Green parliamentary candidate says Israel 'shares blame' for October 7 events

Maddison Wheeldon has spoken out many times about the conflict between Israel and Hamas

The Green Party candidate for the next general election blamed Israel for Hamas attacks on October 7 can tell The Telegraph.

Maddison Wheeldon, last week's choice as the party's candidate in Warrington North, said on Tuesday that both Israel and Hamas were «to blame» for the attacks.

The Greens have been mired in a growing anti-Semitism scandal since local elections earlier this month, with a number of candidates campaigning on anti-Israel platforms that critics have labeled as “sectarian”.

Ms Wheeldon's remarks were serious. was condemned as «truly harmful antisemitism» by MPs and campaigners who said the party was «protecting internal racists» without driving them out.

The Green Party is believed to be investigating Ms Wheeldon's remarks. A spokesman said: «We will always take seriously any allegations of anti-Semitism within the Green Party.»

«Both are responsible and culpable»

On Tuesday Ms Wheeldon, who describes herself as a freelance internet marketer and campaigner for Social Justice, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Israel «also bears responsibility» for the events of October 7 because «you can I don't trap and bomb people without expecting them to try to break free.»

She later added: «Both [Israel and Hamas] are responsible and culpable for the events of October 7, just as I know that if I had locked someone in a room, restricting their food, water and access to freedom, they will end up attacking me.” this door is ready to burst open.”

It was the latest in a series of public anti-Israel social media posts made by Ms. Wheeldon before and after her election as a parliamentary candidate.

On March 4, she wrote on Instagram: “Does Israel really want to bring their hostages home? Or do they want to maximize trauma to further legitimize terrorism and the massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as well as record killings in the West Bank?

On April 8, she said that ordinary Israelis are “akin to the Germans who supported the Nazis [ so in the original].”

Earlier this month, on May 7, she wrote: «Zionism is born in white supremacy» on the X website as she defended Moteen Ali, a Leeds Green council member who is being investigated by the party after he shouted «Allahu Akbar» after his election .

Maddison Wheeldon defended Motin Ali, who is seen on TikTok celebrating his election as a councilor by shouting “Allahu Akbar! »

Two days later, she appeared to indulge anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that Jews are disproportionately powerful, writing: “Zionism also has an incredible amount of wealth and power; but we will not back down.”

Mike Katz, national chairman of the Jewish Labor Movement (JLM), said: “These examples demonstrate truly harmful anti-Semitism on the part of this Green Party candidate. Last year JLM warned the Greens they needed to take the problem of left-wing antisemitism seriously. Unfortunately, they decided to ignore us and instead seem to have redoubled their efforts.

“This feels like a repeat of the Corbyn years — ignoring clear evidence of a problem and protecting the racists in your ranks because it's easier than showing political leadership and making difficult decisions.”

Nicola Richards, Tory MP for East West Bromwich, who chairs the cross-party parliamentary group on antisemitism, said the Green Party «clearly has a problem with antisemitism among its parliamentary candidates.»

She said: «They must immediately suspend these candidates, apologize to the Jewish community for the harm they have caused and take action to stop these views from spreading within their party.»

Other Green candidates exposed

Three other Green MPs on Wednesday The Jewish Chronicle newspaper exposed the candidates as having anti-Israel views.

Elizabeth Waite, who stands in Bethnal Green and Stepney, posted a video on Instagram on March 27 in which a woman said: “The Zionists are left to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Palestinians… I think it will happen soon.» «.

Chris Brodie, standing in Chingford and Wood Green, uploaded links to an article which said 9/11 and 10/7 were “false flag operations carried out to open the way to more carnage and chaos.”< /p>

Nasim Talukdar, speaking in East Bristol, shared comparisons between the Holocaust and the war in Gaza, and liked a video of David Miller, an anti-Israel activist, saying: «We must destroy Zionism.»

A Green Party spokesman said: “We will always take any allegations of antisemitism within the Green Party seriously and refer them to our internal disciplinary procedures where appropriate. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage.»

All candidates mentioned in this article have been approached for comment.