When Operation Cast Lead was underway in Gaza and observers accused Israeli troops of crimes, the accusers were labeled "anti-Semitic" by people who regard criticism of Israel as racist. Critics of Israel were also accused of aiding Islamic fundamentalism.

When reports surfaced about Palestinian homes that had been defiled, anti-Arab graffiti scrawled on walls and other property violations... the accusers were called liars and fabricators.

When observers claimed that Israel was using white phosphorous that burned people to the bone, it was dismissed as more of the same - lies and more lies.

Over time these claims have been validated. Most recently Israeli soldiers have stepped forward and testified that they were allowed, and in some cases ordered, to shoot unarmed Palestinian civilians. These revelations took place at a post-operation discussion at the Oranim Academic College in northern Israel. The transcript of the session was published in the newspaper Haaretz.

A soldier told how a mother and her children were shot dead by a sniper because they turned the wrong way on leaving a house. The soldier said the lives of Palestinians were "very, very less important than the lives of our soldiers".

A squad leader testified:

"At the beginning the directive was to enter a house with an armoured vehicle, to break the door down, to start shooting inside and – I call it murder – to shoot at everyone we identify. In the beginning I asked myself how could this make sense? Higher-ups said it is permissible because everyone left in the city [Gaza City] is culpable because they didn't run away."

You think only Muslims advocate jihad? Think again. Israeli soldiers have said that military rabbis pushed the idea of a 'religious war' against the Gentiles. The soldiers were given religious booklets that conveyed the impression it was a religious war.

One soldier said: “All these articles had a clear message: we are the Jewish people, we have come to the land by miraculous means, and now we have to fight to remove the Gentiles who are getting in our way and preventing us from occupying the Holy Land… a great many soldiers had a feeling throughout this operation of a religious war.”

These testimonials offer an anecdotal glimpse into the horror of what actually went on in Gaza. Yet there are still some who believe even now that targeting Israel for crimes in Gaza is nothing less than "anti-Semitism"- or plays into it, so we should lower the volume.

Recently a group of 150 concerned Canadian Jews made a brave call to the press in Canada to stop using 'anti-Semitism' as an excuse for suppressing criticism of Israel. They had their statement rejected by the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail as an op-ed piece.