Jewish Massacre Victims are laid to rest after more than 800 years

Jews have been living in Norwich, England since 1135 but they were not welcome. In 1190, they had to seek refuge in the local castle. Those who didn’t make it were butchered. Their homes were set on fire and their bodies were thrown down wells. In 1144, Norwich launched the first medieval “blood libel”. Basically, this involved accusing Jews of killing Christian children so as to use their blood to bake matzot for Passover. There are 150 recorded blood libels in medieval Europe. In other words, the idea caught on. These accusations that usually arose in the spring, around Passover time, were accompanied by massacres of Jewish men, women and children. So Norwich has the dishonor of having launched this deadly libel.

In 2004, 17 medieval bodies – 11 of them children – were found in a well in Norwich. The Jewish community has been trying to bury them for years. This week they were finally given a decent, Jewish burial.

Thank God. May their memory be for a blessing and may we live in a world where these kind of crimes are a matter of history.

Click here and here for more information on this historic event.

Video on the history of the Norwich Blood Libel