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- Written by Becky Morton and Sam Francis
- BBC political reporter
image source, Getty Images
Labor has withdrawn its support for Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali over comments he appears to have made about Israel and Jews.
Labor had supported Mr Ali, who claimed that Israel had authorized the October 7 attack by Hamas as a pretext for the invasion of Gaza.
However, he changed his position after Jewish media outlets also appeared to accuse Mr. Ali of inciting criticism of pro-Palestinian Labor Party members.
Ali has been contacted for comment.
Under electoral law, it is too late for him to be replaced, so he will still appear on the ballot paper as the Labor candidate.
However, Mr Ali is understood to have been suspended by the party pending an investigation.
Labor has been defending Mr Ali as a candidate for several days after the Mail on Sunday published comments by Mr Ali claiming that Israel had “condoned” attacks by Hamas.
Ali later apologized “to Jewish leaders for my inexcusable comments.”
On Monday night, the Daily Mail published the full recording purportedly of Mr Ali, blaming “media figures in certain Jewish areas” for Andy McDonald’s suspension from the Labor Party. denounced.
MacDonald was suspended last year after saying, “I will not rest until there is justice. Until all people between our rivers and seas, including Israelis and Palestinians, can live in peace and freedom.” I received it.
The person on the recording went on to say that Israel “ [Palestinians] from Gaza” and “take” the land.
He also appears to boast of having prevented Israeli flags from being raised on local public buildings after the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants.
Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden said Mr Ali was suspended after “further comments” came to light.
Mr McFadden said: ‘The fact that we are in the extremely rare situation of a party withdrawing support for a candidate after the nomination deadline shows that Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer is serious about ‘eradicating anti-Semitism from the Labor Party’. He said it shows that there is.
Labor has been under intense pressure since Mr Ali’s comments first surfaced, with widespread condemnation from members and political opponents.
Front benchers Lisa Nandy and Anneliese Dodds campaigned for Mr Ali over the weekend, and shadow minister Nick Thomas-Symonds defended Labor’s decision to support him on Monday morning. .
Azhar Ali launched his campaign to become Labor’s candidate for Rochdale on February 7 and received public support from a number of senior officials, including Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
Martin Forde, who led Labor’s investigation into allegations of bullying and racism, said the handling of the incident was “pretty bad” and withdrew his support for Ali when his comments first emerged. He said it would have been “wise” to do so.
The senior lawyer told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that among some left-wing MPs, “things move quite slowly when it comes to disciplinary action, but if you’re in the right faction of the party, then It will be dealt with more leniently or more quickly.”
But Lord Mann, a former Labor MP and now the government’s independent adviser on anti-Semitism, told the BBC: “Basically giving up your seat in parliament is actually a pretty bold move. I think so,” he said.
He added: “The Jewish community will take considerable comfort from the fact that Sir Keir Starmer is prepared to do so.”
analysis
Hannah Miller, Political Correspondent
The controversy surrounding Mr Ali still raises two important questions for Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. The question is, why was this story allowed to be reported for almost 48 hours? And is anti-Semitism being “weaponized” along sectarian lines, as Ford suggests?
There’s a textbook of sorts about how these stories often come about. First comes the story, then the political reaction, followed by new information that tends to make the situation worse.
Sir Keir is trying to claim through the Front Bench that he acted “promptly” as new details emerged, but as one Labor MP said this morning, he was “almost 20 hours late”.
Meanwhile, the party’s left wing claims that the cases of MPs Andy McDonald and Kate Osamor, who have also been suspended for comments related to the Gaza war, are being given the same benefit of the doubt as was initially given to Mr Ali. I’m furious that I haven’t. .
The decision has been taken and Sir Keir has once again stamped his authority within the party, but the Labor leader has accepted accusations of political incompetence. And the uproar will remind onlookers that despite Sir Keir’s efforts, there is still much disagreement within the Labor Party.
Labour’s decision to withdraw its support from Mr Ali, who was elected leader after the death of Sir Tony Lloyd, also means it is highly unlikely that he will be selected by the party to contest this year’s general election. .
It adds further uncertainty to the outcome of the Rochdale by-election on February 29, in which Labor holds a majority of more than 9,000.
Also running are Simon Danczuk, a former Labor MP and current Reform Party candidate, and George Galloway of the British Labor Party, who has campaigned against Labour’s stance on Gaza.
Local businessman and campaigner Paul Ellison will represent the Conservative Party, while Ian Donaldson will represent the Liberal Democrats.
Guy Otten’s name will appear on the Green Party ballot, but he has decided not to campaign for the seat after comments critical of Palestinians and Islam came to light. Says.
A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said the decision to withdraw support from Mr Ali was “the worst in the world”.
The spokesperson said: “Labour’s decision to withdraw its support for the candidate at this late stage is less like a principled decision and more like an expedient attempt to defend the candidate and a failure. It looks like something,” he added.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak blamed “tremendous media pressure” for Labor to withdraw its support for Mr Ali.
“It’s against the principles,” Sunak said.
In recent months, Labor has suspended two MPs, including Mr McDonald, from the party for comments related to the conflict.
Kate Osamor was removed from the party whip in January after she said in a post about Holocaust Remembrance Day that Gaza should be remembered as a genocide.
Israel declared war on Hamas after the group attacked communities in Israel, killing around 1,200 people.
Since then, Israel has fired missiles and conducted ground operations into the Gaza Strip in response, killing more than 28,000 Palestinians and killing 68,000, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. I was injured.
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