London mayor's hearing for 'Nazi' jibe to Jewish journalist to resume Wedn

London Mayor Ken Livingstone faced a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday that was to start ruling on whether he should be disciplined for comparing a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard.

Livingstone, a member of Britain's ruling Labour party, won widespread praise for rallying Londoners after the July 7 bomb attacks on the city but he has frequently courted controversy.

He appeared before the Adjudication Panel for England which rules on the conduct of local authority members. The hearing will continue on Wednesday.

The panel has the power to impose sanctions ranging from a censure to a five-year ban from public office.

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article. From what I can take from the accounts... I don't see how this is an anti-semetic remark. His (the mayor's) beef is with the newspaper, not the reporter, so he makes a the analogy that the reporter is "like" a concentration camp gaurd... justifying the evil nature of his employment with the idea that he is just doing it for the paycheck. The mayor may very well and perhaps most likely not to even know that the reporter was Jewish and perhaps if he had, he wouldn't have come up with that analogy.

""When Mr Livingstone was asked by Mr Finegold, whether he had enjoyed the party, the mayor likened him to a "German war criminal". When Mr Finegold told him he was Jewish, Mr Livingstone said: "Well you might be, but you are just like a concentration camp guard - you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren’t you?"" source

The fact that he continued the analogy even after knowing the reporter was Jewish, IMO, indicates it had anti-Semitic overtones. It would have been no different than had he said to a Black reporter that s/he was like a Klan member. Would that have been racist? Perhaps, perhaps not. But it does show that the mayor clearly is not sensitive to Jews (or at least that one).

understatement. And what was this- "you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?" That was a stupid statement to make. It sounds like he said you have to be a concentration camp guard to get paid.

Totally senseless remark.

which was done frequently here on DU.

Just like "he is so well-spoken!" So, is comparing a Jew to a Nazi anti-Semitic?

Because it's not insulting Jews in general - it's saying "you're not up to the standard of the Jewish people" (as opposed to the "well-spoken" remark, which implies the person it's aimed at is better than his group). Calling someone a quisling insults the person, not the group he comes from.

..."he is well-spoken" is not an insult either, since he knows who he is talking to?

...but "you are a Nazi" is not a veiled insult? Especially considering the lovely press about Jews running Nazi camps for the Germans in their absence.

I'd have thought that was obvious.

Honestly, no matter what: calling people Nazis just because one can't stand them is not acceptable behavior and certain to cause more problems than a short moment of cheap satisfaction is worth.
Livingstone should have known better.

As much as some here would like to think that Israel and Jews are only "conflated" by Jews, the truth is, it works both ways. This asswipe proves that!

What has Israel to do with this? Aren't you the one doing the conflating here?

...read more about him.

Since you are British, I am guessing you already know what I am saying is true.

Not all Americans are as dumb as some might think.

so I don't think you've made a valid point. He certainly does criticise Israeli government policy. He also criticises Saudi Arabian, American and British government policy.

..your papers don't censor as much as ours do....

If you can say that he doesn't conflate the two, well, then you aren't reading the same papers I am (at least on-line).