London University will exclude from its examination syllabus, beginning next year, the Chaucer “Ballad of Little Hugh of Lincoln, because it has outright anti-Semitic connotations, it was announced here today by Mrs. Elsie Janner, chairman of the education committee of the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
According to Mrs. Janner, the committee has sought the deletion of the Chaucer ballad from the syllabus because the poem describes the alleged murder of a Christian child presumably killed by Jews for “ritual blood” purposes. The university has now assured the committee, she said, that the poem will no longer be included in the syllabus.
Mrs. Janner announced also that her committee will launch a campaign to explain Judaism to non-Jewish youth in this country. The purpose, she said, is to help eliminate possible anti-Jewish prejudices among non-Jewish youth in Britain.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.