Using Jewish humor to fight a new European blood libel

How do Israeli Jews deal with the shocking return of the European blood libel? So far the most effective response has come from a small group of dedicated and underfunded satirists working in a tiny studio in a farmyard east of Tel Aviv.

Ten years ago it would have seemed unthinkable that a European newspaper would print an article suggesting that the Israeli army harvests organs from dead Palestinians, coyly inviting the reader to conclude that the IDF kills Arabs for this purpose. Yet that was the theme of a story in the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet last August

The Swedish government deflected criticism by citing "freedom of the press" and distanced itself from the disgust expressed by its ambassador to Israel, Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier. Israeli officials were accused of ?overreacting? in their outrage and "playing the race card" by pointing out that the story is a modern recycling of medieval anti-Semitism.

Enter Latma. Latma is a Hebrew-language satirical Web site founded by Jerusalem Post senior contributing editor Caroline Glick. In a recent interview, the Chicago native, who moved to Israel 19 years ago, explained her motives and her plans for the future. Glick sees the Israeli media as part of Israel's global image problem because, among other shortcomings, they don?t stand up to Israel's critics abroad.

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