Susan Hall, a Conservative Party candidate in the United Kingdom running to be mayor of London, has drawn criticism after saying that the city’s Muslim mayor scares British Jews.
“I know how frightened some of the community is because of the divisive attitude of Sadiq Khan,” she said at an event held by the Conservative Friends of Israel.
Hall has been a member of the London Assembly since 2017.
“One of the most important things that I will do when I become mayor of London is to make it safer for everyone, but particularly, for our Jewish community,” she added.
Jewish politicians who are part of the Labour Party, of which Khan is a member, have accused Hall of using a “dog whistle” and asked her to retract her comments. Instead, she told Sky News: “I will never apologize for standing up for our Jewish community.”
Hall did reconfirm to the British news organization that she meant that Jews feel unsafe on London streets. “I regret people misunderstand what I say,” she said. “That’s what I regret.”
“Sadiq Khan has repeatedly stood by London’s Jewish communities in the fight against antisemitism,” wrote Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary who is also part of the Labour Party. “Susan Hall’s dog whistle politics have no place in London.”
The mayoral election is slated for May 2, 2024.