Reform UK call on Sheffield Greens to take “firm action” on councillor after allegations of antisemitism
The leader of the Reform group said the Greens are “turning a blind eye“ and “ought to be ashamed of themselves”
The leader of Reform Councillors in Sheffield has called the Green Party to take action against their councillor, Mustafa Ahmed, and for Labour to distance itself from the Greens, over "antisemitic" social media posts.
According to the Jewish Chronicle, on November 9, Councillor Ahmed posted in Arabic on Facebook days after the October 7 Hamas attacks saying “you alone will bear the shame of supporting the Jews".
Coun Ahmed claims this is a text from Palestinian writer Adham Sharkawi that refers to "the Israeli state and its apparatus rather than Jewish people collectively".
Fresh calls for action have now come from John Hesketh, leader of Reform Councillors in Sheffield, who called the posts "vile" and "antisemitic".
He said: "All political parties have trouble with members that aren’t what they say – it’s what those parties do about it that bothers the general public.
"We in Reform UK have had to deal with this matter earlier this year and we took decisive action to swiftly remove the rogue member."
This refers to Reform's ex-councillor, Nathanial Menday, who was elected in May but was suspended from the party within a matter of days when deleted social media posts emerged appearing to celebrate fascism and depicting Nazi imagery like the swastika.
Coun Menday still sits on Sheffield City Council as an independent.
Coun Hesketh continued: "The Green Party in Sheffield has conclusive evidence, highlighted in the Jewish Chronicle of 9 Nov, that their Burngreave councillor has made vile antisemitic comments.
"So, what is the Green Party in Sheffield doing about this member of their party – turning a blind eye, it seems. They ought to be ashamed of themselves."
.png?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
Coun Hesketh called on the Sheffield Labour group to "ditch the Greens" in their leadership of the council.
The joint Labour/Green running of the council has been on the edge since the national Green Party's 'Zionism is Racism' motion last month.
The motion equates Zionism with racism and calls for one state solution to the conflict in the Middle East.
Coun Ahmed has been a vocal supporter of the motion.
He claims: "Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism, and conflating the two serves only to shield state violence from legitimate scrutiny."
The leadership of Sheffield Council is still in a stalemate after their most recent joint deal fell apart today (November 12).
Coun Hesketh said: "Labour have long had a working arrangement with the Greens to run Sheffield City Council.
"Despite public claims of a split, Labour has taken too long to distance itself from their racist partners.
"It’s about time Labour’s actions matched their words. Labour needs to ditch the Greens on Sheffield City Council and actually mean it."
Leader of the council Fran Belbin last night (November 11) outlined her position on Coun Ahmed's comments.
She said: "Coun Ahmed's views are incompatible with Sheffield Labour's central belief that Palestinians and Israelis should have the right to self-determination.
"We cannot, in good faith, continue our partnership with a group where such blatant antisemitism is not adequately challenged.
"It is clear that the joint administration with the Green Party in Sheffield must now come to an end."
Sheffield Liberal Democrats and Labour Mayor Oliver Coppard have called for the Sheffield Green Group to take action against Coun Ahmed.
In response, Coun Ahmed said: "I completely reject the politically motivated smear campaign led by the Jewish Chronicle and echoed by political opportunists.
"I stand firmly against all genuine forms of racism. I will not retreat from my solidarity with the Palestinian people's struggle for justice and self-determination."
He said the Arabic-language Facebook post highlighted "has deliberately been used to target me in a vicious witch hunt against those on the right side of history."