One hundred years ago, czarist Russia was convulsed by the “Beilis Affair” — the trial of my grandfather, Mendel Beilis, on charges that he ritually murdered a Christian child and used his blood to make matzo for Passover. Beilis was arrested in Kiev by the czarist secret police and imprisoned for more than two years,…
1913 •100 years ago Mendel Beilis Not Guilty After two hours of deliberation, the jury in Mendel Beilis’s blood-libel trial has declared him not guilty of all crimes. Beilis stood quietly, and his demeanor was calm — just as it was for most of the five-week-long trial — as the verdict was read. The courtroom…
This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of one of the most sensational trials of the 20th century. In September 1913, Mendel Beilis, the clerk of a brick factory, stood accused in a Kiev courtroom of murdering a 13-year-old boy to use his blood to make matzo. Over the course of a four-week trial, the…
Forward Looking Back brings you the stories that were making news in the Forward’s Yiddish paper 100, 75, and 50 years ago. Check back each week for a new set of illuminating, edifying and sometimes wacky clippings from the Jewish past. 100 Years Ago 1913 New Jersey’s Jews are furious after discovering that a number…
In this week’s podcast, fill-in host Paul Berger is joined by opinion editor Gal Beckerman to discuss the most recent presidential debate and how instant reaction on Twitter might be harming political discourse. Then, staff writer Josh Nathan-Kazis calls in from Las Vegas to report on the influence of billionaire Sheldon Adelson on the Nevada…
The only recorded blood libel accusation against American Jews occurred in 1928 in Massena, N.Y., a small industrial town on the Canadian border that for the next 84 years never brought up the episode. But today, Debbie Fuehring, program director at Massena Public Library, is eager to show a visiting reporter the box of rugelach…
Benjamin Ivry examines the work of misunderstood painter Philip Guston. Philologos investigates Sarah Palin’s use of the term “blood libel.” Jenna Weissman Joselit looks at the love affair between Jews and statistics. The Forward interviews Joan Rosenbaum, departing director of the Jewish Museum. Eve Grubin reads the spiritual poetry of Yehoshua November. Scott D. Seligman…
1144: 12-year-old William of Norwich, England, found dead. A priest accuses local Jews, but king’s sheriff dismisses charges, leading to uprising, canonization of William by local bishop. At coronation of King Richard II, 1189, mob turns on Jews; massacres follow in London, York. 1255: 8-year-old Hugh of Lincoln, England, found mutilated. 19 Jews executed. 1475:…
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