The random attack

Dad Saw Text on Son’s Phone Reminding Him to Complete Islam Assignment. Then He Opened Up the Textbook…


Real Clear Politics has a video of Jonathan Karl asking White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest about President Obama's remarks regarding the shooting at the kosher deli in Paris.


JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS: Well, back to the question Jim was asking about his description of the shooting at the kosher deli in Paris as being a bunch of -- "randomly shoot a bunch of folks in a deli in Paris." I mean, this was not a random shooting of a bunch of folks in a deli in Paris. This was an attack on a kosher deli. Does the president have any doubt that those terrorists attacked that deli because there would be Jews in that deli?

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE: Jon, it is clear from the terrorists, some of the writings they put up afterwards what their motivation was. The adverb that the president chose was used to indicate that the individuals who were killed in there terrible tragic incident were killed not because of who they were, but because of where they randomly happened to be.

KARL: They weren't killed because they were in a Jewish deli, though, they were in a kosher deli?

EARNEST: Jon, they were not targeted by name. This is the point.

KARL: Not by name but by religion, were they not?

EARNEST: Well, Jon, there were people other than just Jews who were in that deli.

KARL: Is there any doubt that that deli was attacked because it was a kosher deli?

EARNEST: No, Jon.

KARL: This was not any random deli, it was a kosher deli.
EARNEST: I answered the question once, no.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/02/10/earnest_when_obama_said_attack_on_jewish_deli_was_random_he_was_talking_about_location_not_victims.html


State Dept. spox refuses to say Jews were targeted during kosher deli attack…then tweets this hours later


In the same briefing, Ms. Psaki was asked the following question.


QUESTION: All right. Secondly, there was a report yesterday about a group of people – Arab-Israeli mayors or Arab-Israeli officials – who are actively promoting the “Anyone but Netanyahu” campaign or involved in it somehow, who were given some kind of a special audience at the consulate and is it – what can you say about that?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I’ve seen the reports. The article is filled with inaccuracies. We are firmly committed to the principle of nonintervention in Israeli elections. The details on this particular case – or the accurate details, I should say, are that some of the members of this group were coming to the embassy to receive their visas, something that we do on a regular basis. While they were at the embassy, they had a courtesy meeting with some embassy staff members. That kind of meeting is very common for community leaders like mayors as part of normal, ongoing embassy efforts to engage with the widest variety – widest range, I should say, of Israelis possible.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2015/02/237365.htm#MIDDLEEASTPEACE