THIRTY Green candidates probed over anti-Semitism: Shocking figures that make a mockery of claims hateful comments had been ‘dealt with’

The Greens are investigating more than 30 council candidates for alleged anti-Semitism, the Daily Mail can reveal.

The shocking figure makes a mockery of party claims that only a ‘handful’ of those standing in tomorrow’s local elections had made hateful comments – and that all of these had been ‘dealt with’.

The Greens’ leadership has in fact been forced to fast-track dozens of internal probes after a string of ‘vile’ social media posts by candidates.

Campaigners said the revelation is expected to be ‘just the tip of the iceberg’ and accused party leader Zack Polanski of turning a blind eye to ‘open Jew hate and Hamas love’ by members.

It comes after this newspaper exposed how Green candidates had claimed Israelis and Jews were ‘cockroaches’ and were behind the October 7 and 9/11 atrocities, and that a terrorist who stabbed two Jews to death in 2016 was a ‘martyr’.

Two women standing for the party in London wards were also arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after allegations they posted claims that ramming a synagogue full of children was ‘revenge’ rather than anti-Semitism, and shared a picture of a Hamas terrorist alongside the slogan ‘resistance is freedom’.

Our investigation came as:

• Former Green leader and MP Caroline Lucas said the comments that had come to light were ‘totally unacceptable and require immediate action’, adding: ‘There’s no place for anti-Semitism or any hate speech in the party’
• Labour last night produced a dossier of posts by 25 Green candidates which it said featured a raft of ‘harrowing anti-Semitism, dangerous conspiracy theories and appalling comments supporting Hamas’
• Sir Keir Starmer branded anti-Semitism a ‘crisis’ and said the Government was ‘fast-tracking legislation to tackle these malign threats’
• It was revealed that Mr Polanski has liked social media posts which accused the Prime Minister of being on the payroll of powerful Jewish people – including one that asked: ‘How much does Israel pay him?’
• The Greens refused to say how many candidates had been suspended while being investigated over anti-Semitic comments, but reports suggested it was just four of the eight highlighted by Labour in a social media video posted this week.

The scandal comes amid a surge of attacks on Jews in recent weeks. Two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, last week and there has been a spate of attacks at synagogues and other Jewish sites.

And a fire at a disused synagogue due to be converted into a mosque was yesterday being treated as a targeted crime against the Jewish community.

Green Party leader Zac Polanski, pictured with candidate Ifhat Shaheen, who has been accused of writing posts defending the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023

A Green Party source told the Daily Mail: ‘There is a growing realisation among early party members that this has gone too far and action had to be taken.’

Normally complaints are dealt with by the party’s disciplinary committee which can take several months.

But amid widespread condemnation from all sides, the party has introduced an accelerated disciplinary process being conducted by members of the Green’s National Council, which is elected by party members, the source said.

Some of those being investigated have been given ‘no-fault suspensions’ while the probe is carried out.

But there have been breaches of these – astonishingly including some attending a Greens For Palestine group event where the party’s deputy leader, Mothin Ali, encouraged them to take legal action against it over the handling of candidate suspensions.

Selection for council candidates is carried out by the local Green parties, who are also responsible for any vetting.

But the party source also blamed Mr Polanski for tolerating a surge of anti-Semitic or Hamas-sympathising posts by new members and even senior party members.

‘I think Polanski’s actions are all about his ego. He knows what he’s saying. But he’s getting caught out now, on both sides.

‘As well as those starting to raise the alarm about anti-Semitism, pro-Palestinians are questioning how much he is one of their kind of people.’

The source said many were also concerned about deputy leader Mr Ali, who posted a defence of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on the day of the atrocity.

 It has also emerged that over the last six months, Mr Polanski has liked posts on Left-wing social media site Bluesky, which said Sir Keir was receiving money from ‘Zionist philanthropists’ and that asked: ‘How much does Israel pay him?’

Lord Pickles, a former Special Envoy on Post-Holocaust Issues, said: ‘The leadership of the Green Party cynically exploited the conflict in Gaza for narrow political gain.

‘They have helped spread anti-Semitism deeper into British society and show a callous indifference to the fear stalking our streets.’

Reform Leader Nigel Farage said: ‘The Greens will take us to sectarian hell… No Jew will be safe.’

Green candidate Kamel Hawwash said of the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks that ‘occupied people have the right to resist the occupation’

Steve Reed, Labour’s Communities Secretary, said: ‘This isn’t one or two bad apples. This is serial hatred from candidates hand-picked by Zack Polanski and the Green Party to represent them at the ballot box.

‘Polanski can’t stay silent on these abhorrent candidates. He needs to take action against them, withdraw his support and boot them out of the party.’

Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel stated: ‘The Greens have a major anti-Semitism problem. At a time of rising hatred against Jewish people, Green Party candidates are fanning the flames of the world’s oldest hatred.

‘Their leader Zack Polanski should be condemning them and ridding his party of this bile, but instead he is fuelling the fire.’

A Green Party spokesman said: ‘We are standing over 4,500 candidates in these local elections, the vast majority of whom we are proud to have represent us.

Hau-Yu Tam shared a post saying Zionism was ‘unquestionably the Nazism of our time’

‘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.’

He added: ‘Candidates who are under investigation have been asked not to campaign.’

It comes after the Prime Minister convened senior figures from various sectors in No10 on Monday to discuss how to tackle widespread anti-Jewish hatred in Britain.

And prosecutors have been told to fast-track hate crime prosecutions under new guidance issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson in the wake of ‘a deeply troubling rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the country’.