How could the Greens NOT know about a city councilor’s vile insult against a rabbi? The party is angry over its failure to suspend a pro-Gaza activist for a tirade against a Jewish cleric

The Greens were furious last night over their failure to suspend a city councilor who launched a hateful tirade against a rabbi.

Mothin Ali, who was elected to Leeds City Council last week, had called Leeds University Jewish chaplain Zecharia Deutsch a “villain”, “villain” and “animal”.

The 42-year-old was allowed to run for the Green Party despite branding Israelis “white supremacists” after the Palestinian terror group Hamas killed 1,200 people on October 7 last year. He was filmed shouting: “We will raise the voice of Palestine – Allahu Akbar!” after winning his council seat.

Yesterday the party faced a series of calls to take action against him, including from Jewish leaders who accused it of hypocrisy for failing to distance itself from his “extremist nonsense”. Back in February, Daily Mail reporter Guy Adams presented the Greens with a dossier of offensive comments from Mr Ali, including the tirade against Rabbi Deutsch, who was later forced into hiding.

When the Greens presented the evidence at the time, they told this newspaper they “believe in free speech” and Mr Ali was allowed to run for councilor and win. Astonishingly, Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party, seemed unaware when asked about Mr Ali’s offensive comments in a television interview on Sunday evening.

Zecharia Deutsch (left) was insulted as a “weight”, “lower” and “animal” by the newly elected city councilor

Asked how well the party vets candidates, she declined to comment, saying she was “not familiar with all the details” and didn’t have “the full facts at hand.” She added that the comments sounded “very concerning” and that she would “ensure that these are looked into.”

Last night there was still no sign that Mr Ali was facing suspension. The Greens simply stated that they were “investigating.”

It came at a time when the party has had to deal with the government’s independent anti-Semitism adviser, former Labor MP Lord Mann, over vetting of candidates. Ahead of a high-level meeting this week, he warned: “Doing nothing is not an option.”

Analysis has shown that more than 40 councilors were elected in England last week after incorporating the Middle East crisis into their election campaign.

Mr. Ali, a well-known YouTuber who works as an accountant and runs a gardening blog, sparked outrage in February after posting a video aimed at Rabbi Deutsch.

He called him “some kind of animal”, “fever”, “absolutely vile”, “absolutely disgusting” and “shameful” and falsely claimed that he had tried to kill women and children in Gaza after temporarily joining his IDF Unit returned after the attacks of October 7th.

The rabbi, his wife and children were all forced into hiding after receiving an avalanche of threats. Nevertheless, Mr Ali remained the Green Party candidate in the Gipton and Harehills district of Leeds, where he celebrated his victory last week as a “victory for the people of Gaza” – an area he described as a “concentration camp”.

The Green city councilor is being investigated by his party after “worrying” statements became known

The 42-year-old father of three claimed his election to the local council as a Green Party candidate was a “victory for the people of Gaza”.

Leaders of Britain’s Jewish community yesterday condemned the Greens as “breathtakingly stupid, dangerous and insensitive” for standing by Mr Ali and called for his immediate suspension.

In an open letter to co-chairs Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, Leeds Jewish Representative Council chairman Simon Myerson KC wrote that Mr Ali had a “significant history of views affecting the Jewish community”.

Mr Myerson accused the Greens of “hypocrisy” and said it was wrong for the party to continue to be associated with Mr Ali.

In an open letter to co-chairs Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, Leeds Jewish Representative Council chairman Simon Myerson KC wrote that Mr Ali had a “significant history of views affecting the Jewish community”.

He accused Mr Ali of trying to justify “rape, murder and kidnapping” and using “anti-Semitic language”. “These matters, in my view, call into question the Green Party’s own integrity,” Mr. Myerson wrote.

He added: “Deliberately exploiting a specific issue that is never addressed in the election of a local council member as a major factor in that council member’s election campaign is simply opportunistic.”

He said the party had “known about Mr Ali’s views for some time” and stressed it was time to act and “officially suspend Mr Ali as a member of the Greens”.

Claudia Mendoza, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, added: “Mr Ali’s record speaks for itself and if the Greens are serious about tackling anti-Semitism and not just paying lip service at meetings with community leaders, action will be taken.”

A spokesman for the House of Representatives for British Jews said it was “appalled” that Mr Ali appeared to have “celebrated and attempted to justify the massive terrorist attack on Israel on October 7”, and said the Greens had “serious questions about answer”. Since Mr. Ali’s acceptance speech was announced, the party has not responded to this newspaper’s requests for comment.

However, a spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: “The Greens are investigating the issues brought to our attention in relation to Councilor Mothin Ali and are therefore unable to comment further. “However, we are clear that we will never support anything like that praises violence.”

Mr Ali was also contacted for comment. He said he had been inundated with death threats himself and insisted his video about the Leeds rabbi had “absolutely nothing to do with violence”.