Margaret Hodge faces backlash after hitting out at Labour probe
Veteran Jewish MP targeted with #hodgecomparisons hashtag on Twitter mocking her, as Labour members criticise her for over-reacting
Dame Margaret Hodge is facing an online backlash over her latest comments in Labour’s anti-Semitism row.
The former Labour minister likened a Labour Party disciplinary investigation into her conduct to the persecution faced by Jews in Nazi Germany, saying she felt “as if they were coming for me”.
Speaking to Sky News, Dame Margaret said the investigation into her confrontation with leader Jeremy Corbyn about his handing of anti-Semitism criticism left her “thinking what did it feel like to be a Jew in Germany in the Thirties” with a “feeling of fear?”.
Her comments provoked a furious backlash online, with some Labour members denouncing the veteran MP for what they claimed was her over-reaction, united under a #hodgecomparisons hashtag on Twitter.
This included shadow minister Laura Pidcock’s chief of staff Ben Sellers, who sent two tweets that were later deleted comparing Dame Margaret’s example to getting locked in a toilet and queuing for a pie.
He tweeted: “Just last week I was on the crapper when I realised the lock had jammed on the door. It took the intervention of my wife on the other side to release me.
“When I walked free, I felt just like Mandela must have done when we was released from Robben Island in 1990.”
Mr Sellers added: “The other day I had to queue for a good five minutes for a poor-quality mince pie and a Bovril at a local non-league ground.
“It was a bit like being rounded up by Pinochet’s forces and getting a bullet through the temple in Chile’s national stadium back in ’73.”
But Labour MP Anna Turley decried the hashtag and defended Dame Margaret in the thread.
“The holocaust didn’t happen in a vacuum,” she tweeted. “It happened because ordinary people turned a blind eye to racism & anti-Semitism; scapegoated & dehumanised a community, stifled free thinking & refused to challenge the cult of an idol. Jewish people know how it starts.”
Holocaust Educational Trust chief executive Karen Pollock also questioned the motives of those making light of Dame Margaret’s fears.
She tweeted: “Rather than question the motive of those highlighting the problem, how about questioning the motives of those who defend the indefensible.
“I will not be told how this should be resolved by the man who referred to complaints of anti-Semitism as ‘mood music’.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism chairman Gideon Falter said the Labour party leadership had questions to answer about a lack of action for alleged anti-Semitism against Peter Willsman and Jackie Walker
Mr Falter said: “If the Labour Party wishes to criticise Dame Margaret Hodge then it had better first answer some questions.
“There are so many example of the Labour Party taking no action or slow action against Mr Corbyn’s allies, but it took them mere hours to throw the book at Dame Margaret and Ian Austin simply for standing up against anti-Semitism in their party.
“Dame Margaret was absolutely right to express the feelings evoked by her treatment by the party’s authorities.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
