George Galloway wants to meet UK chief rabbi

London mayoral candidate George Galloway would be “honored” to meet with the UK’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, according to a spokesman for his campaign.

After Mirvis met with candidates from the Labour and Conservative parties, the spokesman told The Jewish Chronicle that “Mr Galloway is always happy to meet religious and community leaders and would of course be honored to meet the Chief Rabbi.”

Galloway, the leader of the tiny Respect Party known for his strident anti-Israel rhetoric, last year declared his district “an Israel-free zone,” including barring it to Israeli goods, services, academics and tourists.

“We don’t even want any Israeli tourists to come to Bradford even if any of them had thought of doing so,” Galloway said. “We reject this illegal, barbarous, savage state that calls itself Israel — and you have to do the same.”

Galloway also has said Israel should be abolished and replaced with a binational state. He called Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas an “American stooge.” He also has organized aid convoys to Gaza in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade on the coastal strip.