WASILIA, Alaska -- Sarah Palin, who had been noticeably silent since the Tucson shootings, published an impassioned denunciation of her detractors Wednesday. In the video, which went viral within hours of its release, Sarah Palin accused pundits and journalists of impetuously blaming divisive political rhetoric for dissension and violence in America. More interestingly, she invoked an arcane expression known as “blood libel,” a false accusation insinuating that Jews murder Christian children and use their blood in religious rituals, such as baking matzos for passover. That claim was circulated for centuries to incite anti-Semitism, justify violence against Jews, and to distract early Christians from asking too many questions about Communion.

“Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own,” Ms. Palin said in the video posted to her Facebook page. “Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence that they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.”

But despite news organizations worldwide criticizing Palin for adding gasoline to a blazing political inferno, and for a poorly conceived publicity stunt that now comes off as anti-Semitism, Ms. Palin’s representatives say that the former vice presidential candidate’s remarks had nothing to do with the Giffords shooting in Arizona.

Holly Tremsfardt, a Palin spokesperson, said, “They’ve totally taken this out of context. Maybe it’s the timing, but when Sarah talked about a ‘monstrous criminality’ occurring within ‘hours of a tragedy unfolding,’ she was actually attacking TLC for canceling her reality show, ‘Sarah Palin’s Alaska.’ And then after they announced the end of the show, a tragedy to be sure, a bunch of TV critics started praising TLC. Sarah was sure that when news of her show being off the air reached the other 49 states, riots would ensue.”

“I mean, it is reprehensible,” Tremsfardt continued. “Look at the crap they put on television. How many CSI teams and Special Victims Units do we really need to learn about? Who cares about Keith Oldman [sic] or Raquel Meadows [sic]? Seriously, Jon Stewart? Yeah, he’s a real mensch. And no one asked any of them to run for office. But suddenly, according to the ratings people at TLC, everyone hates Alaska and Momma Bear. My guess is it’s all the Jews running the network.”

Follow Up
Sarah Palin, to clarify her comments as unrelated to the violence in Tucson, has now posted on her Facebook page the images of TLC executives with hand-drawn yarmulkes and beards, circled with bull’s eyes and cross hairs set afire. Under each executive’s face is also a badge that seems to be constructed of two superimposed yellow triangles, upon which cartoon pigs defecate. Later this week, Palin is expected to release a statement explaining the correct context of the pictures.