Saudi Hebrew scholar says ‘extremist’ Jews use blood to make matzah

A Hebrew scholar working in Saudi Arabia tells an Egyptian public broadcaster that some Jews use blood to make matzahs for Passover.

Fouad AbdelWahed, a professor at King Saud University, makes the remark during an interview for the show “Blue Line” on Egypt’s Channel 2, part of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, the Middle East Media Research Institute reports.

Asked where the blood comes from, he said: “By Allah, I don’t know where they get the blood from.” He also said that only “extremist” Jews do this, and that consuming human blood is unhealthy.

The anti-Semitic trope that Jews use blood for preparing matzah was common in Europe in the Middle Ages and has inspired countless blood libels, which at times led to violence.

— JTA