His declaration came during a discussion on the Muslim narrative in the UK at the Big Tent for Israel conference.

Mr Hafeez had previously spent several years raging against Israel and the West as an extremist

Muslim, having been radicalised at university.

He took part in virulently anti-Israel rallies, shouting slogans of hate against the Jewish state.

But the discovery of law professor Alan Dershowitz’s book The Case for Israel turned his life around.

“The narrative in the Muslim community today is that Israel is pure evil. It is as simple as that,” he explained.

“The narrative on Israel has been completely negative for as far back as I can remember.

“The Case for Israel opened up my mind to other narratives.

“It culminated in a trip to Israel and I fell in love with the place.

“Now I am a Zionist and I’m proud to say that my heart is with Israel.”

Poignantly, he added: “Life is a lot happier when you don’t hate as much”

The debate, chaired by Zionist Central Council president David Berkley, touched on the approach of the Muslim community in the UK towards the Jewish state.

The treasurer of the Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester, Mohammed Amin, said: “I don’t see a conflict between being a friend of Israel and a friend of Palestine.

“But large parts of the Muslim community believe Israel to be the work of the devil.”

Former Home Office adviser Professor Alan Johnson, however, disagreed with that assessment.

Prof Johnson, a lecturer at Edge Hill University, said: “There is no single Muslim narrative.

“To imply there that you are doing the Islamists’ work for them.

“It’s a very complex community and not homogenous.”

Prof Johnson, who also works for the British Israel Research and Communications Centre, said that there is a “need to be hard on views that vilify Israel” in the Muslim community.

He advised the audience to “find people to talk to and get to know them really well” in order to offer another narrative to the conflict.