Sarah Palin is never one to shy away from speaking her mind. But she kept a low profile following the weekend shootings in Tucson, Arizona -- except for a brief statement posted on her Facebook page shortly after, in which she extended condolences to the victims and their families. Until yesterday -- when she released a video statement, to address the mounting condemnation levelled against her, for her occasional use of firearms terminology and imagery in political ad campaigns. Tactics which many of her opponents allege contributed to a highly charged atmosphere in American political discourse -- and may have helped to trigger the deadly rampage in Tucson. Palin, in her video response, accused those making such claims of manufacturing a "blood libel" -- a term with troubling historical connotations.

Brad Hirschfield is a rabbi and author, and president of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. We reached him in New York.