UPDATED: Jewish Anti-Defamation League Asked To Condemn Palin’s Remarks
The Anti-Defamation League, which was founded in 1913 “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all,” has been asked by a relative of its founder “to condemn Sarah Palin’s remarks this morning against the media, in conjunction with the Arizona Shootings.”
This morning, Palin released a video attempting to defend her previous actions, including the release last year of an inflammatory map with crosshairs targeting twenty House Democrats who voted for healthcare reform. That map has been called out worldwide as a possible incitement to Saturday’s massacre that left six dead and over a dozen more gravely injured, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
Palin, like many on the Right, has been unwilling or unable to see the connection between her hate speech and the resulting violence.
Adding to Palin’s refusal to take responsibility were her words today about “blood libel.”
In today’s video, Palin says, “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.â€
Via  Wikipedia:
“Blood libel (also blood accusation 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.
“The libels typically allege that Jews require human blood for the baking of matzos for Passover. The accusations often assert that the blood of Christian children is especially coveted, and historically blood libel claims have often been made to account for otherwise unexplained deaths of children. In some cases, the alleged victim of human sacrifice has become venerated as a martyr, a holy figure around whom a martyr cult might arise. A few of these have been even canonized as saints.â€
In “Open Letter Sent to Anti Defamation League About Sarah Palin,” Geoff Livingston, an author, well-known blogger, and co-founder of communications consulting firm Zoetica, writes the following:
To Whom It May Concern:
I am the great grand nephew of Siegfried Livingston, your founder, and a blogger at geofflivingston.com. It’s my request as a descendant of Siegfried and as a Jew that the Anti Defamation League (ADL) take swift and prompt action to condemn Sarah Palin’s remarks this morning against the media, in conjunction with the Arizona Shootings.
In her video speech, Ms. Palin directly used the words “Blood Libel” in blaming the media for associations with her during the shooting aftermath. The ensuing wave of antisemitism caused the words “Jews” and “Blood Libel” to trend on Twitter for hours, tens of thousands of people associating Jewish people with drinking children’s blood. Further, the association with Jews running the media cannot be ignored. Ms. Palin continues to be irresponsible in her use of media to inspire hate. Today’s acts against the Jewish faith are no different. We must make a stand. You are the organization to do it. Please act swiftly.
Thank you,
Geoff
UPDATE: 2:20 PM:
That didn’t take long. Greg Sargent at The Plum Line publishes a statement from the Anti-Defamation League:
It was inappropriate at the outset to blame Sarah Palin and others for causing this tragedy or for being an accessory to murder. Palin has every right to defend herself against these kinds of attacks, and we agree with her that the best tradition in America is one of finding common ground despite our differences.
Still, we wish that Palin had not invoked the phrase “blood-libel” in reference to the actions of journalists and pundits in placing blame for the shooting in Tucson on others. While the term “blood-libel” has become part of the English parlance to refer to someone being falsely accused, we wish that Palin had used another phrase, instead of one so fraught with pain in Jewish history.
Sargent adds, “That’s not quite as strong as it might have been. It stops short of demanding that she retract the phrase or apologize for it, as the left-leaning group J-Street did this morning. But condemnation from the ADL could be enough to throw Palin back on the defensive.”
UPDATE: 2:00 PM:
While the ADF has not issued any public statement, other Jewish orgainzations already have.
The National Jewish Democratic Council: “Palin’s Incendiary ‘Blood Libel’ Reference: Wrong Time, Wrong Place, Wrong Always”
J Street: “J Street Responds to Palin’s “Blood Libel†Statement”
Jewish Funds for Justice: “JFSJ to Sarah Palin: Stop Fanning the Flames of Division”
For more, read Alex Seitz-Wald’s “Jewish Groups: ‘We Are Deeply Disturbed’ By Palin’s Use Of Anti-Semitic Term ‘Blood Libel,’ She Should Apologize” via Think Progress.
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U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) is accusing Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of lying during his Senate testimony this week, and warning that the HHS chief’s efforts to destroy faith in the measles vaccine will lead to children dying.
“It’s not a small thing that Trump’s Cabinet thinks Congress and the American people are so dumb that they can tell brazen lies over and over. We can’t normalize this,” Senator Murphy urged.
“The way in which Trump and Trump’s cabinet lie through their teeth, unapologetically and brazenly, to Congress and the American people, is outrageous,” Murphy said in video (below) he posted online Friday. “And I really worry that we risk normalizing it by not calling it out when it happens.”
He called the exchange he had with RFK Jr. “maddening” and “heartbreaking,” and said the HHS Secretary “essentially says that he’s no longer recommending that families get the measles vaccine. That’s going to kill hundreds, if not thousands of kids in this country.”
Murphy then played a clip from Kennedy’s testimony (which NCRM covered earlier this week), and, he said, caught Kennedy in a lie.
RELATED: ‘None of That Is True’: RFK Jr. Fact-Checked Repeatedly in Heated Senate Hearing
“By the way,” Kennedy told Murphy, “I said at the [House] hearing this morning that I was recommending the measles vaccine,” and told him to “look at the transcript.”
“So guess what I did?” Murphy says. “I went and checked the House transcript. It’s hours of testimony. I and my staff watched all of it, and guess what? Nowhere, nowhere in that transcript does he say he recommends the measles vaccine.”
“He lied through his teeth, and he did it because all of these MAGA sycophants have gotten used to lying. Donald Trump does it all the time, so they think they can do it as well. But we can’t normalize this because you can’t run a country if your leaders are lying to you every single day,” the Connecticut Democrat warned.
