UK Labour suspends official for Hezbollah and Hamas support

Appeared alongside man carrying aloft a flag of the banned terror group Hezbollah

WHALEY BRIDGE, ENGLAND - AUGUST 05: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visits the Whaley Bridge Dam site, as work continues to shore up the damaged dam on August 5, 2019 in Whaley Bridge, England. Approximately 1,500 residents of the town's 6,500 population were forced to leave their homes after yesterday's partial collapse of the dam at Toddbrook Reservoir, in Derbyshire. Engineers have been pumping water from the reservoir overnight to reduce the water level. (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)
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Britain’s Labour Party has been embroiled in fresh accusations of anti-Semitism after it was forced to suspend a rising member from its grassroots for online posts where he showed support for Hamas and Hezbollah.

It is understood that Huseyin Abudharr Ali, who was recently elected secretary of the Stroud Green Labour, has been suspended and is now under investigation. He described his “love” for Hezbollah in a poem, and appeared to praise the Lebanese militant group and Hamas in another post.

Ali also appeared alongside someone waving a Hezbollah flag although it is unclear whether this was before or after its proscription in its entirety as a terrorist group by the UK earlier this year.

He has been interviewed by Iran's Press TV multiple times. In one episode people were asked about their thoughts on Israeli ties with ISIS, where Ali made numerous anti-Israel comments.

“The Labour Party takes all complaints of antisemitism extremely seriously, which are are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken. We cannot comment on individual cases," a Labour party spokesperson said.

Stroud Green Labour, and the party as a whole, have been hit by numerous allegations of anti-Semitism in recent years. Last year Richard Horton, a long-time Labour activist, resigned as the chair of the Stroud Green branch because of the poisonous atmosphere. Earlier this year in a letter to Jeremy Corbyn he accused the Labour leader of making empty promises over anti-Semitism.

Mr Horton also referred to the-now suspended Labour MP Chris Williamson, who once gave a Muslim Botherhood-linked organisation a platform to speak in parliament

“How have we become a party where a Jewish MP leaves because of antisemitic bullying and yet another MP has licence to go around the country supporting those who deploy antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories?” he asked Mr Corbyn.

Stroud Green Labour was forced to apologise earlier this year when the suggested agenda of an informal discussion was circulated, which appeared to be anti-Semitic. While the event was cancelled and the branch insisted it was trying to encourage awareness of anti-Semitism, it said: “We realise that some of the questions accompanying the notice of the meeting were offensive and insensitive.”

One question asked if it is "antisemitic to say Naqba denial is bigger problem than Holocaust denial".

Mr Corbyn himself has repeatedly been accused of being friendly towards Hamas and Hezbollah.

Huseyin Abudharr Ali has been contacted for comment.