Shahrar Ali described the move as 'flag waving, identitarian politics'
Hackney Green Party mayor Zoe Garbett’s decision to end a near 60-year twinning agreement with the Israeli city of Haifa has been slammed as “unforgivable” by the party’s former deputy leader.
Speaking to GB News, Shahrar Ali disavowed the move, which is set to end its consultation period on October 7 or the third anniversary of Hamas’s devastating attack on Israel.
Hackney has been linked with the northern Israeli city for close to 60 years, enjoying cultural, civic and community exchanges since 1968.
The east London authority came under Green Party control during the May local elections, with Ms Garbett becoming the party’s first-ever successful mayoral candidate.
Announcing the plan to cut ties with Haifa, she declared: “This is about who we are as a council, what we condone, who we work with, and what that says about who we are.”
“I think it's counterproductive, and it's foolish on its own terms,” Mr Ali said of the decision, branding it an example of “flag waving, identitarian politics”.
“What I find really quite sickening is that you need to make peace with your enemies.
“We need to show much more creativity in how we bring people we disagree with to the table and get our hands dirty,” he insisted.
On the October 7 date, the former deputy leader described the move as “mind boggling”.
“The explanation that's been given is that they didn't realise (the significance of the date) and that they were trying to negotiate avoiding a Jewish holiday.
“This is a preposterous suggestion; it's deeply troubling,” he said, adding that any suggestion the date had been chosen by accident was “politically illiterate”.
“What it does demonstrate is that this grotesque, terroristic, barbaric incident (of October 7) is not on the Green Party's radar. It should be.”
Mr Ali described the move as “unforgivable” amid “a rising tide and climate of anti-Jewish hatred”.
“The Green Party has been completely either silent or minimising the harm that is being done to Jews. And what this does is send the completely wrong signal.
“It's not just about international flag waving and flag bearing in solidarity with potentially with Palestinians,” he insisted.
“It’s also about thinking about the impact and consequences of our actions upon the Jewish population in London and across the UK.”
The Green Deputy leader also spoke of the long history between Hackney and Haifa.
“They've been bringing clinicians to Homerton Hospital actually to train doctors.
“So that's a good thing that they've been doing. It's not something that we need to try and tear up,” he said.
Amid outrage over the decision, Mayor Zoe Garbett apologised for her “deeply regretful oversight” and said the deadline had been changed to October 14.
“This council stands up for human rights and wants to ensure our global connections reflect our shared core values,” she said in a statement.
“Given the ongoing humanitarian crisis and the gravity of the UN Commission of Inquiry reports concluding that Israel has committed genocide, maintaining a civic connection with what is widely considered a military port city is fundamentally at odds with our anti-racist values.”
