A NEWLY elected independent councillor has rejected calls to stand down over accusations of anti-Semitism after a number of social media posts emerged.

Cllr Lee Garvey, independent councillor for Berwick Hills and Pallister, was elected vice chair of Middlesbrough Council on Wednesday night. The vice chair is a civic position which – alongside the chair – presides over citizenship ceremonies.

But on Thursday morning Middlesbrough Council’s Labour group had called on Cllr Garvey to resign from the role – and as a councillor – after a number of Facebook posts emerged leaving him open to accusations of anti-Semitism.

In the posts, from 2015, Cllr Garvey claimed Jewish people are overrepresented on American television, branded Israel a “vile regime” and said the Rothschild banking family – a frequent target of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories – was an “evil one fuelled by money and greed”.

The Northern Echo:

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Garvey rejected the suggestion that he was anti-Semitic.

He said: “Anybody that knows me knows that I am not racist, in fact anyone who’d trawled through my social media will have seen I’ve spent so much time arguing against racism.

“I made the point that the focus on anti-Semitism was disproportionate to the amount of abuse that Muslim people face, but those parts of the conversation have been left out.

“I don’t like the Rothschild family, but I don’t consider that anti-Semitic. There’s no racist undertone. There’s no criticism of the Jewish faith.

Cllr Garvey went on to reject calls for him to stand down, adding that he had written the posts while a Labour member.

“I’m being up front and honest, I stood on a campaign of honesty,” he said.

“They are trying to discredit me. It might have been anti-Zionist, I don’t know. I went on the Free Palestine rally in Middlesbrough but that doesn’t mean I’m anti-Semitic either.

“This was an opinion in a wider argument. It’s not hate speech.”

Speaking on behalf of Middlesbrough Labour, deputy leader Cllr Denise Rooney said: “We condemn Cllr Garvey’s comments. They are wholly unacceptable and have no place in a modern day and tolerant society.

“Last night Mayor Preston talked about a ‘fresh start’ for Middlesbrough but these comments suggest otherwise.

“We call on the Mayor to join us in calling out Cllr Garvey’s anti-Semitism.

“His conduct brings Middlesbrough Council – a council that has long history of campaigning against racism in all its forms – into disrepute, and we believe that Cllr Garvey should resign not only as Vice Chair of the Council but as a councillor entirely.

“We have written to the Council’s Monitoring Officer asking for a full investigation into Cllr Garvey’s comments.

“We are also writing to the MICA Group leader and Mayor Preston to ask what internal discipline processes are in place.

“However we believe the councillor should do the right thing, apologise unreservedly for his comments and resign.”

Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston stressed that, as an independent, he doesn’t represent any councillors but said he would not be asking for Cllr Garvey to step down.

The Northern Echo:

“Whilst I won’t be calling on Cllr Garvey’s resignation, I’ve already spoken to him and will be meeting with him as a matter of urgency to discuss his responsibilities in his elected role,” he said in a statement.

“I’ve already arranged a meeting with a local synagogue. They’ve been fantastic and we’ve arranged for Lee and I to visit the synagogue to learn more about Judaism and the sensitivities around anti-Semitism.

“We’re also looking to arrange a visit from representatives of the synagogue to the Town Hall in the very near future.”

Cllr Jon Rathmell, leader of the MICA group of which Cllr Garvey is a member, said: “My concern with this, is that these opinions were expressed in 2015 when Lee was a member of the Labour Party.

“Why did they not expel him from the party then? I feel this is a return to traditional party politics, even though voters rejected that at the last election.”