Review of the Case of Blood Libel as an Anti-Semitic Discourse According to the Ottoman Documents

Jews have been a society that has been talked about frequently in historic events in both the ancient period and the following periods. Throughout history, despite their names were not mentioned in many wars, it was claimed that they were behind several wars or revolutions and various conspiracy theories about them were put forward. The reasons for some of the theses suggested about them should also be searched in the fact that they, considering their social characteristics, prefer to live in a more secluded manner compared to societies devoted to other beliefs. Because of this secluded lifestyle, they were often perceived in a different way by other elements in any geography where they resided. One of the significant allegations made about Jewish society is the case of the Blood Libel. This discourse, which completely emerged from the European Christian world, was echoed in the Ottoman territories. Toward the last periods of the Ottoman Empire, along with the institutionalization of Zionism, this discourse was rendered a very important material for anti-Semitic spheres. Some of the works conducted against Zionism referred to this case, however, only biased works about the subject were presented as resources and not much of an emphasis was placed on whether the rumors were true by referring to the Ottoman Archives. When the Ottoman Archives were reviewed, it was realized that this thesis was generally regarded as an urban legend; however, considering the period, the Ottoman administration took several precautions by considering the fact that it caused certain social conflicts or its possibility of causing larger incidents. This legend, which was not actually favored in the Muslim community before and after the institutionalization of Zionism, was noted to feed on the rivalry between Christians and Jews, who were people of the Ottoman Empire, and be manipulated by European powers, especially in the last century of the Empire. In this study, it was aimed to discuss this case in the light of the Ottoman Archive documents and answer the questions of which spheres aimed at what by the discourse of the Blood Libel.

Keywords

History of Revolution, Pesach Festival (Passover Festival), Blood Libel, Anti-Semitism, Jews, Torah