Blood Libel against Jews: Back with a Vengeance
by Alan M. Dershowitz • October 25, 2023 at 5:00 am
This conflict is not about occupation or settlements. The chants of anti-Israel protesters, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," means that the entire area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea -- all of Israel -- must be free of Jews.
The truth does not matter to bigots.
A document from the end of the 15th century features an illustration of a bearded Jew extracting the blood of a Christian child. The adjoining text explains that Jewish law requires that Passover matzoh be baked with the blood of Christian children.
Such documents were widely circulated through Europe during the Easter season and led to frequent pogroms — murder, rape, and destruction — against Jewish children, women and men in revenge for allegedly killing Christian children for their blood to make matzoh.
There was never any actual evidence of such cannibalism. In fact, Jewish law explicitly prohibits the consumption of any blood or its use in cooking.
The total lack of evidence, however, did not matter to those who were taught and believed what has come to be known as the "blood libel." Despite all the evidence to the contrary, many believed that this falsehood was "true."
