Antisemitic myths from medieval blood libels to today’s conspiracies | The Jerusalem Post

Jpost · 🇮🇱 public Israel · May 17, 2026 · 683 words · By ROZ ROTHSTEIN

Modern Conflict and Rhetoric Human Rights and Dehumanization Historical Antisemitism

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What to know about Modern Conflict and Rhetoric

Many people have never heard of Simon of Trent (Saint Simon), a Christian child born in Italy, whose disappearance and death in 1475 were falsely blamed on the Jewish community.

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 4

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Many people have never heard of Simon of Trent (Saint Simon), a Christian child born in Italy, whose disappearance and death in 1475 were falsely blamed on the Jewish community.

Why it matters

Nearly a dozen Jewish men were immediately executed, and the blood libel spread far beyond Italy into Germany and across Europe, fueling persecution, expulsions, and inciting hatred against Jewish people for generations.

Common ground

Nor have most people heard of another infamous antisemitic conspiracy theory: the accusation that Jews poisoned wells during the Black Death in the 1300s.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear, Slippery Slope: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Modern Conflict and Rhetoric story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Blood libels and other antisemitic conspiracy theories resurfaced throughout history, including in Nazi propaganda?
How does this story connect Modern Conflict and Rhetoric with Human Rights and Dehumanization over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-896174

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 4 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Appeal to Fear 80% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Slippery Slope 80% confidence

Arguing that one event will inevitably lead to extreme consequences without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing slippery slope helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Glittering Generalities 70% confidence

Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.

Why it matters: Recognizing glittering generalities helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 4

verified Verified By Reference 2

check_circle Corroborated 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

schedule Pending 1

info

Claim 1: “Blood libels and other antisemitic conspiracy theories resurfaced throughout history, including in Nazi propaganda”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the search results confirm the existence and nature of the Nazi Party, they do not specifically mention the use of 'blood libels' in their propaganda in the provided snippets.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Nazi, the informal and originally derogatory term for a party member, abbreviates the party's name (Nationalsozialist [natsi̯oˈnaːlzotsi̯aˌlɪst]), and was coined in analogy with Sozi (pronounced [ˈzoː…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 1, 2026 · Nazi Party, political party of the mass movement known as National Socialism. Under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, the party came to power in Germany in 1933 and governed by totalitaria…
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nazi-Party

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Nov 9, 2009 · The National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or Nazi Party, grew into a mass movement and ruled Germany through totalitarian means from 1933 to 1945 under the leadership of Adolf Hitler…
https://www.history.com/articles/nazi-party

verified

Claim 2: “Simon of Trent (Saint Simon), a Christian child born in Italy, whose disappearance and death in 1475 were falsely blamed on the Jewish community.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and other historical sources confirm that Simon of Trent was a young boy whose death was used as a blood libel against the Jewish community.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon Eugène Simon, French naturalist by …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Touch, try, buy your favorite fashion discoveries at a Simon Malls, Simon Mills or Simon Premium Outlets near you.
https://www.simon.com/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2. Shop at a Center or Online Visit any of your favorite stores at a Simon center or shop online at ShopSimon.com®.
https://plus.simon.com/

info

Claim 3: “In far too many places throughout the Middle East, including areas ruled by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, antisemitic incitement against Jews has been documented in schools, media, sermons, and children’s programming.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results provide general definitions of antisemitism and statistics for the US, but do not provide specific documentation of incitement in schools or media in Hamas/PA ruled areas.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Antisemitism[a] or Jew-hatred[2] is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. [3][4][5] Whether antisemitism is considered a fo…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 7, 2026 · New York, California and New Jersey are the states that saw the highest rates of antisemitic incidents in 2025, according to a new report.
https://www.newsweek.com/most-antisemitic-incidents-usa-map-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Is criticism of Israel antisemitic? Political protest is an essential part of democracy, and criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country is legitimate. However, it is antisem…
https://www.ajc.org/what-is-antisemitism

info

Claim 4: “the Ibn Mashal conspiracy myth that circulated in Morocco in the late 17th century, portraying Jews as exploiters of Muslims.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results provided only linguistic definitions of the word 'Ibn' and did not mention the Ibn Mashal conspiracy myth.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mar 8, 2026 · There are many linguistic rules regarding when a person can use ibn and when they can use bin. For example one rule is that bin can only be used before the name of the father of the pers…
https://quranicnames.com/meaning-of-ibn-bin-abu-and-al/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — IBN is contained in 6 matches in Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Learn definitions, uses, and phrases with ibn.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ibn

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 9, 2026 · Translingual Symbol ibn (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Ibino.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ibn

check_circle

Claim 5: “Across Europe, Jewish communities were tortured, burned alive, expelled, or massacred after being falsely accused of causing the horrific pandemic.”

