The Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, Shaun Bailey AM, has this week pledged to lead a trade delegation to Israel in his first year as London Mayor, if he is elected on 6th May.
In the wide-ranging discussion during the Jewish community hustings on Monday, hosted by the London Jewish Forum, Jewish News, Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), Shaun spoke about his visit to Auschwitz in 2019 with March of the Living and his visit to Israel with CFI in 2012.
He said he had spoken to the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, about increasing bilateral trade, innovation and tourism and committed to building on existing links between the two countries.
Shaun endorsed the ten commitments of the Jewish Manifesto for London, which include the promotion and implementation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, supporting the safety and security of the Jewish community, strengthening links between the UK and Israel and opposing boycotts of Israel.
The Board of Deputies and the JLC also hosted hustings this week for candidates in the Welsh and Scottish government elections. Welsh Conservative party leader Andrew RT Davies condemned “reprehensible” boycotts of Israel and hailed “strong” UK-Israel ties.
The Conservative candidate for Eastwood, Jackson Carlaw, underlined the importance of Scotland-Israel ties and described it as “unacceptable” that only two Scottish universities have signed up to the IHRA antisemitism definition. Jackson set up the cross-party “Building Bridges with Israel” group to increase cooperation.
