Labour Faces Criticism Backing Azhar Ali Over Controversial Israel Statement

Labour is facing backlash for standing by a parliamentary candidate, Azhar Ali, who has been compelled to issue an apology for insinuating that Israel permitted Hamas’s attacks on October 7th to justify invading Gaza.

Azhar Ali, the party’s candidate in the Rochdale by-election, has ignited criticism, rekindling the contentious debate surrounding antisemitism within the Labour Party that plagued Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Joe Glasman, head of political and government investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, remarked, “This man does not belong in a major political party, let alone in parliament, yet Labour is, incredibly, still backing his candidacy after a quick apology.”

“This is distressingly familiar to days that Sir Keir Starmer promised were behind us. This is not tearing antisemitism out ‘by its roots’.”

Joe Glasman

Ali expressed regret for his “deeply offensive” comments following the revelation that he had told a gathering of the Lancashire Labour Party that Israel intentionally eased security measures despite receiving warnings of an impending threat.

According to Michael McCaul, the Chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Israel received an official warning from Egypt about a possible attack from Gaza three days before Hamas initiated its deadly cross-border assault on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli government has denied receiving such a warning.

However, Ali said, “The Egyptians are saying that they warned Israel 10 days earlier … Americans warned them a day before [that] … there’s something happening. They deliberately took the security off, they allowed … that massacre that gives them the green light to do whatever they bloody want.”

Ali, a Lancashire County Councillor and former Government Adviser has issued an unreserved apology to the Jewish community for his remarks. He admitted that his comments were “deeply offensive, ignorant, and false.”

He clarified that the responsibility for the horrific terror attack lies solely with Hamas and emphasized the urgency of releasing the hostages still held by the group.

He committed to promptly apologizing to Jewish leaders for his “inexcusable comments” and emphasized that “the Labour Party has changed unrecognizably under Keir Starmer’s leadership.”

Key Figures In The Labour Party Who Support Ali

Despite acknowledging that Ali’s comments were “completely wrong” and not in line with the party’s stance, the party has chosen to support him. Pat McFadden, the national campaign coordinator, stated, “He’s issued a complete apology and retraction. And I hope he learns a good lesson from it because he should never have said something like that in the first place.”

Furthermore, Nick Thomas-Symonds characterized Ali’s actions as falling for a conspiracy theory. He emphasized that Ali’s apology should be accepted sincerely.

“Councillor Ali has apologized unreservedly, retracted those remarks, and demonstrated an understanding of the gravity of the offense caused. There’s now a crucial need to undertake significant efforts to rebuild trust with the Jewish community. For these reasons, he hasn’t been suspended.”

Nick Thomas-Symonds

Mike Katz, the national chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, expressed deep disappointment, stating that Ali had “destroyed his record of allyship with the Jewish community” with his “totally reprehensible” remarks.

Despite this, Katz refrained from urging Labour to drop Ali as a candidate, citing the potential alternative, George Galloway, whose victory could be even more detrimental to the Jewish community.

Katz emphasized, “We know how far the party has come under Keir Starmer in tackling antisemitism, and that the party, from Starmer down, is as shocked and disgusted by Ali’s comments as we are.”

Although the deadline to remove Ali from the ballot paper has passed, the party still has the option to withdraw campaign support.

In contrast, the Conservatives have called for Ali’s campaign to be suspended and his Labour Party membership revoked. Cabinet Minister Michael Gove asserted, “Sir Keir Starmer cannot continue to support this candidacy.”

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