Greens Must Act Against Antisemitism, Says Lucas
Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas has called for immediate disciplinary action against candidates who have made antisemitic comments or posts, following a series of cases that surfaced ahead of Thursday's local elections. Lucas, who led the party for six years and served as its first Member of Parliament, emphasized that while the number of incidents is limited, they cannot be overlooked.
“Statements that have now come to light from a handful of @TheGreenParty candidates are totally unacceptable and require immediate action,” she wrote on X. “There’s no place for antisemitism or any hate speech in the party. This is a society-wide problem and needs to be rooted out wherever it’s found.”
Zack Polanski, the current co-leader of the Greens in England and Wales, has disowned the candidates flagged for antisemitic remarks. However, the Labour Party has accused the Greens of moving too slowly to suspend or remove them. The issue gained prominence last week when two Green candidates for Lambeth Council in south London, Sabine Mairey and Saiqa Ali, were arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred online.
Screenshots of Ali’s Instagram account allegedly showed a post featuring an armed man wearing a headband of the banned Islamist group Hamas, accompanied by the slogan: “Resistance is freedom.” Another screenshot indicated that Mairey had shared a post containing the text: “Ramming a synagogue isn’t antisemitism. It’s revenge.” Both candidates have been suspended by the party.
In addition, the Greens are investigating Brian Capaloff, a candidate in Waltham Forest, north-east London, over allegations that he used an anonymous X account to post incendiary comments about the recent stabbing of two Jewish men in north-west London. Also under investigation is Joe Belcher, a candidate in Walsall, who was suspended by the Greens during the 2024 general election campaign after posts emerged suggesting that Hamas might have been paid by Israel to carry out the 7 October 2023 attacks.
The Green Party operates under a highly decentralized system, giving local parties significant power over candidate selection. The party argues that this structure can slow the suspension process compared to other parties. Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Polanski condemned any antisemitic comments, stating: “As a Jewish person, those comments disgust me. It’s important that we let the disciplinary process take its place, and that’s exactly what we have.”
Polanski rejected the notion that antisemitism is particularly prevalent within the Greens, saying: “I don’t believe we have a particular problem compared with wider society and other political parties.” He disowned the candidates involved and, when asked if he would tell voters not to support them, replied: “That’s right.”
A Green Party spokesperson said: “Caroline Lucas is right – there’s no place for antisemitism or hate speech in any party. She acknowledges that unacceptable comments have been made by just a small number of the 4,500-plus Green party candidates in these local elections. Where there are examples brought to our attention that do not align with the values of the Green party, we are looking into them, and in some cases candidates have already been suspended. We are investing in strengthening our vetting procedures to prevent inappropriate candidates slipping through the net.”
