City councillor admits racist KKK video was shared on his account
ABIRMINGHAM councillor has admitted a racist video produced by a former leader of the Klu Klux Klan was shared on his Facebook account.
But Labour councillor Zafar Iqbal said he had no idea how it got there. He said: “I know that this type of content could cause deep offence and I apologise to anyone who was affected by seeing this material.”
Labour said any allegations of racism will be looked at.
The film, called “CNN, Goldman Sachs & the Zio Matrix!”, was produced by David Duke, a former Imperial Wizard of US white supremacist movement the Klu Klux Klan.
The description in the post from Coun Iqbal’s Facebook account states that it “reveals how the Zionist Matrix of Power controls Media, Politics and Banking.” This appears to have been generated automatically from the description of the video on YouTube, where it was posted by Dr Duke.
While “Zionist” is sometimes used to refer to the state of Israel, the idea that Jews are part of a “Zionist” conspiracy to control institutions across the world is an anti-Semitic allegation which was used to demonise Jews before modern Israel even existed.
Coun Iqbal said in a statement : “I have no recollection of sharing this video and have no idea how it was shared on my Facebook page.
“Anyone that interacts with me on social media knows that I would never knowingly share any racist, abusive or anti-Semitic content. Nevertheless, I accept that this content was for a period active on my Facebook page and it has now been deleted. “I know that this type of content could cause deep offence and I apologise to anyone who was affected by seeing this material. There is no place for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party or in our society – and I will continue to work closely with groups of all faiths in Birmingham against racism.” A West Midlands Labour Party spokesman said: “The Labour Party treats all allegations of antisemitism, racism, intimidation or abuse very seriously. Any evidence of such behaviour will be looked at and action will be taken when relevant.”
Coun Iqbal is a Labour councillor in South Yardley. He was also appointed a Justice of Peace at Solihull Magistrates Court in 2007, and received an MBE in 2008 for services to education and the community.