Labour suspends councillor after JC reveals his ‘antisemitic’ posts
VA LABOUR COUNCILLOR has been suspended by the party after the JC revealed he had shared “antisemitic” posts about Israel.
Ansar Hussain was elected in 2021 for the Wolverton ward in Milton Keynes, and served previously as Wolverton’s mayor. In posts that the JC has now shown to Labour officials, he appeared to share groundless claims about Israel.
The revelations prompted the party to take immediate action by suspending the councillor and launching an investigation. The material, highlighted by the Gnasher Jew investigation team, includes an article headlined “30 LittleKnown Facts About Israel” shared by Mr Hussain on 7 November 2015.
On this list of “facts” is the claim that “instead of sewing an insignia on clothing to distinguish race (as the Germans did to the Jews in WW2), Palestinian licence plates in Israel are colour-coded to distinguish Jews from non-Jews”.
Comparing Israeli Jews to the Nazis may breach the International Holocaust Remembrance Association definition of antisemitism, which was adopted by the Labour Party after a political furore when Jeremy Corbyn was still leader. Another bogus claim said: “Zionists have been trying to destroy Masjid al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock for the last 50 years by digging underground tunnels beneath the sites to weaken its foundations causing it to collapse. Renowned Israeli archaeologists have confirmed there are no traces of the Temple.” In June 2016, Mr Hussain posted a photo of a list of former directors of the Mossad along with a link to a programme broadcast on Iran’s Press TV that claimed: “Zionist author reveals ISIS is Israeli secret intelligence service.”
In March 2019, he made another conspiratorial claim, asking: “Who is behind the conflict between Pakistan and India. The answer in this article written by a UK analyst.” Below was another link to another Press TV offering that was headlined: “Press TV — Israel complicit in India-Pakistan conflict.”
He liked a post by a friend accusing the UAE and Saudi Arabia of being “Zionist puppets” because of their diplomatic rapprochement with Israel.
Contacted by the JC, Mr Hussain said he “disagreed with antisemitism”. When asked about the material he had shared online he said: “I don’t remember these posts.” As the JC reporter began to read out the posts, Mr Hussain put the phone down.
Mike Katz, National Chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, said: “These social media posts are clearly antisemitic in their nature and the Labour Party must take action.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”