Talk:blood libel

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1984 Sharon "blood libel" suit against Time (and broadening of usage)?[edit]

Still looking, but the impression I have is that the phrase "blood libel" may have been thrust into the mediasphere by Ariel Sharon's 1984-5 lawsuit, and that within a few years broader usages of the phrase (than the primary Wikipedia article case) were more likely to appear in public discourse. If someone has access to an OED subscription, would you take a glance at the "blood libel" entry and see if there is any indication that that might be the case (so I can quit looking before the 1980s :). Thanks. -- Proofreader77 12:16, 15 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Check out this neat graph which demonstrates usage in written English. It does certainly seem like the phrase was gaining usage in the mid 80s, but it had been growing in usage pretty steadily prior to that point also. - [The]DaveRoss 01:10, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Very cool. Thanks! -- Proofreader77 02:08, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
PS Google Books Ngram Viewer covers appearance of the phrase in books. Once upon a time Google News would produce a bar-graph version for news, but it seems they've discontinued that. NOTE: But the number of occurrences of the phrase is not the same as the number of occurrences which are extensions (metaphorical use, etc) of the primary (historical) meaning. To determine that, you have to read every one...

SO: Still hope someone takes a glance inside the OED (I hate to buy a month's subscription just to find there is nothing useful there.) -- Proofreader77 19:46, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Follow-up OED: I see on wordorigins.org that someone has stated that the OED has no entry for "blood libel. -- Proofreader77 23:41, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

[ref] Wall Street Journal archives ("blood libel" search/complete listings from 1923 to 1/9/2011)[edit]

  • Begin Staves Off Massacre Critics In Knesset Vote / By YORAM KESSEL Special to THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; The Wall Street Journal (1923 - Current file); Sep 23, 1982; 38;
  • Czarist Trappings for Moscow's Anti-Semitic Revival / By WILLIAM KOREY; The Wall Street Journal (1923 - Current file); Sep 26, 1983; 28;
  • 'The Golem': A Jewish Frankenstein in Central Park / The Wall Street Journal (1923 - Current file); Sep 4, 1984; 26;
  • Time Inc. Trial Starts as Judge Refuses To Bar Sharon's $50 Million Libel Suit / The Wall Street Journal (1923 - Current file); Nov 13, 1984; 38;
  • Ariel Sharon: An Israeli General's Own Story /GEORGE MELLOAN; The Wall Street Journal (1923 - Current file); Sep 7, 1989; A12;

Noting these exist (but $4.95 each). Proofreader77 02:19, 17 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

[ref] Wall Street Journal 1/10-14/2011[edit]

  • 01/10/11 (Opinion) Glenn Reynolds: The Arizona Tragedy and the Politics of Blood Libel
    Those who purport to care about the tenor of political discourse don't help civil debate when they seize on any pretext ...
  • 01/12/11 Video: Palin Rejects Criticism Over Arizona Shooting
    Sarah Palin responds to allegations that violent political rhetoric played a role in the attempted assassination of Democratic...
  • 01/12/11 (News) Palin responds to Arizona shootings
    Sarah Palin has released a video statement defending her campaign rhetoric and calling it "irresponsible" and a "blood libel...
  • 01/12/11 (New York) Palin's words reach back to sordid history
    NEW YORK — When Sarah Palin accused journalists and pundits of "blood libel" in the wake of the deadly Arizona shootings...
  • 01/13/11 (News) Palin Defends Rhetoric; Attacks Criticism as 'Blood Libel'
    Palin released a video statement defending her campaign rhetoric and calling it "irresponsible and a "blood libel to...
  • 01/13/11 (Opinion) 'It Did Not'
    A rebuke from Obama leads the New York Times to run from the fight it starte
  • 01/14/11 (Opinion) Easy Rider in Bizarro World
    Meet Clarence Dupnik, the left's unlikely--and unworthy--hero.
  • 01/14/11 (US) Obama Calls for a More Civil Nation
    Obama called on the U.S. to resist the temptation to assign blame for a shooting rampage that may never fully be explained...
  • 01/14/11 (Opinion) Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: Sarah Palin Is Right About 'Blood Libel'
    Judaism rejects the idea of collective responsibility for murder.

