Jewish leaders have refused to meet with a former neo-Nazi who was jailed for harassing an MP after he was selected as a Conservative councillor candidate. Joshua Bonehill-Paine targeted ex-Labour MP Luciana Berger, who is Jewish, with antisemitic abuse and was convicted of racially harassing her in 2016. He was already serving a separate jail sentence for sharing antisemitic posts at the time.
Background and Selection
Bonehill-Paine spent three years in prison from 2015 for posting the racist material ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally but now says he has been rehabilitated. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch defended the decision to select him as a council candidate in Somerset, saying he is now "part of the fight against antisemitism".
Jewish Groups' Response
The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council have said they will meet the Conservative Party to discuss his selection but declined to meet Bonehill-Paine himself.
In a joint statement, the two groups said: "The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council have declined the Conservative Party’s invitation to meet with a former neo-Nazi with criminal convictions for antisemitic hatred.
"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.
"We have agreed to meet the Conservative Party to discuss their decision-making processes and to urge them to rescind this decision."
Political Reactions
Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, said no one should be pushed out of public life "permanently" and there should be "spaces for people to rehabilitate, no matter what they say or no matter how heinous what they do is".
Asked if he believes in rehabilitation following the Tories’ decision, Mr Polanski told reporters at a press conference in Westminster on Wednesday: "I don’t know the circumstance of this individual councillor, so I’m going to be careful about wading in on a case that I don’t know the detail on, but I do believe in rehabilitation.
"I think someone can say something or even do something and make a mistake. Now, I think the important point is that we don’t just apologise and move on, there has to be a clear recognition of what they did wrong and what they’re going to do in the future to rectify it.
"I don’t believe anyone should be pushed out of public life permanently. I do believe that there has to be spaces for people to rehabilitate, no matter what they say or no matter how heinous what they do is."
He said a councillor or MP would have to "re-earn trust", adding: "It can’t just be a meaningless apology. It has to be a clear direction that the lessons are going to be learned."
Victim's Statement
Baroness Berger, a former shadow cabinet minister who is now a member of the House of Lords, said Bonehill-Paine's harassment had "affected my life in lots of different ways". "I think that we need to have a bar when it comes to standing for public office," she added. "I strongly believe that this individual today falls very, very short of that."
Bonehill-Paine's Response
Bonehill-Paine has described his past views as "indefensible". In an article for the Conservative Home blog published on Wednesday, he added that he recognised his previous actions had "caused profound pain, particularly within the Jewish community".
"The recent announcement of my selection as the Conservative candidate for Crewkerne South on Somerset Council has been a stark reminder that those actions still cause hurt today," he wrote. "That is entirely understandable, and I do not seek to diminish it."
