Photo by Rui Vieira/AP
"Once Obama is out of office, the Israelis should move to extradite the bastard or 'do an Eichmann' on him, and lock him up for leaking state secrets. After all, what's sauce for the Pollard goose [referring to Jonathan Pollard, the American convicted of spying for Israel] is sauce for the Obama gander, don't you think?"These are not the words of an angry Republican, but those of a former British parliamentary candidate for right-wing party UKIP — who was forced to resign on the cusp of the UK's general election campaigns.Jeremy Zeid, UKIP's candidate for Hendon, northwest London, stood down after suggesting that the Israelis "do an Eichmann" on the US President — a reference to notorious Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann, who was kidnapped by Israeli intelligence in 1960, and later hanged.Zeid made his comments in a Facebook post on March 25 after the US declassified documents about Israel's secret nuclear program. He resigned a day later — just four days before the start of the UK's general election campaign period, which began on Monday.
A commenter below the post — which was first noticed by Hope Not Hate's Purple Rain blog — suggested that Zeid may need to obtain an international arrest warrant in order to have Obama extradited."Nah, just kidnap the bugger, like they did to Eichmann," Zeid responded. "The problem is that Israeli jails are far more humane and adherent to human rights than American ones," he added. The post has since been deleted.Today UKIP confirmed that Zeid had resigned and issued a statement reading: "Jeremy Zeid resigned as a candidate last week citing his health. UKIP accepted his resignation."On Monday, however, Zeid railed against the "INFORMERS and the HATERS" that had "leaked" his post to the media in another excoriating post."As for the sneak, the squealer, the 'informer,' the parasitic tapeworm infesting the bowel of society, segments breaking off to infect another gullible fool, having first passed through the rectal sphincter of your worldview," he wrote, "you know who you are, the one who'd eagerly shop his grandmother for a tin of jam, just like the Poles did to the Jews, I'd like to think that what goes around comes around, kharma if you like."
Zeid, who is also the former chairman of Harrow's UKIP branch and a one-time Conservative councilor, has sparked controversy before. Last year he was featured on the front page of Britain's Jewish News newspaper after claiming that Ilford in London had faced "ethnic cleansing."On Monday, Zeid told the Jewish Chronicle that he was "done with politics because people focus on the minutiae," and added that he had no regrets about expressing a "private opinion" on Obama."This is a dirty, disgusting, revolting, horrible election campaign with slurs and accusations and I am glad to be out of it," he continued.Zeid is the latest in a string of resignations, expulsions, and suspensions of UKIP general election candidates. In March alone, one other candidate has resigned and another has been expelled from the party.Janice Atkinson was kicked out over false expenses claims. She had already made headlines after describing a Thai constituent and UKIP supporter as a "ting tong."Jonathan Stanley, also a candidate, quit after claiming there was "open racism and sanctimonious bullying" within the party.In February, candidate Donald Grewar also resigned after praising a British National Party message calling gay people "perverts" and "pedophiles," and giving his backing to a statement by the far-right English Defence League.UKIP is closely politically aligned with sections of Britain's Conservative party but crucially calls for tighter controls on immigration and Britain's exit from the European Union. It claims it would also boost defense spending, cut foreign aid, and scrap inheritance tax. The party's popularity has risen rapidly since the last election, and it is currently polling at around 13 percent.Follow Ben Bryant on Twitter: @benbryant
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