The newly elected representative for East Anglia on the Green Party’s governing council, Eleanora Sophie Folan, celebrated her victory on social media on Wednesday, saying, “I know there will be Zionists reading this who are utterly furious that I won. I welcome their hatred.”
Folan stated, “I intend to stand by my manifesto: defend freedom of speech regarding Israel, support members when they’re attacked and smeared by the feral Zionist press, and ensure all our members follow the same rules.”
Folan, who secured her position following a vote by Green Party members, expressed gratitude to the activist group Greens for Palestine for their backing during the campaign. She wrote, “I’m very happy to say Green members in East Anglia have elected me to be their female rep on the party’s governing council (GPC). I’m so grateful to them, and to Greens for Palestine for their support.”
Folan said in the statement, “Our party has changed, and my election as a proud anti-Zionist trans woman symbolizes that change.” She added that she looks forward to collaborating with colleagues on the governing council “to build a radical anti-imperialist Green Party – one that always stands shoulder-to-shoulder with queers, Palestinians, disabled people, migrants, refugees, and activists enduring state repression.”
Folan then concluded her statement: “Inshallah, we will prevail.”
Folan is a data journalist, political commentator, and the founder of the left-wing polling platform “Stats for Lefties.” A former columnist for Novara Media, Folan also stood as a Green Party candidate in the 2024 Norwich City Council election.
Folan posted antisemitic tropes on social media
In May, an investigation by GnasherJew, an open-source investigative team that tracks and exposes online antisemitism, alleged that Folan had used her social media presence to propagate antisemitic tropes. These included calling all Israelis “bloodthirsty child-killers,” advocating for the dissolution of Israel, blaming Israel for actions committed by other actors, and describing accusations of antisemitism as a “fake moral panic” orchestrated by a “Zionist lobby.”
Folan’s victory arrives amid a series of broader internal controversies within the Green Party concerning Israel, Zionism, and British Jews. Recent leaks from private WhatsApp groups, such as the “Greens Against Imperialism” chat created by parish councilor Sophus Magill, revealed discussions where members spoke about “killing Zionists” and described British Jews as a “weapon” for the Israeli state. Additional scrutiny has focused on party figures, including Green Party leader Zach Polanski, who recently faced backlash for wearing a T-shirt bearing the image of Marwan Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian leader serving multiple life sentences in Israel for his role in terror attacks during the Second Intifada.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said in a statement to The Jerusalem Post: “This is not a rank-and-file member of the Green Party; this is a member of its governing council unashamedly spewing extremist hatred. That she was endorsed by ‘Greens For Palestine’ – the group behind the scandalous ‘Zionism is racism’ motion – shows the kind of exclusionary politics with which she associates. Zack Polanski, as leader of the party, will sit alongside this individual on the same governing council. He must now decide whether to condemn this hateful rhetoric, or by his silence, appear to tolerate or tacitly endorse it.”