At least some part of the blood-libel against Jews in Europe was based on actual ceremonies in which Jews reportedly used Christian blood, maintains a new historical research report recently published in Italy by an Israeli historian. "Passover of Blood," a report by Professor Ariel Tuaf of Israel's Bar-Ilan University, has already drawn fire from academic researchers discounting the study. However, such criticism was quickly snuffed by Tauf, who had also received several threats for publishing his work, in recent interviews with the Italian media. 

Tauf, who until one year ago served as the department head of the Israel Studies department at the Bar-Ilan University, is considered an international expert on the Jewish community in Italy during the Middle Ages. His father, Eliyahu Tauf, was the head rabbi of Rome and one of the top figures of the Jewish leadership in Europe who had a central role in managing relations between the Catholic Church, Israel, and the Jewish people, according to Haaretz.

As a result of blood libel in the 15th century, Simonino was named a saint by the Catholic Church. Simonino held the position until the second Vatican Congress in 1965, when the church absolved the Jewish people of the crime of the crucifixion of Jesus.

According to the new book, trials against sacrificial murder of Christian children in Italy occurred almost exclusively in the northern region of the peninsula, in which Jews of "Ashkenazi" decent (Jews who had migrated to Germany and Western Europe, as opposed to those who remained in or near their place of origin, the Middle East). The book describes itself as a "renewed look, devoid of prejudice, at ancient documentation of trials against Jews accused of killing Semonino and others, within the larger context of Europe using detailed Jewish texts. The collection sheds light on documents related to healing and medicine in which Jews used blood for healing purposes, and concludes that blood libel was not always fabricated, especially when "Ashkenazi Jews were in question."

Tauf describes the centrality of blood during Passover. According to him, several Jewish communities attributed healing powers to the blood of animals and humans, which played a role in Kabbalistic ceremonies, for such purposes as increasing libido and curbing blood loss during circumcision.

Severe criticism resulted in the publishing of the work, including criticism by senior Jewish rabbis in Italy-Tauf's father included. Tauf senior stated that he intends to read the work and study its documents, but adds that Jewish law strictly forbids the consumption of any blood. Professor Tauf expressed that he had tried to reach his father to speak to him, but had been unsuccessful. "I hope that I will be able to find a way to speak to him," he said.

Tauf responds to criticism by saying that in his book, which is some 400 pages long, "I attempted to reveal whether or not claims that Christian blood was used for baking matzas by Jews was false or not. My research reveals that during the Middle Ages, a small group of fundamentalist Jews did not honor the Jewish prohibition of the consumption of blood, and used it for healing purposes. The community I speak of is a singular group that was part of a larger Jewish community who suffered severely from anti-Semitism and violence against Jews at the time. From their trauma from such experiences rose the desire for revenge, which in isolated cases was the use of ceremonial blood."

© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)