Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., February 19, 2008 Adar1 13, 5768 | | Israel Time: 02:31 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Last update - 08:33 09/02/2008 Grave near Kiev is reminder of 20th century's only blood libel By Anshel Pfeffer Tags: Israel, Kiev, anti-Semitism  Sometimes fresh pink flowers can invoke nothing but raw hatred. Not far from the killing ground of Babi Yar, in what is now a suburb of Kiev, there is a large, sprawling Eastern-Orthodox cemetery, serving mainly the poorer classes. The graves, even the recent ones, are simple, usually consisting of only one Slavic cross made out of metal piping, and the entire place emanates an air of dilapidation and decay. But one little grave is well tended, despite being 97 years old. It is continuously well cared for. A little wooden roof has been built over it and the tombstone is regularly touched up with paint. It is the resting place of Andrei Yushchinsky, a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy, whose violent and mysterious death would never have been recorded by history if it hadn't sparked off the only blood libel of the 20th century, the trial of Menahem Mendel Beilis, a poor Jewish man accused of Andrei's death for political and anti-Semitic reasons. T Advertisement he articles and books on the Beilis case, the reasons for the accusations against him, the international campaign on his behalf, his trial and acquittal are all worthwhile reading. In three years, the case's centenary will surely yield more interesting research. But the Beilis case is very much alive not only for historians. Someone has spread a bunch of pink roses over Yushchinsky's tombstone, there is no snow around the grave and it is regularly swept. In a glass box there are candles and icons. The inscription is especially chilling. When the anti-Semitic prosecutors realized that the trumped-up charges and false evidence would never yield a conviction, even from the highly biased jury, they split the charges in two. The first question was, did Beilis commit the murder? He was acquitted of that. The second question was whether Yushchinsky was stabbed 13 times, was his body ritually murdered and was it found near the Jewish-owned Zaytsev brick factory? In other words, did the Jews kill the boy? The jury gave a positive answer to this, and their verdict is quoted in full on the tombstone. The fact that the inscription is a direct quote from the court proceedings has hampered legal efforts by Jewish groups to have it changed. The little sign that used to be fixed to the cross had a different fate - the one that said "Torture the Zhid" and was removed four years ago by the Ukrainian security service. We might think that in the enlightened 21st century, few people are prepared to admit openly they believe the myth of Jews ritually murdering Christian children and using their blood for religious purposes, especially not in a rapidly Westernizing country that just this week joined the World Trade Organization and is eagerly trying to become part of the European Union and NATO. But next month on the anniversary of Yushchinsky's death, hundreds of people will travel from around Ukraine and neighboring Russia to gather at the grave and once again accuse the Jews of his death. The largest university in the country, MAUP, has published books and articles over the last few years that ostensibly bring new "evidence" for Beilis' guilt and suggest that the Jews may be complicit in more recent deaths. There is no shortage of studies being published on anti-Semitism in Europe. A whole industry has sprung up of task forces and expert groups dedicated to monitoring any incident and compiling annual reports. But none of them has come up with a convincing answer on what anti-Semitism really is in this day and age. Is every act of mindless violence and reckless vandalism directed at Jews or Jewish property really ideological anti-Semitism? How different is the ancient hatred today to modern xenophobia? And when does severe criticism of Israeli policy veer into anti-Jewish bias? Many of the various monitoring bodies have different yardsticks, and two weeks ago the official annual anti-Semitism report presented to the Israeli government only mentioned trends, without giving actual figures. There were embarrassing discrepancies between the numbers in the Israeli reports and those compiled by Jewish communities in Europe. Anti-Semitism research also sometimes becomes hostage to rivalries between various Jewish organizations, as is the case in Russia where some leaders have been accused of playing down the continuing violence against Jews to curry favor with President Vladimir Putin. If you ask any leader of a major Jewish organization what his or her main aims are, the fight against anti-Semitism will feature very high on the list. But you sometimes get the feeling that this a convenient target, one that's much easier focusing on than the thornier problems of assimilation, lack of identity, declining communities and bickering between the various religious streams and organizations. At least we can all unite against the common enemy. We should never marginalize the threat of anti-Semitism, but it does sometimes seem that a lot of misplaced energy is dedicated in this direction and that resources could be better deployed elsewhere. While it's clear that some of the biggest threats to Jewish continuity derive from inner weakness, anti-Semitism shouldn't be used as an excuse to avoid addressing them. The pink roses on a grave in Kiev, glistening in the rain, serve as a reminder to the unvarnished, blind hatred of the Jewish people that still exists out there. More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   Artistic justice Israel Museum to exhibit art looted by Nazis and unclaimed. Let in snow For second time this winter, Jerusalem braces for snow.   1.   