Nigel Farage: 'Jewish lobby' has disproportionate power in the US
'Farage’s clumsy use of the terms Israel and Jewish lobby interchangeably and his reference to their ‘power’ has crossed the line into well-known antisemitic tropes,' says Board of Deputies
Nigel Farage has been fiercely criticised for saying Jews living in the US hold disproportionate political power.
The former Ukip leader, who has close ties with President Donald Trump, appeared to agree with the claim American Jews hold financial control over the political sphere.
Mr Farage made the remarks during a discussion on LBC radio station about whether Russian influence had really helped Mr Trump be elected.
After a caller who referred to himself as “Ahmed” told Mr Farage he thought the pro-Israeli lobby in the US was equally dangerous to alleged Russian hacking, he appeared to concur with the listener.
The politician said: “Well the Israeli lobby, you know, that’s a reasonable point, Ahmed, because there are about six million Jewish people living in America, so as a percentage it’s quite small, but in terms of influence it’s quite big.”
After Ahmed claimed Israel has both the Republican and Democrat party “in their pockets”, Mr Farage said: “In terms of money and influence they are a very powerful lobby”.
The Brexit campaigner then thanked “Ahmed from Leyton” whom he said “makes the point that there are other very powerful lobbies in America, with the Jewish lobby, that has links with the Israeli government, is one of those strong voices”.
Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, has called for Mr Farage to apologise for his “deplorable” remarks.
Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far...
Show all 25
Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far...
1/25 Joked about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron
In this tweet on November 13, the President mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars
2/25 Coloured in the US flag wrong
The President coloured in the US wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes
AFP/Getty
3/25 Railing against the Mueller investigation
The President has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt"
Reuters
4/25 Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin
In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Mr. Trump
Getty
5/25 Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling
Following furious backlash in the US, the President claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it wouldn't have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment
Reuters
6/25 Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter
The President announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
7/25 Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality
While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the President made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired!
Reuters
8/25 Calling African nations "S***hole Countries"
Ever one for diplomacy, the President reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Mr. Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape."
Reuters
9/25 Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying, “There are a lot of killers. You think our country’s so innocent?”
Reuters
10/25 Asked for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger
At the National Prayer Breakfast, Donald Trump couldn’t help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of “The Apprentice” — which buoyed Mr Trump’s celebrity status years ago
Getty
11/25 Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull
Early in his presidency, Donald Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the “worst call” he had had so far
Getty
12/25 The 'Muslim ban'
Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Donald Trump’s travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administration’s argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security
Getty
13/25 Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage
After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Donald Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the President picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there
AP
14/25 Calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un 'Little Rocket Man'
During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Donald Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be “little Rocket Man” as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea
15/25 Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack
After the attack on the London Bridge, Donald Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticizing Mr Khan for saying there was “no reason to be alarmed” after the attack. Mr Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Mr Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control
Getty
16/25 Claimed presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face'
Never one not to mock his enemies, Donald Trump mocked MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to “join” him. He noted that she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” at the time, and that he said no
MSNBC
17/25 Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides'
Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer
AP
18/25 Retweeted cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train'
Donald Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet
19/25 Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN
Donald Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Mr Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of “fake news”
20/25 Firing head of the FBI, James Comey
Donald Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop
Getty
21/25 Not realising being president would be 'hard'
Just three months into his presidency, Donald Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Mr Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire
Reuters
22/25 Accusing Obama of wiretapping him
Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Mr Obama had not, in fact, done so
Reuters
23/25 Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes'
Donald Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Ms Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.)
24/25 Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement
Just days after taking office, Donald Trump’s White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didn’t mention “jews” or even the word “jewish” in the written statement
Getty
25/25 Anger over Inauguration crowd size
Donald Trump’s inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever.
Relatedly, Mr Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didn’t, the day was very dreary
Reuters
1/25 Joked about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron
In this tweet on November 13, the President mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars
2/25 Coloured in the US flag wrong
The President coloured in the US wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes
AFP/Getty
3/25 Railing against the Mueller investigation
The President has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt"
Reuters
4/25 Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin
In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Mr. Trump
Getty
5/25 Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling
Following furious backlash in the US, the President claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it wouldn't have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment
Reuters
6/25 Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter
The President announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
7/25 Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality
While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the President made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired!
