Blood Libel: Perpetuating The Myth Of Jewish Ritual Murder
Blood Libel (Ritual Murder). Original painting from the church in Sandomierz, Poland. Author: Karol de Prevot, first half of the 18th century. In the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century, Sandomierz was a place of conflicts between Catholics and Jews. In 1628, Jews were accused of causing the death of a local pharmacist’s son. They had allegedly kidnapped the child, drawn blood from him, chopped up his body and given it to dogs to eat. The investigation conducted at the time proved that the accused Jews were innocent.
Abusing History
The Israelis today are behaving like the Nazis did in the past. In General, criticism of Israel is often charged with antisemitic stereotypes and draws comparisons to National Socialism. Typical characteristics are the reversal of perpetrators and victims and the negation of Israel’s right to exist. The claim that Israel deliberately murders children or commits a genocide against the Palestianians is a popular tactic for delegitimizing the Jewish state and falls back to old antisemitic stereotypes like the blood libel and the topos of an imagined “collective Jew”. In General, criticism of Israel is often charged with antisemitic stereotypes and draws comparisons to National Socialism. Typical characteristics are the reversal of perpetrators and victims and the negation of Israel’s right to exist. The claim that Israel deliberately murders children or commits a genocide against the Palestianians is a popular tactic for delegitimizing the Jewish state and falls back to old antisemitic stereotypes like the blood libel and the topos of an imagined “collective Jew”.
Demonizing The Jewish State
During anti-Israel demonstrations in the context of the recent Gaza-crisis, demonstrators shouted the slogan “Kindermörder Israel” (“Child-killer Israel”).
The president of Turkey, popular amongst many Turks in Germany, said in a public broadcast that Israel are such murderous bloodsuckers that they even kill small five- and six-year old children.
The Corfu Pogrom 1891
The pogrom in Corfu in April 1891 is an infamous example of a blood libel accusation, which stirred ethnic antagonism, religious passion and existing anti-Jewish stereotypes and got out of control. Jews in Corfu were accused of having murdered a girl in order to use her blood for ritual purposes. The Jewish community came under siege. The extreme violence had a spillover effect on the neighboring islands of Zakynthos and Lefkada, and the news shocked the public in Great Britain, France, Spain and Austria.