What is " blood libel " ?

The origins of the term blood libel lie in the Middle Ages when Jews were falsely accused of ritualised murder, particularly of children.

The claims were used to justify violence against Jewish people.

The earliest known example in the UK is from 1144, when an unfounded rumour about the death of a 12-year-old boy,
William of Norwich, suggested he had been kidnapped and murdered by Jews


During the 1930s, Nazi propaganda in Germany periodically explored accusations of Jewish ritual murder

The evolution of the term means it now can refer to any false accusation deemed to be anti-Semitic and/or involving bloody violence

The cartoon, by Gerald Scarfe, appears to depict Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu :

building a brick wall containing the blood and limbs of Palestinians  ::dead::

building a brick wall containing the blood and limbs of Palestinians 

                           

Rupert Murdoch has apologised for a "grotesque, offensive cartoon"  :-\