Disgraced peer Baroness Tonge, blames Israel for rise in antisemitic violence in House of Lords debate

The disgraced peer, Baroness Jenny Tonge, has blamed Israel for the rise in antisemitic violence in a speech during a debate on antisemitism in the House of Lords yesterday and was “saddened” not to be discussing “prejudice generally.”

Baroness Tonge has a long history of using inflammatory, and sometimes antisemitic, language. She was twice suspended from the Liberal Democrats over allegations of antisemitism and eventually resigned as pressure mounted.

Baroness Tonge started her speech by comparing herself to the biblical prophet Daniel: “I felt a little like Daniel in the lions’ den at the beginning of the debate today; I just trust I will be spared, as he was, at the end of the debate.”

She defended Jeremy Corbyn: “He is not antisemitic; he is a man who feels passionately about human rights and, like me, does not always express it in the right sort of way. Nevertheless, he cares deeply about human rights.”

She claimed that the problem of antisemitism has been overstated: “I have seen the statistics and accept that there has been a rise in antisemitic incidents over the last three years, but I also note — from reports by Tell MAMA and the recent report from the all-party group led by the noble Baroness, Lady Warsi — that there has been a much greater rise in Islamophobic incidents over the same period and that they are more frequent and severe.”

She added: “I am therefore saddened that we cannot discuss the rise in prejudice generally.”

Blaming Israel’s actions for the rise in antisemitic violence, she said: “There was a surge in violent antisemitic activity during and after Operation Protective Edge in 2014 — a vicious and deadly attack on Gaza by the Israeli armed forces, in which thousands of Gazans were killed and injured. The killing and maiming continue, of course, with further attacks on Gaza and at the Friday protests.”

She continued: “These events are not quickly forgotten, and I suggest that some if not many people who commit antisemitic acts do not distinguish between ordinary Jewish people — I know that noble Lords hate that phrase — and the Zionist Israeli Government of what is now called the Jewish State of Israel. It is too difficult a distinction for many people to make.​”

She complained that: “I am sick of the filthy abuse that I get online, sick of the accusations of antisemitism being levelled against me and appalled that I never get any apology, even when the accusations are found to be fabricated, as they were two years ago.”

In a Facebook post in October last year, soon after neo-Nazi Robert Bowers slaughtered eleven people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Baroness Tonge responded to the attack with a post declaring: “Absolutely appalling and a criminal act, but does it ever occur to Bibi [as the Israeli Prime Minister is nicknamed] and the present Israeli government that it’s [sic] actions against Palestinians may be re-igniting antisemitism? I suppose someone will say that it is antisemitic to say so?”