The first documented instances of Christian blood libel against the Jews occurred in the 12th century. It became a model for later iterations of an accusation that was used to direct and intensify anti-Semitism during periods of societal stress. From wikipedia:
Jews of Norwich were accused of ritual murder after a boy, William of Norwich, was found dead with stab wounds. The legend was turned into a cult, with William acquiring the status of martyr and crowds of pilgrims bringing wealth to the local church. In 1189, the Jewish deputation attending the coronation of Richard the Lionheart was attacked by the crowd. Massacres of Jews at London and York soon followed. On Feb 6 1190, all the Norwich Jews were found slaughtered in their houses, except a few who found refuge in the castle. Jews would later be expelled from all of England in 1290 and not allowed to return until 1655. In 1171, Blois was the site of a blood libel accusation against its Jewish community that led to 31 Jews (by some accounts 40) being burned to death .[8]>
In general, the blood libel gained prominence only after a long period of slowly intensifying anti-Semitism and was typically the culmination of a campaign of Jew hatred; the blood libel was usually followed by an outbreak of overt, violent aggression against Jews.
In August the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet printed a modern blood libel. The story followed a familiar arc, as noted by Barry Rubin:
And this is how anti-Semitism has always worked, going back to the Middle Ages. A Jew is accused of a crime, falsely or otherwise, and all Jews are guilty. A Jew is accused of an illegal commercial transaction, and this justifies accusing the whole Jewish community of systematic murder.
If a Swede, a Muslim, or an African was accused of a crime, would that justify accusing an entire country or people of an even worse crime without evidence?
There’s a popular word for that today:
Racism.
This story is particularly personal for me. One hundred and twenty years ago, one of my ancestors was accused of ritual murder in Dolhinov, Russia, and a mob set out — unsuccessfully — to lynch him. A young Russian boy had been found killed, and my ancestor was accused of having done it using a “Jewish tool” — a barrel stuck through with nails for draining the blood to make matzoh.
Similarly, the Dutch story is an update to the old libels — Jews poisoning wells, worshiping money, and seeking world domination. And the British story is an update of the idea that the Jews pose as victims but are actually criminals equivalent to the worst evil in the world.
Anyone who cannot see the relationship of the historical ritual murder charge to its modern-day version is either not paying attention or is seeking the historical goal of anti-Semites: slandering the Jewish people in order to destroy them.
Further excellent commentary has been offered by Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Carl in Jerusalem, Solomon, Yaacov Lozowick (who in a very brief post manages to demolish any logical basis the story pretends to have), and Elder of Zion (who attempts to illustrate the absurdity of the EU's "balanced" response to the outrageous story.)
I would add to their excellent work that when a society descends into overt anti-Semitism (even as the European elites disguise their Jew hatred from themselves via semi-sophisticated rationalizations) it is a signal of serious societal distress and regression.
When I discussed certain psychological aspects of Arab anti-Semitism in Pity the Poor Anti-Semite, I noted that the anti-Semite unconsciously accepts that he is inferior to the Jew and unable to compete with his hidden inflated sense of the Jews' superiority:
... MEMRI posted excerpts from a Syrian government run newspaper which describes some of the lengths to which the anti-Semite is willing to go to blame the Jews for events:
On January 31, 2006, the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra published an article by columnist Abd Al-Rahman Ghunaym suggesting that Israel created the avian flu virus in order to damage "genes carried only by Arabs." The article further speculates that Israel may have planted the virus in East Asia in order to mislead the world, and that this is why the disease first appeared in that remote region. Another possibility given is that the virus was created to attack "the yellow race - especially in China and Vietnam" which are "rising powers" threatening "American hegemony over the world."
The article has a compendium of other paranoid fantasies about the Jews. It includes the canard, which unfortunately a significant percentage of the American black population believes, that Jews developed AIDS to kill blacks. The article ends with this gem, which bears scrutiny:
"Tampering with Arab genes [without affecting] the white race is very difficult. But the Zionists are capable of attempting this [risky] adventure if [they have] a preventive treatment or a [cure for the disease]. Recall that the assassination of Yasser Arafat was carried out by means of biological weapons. The attempt on the life of the fighter [Hamas leader] Khaled Mash'al [likewise] involved a biological [agent] which [is countered by] a secret antidote that only the Zionists possess."
Not only is "tampering with Arab genes [without affecting] the white race ... very difficult", it is not possible (yet) though if it becomes possible, it is almost certain that Jewish scientists will be involved. However, consider the implications of this idea and other common delusions/fantasies about the Jews. Jews control international finance; they control governments behind the scenes; they have death rays, control tsunamis, etc. The list of powers that Jews are supposed to possess are remarkable and incredible; the Jews are supermen! Meanwhile, the poor Arabs are weak and helpless victims. [Notice, the alternative, that Jews are a hard working group who value education, would cast the Arab world's manifest failures into an even worse light.]
Anti-Semitism is the societal equivalent of the paranoid delusions that the impending psychotic uses as a desperate, last ditch effort to maintain his psychological integrity. (See The Reparative Function of Paranoid Delusions for further explanation of this process.) If Europe is beginning to countenance the ancient blood libel in "sophisticated", mainstream media, this should alert us that the societal stresses roiling under the surface in Europe may be more significant than recognized.
It has been apparent for quite some time that much of Europe would be happy to sacrifice Israel in the delusion that such human sacrifice would appease the barbarians in their midst. Beyond that unhappy recognition, there is an additional, perhaps sadder point: no society that has descended into overt, paranoid anti-Semitism has ever recovered without terrible conflict, blood, and destruction. The few remaining Jews in Europe may become the first victims of the disorder but they will not be the last.
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