We fear blood, still, despite our science and understanding, and we look to blood to tell us who we should fear. In 1144, the death of a young man named William of Norwich was attributed to Jews who had crucified him in order to use his blood as a sacrifice. This was the first documented case of what became known as blood libel, and it was enduring and lethal: for centuries, blood libel was used as a reason to massacre Jews and steal their property, across northern Europe, again and again.8 In 2015, a Hamas leader in Gaza declared that Jews were still killing children and using their blood to
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