There is a very peculiar passage in Ken Livingstone’s memoirs, “You Can’t Say
That”, about a visit he made to Israel as leader of the GLC. He had been invited by the Socialist-Zionist party Mapam, which has since merged with Meretz. Livingstone had already been
identified as someone who was hostile to Israel and so the comrades took him on “an exhausting round of meetings with all with all Jewish and Arab political factions”. He also visited Yad
Vashem, the Golan Heights, Masada and a kibbutz.
He remained unimpressed. As I have written in the Jewish Chronicle this week, Livingstone rarely changes his mind about anything and never admits he’s wrong.
But his account of his Israel visit is more than a little peculiar. Livingstone explains that from the moment he arrived in Tel Aviv “journalists discovered I wasn’t the anti-Semitic monster I’d been painted”.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in