In February 1840 an Italian monk and his servant disappeared in Damascus. Many Jews in that city were charged with ritual murder and tortured until they confessed. The case turned into a cause celebre across much of the Western world, even becoming a factor in the major diplomatic conflicts of the period. This is the first book since the 1840s to analyze the Damascus affair.

Preface; 1. Introduction; Part I. The Dynamics of Ritual Murder: 2. Ritual murder: official documents; 3. The mechanics and motivations of the case; 4. Beyond Damascus: early reactions; 5. The consuls divide; Part II. In Search of Support: 6. The press, the politicians, and the Jews; 7. Restoring the balance: the Middle East; 8. Political polarization and the genesis of the mission to the East; Part III. 1840 - Perceptions, Polemics, Prophecies: 9. The crisis: Jewish perceptions; 10. The religious polemics; 11. Christian Millennialists, Jewish Messianists, and Lord Palmerston; 12. Jewish nationalism in embryo; Part IV. Last Things: 13. Alexandria on the eve of war; 14. The final lap: public opinion in Europe; 15. In the wake of the war: the return to routine; Part V. In Retrospect: 16. Between historiography and myth: the two primary versions of the affair; 17. Conclusion.