Blood Libel: Sarah Palin Accuses Media

Sarah Palin Accuses Media Of 'Blood Libel' But Apparently Doesn't Understand The Terrible, Anti-Semitic History Behind That Term

In typical fashion Sarah Palin took to her Facebook page today to finally address the Arizona shootings this weekend, to which she has been endlessly linked by various elements of the media and political spectrum.

In equally typical fashion, Palin offered little introspection into her role in the political dialogue of the past year and laid the blame directly at the feet of the media, whom she accused of "blood libel." A terrible term she apparently is not clear on the meaning of. But more on that in a second.

Two interesting things about the timing and nature of this post. It is clear that Palin spent the last few days testing the waters and leaving the heavy lifting of the defending her to the folks at Fox News, most notably Glenn Beck. Part way through her Facebook post she says "Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle."

Emphasis mine, because this is a reference to an old DNC map that Roger Ailes said in an interview the other day his team had dug up and which has been appearing on Fox News with great frequency ever since.

Palin may have also taken heart from a CBS poll released yesterday that found 6 out of 10 Americans don't see a link between political rhetoric and the shootings.

What is also clear from this post is that Palin, assuming she does want to run for President, has no interest in appealing to voters beyond her base. The terrible events of the weekend offered the former Governor a chance to step forward, display some leadership qualities, and speak to the country as a whole about rhetoric, or politics, or her vision, or her idea of America, or whatever. Basically anything she deemed fit to showcase her ability to transcend a national tragedy...an ability the nation generally requires its presidents to possess. Nay, demands.

Instead Palin has retreated, again, behind the safe walls of her Facebook page and only emerged to appeal to the fraction of voters who vehemently agree with her that she is a victim of an overzealous media (which she frequently is, but people running for President hopefully possess the ability to rise above the chatter). Short version: This is not the reaction one hopes for from a presidential candidate.

Back to "blood libel." Says Palin in her post:

But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.

Again, emphasis mine. Blood libel is a strong term with historically violent connotations and one wonders if Sarah Palin is familiar with its actual definition and history. From Wikipedia:

Blood libel refers to a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, almost always Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays. Historically, these claims have–alongside those of well poisoning and host desecration–been a major theme in European persecution of Jews.

Ben Smith points out that Glenn Reynolds used the term in a WSJ op-ed earlier this week so presumably she picked it up from there. Nevertheless, one WSJ column does not cancel out centuries of meaning for a term that has terrible, terrible meaning and repercussions -- Jews have been persecuted for centuries using this false claim. The especial irony here being that Palin deploys this term while attempting to criticize the media for inciting violence and calling for responsible rhetoric.

And then there is the extra terrible irony that Rep. Giffords is Jewish.

Perhaps we can look forward to a Facebook note and Vimeo video explaining her choice of phrase.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-palin-accuses-media-of-blood-libel-but-apparently-doesnt-understand-the-term-2011-1#ixzz1AsIqMqaf

Sarah Palin Accuses Media of "Blood Libel" after Tucson Shooting

Saturday's shooting in Arizona had nothing to do with political rhetoric, and media figures who invoked a map featuring gun sights on congressional districts are guilty of "blood libel," Sarah Palin said in a video statement Wednesday.

Special Section: Tragedy in Tucson

The former vice presidential candidate has remained mostly silent since the attack that killed six people and critically wounded Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at a meet-and-greet event in a Tucson supermarket.

But Palin stressed Wednesday that the violence was the work of "a single evil man" and that crimes "begin and end" with the people that commit them. Palin dismissed the recent criticism focusing on whether incendiary political rhetoric - including her organization's swing district map featuring crosshair - might have contributed to a climate that promotes violence against political figures.

"I listened at first puzzled, then with concerned, and now with sadness to the irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event," Palin said."If you don't like a person's vision for the country, you're free to debate that vision. If you don't like their ideas, you're free to propose better ideas. But especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence that they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible."

As the New York Times' Michael Shear explained Wednesday, "By using the term 'blood libel' to describe the criticism about political rhetoric after the shootings, Ms. Palin was inventing a new definition for an emotionally laden phrase. Blood libel is typically used to describe the false accusation that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals, in particular the baking of matzos for passover. The term has been used for centuries as the pretext for anti-Semitism and violent pogroms against Jews."

Palin is part of a chorus of voices on the political right casting itself as the victim of smears and an attempt to infringe free speech following the Tucson attack.

Right wing blogger and law professor Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds argued in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Wednesday that "there's a climate of hate out there, all right, but it doesn't derive from the innocuous use of political cliches. And former Gov. Palin and the tea party movement are more the targets than the source."

A Different White House Emerges After Tucson Tragedy
John Dickerson: Can Obama Find the Right Words?
Giffords Breathing on Her Own, Doctors Say
Poll: 45% Say Politics Motivated Jared Loughner

Palin herself referred in the video to a House bill, proposed after the shooting by Democratic Rep. Robert Brady of Pennsylvania, that would "criminalize speech."

Palin said that attacks on free speech and the democratic political system remind us how much we cherish and need to protect them.

"It is in the hour when our values are challenged that we must remain resolved to protect those values. Recall how the events of 9/11 challenged our values and we had to fight the tendency to trade our freedoms for perceived security," she said. "We will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults."

It's unclear whether the timing of Palin's message has any special significance politically, but it came the same President Obama travels to Tucson to meet with victims' families and local leaders - and ahead of a planned national address from the University of Arizona Wednesday evening.