Fury as council fails to act over swastikas at anit-Israel rally

A LABOUR council leader has come under fire after refusing to take action against a cabinet member who helped organise a pro-Palestine rally last month featuring a placard bearing swastikas and demonstrators chanting a Hamas rallying cry.

Head of Calderdale Council Tim Swift is being urged by Liberal Dems and Tories to act after Cllr Jenny Lynn, chair of the Halifax Friends of Palestine, helped organise the controversial rally.

The rally came just a day before the council signed up to a new Yorkshire campaign called Root out Racism.

The event, which was also attended by other Labour councillors, featured a placard depicting former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on a ‘wanted poster that included swastikas.

Ms Lynn was filmed raising her fist as protesters chanted: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Cllr Lynn said: “There is nothing incompatible about my role as chair of a community based organisation – Halifax Friends of Palestine – and my role in supporting all our communities and I will stand on my record on that. There is nothing antisemitic about standing up for the rights of Palestinian people.”