I did not expect to be asked for 'the Jewish figure’ of dead children in Gaza

The Telegraph - Jake Wallis Simons - 30 December 2024

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"For the next few minutes, it was all I could do to get a word in edgeways, as [the interviewer] continually interrupted me, demanding that I speak about how many "children" had lost their lives. In the end, I managed to explain that the reason the Hamas propaganda is so effective is that it taps into latent antisemitism that has been embedded in our culture for centuries.

Take the blood libel, which first emerged in Norwich in 1144. William, a 12-year-old boy, was found murdered and a monk by the name of Thomas of Monmouth claimed without evidence that the Jews had done it. So began the conspiracy theory that Jews are possessed of an especial relish for the blood of children.

"I don’t have any animosity towards Jewish people, I just want to know how many children have been killed," the liberal presenter insisted. And so the interview ended, with [the interviewer] none the wiser about the true causes of the rise in antisemitic criminality which he, of course, so deeply deplored."