Council refused to host Palestinian charity event ‘over fears of antisemitic backlash’ Officials at Tower Hamlets council told the Big Ride for Palestine the event would not be able to go ahead ‘without problems’.

A London council refused to hold a Palestinian charity event over fears it could breach its anti-semitism guidelines.

Officials at Tower Hamlets council told the organizers of the Big Ride for Palestine that the event’s “political connotations” meant it could not go ahead in the borough “without problems”.

According to the Guardian, council workers also told the charity there was a risk speakers might express views which contradicted the council’s policies.

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Labour row mentioned

The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign gained access to internal emails after submitting a Freedom of Information event to work out why the fundraiser had been cancelled.

In the communications, one official said there were also concerns about the charity bike ride “not least because of the recent furour [sic] within the Labour party over Anti Semitism [sic]”.

Council workers were predominantly concerned over aspects of the Big Ride’s website, which they believed were too controversial.

When discussing how to explain the decision to axe the event, one council employee reportedly said it would be best to “avoid the anti Semitism[sic] aspect ref their website as this could open a can of worms and come back to bite us”.

Controversial website

One particular reference on the Big Ride’s website mentioned by Tower Hamlets employees was a section which described the event as a protest “against 67 years of Israeli ethnic cleansing”.

“It’s blatantly obvious to recognise the parallels between Apartheid South Africa and the state of Israel,” another section of the website reads.

Another leaked email sent between two council employees concludes: “It seems, therefore, that although the application form raises no issues, the contents of their website does raise the risk that the event will fall foul of the position the council has adopted.”

Despite Tower Hamlets’ concern over the issue, however, there was reportedly no mention of antisemitism in the email sent to the charity explaining the cancellation.

A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets Borough Council told i: “The council gave the application careful consideration and decided not to host the event, because we do not host rallies with political connotations, albeit without direct links to political parties.”