Synagogue members quiz local MP Daisy Cooper on pro-Palestine rally appearance

The news which emerged during the recent Israel/Palestine hostilities that St Albans Lib-Dem MP Daisy Cooper had spoken at a local Free Palestine rally caused widespread dismay among the St Albans Jewish community. Thanks to the fixing abilities of our member, Harry Sassoon, a spontaneous call for an opportunity to protest, inform and quiz Daisy was answered when she agreed to participate in a hastily arranged Q&A session, via Zoom, for members of both our own shul and of St Albans Masorti. Responding to questions, submitted in advance, and put to her by our own Rabbi Daniel and SAMS Rabbi Adam Zagoria-Moffet, Daisy explained her reasons for her appearance at the rally. Expecting it to be a call for peace, and wanting to speak to that cause, she became ‘uncomfortable’ when chanting began and the tenor of the rally changed but defended her decision to stay in order to advocate her firm belief in a two-state solution to this “very thorny issue”. She also roundly condemned any expression of anti-Semitic sentiments, both locally and nationally, and regretted that Covid-prompted bans on foreign travel had prevented her from accepting invitations from the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel to visit the country to see for herself

To view a recording of the entire Q&A session, click below.
(Please note: this recording was made by Daisy Cooper’s office, only made possible by holding a phone camera up to the screen, so the image quality is sadly not as high as usual)