Did you know what Blood Libel meant before today?

[Mike 03]

I am really curious because I would not expect most people to have this knowledge. The only reason I knew immediately the significance of "Blood Libel" is because I am a huge fan of Daniel Goldhagen's work, in which he has written extensively of "Blood Libel." Otherwise, I would have had no clue what the controversy was about.

[justiceischeap]

1. Amazingly, she was actually able to educate some of us (eom)

[HughBeaumont]

5. "she" as in whoever wrote that for her.

I think Grifterella could be bested by a bag of hammers in a battle of wits.

[BrklynLiberal]

12. LOL! Perfect. I could not agree more!!!!

In any battle of wits, the barracuda is totally unarmed.

[monmouth]

6. And that alone convinces me she did not write that speech..I want

someone, anyone, to ask her what it means, to explain it. Bet she can't...

[MineralMan]

2. I knew, and have known for years. But, I also know that few

people have that information. We're not very good students of History here in the USA, I'm afraid. It's a costly lack of knowledge, too.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. nope

[Brickbat]

4. Yes; I learned it in college in both a religion class and a Literature of the Holocaust class.

[gateley]

7. No! I wasn't at all so I've appreciated the explanation and history they've been

providing. I wonder how Palin came up with that phrase?

[HughBeaumont]

27. Like it was said above . . . maybe someone should ask her.

The ensuing stammering would percolate a cup of coffee.

[gateley]

37. I'm sure she's been informed by now but we'll never know since no one will

apparently be asking her anything. She only releases statements. :eyes:

[Hamlette]

40. the "usual suspects" have been using blood libel for a couple of days now

apparently it was in a WSJ editorial by some right wing wacko yesterday or the day before.

She's just a parrot. My guess is she thought someone smart used it, maybe asked someone what it meant, got the wrong answer or figured the right could "own" the term but making dems into the anti semites or something.

[arcane1]

8. I was familiar with the concept, but not the actual term n/t

[prolesunited]

9. I didn't

but I did recall it really struck me as odd and out of place phrasing. Before I had a chance to look it up, I was alerted to it and investigated some more.

[liberal N proud]

10. Not exactly

I knew of the term but I had to look it up to refresh.

[mrs_p]

11. is there an in-between option?

i had heard growing up that is was a slander against jewish people, so knew never to say it. i just didn't know its full meaning and etiology.

[el_bryanto]

16. That's where I am - I had heard of it

Associated with the Protocals of the Elders of Zion and such ideas. But didn't know much more than that.

Bryant

[AspenRose]

17. Yes

I had heard of it before but never referred to as "blood libel."

[Ineeda]

13. I didn't, but

it's not something that just trips off the tongue, is it? Who would just casually combine those two words? For my two cents, I think some research might have been in order.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. Yes, but half my family is Jewish, and I grew up in a predominantly Jewish community.

I expect some people might not be aware of the historical significance.

[ecstatic]

15. That's why it's important to be involved in any speech preparation

that is being made on your behalf. Of course, Sarah is a complete and utter imbecile so that's not an option. She can only take and read what's given to her.

[slackmaster]

18. No, I had never heard the term before today

That's why I loves teh Internetz.

[Demeter]

19. I didn't know that was its "official" name

but I had heard of the stories which were used to justify bigotry before this.

[TygrBright]

20. Oh, yes I did. And when I heard this my jaw dropped in disbelief at the magnitude of the shitstorm

...this incredibly clueless, vain, greedy cow stirred up.

All I can say is, I hope the cargo tanker full of pudu she just tossed into the public discourse lands on her and STICKS.

sheeeeeeeeesh....

amazedly,
Bright

[Iggo]

21. Technically, I still don't know.

I'll research it on my lunch hour.

[riverwalker]

22. yes

but only because I have lived a long time. Used to read a great deal about the roots of the holocaust, why there is evil in the world. Recommend "The Denial of Death" by Ernest Becker.

[Journeyman]

23. Well yes, but then, I've read much of the work of Hannah Arendt . . .

[Warren Stupidity]

24. If you are a jew, you should know, if you studied history

in any depth you should know. It is a rather infamous term.

[Gothmog]

33. Agreed

All or most of the Jews on this board will be familiar with the term and concept.

