Exclusive:Nosheen Majid: Green Party stands by Leeds candidate who compared Jews to Nazis during WW2

Footage has emerged of Killingbeck and Seacroft Green candidate Nosheen Majid speaking to an elderly couple who are trying to get a bus during a pro-Palestine protest in the city earlier in the year.

Ms Majid said: “Do you know the injustice and why the Second World War happened with the Nazis and everything and the Jews.

“And now the Jews are doing the same thing to the Palestinians and that’s why we march.

“Palestinians aren’t fighting, Hamas are fighting and that’s because they don’t have their own army, they have little money compared to Israel who are very rich.

“That’s why we think it’s unfair, it’s unjust, the killing is unnecessary.”

According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism, which has been adopted by the Government since 2016, this can include “taking into account the overall context … drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis”.

The Nazis systematically murdered six million Jews in concentration camps during the Holocaust.

When The Yorkshire Post raised the video footage with the Leeds Green Party, it confirmed that “Nosheen remains a Green Party candidate” and added: “We stand firmly against anti-Semitism in all its forms.”

A spokesperson said: “We believe it to be a short clip from a longer interaction, recorded without Nosheen’s knowledge, in which she was speaking with members of the public while volunteering as a steward and trying to assist them with travel disruption caused by the march.

“Nosheen has reflected on the exchange and accepts that, in responding on the spot, she did not clearly distinguish between the actions of the Israeli government and Jewish people more broadly.

“She is very clear that this distinction matters, and she regrets that her words did not reflect that as clearly as they should have.

“The Green Party is unequivocal that Jewish people should never be held responsible for the actions of any government, and that conflating the two is wrong.

“We stand firmly against anti-Semitism in all its forms”.

The spokesperson added: “We are proud to have Jewish members and candidates within the Green Party, including here in Leeds.”

The revelations come with Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who is himself Jewish, under pressure over a number of other comments made by his party candidates.

Two have been arrested in London over alleged anti-Semitic social media posts, one of whom allegedly wrote "ramming a synagogue isn’t anti-Semitism, it’s revenge".

The Green Party declined to comment due to the ongoing police investigation. Mr Polanski said that the party is “dealing with” the complaints, but acknowledged “better vetting” is needed.

The Green leader, whose party has enjoyed a surge in the polls since he took over, saw his approval rating fall 14 points in the past week, according to a survey by pollster More in Common.

Having had an overall rating of -13 per cent, just above Reform UK’s Nigel Farage and behind Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Lib Dem chief Sir Ed Davey, Mr Polanski’s rating has now hit -27 per cent.

Although the fall means he is now trailing Mr Farage, he remains well ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s approval rating of -45 per cent.

Luke Tryl, executive director of More in Common, said focus groups suggested Mr Polanski’s response to the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green last week had contributed to his fall in popularity.

Mr Polanski attracted controversy last week after sharing a social media post criticising police officers for kicking the suspect in the Golders Green attack while arresting him.

The post was condemned both by politicians from other parties and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.

Mr Polanski subsequently apologised for “sharing a tweet in haste”, adding: “Police responses to emergency situations such as these do need later reflection in the right forums, but I accept that social media is not the appropriate channel for doing so.”

Mr Tryl said the drop in Mr Polanski’s approval rating showed the controversy had “very definitely cut through”.

He added that while the fall was partly due to an increase in people saying they had a negative opinion of Mr Polanski, the Greens may be more worried by a fall in younger people saying they had a positive view of the party leader.

But he added that the party still had “real momentum” going into Thursday’s local elections and a strong performance could see people change their view.