LONDON (VINnews)-Leading British Jewish organizations and the country’s chief rabbi have declined an invitation to meet a Conservative Party local election candidate previously jailed for antisemitic harassment, as party leader Kemi Badenoch defended his selection.

Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi activist, was selected to stand for the Conservatives in the Crewkerne South ward in Somerset’s local elections next May. In 2016, he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment after targeting then-Labour MP Luciana Berger with a sustained campaign of antisemitic abuse while she was pregnant.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Jewish Leadership Council and Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis rejected the Conservatives’ offer of a meeting with Bonehill-Paine. In a joint statement, the Board and Jewish Leadership Council described him as “a former neo-Nazi with criminal convictions for antisemitic hatred” and said the severity of his crimes meant he still faces ongoing legal restrictions. They indicated they remain willing to meet Conservative officials to discuss the party’s decision-making process.

Badenoch has stood by the selection. She described Bonehill-Paine’s past crimes as “appalling” but said he had been rehabilitated, expressed contrition and now works in efforts against antisemitism, including training police officers. She has argued that a local councillor’s role would largely involve practical issues such as waste collection.

The Board of Deputies had earlier called on the Conservatives to drop Bonehill-Paine, saying his selection “beggars belief.” Berger and other critics have questioned whether someone with his record should hold public office, even after a decade.

The controversy comes amid broader scrutiny of political parties’ candidate vetting and approaches to antisemitism in Britain. Reform UK figures have criticized the Conservatives over the matter, while the story continues to draw attention in the context of national politics under Prime Minister Andy Burnham.