(Documenting WSJ entries in the context of triggering of media storm re "blood libel.") Proofreader77 19:14, 17 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

[ref] Newspaper HEADLINES containing "blood libel" 1900-1980[edit]

  • 1953 (New York Times) "Israel Sees 'Blood Libel'."
  • 1960 (Edmonton Journal) "Blood Libel Revived In Soviet Caucasus"
  • 1960 (Windsor Star) "Ancient Blood Libel Revived by Russians"

[ref] Newspaper HEADLINES containing "blood libel" 1980-1985[edit]

  • 1984 (New York Times) "Sharon Accuses Time of 'Blood Libel'
  • 1984 (Montreal Gazette) "Sharon: Magazine Ran "blood libel" Against Jews"
  • 1984 (Durant Daily Democrat) "Time is Accused of Bood Libel"
  • 1984 (Mid Cities Daily News) "Time is Accused of Bood Libel"
  • 1984 (St. Joseph News-Press/gazette)"Sharon Calls Time Article Blood Libel"
  • 1984 (Schenectady Gazette)"Time Story Is Blood Libel' On Jews, Sharon Says In Libel Suit Session"
  • 1984 (Anchorage Daily News) "Israel Calls Time Story 'blood libel'"
  • 1984 (Gainesville Sun) "Sharon's 'blood Libel' Lawsuit A Waste Of Precious Time"
  • 1984 (Press-Courier) "Ex-israeli Minister Claims Blood Libel'"
  • 1984 (Telegraph-Herald) "Sharon: Time Committed 'blood Libel'"
  • 1984 (Spokesman Review) "Israieli Calls Time Story 'Blood Libel'"

[ref] Newspaper HEADLINES containing "blood libel" 1986-1990[edit]

  • 1990 (Jerusalem Post) "Of Blood and other libels"
  • 1990 (Jewish Post) "Quale raps Zionism resolution as modern-day blood libel"

[ref] Newspaper HEADLINES containing "blood libel" 1991-2000[edit]

  • 1995 (Jerusalem Post) "Kiryat Arba residents protest 'blood libel'"
  • 1995 (Jerusalem Post) "Amos Oz's blood libel compounded by falsehood"
  • 1996 (Jerusalem Post) "Arafat's blood libel"
  • 1998 (Jerusalem Post) "Peres accuses Likud of blood libel"
  • 1999 (Jerusalem Post) "Tze'elim report clears Barak of improper behavior Labor leader: The blood libel is now over"
  • 1999 (Jerusalem Post) "MODERN-DAY BLOOD LIBEL"
  • 1999 (New York Post) "HILLARY'S NOT THE ONLY LOSER - THE BLOOD LIBEL MAY HAVE HURT THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE MORE"
  • 1999 (New York Post) "MRS. CLINTON AND THE BLOOD LIBEL"
  • 1999 (New York Post) "WHY CAN'T MRS. CLINTON ADMIT IT WAS A BLOOD LIBEL?"

[ref] Newspaper HEADLINES containing "blood libel" 2001-2005[edit]

  • 2001 (Jerusalem Post)"BLOOD LIBEL RESURRECTED"
  • 2001 (Midstream [magazine]) "Christ-killer"--the long shadow of a blood libel."
  • 2002 (Washington Times) "The new blood libel." (EDITORIALS)
  • 2002 (Jerusalem Post) "Saudi newspaper editor 'apologizes' for Purim blood libel"
  • 2002 (Gadsden Times) "Blood Libel And Other Modern Realities"
  • 2003 (Harlan Daily Enterprise) "It's Hard To Remove Blood Libel Stains"
  • 2003 (Jerusalem Post) "FM Netanyahu charges Belgium with 'blood libel'"
  • 2003 (Arutz Sheva) "Blood Libel at Haaretz"
  • 2004 (The Guardian) "Gibson film ignores vow to remove blood libel"
  • 2004 (Washington Post) "Gibson's Blood Libel"
  • 2004 (Jerusalem Post) "Crime boss Rosenstein: Charges are 'blood libel' "
  • 2005 (Israel Faxx [aggregator]) "Blood Libel Makes Comeback in Russia."
  • 2005 (Forward) "After World Pressure, Russia Abandons Investigation Denounced as ‘Blood Libel’"

