Is Israel-Bashing Anti-Semitic?
My latest column for CNN.com discusses the difficulty in separating hatred for Israel from hatred for Jews.
Jennifer Tonge is not a lunatic. She is a member of the British House of Lords, appointed to that eminent body in 2005 after a career in politics and medicine.
On February 11, she was asked a question by TheJC.com, the online version of Britain’s Jewish Chronicle.
Tonge serves as patron of an online journal based in Gaza, the Palestine Telegraph. The previous week, the Palestine Telegraph accused the Israeli medical teams doing humanitarian work in Haiti of harvesting organs from earthquake victims. TheJC.com asked Tonge for comment. Tonge first commended the Israeli teams for their work in Haiti. She then added these words:
“To prevent allegations such as these — which have already been posted on YouTube — going any further, the IDF and the Israeli Medical Association should establish an independent inquiry immediately to clear the names of the team in Haiti.” ...
On February 14, Lady Tonge was removed from her position as health critic for the Liberal Democratic Party in the House of Lords. But Tonge's comments did not originate in the ether.
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