Fury as Labour councillor suspended over antisemitic posts is reinstated
BRIGHTON AND Hove Labour Party has reinstated a senior councillor suspended for posting antisemitic tropes because of her efforts to “rebuild trust” with the local Jewish community — but the area’s main Jewish organisation says it has not heard from her.
In 2016, councillor Anne Pissaridou shared an article from a conspiracy theory website that linked the Rothschild family to what it claimed would be the collapse of the German banking system and food shortages. The piece featured a picture of the British peer Jacob Rothschild next to stacked bars of gold and an image of a distressed child.
In another Facebook post from 2018, she shared an article claiming that “pro-Israel propagandists” had “taken out a contract to stop Jeremy Corbyn being elected”.
Cllr Pissaridou was suspended from Brighton’s Labour Party in July 2020 over the two posts, but is to be readmitted after undergoing what the party described as “conscious and sustained efforts to educate herself on issues around antisemitism and antisemitic tropes”, and “rebuilding trust” with the local Jewish community.
The move has enraged the Sussex Jewish
Representative Council, which said it was not consulted about the move or aware of any contact between Cllr Pissaridou and any of the city’s recognised Jewish organisations.
At the time of her suspension, Cllr Pissaridou apologised for the distress caused to the Jewish community, and said that the posts did not reflect her views.
“I do not seek to excuse my mistake. I deeply regret not properly reading information before sharing such hurtful links,” she said. However, a spokeswoman for the Sussex Jewish Representative Council said: “In order to sincerely learn and address issues of anti-Jewish racism, it is vital to speak directly with those impacted and those who are chosen to represent our community.
“Cllr Pissaridou shared anti-Jewish tropes and conspiracies which caused great offence and upset to our local community.
“It is for us to decide whether she
She shared anti-Jewish tropes which caused great offence
has done enough to make up for those insults, not the local Labour party.”
A spokesman for anti-racism campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism added: “When Cllr Pissaridou was suspended in July, 2020, we welcomed the move as a prelude to her expulsion.
“We are therefore disappointed and concerned that she is being readmitted to the (Labour) group on Brighton Council. This is not zero tolerance of antisemitism.”
Elected on a Momentum slate to the North Portslade ward in 2019, Cllr Pissaridou was the chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee at the time of her suspension.
The JC contacted Cllr Pissaridou for comment.