Queen’s Park and Maida Vale: Vivien Lichtenstein
Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, we moved to Manchester when I was six and to London when twelve. Maida Vale has been my home since 1978. My degrees are BA Econ Hons (University of Manchester) and MSc (London School of Economics). My professional background primarily revolves around financial management in both industry and the charity sector. I dedicated a significant portion of time to caring for my elderly parents who were Holocaust survivors, which profoundly shaped my values and volunteering/political activities.
Prior to joining the party and simultaneously, I worked on hunger-related issues, and campaigned, since 1982, for peace and human rights in Israel-Palestine with Jewish and joint Jewish-Palestinian groups, including Jewish-Arab Dialogue and Jews for Justice for Palestinians.
After joining in 1997, I played a pivotal role in establishing West Central London Green Party in time for the first London Assembly elections, being active until 2002 when I concentrated on Israeli-Palestinian issues until 2017. In my role as Chair of Jewish Greens, I have been spending quite some time recently – following the Hamas attacks on October 7th and the subsequent Israeli attacks on Gaza – on this and related issues.
My other political foci are a Green New Deal; Universal Basic Income which would help resolve poverty and homelessness, and improve mental health; and the appreciation for diversity in our communities.
Beyond politics, I volunteer at Crisis at Christmas, enjoy exercising and shopping on my tricycle, tending to my plants, and reading; and am staff to three cats.