Green activist who said she was ‘naive’ to oppose Hamas is now handling party discipline – while Polanski faces his moment of truth in Holborn
Halima Brewer, who has posted support for Hamas and compared Jewish Israelis to Nazis, has been elected to the Green Party’s disciplinary committee. In the role, she will investigate complaints against members and sit on panels deciding disciplinary cases, raising questions about the party’s handling of antisemitism.
The report comes amid criticism of Green leader Zack Polanski after members passed a “Zionism is Racism” motion at the party’s conference in Brighton. The Campaign Against Antisemitism has reported the party to the equalities watchdog, while political figures have urged the leadership to reverse the policy. Polanski is also facing a by-election in Holborn and St Pancras, the seat formerly held by Sir Keir Starmer.
- Halima Brewer joins the Greens’ disciplinary committee.
- Her past posts included support for Hamas.
- The party faces scrutiny over an antisemitism row.
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The Green Party is Britain's fourth major political party, with thousands of members and representation in Parliament. The party has faced scrutiny in recent weeks following a vote at its annual conference that endorsed the view that "Zionism is racism", a motion critics argue conflates a political ideology with the Jewish faith itself.
Halima Brewer is a Green Party member who has made social media posts expressing support for Hamas, the Palestinian organisation designated as a terrorist group by several countries, and comparing Israeli Jews to Nazis. She has since described some of her earlier positions as naive. The party's disciplinary committee investigates complaints against members and makes decisions about whether to take action against them.
The controversy is particularly high-profile because party leader Zack Polanski is standing in a by-election for Holborn and St Pancras, a major London seat previously held by current Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The party has been reported to the equalities watchdog by organisations including the Campaign Against Antisemitism, adding pressure on the leadership to address the disputes.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The Green Party aims to create an inclusive organisation where members with diverse perspectives on international affairs, including contentious views on Israel-Palestine, can participate in governance. The party may view Brewer's appointment as reflecting its commitment to representation and to allowing a broad range of viewpoints within its structures, believing that excluding members based on their political positions risks creating ideological conformity rather than genuine dialogue. From this perspective, allowing diverse voices—even controversial ones—demonstrates a mature approach to internal democracy.
The case against
Placing someone with documented support for Hamas and statements widely characterised as antisemitic into a position responsible for investigating antisemitism complaints represents a fundamental credibility failure. Any disciplinary process depends on whether affected communities trust the people administering it to act fairly and in good faith. Such an appointment signals that the party does not adequately prioritise addressing antisemitism and raises serious questions about whether complaints will be handled with genuine impartiality and concern for Jewish members' experiences.