"On the evening of February 5, 1840, a monk known as Father Thomas and his servant disappeared without a trace in Damascus, Syria—then a part of the Ottoman Empire. Neither man was ever seen again. Within days, Thomas’s fellow monks spread the rumor that “the Jews” had murdered him “for his blood.” This was not the first time Christians in the Ottoman Empire made such an accusation. There were similar charges in other cities in the early 1800s. But in every case, the authorities dismissed the accusation as false. This time, they took the matter very seriously. Why?"
