Blood Libel, from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Holocaust Encyclopedia
An overview, with linked content, on the origins and history of the antisemitic blood libel (the false allegation that Jews used the blood of non-Jewish, usually Christian children, for ritual purposes).
The Accusation: Blood Libel in an American Town
NYU historian Edward Berenson's book about a shocking 1928 incident in upstate New York traces a current of anti-Semitism in American politics. The story of America’s first—and only—blood libel.
Blood Libel: On The Trail of an Antisemitic Myth by Magda Teter
A landmark history of the antisemitic blood libel myth—how it took root in Europe, spread with the invention of the printing press, and persists today.
Ritual Murder in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Beyond: New Histories of an Old Accusation
This innovative reassessment of ritual murder accusations brings together scholars working in history, folklore, ethnography, and literature. Favoring dynamic explanations of the mechanisms, evolution, popular appeal, and responses to the blood libel, the essays rigorously engage with the larger social and cultural worlds that made these phenomena possible. In doing so, the book helps to explain why blood libel accusations continued to spread in Europe even after modernization seemingly made them obsolete.
The Blood libel legend : a casebook in anti-Semitic folklore
Alan Dundes, in this casebook of an anti-Semitic legend, demonstrates the power of folklore to influence thought and history. According to the blood libel legend, Jews murdered Christian infants to obtain blood to make matzah. Dundes has gathered here the work of leading scholars who examine the varied sources and elaborations of the legend.
Gregory X: Letter on Jews, (1271-76) - Against the Blood Libel
From Fordham University's Internet Medieval Sourcebook collection of primary source texts: "Canon law was hostile to Jews in wording, but the popes also refused to accept popular violence against Jews. The following letter of Pope Gregory X (1271 -1276) incorporates material from earlier letters of Innocent III (1198-1216) and Innocent IV (1243-1254). Here Gregory X opposes the blood libel - the often repeated claim that Jews killed and ate Christian children."
The Career of a Medieval Accusation in an Age of Science
Hillel Kieval is a Professor of Jewish History and Thought at Washington University, St. Louis. His book “Blood Inscriptions: Science, Modernity, and Ritual Murder in Europe’s Fin de Siècle” was published in 2021.
Scholarship and the Blood Libel: Past and Present
From Crusades to Blood Libels to Expulsions: Some New Approaches to Medieval Antisemitism, The Second Victor J. Selmanowitz Memorial Lecture (New York: Touro College Graduate School of Jewish Studies, 1997). Reprinted in D. Berger, Persecution, Polemic, and Dialogue: Essays in Jewish-Christian Relations (Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2011), 15–39.
An Antisemitic Conspiracy: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
An overview, with linked content, on the origins and history of the antisemitic forgery, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," first published in 1903.
Why the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ is still pushed by anti-Semites
A contemporary look at the staying power of a classic antisemitic libel.
A Rumor about the Jews: Antisemitism, Conspiracy, and the Protocols of Zion
A review of Stephen Eric Bronner's "A Rumor about the Jews: Antisemitism, Conspiracy, and the Protocols of Zion" by scholar Linda Maizels.
The Non-Existent Manuscript : A Study of the Protocols of the sages of Zion
Critical edition of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion based on a reconstruction of the original text, following current principles of textual criticism.
Pogrom: Kishinev and the Tilt of History
Separating historical fact from fantasy, an acclaimed historian retells the story of Kishinev, a riot that transformed the course of twentieth-century Jewish history.
The Racialization of American Jews and Antisemitism on College Campuses
An analysis of the racialization of Jews on American college campuses by the author of "Antisemitism and the White Supremacist Imaginary: Conflations and Contradictions in Composition and Rhetoric."
Antisemitism in History: Racial Antisemitism, 1875–1945
An overview, with linked content, on the origins of racial antisemtiism, up through the Holocaust.
Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition
For a scholarly and highly influential deep dive into the intellectual history of anti-Judaism in the western tradition, David Nirenberg’s text has been field-defining (especially strong on the theological and philosophical roots of Christian anti-Judaism).
Very readable overview of mainstream scholarly and Jewish communal perspectives on antisemitism both in history and the present moment by an esteemed scholar of the Holocaust (especially of Holocaust denial) and the former U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism, Deborah Lipstadt.
Jews Don’t Count: How Identity Politics Failed One Particular Identity
For a completely non-scholarly option, this book by British comedian and writer David Baddiel is a quick but provocative read - even this book’s critics agreed that it sparks debate and forces readers to confront difficult questions.
Safety though Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism
For folks interested in looking at antisemitism through the lens of progressive political activists, this book by Shane Burley and Ben Lorber offers a thorough overview.
Off-White: The Truth About Anti-Semitism
This 2024 book by the British/Israeli author and journalist Rachel Shabi, who identifies as an Arab Jew, explores contemporary antisemitism along with the complex interplay between Jews, race, and whiteness through a non-American and non-Ashkenazi-centric lens.
Antisemitism: An American Tradition
For a thorough and readable history of antisemitism in the United States, this new book by Prof. Pamela Nadell just came out and is almost encyclopedic in scope.
Jewish Questions Podcast: Antisemitism
This five-part podcast series from the University of Washington’s Stroum Center for Jewish Studies offers a thorough and lively overview of the history of antisemitism.
Adventures in Jewish Studies: Antisemitism
This four-part podcast series from the Association for Jewish Studies offers a brief overview of antisemitism in history (note that this link is to the AJS podcast series, "Adventures in Jewish Studies," and includes many other podcasts of interest).