bloggie

Just when we thought we heard everything, there comes Lady Tonge, the Liberal Democrat peer, calling for Israel to set up an inquiry to disprove allegations that its medical teams in Haiti "harvested" organs of earthquake victims for use in transplants.

It is easy to dismiss this as sheer nonsense. Indeed, my friend Yisrael Medad, with whom I usually disagree, had it right this time, when in his blog he wondered whether someone had made off with the baroness's brain. One thing for sure: nobody stole Tonge's tongue, and whether or not it is connected to any brain at all, it keeps erupting anti-Israeli abuses, which had already caused her party embarrassment in the past.

Attacking Israel's policies is one thing; insinuating that the army of the Jewish state is stealing organs or – as the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet published last year, that the IDF was killing Arabs for their organs – is to repeat what antisemites were saying about the Jews in the darkest periods of history. A blood libel, in short.

One hundred and seventy years ago, the Damascus blood libel shocked the world. On 5 February 1840, Father Thomas, the superior of the Capuchin house in Damascus, and his Muslim servant disappeared. The local Jews were immediately accused of murdering the two for the intention of using their blood for making Passover Matzot. Several Jews were arrested and tortured, and some of them died, not before producing "confessions".

British Jews, quick to stand by their oppressed brothers and sisters in Damascus, commissioned the leading Jew in Britain, Sir Moses Montefiore, to travel to the east and rescue the poor victims. Lord Palmerston, the foreign secretary, gave him his fullest support, and Queen Victoria even lent him one of her boats for the first leg of his travel. He went to Sultan Abdul Mejid, who was only 17 but already wise enough to write in his firman (decree) that only "Ignorant people believe that the Jews are in the habit of making human sacrifices in order to use the blood in the [Passover] wafers", and ordered to leave the Jews alone.

As Montefiore was preparing for his trip in 1840, Louis Loewe, his secretary, wrote that "on Friday, July 3rd, there was a crowded and enthusiastic meeting in the Egyptian Hall at the Mansion House, of bankers, merchants, and many influential and learned British Christians, for the purpose of expressing their sympathy with the Israelites, and their earnest wishes for the success of Sir Moses Montefiore".

British decency, then, in those days, revolted against such blatant lies, which had harsh repercussions on Jews everywhere. Now British decency is tested again, except that the blood libel comes not from Damascus, but from London.

How the sacking went down:

A Liberal Democrat frontbencher has been sacked after calling for an inquiry into allegations that Israeli soldiers supporting the relief effort in Haiti had been involved with organ-trafficking.
Party leader Nick Clegg removed Baroness Tonge as a Lib Dem health spokeswoman in the Lords, describing her remarks as "wrong, distasteful and provocative".
It is the second time she has been fired for making controversial comments about Israel.
The latest row followed accusations in the online Palestine Telegraph - of which Lady Tonge is a patron - that members of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) had been harvesting body parts in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.
She subsequently told the Jewish Chronicle: "To prevent allegations such as these - which have already been posted on You Tube - 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."
Fellow Lib Dems were said to have complained to Mr Clegg about her comments.
In a statement, the leader said the peer "apologises unreservedly".
"Following discussions with the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, Lord McNally, I have decided that Jenny Tonge will stand down as Liberal Democrat health spokesperson in the Lords following her unacceptable comments suggesting an inquiry into highly offensive allegations against the IDF humanitarian operation in Haiti," Mr Clegg said.
"The comments were wrong, distasteful and provocative and I recognise the deep and understandable distress they have caused to the Jewish community.
"While I do not believe that Jenny Tonge is anti-semitic or racist, I regard her comments as wholly unacceptable. Jenny Tonge apologises unreservedly for the offence she has caused."

Heh. I was just reading about that on Harry's Place.

Stupid bint.

IMHO, she should have been kicked out the party.

WTF? What a stupid bitch, I'm glad she's sacked.

An excellent post at Harry's Place. I loved this:

Here are a few other statements which might be described as “irresponsible and offensive” but “not racist”. See if you agree…

“The Government of Jamaica must act quickly to set up an inquiry to dispel the rumours that I have just now read on Stormfront (on whose board of trustees I sit) that their citizens are sexually insatiable and have been raping white women.”

“The People’s Republic of China must set up an investigation to disprove the allegations, made on a video on youtube, that Chinese restaurants steal family pets and serve them up as chop suey to unsuspecting punters.”

“The Government of India should act swiftly to disprove the allegations in a BNP leaflet that was delivered to my house last night that their citizens are coming over here to take our jobs, homes and women.”

There is a peculiarly British derangement when it comes to Israel, and you'll find it in spades in the Liberal Democratic party.

And, btw, I'm sooooo glad the House of Lords is "democratic" now. There has been a real improvement in the quality of the Lords.

