Far-right Czech Politicians Accused of Incitement in Old Blood Libel Case - Jewish World News - Haaretz - Israeli News Source Haaretz.com

8.1.16

Far-right Czech Politicians Accused of Incitement in Old Blood Libel Case - Jewish World News - Haaretz - Israeli News Source Haaretz.com: The police launched criminal proceedings against the men on December 20, and the charges were confirmed to JTA on Tuesday.

Adam Bartos, chairman of National Democracy, a far-right Czech political party, and Ladislav Zemanek, a party official, left the signed note last Easter at a memorial to Anezka Hruzova, a 19-year-old woman who was murdered in 1899. Bartos does not deny leaving the note.

Leopold Hilsner was sentenced to death for the crime, which attorneys suggested was part of a Jewish ritual. The case received a great deal of attention and became one of Europe’s most notorious blood libel trials. Hilsner was pardoned after 18 years in prison but never acquitted.

The note, signed by Bartos and Zemanek on behalf of the National Democracy party, said the murder “united the Czech nation and showed the urgent need to solve the Jewish question. The Jewish question has not been satisfactorily dealt with to this day.”