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An activist selected by Labour as a candidate for the next general election called Israel an “apartheid” state and encouraged people to boycott its goods, The Telegraph can reveal.
Faiza Shaheen echoed language used by Kim Johnson, the Labour MP forced to apologise for remarks in Parliament earlier this month.
Ms Shaheen has been chosen by Sir Keir Starmer’s party to take on Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, in Chingford and Woodford Green.
Earlier this week, Sir Keir said the job of rooting out anti-Semitism in Labour was “not complete” as it received the all-clear from the equalities watchdog. It was found in 2020 to have committed “unlawful acts” in its handling of anti-Jewish hatred.
Ms Shaheen told the Huffington Post website in 2018: “I think it is a very important debate to have – what anti-Semitism is – because we need to know what we are fighting.
“If you can’t say that Israel is an apartheid state, or if Palestinians in this country can’t say that it was racist, without being labelled anti-Semitic by the Labour Party, then I think there is a problem.”
She defended Labour’s initial refusal to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism in full, insisting: “Jewish people don’t all feel the same way.”
Ms Johnson, one of Labour’s most Left-wing MPs, was summoned by its chief whips on Feb 1 after she said Israel had a “fascist” government and was “[being referred] to as an apartheid state”.
In 2016, Ms Shaheen wrote on Twitter: “Boycotting of Israeli goods to become a criminal offence… Undemocratic and such activism [is] crucial during apartheid.”
The boycott, sanctions and divestment movement (BDS) is a campaign that looks to isolate Israel professionally, academically and culturally over its ongoing conflict with Palestine. BDS is therefore claimed to be anti-Semitic by a number of Jewish community groups.
A practising Muslim, Ms Shaheen has spoken publicly about her personal experiences of Islamophobia. In 2020, she accused Sir Keir of a “very upsetting” view of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations after the party leader described the protests as a “moment”.
She thanked the topplers of the Edward Colston statue at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, going on to demand reparations for slavery.
The next election, widely expected to take place next year, will not be Ms Shaheen’s first time standing for election in Chingford and Woodford Green.
She received 45.9 per cent of the vote in 2019 – just 2.6 per cent less than Sir Iain’s vote share – and is projected to win the seat on the strength of current national polling.
When Labour fell to a landslide defeat at that poll, Ms Shaheen said the result was “more about the demonisation of Jeremy Corbyn” than the party’s manifesto.
Labour pointed to Ms Johnson being told to apologise over her remarks in the Commons and highlighted Sir Keir’s insistence in 2021 that the party “does not and will not support BDS”.
Nickie Aiken, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “For all of Keir Starmer’s assurances, this selection shows that Corbyn’s militant Left continue to infect the Labour Party at every level.
“Sir Keir backed Corbyn to be PM at two general elections yet he is perfectly content for his disciples to continue to represent his party in Parliament.”
Lord Austin, a former Labour MP who quit the party over anti-Semitism in 2019, branded Ms Shaheen’s remarks “appalling”.
He told The Telegraph: “These comments are appalling. Corbyn’s terrible leadership left large parts of the party obsessed with and hostile to Israel and every member – let alone candidates for Parliament – must accept the internationally accepted definition of anti-Semitism.
“Surely Keir Starmer and the party’s NEC must act.”
Ms Shaheen was contacted for comment.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...sedgntp&cvid=94861c4a215e4733b5d986e5a2935d9c
Faiza Shaheen echoed language used by Kim Johnson, the Labour MP forced to apologise for remarks in Parliament earlier this month.
Ms Shaheen has been chosen by Sir Keir Starmer’s party to take on Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, in Chingford and Woodford Green.
Earlier this week, Sir Keir said the job of rooting out anti-Semitism in Labour was “not complete” as it received the all-clear from the equalities watchdog. It was found in 2020 to have committed “unlawful acts” in its handling of anti-Jewish hatred.
Ms Shaheen told the Huffington Post website in 2018: “I think it is a very important debate to have – what anti-Semitism is – because we need to know what we are fighting.
“If you can’t say that Israel is an apartheid state, or if Palestinians in this country can’t say that it was racist, without being labelled anti-Semitic by the Labour Party, then I think there is a problem.”
She defended Labour’s initial refusal to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism in full, insisting: “Jewish people don’t all feel the same way.”
Ms Johnson, one of Labour’s most Left-wing MPs, was summoned by its chief whips on Feb 1 after she said Israel had a “fascist” government and was “[being referred] to as an apartheid state”.
In 2016, Ms Shaheen wrote on Twitter: “Boycotting of Israeli goods to become a criminal offence… Undemocratic and such activism [is] crucial during apartheid.”
The boycott, sanctions and divestment movement (BDS) is a campaign that looks to isolate Israel professionally, academically and culturally over its ongoing conflict with Palestine. BDS is therefore claimed to be anti-Semitic by a number of Jewish community groups.
A practising Muslim, Ms Shaheen has spoken publicly about her personal experiences of Islamophobia. In 2020, she accused Sir Keir of a “very upsetting” view of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations after the party leader described the protests as a “moment”.
She thanked the topplers of the Edward Colston statue at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, going on to demand reparations for slavery.
The next election, widely expected to take place next year, will not be Ms Shaheen’s first time standing for election in Chingford and Woodford Green.
She received 45.9 per cent of the vote in 2019 – just 2.6 per cent less than Sir Iain’s vote share – and is projected to win the seat on the strength of current national polling.
When Labour fell to a landslide defeat at that poll, Ms Shaheen said the result was “more about the demonisation of Jeremy Corbyn” than the party’s manifesto.
Labour pointed to Ms Johnson being told to apologise over her remarks in the Commons and highlighted Sir Keir’s insistence in 2021 that the party “does not and will not support BDS”.
Nickie Aiken, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “For all of Keir Starmer’s assurances, this selection shows that Corbyn’s militant Left continue to infect the Labour Party at every level.
“Sir Keir backed Corbyn to be PM at two general elections yet he is perfectly content for his disciples to continue to represent his party in Parliament.”
Lord Austin, a former Labour MP who quit the party over anti-Semitism in 2019, branded Ms Shaheen’s remarks “appalling”.
He told The Telegraph: “These comments are appalling. Corbyn’s terrible leadership left large parts of the party obsessed with and hostile to Israel and every member – let alone candidates for Parliament – must accept the internationally accepted definition of anti-Semitism.
“Surely Keir Starmer and the party’s NEC must act.”
Ms Shaheen was contacted for comment.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...sedgntp&cvid=94861c4a215e4733b5d986e5a2935d9c
