The Blood Libel in North America : Jews, Law, and Citizenship in the Early 20th Century

While Mendel Beilis stood trial for murder in Ukraine in 1913, charged with ritually killing a Christian child whose body was discovered near a local brick factory in Kiev, the small Jewish population of Quebec City pursued legal action against perpetrators of the myth of blood libel. Blood libel refers to a centuries-old false allegation that Jews murder Christians – especially Christian children – to use their blood for ritual purposes, such as an ingredient in the baking of Passover matzah (unleavened bread). The author traces the attempts by Jewish populations in Quebec City, Montreal, Winnipeg, and in the small upstate New York town of Massena, to use legal means to combat manifestations of the pernicious blood libel in North American locales. The author notes that while each instance took place in unique social, political, and cultural contexts, what they share is a common belief by Jewish populations that they enjoyed full and emancipated citizenship rights, and that law was a tool available to them as citizens of North American democracies to combat these manifestations of Jew hatred.

Law & Literature

Vol. 28

no. 1

33-85

2016

en