Green Party leader Zack Polanski condemns 'vile antisemitic caricature' in The Times
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Katherine Hearst
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Sun, 05/03/2026 - 11:30
Spokesperson for party accuses 'media and politicians' of mounting 'further attacks towards Zack in the wake of a violent attack on his community'
A cartoon published in The Times appears to depict Green Party leader Zack Polanski with a hooked nose (Screengrab/X)
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Green Party leader Zack Polanski has accused The Times of publishing "a pretty vile antisemitic caricature" of him, after the newspaper featured a cartoon of Polanski with a hooked nose kicking a police officer.
The Green Party said it has submitted a complaint to The Times editor Tony Gallagher over the caricature, which it said displays "tropes so clearly associated with antisemitic depictions of Jewish people".
It said in a statement that it was "astonishing" given the "rising climate of antisemitism in the UK" that a "national newspaper has chosen to publish a cartoon of the only Jewish political leader in the country using tropes so clearly associated with antisemitic depictions of Jewish people".
Speaking in an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Polanski said the newspaper has yet "to apologise or withdraw" the cartoon.
The cartoon shows Polanski with a hooked nose, kicking police officers who are arresting Essa Suleiman, a 45-year-old Somali-born British national accused of stabbing two Jewish men in Golders Green, a neighbourhood of northwest London with a large Jewish population.
Suleiman is also accused of attempting to murder Ishmail Hussein, a Muslim man he had known for about 20 years, earlier that day.
The image refers to a video that appears to show arresting police officers repeatedly kicking Suleiman in the head.
Polanski condemned the attack and subsequently retweeted a post on X questioning the officers’ conduct.
In response, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley posted an open letter to Polanski expressing “disappointment” with his reaction, prompting online commentators to raise concerns around the police’s political impartiality and call for the withdrawal of the letter.
'Deeply irresponsible words'
Polanski's criticism of the Met's handling of Suleiman drew widespread condemnation, with Reform politician Robert Jenrick accusing him of being "on the side of terrorists".
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Polanski’s criticism of the police officers’ conduct was “disgraceful” and that he is “not fit to lead any political party”.
In a post on X, Polanski noted that he had “faced Nazi salutes” from a Reform supporter during a rally in Hastings.
'Today the prime minister uses his office to attack the only Jewish party leader to score political points'
- Zack Polanski, Green Party leader
“Today the prime minister uses his office to attack the only Jewish party leader to score political points," he said.
The Green Party condemned the “deeply irresponsible” words “used by both politicians and the media”, accusing them of directing “further attacks towards Zack in the wake of a violent attack on his community”.
The spokesperson highlighted that the leader “faces daily antisemitism”, noting that in the “past six weeks, two people have been arrested for antisemitic actions towards him”.
Polanski subsequently apologised for the retweet, explaining to Kuenssberg that he "remains concerned" by the footage of Suleiman's arrest but accepted that X "is not the appropriate forum to have that concern".
He also said that social media was not the "appropriate forum" for an open letter from the Met commissioner, adding that this issue is now "resolved" and that he has requested a meeting with Rowley.
When questioned by Kuenssberg about whether he deemed the officers' conduct to be "heavy-handed", Polanski said that "it's important that everyone who works in public service, including people who are being brave, should not be above scrutiny".
On Friday, the Met announced that Suleiman, who was released from a psychiatric hospital just days before the attacks, had been charged not with terrorism offences, but with three counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place.
'The occupation is ongoing'
Politicians, including Starmer, have used the Golders Green attacks to condemn pro-Palestine marches and call for their curtailment.
In an interview with the BBC's Today programme on Saturday, Starmer said the language used on marches should be policed and suggested that there could be a case for banning marches altogether.
Pro-Palestine coalition condemns Starmer for suggesting ban on marches
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When asked by Kuenssberg if he agreed with Starmer's description of the chant "globalise the intifada" as racist, Polanski said: "I don't think that's correct. I think it's important we have freedom of speech in this country and freedom of protest.
"I don't believe policing people's language is what is going to make Jewish safety any better in this country."
Kuensberg noted that the phrase "originally refers to an uprising against Israeli occupation back in the 80s", but said that it is considered "by many Jews and many not-Jews" to be "dangerous".
Polanski responded by saying that "the [Israeli] occupation is still ongoing, so if people are talking about ending the occupation, that conversation is very clearly still live".
"I don't think we need to create new laws," he said. "What we need to do is to make sure people have the freedom to protest in the appropriate way."
When asked by Kuenssberg if the Green Party "takes antisemitism seriously", Polanski said that Jewish safety "is not an abstract idea for me".
"I'm not saying we've got it right, I don't think any party has because antisemitism exists in society, as does Islamophobia and many forms of racism, and it's important that every political party is working to bring more training and better vetting."
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