The
Spanish daily ABC.es published an article titled: “Death by Crucifixion –
beyond Jesus and on”, which exhibits the kind of antisemitism that was
widespread in the middle ages.
We
hereby invite you to read the article, the major part of which is reproduced
here, and to send a letter of complaint to the newspaper.
Notwithstanding
the rhyme in the title, and the fact that the article was published during the
Easter week, as if it were an article meant for entertaining. The article
retells the blood libels that were typical of the prejudiced antisemitic
mentality of the middle Ages.
The
Spanish newspaper recounts that a 7-year-old boy, Domingito del Val:
“was a victim of hatred the Jews that were many and very
powerful at that time in the capital of Aragon, and according to the writings
of Alfonso X the Wise, kept the tradition of crucifying children on Good Friday
in order to extract their blood. The names of some of these young victims have
entered the pages of history, like Simon de Livolés, the Holy Child of La Guardia, or Ricardo de Norwick.”
According
to the newspaper and the reporter I.V. the Jews used to crucify children in
order to extract their blood.
Afterwards,
the newspaper denotes a specific date and also includes conversations that took
place at the time of the incident, in order to add credibility and accuracy to
the story about Domingo del Val.
“On
Wednesday, August 31, 1250, Dominguito del Val was passing through the narrow
alleys of the Jewish neighborhood in Saragossa, when, suddenly, Moses
Albayucet, a Jewish usurer, pounced on him, kidnapped him and brought him to
the house of one of the community’s chief rabbis. Once there, they said to him:
“Dear child, we don’t want to harm you in any way, but if you want to get out
of here, you must tread on Jesus”. “Never, this is my God. No. a Thousand times
no” the boy answered firmly.
The
article ends with an equally offensive paragraph:
“Let’s
finish quickly” urged the Jews, while bringing a ladder, a hammer and some
nails for crucifying the child; they then put a Crown of Thorns on his blond
hair, to increase the similarity to Jesus Christ. Once he was dead, they cut
open his veins to extract his blood, severed his hands and head, which they
threw into the river Ebro”.
The
facts
The
author of the article signs his name only with his initials I.V. so that he
cannot be identified by the readers.
According
to the Jewish Virtual Library, just in the first 12 years of the Inquisition in
Spain, more than 13 thousand Jews were tried by the tribunals of the Holy
Office. Thousands were burned live in various public plazas in cities like
Toledo, Seville and Barcelona, among others.
In
1492 the Jews were expelled from Spain.
These
days the Spanish government is deliberating a bill that will enable Sephardic
Jews to obtain their Spanish nationality without having to reside in Spain.
The
inquisition is one of the darkest chapters in human history, and it is referred
to with shame even by the Catholic Church representatives, among them the late
pope John Paul II, who publically apologized in the name of the Catholic church
for the violence and antisemitism during the Inquisition period in Spain and in
other places in Europe and in the world.
There
is no place today in our world for articles like the one published by I.V. in
ABC.
If
you agree with us, we invite you to write to the newspaper to express your
repudiation of the antisemitic article titled: “Death on the cross – beyond
Jesus and on” at the following email address:cartas@abc.es
In
order for your letter to be published, please don’t forget to include your name
and surname, as well as you identification number – D.N.I, if in Spain, or your
passport number, if you are not Spanish citizens
You
can also contact the daily’s editor to denounce this article by telephone
number: +34 913 399 000.
Please
send a concise message based on facts. It should be short and respectful in its
contents.
The
more letters mailed, the better our chances of succeeding in eliminating these
antisemitic articles.
