Oh. My. God.

They are doing nothing Jabotinsky would disagree with philosophically. I have heard many, many Israelis express little remorse or guilt for Arab deaths. And, yes, Israel has committed atrocities. So what? All nations do when they have their backs to the wall. You scream anti-semitism but you confuse politics with race hatred. Anti-semitism was rooted in old Church dogma and the misguided desire of Germans and others to achieve racial purity. Anti-semitism does not mean that someone does not like Jews or Israel. Many people say they don’t like the Irish or Italians–yes, or the Arabs. But wanting what others have, or being jealous of others, or wanting them to go away, is not racial hatred. When you call anyone who says a bad word about Israel an anti-semite, you display ignorance and you embarrass us all. And you actually prevent the public from being able to understand and appreciate the unique aspects of the persecution against the Jewish people for many hundreds of years.

Our synagogues, many of them, are filled with hateful, venomous sermonizing–much like what your organizations spews forth on a daily basis. Who cares that the medicine is out of date? What’s the point? Is it necessary to nickel and dime every issue, thus at once disclosing that you are an enemy of the arabs–that you want them to go away no less than they want you to go. In this way, you undermine your credibility and divorce yourself from the moral authority which defines what is good in Judaism and which represented, as Ben Gurion emphasized over and over again, the reason for and promise of the State of Israel?

I don’t quarrel with your assertion that lies and conspiracy theories have to be exposed, and this site does a good job of that.

I just feel that an enormous number of keystrokes are dedicated to that project, which, while useful and important, is sort of like “fiddling while Rome burns.”

Today’s NY Times (yes, I know some find the Times to be loathsome), contains three columns which, in my humble opinion, are at least as important as exposing a falsehood by Blumenthal: “What to Do About Israel?” by Helene Cooper, “The Ballgame and the Sideshow” by Tom Friedman, and “Chosen but Not Special” by Michael Chabon.

Our culture, for better or worse, has moved on beyond the specific events of last week. Yes, Israel is left with the detritus of the botched attempt, but it has tools in its toolbox (such as the deft handling of the Rachel Corrie), which can help alleviate the public relations disaster.

But those cultural issues remain, and they are far more serious to the State of Israel than Max Blumenthal.

Lies and defamation and bizarre conspiracy theories have to be exposed. Your complaints are misplaced. Having read a great deal of the coverage of the incident, this is the pattern that emerges:

1. Incident happens. Nine unfortunate deaths - arguably stemming from tactical miscalculations and clumsiness on the IDF’s part.

2. The anti-Israel movement springs to action and accuses Israel of “murder,” “massacre,” “international piracy,” etc. etc. committed against peaceful humanitarians.

3. Footage and other evidence comes out that seriously undermines this anti-Israel narrative. The flotillistas and their supporters are caught in their own lies.

4. They respond by making even more irrational and outrageous claims, such as Blumenthal’s suggestion that the footage and recordings were doctored by Israel.

5. When these further lies are discredited, the anti-Israel crowd — rather than confront its own mendacity — throws its hands in the air, and asks: “Oh whatever happened, isn’t this really about the blockade of Gaza? Isn’t that the real issue?”

Not that the substantive debate doesn’t matter. But if that debate is to be a fruitful one, the parties have to speak and act in good faith. The Max Blumenthals of this world hinder productive debate because they distort the factual record. That’s why it’s important to point out their lies first.