Exclusive: Labour to reinterview council hopeful who said ‘Jews reaped rewards of playing victims’
Nasreen Khan, who asked 'what have the Jews done good in this world?' will have case reviewed after being on the verge of selection for Bradford body
Justin Cohen is the News Editor at the Jewish News
A Labour council hopeful who said “Jews have reaped the rewards of playing victims” is to be interviewed again by the party, Jewish News understands.
Condemnation followed News that Nasreen Khan, a former Respect activist, had been shortlisted to contest the seat in Bradford.
Jewish News revealed at the weekend that the party was reviewing the case and it’s now believed she will be questioned again by a panel tomorrow.
The controversy centres around a series of posts five years ago on which she said: “It’s such a shame that the history teachers in our school never taught us this but they are the first to start brainwashing us and our children into thinking the bad guy was Hitler.
“What have the Jews done good in this world??”
She is also reported to have written there are “worse people than Hitler in this world now” and “Jews have reaped the rewards of playing victims. Enough is enough”. She has since described the remarks as “inappropriate and unacceptable”.
Following a number of complaints even before the story emerged publicly this week, the party said it would would not be able to suspend her candidature as details of her past had been known at the time of her shortlisting. Only if new information emerged could the case be reexamined, they said.
In a statement in the summer, Khan’s is understood to have said that she originally used the term ‘Zionist’, only to change it to ‘Jews’ when she was informed the former was “a term of abuse”. But she now “profoundly regretted” using the generalised terms ‘Jews’ and was now able to distinguish between Israeli policy and the Jewish community. Khan said she had also learnt more about the Holocaust.
She added that others in the party had said “as bad or worse”.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
