Revealed: How Green councillor's hate-filled rant against rabbi who was called ... trends now
As the nation of Israel struggled to comprehend the magnitude of the horror inflicted by Hamas on its people as part of its terrorist atrocities on October 7, Rabbi Zecharia Deutsch received a call.
The Israeli national was told to go back to the Jewish state and fulfil his duty as a reservist in the armed forces - something that he has to do by law, along with almost all other compatriots under the age of 40.
Like thousands of others, the Jewish chaplain at Leeds University packed his bags fearful of what he could face amid Israel's looming invasion of Gaza as it sought to drive out Hamas in response to the massacre of more than 1,400 people.
However, while he was away with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) for three months, he could never have imagined that he would feel more at risk back in Britain, a place he has called home for years.
Upon his return in January he was bombarded with death threats - including chilling late night phone calls - and online abuse that left him so scared for his family's safety they were forced into hiding less than two months later.
Among the people who targeted the man of faith was Mothin Ali, a pro-Gaza activist and Green Party councillor who has spent months railing against Israel on social media.
Rabbi Zecharia Deutsch (left) was branded a 'creep', a 'low-life' and an 'animal' by the newly-elected councillor
Mothin Ali, who was elected to Leeds city council last week, has railed against Israel on social media in recent months
On the surface mild mannered Mr Ali, who describes himself as 'an accountant by day and an Islamic teacher at night', comes across as a personable man.
He talks about the importance of green spaces in his Leeds ward of Gipton and Harehills, and runs a blog where he waxes lyrical about gardening - he has even appeared on TV with chef Marcus Wareing to discuss how to grow chillis.
However, dig a little deeper and the father-of-three's posts on platforms such as TikTok start to show an obsession with Israel.
In one post he brands Israeli's 'white supremacists' after the Hamas atrocities, insisted Palestinians have the 'right to fight back' and called Gaza the 'world's biggest concentration camp'.
However, of perhaps the most concern was a hate-filled tirade against Rabbi Deutsch - a man he has never even met.
Mr Ali, who shouted 'Allahu Akbar!' after winning his council seat last week, branded the rabbi a 'creep', a 'low-life' and an 'animal'.
The online rant was notable for the utterly dehumanising way in which it described the Jewish chaplain, saying his 'contract should be terminated with immediate effect' and he ought to be 'prosecuted for war crimes'.
'This creep, that's the only way I can describe him, is someone who went from Leeds to Israel to kill children and women and everyone else over there,' it began, apparently ignorant of the fact that Rabbi Deutsch went to Israel because he was legally required to.
Mr Ali continued his message by branding the chaplain an 'animal', saying: 'We [Muslims] are treated as second-class citizens and Leeds University is violating safeguarding standards.
'You should be protecting people. You should be protecting students from this kind of animal, because if he's willing to kill people over there, how do you know he's not going to kill your students over here?'
In an increasingly frenzied tirade, the video added that the rabbi had been 'massacring people' (there is no evidence that he killed anyone) before concluding that the 'far-Right radical' is 'radicalising students,' meaning that 'Leeds University should dismiss him urgently. He's absolutely disgusting. He's shameful'.
The Green councillor is being investigated by his party after the 'concerning' comments came to light
The 42-year-old father-of-three claimed his election to the local council as a Green candidate was a 'win for the people of Gaza '
After the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on 7 October last year, Mr Ali - who runs a gardening blog - branded Israelis as 'white supremacists' in social media videos
Less than three hours later, the abuse began to roll in as Rabbi Deutsch received more than 300 highly threatening messages at the family home where he lived with his wife Nava and their two small children.
'Tell that Jewish son of a b***h we're coming for him,' went one of the more sinister late-night telephone calls, picked up by Nava at midnight.
'We're coming to his house and we're going to kill him in his house and you as well, you f*****g racist b***h, s**g.'
Another anonymous caller said: 'We are going to get you, we're going to get your husband and we are going to get you as well, love. It's as simple as.
'How dare you come to Leeds and expect the Muslims not to do 'owt, when all you lot have been doing is killing innocent children?'
A third caller, who like the two previous ones was male and spoke with a Yorkshire accent,
