Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 7, 2007



The Rhodes blood libel was an instance of the blood libel against Jews in which the Jews of the island of Rhodes were accused of the ritual murder of a Christian boy in February 1840. The libel originated in the Greek Orthodox community and enjoyed active support from the consuls of several European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, the Austrian Empire, Sweden, and Greece. Most importantly, the Ottoman governor of Rhodes broke with the long tradition of the Ottoman governments (which had previously shielded the Jews from blood libel accusations) and supported the ritual murder charge. Several Jews were arrested. Some of them made false confessions under torture. The entire Jewish quarter was blockaded for twelve days. The Jews of Rhodes appealed for help to the Jewish community in Constantinople, who forwarded the materials on the Rhodes affair to Europe. In the United Kingdom and Austria, Jewish communities were able to win support from their governments, and dispatches sent to the ambassadors in Constantinople unequivocally condemned the blood libel; thus, a consensus favorable to the Jews formed within the European diplomatic community. In addition, the governor of Rhodes proved unable to force the case to any formal conclusion and turned for instructions to the central government, which initiated a formal inquiry into the affair. In July 1840, that investigation established the innocence of the Jews. Finally, in November of the same year, the Ottoman sultan issued a decree (firman) denouncing the blood libel. (more...)

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