The energetic action of the Vilna police authorities in suppressing an anti-Jewish agitation which had its origin in an ordinary street accident, prevented the spread of a ritual murder rumor, the day after the Easter holiday.
Hillel Nigus, a Jewish barber of Wolska Street, No. 12, while walking in the street, accidentally bumped into a Christian servant girl, the impact causing her to fall. The cobblestones cut her arm and the wound bled. A crowd quickly formed, and soon word was passed from mouth to mouth that the Jewish barber had attempted to kill the Christian girl for ritual purposes, according to the libelous myth that the Jews need Christian blood for matzoth.
Becoming incensed, the mob attempted to lynch Nigus, who fled to a restaurant in the neighborhood. The mob surrounded the building, broke the windows and doors, demanding that Nigus surrender. The siege lasted two hours, when the police succeeded in dispersing the mob. Nigus was taken from the cellar, where he had been hiding, and spirited away by the police to a place of safety. No arrests were made.
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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.
