Rhodes blood libel

The Rhodes blood libel is an 1840 event of blood libel against Jews, in which the Greek Orthodox community accuses Jews on the island of Rhodes (at this time part of the Ottoman Empire) of the ritual murder of a Christian boy who disappears in February of this year.

Initially the libel garnerssupport from the consuls of several European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, the Austrian Empire, Sweden, and Greece, although later several support the Jewish community.

The Ottoman governor of Rhodes breaks with the long tradition of the Ottoman governments (which had previously denied the factual basis of the blood libel accusations) and supports the ritual murder charge.

The government arrests several Jewish subjects, some of whom are tortured and confess

It blockades the entire Jewish quarter for twelve days.

The Jewish community of Rhodes appeals for help from the Jewish community in Constantinople, who forward the appeal to European governments.

In the United Kingdom and Austria, Jewish communities gaine support from their governments.

They send official dispatches to the ambassadors in Constantinople unequivocally condemning the blood libel.

A consensus develops that the charge is false.

The governor of Rhodes sends the case to the central government, which initiates a formal inquiry into the affair.

In July 1840, that investigation establishes the innocence of the Jewish community.

Finally, in November of the same year, the Ottoman sultan issues a decree (firman) denouncing the blood libel as false.

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