Yesterday was one of the more sickening scenes at the House of Lords:
“If anybody is antisemitic, it’s the Israelis themselves”; panel applauds; hard to believe, but this happened this week at House of Lords pic.twitter.com/L8v4cARnK8— Yiftah Curiel (@yiftahc) October 26, 2016
When Sussex Friends of Israel posted this on Facebook, they wrote:
WATCH-Member of audience at last nights event in Parliament (hosted by Jenny Tonge) which called for Britain to apologize for the Balfour Declaration, says that ‘if anyone is anti-Semitic it is the Israelis themselves!’ Greeted with much applause by Tonge and her fellow panelists and all done in the House of Lords!
There was then this exchange between the great Kay Wilson and Jenny Tonge among others
Kay Wilson Jenny Tonge Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge is a revolting woman, unworthy of the position with which she has been entrusted.
Jenny Tonge Thank you for that accolade Kay Wilson. What a lovely reasonable person you seem to be.
Jenny Tonge Would some of you like to come to the Lords for a cup of tea? Why can’t we talk.
Kay Wilson Jenny Tonge I would love to. Please invite me and I courteously accept your invite
Kay Wilson This is on record. Jenny Tonge has extended an invite to the House of Lords. As a survivor a Palestinian terrorism, I feel that “dialogue” could be important. I eagerly await confirmation of her invite
Sussex Friends Of Israel Love to come Jenny but first I would ask you to to categorically distance yourself from the ‘if anyone is anti-Semitic it is the Israelis themselves’ comment as in the video above
Jonathan Hoffman Jenny Tonge Do you still defend your suggestion that Israel should set up an inquiry to disprove allegations that its medical teams in Haiti “harvested” organs of earthquake victims for use in transplants?
David Collier Jenny Tonge My problem, as someone who was there last night, is why you seem to fail to recognise antisemitism even when it smacks the Jews across the face in front of you. If you don’t see it, I mean really don’t see it, isn’t it just possible that the problem is with you, rather than me?
Jenny Tonge We can discuss these things when you come.
Tonge also defended her call for an independent inquiry into whether Israel was stealing organs from earthquake victims in Haiti:
Jenny Tonge My exact words were via our press office and were
‘I congratulate the IDF on their swift response after the earthquake. If they are concerned about these allegations they should have an independent inquiry .’ What is wrong with that? I was.a doctor for many years in the NHS.
‘I congratulate the IDF on their swift response after the earthquake. If they are concerned about these allegations they should have an independent inquiry .’ What is wrong with that? I was.a doctor for many years in the NHS.
The idea that Kay can break through the hate that Jenny Tonge has is more than fanciful. But it is amazing that she keeps trying.
(h/t Rob)
UPDATE: When I wrote this article, it was before this happened:
Jenny Tonge, a former Liberal Democat peer, has quit the party after she was suspended over alleged antisemitic comments.
She said she had resigned from the party “about the same time” as she was suspended as a party member by its leader on Thursday.
Earlier, a spokesman for the Liberal Democrats said: “She has been suspended. She was not a member of our group in the House of Lords; she was an independent peer, she has had her membership suspended.
“We take her comments very seriously and have acted accordingly.”
Tonge was Lib Dem MP for Richmond Park from 1997 to 2005, but has sat as an independent in the Lords since she was suspended in 2012, also for allegedly antisemitic comments.
Thursday’s move came after Tonge hosted a meeting at the House of Lords this week at which Israel was reportedly compared to terror group Islamic State and Jews were blamed for the Holocaust. The remarks were made by a speaker at the meeting, which was organised by the Palestinian Return Centre, which live-streamed the event on its Facebook page.
The Israeli embassy in London said the meeting was a “shameful event which gave voice to racist tropes against Jews and Israelis alike”.
Not sure that this tea party will ever occur.
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