Britannica Sources used in this answer

What was the blood libel accusation against Jews?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Antisemitism demonstration in Paris — antisemitism Demonstrators protesting antisemitism during a silent march in Paris. The march commemorated Mireille Knoll, a Jewish woman who had survived the Holocaust and was murdered in her home on March 23, 2018, in what authorities called a hate crime.

The blood libel is a malicious and entirely false antisemitic accusation that Jews ritually murder non-Jews, particularly Christian children, to obtain blood for use in religious rituals, such as the preparation of unleavened bread for Passover.312

This fabrication is fundamentally absurd, as Judaism explicitly prohibits the consumption of blood. The first distinct instance of this libel emerged in 12th-century Norwich, England, following the death of a boy named William of Norwich. Throughout the medieval and modern periods, these baseless claims were used to incite persecution, massacres, and state-sponsored violence against Jewish communities.132

Historically, these accusations were often fueled by long-standing religious prejudices and "teachings of contempt" that portrayed Jews as enemies of the faith. Even when investigations or trials—such as the 1911 case of Mendel Beilis—resulted in acquittals, the myth persisted, eventually being co-opted by Nazi propaganda and other extremist movements to justify hatred and violence. Promoting such falsehoods is a grave moral wrong that has caused immense suffering throughout history.12