"A few hours after a tragedy, journalists and experts should not make a blood libel that only serves to incite hatred and violence that seeks to condemn," Palin said in the video.
He was referring to criticism he received about his use of images to look "white" legislators determined during the cycle of mid-term elections.
The New York Times' Michael Shear said: "By using the term" blood libel "to describe criticism of political rhetoric after the shooting, Ms. Palin was to invent a new definition of an emotionally charged phrase. Blood libel is usually used to describe the false allegation that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals, in particular, cooking for Passover matza. The term has been used for centuries as the pretext for violent anti-Semitism and pogroms against the Jews. "
The use of that phrase caused some commotion in the Jewish community and others driven to come to the defense of Palin. Although the term has profound connotations, there are other examples of its use in a modern political context.
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the Jewish left political group J Street released a statement saying he was "saddened" by Palin's use of the term "blood libel."
The term, he said, "brings painful echoes of a very dark period of our communal history when Jews were falsely accused of committing heinous acts. When Governor Palin learned that many Jews are hurt and offended by the use of the word we are sure you will choose to retract his comments, apologize and make a less inflammatory choice of words. "
The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement, in part, defended Palin, saying he had "every right to defend against such attacks." However, the group said, "we want that Palin had used another phrase, rather than as full of pain in Jewish history."
Former White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, a member of the board of the Republican Jewish Coalition of the directors, not Palin addressed the use of the phrase "blood libel", but said, "would have been even better if she just got up above the charges on your map and focused exclusively on the larger message of loss, tragedy and greatness of our country.
The Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who often comments on Israeli affairs, came out in defense of Palin, saying that the term has acquired a broad metaphor in public discourse. " Dershowitz said he has used the same term to describe the false accusations against the State of Israel by the Goldstone report. He added: "There is nothing wrong and certainly nothing anti-Semitic Sarah Palin using the term to characterize what she reasonably believes are false accusations that their words or images may have caused a mentally ill person to kill and maul .
Ben Smith, the politician also said that the phrase has been used in a political context before. For example, the New York Post used it in a holder of 1999 "after Hillary Clinton stood by Suha Arafat accused the Israelis of" daily and intensive use of poisonous gas "against Palestinian women and children," said Smith.
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