Labour councillor quits after GB News investigation into alleged social media post comparing Israel to the Nazis
Cllr. Hajan Bashir has quit the Labour Party
A Labour Party councillor has quit just hours after being suspended from the party over a series of controversial posts on her WhatsApp story, which included comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany.
Cllr. Hajran Bashir, the shadow cabinet member for resilient communities at Walsall Council, was alleged to have last week to have posted a graphic that compared the foundations and actions of Israel with Nazi Germany.
A whistleblower from the town sent this broadcaster evidence for the alleged post, which appears to originate from social media group ‘Palestine Lobby’.
It compares Auschwitz with Gaza and Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza strip with “gas chambers.”
One post compared Israel to the Nazis
Bashir allegedly uploaded the image along with several other graphics and videos about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
In another post allegedly uploaded by Bashir, viewers are advised on how to respond “the next time you are asked to condemn Hamas or any other Islamic action.”
It continues: “When you condemn 75 years of tyranny, illegal occupation, killing of civilians, forced evictions & bombing of entire communities … then you will have earned the moral authority to ask others.”
GB News understands that Bashir was administratively suspended from membership of the Labour Party pending investigation. She also lost the Labour whip on the council.
Last night, Bashir said she had decided to "tender my resignation from the Labour Party, effective immediately", citing her "profound concerns about its leadership's stance on the ongoing genocide, complicity in child murder, and its anti-humanitarian stance" on Gaza.
She did not mention her suspension from the party in her resignation but said: "I hope my departure will draw attention to the need for the party to reevaluate its stance on these critical issues and return to its core values".
GB News understands that Bashir was administratively suspended from membership of the Labour Party
The resignation statement has since been deleted.
A source told GB News: "You can't pretend you resigned last week when you're suspended by your Party."
GB News understands that despite her backdated resignation letter, Bashir attended a Walsall Labour group meeting on Wednesday.
Responding to the images shared by Bashir, a spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This post is in clear breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism, which Labour has adopted, and it comes following a massacre by a proscribed terrorist group of innocent Jewish civilians.
"Clearly, Labour must suspend this councillor immediately, with a view to expulsion. Zero tolerance must mean just that, and now it is more urgent than ever.”
Bashir did not respond to GB News' request for comment.