Rabid Jew-haters quickly jumped at the opportunity. They claimed that the Jews had murdered him in order to mix his blood into their matzos, stirring up anew the old lie of blood libels. A Jewish "suspect" by the name of Mendel Beilis, a brick factory supervisor, was quickly found. Somebody falsely claimed that he had seen Beilis running after the child in the area. Mr. Beilis was arrested, obviously leading to major unrest. The funeral of the child turned into a giant anti-Semitic rally, and at the burial, leaflets were distributed calling for riots against the Jews. Anti-Semitic priests started inciting the masses in every city and town claiming that the Jews murder Christians to use their blood. It became clear that if Beilis, G-d forbid, was found guilty of murder, there would be pogroms in every Russian city.
The Rav of Moscow at the time, Rabbi Yaakov Mazah, together with a group of rabbis and investigators, took it upon himself to assist the lawyers in proving that Jews were bound by a strict prohibition to not ingest even animal blood, how much more so human blood. The prosecution, however, brought "experts" of their own to try to prove from the same Talmud that Jews viewed Gentiles as sub-human and therefore this prohibition does not apply in regard with non-Jews.
A Singular Soul
One such expert was a Catholic priest who claimed that he had convincing proof from the Gemara about how the Jews regarded Gentiles. He quoted the Gemara (יבמות סא ע"א) where Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai comments on the verse in Yechezkel. It says, "אדם אתם", "you are man, on which Rabbi Shimon comments, "You are called Man and idol worshippers are not called Man."
Quoting that, the priest turned to the judge and said: "If the Jews don't consider us to be human, they certainly can slaughter us and mix our blood into their matzah!" That argument was shortly heard throughout the world, and even the rabbinical delegation led by Rabbi Mazah could not find an intellectually satisfying response.
One day, Rabbi Mazah got a letter from the legendary Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin, in which he wrote that he had an explanation to satisfy the objections of even the judge. Rabbi Shapiro explained that the המדבר מין, the creations who can speak, have four names in the Torah: אדם, איש, גבר and אנוש. He noted that each of these four names has a singular and plural form, except for the term "adam." For example, one can say אנוש in the singular, or אנשים in the plural. However, the term אדם does not have a plural form. In Hebrew, one does not say "two adamim" but instead says "two adam". Rabbi Shapiro explained that the word adam, man, symbolizes the fact that all humans come from one single human; Adam Harishon, the first man.
Hence, all men feel that they are part of the same body, another man is simply another part of the same body, part of his or her own flesh. This level of oneness is however only seen in the Jewish Nation. When a Jew like Mendel Beilis is accused of murder, every Jew, wherever he may be, feels as though he himself is going through this difficult trial.
In other nationalities, however, you won't find such strong solidarity. If a Russian citizen hears that there is another Russian at the other end of the world with nothing to eat, it will not elicit much sorrow in him. But, go tell any Jew that there's a Jew in China who is unable to celebrate Passover, and he'll immediately ask what he can do to help that Jew. The concept of one nation being like one human is only found in the Jewish Nation, and therefore, "You - B'nei Yisrael are called Adam and not the idol worshippers". (The word you, here is connoted to by the plural term אתם, not the singular אתה.) The name "Adam", said Rav Shapira, expresses the unity that can only be found in the Jewish Nation.