(Adding ref of "blood libel" in news HEADLINES up to 2005 so far (Hoping to find a template to collapse this reference text) Proofreader77 20:27, 17 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

[ref] News HEADLINES containing "blood libel" 2006-2010[edit]

  • 2006 (New York Sun) Passover and the Blood Libel
  • 2006 (jnewswire) New blood libel: Israel used uranium bombs
  • 2006 (Jewish Exponent) 9/11 Blood Libel: The Lie That Just Won't Die

‎

  • 2007 (Arutz Sheva) GPO Director Says A-Dura Film is a 'Blood Libel'
  • 2007 (Ynetnews) Historian's study of 'blood libel' angers fellow Jews
  • 2007 (New York Sun) The New Blood Libel
  • 2007 (Al-Bawaba) Israeli historian confirms Jewish blood libel claims
  • 2007 (Jerusalem Post) MKs urge prosecution of 'blood libel' book author
  • 2007 (Times Higher Education) Fury over book on blood libel
  • 2007 (Israel Faxx) Book by bar Ilan Professor 'Confirms' Blood Libel
  • 2007 (Arutz Sheva) New Evidence Increases Suspicion of French TV Blood Libel
  • 2007 (Forward) Scholar Pulls Book Revisiting Blood Libel
  • 2007 (Jweekly) Italian book on blood libel condemned worldwide
  • 2007 (Israel Faxx) Blood Libel Professor Stops Book Sales.
  • 2007 (Jerusalem Post) Author admits blood-libel claim was meant as provocation
  • 2007 (townhall.com) Palestinian blood libel?
  • 2007 (Jerusalem Post) Blood and the Pessah sacrifice


  • 2008 (Arutz Sheva) Israeli-Arab Islamic Chief Indicted For Incitement, Blood Libel
  • 2008 (Arutz Sheva) Arabs Attack Jew in NYC, Blood Libel Returns to Russia
  • 2008 (Arutz Sheva) Horrific Arab Twist on an Ancient Blood Libel


  • 2009 (Reuters) Israel curbs Swedish media over blood libel
  • 2009 (Irish Times) Sweden must condemn 'blood libel' - Netanyahu
  • 2009 (People's Daily Online) Israeli PM's Europe trip overshadowed by "blood libel" claim
  • 2009 (Op Ed News) FLAME Hotline: Sweden's blood libel accusation represents a new low, even by European standards
  • 2009 (New York Daily News) Anatomy of a smear: UN report on Gaza is a blood libel against Israel
  • 2009 (Palestine Telegraph) The New "Blood Libel"? Israeli Organ Harvesting
  • 2009 (Israel Today [magazine]) Swedish newspaper prints blood libel against Israeli soldiers
  • 2009 (UPI) Swedish-Iraeli crisis over 'blood libel'
  • 2009 (Jewish Telegraph Agency) Op-Ed: Swedish paper published modern-day blood libel
  • 2009 (Jerusalem Post) Haredim escalate riots over 'blood libel,' as police chief fumes that 'the Bible doesn't permit this'
  • 2009 (Arutz Sheva) Sweden's Shameful Blood Libel
  • 2009 (Times [Johanesburg]) Report filled with 'lies and blood libel'
  • 2009 (New Jersey Jewish Standard) Swedish paper published modern-day blood libel
  • 2009 (EnerPUb) Israel: A new blood libel emerges


