Well poisoning

Well-poisoning (the malicious manipulation of potable water resources to cause illness or death) is potentially the gravest of three accusations historically brought against Jewish people as a whole (the other two being host desecration and blood libel.

Historical accusations of well-poisoning against jews

Medieval people did not know about the existence of viruses and bacteria, thus they could not understand epidemics. Any sudden deterioration of health was considered a result of poisoning. Europe was rattled by several waves of Black Death (often identified as bubonic plague) throughout the late medieval ages and crowded cities were hit especially hard by the disease, often losing up to 50% of their population at a time. Terrible scenes left mentally and emotionally distressed survivors searching frenziedly for perpetrators.

Predominantly city-dwelling Jewish people, who were administratively forced to live inside walled-up, segregated ghetto districts proved to be ideal scapegoats. Jewish mortality was significantly lower compared to the christian population. Modern hygiene science allows us to recognize how ritual cleaniness and kosher eating habits associated with Judaism offered jews a degreee of natural protection against epidemics. However, medieval people (predominantly roman catholics) theorized jews must have poisoned city wells, while relying on their own wells in the ghetto, in order to exterminate christian residents (a repetition of Christ-killing). Numerous pogroms were held and scores of jewish people were burned, at the stake, inside synogogues and in private houses.

The decline of plague in Europe as well as the Renaissance and later the Enlightenment movement put an end to this practice. Yet, the term "well-poisoning" stll carries a significant emotional payload and is generally avoided in Europe.

Contemporary accusations of well-poisoning against jews

The State of Israel engages in questionable and sometimes flatly illegal practices regarding management of sweet-water resources in the Holy Land and the Occupied Territories. Water-flows are redirected ignoring natural water dividends and arab water use from border rivers draws israeli military threats, even though international law prescribes equal acces to neighbours on both side of the waterflow. The situation is especially tense at the Lebanon side of the border (Wazzani and Litani regions), where Israel threatened to bomb newly-built and restored water treatment facilities "in order to protect its national interests". The U.N. and USA had to intervene, voicing their support for Lebanon's case. A large amount of redirected water is being used in Israel for questionable or outright absurd ventures, like breeding lake fishes in giant vats in the very middle of the desert.

Critics maintain these practices are aimed at denying the neighbouring arab states access to sufficient and clean water in order to restrict their population growth via a continous health crisis (see diarrhea illness) and suppress their economy (especially agriculture). Words spoken by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 are often quoted in this regard: "Conflicts and wars of the 21st century will no longer revolve around oil and other traditional assets, but the control of most basic utilities, especially drinking water." The issue of fair water sharing remains a crucial barrier to the Middle East peace process.

Contemporary accusations of well-poisoning against non-Jews

Shortly after the failed 1956 Hungarian anti-communist revolution a young male person visited several villages in the eastern "Kunsag" region of Hungary. He introduced himself with papers assigned to an agricultural engineer to survey drinking water supplies and he performed some samplings. A few days later soldiers arrived and banned locals from drinking any water but portions from water-wagons. Sappers sucked wells dry several times and cleaned them, then left. Communist party officials claimed the vagabond person was actually a CIA operative who poisoned wells to decimate livestock and sicken people.