Ken Livingstone, a frequent critic of Israel, was beaten in London’s mayoral election.
The Conservative Party’s Boris Johnson received 53.2 percent of the vote Saturday to 46.8 for Livington, the Labor incumbent. Johnson was sworn in the same day.
Livingstone has accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and refused to apologize after comparing a Jewish journalist from London to a Nazi concentration camp guard.
The first person to serve as the mayor of London, a post created in 2000, Livingstone served two terms.
Johnson has worked to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and has been a supporter of Israel. He opposed a call last year by Britain’s University College Union to boycott Israeli colleges sand universities.
During a trip to Israel in November 2004, Johnson visited Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market shortly after a suicide bombing and toured the West Bank security fence, according to the Jerusalem Post.
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