Over 100 years ago, in the Ukrainian city of Kiev, a couple of kids were playing in a field a few days before Pesach when they suddenly came across the body of a dead child lying in a cave. The poor child's hands were tied behind him and his body bore signs of mutilation. It was quickly determined that the victim was a 12-year-old boy who had vanished from his home 12 days earlier.
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.