Palestinian embroidery workshop cancelled after Holocaust denial claims – Brighton and Hove News

A Palestinian embroidery workshop at Jubilee Library has been cancelled by the council after claims its organiser shared Holocaust denial and other anti-Semitic claims on social media.

The flyer for the event, which was due to be held fortnightly from today, featured a map of Israel with a Palestinian flag on it.

This week, a series of Facebook posts by workshop organiser Miranda Allan were unearthed, including a video by Hamas, and posts in which she said Zionists killed Christ, as well as the Jews in Germany and that the Holocaust is a lie.

Although the Holocaust post appears to have since been deleted, Brighton and Hove News checked the other posts on Ms Allan’s timeline. She did not respond to a request for comment.

Heidi Bachram, who has a family member who is a hostage in Gaza, found the posts and shared them on Twitter.

She said: “It’s a relief to hear that this workshop was cancelled. The council cannot lend legitimacy to hate.

“We’ve seen an explosion of antisemitism and extremism in Brighton lately, and our institutions must do more to carefully vet who they hire to and protect the Jewish community.”

A council spokesperson said: “Following a number of complaints we have decided to cancel the embroidery workshop due to take place at Jubilee Library.

“Promotional material has been sent to us which doesn’t meet our rules and expectations for booking events in our venues, and we are now reviewing our processes and procedures.

“As a council we deplore antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of hate, and such views have no place in our libraries or Brighton & Hove. Everyone in our diverse and vibrant city has the right to feel safe.

“Our libraries are places of sanctuary that provide services and support equally to all our communities.

“We will not allow them to be used by people or organisations who promote hatred, prejudice or intolerance.

“We apologise to anyone who has been offended by this situation.”