In theory, Muslim anger at the actions of a Coptic Christian ought to have nothing to do with Jews. But in the real world, things do not work like that. When the now infamous anti-Islam film was first noticed, the instinctive reaction of much of the media was to blame "The Jews", parroting without question the idea that the director was Israeli and that the film's funding came from other Jews.

Even when that was quickly revealed to be a lie, deliberately propagated to inflame Muslim anger at Jews, it was endlessly repeated. And the rioting crowds still vent part of their fury at Jews. It has been a salutary week, re-emphasising just how quick the world is to jump at accusations of Jewish treachery without once pausing to check the accuracy of such finger-pointing.