Greens not viewed as being party with biggest antisemitism problem, poll shows

The Green Party is not seen as the party with the biggest problem with antisemitism, a new poll has shown, despite growing pressure over its response to Zack Polanski’s Golders Green stabbing.

When asked which of the five main parties has a problem with antisemitism, the new YouGov poll identified Labor and Reform most often at 33 per cent.

A quarter said the same for the Greens, while the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats received 16 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

Polling carried out in the wake of the attack showed that almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of Britons believed prejudice against Jews was a major or serious concern, with Green voters’ views broadly in line with supporters of other parties and voters generally.

It comes after Mr Polanski, the only current Jewish leader of a major political party in the UK, sparked outrage after sharing criticism of the police on social media after footage showed two police officers repeatedly kicking a man in the head after tasering him, apparently a suspect.

Mr Polanski apologized for hastily sharing the post but insisted police should not be immune from scrutiny.

The Greens also faced accusations of antisemitism after Labor said it would publish a document revealing that 25 of the Green Party local election candidates held “disturbing views”.

The candidates are accused of “a range of infuriating antisemitism, dangerous conspiracy theories, and egregious comments supporting Hamas and Russia.”

Two identified men were arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred against Jews, according to the Labor Party.

The poll also found that Green Party supporters were as likely as Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat voters to see antisemitism as a major problem, with around 70 per cent of voters taking this view.

While Reform UK voters are the least likely to say so, at 63 per cent, this is in line with the views of the wider public.

Sir Keir Starmer has called for a “whole of society” response to rising antisemitism following the Golders Green stabbings and warned that Iranian attempts to destabilize British society “will not be tolerated” because of suspicions that Iran is fueling hatred.

Prosecutors have also been told to step up hate crime investigations under new guidance issued by director of public prosecutions (DPP) Stephen Parkinson, following a “deeply disturbing rise in antisemitic incidents across the country”.

This comes after two Jews, 34-year-old Shloime Rand and 76-year-old Norman Shine, were stabbed during a stabbing attack on Wednesday (April 29). The alleged attacker, 45-year-old Essa Suleiman, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, May 1 and was remanded in custody.

The attack, which was declared a terrorist incident by the police, was the latest act of violence against Jews.

The poll found that voters aged 18-24 were least likely to see antisemitism as a serious problem (58 percent), followed by voters aged 25-49 (58 percent). Overall, 59 percent of men of all ages agree.

The youngest adults were the only voters most likely to say other groups had experienced discrimination.

Seven in ten 18- to 24-year-olds say prejudice against Muslims is a major or important problem in society, while nearly 60 percent say the same about black people, women and transgender people.

In total, 57 percent of the public said there was a problem with Islamophobia.

Compared to the issue of antisemitism, the general response to Islamophobia is more definitive.

Almost half (47 per cent) of those surveyed say Reform UK has a problem with Islamophobia, followed by the Conservative Party on 27 per cent.

Just 14 per cent of Labour, 8 per cent of Liberal Democrats and 6 per cent of Greens said the same.

The sample size of the research, which was conducted on May 4 and 5, was 2,377.