A now-deleted policy paper published by the National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP), an organization representing Muslim police officers across the United Kingdom, has sparked criticism from Jewish groups and renewed concerns about bias within British policing, according to the Daily Mail.
The document, authored by NAMP’s former vice president Khaldoun Kabbani and focused on “confronting anti-Muslim hatred,” reportedly described the Israel Defense Forces as a “Zionist terrorist group,” characterized Zionism as “one of the manifestations of anti-Muslim hatred,” and questioned the veracity of reports surrounding Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
According to the Daily Mail, the policy paper claimed that Israel circulated “alarming and unverified stories” about atrocities committed by Hamas, including allegations of beheadings and assaults. It also asserted that Zionists were guilty of “misusing the Holocaust.”
The document was first identified last year by The Spectator and has since been removed from NAMP’s website.
The publication prompted calls for an investigation from Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British Jewish advocacy organization. Stephen Silverman, the group’s director of investigations and enforcement, told the Daily Mail that those responsible for publishing the document should face professional misconduct inquiries and dismissal from police service.
“The people responsible for publishing this extremist screed on the official police.uk web domain are unfit to be police officers,” Silverman said, adding that the document reflected extremist views incompatible with public trust in law enforcement.
Campaign Against Antisemitism said it plans to urge Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to investigate the matter, asserting that British Jews have experienced unequal treatment in policing and that confidence in law enforcement has declined.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews also condemned the document. A spokesman described it as containing “falsehoods” about Jewish identity, history and antisemitism, warning that any circulation among serving officers would raise serious questions about the integrity and impartiality of policing.
Israel’s embassy in London issued a statement on Sunday expressing its concern, especially at a time when antisemitism is rising across the U.K. “Malicious language of this kind risks further fueling hatred and intimidation against Jewish communities. ... We would expect the police, and any organization operating within or alongside policing structures, to uphold the highest standards of impartiality, professionalism and protection for all communities.”
NAMP is affiliated with more than a dozen police forces across the United Kingdom, including forces in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, the West Midlands and Scotland, according to the Daily Mail. The College of Policing has previously described NAMP as an important organization that supports the police workforce.