Reuters
8/25 Calling African nations "S***hole Countries"
Ever one for diplomacy, the President reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Mr. Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape."
Reuters
9/25 Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying, “There are a lot of killers. You think our country’s so innocent?”
Reuters
10/25 Asked for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger
At the National Prayer Breakfast, Donald Trump couldn’t help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of “The Apprentice” — which buoyed Mr Trump’s celebrity status years ago
Getty
11/25 Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull
Early in his presidency, Donald Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the “worst call” he had had so far
Getty
12/25 The 'Muslim ban'
Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Donald Trump’s travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administration’s argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security
Getty
13/25 Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage
After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Donald Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the President picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there
AP
14/25 Calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un 'Little Rocket Man'
During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Donald Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be “little Rocket Man” as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea
15/25 Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack
After the attack on the London Bridge, Donald Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticizing Mr Khan for saying there was “no reason to be alarmed” after the attack. Mr Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Mr Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control
Getty
16/25 Claimed presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face'
Never one not to mock his enemies, Donald Trump mocked MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to “join” him. He noted that she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” at the time, and that he said no
MSNBC
17/25 Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides'
Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer
AP
18/25 Retweeted cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train'
Donald Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet
19/25 Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN
Donald Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Mr Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of “fake news”
20/25 Firing head of the FBI, James Comey
Donald Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop
Getty
21/25 Not realising being president would be 'hard'
Just three months into his presidency, Donald Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Mr Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire
Reuters
22/25 Accusing Obama of wiretapping him
Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Mr Obama had not, in fact, done so
Reuters
23/25 Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes'
Donald Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Ms Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.)
24/25 Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement
Just days after taking office, Donald Trump’s White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didn’t mention “jews” or even the word “jewish” in the written statement
Getty
25/25 Anger over Inauguration crowd size
Donald Trump’s inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever.
Relatedly, Mr Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didn’t, the day was very dreary
Reuters
“It is common for countries to lobby their allies, and Israel is no different, but in his call with Ahmed, it was not merely alleged that Israel conducts lobbying, but that it is carried out by the entire Jewish population of the United States and that in doing so American politics are subverted,” he told The Independent in a statement.
“Counting all American Jews as lobbyists with disproportionate power and both major political parties in their financial grips is the stuff of antisemitic conspiracy theories.”
“Mr Farage should immediately withdraw his deplorable comments and apologise for them, or LBC should relieve him of his duties. We await Mr Farage’s urgent apology and in the meantime, we will be asking Ofcom to open an investigation.”
A spokesperson from the Board of Deputies, an organisation which describes itself as a “democratic, cross-communal voice”, said: “Nigel Farage’s clumsy use of the terms Israel and Jewish lobby interchangeably and his reference to their ‘power’ has crossed the line into well-known antisemitic tropes.”
The remarks prompted anger on Twitter where critics argued the politician had perpetuated anti-semitic stereotypes of Jewish wealth.
Adam Langleben, a Jewish Labour councillor, said the politician had gone “full conspiracy”.
He said: “Person calls in and compares AIPAC to Russian collusion. Farage plays up influence. Interchanges "Israeli" and "Jewish" Lobby.”
“Worst part of the Farage 'Jewish lobby' monologue, was his 6m Jews remark. As if only Jews support Israel. Way off,” said journalist, Jack Mendel.
“Nigel Farage spewing anti-Semitic conspiracies over the radio, nobody cares because he's right-wing”, said one.
“Nigel Farage slips into antisemitic tropes of Jewish power and wealth. Shocked, I tell you, shocked!” added another sarcastic critic.
Mr Farage has fostered an alliance with President Trump and appeared alongside the billionaire property developer on the campaign trail and attended presidential debates to express support for him. Mr Farage was also the first foreign politician to meet Mr Trump in person and attended a “heroes and villains” costume party with him in New York last December.
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