Accusing critics of “Islamophobia,” the under-fire Greens city councilor hits back as calls mount for his suspension

The under-fire Green Party councilor facing calls for his suspension after claiming Hamas had “the right to defend itself against Israel” hit out today and accused his critics of “Islamophobia”.

Bizarrely, following his election to Leeds City Council last week, Mothin Ali sparked outrage after shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“God is the greatest”) and was accused of helping to hide a rabbi and his family Force after he was targeted with a string of insults – claimed his campaign had “united people of all backgrounds, races and religions”.

In a statement from the Leeds Green Party, which has so far resisted calls for his suspension, the 42-year-old accountant said: “I am sorry that my comments on the Gaza conflict have caused a stir.”

“That was not my intention.”

“Like many others around the world, I am deeply affected by the terrible conflict currently raging in Gaza.” The International Court of Justice declared that this conflict satisfies the grounds for plausible genocide.

“I don’t support violence on either side: violence leads to more violence and that’s what I tried to convey.”

“I have always called for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages.”

“I hope to soon work with a broad coalition of Jewish and Muslim Greens to discuss meaningful ways we can work to communicate our shared passion for ending the conflict.”

“Being elected to represent the wonderful community of Gipton and Harehills was one of the proudest moments of my life.”

“The inaccurate reporting and misrepresentation of my acceptance speech has resulted in me facing a lot of hate and hostility.”

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“I should also clarify that it is not unusual for someone of my faith to use the words ‘Allahu Akbar’ as an expression of gratitude and celebration.”

“Some have tried to misrepresent this and to me that suggests Islamophobia.”

“I am not a career politician but I have campaigned for Gipton and Harehills for many years and have been called upon time and time again to speak up for these communities and on the issue of Palestine, which I will continue to do.”

“My campaign united people of all backgrounds, races and religions to create change for our local community.”

“I will continue to work in peace to represent all of our communities over the next four years.”

The Greens shared Mr Ali’s statement, adding nationally: “We are fully investigating the full context and have nothing further to add at the moment.”

“The Greens’ commitment to non-violence is absolute.”

Alan Lamb, leader of the Conservative group on Leeds City Council, rejected his apology, telling the Mail: “This man’s actions and antics have put Leeds and the city council in a dangerous position and yet the Greens are completely ignoring this.”

“They had known about his views for months, but continued to campaign for him and even celebrated his election victory over the weekend.”

“When will he and the Green Party address his vile and anti-Semitic views, such as his comments immediately after the barbaric attacks in October or when he forced the university rabbi and his family into hiding?”

“This is absolutely disgraceful and does not reflect well on our great city.”

“The Greens in the city council are falling into disrepute.”

The Greens were furious last night over their failure to suspend the city councilor who launched a hateful tirade against a rabbi.

Mr Ali described Leeds University’s Jewish chaplain Zecharia Deutsch as a “curmudgeon”, a “lowlife” and an “animal”.

The city councilor was allowed to run for the Greens despite branding Israelis as “white supremacists” after the Palestinian terror group Hamas killed 1,200 people on October 7 last year. He was filmed shouting: “We will raise the voice of Palestine – Allahu Akbar!” after winning his council seat.

Yesterday the party faced a series of calls to take action against him, including from Jewish leaders who accused it of hypocrisy for failing to distance itself from his “extremist nonsense”. Back in February, Daily Mail reporter Guy Adams presented the Greens with a dossier of offensive comments from Mr Ali, including the tirade against Rabbi Deutsch, who was later forced into hiding.

When the Greens presented the evidence at the time, they told this newspaper they “believe in free speech” and Mr Ali was allowed to run for councilor and win. Astonishingly, Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party, seemed unaware when asked about Mr Ali’s offensive comments in a television interview on Sunday evening.

Asked how well the party vets candidates, she declined to comment, saying she was “not familiar with all the details” and didn’t have “the full facts at hand.” She added that the comments sounded “very concerning” and that she would “ensure that these are looked into.”

Last night there was still no sign that Mr Ali was facing suspension. The Greens simply stated that they were “investigating.”

It came at a time when the party has had to deal with the government’s independent anti-Semitism adviser, former Labor MP Lord Mann, over vetting of candidates. Ahead of a high-level meeting this week, he warned: “Doing nothing is not an option.”

Analysis has shown that more than 40 councilors were elected in England last week after incorporating the Middle East crisis into their election campaign.

Mr. Ali, a well-known YouTuber who works as an accountant and runs a gardening blog, sparked outrage in February after posting a video aimed at Rabbi Deutsch.

He called him “some kind of animal”, “fever”, “absolutely vile”, “absolutely disgusting” and “shameful” and falsely claimed that he had tried to kill women and children in Gaza after temporarily joining his IDF Unit returned after the attacks of October 7th.

The rabbi, his wife and children were all forced into hiding after receiving an avalanche of threats. Nevertheless, Mr Ali remained the Green Party candidate in the Gipton and Harehills district of Leeds, where he celebrated his victory last week as a “victory for the people of Gaza” – an area he described as a “concentration camp”.

Leaders of Britain’s Jewish community yesterday condemned the Greens as “breathtakingly stupid, dangerous and insensitive” for standing by Mr Ali and called for his immediate suspension.

In an open letter to co-chairs Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, Leeds Jewish Representative Council chairman Simon Myerson KC wrote that Mr Ali had a “significant history of views affecting the Jewish community”.

Mr Myerson accused the Greens of “hypocrisy” and said it was wrong for the party to continue to be associated with Mr Ali.

In an open letter to co-chairs Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, Leeds Jewish Representative Council chairman Simon Myerson KC wrote that Mr Ali had a “significant history of views affecting the Jewish community”.

He accused Mr Ali of trying to justify “rape, murder and kidnapping” and using “anti-Semitic language”. “These matters, in my view, call into question the Green Party’s own integrity,” Mr. Myerson wrote.

He added: “Deliberately exploiting a specific issue that is never addressed in the election of a local council member as a major factor in that council member’s election campaign is simply opportunistic.”

He said the party had “known about Mr Ali’s views for some time” and stressed it was time to act and “officially suspend Mr Ali as a member of the Greens”.

Claudia Mendoza, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, added: “Mr Ali’s record speaks for itself and if the Greens are serious about tackling anti-Semitism and not just paying lip service at meetings with community leaders, action will be taken.”

A spokesman for the House of Representatives for British Jews said it was “appalled” that Mr Ali appeared to have “celebrated and attempted to justify the massive terrorist attack on Israel on October 7”, and said the Greens had “serious questions about answer”. Since Mr. Ali’s acceptance speech was announced, the party has not responded to this newspaper’s requests for comment.

However, a spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: “The Greens are investigating the issues brought to our attention in relation to Councilor Mothin Ali and are therefore unable to comment further. “However, we are clear that we will never support anything like that praises violence.”

Mr Ali was also contacted for comment. He said he had been inundated with death threats himself and insisted his video about the Leeds rabbi had “absolutely nothing to do with violence”.

The prime minister’s spokesman said Greens councilor Mothin Ali’s comments were “completely unacceptable” and “have no place in our politics”.