[HereSince1628]

25. I'm still not sure if I know what it means.

The anti-semetic nature of the term makes it horrible.

Drinking the blood of babies is a horrible libel.

Invoking a horrible form of libel in an attempt to make a defense of bad behavior isn't really unexpected from the Palin camp.

What scares me is that once you exclude the Jewish--for whom this is a terrible insult--only a small fraction of extremist fundamentalists and then a smaller number of religious scholars even know of this phrase.

Who the heck is invoking this from the Palin camp????????????????????????

[mmonk]

26. Yep.

Too bad its origin isn't taught more in schools.

[chaplainM]

28. I actually had confused it with the "blood curse"

I thought it referred to the passage in Matthew in which the supposed onlookers at Jesus's supposed trial supposedly said, 'His blood be on us and on our children.'

[wickerwoman]

29. Yes, from my Medieval English Lit class.

We read the passion plays including a charming one where some evil Jews steal a communion wafer and try to torture it.

I think it comes to life and attacks them or something. Anyway, some spooky, crazy stuff.

[vaberella]

30. I didn't know it's meaning. But I knew it was related to anti-semiticism. n/t

[ismnotwasm]

31. No

God, what a mess that Palin is.

[Crankie Avalon]

32. Yes I knew. I think most people have heard the term but were fuzzy as to precisely what it meant...

...which is what the Palin-types were counting on. Something that sounds really serious and is vaguely familiar, but that people can'tr quite remember where they heard it from and therefore don't really understand.

[Joe the Revelator]

34. I'm Jewish and I knew.

[scarletwoman]

35. Yes, I've known about it for so long I can't remember how I first learned it.

I'm thinking it's possible I learned about it in Catholic grade school; either because they taught a lot of European history or because of our Vatican II-inspired comparative religion classes.

sw

[closeupready]

36. I had heard it used before, but I wasn't sure exactly what it referenced.

Nor how it would be used properly in a discussion.

Of course, as someone who seeks to lead politically (AND A COMMUNICATIONS MAJOR!), the expectation is that Palin would know VERY CLEARLY not to use this term in this manner.

[The Midway Rebel]

38. I knew the concept, never heard it called blood libel though. I voted no.

I wonder if it is on the cultural literacy test?

[Raksha]

39. I'm Jewish, so of course I knew.

It was a blood libel that started the infamous pogrom that convinced my grandparents on my mother's side to emigrate in 1909. The pogrom actually occurred in 1903, but it took them six years to make it to Ellis Island. Time to boogie outta Dodge, as they say in another part of the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kishinev_pogrom

Edited to add link.

[MarthaM]

41. I knew it, but ...

... if I didn't know what it meant and I were a political celebrity making a speech, I sure wouldn't be stupid enough to use it.

[MindPilot]

42. For all practical purposes no.

I may have heard it decades ago in a religion or history class, but had forgotten.

I appreciate all the explanations I'm seeing from fellow DUers

[Dulcinea]

43. I had never heard it before.

Could Sarah, or one of her posse, have not even looked the term up before she used it?

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. As a Jew it was drilled into us very young

Passion plays are full of it by the way. Why the Pasion of the Christ was so ahem... interesting... and down right medieval.

[Uzybone]

45. I didn't, but whoever wrote that speech did

its not a term that one just conjures.

[Behind the Aegis]

46. I must say I am very surprised how many people didn't know what this means.

It is revealing.

[SteveG]

47. Yes, I learned about it as a teenager

I have been a history buff since I was in Junior High. I first read about it when I was reading about the antisemitism that arose in Germany after WWI.

[jwirr]

48. I did not know but there is a good reason for that. I am German/Amer. and

have alway felt quilt for what happened in WWII. I have never been able to actually set down and read the history. I have learned a lot in small doses like this but it is hard to read when one is sobbing. Even writing this the tears start to flow. I cannot escape the uncertainty of what my actions would have been had my ancestors not immigrated the America. Thank God they did.

Edited here to say that very few of you mention the modern meaning that is more likely Sarah's meaning. She is most likely talking about herself as a New Jew who is from the real chosen people the European nations. She is saying to her follower: we are being persecuted for our religion. She is comparing herself and her followers to the Jews throughout history in their very real persecution. I am not really good explaining this but there are at this point two meanings to the words. The historical one is real - the modern one is from a fantasy world.