‘Target of Opportunity’: New Film Documents Historic Blood Libel

Earlier this year, Chabad.org announced the launch of a special page dedicated to the Mendel Beilis case, the last major blood-libel trial of the 20th century. After several months of ongoing research, a new video documentary has now been released.

Titled Target of Opportunity: The Beilis Blood Libel, 1911-1913, it reconstructs the events as they unfolded through a series of interviews with experts and with Jay Beilis, a grandson of the trial’s unwilling hero. The story, with its dramatic cast of characters, is brought to life by many period press cuttings and original photographs.

An important new focus is the role allocated to the Chabad Chassidic movement by the anti-Semitic conspirators who fabricated the case against Beilis.

According to Eli Rubin, a research writer at Chabad.org and the film’s producer, “the conspirators were looking for some kind of hook to accuse the entire Jewish people, but even they had to admit that such a claim was far too outrageous for any jury to believe; therefore, they decided to accuse the Chassidim specifically.”

Edmund Levin, whose book A Child of Christian Blood: Murder and Conspiracy in Tsarist Russia has recently been published, adds that “in one way or another, the prosecution really was blaming all Jews, but formally, they focused on the Chassids to—I would imagine—numbing detail for the jury.”

The film also places the case in the wider social and political context of the time.

Robert Weinberg, a professor of history whose book, Blood Libel in Late Imperial Russia: The Ritual Murder Trial of Mendel Beilis, has also been printed recently, explains that the notion of an international Jewish conspiracy was a key catalyst in the case. According to Weinberg, “many people sincerely believed it in the Russian empire; the tsar, too. … If you want to prevent future political reform, using the Jews as a political scapegoat makes perfect sense.”

The full documentary can be watched here:

12 Comments

  • Major blood-libel trial of the 21th century

    Sadly we in Crown Heights were witness to our very own major blood-libel trial of the 21th century.

    In 2008, six innocent Jews were falsely accused and charged for crimes they did not commit.

    In 2009-2010 They were sent to trial. The trial lasted six weeks. The Six innocent Jews faced 15 plus years in a criminal prison (housing the worse of our society…violent criminals) , if G-d forbid found guilty.

    Thank G-d this blood libel failed.

    These Six Jews are known to us as the Shomrim Six.

    Unfortunately, the blood libel of the 21th century was orchestrated by people who consider themselves our own (Jews).

    We don’t need a documentary to hear this story, you can ask the people involved all about it.

    Where were you when this vicious blood libel of our times was taking place?

    • #2

      You took the time to write that long comment so you must be serious. You do a disservice to Menachem Beilis and all the Jewish people who have suffered as a result of blood libels. How you even equate the two as a joke on an anonymous blog behooves me. Syog Lachochma Shtikah

    • Major blood-libel trial of the 21th centur

      Please elaborate and explain the difference between one blood libel and another? Please explain the “disservice ” you speak about?

      Before you attempt to respond, let me give you something to think about.

      An attempt vai a blood libel was made to lock up six innocent Jews, for 15 years. Thus taking father away from children, husbands from wifes etc…straight out murder.
      Why? because of senseless hate (sinat chinum).

      i know i know, its much easier to ” care” when something is far in the past or far in miles away.

  • Chaim

    “You do a disservice to Menachem Beilis and all the Jewish people who have suffered as a result of blood libels.”

    1) this us your opinion

    2) Did you attend the shomrim six trial?
    what do you know about the shomrim six trial?

  • 1bigpotatohead

    You know why the Mendel Beilis and shomrim six blood libel are not the same?

    One was in black and white the other was in full HD color.

  • Chaim Hershkop

    I was and am one of the Shomrim Six.

    I want to address just one small part of the above.
    Mark 27:30

    [Paraphrasing]

    Jay Beilis: “The first part of the verdict was whether there was a blood libel and the verdict was guilty for that, so you can imagine the thoughts that went through my grandfathers head as he was waiting that brief period of time, a matter of a minute or two until they read as to whether he was the perpetrator of the crime”. [End]

    I (and my fellow brothers of the Shomrim Six) know what was going through his mind while he was waiting that minute or two, I don’t need to imagine it, I felt it, i lived it.

  • Response OP

    I wrote the comment above.

    Let me start with, I am happy to live in a safe-ish neighborhood and I have nothing against Shomrim/Shmirah, in fact I barely know the difference.

    That being said, let me try to break this down in as simplistic terms as possible.