I would suggest a glossectomy for her Ladyshit.

I think this is what you meant, non?

She subsequently told the Jewish Chronicle: "To prevent allegations such as these - which have already been posted on You Tube - 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."

Erm...

Wouldn't harvesting human organs for transplant be considered un-kosher? First they are not jews. Who knows what kind of unclean animals and material they've come in contact with.
What gets me about the blood libel is that it is against hebraic law to consume the blood. No kosher jew would do such a thing anyway.

#10 RayH: No one ever claimed that anti-Semitism was logical.

How they do organ transplants in Saudi Arabia

Watch at 2:06....heh

Jon Stewart presents children's cartoons from Hamas

The comment by Tim Worstall explains how the blood libel started:

This absolute lunacy started with a certain "T. West of "AfriSynergy Productions." " posting a YouTube piece. Unsupported, no references to anything, he's no one in particular and he was 5,000 miles away from Haiti when he said it (and hadn't been any closer either).

It was then picked up by Press TV (yes, the Iranian government backed TV station here in the UK) and has then lurched on from there.

As Sir Pterry points out, a lie can be half way round the world before the truth has got its boots on.

It doesn't even take any massive effort to create a blood libel against Jews, it only takes one person. Looks like the world is so eager to hate Jews that they'll jump on anything.

The whole thing appears to be based on a YouTube video in which a guy says Haitians should be careful about letting the IDF near them because they have a track record of stealing the internal organs of Palestinians.

The clip quotes a CNN report on how well equipped and efficient the Israeli aid effort in Haiti is. Then the presenter "T West" from "AfriSynergy" suggests, providing no evidence at all, that this generosity is probably to steal organs.

There does not even seem to be an incident to investigate. I have no idea what Jenny Tonge thinks she is on about. Although apparently she latched onto it when it was quoted in an online newspaper from Gaza.

#16 cba γβα גבא ابت вба: Because anything Jews do can't possibly be good.

#17 zorkmidden: Actually, zorkie, I sometimes think that the more good Jews do, the greater the hatred that is manifest. It's some kind of twisted jealousy.

I'm in agreence with you, cba. I heard the most absurd statement: That the star of David is actually a Satanic Emblem because it has 6 points and is therefore a Hexagon, which, if you ask the ardent believers who think the Jews are Evil why the star of David is Satanic, they say, Because the word Hex in hexagoncomes from the Germanic word for witchcraft or curse. Reminding the ardent believer who thinks Jews are Evil that the hex in hexagon is Greek for the number six and thus not a Germanic word only gets the response: AHA! You see? EXACTLY! which is then followed by a smug look of satisfaction. Clearly, you cannot argue with these lunatics.

Elder of Zion may or may not have set up the spoof site Tonge Lashing. It's pretty funny, in a sardonic way.

There are rumors that Baroness Jenny Tonge has molested Palestinian Arab children on at least three occasions.

I don't believe them. I don't think they are credible. But as a Baroness and a member of Parliament, it seems clear that she should act to dispel these rumors so as to clear her good name.

Heh.

Google doesn't lie.....

One of the good Baroness's supporters posted this comment:

This is an abominable smear campaign against a very brave woman who has had the courage to speak out against the outrages Israel perpetrates everyday against the Palestinian people. It would be a better use of your time, those of you who are sick enough to accuse Baroness Tonge of child abuse, to read what in fact is going on on a daily basis in Gaza and the West Bank. There are endless excellent sites online that deal with reality, not someones sick fantasy of sexual abuse.

I happened to have spent time with Jenny Tonge and her husband in the West Bank 2 years ago and your supposed "allegations" would be a joke if they weren't so sickening.

Get a life you sickos.
Nancy Elan

Nancy, who do you mean when you write "those of you who are sick enough to accuse Baroness Tonge of child abuse"?

No-one here has accused Baroness Tonge of child abuse. On the contrary, all the comments I've read say they DON'T believe these rumours, which are indeed scurrilous. But given the mounting evidence, don't you think--in the Baroness's own best interests, of course--that there should be a full and thorough investigation by an independent party so that the Baroness's good name can be cleared?

That's all anyone is asking for. Why are you and the Baroness's other supporters so opposed to clearing her name? I didn't believe these horrible rumours before, but your attitude is beginning to make me wonder if there's some fire to cause all that smoke after all.

Re: Tonge Lashing (and what a good site it is):

What a ghastly-looking creature. In eons past in Blighty, she would have been termed "the Village Scold" or, more accurately, "the Village Shrew".

Earl, I agree with you--both about the site and about her physical appearance.

Hah! Well done cba. What an ugly woman she is, inside and out. It's too funny to see her supporters' sense of humour failure. Idiots.

LOL! Awesome.