Watch Boris' manifesto
Watch Conservative Party Mayoral candidate Boris Johnson outline his plans for London.
Johnson last week promised ‘zero tolerance’ against hate preachers and extremist groups if elected.
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He said: “I think racism and anti-semitism are a poison in the bloodstream of Europe. We must not allow the BNP to take on any aura of moderation and become in any way acceptable.”
Johnson called for the good points of Islam to be highlighted, he said: “There is no profit in deprecating Islam as a religion and trying to damage Muslims.
“There is a huge difference between Islam and a minority of Muslim extremists who are causing prejudice and a great deal of unease. He said he would “exclude those who preach hate and violence as they corrupt it for everybody else.”
During the talk, the Conservative MP outlined his support for faith schools and the protection of older synagogues as heritage buildings. He added that the community could count on his support at the 2012 Olympics in London for a memorial to the Israeli athletes killed at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
Johnson, Shadow Minister for Higher Education also took a tour of Jewish residences, shops, schools and the local Hatzolah emergency service in Stamford Hill on Tuesday . It followed his pledge at the LJF gathering to address the Charedi housing problem by creating bigger houses rather than “high rises” in London.
He said: “We should cease to be so dogmatic about the number of affordable units and allow the creation of more 5 bedroom houses. It’s a crucial part of my vision that we don’t try to solve the problems by building high rises with tiny rooms.”
Hackney Councillor Harvey Odze, who was on the tour, said: It was an extremely useful visit. He saw some parts of Hackney which have been allowed to degenerate.
“He built up a rapport with schoolchildren and was interested in explanations of Hatzolah.”
Johnson did however struggle to answer what he thought was good about London when challenged by Jewish News columnist Ben Rich. The candidate struggled to find a coherent response, he said: “Mobile telephones, the internet, no, the whole country has those.”
He added, “Who would have dreamt you could go into Tesco and buy mange tout, or your newsagent for mango juice?”
Read the latest copy of The Jewish News Online by clicking here.
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