    Blood libels destroyed complete communities of Jewish families. Often resulted in deaths and other terrible calamities. Not only were the defendants completely clear of any relation to the crime the ones who suffered were even further away from the crime.

    Jewish people lived in terror not just on Pesach but year-round because of the blood libels.

    Why is this a disservice? I’ll tell you. Sure you can draw some sort of comparison between innocent being convicted to blood-libels but you can draw many such comparisons “My aunt got thrown out of her house for no reason” it’s a “blood libel” (extreme example). Once you compare something of the magnitude of blood libels that decimated complete communities to a case where (some may argue) isn’t as clear-cut and doesn’t have nearly the same ramifications, you leave room for others to undermine the severity of blood libels.

    Think “Holocaust”, it is now used when many chickens are being killed, “this is a holocaust for chickens” (yes, this is used Kaporos time) and in someone’s mind, it’s an ok comparison because these chickens are innocent and being slaughtered for no reason other them some religious cause that makes no sense to them! So they compare it to millions of Jewish people being slaughtered. Is this ok? Do you want more examples? Is Israel an Apartheid state like South Africa? Maybe the Shomrim story should be compared to the “inquisition” or maybe the “Black Death” persecutions?!?!

    If you have a battle to fight you must fight it on your own terms. Create your own story, your own triumph. Own it and win it. Beilis proved innocent in the face of severe persecution and you should do the same on your own terms. People should remember the horror of historical events, such as the blood-libels, as they were and ensure they don’t happen again. Comparing it to anything in a different scale and magnitude will only ensure they happen again.

    • Major blood-libel trial of the 21th century

      First of all, why do you put Shomrim/Shmirah together, what does one have to do with the other, why not mention Hatzolah (and any other groups out there) while your at it?

      Second, For the people involved it was a blood libel. The “ramifications” for them was a death sentence.

      The case you make about how the term is used, well, that’s just your opinion.

      The argument you make why a “blood libel” of old was the real thing because it everybody effected, is a sad argument.

      First, Mesirah effects everybody.

      Two, it proves what I and my friends have been saying for years, that nobody cares how much blood is spilled, until it’s their own blood.

      Mesirah is no big deal, until it hits a person personally.

      Had Mendel Beilis been falsely accused on a local level of [for example] assaulting another (Jew or non-Jew) and only he would suffer the ramifications of a guilty verdict, we would not be discussing him today. He would have died an innocent man in jail and no one would open his mouth, no one would care, after all it has nothing to do with YOU!

      “Create your own story, your own triumph. Own it and win it.”

      What are all our Yomim Tovim for?
      Chanukah? Purim? Pesach? 19 Kislev? etc…etc…

    • CHLEAKS

      This reminds me of when the Liberals got all “offended” that Sara Palin used the words ‘blood Libel’.

      I believe it’s called manufactured anger.

      I google ‘Sara Palin blood libel’ and saw article after article from the liberal media (which I don’t trust and like), attacking Palin for this.

      They us many of the arguments the commenter makes above.

      Would it be so far fetched to say that the commenter above has been influenced by liberal crap?

    • Response OP

      “Second, For the people involved it was a blood libel. The “ramifications” for them was a death sentence.”

      The ramifications for “them”, “them” but not the entire Jewish community.

      This is also NOT the point, the point is the magnitude of one is in no way shape or form comparable to the magnitude of the other. Full stop.

      To CHLEAKS, I don’t understand the connection between liberals and this?! Perhaps you’d elaborate. I may add that this isn’t anger, it’s a matter of opinion. And how is it “liberal crap” if it makes sense? Do you think Sarah Palin should have used “blood-libel”? The “liberal” happened to have been defending Jewish people, which is exactly what I’m suggesting, that when you make this connection, you weaken our cause.

      And now it’s compared to a “yom tov”?! While yes, for these 6 people and others affected it’s a momentous occasion, but a Yom Tov?! Like Chanukah/Purim/Pesach?! What sort of megalomania would posses one to suggest that there’s a connection between the two?! A Rebbe can suggest that when the Alter Rebbe was freed it’s a Yom Tov. But is it a Yom Tov every time a Rebbe was freed? I think not! Could it not be said that every time I Rebbe went to jail Chabad Chassidism could have ended and therefore should be celebrated upon the release?!

      Today I read an Ikea article in which someone suggested that his English prof. was a Nazi for making him do homework or something… A Nazi! Yes, it’s become ok to use Nazi when anyone irritates you because if you belittle something, more will do the same. At the end of the day, you give less credence to your own cause and parenthetically belittle historical events.