A Blood Libel Unfolds in Real Time

Benjamin Kerstein in The New Ledger:

You are about to witness a blood libel take shape in real time. By the time you read this, you will no doubt have been informed that the Israeli navy stormed the pro-Palestinian flotilla headed for Gaza and wantonly fired upon the peaceful activists within, killing many.

This is a lie. But it is a lie that will be repeated ad nauseum over the coming days, until it takes on all the appearance of truth. As you watch this happen, note well what it says about the people who repeat this lie, and the ease with which it is accepted by many ostensibly sensible and right thinking people. And note as well what this says about their claims to be compassionate, liberal, concerned citizens of the world.

The details are not entirely clear at the moment, and the numbers of dead and wounded may change over the coming hours. But what is clear is that those on board the flotilla were armed and prepared to use their weapons. That they attacked the Israeli commandos who attempted to board the vessels and that several of these commandos are currently languishing (dead or wounded, reports vary) in Israeli hospitals. That the weapons used were clubs and knives, both potentially lethal weapons, and that at least one firearm was taken from an Israeli soldier and turned against the boarding party. That the Israeli soldiers reacted as anyone would react when attacked by a club and knife-wielding mob. And lastly, that they and Israel are about to be internationally crucified, once again, for doing precisely this.

Moreover, it is already clear that this violence was undertaken with one purpose in mind and one purpose only–to provoke the political/media assault on Israel which is about to ensue.