At a Jerusalem press conference, actress Vanessa Redgrave, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, accused the IDF of deliberately firing at Palestinian school children. Said Redgrave, ”Any Palestinian mother or schoolchild knows that a schoolchild who is dressed in the uniform can be and is frequently shot in the head — not in the chest, not in the legs, in the head.”
Reporter Jay Bushinsky followed up on the charge and was told by the UNRWA’s Gaza spokesman, Paul McCann, that Redgrave was misunderstood. According to McCann, the charge was based on an incident where a Palestinian child was killed by a ricochet bullet whose source of fire was never determined. Writes Bushinsky:
This is an astounding and highly provocative charge. It is verbal poison that conforms to the 2,000-year-old blood libel that Jews allegedly engage in the premeditated murder of non-Jewish children.
And it is astounding that the representatives of UNICEF (the U.N. International Children’s Emergency Fund) and UNRWA who sat at the dais alongside Redgrave did not deign to disagree or correct her remarks.
But don’t expect to see significant reports of Redgrave’s comments. Bushinsky adds that media turnout for the event was sparse, “perhaps because the proceedings were predictable.”
