Zack Polanski has accused politicians of “using antisemitism as a political football” in the wake of the Golders Green knife attack.
On Wednesday, two Jewish men, 34-year-old Shloime Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Shine, were attacked in north-west London what police are treating as a terrorist incident.
The suspect being held by police over the attack has been identified as British citizen Essa Suleiman, 45, from south-east London.
The horrific events have been universally condemned by politicians, with many voicing their horror at the rise in antisemitic attacks taking place across the UK.
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At the same time though, some politicians also called out Green Party leader Zack Polanski in posts about the attack.
This included Reform’s Robert Jenrick and former Tory minister Zac Goldsmith, who labelled Polanski “one of the greatest threats to Jewish people in the UK.”
Meanwhile, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey told Times Radio there was a problem with antisemitism in the Green Party.
Now, Polanski, who himself is Jewish, has issued a statement condemning attacks against him.
He wrote: “Jewish communities woke up this morning feeling incredibly scared after yet another odious antisemitic attack.
“This is a time for politicians to work together to protect Jewish people – but some party leaders are instead using this moment to make political attacks.
“I am the only Jewish leader of a major political party and I suffer antisemitic abuse every single day. For other politicians to use antisemitism as a political football, especially after these horrific attacks, is utterly appalling and should be beneath them.”
He continued: “We must also be very clear that any response to these abhorrent attacks that curtails our civil liberties would be wrong. For a government to seek to use the pain of the Jewish community to restrict our right to peaceful protest would be a dangerous error.”
“We must not respond to grave moments like this by turning inwards, or by clamping down on our hard won rights. Instead we must stand firm both in defending communities against such attacks, and by confidently protecting the right of all of us to peaceful protest.”
Polanski’s statement came just hours after the news that two Green Party council candidates have been arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred after allegedly posting antisemitic content online.
One of the candidates is understood to have shared a video captioned “Ramming a synagogue isn’t antisemitism. It’s revenge” on social media, while the other posted a picture of a masked fighter holding a rifle and a string of bullets, wearing what appears to be a Hamas headband, alongside the words “Long live the Resistance.”
Both were detained by the Met on Thursday morning.