The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) have declined an invitation to meet Joshua Bonehill-Paine, the Conservative council candidate with a history of antisemitic abuse. Instead, they have agreed to meet the party to discuss its decision-making and urge it to drop him.
Background of the candidate
Mr Bonehill-Paine, selected to contest the Crewkerne South ward in Somerset in May, was jailed in 2016 for racially aggravated harassment of Labour peer Baroness Luciana Berger, who is Jewish. He was also previously jailed for producing an advert for a neo-Nazi rally that used a picture of Auschwitz and promised “an absolute gas”.
Rehabilitation and response
He has since apologised and said he is now dedicated to “challenging the wave of hatred British Jews continue to face”. In a joint statement, the two Jewish groups described him as “a former neo-Nazi with criminal convictions for antisemitic hatred”. They added: “The severity of Joshua Bonehill-Paine’s crimes targeting Luciana Berger and others mean that he still faces ongoing legal restrictions. Whilst we do believe in the possibility of rehabilitation, this should not in this case entail selection as a candidate for a major political party, and the impact of this decision on the victims ought to be a central consideration.”
Badenoch defends selection
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch defended the selection on Wednesday, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that she believes he has been rehabilitated. She said: “I am extremely worried about antisemitism and what I feel is that if we can’t have the people who have previously been radicalised, who understand what went wrong and are part of the fight against antisemitism now, if we’re saying: ‘No, no, no, you’re untouchable,’ then how can we pretend that we believe in rehabilitation?” However, she indicated she would not allow him to stand as a parliamentary candidate, adding: “I’m not giving him a national platform, he is standing to be a councillor in Somerset… it is a local platform looking at parking, sorting out bins. I have much higher thresholds for what it takes to be a Conservative MP.”
Criticism from Berger
Lady Berger criticised the selection, saying she does not believe he “should have any role in public life – because of both his racism and his view of women”. She told Today: “There’s a big difference between going back into society and teaching others possibly about what you did and why it was wrong, to making the leap to standing for public office. I think there’s a massive distinction there and this is not just one-off hurty words. This is a man that engaged and indulged in a sustained campaign, not just against me, but many others.”
