Krauthammer on Hamas anti-Israel Rhetoric: 'This Is the Oldest Blood Libel of All'

On Tuesday’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer weighed in on the anti-Semitism that seems to be prevailing around the world, particularly in Europe, as Israel is taking on Hamas in Gaza.

According to Krauthammer, much of the prevailing anti-Semitism comes from those without a knowledge of Hamas’ tack toward Israel and the Jewish people, particularly as a leader of Hamas refuses to retract over-the-top rhetoric his organization has put forth.

“I would draw a sharp distinction between the European sympathizers and demonstrators from the American ones,” Krauthammer said. “When it comes to Europe, I think the overwhelming factor is raw, native, deep-seated anti-Zionism. This is 2,000-year-old anti-Zionism. Now, for a while, they discovered that if you put the veneer of anti-Zionism, the cover of anti-Zionism, you can get away with it in respectable society.

“The veneer and the cover are gone,” he said. “You’ve got placards being carried in Germany, of all places. Hitler was right. Chance of Jews to the gas. This is raw anti-Semitism, finding a semi-respectable outlet. And you get the foreign ministers of Britain, of France, Germany and Italy issuing a joint statement denouncing anti-Semitism in their country. In the United States, it is very different. Anti-Semitism is not a major factor here. You know, of all the countries that the Jews have lived in in 2,000 years, this is the most tolerant, friendly, loving country that the Jews have ever known.”

“What I think is the most important factor here is sheer, raw ignorance,” Krauthammer continued. “They have no idea what Hamas is, all that you said, they have no idea, for example, that there is no occupation in Gaza. The Israelis left in 2005. They tore out their settlements. There’s not a settler, there’s not a soldier, there is not a Jew left in Gaza. Do any of these people know it, no. Are they aware that just a few days ago, the spokesman for Hamas in Lebanon said on Arabic television that the Jews lust for the killing of children. After all, they have always used the blood of children in their Matzahs on Passover.”

“And when he was asked about that again, I think it was yesterday, on a major American network, he refused to retract,” Krauthammer added. “This is the oldest blood libel of all. Are they aware of the fact that Hamas’ charter calls not just for the destruction of Israel but for the killing Jews everywhere in the world. This is an openly genocidal organization.”

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