EnglishLady
Veteran Expediter
Telegraph Jan 12
Sarah Palin accused critics who said she had incitied Arizona shootings of perpetrating 'a blood libel' in a video message hours before President Barack Obama was due to call for unity in mourning for the victims
In an eight-minute internet video, she said the gunman alone was to blame for his actions.
"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them," she said.
"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," she continued.
President Obama planned to honour the six people who were killed and the 14 wounded when a gunman opened fire on a small crowd being greeted by Gabrielle Giffords, a Democratic congresswoman from Arizona, who remained in critical condition in hospital.
In a ceremony at the University of Arizona in Tucson, President Obama was expected to focus on a message of healing, and praise for the heroism of bystanders who prevented the gunman from firing even more shots
"The president believes that right now, the main thing we should be doing is offering our thoughts and prayers to those who've been impacted and making sure that we're joining together and pulling together as a country," a White House aide said before the speech.
President Obama was expected to refer to rancorous political discourse only fleetingly. His task was complicated by liberal claims that a climate of hate whipped up by conservative figures like Sarah Palin over the past two years may have tipped the suspect Jared Loughner over the edge.
In the absence of any obvious link, numerous conservatives accused Democrats of exploiting the shooting. The former Alaska governor and possible White House contender in 2012 yesterday herself forcefully rejected any responsibility for the shooting spree.
Sarah Palin's use of the charged phrase "blood libel", which refers to the anti-Semitic accusation from the Middle Ages that Jews killed Christian children, sparked an immediate backlash, not least because Miss Giffords is Jewish.
"The blood libel is something anti-Semites have historically used in Europe as an excuse to murder Jews - the comparison is stupid. Jews and rational people will find it objectionable," said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant. "This will forever link her to the events in Tucson. It deepens the hole she's already dug for herself."
Jonathan Capehart, a columnist with the Washington Post, was among critics who said Sarah Palin had been over-defensive.
"Sarah Palin missed an incredible opportunity. People will look at this and ask 'did she provide solace or did she only inflame the situation?'," he said.
Sarah Palin had been put on the defensive by criticism of a map on her web site during the midterm elections showing districts of 20 Democrats targeted for defeat marked with crosshairs. Miss Giffords was among the 20 and at the time publicly complained that the map could lead to violence.
In Congress, Congresswoman Giffords' colleagues put forward a resolution condemning the attack.
John Boehner, the new House Speaker, who has suspended normal business for this week, said: "Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not. We're thankful, so thankful that Gabby is still with us."
and this from the Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/12/sarah-palin-blood-libel-arizona
Sarah Palin accused critics who said she had incitied Arizona shootings of perpetrating 'a blood libel' in a video message hours before President Barack Obama was due to call for unity in mourning for the victims
In an eight-minute internet video, she said the gunman alone was to blame for his actions.
"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them," she said.
"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," she continued.
President Obama planned to honour the six people who were killed and the 14 wounded when a gunman opened fire on a small crowd being greeted by Gabrielle Giffords, a Democratic congresswoman from Arizona, who remained in critical condition in hospital.
In a ceremony at the University of Arizona in Tucson, President Obama was expected to focus on a message of healing, and praise for the heroism of bystanders who prevented the gunman from firing even more shots
"The president believes that right now, the main thing we should be doing is offering our thoughts and prayers to those who've been impacted and making sure that we're joining together and pulling together as a country," a White House aide said before the speech.
President Obama was expected to refer to rancorous political discourse only fleetingly. His task was complicated by liberal claims that a climate of hate whipped up by conservative figures like Sarah Palin over the past two years may have tipped the suspect Jared Loughner over the edge.
In the absence of any obvious link, numerous conservatives accused Democrats of exploiting the shooting. The former Alaska governor and possible White House contender in 2012 yesterday herself forcefully rejected any responsibility for the shooting spree.
Sarah Palin's use of the charged phrase "blood libel", which refers to the anti-Semitic accusation from the Middle Ages that Jews killed Christian children, sparked an immediate backlash, not least because Miss Giffords is Jewish.
"The blood libel is something anti-Semites have historically used in Europe as an excuse to murder Jews - the comparison is stupid. Jews and rational people will find it objectionable," said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant. "This will forever link her to the events in Tucson. It deepens the hole she's already dug for herself."
Jonathan Capehart, a columnist with the Washington Post, was among critics who said Sarah Palin had been over-defensive.
"Sarah Palin missed an incredible opportunity. People will look at this and ask 'did she provide solace or did she only inflame the situation?'," he said.
Sarah Palin had been put on the defensive by criticism of a map on her web site during the midterm elections showing districts of 20 Democrats targeted for defeat marked with crosshairs. Miss Giffords was among the 20 and at the time publicly complained that the map could lead to violence.
In Congress, Congresswoman Giffords' colleagues put forward a resolution condemning the attack.
John Boehner, the new House Speaker, who has suspended normal business for this week, said: "Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not. We're thankful, so thankful that Gabby is still with us."
and this from the Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/12/sarah-palin-blood-libel-arizona
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