  • 2010 (Big Government) Victory! Seattle Transit Drops Jewish Blood Libel Bus Ads
  • 2010 (Ha'aretz) Swedish newspaper 'bllod libel' sparks harsh condemnation
  • 2010 (Ha'aretz) Family uses posters to claim 'blood libel' in case of mother accused of starving child
  • 2010 (Sacremento Bee) Bus Ad Campaign in Seattle to Counter Jewish Blood Libel
  • 2010 (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) Russian court tosses blood libel case
  • 2010 (Arutz Sheva) Blood Libel: NIF-Linked Group Blames Israel for Leukemia in Gaza

(Adding ref of "blood libel" in news HEADLINES 2006-2010 s(Still hoping to find a template to collapse this reference text) Proofreader77 00:08, 18 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

(4) Shear quote re "antiquity" (?), earliest English usage, and other languages?[edit]

[inserting header for these separate issues Proofreader77 01:44, 17 January 2011 (UTC)][reply]

Is it true that "The phrase 'blood libel' dates back to antiquity," as asserted in the Shear quote given in the last definition? I don't think so, although commentators are now asserting that it referred not only to the purported use of Christian blood, but further back referred to the claim that the Jewish people had blood on their hands for the death of Christ. I believe the extension of the term to the latter to be a fanciful misreading of the actual usage of the term "blood libel." Does anyone know if the term "blood libel" appeared in any other language before English? 71.66.97.228 20:09, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
In German it's:
71.66.97.228 20:11, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Google Books indicates that, aside from one 1840 reference, the term first appeared in print widely between 1910 and 1920. 71.66.97.228 20:14, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Blutbeschuldigung appears in German in 1832. 71.66.97.228 20:19, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Blutanklage appears in the early-to-mid-1800s. 71.66.97.228 20:24, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
What this shows me is that this term was well known in Germany in the 19th century, and it began to be used, in English translation from the original German term, by Jewish writers in the United States between 1910 and 1920 (during which time the Jewish population in the U.S. had grown quite large). 71.66.97.228 20:26, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
This source states that the blood libel against the Jewish people began in Germany in 1235. 71.66.97.228 20:33, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]
re (4) Shear quotation - It's a quotation/usage so there is no assertion of accuracy (but I'd assume the writer got that idea from reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_libel#Antiquity. COMMENT: The current quotations are initial choices. Also see the Citations page. Other selections may be made as time goes on.
re Earliest English dates of usage - This is a new entry inspired by recent events in the mediasphere so there is much to research. (In the case of the, e.g, 1840 book there is no preview so a full quotation cannot be determined.)
Other languages? Someone else would have to answer. (In general, a good etymology will take time.)
Many thanks for your effort/notes. Cheers. -- Proofreader77 01:44, 17 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Quite right. The "Shear quote" makes a demonstrably false statement; as the quotes for each sense of the phrase should demonstrate, the earliest citation for "blood libel" (the phrase) is from 1911, not some vague "antiquity." But the Shear quote is still an important citation because that is how the phrase "blood libel" is used today -- i.e. as if "blood libel" were an ancient phrase. I just wonder whether it would be appropriate to append an "editor's note" to the quotation, pointing out that it is factually wrong.

The earliest actual citation of the phrase is the one I included under definition 1, and it dates from 1911. Because the reporter who used the quote was reporting on Russian pogroms, it is possible (I suppose) that he was using it to translate some Russian, German, or perhaps Yiddish phrase. Note that I checked out all the earlier citations that come up in a Google Books search and verified that they are all "false positives" -- results of either an incorrect date or an erroneous OCR run. --Potosino 17:37, 22 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Comment: I don't think the 2011 Shear quotation illustrates or uses any particular sense (it only mentions the term), and therefore I do not think it belongs under any particular sense. I think it belongs in an etymology section (reformatted to use ref-tags) or on the citations page. - -sche (discuss) 01:31, 23 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
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