UK's Baroness Tonge Quits Over Anti-Israel Comments

The Baroness Jenny Tonge resigned from the Liberal Democrat whip over controversial comments she made about Israel.

Baroness Tonge told an audience at Middlesex University that they should beware Israel, adding that Israel will not exist forever and will one day reap what they have sown.

Labour leaders condemned the remarks and asked Tonge to apologize, which she refused to do.

These remarks were wrong and offensive and do not reflect the values of the Liberal Democrats, said Liberal Democrat party leader Nick Clegg.

I asked Baroness Tonge to withdraw her remarks and apologize for the offense she has caused. She has refused to do so and will now be leaving the party. The Liberal Democrats have a proud record of campaigning for the rights of Palestinians, and that will continue.

In her resignation statement, Tonge was defiant and blasted her party for not consulting her before putting out a damage control-style press release.

The comments I made have been taken completely out of context, she said. They followed a very ill-tempered meeting in which Zionist campaigners attempted continually to disrupt proceedings. They mouthed obscenities at the panelists, to the extent that University security attempted to remove them from the premises.

I am disappointed the leadership of my party did not consult me before issuing a press release and seems always to abet the request of the pro-Israel lobby.

Tonge also used her statement to condemn Israel for acting against international law, the Geneva conventions, and Human Rights.

The comments I made were in protest at the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and the treatment of Israeli Arabs, she said.

They do this with impunity and if our political parties will not take action then individuals must.

Tonge has a touchy history with Israeli politics. In 2010, she was forced to resign from her post as Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health for suggesting that Israeli troops sent to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake were engaged in organ harvesting. She was also fired as the Liberal Democrat Spokeswoman on Children’s Issues in 2004 for sympathizing with Palestinian suicide bombers.

Having now resigned from the whip, Tonge will still sit in the House of Commons, but not be allowed on her party's bench, according to the Jerusalem Post.