Finchley MP says the BBC's invitation to MP was 'deliberately

MP George Galloway, who is set to appear on this week's Question Time, which will come from Finchley, north London, home to a large Jewish community

Britain's Jewish community has criticised the BBC’s decision to invite George Galloway on to this week’s Question Time.

The programme will come from Finchley, North London, which has the largest Jewish community of any parliamentary constituency.

Last year MP Mr Galloway was interviewed by police on suspicion of inciting religious hatred after he declared his Bradford constituency was an ‘Israel-free’ zone.

He previously refused to debate with a student at Oxford University because he was Israeli.

Mike Freer, the Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green, said the invitation was ‘deliberately provocative’.

He added: ‘The BBC can’t have done it by accident.

‘Given what’s going on in the world it is a slap in the face for the local community. It lacks sensitivity.’

Mr Freer and the Jewish Leadership Council, which brings together major Jewish organisations, have written to the BBC challenging the decision, and asking whether it is a ‘responsible move’.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews also attacked the decision to invite Mr Galloway – but said they were not calling on the BBC to retract the invitation.

Gillian Merron, chief executive of the Board, said: ‘The BBC certainly has questions to answer for this inflammatory and cynical decision.

‘However, while some may feel it is expedient to shy away from difficult debates with hostile individuals, we look forward to the people of Finchley and Golders Green having the opportunity to call George Galloway to account for his scandalous record of provocation and division.’

The Community Security Trust, a charity which monitors anti-Semitism and organises security for schools and synagogues said: ‘We’re concerned that having it in Finchley at this time has the potential to inflame community tensions in the areas between communities who normally get on very well. We would not want this to spoil that.

‘If the BBC didn’t understand the strength of feeling in the community about George Galloway, I think they understand it now.’

Mr Galloway was thrown out of the Labour party in 2003 but made a comeback with the Respect party in 2005 in East London. He returned to Westminster in March 2012 after winning the seat of Bradford West in a by-election.

Mr Galloway giving a speech to Respect party acitivists in Bradford last year, where he declared Bradford as an 'Israel-free zone'

He was interviewed by West Yorkshire Police last August after saying at an event, which was filmed: ‘We have declared Bradford an Israel-free zone. We don’t want any Israeli goods; we don’t want any Israeli services; we don’t want any Israeli academics coming to the university or the college.

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

In February 2013, he shocked an audience at Christ Church college, Oxford by storming out on hearing his opponent was Israeli. To cries of ‘racism’, he picked up his coat and stormed out.

He later wrote on his Facebook page: ‘I refused this evening…to debate with a supporter of the apartheid state of Israel. The reason is simple: no recognition, no normalisation. Just boycott, divestment and sanctions until the apartheid state is defeated.’

Mr Galloway has met Saddam Hussein and worked for the Iranian propaganda channel Press TV. In 2009, Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip and has been designated a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union, gave Mr Galloway a Palestinian passport. He gave them £25,000.

This week's edition of Question Time, fronted by David Dimbleby, pictured, comes from North Finchley, home to a large Jewish community

In November 2012, during an anti-Israeli demonstration in his Bradford constituency, he told those present: ‘We do not hate Jews. We hate Zionism, we hate Israel, we hate murder and injustice.’

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘Question Time invites panellists who reflect a significant range of opinions on a number of different topics.

'Whilst Mr Galloway’s views are entirely his own, as an MP he has a right to appear on the programme and has done so previously. Subjects for discussion are chosen by our audience ahead of each show and this edition of Question Time will be no different.’