Blood libel (also
blood accusation[1][2]) refers to a false accusation or claim
[3][4][5] that religious minorities, almost always
Jews[
citation needed], murder children to use their
blood in certain aspects of their
religious rituals and
holidays.
[1][2][6] Historically, these claims have–alongside those of
well poisoning and
host desecration–been a major theme in European persecution of Jews.
[4]
The libels typically allege that Jews require human blood for the baking of
matzos for
Passover. The accusations often assert that the blood of
Christian children is especially coveted, and historically blood libel claims have often been made to account for otherwise unexplained deaths of children. In some cases, the alleged victim of
human sacrifice has become venerated as a
martyr, a holy figure around whom a martyr cult might arise. A few of these have been even
canonized as
saints.[
citation needed]
In Jewish lore, blood libels were the impetus for the creation in the 16th century of the
Golem of Prague by Rabbi
Judah Loew ben Bezalel. Many popes have either directly or indirectly condemned the blood accusation, and no pope has ever sanctioned it.
[7] These libels have persisted among some segments of Christians to the present time.
Blood libel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia