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John Woodcock: I once held 'ill-informed, small-level prejudice' against Israel

The new peer, who fought antisemitism as an MP under Corbyn, says visiting Israel totally changed his perspective

September 23, 2020 10:17
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2 min read

The former MP John Woodcock – now ennobled as Lord Walney – has admitted once holding an “ill-informed, small-level prejudice” against Israel.

The new peer, previously a vociferous campaigner against antisemitism in Labour under Jeremy Corbyn, said a visit to Israel as part of a delegation organised by the Union of Jewish Students made him understand its “geographical vulnerability”, prompting him to change his view of the country.

In what he said was a “candid” admission, the UK Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism admitted: “I was one of the people who had a lazy, ill-informed, and I guess small level prejudice against the nation of Israel.

“I had this ill-thought-out sense of Israel as being the powerful, unfair aggressors to their neighbours.