I was appalled like many others when I heard about the disgraceful comments made by Baroness Tonge during an event in Middlesex University last week, which was part of the ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ which was held in different campuses. In addition to that the police are investigating offensive comments made by the American activist Ken O’Keefe who was part of the same panel, and called for the ‘destruction of Israel, the UN, the US and British Empire’. Baroness Tonge didn’t try to distance herself from the comments.
This rhetoric can’t be tolerated and has no place in the political and public discourse, and Baroness Tonge’s statement last night just shows how dangerous and inflammatory her comments are. She claims that it was taken ‘out of context’ and blame ‘Zionist campaigners’ that disrupted proceedings. She was asked by Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to apologise but refused and therefore resigned from the party.
It is not the first time that Baroness Tonge’s comments cause uproar. In 2010 she claimed Israel should investigate allegations that its medical teams in Haiti trafficked organs of earthquake victims for use in transplants. In 2004 she was sacked as Liberal Democrat children’s spokeswoman when she suggested that she could consider being a suicide bomber and raised questions about the future of Israel.
The European Jewish Parliament of which I am a member was inaugurated two weeks ago in Brussels and it put itself to deal with the big challenges the European Jewry is facing. Among those challenges are antisemitism and the delegitimisation of Israel in Europe. Abhorrent comments such as those made by Baroness Tonge and by others show how serious our challenge is in the UK and in Europe.
The Community Security Trust last year recorded 586 antisemitic crimes in the UK, nearly half of which were in Manchester. Among the incidents across the UK in 2011 were 92 assaults, 63 incidents of vandalism, 394 reports of abuse and 29 direct threats. In one of the most extreme incidents last year, a Jewish family who filled their tank up in the petrol station were verbally abused, hit and left injured. It shows that antisemitism remains a serious problem which can be exacerbated if not tackled properly and it’s the responsibility of all of us to stress that racial hatred of any kind has no place in our society.
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Tal Ofer is member of the European Jewish Parliament and of Progress
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What I find just as disappointing, is the less than enthusiastic condemnation of her remarks (from the left as well as the right) or worse, the tacit support for her (see for example, Mehedi Hasan in the NS). If she had made these remarks in reference to just about any other “grouping”, the social media, newspapers, the BBC and even sky news would have gone into meltdown.
Brilliant article. You’ve touched the main point which is..antisemitism still exist in Europe, and anti-semitic people don’t regret their comments which makes it even worse. The comments such as those made by Baroness Tonge and by others (such as Ken) are reflecting the ‘end-product’ of something that’s much deeper. What i think needs to be investigated, is not the people who have said such comments, but rather the people behind the scenes who made them say that.
I personally believe antisemitism is a wider problem, not just in Europe..but worldwide. History proves that no country will help the jews, but themselves. If we had the State of Israel back in 1940s, the holocaust would never have existed. We shouldn’t forget nothing changed, just different time, different circumstances. It’s a world full of interests, some countries need Israel, hence the support (if you can call it that..everything is relative)
Open your eyes people! It’s everywhere!
Or as the saying goes – just because you are (deeply) paranoid doesn’t mean they are not out to get you.
“Nurse – the sedatives please”
“The Community Security Trust last year recorded 586 antisemitic crimes in the UK, nearly half of which were in Manchester”
– So the odious racist Tonge is spending half her time in the North West now?