UK bars Muslim woman from contesting elections for liking anti-Israel post

A Muslim woman member of the UK’s Labour Party, Faiza Shaheen, was barred from contesting elections after she allegedly liked an anti-Israel post on the microblogging site X, which the party’s executive committee has deemed anti-Semitic.

In an interview with the BBC, Faiza Shaheen confirmed that she will not be Labour's candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green in northeast London after the controversy over her social media activity.

The woman politician expressed her shock after receiving an email notifying her that her candidacy had been blocked.

She appeared before a panel of Labour’s National Executive Committee on Tuesday, where her social media posts were scrutinised, and her eligibility for elections was questioned.

One post shown to Faiza by the committee read, “Every time you say something even mildly critical of Israel, you’re immediately assailed by scores of hysterical people who explain to you why you’re completely wrong, how you’re biased against Israel.”

“Moreover, you can’t easily ignore them because those are not just random people. They tend to be friends or people who move in the same circles as you. Those people are mobilised by professional organisations,” it added.

She clarified that she does not remember liking the post.

"[...] When there’s such clear double standards of how other people have been treated when stuff has happened. What message are you sending to my community? What message are you sending the black community?" Ms Shaheen stated.

She expressed regret for her supporters, who have been ardently supporting and organising rallies for her, stating that she would no longer be able to represent them.

Faiza Shaheen lost the same seat in the 2019 election to the Conservative Party’s Sir Iain Duncan Smith by a close margin.