The Return of the Blood Libel: Can Art Stop the Hemorrhaging of Hate?

THE HUFFINGTON POST
By Bernard Starr

From the Nazi newspaper Westdeutchen Beobachter of Cologne (public domain).

One of the most bizarre accusations against Jews dates back to the Middle Ages and continued well into the nineteenth century. The Nazi propaganda machine revived the myth in the 1930s. Jews were charged with engaging in ritual murders of Christian children and using their blood in the preparation of Passover matzos. There are at least 150 recorded persecutions of Jews for this ritual murder charge -- and probably many others that were not recorded. Christian art, perhaps inadvertently, reinforced the distance between Christianity and Judaism by virtually eliminating any Jewish connection or identity for Jesus, his family, and close followers. Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, wealthy patrons and Church officials thirsted for art that was thoroughly and exclusively Christian Images are powerful in framing the way we see reality. [link]