Green councillors demand reinstatement of Cllr Puech keffiyeh photo

Five Green party councillors have launched a petition and published an open letter demanding that Hackney Council reinstate an official photograph of Cllr Brenda Puech wearing a keffiyeh.

As the Citizen reported, the portrait of Cllr Puech, a newly elected Green, was taken down from the council website after a complaint from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI). The image showed her wearing the black-and-white scarf, widely regarded as a symbol of support for Palestinians, around her neck.

In a letter to the council dated 3 June, UKLFI argued that the image was “causing distress to at least one Jewish resident of the borough”. It was subsequently removed.

‘Natural justice’

On Tuesday (16 June), Cllrs Tyrone Scott, Ülgen Semerci, George Sheldon Grün, Dr Cathy Troupp and Jas Crowe published their open letter calling for the photograph to be restored “without delay”, and launched an accompanying petition.

They wrote that Cllr Puech “did not consent to its removal and was not consulted on the decision”, adding that Mayor Zoë Garbett and her cabinet “were not consulted, do not agree with the decision”, and that the mayor’s subsequent requests for reinstatement had not been accepted by council officers. “We call for the immediate reinstatement of the photograph,” they said.

The letter set out four main objections. Chief among them was that neither Cllr Puech nor any other Green party councillor had been consulted, while UKLFI’s views had been considered — a process the group said “contravenes the principle of natural justice”.

Symbol dispute

The councillors also rejected UKLFI’s characterisation of the keffiyeh as a “divisive political symbol” linked to “hostility towards Israel and, in some cases, with terrorist organisations and antisemitism”. They described the claim as “unfounded, designed to intimidate and an attack on freedom of expression” under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The group said it believed the “conflation of Jewishness with support for the actions and policies of the State of Israel is an antisemitic position”, one it would “always reject”. Reinstating the photograph, the letter concluded, was “the right thing to do – both legally and morally”.

At the time of writing the petition had 235 signatures, 196 of them verified, including councillors from the Green Party and other parties as well as residents from Hackney and beyond.

Mayor’s response

A spokesperson for Mayor Garbett said: “The mayor welcomes this open letter. As the letter notes, Mayor Zoë Garbett and her cabinet were not consulted, do not agree with the decision, and subsequent requests the mayor has made for the photograph to be reinstated have not been accepted by Hackney Council officers.

“The mayor continues to explore next steps as to how to proceed on this matter. As she works on this, she welcomes the input of community members in raising concerns alongside her.”

Earlier, a spokesperson for Hackney Labour party told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the council’s website should remain “impartial in matters of religion and belief”.

“Care should be taken to avoid any appearance of community pressure, coercion, or preferential treatment that could lead residents to feel that one faith is being elevated above others,” they said. “An inclusive and neutral approach helps ensure that all members of the community feel equally represented and respected.”

Cross-party support

Writing in the comments beneath the Citizen’s earlier report, former Hackney Conservative councillor Isaac Leibowitz voiced support for Cllr Puech.

“As a Charedi Jew, I am worried that a councillor is being denied to have her portrait on the council’s website for wearing something of her choice,” he wrote, asking what might be refused next.

Leibowitz said it “would not be fair” for a councillor to wear something that “commands political action such as Free Palestine or boycott goods” on a publicly funded site, but felt that in Cllr Puech’s case “the choice of dress should not be denied even for a councillor whilst performing civic duties”.

Responding on Monday, Cllr Puech wrote on X: “A blank space on @HackneyCouncil website where my mugshot used to be! Fortunately I can still publicise my surgery times, though photo below is too offensive to publish. You now need refer to UKLFI media to see what I look like as they are quite happy to show the offensive image.” The post is pinned to the top of her account.

She has also reposted a comment describing UKLFI as “a threat to democracy and our way of life” and calling for the group to be proscribed.