentary candidates.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
