Green Party candidates accused of antisemitic posts
LDRSThree Green Party candidates standing in next month's local elections in Newcastle have been accused by Labour of making "horrendous antisemitic" comments.
The candidates - Dr Philip Brookes, Chandni Chopra and Mohammed Suleman - are standing for seats on Newcastle City Council but have been criticised for posts published on social media.
A Labour Party source told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the Green Party should "urgently" withdraw support for the candidates and make it clear the views were "abhorrent".
The Green Party said it was "investigating anything brought to [its] attention that doesn't fit" with the party's values and views.
The party said the deadline for candidate nominations had recently closed.
The posts, some of which have been deleted, have been seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
One post on Brookes' Facebook page included an image which branded Israel "a bunch of Polish, Russian, Hungarian terrorists killing Palestinian people for 76 years".
Brookes is standing in the Manor Park ward. His account also published an image of an Israel flag being torn to reveal a Nazi swastika flag, and in a post about the war in Gaza said it "takes serious effort not to be a tiny bit antisemitic".
On Mohammed Suleman's account, a TikTok video was reposted which claimed Jewish prisoners of war were willing to bury Soviet prisoners alive under Nazi instruction during World War Two. Suleman is a candidate in Arthur's Hill.
Posts deleted
In the days after Hamas' 7 October attack on Israel, a post was made on the account of Heaton ward candidate Chandni Chopra with a picture of a pro-Palestine demonstration at Newcastle's Grey's Monument.
It read: "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.
"Be very careful what you read in the mainstream media. Make sure you fact check everything, the Palestinians have been under a horrific illegal occupation for 75 years."
A spokesperson for the Green Party said it was important to make a "clear distinction" between "vocal criticisms of Israel and antisemitism".
"Some of these posts were deleted as they do not reflect the views of the Green Party, which is rooted in anti-racism and fighting for a better deal for working class communities," they said.
Addressing Chopra's posts specifically, a Green Party spokesperson said she was "exercising her right to peaceful protest" and the event was aimed at an MP who had abstained from a Parliamentary vote on a ceasefire in Gaza.
The local party said: "Newcastle Green Party would like to sincerely apologise for social media posts shared by some of our local election candidates.
"Antisemitism or racism of any kind does not have any place in the Green Party, or anywhere else in society and we recognise the serious harm that antisemitism has on members of the Jewish community."