Jamal El-Haj.
Photo: JOHANNA WALLEN / BILDBYRÅN
Social Democrats member of parliament Jamal El-Haj leaves the party – but keeps his seat in parliament.
“I have been a loyal Social Democrat for over thirty years and it is still my conviction that Social Democracy is the best thing that has happened to Sweden in modern times”he writes in a letter to the party that The evening paper took notice before it was published on his Facebook page.
He continues:
“It would not be right towards our voters and Swedish democracy to leave my position. I am motivated by being a role model for those with a similar background to me, especially the young.”
Jamal El-Haj becomes S’s first savage in the Riksdag.
“This is an unacceptable action by Jamal El-Haj and further proof that he puts his own interests before those of the party,” writes the Social Democrats’ group leader in the Riksdag, Lena Hallengren, in a comment to TT.
The controversies surrounding El-Haj
• The social democratic politician Jamal El-Haj, 63, has received harsh criticism for having participated in a Palestine conference in Malmö with connections to Hamas. The chairman of the conference is currently in custody in the Netherlands, suspected of having collected money for the terrorist group.
• El-Haj was there despite the fact that the Social Democrats advised him not to participate. Afterwards, in December, he left his seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
• On Friday, Sofie Löwenmark, in a text on Expressen’s editorial page, was able to reveal that El-Haj tried to influence an asylum case for a conservative imam. The goal was that he would be allowed to stay in Sweden.
• Magdalena Andersson has previously defended Jamal El-Haj. When Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a Riksdag debate that there is a “terror romance” in parts of the party, Andersson tearfully responded and defended El-Haj.
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Asked to leave
It was at the end of last week that the Social Democrats announced that they lacked confidence in Jamal El-Haj and he was then asked to leave his position as member of the Riksdag.
The announcement came after the criticized conference and Expressen’s revelation that El-Haj tried to influence an asylum case for a conservative imam.
Jamal El-Haj’s actions have damaged the party, Magdalena Andersson told Expressen on Saturday.
– We are all human and we can all make mistakes and make bad decisions, but that cannot happen on any number of occasions.
The disappointment within S
She has previously supported Jamal El-Haj, including during a high-profile debate with Ulf Kristersson in the Riksdag. She does not regret that, she said in an interview with Echo over the weekend.
– There have been completely bizarre accusations against him that have no basis. It is clear that then you need to bite the bullet.
The fact that Andersson previously defended him so fiercely is explained within the party by the fact that El-Haj was exposed to a “racially motivated drive”, which is considered encouraged by M to harm the S leader.
Now several members of the Riksdag that Expressen spoke to are expressing disappointment at his actions.
– You just don’t do that in S, says a source in the party.
– It is a breach of promise to the voters.
When Sofie Löwenmark, in a text on Expressen’s editorial page, revealed on Friday that El-Haj had tried to influence an asylum case for a conservative imam, it was the last straw for the party, a source within S told Expressen.
– It was too much, you cannot behave in such a way that you try to influence through your parliamentary duties.
FAKTA: Jamal El Haj
• Palestinian-Swedish Jamal El-Haj, 63, was elected to the municipal council in Malmö in 2002.
• Between 2006 and 2013, he was also chairman of IF Metall sydvästra Skåne.
• In 2014, he ran for parliament for the Social Democrats, and was elected as a reserve.
• In 2018, he took an ordinary seat in the Riksdag.
• Jamal El-Haj was born in Lebanon in 1960. He has previously worked as a nuancer and insurance administrator.
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Shade: Trying to recruit him
The Nuance party wants to recruit Jamal El-Haj. He has even been offered the post of party leader, says party leader Mikail Yüksel.
– Both he and I are passionate about the Palestine issue. It would give a greater hearing to the Palestine issue if he switched to the Nyans party and represented us in the Riksdag.
Can’t he push issues around Palestine on his own in the Riksdag?
– He can do that, but I don’t know if it gets as much attention. Without party affiliation, the question becomes very vague, says Mikail Yüksel.
Nuance is primarily aimed at Muslims. The leader has, among other things, called the political establishment “anti-Islam” in an interview with Expressen.
The party has previously sent out probers. Then there was a flat no from El-Haj.
”I have no confidence in Nyans or Mikail Yüksel”, he wrote in a statement at the time.
READ MORE: ANN-CHARLOTTE MARTEUS: El-Haj’s letter is a study in hypocrisyREAD MORE: Andersson hits back at Åkesson: “Desperate”READ MORE: The Social Democrats call on El-Haj to leaveREAD MORE: SOFIE LÖWENMARK: Jamal El-Haj tried to influence the asylum case for a conservative imamREAD MORE: Åkesson: “Lying to yourself to save an Islamist”