A Holocaust survivor has publicly called out former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, saying his claim that Hitler supported Zionism is “offensive and hurtful.”

During an J-TV interview on Monday, host Alan Mendoza was not even able to finish his introduction before Livingstone showed his ignorance of German history. Mendoza corrected him on several points, finally saying: “What’s disturbing about the certainty with which you state things is that, as we’ve just identified, you’re just not that sure about the facts. You’ve got a broad thesis in your mind but you’re a bit hazy on your facts.”

Mendoza then played a video message from Mala Tribich, who was imprisoned in Bergen-Belsen. “I find them very offensive and hurtful when people belittle the Holocaust. When they use the Holocaust to score a political point,” she said.

“I really can’t see it. They are usually people in high places. I take them as being intelligent and educated. Yet they can stoop so low to use the Holocaust to better their positions. What really bothers me is that they do it whilst there are some survivors still around. What will they do when we’re all gone?”

J-TV founder Oliver Anisfeld later noted, “This is the first time Ken Livingstone has been challenged face to face on TV by an historian and expert. Livingstone was revealed to have an unhealthy fascination with Nazis and was clearly exposed as making false inferences from a selective reading of history the results of which suit his prejudice. I am delighted that J-TV has laid bare Livingstone’s bigotry.”

The Labour party suspended Livingstone in April, though Livingstone continued to deny that he is anti-Semitic and has even suggested that he may be Jewish himself.