Zack Polanski has condemned Zia Yusuf for claiming that “some culture are MUCH better than others” in an inflammatory post following the Belfast knife attack.
On Tuesday evening, there were violent scenes in Belfast overnight as riots broke out in the wake of a knife attack in the city.
This came after a Sudanese man was arrested over an alleged stabbing in the north of the city. The 30-year-old, named Hadi Alodid, has been charged with attempted murder following the attack on Monday night.
Shocking footage shared on social media appeared to show a man stabbing at the victim’s head and neck while he was lying on the ground.
READ NEXT: Another car crash interview from Reform’s Robert Kenyon as Makerfield by-election looms
A court heard on Wednesday that the victim in the attack has lost his left eye and suffered damage to his right eye, along with injuries to his neck and back.
Alodid entered the UK in 2023 and was given refugee status. The incident is not being treated as terror-related at this point in time.
After the footage was shared online, and the suspect’s nationality confirmed, it wasn’t long before violent riots predictably broke out on the streets of Belfast, just like in Southampton last week.
Right-wing figures have once again been accused of sharing posts whipping up division and hatred as they called for information on the alleged attacker’s immigration status and identity.
One such controversial post was made by Reform’s Zia Yusuf, who decided to write on Tuesday evening: “Some cultures are MUCH better than others.”
The post was roundly condemned, with calling out the blatant dog-whistle.
One of those to hit out at Yusuf’s post was Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who accused the Reform man of parroting similar lines to those used against the Jewish community in the 1930s.
Polanski wrote: “This is the kind of thing that was said about the Jews in the 1930s.
“It is not hyperbolic to say that degrading an entire culture leads us to a very dark place. Reform are playing with fire right now trying to stop themselves being outflanked by the extremists of Restore.”
The violence in Belfast on Tuesday evening saw homes and cars set on fire along with a bus. The scenes have been widely condemned by figures from across the political spectrum, with Claire Hanna, Belfast MP and leader of the Social Democratic & Labour Party, describing the riots as a “race-based pogrom.”
However, Yusuf and his Reform colleagues remain conspicuously quiet in voicing condemnation for the thuggish scenes.