Jenny Tonge
Jennifer Louise Tonge, Baroness Tonge (born February 19, 1941 in Walsall , England ) is a politician in the United Kingdom . She was from 1997 to 2005 Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for the 1997 created London constituency Richmond Park. She has been a member of the House of Lords for life since June 23, 2005 .
Political career
From 1981 to 1990 Tonge was an alderman for the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames constituency which included Richmond Park. She headed the Social Committee for four years. After the 1997 general election, in which she won a lower house, she was spokeswoman for her party for international development.
In 2002, during a debate on creationism and evolution , she asked Tony Blair whether he was "happy that both are taught together in state schools".
She was replaced as spokeswoman by party chairman Charles Kennedy in January 2004 after she had said that she could understand when Palestinians become suicide bombers and that as such she would be one herself. She declined an apology. Tonge supported some pro-Palestinian activists and MPs who observed a two-minute silence in memory of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yasin , who was killed by Israel . As a result, she has been targeted in the press for honoring a terrorist, particularly Melanie Phillips , a journalist who writes for the Daily Mail and the Jewish Chronicle .
Jenny Tonge lost a daughter in an electrical accident in 2004 and retired in May during the 2005 British general election to support her grandchildren. Susan Kramer took over her seat .
Since June 23, 2005 she has been a Life Peer with the title Baroness Tonge , of Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames , and thus a life peer in the British House of Lords.
In early 2006, she attacked the Gana and Gwi- San of the Kalahari in the UK House of Lords who were trying to “persist in the Stone Age” and “blackmailing the Botswana government” by refusing to leave their country. She drew that conclusion from a trip to Botswana in 2002 paid for by Debswana , a joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government that owns the mining rights for diamonds in the San settlement area in the Kalahari.
In September 2006, Tonge said in a speech at Edinburgh University during a meeting on the sidelines of a party conference that the “pro-Israel lobby embraces the Western world, particularly financially,” and “arguably our party too. American research has confirmed that the Israeli lobby has a disproportionate influence on US foreign policy. ”She referred to the publication by political scientist John J. Mearsheimer : The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy .
In 2010, after the earthquake in Haiti , she accused the Israeli relief team of black market organs trading. She then lost the office of health spokeswoman in the lower house.
Led by Archbishop of Canterbury George Leonard Carey , a bipartisan group of Lords was formed , saying that Tonge's comments were "irresponsible and inappropriate" and would " revive classic anti-Jewish conspiracy theory ". The party leadership and the Chief Whip office of the House of Lords then decided "recommendations" on how to deal with Jenny Tonge and passed them on to her. The Board of Deputies of British Jews is hoping for expulsion from the party. The group of Liberal Democratic Lords expelled Tonge in 2012, and she has been an Independent in the House of Lords ever since. In October 2016, she was suspended by the party leadership because of further statements classified as anti-Semitic and at the same time declared her resignation from the party.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.epolitix.com/EN/News/200203/359F0E2D-C62A-4A69-A45B-C33A5CFBFDA3.htm
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3421669.stm
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated May 14, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Helga Embacher, Bernadette Edtmaier, Alexandra Preitschopf: Anti-Semitism in Europe. Case studies of a global phenomenon in the 21st century. Böhlau, Vienna 2019, p. 161
- ↑ http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1162378505591&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/27/jenny-tonge-quits-lib-dems-after-suspension-for-alleged-antisemitic-comments
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tonge, Jenny |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Tonge, Jennifer Louise, Baroness Tonge |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British Liberal Democrat politician, Member of the House of Commons, Member of the House of Lords |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 19, 1941 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Walsall , England |