Jihadists commit ritual murder every day without any repercussion 02:46  |  McQueen 08/02/08   2.   Blood Libel idiocy 04:36  |  B. 08/02/08   3.   20th Century Blood Libel 05:20  |  Holly 08/02/08   4.   Haaretz is doing a good job 05:22  |  Motke Chabad 08/02/08   5.   A rule of thumb about Jews and "anti-semitism" 06:10  |  Bobby 08/02/08   6.   Mary Phagan`s gravesite 07:11  |  Jerry 08/02/08   7.   #4Motke Chabad. "The proper perspective." 07:56  |  Maureen Ann 08/02/08   8.   syria 08:33  |  danny 08/02/08   9.   the Jewish state 08:35  |  ron 08/02/08   10.   Ukrainian 08:38  |  MarkC 08/02/08   11.   #3 08:44  |  MarkC 08/02/08   12.   Remember Ukrainain antisemitism! 08:46  |  The Fixer 08/02/08   13.   The most absurd canard of them all 09:52  |  HH 08/02/08   14.   re #4 `Haaretz is doing a good job` 10:10  |  Colin Wright 08/02/08   15.   IT`S THE MANIFEST WEAKNES OF ISRAEL THAT FEEDS ANTISEMITISM TODAY 10:16  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 08/02/08   16.   interesting 11:39  |  Sam Hyman 08/02/08   17.   Blood Libel in America 12:01  |  John 08/02/08   18.   Russias cursed repeatedly 13:07  |  Petra 08/02/08   19.   "20th century`s only pogrom." NO IT WASN`T 13:27  |  Kermit the Frog 08/02/08   20.   "20th century`s only blood libel." NO IT WASN`T 13:28  |  Kermit the Frog 08/02/08   21.   #13 13:50  |  Moshe 08/02/08   22.   Why blame poor Ukrainians ??? 14:55  |  Alex 08/02/08   23.   blood libel in poland about 1925 15:21  |  Ben Zion Hershberg 08/02/08   24.   Blood libel: IFD killing Palestinian children and babies 15:35  |  nobodysacred 08/02/08   25.   Israel should be careful when talking about anti-Semitism 15:55  |  Steohen Murray 08/02/08   26.   Haaretz and B`tzelem continue the libel today... 16:29  |  Ben 08/02/08   27.   The pope should pray... 16:31  |  John Bull 08/02/08   28.   absolutely chilling .. 16:59  |  felix 08/02/08   29.   #7 Maureen 17:01  |  Leib Kvitko 08/02/08   30.   20th Century Blood Libel 17:03  |  Lusiek 08/02/08   31.   anti-semitism vs. xenophobia 18:06  |  Car 08/02/08   32.   Do we hate each other? 18:09  |  Ethel 08/02/08   33.   Flesh and Blood 18:18  |  Joan Stuchner 08/02/08   34.   When we like each other the problem is intermarriage 18:29  |  Ethel 08/02/08   35.   EMBARRASSING AHISTORICAL IGNORANCE 19:26  |  A. Bortion 08/02/08   36.   23 Ben Zuon. You ought to write a book about it! 19:37  |  bat yam 08/02/08   37.   Ukraine is the bread basket 19:53  |  Ethel 08/02/08   38.   anti-racism 20:06  |  m 08/02/08   39.   anti-isms 20:11  |  Machiavelli Spinoza 08/02/08   40.   #32 Ethel 20:42  |  Leib Kvitko 08/02/08   41.   fro Machiavelli Spinoza 22:24  |  Rasputin 08/02/08   42.   Gentiles are anti-Semetic. Period 22:33  |  Rabbi Simon 08/02/08   43.   The Jews are a Menace to the Children of Christ 22:43  |  Proud Christian 08/02/08   44.   #6 Leo Frank and Mary Phagan from Jerry 22:48  |  hala 08/02/08   45.   #4 Motke Chabad and rat nest 22:57  |  Roman 08/02/08   46.   #7 Maureen Ann, Lazar Kaganovitch and the famine 23:02  |  Roman 08/02/08   47.   Dear Mr. Pfeffer: "HUNDREDS" 23:22  |  Roman 08/02/08   48.   Colin Wright, Spacing Out! 23:24  |  akiva (zionist) 08/02/08   49.   nobodysacred, (`tard) 23:30  |  akiva (zionist) 08/02/08   50.   Steohen Murray, should be careful when spelling his own name!!! 23:31  |  akiva (zionist) 08/02/08   51.   Speaking of "grave" matters 23:42  |  Roman 08/02/08   52.   The ugly face of anti-ukrainism shows again 00:24  |  Jens 09/02/08   53.   Coming soon....Mendel Beilis and the human sacrifice 02:41  |  EGW 09/02/08   54.   blood libel 03:18  |  Jonathan 09/02/08   55.   Anshel Pfeffer`s unfair and dishonest reporting 04:44  |  MEDVED 09/02/08   56.   #53 06:24  |  Peretz Markish 09/02/08   57.   #56 well then, germans are good, ukrainians evil 08:44  |  MEDVED 09/02/08   58.   #46 Roman. Point taken. Why recognize some and not others? 09:21  |  Maureen Ann 09/02/08   59.   to Maureen Ann antisemite and british colonist 17:20  |  Rasputin 09/02/08   60.   mendel beilis 00:51  |  jay beilis 19/02/08   61.   mendel beilis 01:07  |  jay beilis 19/02/08

Today Online Bradley Burston: Anti-Zionism as a form of racism Responses: 291 Foreign Min. expected to slam Iran anti-Israel jibe in missive to UN Responses: 265 Top diplomat: Calling Sderot-Gaza violence 'cycle' may breed terror Responses: 127 Anshel Pfeffer: Are Israeli policies risking the lives of Diaspora Jews? Responses: 78 Abbas rejects PM call to defer talks on Jerusalem Responses: 113 Report: Progress made in Shalit prisoner swap deal Responses: 38 Rosner's Domain Brzezinski didn't show up (WTR) How would Obama handle Israel? Ex-advisors offer clues Clinton's peace team: the attacks on Rob Malley "vicious" (WTR) Most blatant example of Israeli interference in American election The U.S. and Mughniyah / Not just 'who' but also 'where' More Headlines 23:45 FM: Ending peace talks now would bolster Hamas 02:18 Lebanon braces itself for possible Hezbollah attack on Israel