Kaufman blasted for ‘Nazi’ remark

The poll asked whether Sir Gerald had been right to say this but did not make it clear whether it was asking whether the MP had the right to say that or whether the comparison itself was right.

Several hours after it had appeared on Metro’s website, the original text was replaced by another version accompanied an apology in which the paper admitted that it had made an “overzealous interpretation” of Sir Gerald’s remarks. The result was an overwhelming vote against the poll’s question comparing Israel to Nazis.

The Zionist Federation has condemned the MP for some of the statements he made during his speech and said it had received “many complaints” about him.

In a statement, the ZF said: “Sir Gerald’s allegation that the Israeli government ‘ruthlessly and cynically’ exploits ‘the continuing guilt among gentiles over the slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust’ is entirely without foundation and would be despicable on a far-right website, let alone from a senior parliamentarian.

“The only person who is exploiting the Holocaust to make a political point is Sir Gerald. There is an old saying that ‘with age comes wisdom’ but it seems that there are exceptions to every rule.”

The ZF deplored his likening of the Israeli army spokeswoman’s comment to that of a Nazi and described some of the MP’s other comments as “shameful falsehoods”.