The Green Party has been accused of supporting “crackpot conspiracy theorists” after a number of its local elections candidates appear to have made antisemitic remarks.
A dossier seen by The Independent showed that several prominent Green candidates have made such comments in social media posts. One candidate previously resigned from the Labour Party following allegations of antisemitism, while another argued that the October 7 attack on Israel, during which more than 1,200 were killed, was justified.
Leader Zack Polanski has previously admitted that his party may “have to distance itself” from “the odd candidate” as it seeks to vet them all in time for the elections on 7 May.
Mark Adderley, who is standing for Croydon Council, posted in February a conspiracy theory that Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “works for Jeffrey Epstein”, the dead paedophile financier.
Commenting on a visit to the White House by the Israeli PM on his Instagram account, he said: “Benjamin Netanyahu is doing Jeffrey Epstein’s work as we speak. Jeffrey Epstein’s blackmail, honey trap operation is being run right now by Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC.
“It’s no coincidence that every time there is a major flare-up, if you like, of the Epstein files or major moment where it is felt America could, or maybe will, attack Iran, he pops up back in Washington DC to make sure he gets the result he wants.”
The Greens are expected to make hundreds of gains in council seats, as well as devolved parliament seats in Wales and Scotland, mostly at Labour’s expense.
Mr Polanski previously told The Independent that he hopes his party will replace Labour, and the by-election victory in the previously safe Labour seat of Gorton and Denton appeared to confirm that the party’s momentum is growing.
But Labour chair Anna Turley warned that electing Green candidates could open the door to “crackpot conspiracy theorists” and called on Mr Polanski to take action.
She told The Independent: “It’s truly astounding that the Green Party is standing crackpot conspiracy theorists peddling rotten antisemitism.
“Rather than throwing his arms open and welcoming them into his party, Zack Polanski should act. He must urgently withdraw his party’s support for all of these candidates and make clear that these views are abhorrent.”
Chandni Chopra, who is standing for Newcastle City Council, argued that the October 7 attack on Israel, which saw at least 828 civilians, including 36 children, murdered, was justified.
Days after the October 7 attack, Ms Chopra posted on Instagram: “In the face of the biased mainstream media, it is apparent that the Palestinians’ legal right to resist is being portrayed as barbarism and unwarranted.”
Another candidate in West Sussex, Karen Sudan, resigned from the Labour Party following allegations of antisemitism.
Among her posts on X, formerly Twitter, was one in August 2018 where she accused the mainstream media of being “too busy making up and/or exaggerating stories about anti-Semitism in the Labour Party to raise an outcry over other forms of racism”.
Aziz Hakimi, a Green Party candidate for Camden Council, shared a post on Facebook claiming that the Golders Green attack on Jewish ambulances was “a false flag” and has also used his account to share a conspiracy theory on 9/11, blaming Zionists for the attack.
Speaking at the launch of his party’s local elections campaign in Lewisham, southeast London, on Thursday, Mr Polanski was challenged about its vetting process following earlier claims of antisemitism.
He told PoliticsHome: “I recognise we’re dealing with an immense amount of people very quickly, and so I won’t be surprised if we have the odd candidate where we have to distance [ourselves] from them.”
He continued: “I’m not planning to do that. But also, I’m recognising up front that it is a challenge that you suddenly accept thousands of people and you say, ‘OK, we’re putting your name on a ballot paper’.
“So we’re doing everything we can to make sure we’re doing due diligence. We’ll continue to do that. We’re not being complacent about it for a second and recognise the scale of the task that’s in front of us.”
Earlier, the Green Party leader, who is Jewish, had used the launch to attack Israel again.
He said: “Israel are behaving in a completely uncontrolled way, in a way that they seem to believe they have complete immunity to any kind of sanction or any kind of criticism.”
He called for sanctions on Israel and a weapons sales ban.
Commenting on the dossier of candidates, a Greens spokesperson said: “The deadline for candidate nominations has just closed and we will be investigating anything brought to our attention that doesn’t fit with Green Party values and views.”
