MP Carla Denyer attacked the US president’s record on Gaza less than a day after thanking him for his public service
Jul 22, 2024
The co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, Carla Denyer, has accused US President Biden of complicity in the “slaughter of innocent people in Gaza”.
Her comments come less than a day after she wished him well and thanked him for his “public service” after he withdrew from the presidential race.
Denyer, who was recently elected as MP for Bristol Central and campaigned on a heavily pro-Palestinian platform, said in a post on social media platform X on Sunday: “I wish President Biden well and thank him for his many years of public service.
“This cannot have been an easy decision for him. But to take a decision that is personally difficult, but that is in the public interest, is a true sign of leadership.”
Denyer apologised the next day after sparking widespread debate online, particularly among Green Party members and voters.
“For decades successive US Governments have supported the Israeli government’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land,” Denyer said in a post on Monday, “and Biden is complicit in the slaughter of innocent people in Gaza.”
She clarified that while her post on Sunday was positive about Biden’s decision to stand aside as a candidate, some “read into this that I was offering my unmitigated support for his Presidency, including the policy of selling arms to Israel”.
“Given my long-running work campaigning for peace, this is the last thing I wanted and certainly not my position,” she added.
Denyer’s post on Sunday attracted criticism from within the party. Adam Pugh, who stood as a parliamentary candidate in the recent general election, called her statement a “horrendously bad take” and said the co-leader “doesn’t speak for me and she doesn’t speak for a huge chunk of the Green Party”.
Prominent left-wing journalist Owen Jones, who voted Green and urged others to support the party during the election, called on Denyer to meet “British Palestinians whose relatives have been butchered with US bombs”.
Joe Biden has armed and facilitated the mass slaughter of innocent people.
I hope the Green Party co-leader reconsiders this tone deaf statement, retracts it, and agrees to meet with British Palestinians whose relatives have been butchered with US bombs. https://t.co/4MbjyczkhW
— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) July 21, 2024
Ellie Gommersall, campaign manager for the Glasgow Green Party (part of the Scottish Greens, a separate party), remarked that “not enabling genocide would be a truer sign of leadership” than Biden standing aside.
Leanne Mohamad, the 23-year-old British-Palestinian who recently came close to unseating Labour’s health secretary, Wes Streeting, asked: “Can someone explain to me why this tweet has not been deleted?”
But others defended Denyer’s comment.
The Young Greens’ digital communications officer Finn White said: “Joe Biden has been awful on Gaza, but Carla is right to say that the most important thing is that Trump doesn’t win.”
Meanwhile one observer sarcastically expressed hope that people offended by Denyer’s post “never discover what the views of Green voters in North Herefordshire and Waveney Valley are.”
Luke Tryl, director of anti-polarisation group More in Common, remarked that the controversy shows the “challenge for small parties with passionate but unrepresentative bases – easy to get small scale success but much harder when you want mainstream appeal is recipe for infighting.”
Denyer’s apology on Monday was praised by some who had criticised her previous statement, including Owen Jones.
The Green co-leader has a long track record of criticising Israeli policy towards Palestinians, especially since the start of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
Her local campaign in the recent election, which led to Denyer unseating Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire, circulated pamphlets criticising the Labour Party’s early support for Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza.
The Greens called for a ceasefire on 17 October and have backed both ending arms sales to Israel and measures in line with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
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