Prominent US Republican Sarah Palin today defended her fiery campaign rhetoric and accused critics of "blood libel" for linking her to a deadly Arizona shooting spree that wounded a Democratic congresswoman.
After days of silence, Ms Palin leaped into a roaring debate on the consequences of heated political rhetoric and said "journalists and pundits" acted irresponsibly in rushing to blame the shootings on inflamed campaign speech.
"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them," Ms Palin, a potential 2012 White House contender, said in a 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 they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible."
Suspected gunman Jared Lee Loughner faces five federal charges in the attack, including the attempted assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who is in critical condition after being shot in the head while talking to constituents outside a Tucson, Arizona, supermarket.
The bloody rampage fueled a growing debate about whether the heated partisan rhetoric featured in recent US political campaigns can lead to violence, and politicians in both parties have suggested cooling the tone of discourse in Washington.
But in an otherwise sober speech, Ms Palin's reference to "blood libel," a false, centuries-old allegation that Jews were killing children to use their blood in religious rituals, ignited another round of criticism of Palin's rhetoric.
"Palin's invocation of a 'blood libel' charge against her perceived enemies is hardly a step in the right direction," said David Harris, president of the National Jewish Democratic Council.
Ms Palin has been a focus of criticism from the left for urging followers to "reload," not retreat, after the healthcare debate and publishing an electoral map identifying vulnerable Democratic congressional districts, including Ms Giffords', with rifle cross-hairs.
She has hinted at a presidential run in 2012 but opinion polls show her trailing many possible Republican rivals and president Barack Obama.
"There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal," said Ms Palin, the 2008 vice presidential candidate, who stood in the video before a fireplace and a US flag.
"They claim political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated? Back in those 'calm days' when political figures literally settled their differences with dueling pistols?" she asked.
Blame for the shooting should not rest "with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle," she said.
But most of the message from Ms Palin, a favorite of Tea Party conservatives but a lightning rod for critics on the left, was overshadowed by criticism of her use of the phrase "blood libel."
The phrase, used for centuries to justify the killing or expulsion of Jews, had been used by other conservative commentators including a Wall Street Journal column since the shooting of Ms Giffords, who is Jewish.
"Perhaps Palin honestly does not know what a blood libel is, or does not know of their horrific history -- that is perhaps the most charitable explanation we can arrive at," Mr Harris said.
The comments came on the day Obama headed to Arizona to attend a memorial service for the dead, who included a federal judge, a 9-year-old girl and one of Ms Giffords' young aides.
Ms Giffords' colleagues in Congress put most of their work on hold and held a bipartisan prayer service.
Ms Palin was not the only conservative voice to defend campaign rhetoric from the right. Losing Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle, a Republican and Tea Party favorite, condemned criticism of her call during the campaign for "Second Amendment
remedies" -- a reference to the constitutional amendment on the right to bear arms.
"Inappropriately attributing blame of a singular tragedy to achieve a political agenda is contrary to civil discourse, and is a media ploy to which I refuse to belong," Ms Angle said in a statement.
Agencies