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• THU iittlitilt1WISiliEWS'
Purely Commentary
The Ritual Murder Libel:
The Shock That Reverberates
When in an age of enlightenment, humans who share in
the benefits of civilization give ear and heart to such non-
sensical idiocies as the ritual murder, there is cause for
endless amazement. How is this possible in an enlightened
age? It was inconceivable that this could emanate from the
Soviet Union, yet it is from Russia that the stupidity was
circulated -in recent years. The Arabs picked it up, hook,
line and sinker, and it served the cause of anti-Israelism
among them. The haters of Israel reproduced the forgeries
of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Arabic and the ritual
murder lie was part of their propaganda against world
Jewry as well as Israel. Some of their leaders even tried to
inject it in diplomatic discussions.
Renewed interest in the medieval libel is created by Dr.
Saul S. Friedman, associate professor of Jewish and Near
East history at Youngstown State University, Ohio, in
"The Incident at Massena: Anti-Semitic Hysteria in a Typi-
cal American Town" (Stein and Day), which shows that the
spread of a bigoted lie and of hatred "did happen here."
Dr. Friedman went into many details to describe what
had occurred in Massena, N.Y., on the eve of Yom Kippur in
1928. A little girl got lost in the forest. When the search for
her failed to locate her for many hours, the bigots had a
heyday spreading the blood libel against the Jews of the
town.
The fact that a few ignorant firemen and their pals pur-
sued the charge and enlisted aid in spreading the libel
proved somewhat less disturbing than the fact that the
mayor of Massena, W. Gilbert Hawes, had encouraged the
libel-spreaders. There was even the audacity of calling
upon the spiritual leader of Massena Jewry, Rabbi Berel
Brennglass, to testify before Kol Nidre on the veracity of
the charges.
LOUIS MARSHALL
STEPHEN WISE
Rabbi Brennglass emerges as a hero in this story, as a
man of courage who expressed his indignation and sense of
outrage in no uncertain terms. As always happens, there is
usually an ignoramus even in Jewish ranks who, admitting
his lack of knowledge, may express doubt about the anti-
Semitic charges. It is in this respect, the warning of the
danger that stems from ignorance, that Dr. Friedman re-
nders a service with advice for knowledgeability about
Jewish traditions and awareness of the facts.
It is in this respect that a similar admonition appeared on
this page on Oct. 1, 1965. It will be reiterated in the interest
of exposing the ritual murder libel again so that the gener-
ations of Jews everywhere, at all times, since "it did happen
here," may be able to confront every assault that comes
from bigots and lunatic 'fringes.
First, an account of Dr. Friedman's "The Incident at
Massena." The author went into many details about many
things, about shehita, Jewish abhorrence of blood, numer-
ous historic events, communal reactions to anti-Semitism
and much more.
The story of the incident is given full coverage in this
book. The reactions of the non-Jews are reported, the views
of the Jews are indicated in this book, the fright as well as
the indignaiton in Jewish ranks being part of the story.
Presently there,is a desire for silence. This was part of the
regrettable development in Massena. The lost little girl
was found, the incident could have closed with, a sense of
respect for truth. Instead, there emerged a bit of panic,
some Jews having feared that the consequences, regardless
of the medieval libel, threatened possible continued hatred
from non-Jewish ranks. Instead of building on truth there
are fears and they seem to be continuing and possibly
multiplying. •
Not only the ritual murder libel but the effects on Jewish
leadership is what is important in the Friedman story. His
book emphasizes a rift between the leaders of the American
Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Committee, Dr.
Stephen S. Wise and Louis Marshall. Boris Smolar, as
editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, was advised by
Marshall to go to Massena. He did and he performed a
notable service by giving courage to the Jews of the town.
