Menahem Mendel Beilis (Russian: Менахем Мендель Бейлис; 1874-1934) was a Ukrainian Jew accused of blood libel and ritual murder in a notorious 1913 trial, known as the "Beilis trial" or "Beilis affair". The process sparked international criticism of the anti-Semitic policies of the Russian Empire. 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Blood libels are allegations that a particular group kills people as a form of human sacrifice, and uses their blood in various rituals. ... Ritual murder is murder performed in a ritualistic fashion. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Official language Russian Official Religion Russian Orthodox Christianity Capital Saint Petersburg (Petrograd 1914-1925) Area Approx. ...

Background

Menahem Beilis and his family.

Menahem Mendel Beilis was born into a pious Jewish family, but he had little Torah learning and worked regularly on the Sabbath and the Holy Days, with the exception of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In 1911 he was an ex-soldier and the father of five children, employed as a superintendent at the Zaitsev brick factory in Kiev. Image File history File links Beilis. ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... This article concerns the Sabbath in Christianity. ... This article is about the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. ... Yom Kippur (יום כיפור yom kippÅ«r) is the Jewish holiday of the Day of Atonement. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Motto: Oblast Municipality Municipal government City council (Київська Міська рада) Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko Mayor-elect Leonid Chernovetsky Area 800 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 2,660,401 100% 3,299/km² Founded City rights around 5th century 1487 Latitude Longitude Area code +380 44 Car plates AA (before 2004: КА,КВ,КЕ,КН,КІ) Sister cities Athens, Brussels...

On March 12, 1911, a thirteen-year-old Ukrainian boy, Andrei Yushchinsky (Russian: Андрей Ющинский), disappeared on his way to school. Eight days later his mutilated body was discovered in a cave near a local brick factory. March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in leap years). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...

Pre-trial period (1911-1913)

Beilis was arrested on July 21, 1911, after a lamplighter testified that the boy had been kidnapped by a Jew. A report submitted to the Tsar by the judiciary regarded Beilis as the murderer of Yushchinsky. Menahem Beilis spent more than two years in prison awaiting trial. Meanwhile, a vicious anti-Semitic campaign was launched in the Russian press against the Jewish community, with accusations of the blood libel and ritual murder.

Among those who wrote or spoke against false accusations of the Jews were Maxim Gorky, Vladimir Korolenko, Alexander Blok, Alexander Kuprin, Vladimir Vernadsky, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Pavel Milyukov and others. Gorkys autographed portrait Aleksei Maksimovich Peshkov (In Russian Алексей Максимович Пешков) (March 28 [O.S. March 16] 1868–June 14, 1936), better known as Maxim Gorky (Максим Горький), was a Soviet/Russian author, a founder of the socialist realism literary method and a political activist. ... Vladimir Galktionovich Korolenko (Владимир Галактионович Короленко) (July 27, 1853- December 25, 1921) was a Russian short story writer and journalist. ... Blok in 1907 Alexander Blok Alexander Blok (Александр Александрович Блок, November 16, 1880 - August 7, 1921), was perhaps the most gifted lyrical poet that Russia produced after Alexander Pushkin. ... Alexander Vasilievich Kuprin (Александр Васильевич Куприн) was a Russian painter, a member of the Jack of Diamond group. ... Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (Владимир Иванович Вернадский) (March 12, 1863, N.S. [ February 28, O.S. ] – January 6, 1945) was a Russian mineralogist and geochemist who first popularized the concept of the noosphere and deepened the idea biosphere to the meaning largely recognized by todays scientific community. ... Hrushevsky in 1895 Mykhailo Serhiyovych Hrushevsky (Ukrainian: }; CheÅ‚m, 29 June (17 June Old Style) 1866 — Kislovodsk, 26 November 1934) was one of the most important Ukrainian public figures of the 20th century. ... Pavel Nikolayevich Milyukov (Cyrillic: Павел Николаевич Милюков) (1859-1943) was (alongside Vladimir Lenin and Peter Stolypin) the greatest Russian politician of pre-revolutionary years. ...

The trial

The trial took place in Kiev from September 25 through October 28, 1913. The chief prosecutor A.I. Vipper made anti-Semitic statements in his closing address. 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

The prosecution was composed of the government's best lawyers. One prosecution witness, a "religious expert" in Judaic rituals was a Catholic priest Justinas Pranaitis, brought from as far as Tashkent. He stated that the murder of Yushchinsky had all the characteristics of ritual murder commanded by the Jewish religion. Another expert witness was Professor Sikorski of Kiev State University, a medical psychologist, who also regarded the case as one of ritual murder. Tashkent Tashkent (Toshkent or Тошкент in Uzbek, Ташкент in Russian; its name translates from Uzbek to Stone City in English) is the current capital of Uzbekistan and also of Tashkent Province. ... National Taras Shevchenko University The Kiev University (current full official name National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv) is the leading University in Ukraine, located in the capital city Kiev (Kyiv). ...

