• Shopping Cart Shopping Cart
    0Shopping Cart
Campaign Against Antisemitism
  • Link to X
  • Link to Tiktok
  • Link to Instagram
  • Link to Facebook
  • Link to Youtube
  • Link to LinkedIn
  • Link to Mail
  • ANTISEMITISM
    • Definition of Antisemitism
    • Recognising Antisemitism
    • The Law of Antisemitism
    • Resources for Teachers
  • RESEARCH
    • Prevalence of Antisemitism
    • Antisemitic Crime Levels
    • Prosecutions for Antisemitism
    • Effects on British Jews
    • Antisemitism in Political Parties
    • EHRC
    • Antisemitism in Universities
    • Antisemitism in Local Authorities
  • NEWS
    • Latest News
    • Media Centre
  • PODCAST
  • ABOUT US
    • Our Work
    • Spokespeople
  • HELP US
    • Subscribe
    • Volunteer with us
    • Intern with us
    • Work with us
    • Become a Student Ambassador
    • Donate
  • CONTACT
    • General Enquiries
    • Media Enquiries
    • Licensing
  • Click to open the search input field Click to open the search input field Search
  • Menu Menu
Incidents, United Kingdom UK-only e-mail list (not for international stories), Website

Success for CAA as General Pharmaceutical Council accepts that Al Quds Day leader Nazim Ali’s comments were antisemitic and confirms it will not contest appeal

In a success for Campaign Against Antisemitism, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has accepted that comments made by Nazim Ali, a pharmacist and leader of the annual Al Quds Day rally, were antisemitic.

The GPhC has also confirmed that it will not contest an appeal brought at Campaign Against Antisemitism’s behest by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) over a previous decision to let Mr Ali off with a formal warning over his comments at the rally in 2017.

Last year, the GPhC’s Fitness to Practise Committee, found that Mr Ali brought the pharmaceutical profession into disrepute, following a two-week hearing that culminated on 5th November arising from a complaint by Campaign Against Antisemitism. However, the GPhC panel did not find that he had been antisemitic and let him off with just a formal warning.

Following the GPhC’s ruling, Campaign Against Antisemitism made representations to the PSA, which oversees disciplinary decisions made by the GPhC. We asked the PSA to use its statutory power to appeal the GPhC’s decision to the High Court under the National Health Service Reform and Healthcare Professionals Act 2002, on the grounds that the decision made by the GPhC panel was insufficient to protect the public because it was “irrational and perverse”.

In particular, we asked the PSA to review the GPhC’s ruling that Mr Ali’s statements were not antisemitic, including by attempting to distinguish between “antisemitism” and “antisemitic”. We have asked the PSA to consider the International Definition of Antisemitism, which has been adopted by the British Government, and the Guidance to all Judiciary in England and Wales produced by the Judicial College that makes clear that the word “Zionist” or “Zio” as a term of abuse has no place in a civilised society.

Furthermore, we argued that the ruling misapplied the law when asking whether a “reasonable person” would have considered the comments made by Mr Ali as being antisemitic. The GPhC’s Fitness to Practise Committee ruled that Jewish bystanders who saw the demonstration or watched the recording of it posted online could not be considered to be “reasonable persons” in the legal sense because of their “selective view of events”.

The PSA made the referral that we requested, opening the way for the High Court to decide whether to quash the GPhC panel’s decision, leading to the matter being re-opened.

However, the Chief Executive of the GPhC has now told Campaign Against Antisemitism that the regulator “took the view, and still does, that the comments were antisemitic.” He confirmed that the GPhC does not intend to contest the PSA’s appeal to the High Court, accepts that Mr Ali’s comments were indeed antisemitic and that the GPhC panel’s decision was inadequate and wrong, and that it intends to leave Mr Ali to defend the decision himself in the High Court if he wishes to do so. The GPhC has suggested to the High Court that it might consider the option of making a decision on the matter itself rather than returning it to the GPhC for another fitness to practice hearing.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We commend the GPhC for recognising that the original ruling by its Fitness to Practise panel was badly flawed and for taking the necessary steps to correct it. It is absolutely right to recognise that Nazim Ali’s comments were antisemitic and that the panel’s decision and sanction were inadequate and wrong. The road to justice in this case has proved long and winding, but we are again heading in the right direction. It is important that we are unrelenting in pursuit of such cases.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism made its initial complaint to the GPhC related to Mr Ali’s actions in 2017, when he led the pro-Hizballah “Al Quds Day” parade for the controversial London-based organisation calling itself the Islamic Human Rights Commission, just four days after the Grenfell Tower tragedy in which over 70 people were burned alive.