But out of the tragedy emerged, as outlined in the Fried-
man report on the Massena incident, a bit of scandal in
Jewish ranks. There was a division of opinion regarding the
strong apology that was issued by Mayor Hawes. Marshall
was dissatisfied. He refused to consider the incident closed
Massena Incident Inspires Documentary on Ritual
Murder Libel and Recalls Boris Smolar's Role as
Reporter, This Commentator's Similar Experience
unless Hawes resigned, something the veteran mayor re-
fused to do. Friedman accuses Marshall of hdving
capitalized on the incident. He writes more favorably re-
garding Stephen Wise. This is a deplorable factor shown in
a full-length book which not only gives an account of the
Massena incident but also of all related facts in Jewish life
involving ceremonials and basic laws of kashrut, shehita
and other matters, then dealing with communal rivalries
and the alleged Wise-Marshall confrontation. Actually it
was only the Marshall demand for Hawes' resignation
which is accountable for what is presented as a conflict in
leadership. That conflict did exist at the time, yet the Mas-
sena results may be viewed merely as differences of opin-
ion.
The Massena story does not end here. Turning back the
pages of The Jewish News, to Page 2 of Oct. 1, 1965, the
ritual murder libel and the Massena occurrence receive
attention compelling renewed interest and continuing con-
cern.
On that page appeared
two articles on Massena and
the blood libel: Boris Smo-
lar's description of his Mas-
sena experience and the
entire incident, and your
Commentator's account of a
personal experience with a
ritual murder charge which
also proved that it could, as
it did, "happen here."
As indicated, Smolar,
who already ranked among
the leading Jewish jour-
nalists, went to Massena at
Marshall's request. His
story gave a full account of
what had occurred. It was a
BORIS SMOLAR
factual report and is part of
the history of American Jewish experiences and will form a
notable chapter in the next Boris Smolar book.
Then there was this Commentator's recollection of an-
Other incident, in Bayonne, N.J.
Because of its admonitions to youth, the following from
the 1965 issue merits repetition in relation to the Massena
incident:
It dates back to 1915. It was a month before
Passover, spring had set in, and there was a
booming business at the Slomovitz Department
Store on Avenue C in Bayonne, N.J. As in sub-
sequent years, when that store was transplanted
first to Westminster Avenue and then to Oakland
Avenue in Detroit, there were displays of dry
goods remnants and women of all faiths and races
were searching for colors and lengths of their
preference for dresses for the approaching holi-
days.
Suddenly there wA a shout at my father: "Mur-
derer, Jew, bloodsucker! You stole my child for
Passover!" The shout was in Polish, with a sprink-
ling of vituperative English.
Before an hour had passed, at least a thousand
Poles had gathered at the store, threatening,
ready to kill, and the police had a difficult time
holding the crowd back.
Two hours later, the missing little girl was
found about -a block away. She had been window
shopping in neighborhood stores.
The incident made front page copy, in all Yid-
dish newspapers, the N.Y. Times, AP, UP, INS,
and this Commentator, then in his teens, more
By Philip
Slomovitz
than a year before he was to leave for Ann Arbor-
to enter the Uof M, began to receive inquiries from
many Slomovitzes throughout the country, in-
cluding Prof. Slomovitz of the University of Wis-
consin, asking whether we were related, whence
we hailed, about our Russian background, etc.
No, there were not too many incidents. We are
fortunate: the stupidities of the Middle Ages have
not invaded our land. Yet, more often, in years
gone by, we had non-Jews ask: is it true that Jews
must use blood in their matzot for Passover? Such
has been the horrifying situation which had made
possible to inflict tragic libels upon us.
About a year ago, Flint residents were shocked
to receive a mimeographed circular from an
anti-Semitic organization that has its headquar-
ters in New Jersey, reviving the ritual murder
libel. Its circulation could not have been limited to
a Michigan community. Resort to such medieval
insanity is an indication that the fight against
bigotry never ends.
There were ritual murder charges in other
areas of the Western Hemisphere. In 1946, DAIA,
the central Jewish Argentinian organization, pro-
tested to the government against such accusa-
tions by Benjamin F. Zaccheo, professor of his-
tory at Buenos Aires Normal School. Zaccheo had
lauded the activities of the Spanish Inquisition.
The scurrilous ritual murder charge against
Jews also was made,.at a street corner meeting in
Chicago, on Oct. 6, 1945, by three notorious anti-
Semites, including Homer Maertz.