“RFK Jr. doesn’t support the measles vaccine, and he shouldn’t pretend that he does. He undermines the vaccine on a daily basis and whether we like his conspiracy theory positions or not, he should just be honest with the American people. They should all be honest with the American people, and none of us should normalize or get used to this amount of lying.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
So I hope you watch and share this video about the lies RFK Jr. told this week before the House and Senate. It’s a not a small thing that Trump’s Cabinet thinks Congress and the American people are so dumb that they can tell brazen lies over and over. We can’t normalize this. pic.twitter.com/W9dJJQtm6A
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) May 16, 2025
READ MORE: ‘It Meant Assassination’: Trump Blasts ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey for ‘8647’
President Donald Trump is attacking the FBI Director he fired, Jim Comey, who is reportedly under investigation over a photo of sea shells formed into the numbers 8647. Top Trump law enforcement and intelligence officials claim it is a call for the assassination of the 47th President, although “86” is generally understood to mean “reject” or “eject,” and, since the 1930s, in restaurant parlance, has meant a menu item is unavailable.
“He knew exactly what that meant,” President Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview that will air Friday evening. “A child knows what that meant.”
“If you’re the FBI Director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination.’ And it says it loud and clear,” Trump alleged.
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“Now, he wasn’t very competent, but he was competent enough to know what that meant, and he did it for a reason, and he was hit so hard because people like me, and they like what’s happening with our country. Our country’s become respected again,” the President claimed. “And he’s calling for the assassination of the president.”
Baier interjected, saying: “Obviously, he apologized and said he —”
“Well, he apologized because he was hit,” Trump also claimed. “Look, he’s a very bad —”
When asked what he wants to see happen to the former Director of the FBI, Trump said he did not want to weigh in, and would let his Attorney General handle it.
“I don’t want to take a position on it because that’s gonna be up to Pam [Bondi] and all of the great people, but I will say this. I think it’s a terrible thing. And when you add his history to that, if he had a clean history, he doesn’t.”
“He’s a dirty cop. He’s a dirty cop. And if he had a clean history, I could understand if there was a leniency. But I’m going to let them make that decision.”
READ MORE: ‘Mad King’: Trump Teases ‘Fourth’ Term to U.S. Troops Overseas
Trump Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Fox News on Thursday night she thinks Comey should go to prison for posting the “8647” photo.
Asked, “Do you believe Comey should be in jail?” Gabbard replied, “I do.”
“Any other person with the position of influence that he has,” she added, “people who take very seriously what what a guy of his stature, his experience, and what the propaganda media has built him up to be?”
“I’m very concerned for the president’s life. We’ve already seen assassination attempts,” she continued. “I’m very concerned for his life, and James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this.”
But others commenting via social media were quick to point to a number of “86” posts apparently made by right wing influencers and even a former member of Congress, as well as T-shirts for sale during the Biden years.
Will @MarshaBlackburn ask for @amazon to be investigated for selling “8646” shirts and merch?
Or is it only worthy of FBI investigations when it’s “8647”?
We’ll hang up and listen. pic.twitter.com/yHoLSVinM0
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) May 16, 2025
Watch the video below or at this link.
Trump on Comey: “He knew exactly what that meant … it meant assassination. It says it loud and clear … he’s calling for the assassination of the president … it’s gonna be up to Pam … he’s a dirty cop.” pic.twitter.com/fCkHnoXFjF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 16, 2025
READ MORE: ‘Significant Damage’: Walmart’s ‘Magnitude’ Warning to Consumers Spurs Trump Tariff Critics
Image via Reuters
During a rally-style appearance before uniformed U.S. troops in Qatar on Thursday, President Donald Trump—serving as their Commander-in-Chief—floated the idea of a “fourth” term and falsely claimed victory in the 2020 election he lost. The appearance drew swift criticism for blurring the line between military service and political theater.
“As you know, we won three elections, okay?” Trump told the largely silent troops (video below). “And some people want us to do a fourth. I don’t know—I’ll have to think about that.”
“You saw the new, the new hat. The hottest hat is, it says, ‘Trump 2028: We’re driving the left crazy.'”
“When you see that. We didn’t need that hat, but, uh, it was it’s been an amazing period of time,” he concluded.
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Noting that Trump was speaking “at the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East,” CNN reported that the President “thanked the U.S. troops for political support.”
“There’s – nobody been stronger than the military in terms of backing us, nobody,” Trump said. “So, I just want to thank you all very much. Great honor. Thank you very much.”
CBS News national security coordinating producer Jim LaPorta, who has reported extensively on the military, wrote: “If this was a rally, the president’s remarks would be fine. But in front of service members who are expected to be apolitical, many Defense Department officials would find these remarks inappropriate.”
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The Bulwark’s Sam Stein observed: “Treating the troops like they’re at a campaign rally and sowing doubt about the past and future of American elections — all in one soundbite.”
Democratic pollster and strategist Luke Martin called it “especially jarring to see Trump flirting with blowing a hole in the Constitution in front of an entire crowd of people who literally swore an oath to protect it with their life.”
Independent journalist Mike Rothschild noted: “Making a statement like this in front of active duty troops would have generated months of scandal, hearings, and resignations in years gone by. Now it’s just another Thursday with the Mad King.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
Trump speaking with the troops in Qatar: “As you know we won three elections. And some people want us to do a fourth. I don’t know. I’ll have to think about that. You saw the new hat?… It says Trump 2028.” pic.twitter.com/82mmClpFKe
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) May 15, 2025
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Image via Reuters
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‘It Meant Assassination’: Trump Blasts ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey for ‘8647’
‘Mad King’: Trump Teases ‘Fourth’ Term to U.S. Troops Overseas
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