James Hawes
Psychotherapist and Counsellor | Emotional Intelligence Consultant | Nottingham, England, UK
Background information
James Hawes is a BACP-accredited counsellor and psychotherapist who describes his work as helping men and boys develop “emotional fitness”. His professional profile includes work with anger, relationships, children and young people.
His posts on X show a different picture: angry personal abuse, an anti-Jewish slur, a Nazi comparison and repeated conspiracy claims about reported attacks on Jewish targets. He also challenges a Jewish parent about Israel after the parent expresses fear for his children.
This is not simply criticism of Israeli government policy. These posts include antisemitism, alongside a pattern of anger and unsupported claims..
Anger and abuse from an “emotional fitness” therapist
In a reply to Omid Djalili, Hawes writes:
You are sick. You claim to love Iran and celebrate your beloved USA and Israeli regimes carpet bombing Tehran... you are a zio slave
For someone whose work includes helping people manage anger, this is a strikingly angry response. Rather than answer Djalili’s argument, Hawes attacks him personally and uses an antisemitic slur.
“Zio” is used as a substitute for “Jew”. It was popularised by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and used in white supremacist circles. It is not an innocent shortening of “Zionist”.
The person targeted does not have to be Jewish for the language to be antisemitic. The IHRA recognises that antisemitism can also be directed at non-Jewish people.
Making a Jewish parent answer for Israel
A Jewish Londoner describes being frightened that his children could be attacked at a Jewish school or synagogue playground.
Hawes replies:
Can I ask Jewish Londoner if you have any message for the 185 little girls bombed in Iran by the 'Jewish' State?
The casualty figure is a claim made in his post.
A father describes fear for his children. Hawes responds by challenging him about Israel. Nothing in the exchange shows that this man has any responsibility for alleged Israeli military action1.
The IHRA lists “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel” as an example of antisemitism. Hawes’s reply raises that exact concern: a Jewish parent discussing his family’s safety is challenged to answer for another country.
Jewish people in Britain do not owe anyone an explanation for Israel’s actions simply because they are Jewish.
Jewish ambulances attacked? “False flag mate"
Under a report that Jewish community ambulances had been torched in London, Hawes writes:
False flag mate. More people are interested in why a Jewish community have their own ambulance service... what other faith group has one? Why?
He offers no evidence for the allegation in the visible reply. Instead, he questions why the Jewish community has an ambulance service2. The reported attack becomes a reason to cast suspicion on the community whose vehicles were targeted.
This is not an isolated comment. It is part of a repeated pattern.
Different incidents, the same conspiracy claim
Under a report about an explosion damaging a Jewish school in Amsterdam, Hawes writes:
False flag
Under a post describing the killing of two people labelled “Zionists” in the United States3, he again replies:
False flag
In a discussion of the 2025 Bondi Beach mass shooting during a “Chanukah by the Sea” community celebration, he asserts:
mate - is an IOF - googled in Tel Aviv the day before... classic Mossad false flag
Under a BBC report about a suspected plot to crash a plane into a Tel Aviv airport or building, he writes:
Still peddling this false flag!
Different incidents are dismissed with the same claim of a staged operation. No supporting evidence appears in these replies. This is the repeated promotion of conspiracy theories, not evidence-based analysis.
The IHRA identifies false claims about Jews acting together in sinister plots as an example of antisemitism. Where allegations suggest that Jews or Jewish organisations secretly arrange attacks on their own communities, they repeat that conspiracy story.
An allegation against Mossad does not automatically mean an allegation against all Jews. But Hawes’s repeated claims must be read alongside his anti-Jewish language and his treatment of a Jewish parent. Writing “false flag” under a report does not prove anything about who carried out the attack.
Using a Nazi comparison
Under a photograph of Benjamin Netanyahu, Hawes posts:
Zionazi
The word combines “Zionist” and “Nazi”. The IHRA lists “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” among its examples of antisemitism. Hawes introduces a Nazi comparison through a one-word insult, without explaining which policy or action he means.
Netanyahu and his government can be criticised without using Nazi labels.
Calling a Jewish homeland a threat to humanity
Hawes writes:
Zionism is a threat to humanity
Zionism is the belief in a Jewish homeland. Calling that belief a threat to humanity is not criticism of an Israeli government decision. It presents Jewish self-determination as a danger to everyone.
The IHRA lists denying Jewish people their right to self-determination as an example of antisemitism. That is the issue with Hawes’s statement.
Where is the emotional fitness?
Hawes presents himself as someone who helps people handle difficult emotions and build better relationships. His professional work includes children, young people and adults.
Yet his own public responses include angry abuse, antisemitic language and repeated conspiracy claims. A Jewish parent’s fear for his children is met with a demand about Israel. Reports of attacks on Jewish targets are repeatedly dismissed as “false flags”.
These are his public words, not guesses about what happens in his consulting room. They give Jewish people considering his services a clear reason to question whether their fears of antisemitism would be taken seriously.
BACP should examine the documented posts and consider whether this conduct is consistent with the standards of an accredited practitioner.
Notes
1. A U.S. missile strike targeted the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran, on February 28, 2026. The attack killed an estimated 156 to 168 civilians, mostly young schoolchildren.
2. Hatzola serves everyone, regardless of faith, race, or background. While the service was originally founded to support the Jewish community and handle specific cultural or linguistic needs, their medics will treat and transport any individual in the local area who is experiencing a medical emergency.
3. On May 21, 2025, two Israeli Embassy staff members, Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The suspect, Elias Rodriguez, carried out the shooting as a radicalized pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel act of political violence.
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