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Exclusive: Labour MP hopeful used 'white' as racial slur against Jews
Further shocking social media posts by Coventry South candidate Zarah Sultana have emerged
November 5, 2019 12:08
Further shocking social media posts by Coventry South candidate Zarah Sultana have emerged
November 5, 2019 12:08The Labour candidate for Coventry South repeatedly used racial slurs to brand Jewish students as "YT" and "the white woman".
New evidence shown to the JC confirms that Labour's Zarah Sultana used the word "white" as a negative expression while studying at Birmingham University.
In one Facebook post directed at a Jewish student, Ms Sultana, who sat on the national executive of Young Labour and the national executive of the National Union of Students, wrote: "I can't believe this YT thinks she can represent us."
'YT' is a slang expression for a white person, often used in a pejorative manner by people who wish to stress their own non-white heritage.
In another social media post, Ms Sultana, now employed as a Labour campaign organiser in the West Midlands, wrote: "Yay, the white woman didn't win the Ethnic Minorities Officer Election!"
The 26-year-old's slurs against white people are unlikely to prove popular among the electorate in Coventry South.
One MP told the JC on Tuesday: "These comments by the candidate selected to represent Labour in Coventry South are quite frankly shameful.
"Our party's ruling NEC must surely reconsider whether this woman is suitable to represent the party on December 12 and to campaign for us in the weeks ahead."
On Monday the JC revealed how Ms Sultana had said she would "celebrate" the deaths of Tony Blair and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
She also wrote of her support for "violent resistance" by Palestinians and used the hashtag "extremistmuslim" online.
On Tuesday, one Jewish student who had studied alongside the Ms Sultana told the JC how the MP hopeful left students "terrified" over her conduct on campus during her time at Birmingham University.
Hannah Sharron, a former Union of Jewish Students communications officer, said: "Zarah was among a group on students on campus committed to defending Palestine and who directed this at Jewish students.
"It meant we felt uncomfortable in participating in any of the structures of university life, or in the student union where we should have been able to represent ourselves and our peers."
Ms Sultana apologised on Monday for her posts about Tony Blair, saying they were written in 2015 out of "frustration."
In a new statement on Tuesday Ms Sultana said:" BAME structures bring together all people who experience different forms of racism. I support Labour’s BAME structures and their inclusivity of all people, including Jewish people, who experience racism.
"At university, I used insensitive language when trying to articulate the need for a specific campaign for students who experience racism based on the colour of their skin, such as racist stop and searches on campuses and the attainment gap.
"I should have been more inclusive and I shouldn't have used the language I did. I am genuinely sorry for having done so."
