LONDON - A political row blew up at Westminster last night after a German newspaper described the British Foreign Secretary as "the Jew Rifkind", threatening already strained diplomatic relations between Britain and Germany.
MPs from all parties reacted with fury at "disgusting, anti-semitic comments in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Mr Malcolm Rifkind's keynote speech on Europe in Bonn on Wednesday, describing him as "der Jude Rifkind". The MPs demanded an apology, but the newspaper insisted the remarks were "meant to be funny".
The row broke out after a journalist reported on Mr Rilkind's appeal for a reassessment of the concept of the European superstate. Michaela Wiegel (28) claimed she was trying to make a joke out of Mr Rifkind's reference to Martin Luther. But although technically grammatically correct, the expression "der Jude . . ." is generally avoided because of its sensitive associations with Nazi propaganda.
Mr Rifkind, a Scottish barrister, is an active member of the Jewish community.