SAN DIEGO–As the nation observed mourning rituals for those slain last Saturday in the shooting rampage in Tucson and prayed for the 14 injured, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, commentaries from individuals and organizations continued to pour into news desks across the country, including that of San Diego Jewish World. These included:
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism: In response to Gov. Sarah Palin’s statement released earlier Wednesday, Mark Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement: Of course Sarah Palin is correct that neither she nor any other individual is culpable for the actions of Jared Lee Loughner, the disturbed man who killed 6 and wounded many others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Tucson this weekend. Unless evidence emerges to the contrary, we urge those who attempt to make a direct causal connection between the excesses of political rhetoric and this tragic shooting to desist. Gov. Palin has a right to defend herself from such accusations. At the same time, we urge our political leaders of all parties to recognize that the political atmosphere in which candidates are dehumanized and verbally attacked in violent terms diminishes us all and poisons the atmosphere. Gov. Palin’s response to the shootings is troubling for another reason. We are deeply concerned that in seeking to defend herself, Gov. Palin painted herself as a victim of “blood libel.” “Blood libel” is not just a generic phrase used when someone is falsely accused of something terrible. It has a very specific historical meaning, one which has fed the worst of human nature for centuries and sadly continues to do so today. The charge of “blood libel” refers to the allegation that Jewish rituals incorporated the use of Gentile blood. The “blood libel” stirred hatred and violence against Jews; it contributed to massacres, pogroms and banishments. These are events very different in kind and degree than the criticism to which Gov. Palin is being subjected. We recognize fully that Gov. Palin is not the first to water down the meaning of this phrase in this manner that diminishes the distinctive nature of the historic anti-Semitism associated with the use of the blood libel. Equating political differences of opinion with violent anti-Semitism should stop. For these reasons, Gov. Palin should retract her remarks.”
Anti-Defamation League: Abraham Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement: “It is unfortunate that the tragedy in Tucson continues to stimulate a political blame game. Rather than step back and reflect on the lessons to be learned from this tragedy, both parties have reverted to political partisanship and finger-pointing at a time when the American people are looking for leadership, not more vitriol. In response to this tragedy we need to rise above partisanship, incivility, heated rhetoric, and the business-as-usual approaches that are corroding our political system and tainting the atmosphere in Washington and across the country. 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.”
National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC): The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) Wednesday condemned Sarah Palin’s charged “blood libel” accusation, released early Wednesday by video. NJDC President and CEO David A. Harris said upon hearing Palin’s statement: “Following this weekend’s tragedy, we — and many others — simply did two things: we prayed for our friend Gabby while keeping all of the murdered and wounded in our thoughts and prayers, and we talked in broad terms about our increasingly charged level of political debate — asserting that now is as good a time as any to look inward and assess how all of us need to dial back the level of vitriol and anger in our public square. Nobody can disagree with the need for both. Instead of dialing down the rhetoric at this difficult moment, Sarah Palin chose to accuse others trying to sort out the meaning of this tragedy of somehow engaging in a ‘blood libel’ against her and others. This is of course a particularly heinous term for American Jews, given that the repeated fiction of blood libels are directly responsible for the murder of so many Jews across centuries — and given that blood libels are so directly intertwined with deeply ingrained anti-Semitism around the globe, even today. Perhaps Sarah Palin honestly does not know what a blood libel is, or does not know of their horrific history; that is perhaps the most charitable explanation we can arrive at in explaining her rhetoric today. All we had asked following this weekend’s tragedy was for prayers for the dead and wounded, and for all of us to take a step back and look inward to see how we can improve the tenor of our coarsening public debate. Sarah Palin’s invocation of a ‘blood libel’ charge against her perceived enemies is hardly a step in the right direction.
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J Street: J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami released the following statement in response to Sarah Palin’s comments on the tragedy in Tucson: J Street is saddened by Governor Palin’s use of the term “blood libel.” The country’s attention is rightfully focused on the memorial service for the victims of Saturday’s shooting. Our prayers continue to be with those who are still fighting to recover and the families of the victims. The last thing the country needs now is for the rhetoric in the wake of this tragedy to return to where it was before. We hope that Governor Palin will recognize, when it is brought to her attention, that the term “blood libel” brings back painful echoes of a very dark time in our communal history when Jews were falsely accused of committing heinous deeds. When Governor Palin learns that many Jews are pained by and take offense at the use of the term, we are sure that she will choose to retract her comment, apologize and make a less inflammatory choice of words.”
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Public Citizen: Statement by E. Fuller Torrey, M.D. and Sidney Wolfe, M.D. “Unless two predictors of mass murder are addressed and changed, the United States will continue to lead all developed countries in the number of people killed by inadequately diagnosed or treated people with serious mental illness. The first predictor is the appalling state of provision of services for the seriously mentally ill in this country, resulting in the sad specter of thousands of people with untreated delusional, often paranoid thinking who seek revenge on people they believe are harming them. The second predictor, which facilitates a clear mechanism for people acting on their disturbed beliefs, is the easy availability of guns to almost anyone. This deadly combination leads to the seemingly endless number of lives lost in frequent outbreaks of mass murder, making the notion of Homeland Security, directed only at the more traditional kind of terrorism, seem to be a grossly deficient effort. Until serious attention, at a national and state level, is directed at providing much better care for the seriously mentally ill and controlling the proliferation of guns, there will be many more Tucsons. Dr. Torrey is a specialist in schizophrenia and director of the Stanley Research Foundation, which funds work concerning serious mental illness. Dr. Wolfe is the director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, which has collaborated with Dr. Torrey in studies comparing of the provision of state services for the seriously mentally ill.
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Violence Policy Center: High-capacity ammunition magazines are the common thread that run through most mass shootings, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) stated Tuesday in profiling the guns and ammunition magazines used in 10 of America’s most notorious mass shootings (http://www.vpc.org/fact_sht/VPCshootinglist.pdf). “The Arizona attack joins a long list of mass shootings made possible by the easy availability of ammunition magazines that can hold up to 100 rounds: Columbine, Virginia Tech, Luby’s, Wedgewood Baptist Church, Stockton, and all too many others,” said VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand. The Violence Policy Center is calling on Congress to pass a new law banning the manufacture and sale of high-capacity magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Earlier this week, Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced plans to introduce legislation to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines. A similar ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines was in place for 10 years as part of the now-expired federal assault weapons ban. Adds Rand, “High-capacity ammunition magazines facilitate mass shootings by giving attackers the ability to fire numerous rounds without reloading. An effective ban on high-capacity magazines will help prevent tragedies like the one that claimed six lives and wounded numerous others last Saturday. We can save lives in the future with this simple, effective proposal.” The VPC on Monday released a backgrounder on the Glock 19 pistol and ammunition magazine used in the Arizona attack (see http://www.vpc.org/fact_sht/AZbackgrounder.pdf for backgrounder).
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Preceding culled from a variety of news sources