It’s a story all too familiar from European history, from 12th-century England to 20th-century Russia: a non-Jewish child goes missing or is found dead, and what is in fact a tragic accident is blamed on the Jews. Mob violence ensues. A week ago, this familiar pattern repeated itself when an eight-year-old Arab boy went missing in Jerusalem. The next day he was found dead, apparently having drowned in a pond. But by that time, rumors had spread—with help from Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib—that Jews had kidnapped and murdered him. Aaron Kliegman writes:

In his first interview after leaving office, the former head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, admitted that he had erred in believing that Israel could come to some sort of accord with Hamas. In his own words: