Sheffield Council leader reveals why Labour Green administration dramatically ended
“There's lots of different kinds of Zionism. But how they feel is that they have all been labelled as racist by the motion, and that there has been no real attempt to listen to them”
The leader of Sheffield Council has explained why the Labour and Green leadership will now officially come to an end, pointing a Green councillor's “antisemitic” social media posts as the final straw in a pressurising few weeks.
The joint leadership of Sheffield City Council has been at loggerheads since the controversial 'Zionism is Racism' motion was approved at the Green Party conference.
Ahead of a full council meeting on November 4, Councillor Fran Belbin said the Greens were prepared to agree that not all Zionists were racist, and that all people have the right to self-determination, the two "key things" she said she asked for.
Coun Belbin said she had several meetings over the days following where she met with Labour Councillor Zahira Naz and Green Councillors Alexi Dimond and Marieanne Elliot to discuss issues raised by the motion, understand each other's position and the impacts on Sheffield.
A ‘joint statement’ was expected to follow, but it never appeared.
On Monday (November 9) historic social media posts from Burngreave Councillor Mustafa Ahmed were reported by the Jewish Chronicle, posts that Coun Belbin called “incredibly problematic” and “blatantly antisemitic.”
She said: “Continuing in the joint up administration with a group that is allowing that kind of behaviour is just not on the table.
“In any other party, he would have been suspended instantly.”
Coun Belbin put a statement out on social media (November 12) and the Sheffield Labour group voted unanimously to end the joint administration.
The same day, Coun Ahmed reposted the post he had taken down, saying: "Stripping an Arabic text of its cultural and political context to manufacture a controversy is a bad-faith tactic aimed at policing language and suppressing anti-colonial speech."
Coun Belbin said she did not believe this was a translation issue.
She said: "The things I've seen shared, such as guidance with the BBC, is really clear on the translation and how the word should be translated.
“His post is essentially saying, don't criticise Hamas for the October 7th attack, because otherwise you're taking the other side, and I just think that's an appalling position to be in anyway.”
Coun Belbin revealed that the impression she got behind the scenes was that Green councillors were split over the 'Zionism is Racism' motion.
She said: “I am absolutely sure that most of their members don't actually support the motion, and that's partly why only three of them have come out and publicly said that they support it.
“I do feel that's one of the reasons why it was worth carrying on talking to them because it clearly wasn't a position that was held by all the Green councillors.”
Rebutting the Greens’ claim that Sheffield Labour had been following top down orders from London, Coun Belbin said the national Labour party have been “really helpful.”
“We’re the biggest city in England affected by this, and we've been saying to them, we want to take our time and really explore our options, and they've been supportive of that.”
During the drama at the Town Hall, many people have asked why an international issue like the conflict in the Middle East should have such a huge impact on Sheffield.
Coun Belbin said: “It's because of how it affects people who live here.
“We've got people at the moment who worship at synagogues, who are surrounded by security guards because of the fear they feel after the Heaton Park synagogue attack, after the attacks in Golders Green. There is real fear in their communities.
“We also have a really strong Palestinian solidarity movement,” she said. “It really concerns me that essentially, I think the Greens are saying you can't be part of that movement if you support a two-state solution, or if you believe that Israel has the right to exist.
“I don't want anybody in the city to be feeling afraid and that if they are at risk simply because they wear a Star of David, and that's what really worries me at the moment."
Coun Belbin said when she had spoken to Sheffield’s minority Jewish community, people have talked about the “fear and pain that the motion has caused.”
She said: “Many people in the city’s Jewish communities are very much in support of the Palestinians. They hate what the current Israeli government is doing.
“There's lots of different kinds of Zionism. But how they feel is that they have all been labelled as racist by the motion, and that there has been no real attempt to listen to them."
Coun Belbin said that much of the major work the council does is “not controversial,” but this has highlighted the differences that communities in Sheffield feel.
She said: “If this is happening in the council between councillors, there will be similar issues out in our communities.”
She said she will be looking for ways to “heal some of those divisions.”
On the potential damage to trust in the council following this chaos, Coun Belbin said: "You build trust over a period of time, by doing what you say you are going to do."
The council leader confirmed that a Labour minority administration would be put forward to vote on at the next full council meeting on December 2, where new Labour committee chairs would be proposed.
Coun Belbin said residents should not expect to see any changes in everyday services, other than the improvements that the council is already planning.