Final and incontrovertible refutation of the ritual murder accusation which has haunted the Jewish people since the twelfth century is contained in a new book by Cecil Roth, according to the Morning Post.
The book is dedicated to the memory of Lorenzo Ganganelli, Pope Clement XIV, on the 160th anniversary of the death of the learned Franciscan, who was commissioned in 1758 to make a detailed report on a series of violent incidents in Poland following fresh repetitions of the blood libel.
It traces the history of the myth, which it finds was based upon the false assumption that Jews required and used blood for religious observances in connection with the Passover rites, and that they did not scruple to commit murder to obtain this blood.
The first instance of this allegation known to Western history, Mr. Roth writes, occurred in 1144 on Easter Eve, when the body of a skinner’s young apprentice was found in a wood near Norwich. Modern theorists have concluded that the boy had a cataleptic fit and was prematurely buried by his family, but it was rumored at the time that he had been lured from his home by Jews and crucified. A wave of religious fanaticism swept the city and wholesale massacres of Jews were barely averted.
Mr. Roth points out that the advance of civilization has not brought about the disappearance of the ritual murder libel, which has appeared on over 150 occasions down through the centuries and has left in its wake wholesale arrests, gross miscarriages of justice and widespread violence.
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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.
