Asserting that “Jews” broadly are implicated in “mass murder” is a blood libel

Growing up in a house with lawyer parents and then going into the professional world I chose working in newsrooms, debate is inherent part of who I am, made stronger by my desire not to surround myself with people who agree with me, but more, people who test me, challenge me and open my mind to other ways of viewing a situation or an issue. Always, of course, within reason.

We won’t always agree, but I will be made a better, smarter, stronger person, as a result of this challenge.

When I read this article Jenna Price’s article Jews are being torn apart. If my sister were alive, even we wouldn’t be talking in The Age/SMH, I actually did agree, for the most part, with the assertions of the author.

That is, until I got to this line: “This is Israel’s revenge on Hamas and Hezbollah, but as a country that claims to represent Jews the world over, it implicates Jews in mass murder.” At that point, my blood ran cold.

Words matter. They are important and they are powerful. Anyone who has a column in a national media outlet should by virtue of their job, understand this.

The word “implicate”, in its very definition, as per the Oxford English dictionary means: “to show (someone) to be involved in a crime”.

By asserting that “Jews” (broadly, without any distinction) are responsible for or implicated in "mass murder" is a blood libel.

It may be clumsy, but it is both damaging and dangerous. Distinguishing between a government or leader and its people is basic common sense.