The Greens faced anger last night over their failure to suspend a councilor who launched a hate-filled tirade against a rabbi.
Mothin Ali, who was elected to Leeds City Council last week, had called the Jewish chaplain at the University of Leeds, Zecharia Deutsch, a 'creepy', a 'low-life' and an 'animal'.
The 42-year-old was allowed to speak out for the Greens, despite labeling Israelis as “white supremacists” after the election. Hamas The 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 series of calls for action against him, including from Jewish leaders who accused the party of hypocrisy for not distancing itself from his “extremist nonsense”. In February, Daily Mail writer Guy Adams presented the Greens with a dossier of insulting comments from 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 newspaper that it 'believed in freedom of speech' and Mr Ali was allowed to run and win as councilor. But astonishingly, when Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer was asked about Ali's insulting comments in a television interview on Sunday evening, she knew nothing about them.
Mothin Ali, who was elected to Leeds City Council last week
Zecharia Deutsch (left) was branded a 'creepy', a 'low-life' and an 'animal' by the newly elected councilor
She declined to comment when asked how well the party vets candidates. She said she was “not aware of all the details” and “didn't have the full facts at hand.” She added that the comments sounded “very concerning” and that she would “ensure that is looked into.”
Last night there was still no indication Ali would be suspended, with the Greens saying only that they were 'investigating'.
It came as the party faces a confrontation with the government's independent adviser on anti-Semitism, former Labor MP Lord Mann, over the vetting of candidates. Ahead of a high-level meeting this week, he warned: “Doing nothing is not an option.”
Analysis has revealed that more than 40 councilors 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 releasing a video targeting Rabbi Deutsch.
He called him a “kind of animal”, “scary”, “absolutely vile”, “absolutely disgusting” and “shameful” and falsely claimed that he had tried to kill women and children in Gaza after temporarily returning to his IDF unit after the October 7 attacks.
The rabbi, his wife and children were all forced into hiding after receiving an avalanche of threats. Yet Ali remained the Green candidate in the Gipton and Harehills area of Leeds, where he celebrated his victory last week as a “victory for the people of Gaza” – an area he has called a “concentration camp”.
The Green councilor is being investigated by his party after the 'worrying' comments came to light
The 42-year-old father of three claimed his election as Green candidate to the city council was a 'victory for the people of Gaza'
Leaders of Britain's Jewish community yesterday condemned the Green Party as “breathtakingly foolish, dangerous and insensitive” for standing behind Ali and demanding his immediate suspension.
In an open letter to co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, Leeds Jewish Representative Council chairman Simon Myerson KC wrote that Mr Ali had a “substantial history of views of importance to the Jewish community”.
Mr Myerson accused the Greens of “hypocrisy” and said it was wrong for the party to continue associating itself with Mr Ali.
In an open letter to co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, Leeds Jewish Representative Council chairman Simon Myerson KC wrote that Mr Ali had a “substantial history of views of importance to the Jewish community”.
He accused Ali of trying to justify “rape, murder and kidnapping” and using “anti-Semitic tropes.” “These matters, I suggest, call into question the Green Party's own integrity,” Mr Myerson wrote.
He added: “The deliberate exploitation of a particular issue that will never be addressed through the election of a councilor as a major factor in that councillor's election campaign is nothing short of opportunistic.”
He said the party had “been aware of Ali's views for some time” and stressed that it was time to act and “formally suspend Mr Ali as a member of the Green Party.”
Claudia Mendoza, head of the Jewish Leadership Council, added: “Ali's record speaks for itself and if the Green Party is serious about tackling anti-Semitism rather than just paying lip service to it in meetings with community leaders, there will be action is taken. .'
A spokesman for the Council of Deputies of British Jews said it was “shocked” that Mr Ali was “trying to celebrate and try to justify the October 7 massive terrorist attack on Israel”, saying the Greens were “raising serious questions” had to answer'. The party has not responded to this newspaper's requests for comment since Mr Ali's acceptance speech was published.
But a spokesperson told the Daily Telegraph: 'The Green Party is investigating issues brought to our attention regarding Councilor Mothin Ali and so cannot comment further. However, we are clear that we will never support anything that glorifies violence.”
Mr Ali has also been contacted for comment. He says he has been inundated with death threats and emphasizes that his video about the Leeds rabbi 'has absolutely nothing to do with violence'.