NO-ONE with an ounce of humanity in his or her soul could fail to be moved by the plight of innocent Palestinians caught up in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. The “collateral” deaths of women and children who simply wanted to live their lives as best they could in a volatile environment is a source of shame for all decent human beings.

It is right to be frustrated about our inability to influence what is happening in Gaza and it is right to voice those concerns in an effort to bring pressure to bear on both sides of the conflict. But there are ways of going about it and ways of expressing those concerns and they do not include branding an entire group of people undesirable and encouraging others to turn against them indiscriminately.

Bradford West MP George Galloway has made a name for himself by being outspoken, controversial and going against the grain. He is a clever politician who seemingly knows how to garner votes by saying what he believes people want to hear. In the latter respect he is no different to many other politicians but, to many, it seems he doesn’t always know where to draw the line.

Whether or not, in the cold light of day, he truly, honestly believes his statement that Bradford should be an “Israeli-free zone” remains to be seen. But there are many Jewish people living in Bradford and many with direct connections to Israel.

It is not just those highly valued citizens of this city that Mr Galloway has offended: he has offended the vast majority of local people of all faiths, all of whom want to live peacefully with their neighbours. One fact is very clear: George Galloway does not, never has and never will speak FOR Bradford.