‘Zionist devil’ insults hurled at Labour MP canvassing outside mosque

A Labour candidate was forced to abandon leafleting outside a mosque on Friday after a crowd barracked him as a “Zionist devil” with “the blood of Palestinian children on his hands”.

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, who is fighting for re-election as the MP for Slough in Berkshire, was driven off by men hurling abuse over Labour’s stance on the conflict in Gaza.

Videos posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, show Mr Dhesi handing out flyers to men leaving the Masjid al-Jannah mosque in the centre of Slough after Friday prayers. Link below

https://x.com/i/status/1801955706179842399

But as Mr Dhesi tries to distribute the election material, a group of men hurls invective at the Labour politician while recording the encounter on their camera phones.

“You’ve got the blood of Palestinian children on your hands, you Zionist devil, get out,” shouts one man.

In another video recorded from a different angle, a second man accuses Mr Dhesi of supporting “genocide”.

“He’s a liar! Ignore him the way he ignored Palestine on the ceasefire vote,” the man says.

“He supports Keir Starmer when Keir Starmer says Israel has the right to kill our brothers and sisters, Israel has the right to starve our brothers and sisters, Israel has the right to cut off electricity to our brothers and sisters… He refused to vote for a ceasefire.”

This misrepresentation of Keir Starmer’s position regarding Israel isn’t confined to Slough (in Berkshire, about 15 miles west of greater London). This sticker was spotted by my source in the north in West Yorkshire last week. 

  1. Keir Starmer never said it. 
  2. It isn’t what Israel is doing anyway

But why let the truth get in the way of a good lie. 

The man intersperses his verbal attacks on Mr Dhesi with calls for people to vote for Azhar Chohan, an independent candidate who is backed by The Muslim Vote – a campaign group that aims to get Muslims to vote against Labour over Gaza.

One of the men continues to pursue them down the street while filming on his phone. “It’s a place of worship, we don’t need Zionist devils like you,” he shouts

At one point, several men are also heard chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

Mr Dhesi has previously spoken about how he received death threats last November after abstaining on a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The party changed its position earlier this year to call for an immediate ceasefire.

In the local elections in May, Labour experienced a voter backlash in some parts of the country with large Muslim populations.

But – still Mr Dhesi calls T0mmy R0binson ‘Far-right’ and accuses him of being the one stiring up the hate. 

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