The Apprentice Asif Munaf: fired candidate caught in antisemitism row continued Twitter tirade as show aired

Dr Asif Munaf, the third candidate to be fired on The Apprentice series 18 has been the subject of controversy for a series of social media posts about Zionism and feminism.

In a 24 hour window from mid-afternoon on February 15, he posted 28 times on X, previously Twitter, not including reposts. Several of his posts were a defence of some of his earlier statements and social media comments, which he explained as being anti-Zionist rather than antisemitic.

Asif also criticised the decision of the BBC to edit him out of The Apprentice spinoff show You’re Fired over his potentially offensive social media posts, and referred to a mysterious ‘lobby’ which he implied was behind the move. He also appeared to goad people to report him to General Medical Council, which could see him struck off the medical register.

What did Asif’s most recent social media posts say?

In one post on X this morning (February 16) he defended his recent comments, writing: “Antisemitism is truly deplorable. Anti-Zionism is commendable.”

However, Asif also seemed to perpetrate tropes about Jewish power in the media, posting “The lobby is undoubtedly strong. Especially financially and politically.”

On February 15 Asif referred to Israel as a ‘neo-colonial white supremacist death cult’, and later quoted journalist Roshan M Salih’s statement “I do not deny that antisemitism exists and I would not be surprised if there has been an increase since October 7. But I am also conscious that pro Israel orgs are weaponising and exaggerating antisemitism to deflect attention away from and to justify genocide.”

In another post just before the spinoff show You’re Fired, which he was edited out of, aired, Asif wrote: “In appeasing the Zionist lobby, the broadcaster has inadvertently scored the greatest own goal. Nobody respects cowards.”

Asif had also previously been criticised for his views on feminism, which he doubled down on last night. In a post about the difference between male and female candidates in the boardroom he wrote: “One brutal and the second soft. Why? Islam teaches us to be gentle and respectful with women. It is the complete solution for a society riddled with the delusion of feminism.”

Additionally, on a video shared on TikTok, Asif explained that several people had threatened to report him to the General Medical Council (GMC), adding: “It’s not the first time I’ve been reported, I’ve been reported many, many, many times before and I love it, keep reporting.”