Heading the parade, surrounded by the flags of Hizballah, the genocidal antisemitic terrorist organisation, Mr Ali shouted over a public address system: “Some of the biggest corporations who are supporting the Conservative Party are Zionists. They are responsible for the murder of the people in Grenfell, in those towers in Grenfell. The Zionist supporters of the Tory Party. Free, Free, Palestine…It is the Zionists who give money to the Tory Party to kill people in high-rise blocks. Free, Free, Palestine. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

At another point he told marchers: “Careful of those Rabbis who belong to the Board of Deputies, who have got blood on their hands, who agree with the killing of British soldiers. Do not allow them in your centres.”

The events were filmed by members of Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit.

Mr Ali is the Managing Partner of Chelsea Pharmacy Medical Clinic. Campaign Against Antisemitism submitted a complaint to the GPhC, which confirmed that the matter “calls into question the pharmacy professional’s fitness to practise as a pharmacist.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism previously sought a criminal prosecution of Mr Ali. When the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) refused to prosecute him, we launched a private prosecution which the CPS disgracefully used its statutory powers to take over and discontinue, protecting Mr Ali from prosecution.

Related

      
13/05/2021
Search Search
  • We won’t let the pressure let up on Kneecap06/05/2025 - 21:09
  • BBC reiterates commitment to thematic review of Gaza coverage06/05/2025 - 10:37
  • University Rector wins appeal following dismissal over comments which made students “fear for their safety”02/05/2025 - 14:03
  • Kneecap dropped from Plymouth venue, following CAA action01/05/2025 - 15:01
  • Kneecap dropped from Eden Sessions festival, following CAA action30/04/2025 - 14:54
  • Vindicated: Harvard University publishes damning report on campus antisemitism30/04/2025 - 11:02
  • We will privately prosecute Kneecap if necessary28/04/2025 - 20:04
  • Jordan announces ban on Muslim Brotherhood24/04/2025 - 10:43
  • CAA makes submission to Foreign Affairs Committee23/04/2025 - 09:24
  • The ‘Hamas case’, and what it means22/04/2025 - 20:21

We are seeking to recruit a General Counsel a Creative Communications and Events Officer a Communications and Research Manager an Education and Outreach Intern to join our London office

Join the fight

Subscribe
Volunteer
Donate

Campaign Against Antisemitism is a volunteer-led charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law. Everything that we do is done by people who volunteer their time, using donations contributed by members of the public. Join the fight against antisemitism by subscribing to our updates, volunteering, or donating.

Related

Justice, justice, you shall pursue - צדק צדק תרדף
© Copyright - Campaign Against Antisemitism, all rights reserved. Our logo is a registered trademark.
Campaign Against Antisemitism is a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission (number 1163790).
Use of our website is subject to our terms. Trees are planted every year to keep our work carbon neutral.
  • Link to X
  • Link to Tiktok
  • Link to Instagram
  • Link to Facebook
  • Link to Youtube
  • Link to LinkedIn
  • Link to Mail
Link to: Stamford Hill rocked by antisemitic hate crimes over the weekend, including knife threats and intimidating indoor graffiti Link to: Stamford Hill rocked by antisemitic hate crimes over the weekend, including knife threats and intimidating indoor graffiti Stamford Hill rocked by antisemitic hate crimes over the weekend, including... Link to: Police detain over a dozen men in Germany after synagogues targeted in widespread antisemitic protests Link to: Police detain over a dozen men in Germany after synagogues targeted in widespread antisemitic protests Police detain over a dozen men in Germany after synagogues targeted in widespread...
Scroll to top Scroll to top Scroll to top

We use cookies to track use of our website and your preferences. Use of our website is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Read more.Accept cookies and our terms of use

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Terms of use and privacy policy
Accept settingsHide notification only
SIGN UP FOR UPDATES BY E-MAIL

By default you will receive weekly e-mails, but when you receive the first e-mail you can change to daily or monthly e-mails instead.

If you prefer to subscribe later, you can do so by scrolling right to the bottom of this page.