Ex-Labour councillors allege Israel-Palestine Facebook posts prevented reselection

Two former Labour councillors allege they were asked about social media posts relating to their views on the Israel-Palestine conflict before being told they were not fit to stand as candidates with the Party in Peterborough City Council (PCC’s) May elections.

Cllr Ansar Ali (North), who now sits as an Independent, and Cllr Imtiaz Ali (Fletton and Woodston), who now sits as a Green, both left the Labour Party last month.

While they admit they were not given an official reason for the decision, both say they believe their answers to the alleged questions about their Facebook posts were behind it.

Labour East says that its selection processes are “carried out in line with our rules and procedures”.

Cllr Ansar Ali, who left the Party most recently, claims he was asked by Labour officials about Facebook posts from as far back as 2012.

In a statement to the press, he said that he was asked about his “criticism of Israel’s continued illegal occupation of Palestine, its ethnic cleansing, and its abhorrent and inhumane treatment of Palestinian people” in a reselection interview.

He added that he holds “no negative feeling towards my colleagues in Peterborough”, who are “not responsible” for the “direction” Labour is taking.

Cllr Ansar Ali says he was asked about years-old Facebook posts

A review of Cllr Ansar Ali’s Facebook posts show that, in 2013, he posted: “It’s interesting the Israeli decision to release a few Palestinian prisoners has made the headlines but their decision to authorise building settlements on occupied land, which is illegal under international law and violates UN resolutions doesn’t get a mention.

“Just shows who pulls the strings in the media.”

The following year, he posted that he was “boycotting the biased BBC” which “doesn’t want to upset the Zionist Israeli government lobby!!!!”.

Cllr Ansar Ali has served as a PCC councillor since May 2016.

A month before his election, he posted a link referring to a “little-known medal” which “marks Nazi-Zionist co-operation in 1933” – which has been described as Nazi propaganda.

A year after his election, he shared a blog post titled “How many British MPs are working for Israel?”

Cllr Ansar Ali temporarily suspended from Labour

In 2021, Cllr Ali was suspended from the Labour Party while it investigated alleged antisemitism.

He says this was related to these posts – which remain publicly visible at the time of writing – among others.

Asked for further comment on them, Cllr Ansar Ali said: “The Facebook posts you have referred to were raised by the Labour Party and given as the reason for my suspension from the party in 2021.

“The Party has since carried out a full investigation and I was reinstated by the Labour Party in July 2022.

“Furthermore, I'd like to add, I have never knowingly expressed any offence or hatred to any person of any other faith or no faith."

Peterborough Labour and the Labour Party have also been contacted for further comment on Cllr Ansar Ali’s Facebook posts and why he was both suspended and reinstated.

Cllr Imtiaz Ali joins the Greens

Cllr Imtiaz Ali, meanwhile, claims that he was asked about a post in which he shared a tweet accusing Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “apartheid”.

On his alleged unsuccessful reselection interview, he said: “Given the lack of information on my re-selection, and the fact they pointed to my answers to the due diligence questions, I can only conclude that my views on the injustice faced by the Palestinians is what the selection panel found to be something they could not support.”

He added that he believes Labour is “operating in an opaque way” by allegedly telling him he is not fit for re-selection rather than suspending him.

The Green Party, which Cllr Imtiaz Ali joined in early January, says on its website that it “calls on Israel to evacuate the illegal settlements within the occupied territories of Palestine”.

But it adds that it also “calls on the democratically elected representatives of the Palestinian people to recognise the right of the state of Israel to exist within recognised, agreed and secure borders”.

In response to a request for comment on Cllr Imtiaz Ali joining the Party, a Green spokesperson said: "All Green Party councillors and candidates are expected to fully recognise human and civil rights throughout Israel, Palestine and the occupied territories.

“While local parties work autonomously, they are expected to ensure all candidates standing for the Green Party undergo full diligence checks to ensure they reject all forms of discrimination whether based on race, colour, gender, religion, national origin or any other prejudice.”

PCC’s Green lead Nicola Day added that she’s “satisfied that the national press statement also covers the views of the local party”.

Peterborough’s Green Party has also been contacted for comment.

Labour says it carries out ‘robust checks’

In response to a request for comment on the councillors’ claims, a Labour East spokesperson said: “The Labour Party’s selection processes are carried out in line with our rules and procedures and include robust due diligence checks for all prospective candidates.

"Peterborough Labour is focused on building a brighter future for the people of Peterborough by tackling the Tory cost of living crisis and the crisis in our NHS."

The national Labour Party has also been contacted for comment.

Israel row continues

Where terms used to describe Israel and its Government practices become antisemitic has become a source of tension in the Labour Party in recent years.

The Party says on its website: “It is not racist to assess the conduct of Israel – or indeed of any other particular State or government – against the requirements of international law or the standards of behaviour expected of democratic States (bearing in mind that these requirements and standards may themselves be contentious).

“However, care must be taken when dealing with these topics. The fact of Israel’s description as a Jewish State does not make it permissible to hold Jewish people or institutions in general responsible for alleged misconduct on the part of that State.”

Israel has been accused of “apartheid” – institutionalised racial segregation like that carried out in South Africa in the 20th century – by human rights organisations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch among others.

But the term has been described as a “preposterous slur” by the Jewish Leadership Council and, according to The Jewish Chronicle, been dismissed by Labour leader Keir Starmer.

The United Nations has described particular Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as breaching international law, which is disputed by Israel.

There is no internationally-agreed definition of ethnic cleansing.

Israel’s critics argue that criticism of the nation is possible without criticising Judaism or Jewish people, but the implication that they have undue influence on the media is antisemitic.