Beilis was represented by the most able counsels of the Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev bars: Vasily Maklakov, Oscar Grusenberg, N. Karabchevsky, A. Zarundy, and D. Grigorovitch-Barsky. Two prominent Russian professors, Troitsky and Kokovtzov, spoke on behalf of the defense in praise of Jewish values and exposed the falsehood of the accusations and professor of Kiev Theological Seminary Orthodox Christian philosopher Alexander Glagolev affirmed that "the Law of Moses forbids spilling human blood and using any blood in general in food." Government Russia District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuri Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2005)    - Density 10,415,400   8537. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Vasily Alekseyevich Maklakov (Russian: Василий Алексеевич Маклаков) (May 22 (O.S. May 10), 1869, Moscow - July 15, 1957, Baden) was a liberal Russian politician and an advocate of a constitutional Russian state. ... Orthodox Christianity is a generalized reference to the Eastern traditions of Christianity, as opposed to the Western traditions (which descend through, or alongside of, the Roman Catholic Church) or the Eastern Rite Catholic churches. ... Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. ... Moses or Móshe (מֹשֶׁה, Standard Hebrew, Tiberian Hebrew Mōšeh, Arabic موسى MÅ«sa, Geez ሙሴ Musse) is a legendary Hebrew liberator, leader, lawgiver, prophet, and historian, and also one of the greatest figures in Jewish history. ...

The lamplighter, on whose testimony the indictment of Beilis rested, confessed that he had been confused by the secret police.

After deliberating for several hours, the all-Christian jury acquitted Beilis. There was no single representative of the intelligentsia in the jury. The word intelligentsia came into the modern global vocabulary from Russia. ...

A later investigation determined that on that tragic morning Andrei Yushchinsky decided to skip school and visit his friend, Zhenya Cheberyak.

After the trial

The Beilis trial was followed worldwide and the anti-Semitic policies of the Russian Empire were severely criticized. Beilis case was compared with Leo Frank case in which American Jew , manager of a pencil factory in Atlanta, Georgia, was convicted of raping and murdering twelve-year-old Mary Phagan and lynched after his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Lucille and Leo Frank at Franks trial. ...

After his release Beilis with his family left Russia for the Land of Israel, then a province of the Ottoman Empire. In 1920 he settled in the United States. He died in 1934. This article concerns the concept of The Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael) in Jewish and Christian thought throughout the history from its Biblical sources to the present day. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanl...

Influence

A popular movie was made based on these events: The Fixer with Alan Bates and Dirk Bogarde in 1968, based on the book by Bernard Malamud. The Fixer is a 1968 film which tells the true story of a Jew, Menahem Mendel Beilis, in Tsarist Russia who is unjustly imprisoned, the notorious Beilis trial that ensued, and the international uproar that it caused, forcing Russia to back down in the face of world indignation. ... Alan Bates as butler in Gosford Park (2001) Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE, (February 17, 1934 – December 27, 2003) was a British actor. ... cover of Bogarde biography Sir Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde (28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999), better known by his stage name Dirk Bogarde, was an actor and author. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Bernard Malamud (April 26, 1914 – March 18, 1986) was an American writer born in Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish family. ...

Revival in 2006

In the March 2006 issue (No. 9/160) of the Personnel Plus magazine by Interregional Academy of Personnel Management (commonly abbreviated MAUP), an article "Murder Is Unveiled, the Murderer Is Unknown?"[1] by Yaroslav Oros revives false accusations from the Beilis Trial. A week earlier, MAUP leaders visited the grave of Andrei Yuschinsky.[2] Willmcw 20:53, 20 September 2005 (UTC) Categories: Possible copyright violations ...

See also

• Leo Frank
• Dreyfus affair
• History of the Jews in Russia and Soviet Union
• Anti-Semitism
• History of anti-Semitism

Lucille and Leo Frank at Franks trial. ... The Dreyfus Affair was a political scandal which divided France during the 1890s and early 1900s. ... Historical background As waves of anti-Jewish pogroms and expulsions from the countries of Western Europe marked the last centuries of the Middle Ages, a sizable portion of the Jewish populations there moved to the more tolerant countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Middle East. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... This is a partial chronology of hostilities towards or discrimination against the Jews as a religious or ethnic group. ...

References

• ISBN 1560621664 Scapegoat on Trial: The Story of Mendel Beilis The autobiography.
• ISBN 0876681798 The Beilis Transcripts. The Anti-Semitic Trial that Shook the World. by Ezekiel Leikin
• ISBN 5734900168 The Beilis Case. Modern Research and Documents.

External links

• (Russian) Speech of defense lawyer V.A. Maklakov later issued as a pamphlet
• (Russian) Articles and Call to the Russian People by Vladimir Korolenko
• (Russian) Stenographic report from the trial. Volumes 1-3
• (Russian) Бейлис, Менахем Мендель in The Shorter Jewish Encyclopaedia, Jerusalem. 1976-2005
• (Russian) Beilis affair: truth and myth by Feliks Levitas, Mikhail Frenkel (Jewish Observer, Jewish Confederation of Ukraine) April 12, 2006