Jenny Tonge: Chief Rabbi dancing in the street – Israel lobby won election

Anti-Israel peer Baroness Jenny Tonge has claimed the Chief Rabbi “must be dancing in the street” after the election was won by “the pro-Israel lobby”.

The former Liberal Democrat politician, who quit the party after being suspended in 2016, took to Facebook following the overwhelming Conservative victory.

Tonge said: “The Chief Rabbi must be dancing in the street. The pro-Israel lobby won our General Election by lying about Jeremy Corbyn.”

Before the election, Chief Rabbi Mirvis made an unprecedented intervention by writing a letter in the Times claiming the Labour leader was unfit for office and calling for people to “vote with their conscience” amid the antisemitism row.

Baroness Tonge has repeatedly courted controversy which has led to her being suspended by her former party, investigated by the Commissioner for Standards in the House of Lords, and forced to stand down as patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

She has been criticised for sharing an article about “Jewish power”, and for claiming that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians was a “major cause” of jihadism and Islamic State. After 11 people were killed at The Tree of Life Congregation in the US, she appeared to blame Israel for antisemitism.