Blood Libel

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BloodLibel

• CHRISTIANS VS JEWS 1144 CE TO EARLY
• 20TH CENTURY
•  
• The image left depicts a ritual murder of a
  Christian boy by a Jew.
•  

Photo credit flholocaustmuseum.org  
Photo credit flholocaustmuseum.org  
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What is blood libel?

• Blood libel myths are unfounded stories that are
  circulated about a particular group of people
  These stories center on the idea that said group
  conducts human sacrifice and uses blood in
  rituals. The victims in their ceremonies are
  often children.
• Historically the Jewish people have been targets
  of blood libel tales, however many other groups
  have been accused as well. These groups range
  from Christians to witches to Satanists.
• According to these myths against the Jews,
  Christians believed Jews used Christian blood to
  cure diseases or to heal the wounds caused by
  circumcision. Some thought that Christians were
  crucified by the Jews to reenact Christs murder.
  A Christian child killed near Easter or Passover
  would likely result in the massacre of local
  Jews.
•  
•  

A portrayal of Jewish people engaged in a child
sacrifice.
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The Beginning

• Apion, Greek grammarian lived during the first
  half of the 1st century. It is here that the very
  first mentions of blood libel against the Jews
  can be found. The claims were that Jews ritually
  killed Greeks at temple. The photo at right is a
  bust of Apion by an unknown artist.
• There are no further recorded incidents until
  the 12th century when the stories begin to become
  prevalent through the middle ages and continuing
  even into the 1900s.

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Early Accusations

• As early as the 12th century there were several
  reports that Jews crucified Christian children
  during Easter.
• Gloucester 1171
• Blois 1179
• Richard of Paris in Pontoise

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William of Norwich

• In 1144 the violent death of an English boy was
  blamed on the Jewish community of Norwich. This
  is the next recorded clear case of blood libel.
  Because of his work as an apprentice tanner he
  came into contact with Jews regularly. After his
  death he was soon regarded as a local saint in
  Norwich.
•  

The torture and death of William of Norwich
Photo credit http//www.jrbooksonline.com/schramm
/william.htm
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Photo credit flholocaustmuseum.org
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Menahem Mendel Beilis
Arrested July 21, 1911, Menahem Mendel Beilis was
a Russian Jew. After the disappearance of a boy
named Yushchinsky. Beilis was jailed for two
years waiting for trial. A religious expert
versed in Judaic rituals (although himself a
Catholic) was called to the trial for testimony
in 1913. He reported that this was a case of
ritual murder. A psychologist witness agreed with
this account. Beilis had good counsel and a
witness who testified to the moral teachings of
Judaism quoting "the Law of Moses forbids
spilling human blood and using any blood in
general in food." The witness who had originally
reported the boys abduction testified to being
confused. An all Christian jury acquitted Beilis
after several hours of deliberation. It was later
discovered that the boy, Yushchinsky had skipped
school to visit a friend. Beilis later moved to
Israel fearing for his safety. He settled in the
United States in 1920.  
Menahem and his family
Menahem and his family
www.jewishgates.com / wikipedia.com
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The Fallacies

• It is important to note that the foundations of
  these stories were based on complete falsehoods.
• - blood libel accusations reports often say
  nothing of witnesses
• - confessions were obtained through torture
• - the confessions themselves lack any details
  of known ritual
• - confessions were vague and inconsistent
• Even ancient scholars and converted Christians
  (former Jews) when answering the question of
  whether or not the Jewish faith used Christian
  blood for ceremonies replied "Neither the Old
  nor the New Testament states that the Jews lust
  for human blood on the contrary, it is expressly
  stated in the Bible, in the laws of Moses, and in
  the Jewish ordinances designated in Hebrew as the
  'Talmud,' that they should not defile themselves
  with blood.
• www.jewishencyclopedia.com

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Jewish Connection

• According to the Bible and Christian
  religion, Jesus, Gods son, came to earth to
  die for our sins. Jesus was put to death
  through crucifixion. The Christian New
  Testament does state that the Romans killed
  Jesus, yet the Jews have been blamed for his
  death for years. This is basically how the
  persecution of the Jews from the Christians
  started. Around the 4th century was when Jews
  became known as Christ Killers.

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Jewish Connection

• Christians do believe that the Jews are Gods
  chosen people, as stated in the Hebrew Bible.
  Christian theology states that the Jews were
  chosen to bring holiness to the world but they
  failed in what they were called to do so God had
  to send his son Jesus in order to finish the
  mission.
• Jews did not believe that Jesus was the messiah,
  or the one who was to come save the world from
  sin. Till this day the Jews are waiting for the
  messiah.
• According to the church, God, as a result of the
  Jews failure in completing the mission replaced
  the Jews with the Christians as his chosen
  people. The New Testament is considered to be
  the New Covenant that God made with the
  Christians.

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Jewish Connection

• As a result
• Jews were considered to have no purpose on this
  earth.
• Death of Jews
• Violence toward Jews
• Jews had to wear distinguishing clothing such as
  a badge or a silly looking hat.
• Since the Jews did not disappear 1000 years
  later, Christians still felt the strong and
  prosperous presence of the Jews so they came up
  with blood libel myths.

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Jewish Connection

• Another reason for the persecution of the Jews
  was that Christians knew that the Jews did not
  believed in Jesus so the alleged sacrifice of
  kidnapped Christian children was a mock
  crucifixion of Jesus.
• The Jews, according to the Christian allegations,
  would re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
  They would put the crown of thorns on the childs
  head and were also tied or nailed to a cross.
  Again just like what happened to Jesus, the Jews
  would thrust a spear into the childs side. At
  this point the child would have died.
• Some of the alleged tortures were
• Cutting 2. Mutilation
• 3. Piercing with needles 4. Punching
• Strangulation 6. Suspension
• 7. Whipping

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Jewish Connection

• All the accusations toward the Jews of torture
  and human sacrifice were contrary to the
  teachings of Judaism.
• The Ten Commandments forbid murder
• The cooking of blood, especially human blood, was
  not part of the Kosher dietary laws.
• Animal sacrifice was part of ancient Judaism but
  human sacrifice was considered an evil act and is
  what separated them from pagans.

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Slaughter Cut (principals)

• To cut one carotid artery plus one jugular vein.
  
• Cutting one carotid artery plus one jugular vein
  was one of the slowest methods of killing

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Slaughter Cut (association to religion)

• Some associated the slaughter cut to religion.
• Religious, sometimes called ritual, slaughter is
  carried out legally in licensed slaughterhouses.
  (meat purity)
• Slaughterhouses operated by authorized
  slaughtermen of the Jewish and Islamic faiths.

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Slaughter Cut (connection to Jews)

• To increase the plausibility of a blood ritual
  among the Jews, it has become customary to speak
  of the "slaughterer's cut," and thecommunal
  slaughterer ("sho?et"), too, who is preferably
  accused of the murder of Christian children.

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Easter Connection

• Until the 1600s, the primary reasons of Blood
  Accusations were that Jews needed Christian blood
  to reenact the crucifixion of Jesus.
• The use of wine in the Jewish Passover meal was
  much of the cause for suspicion. The meal
  contained ritual and blood and wine were easily
  linked perhaps in part because of the Christian
  ceremony of communion.
• For this reason, the vast majority of Blood
  Accusations took place around Easter time.

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Easter and Passover Connection

• The time of year that Passover is celebrated
  coincides with the Easter season, a time when
  Christians commemorate the crucifixion.
• Often Jews were blamed for the crucifixion of
  Jesus and were resented for their rejection of
  Christianity, which made them targets of hatred
  and superstitions.