Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

Are the Jews Responsible For Anti-Semitism?
Friday, February 16, 2007

How's this for a topic likely to get the blood boiling: Is the blood libel true? The AP:

An Italian-Israeli historian has angered fellow Jews by taking on a subject that has long haunted his people: alleged anti-Christian hatred he says fueled medieval accusations that Jews killed Christians in ritual murders.

Ariel Toaff's book, just released in Italy, shocked the country's small Jewish community — in part because he is the son of Elio Toaff, the chief rabbi who welcomed Pope John Paul II to Rome's synagogue two decades ago in a historic visit that helped ease Catholic-Jewish relations after centuries of tensions.

The author, who teaches medieval and Renaissance history at Bar-Ilan University outside Tel Aviv, Israel, delves into the charge that Jews added the blood of Christian children to wine and unleavened bread for Passover — allegations that resulted in torture, show trials and executions, periodically devastating Europe's Jewish communities over the years.

Historians have long disputed the medieval allegations, dismissing them as racism. But "blood libel" stories remain popular in anti-Semitic literature today.

In his Pasque di Sangue— Bloody Passovers — Toaff cites confessions from Jews accused of ritual murder to expose what he claims was a body of anti-Christian literature, prayers and rites among the communities of central Europe.
Jewish and Catholic scholars have denounced Toaff's work, saying he simply reinterpreted known documents — and has given credence to confessions that were extracted under torture.

Interesting to note that at least one place this AP story ran is in Pakistan.

Labels: Judaism

Posted by B Feiler at 7:05 AM
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1 Comments:

Anonymous said...: An equally disturbing article is in the Feb. 19, 2007 Jerusalem Post-
Jews are a detriment to Europe, Polish politician says

If you have the stomach for it, the booklet can be found here - http://www.giertych.pl/?sr=lista&m=pe&dz=pe

Did we learn anything from the WWII?; February 19, 2007 12:36:00 PM EST