World Jewish News

Exit poll: Liberal Dems finish distant third in British vote

The political party considered by some to be overly critical of Israel appears to have finished a distant third in the British elections, which resulted in a hung Parliament.
Exit polls released as the ballot closed in Britain showed the Conservative Party led by David Cameron taking 307 seats, 19 seats short of what is needed to form a government. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labor Party took 255 seats in the 650-seat Parliament, according to the BBC-Sky-ITV poll.
The Liberal Democratic Party, led by Nick Clegg and criticized by Jews for its positions on Israel, came in third with 59 votes. The poll had a small margin of error.
In a hung Parliament, the office of prime minister goes to whichever party leader can organize a coalition. British Jews have expressed concerns that the Liberal Democratic Party could become part of the ruling coalition.
During the 2009 Gaza war, Clegg called on Labor to "condemn unambiguously Israel's tactics" and demanded an immediate arms boycott of Israel by Britain and the European Union. Last December he was the lead signatory of a letter claiming that Israel has 1.5 million Palestinian prisoners, and he wrote that the legacy of Israel’s operation in Gaza is a “living nightmare” for Gaza’s residents.
Clegg’s party also has come under fire in pro-Israel circles for the activities of Jenny Tonge, a former member of Parliament who became a member of the House of Lords in 2005.
In 2004, Tonge said she would become a suicide bomber if she had to suffer the indignities of the Palestinians. In 2006 she suggested that the pro-Israel lobby had "financial grips" on Britain and on her party. Last March she met with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Syria. And in February, Tonge called for an inquiry into the far-fetched claim that the Israel Defense Forces' earthquake relief teams in Haiti harvested the organs of quake victims.
The remark prompted Clegg to fire her as the party’s spokeswoman for health in the House of Lords.
Israel came up frequently during the election campaign and candidate debates.
Jews traditionally have favored Labor over the Conservative Party. Leaders of both parties made statements strongly supportive of Israel during the campaign.

JTA