David Ward MP digs himself an ever deeper hole

You will have heard, by now, of the Liberal-Democrat MP David Ward and his, at best borderline, antisemitic attack on Jews (again, the conflating of "Jews" with "Israel"). Well, it just got worse. The Community Security Trust (of the Board of Deputies of British Jews) has a long article on this sorry farrago.

However, before you read it (and I hope you do: it's Mark Gardner at his deconstructionist best), please take note of the following. Despite being censured by his own party, Ward has permitted the posting on his site of a long article (it's the third link in in the first paragraph of the CST report). It's from a site called "zenpolitics" run or owned by someone called John Hilley (no, I'd never heard of him either, and nor had the CST). Gardner suggests that, as long as the article remains up, Ward further demonstrates his unfitness to remain an MP.

The title of the article is instructive: it's called “Guardian continues the hounding of David Ward”. Wow, that must be a first (in the modern era): The Guardian being accused of not attacking Israel! The article referred to is an interview of Ward by Aida Edemariam of The Guardian.

Hilley digs an ever deeper hole for himself and Ward as he seeks to defend Ward, because as he attempts to say that Ward didn't really mean to say Jews when he meant Israelis (a variant of the Livingstone Formulation), he keeps compounding the error by repeating it.

Anyway, as well as reading the Hilley article, do read and admire Gardner's excellent hatchet job. I'm certainly going to save it, to read again at my further leisure.

By: Brian Goldfarb