1 week ago
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The Greens were last night facing fury over their failure to suspend a councillor who launched a hate-filled tirade against a rabbi.
Mothin Ali, who was elected to Leeds city council last week, had called Leeds University's Jewish chaplain, Zecharia Deutsch, a 'creep', a 'low-life' and an 'animal'.
The 42-year-old had been allowed to stand for the Greens despite branding Israelis 'white supremacists' after the Hamas Palestinian terror group killed 1,200 people on October 7 last year. He was filmed shouting 'We will raise the voice of Palestine – Allahu Akbar!' after winning his council seat.
Yesterday the party faced a string of calls to take action against him, including from Jewish leaders who accused it of hypocrisy for not distancing itself from his 'extremist nonsense'. Back in February Daily Mail feature writer Guy Adams presented the Greens with a dossier of offensive comments made by Mr Ali, including the tirade against Rabbi Deutsch, who was later forced into hiding.
When presented with the evidence at the time, the Green Party told this paper it 'believes in free speech' and Mr Ali was allowed to stand, and win, as a councillor. But staggeringly, when asked about Mr Ali's offensive remarks in a television interview on Sunday night, Carla Denyer co-leader of the Green Party, appeared not to know about them.
Mothin Ali, who was elected to Leeds city council last week
Zecharia Deutsch (left) was branded a 'creep', a 'low-life' and an 'animal' by the newly-elected councillor
She declined to comment when asked about how well the party vets candidates, saying she was 'not familiar with all of the details' and didn't have 'the full facts at hand.' She added the remarks sounded 'very concerning' and that she would 'make sure that those are looked into'.
Last night there was still no indication Mr Ali faced being suspended, with the Greens only saying they were 'investigating'.
It came as the party faces a showdown with the Government's independent adviser on anti-Semitism, ex-Labour MP Lord Mann, over its vetting of candidates. Ahead of a high-level meeting this week, he warned: 'Doing nothing is not an option.'
Analysis has showed that more than 40 councillors were elected in England last week after making the Middle East crisis part of their campaign.
Mr Ali, a prominent YouTuber who works as an accountant and runs a gardening blog, sparked outrage in February after he released a video aimed at Rabbi Deutsch.
Calling him a 'kind of animal', 'creep', 'absolute low-life', 'absolutely disgusting' and 'shameful', he falsely claimed he had tried to kill women and children in Gaza after temporarily returning to his IDF unit after the October 7 attacks.
The rabbi and his wife and children were all forced into hiding after receiving an avalanche of threats. Yet Mr Ali remained the Green candidate in the Leeds ward of Gipton and Harehills, where he last week celebrated his victory as a 'win for the people of Gaza' – a territory he has called a 'concentration camp'.
The Green councillor is being investigated by his party after the 'concerning' comments came to light
The 42-year-old father-of-three claimed his election to the local council as a Green candidate was a 'win for the people of Gaza '
Leaders of Britain's Jewish community yesterday condemned the Green Party as 'breathtakingly foolish, dangerous and insensitive' for having stood by Mr Ali and demanded his immediate suspension.
In an open letter to co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, the chairman of Leeds Jewish Representative Council, Simon Myerson KC, wrote that Mr Ali had a 'substantial history of views which are concerning to the Jewish community'.
Accusing the Greens of 'hypocrisy', Mr Myerson said it was wrong for the party to continue to associate itself with Mr Ali.
In an open letter to co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, the chairman of Leeds Jewish Representative Council, Simon Myerson KC, wrote that Mr Ali had a 'substantial history of views which are concerning to the Jewish community'.
He accused Mr Ali of attempting to justify 'rape, murder and kidnap' and using 'anti-Semitic tropes'. 'These matters do, I suggest, call the Green Party's own integrity into question,' Mr Myerson wrote.
He added: 'The deliberate exploitation of a particular issue which is never going to be addressed by the election of a local councillor as a major factor in that councillor's election campaign is nakedly opportunistic.'
Saying the party had 'known about Mr Ali's views for a considerable time', he insisted it was time to act and 'formally suspend Mr Ali as a Green Party member'.
Claudia Mendoza, head of the Jewish Leadership Council, added: 'Mr Ali's record speaks for itself and if the Green Party is serious about dealing with anti-Semitism rather than just paying lip service to it in meetings with community leaders, action will be taken.'
A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was 'appalled' by Mr Ali appearing to 'celebrate and attempt to justify the October 7 mass terror attack on Israel', saying the Greens had 'serious questions to answer'. The party has failed to respond to this newspaper's requests for comment since Mr Ali's acceptance speech emerged.
But a spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: 'The Green Party is investigating issues drawn to our attention in relation to Councillor Mothin Ali, so cannot comment further. However, we are clear that we never support anything that extols violence.'
Mr Ali has also been approached for comment. He has said he has been inundated with death threats himself, insisting his video about the Leeds rabbi 'has absolutely nothing to do with violence'.
