British politician George Galloway who backs Hamas has also praised Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro

Newly elected Rochdale MP George Galloway was sworn in at the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday, after being elected to the UK Parliament on March 1 amid allegations of antisemitism.

Galloway has compared Israel's response in Gaza with the holocaust, according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and also defended communist dictators such as Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.

In 2006, he wrote the Fidel Castro Handbook, where he describes himself as “a partisan for Cuba, for the revolution, for the leadership.”

The book offers a revisionist history of the Caribbean island since the 1959 Cuban Revolution and what Galloway sees as progress made despite sanctions from the United States. In an interview, the newly elected British legislator said Cuba was the socialist threat to capitalism.

“Fidel Castro was the greatest man George has ever met,” his Facebook page says.

In 2021, Galloway posted that “Cuba has been oppressed to the point it has the greatest life expectancy in the developing world. To the point, it has the lowest infant mortality rates in the developing world. A Health Service on par with Scandinavia. 100% literacy. 100% of children in school do not work. Free Forever.”

In Latin America, Galloway's victory has been praised by the leadership of the news site El Ciudadano, which according to the State Department is a proxy of the Kremlin to spread misinformation in the region.

I’ve known @georgegalloway since 2014, when I first met him at a rally for #Gaza in London. He is perhaps the most principled UK politician I’ve ever met (on par with @jeremycorbyn), and the staunchest supporter of the Palestinian people. His opposition to US intervention against… pic.twitter.com/CDkbrjXJ9x

— Denis Rogatyuk (@DenisRogatyuk) March 1, 2024

“I’ve known @georgegalloway since 2014 when I first met him at a rally for #Gaza in London. He is perhaps the most principled UK politician I’ve ever met (on par with @jeremycorbyn), and the staunchest supporter of the Palestinian people. His opposition to U.S. intervention against Cuba and Venezuela, as well as Syria and Iran, set him apart as a true champion of anti-imperialism,” celebrated his victory on Twitter Denis Rogatyuk, the International Director of El Ciudadano.

Asked by BBC reporters on Monday if he believes Hamas should be allowed to govern Gaza, Galloway took issue with the question, saying it was “dripping with imperial condescension.” 

He said that the United Kingdom should not decide the government of Gaza — the Palestinians should.

Galloway's previous ties to the Kremlin are no secret. He previously hosted the Mother Of All Talk Shows on Radio Sputnik, a Kremlin-owned broadcaster, which likely led to Twitter labeling him as Russian state-affiliated in 2022. In response, Galloway stated, “I work for NO Russian media. I have 400,000 followers. I’m the leader of a British political party and spent nearly 30 years in the British parliament. If you do not remove this designation I will take legal action.” Initially, Galloway tweeted Musk, claiming, “The label above this tweet is a lie,” accompanied by a notice reading “Russia state-affiliated media.”

прости товарищ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2022

In a tongue-in-cheek response, Musk replied to Galloway in Russian, saying, “sorry comrade.” 

Since the 1990s, George Galloway has admired various totalitarian leaders. In 1994, during an unauthorized trip to Iraq, he met with Saddam Hussein and famously concluded his speech with the words: “Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability.”

Following Saddam’s downfall, Galloway defended Iraqi suicide bombers targeting Western forces, referring to them as “martyrs.” His political ideology leans left, and in a 2002 interview, he labeled the collapse of the USSR as “the biggest catastrophe of my life.” He has also stated, "I am a Socialist who doesn’t like Capitalism and who likes Imperialism less. I am a revolutionary and I support armed struggle where there is no alternative." During his tenure at Press TV, Al-Mayadeen, and RT, he reportedly spent £70,000 on flights and hotels.

Galloway was also a founder of the Mariam Appeal, a political campaign offering medical aid to the people of Iraq. However, he faced several investigations related to the campaign, including accusations of using donation funds for personal travel expenses, as reported by Russia Vs World.