The Damascus affair: "ritual murder," politics, and the Jews in 1840

Abstract

This chapter reviews Jonathan Frankel's The Damascus Affair. Frankel is an experienced Israeli historian, and the chapter reveals how his expertise is employed in the book to create a story that reflects Jewish history, international relations, and sociology. The book analyses the events in Damascus, the fervent activity of individuals and, somewhat later, of various Jewish associations in Europe in favour of the accused and against the blood libel, the press polemics and the changes in public opinion, and the diplomatic activity forming the background of the whole affair. In the last chapters, Frankel presents the views of historians, who in most cases did not consider the episode to deserve a prominent place in Jewish history and gave it scant treatment. He likewise puts forward his own conclusions about the significance of these events for Jewish political, ideological, and social life in the next century.

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