The horrible Kielce pogrom in Poland in 1946
was marked by the blood accusation atrocity.
. It was in the infamous Leopold Hilsner case in
1899 that the eminent liberal, Prof. Thomas
Masaryk, who was later to become the first
president of the reborn Czechoslovakian Repub-
lic, after World War I. played a vital role as the
defender of the accused Jew and as the advocate
against the atrocious lie leveled at Jewry.
But since then anti-Semites everywhere, espe-
cially Germans under the leadership of the arch
Nazi Julius Streicher, used the ritual murder lie
as an instrument of attack against the Jewish
people.
And in our own time, our youth are totally un-
aware of the historic incidents that resulted in
pogroms, in the death of scores of thousands of
Jews who were subjected to the blood-accusation
and other libels.
On March 5, 1937, Commonweal, the leading Catholic
liberal periodical, published an article by this Commen-
tator on "The Ritual Murder Libel." It dealt with a condem-
nation of the blood lie by Cardinal Lorenzo Ganganelli, who
just before he became Pope Clement XIV presented an
encyclical branding the ritual murder libel as "infamous
and false." The prominence given this article indicated that
there are Christians who are ready to brand a lie when it is
uttered.
Notably, in an unusually important new book, "The
Synagogue" (Macmillan), the eminent scholar, Brian
deBreffny traces many historic events, including scores of
incidents-that caused tragedies for Jewish communities in
England, Germany and elsewhere as a result of the spread
of the ritual murder libel.
Th admonition retains its necessity: that unless the facts
are known the unknowing among youth may be so
perplexed as to be puzzled by the blood lie charges. Unless
they know, how will they confront the maligners?
Yiddish Theater Alive and Well in Poland
By DAVID FRIEDMAN
JTA, In.)
NEW YORK — The Yid-
dish theater is alive in Po-
land today, although the
country's Jewish population
has been decimated, be-
cause of the interest of an
audience that is 90 percent
non-Jewish and knows no
Yiddish.
Jacob Rotbaum, head of
the Esther Rachel
Kaminska Jewish State
Theater in Warsaw, attrib-
uted this to a "hunger" by
young Poles, intellectuals
and professionals, for all
types of theater and a par-
ticular interest by them in
Jewish culture. "Some learn
for the very first time what
it is to be a Jew," he said.
The audience is provided
(Copyright 1978,
Rotbaum is in New York
with a translation over
headphones in the theater to stage "The Inheritors," a
named for the mother of the play he adapted from a
famed Polish Jewish ac- Sholem Aleichem story, as
tress, Ida Kaminska, who the opening production
now lives in New York. Rot- Nov. 4 of one of these
baum stressed that the groups, the Folksbiene,
translation is not a synopsis which at 64 is the oldest
but a line-by-line literal continuous Yiddish theatri-
cal organization in the
rendition.
world. The group is now
It is ironic that in Po- under the auspices of the
land where there are now Workmen's Circle and the
only 6,000 to 7,000 Jews, Labor Zionist Alliance.
according to Rotbaum's
The reason that the Yid-
estimate, the Yiddish
State Theater performs dish theater can exist in Po-
three times a week land is because it receives a
throughout the year. In healthy subsidy from the
the Greater New York Polish government, Rot-
area, with more than two baum explained. He said
million Jews, there are the government's only re-
only a few Yiddish quirement is that the thea-
groups and none go ter be "creative and present
performances on a "high ar-
year-around.
tistic level."
Rotbaum said the theater
performs all of the major
Yiddish classics as well as
major world classics trans-
lated into Yiddish. He saia
his non-Jewish audience
highly interested in Jewish
culture, especially folklore,
and he tries to present this
by inserting songs and
dance in many of his prod-
uctions.
"We try to show Jews
from the best side," Rot-
baum noted. He said plays
that present Jews in carica-
ture or in a bad light are not
presented. For this reason,
he claimed, works like that
of the new Nobel Prize -win-
ner Isaac Bashevis Singer
will probably not be seen in
his native country.