CORROBORATED

Evidence from Wikipedia and academic sources (Montana State University) confirms that the Black Death led to the persecution, torture, and killing of Jewish communities.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Black Death became a catalyst for the Mongol Empire's fall. It disrupted trade as the Mongols relied on trade along the Silk Road and the plague spread along these trade routes, killing the mercha…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 602-610 A.D. – Mesopotamia – Jews partially expelled for plotting a great massacre of Christians and destruction of churches; the plot was betrayed; Christians fell upon the Jews instead and killed ma…
https://radiochristianity.com/a-complete-list-of-jewish-expu…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jews were tortured into confessing and in May of 1348, after 20 Jews were killed, King Peter of Aragon attempted to reduce the violence against them.This is the End of the World: The Black Death. pp 9…
https://www.montana.edu/historybug/yersiniaessays/pariera-di…

schedule

Claim 6: “She is the CEO and co-founder of StandWithUs, a 25-year-old international organization that supports Israel and fights antisemitism through education.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 7: “Nearly a dozen Jewish men were immediately executed [following the death of Simon of Trent].”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the execution of Jewish men following the death of Simon of Trent, with one source specifying fifteen people were burnt at the stake.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Simon of Trent, also known as Saint Simon of Trent, was a young boy from the city of Trent, in the Prince-Bishopric of Trent, whose disappearance and death were weaponized as a blood libel against the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_of_Trent

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — An Anti-Jewish Saint. Trent’s Christian residents directed an overwhelming amount of religious devotion towards Simon because they were convinced that he had been ritually murdered by Jews.
https://publicmedievalist.com/toddler-pogrom/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The entire Jewish community (both men and women) were arrested and forced to confess under torture. Fifteen of them, including Samuel, the head of the community, were sentenced to death and burnt at t…
https://jewinthepew.org/2015/03/24/24-march-1475-blood-libel…

info

Claim 8: “the accusation that Jews poisoned wells during the Black Death in the 1300s.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided web search results for this claim were generic dictionary definitions of the word 'there' and did not provide information regarding the Black Death or well-poisoning myths.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 6 days ago · Note: Do not confuse there, which has meanings that mostly relate to a literal or abstract location, with the words their and they're. Their has to do with what belongs to or is associate…
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/there

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — We can use there at the start of a clause as a type of indefinite subject. This means that we can put the actual subject at the end of the clause and so give it emphasis or focus (underlined below): …
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/there

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 1. Used to introduce a clause or sentence: There are numerous items. There must be another exit. 2. Used to indicate an unspecified person in direct address: Hello there.
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/there

help

Claim 9: “The writer is a daughter of Holocaust survivors.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found regarding the identity or family history of the writer of the article in question.

verified

Claim 10: “the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacres in Israel.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and other sources explicitly confirm that Hamas carried out massacres in Israel on October 7, 2023.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The October 7 attacks were a series of coordinated armed incursions from the blockaded Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, carried out by Hamas and several other Palestinian militant…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_7_attacks

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — WARNING: This video contains extremely graphic footage recovered from the Hamas invasion and massacre in southern Israel on October 7th, 2023.0:05-3:08: Foot...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAFDI63yvNQ

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — When Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, the group's main leader was Ismail Haniyeh.Israel has carried out operations against Hamas in Gaza and its cells in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, kill…
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyv7w3gdy2o

help

Claim 11: “recent allegations in a The New York Times op-ed that included claims about Israeli dogs being trained to rape prisoners in Israeli jails.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results to corroborate or deny the existence of this specific NYT op-ed claim.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.