Did Jack The Ripper Hope To Inflame Anti-Semitism WIth Murder Spree?
A new book claims that serial killer Jack the Ripper planted clues intended to cast suspicion on Jews — inflaming anti-Semitic hysteria about the notorious slayings in late 19th century London.
Australian author Steven Senise theorizes that the killer carefully chose the sites of his attacks in order to arouse suspicion about the Jewish community. Jews were detested by Londoners across all classes at the time of the murders in the fall of 1888, and when two victims were found mangled outside of a coffeeshop frequented by Jewish socialists and yard where a radical Yiddish newspaper was printed, the backlash was swift and fierce.
Newspapers of the day speculated on the murderer, while anti-Jewish riots broke out in response to the killings. The rioting during the period of the murders “was consistent with Jack the Ripper’s intentions,” the book says.
It’s unclear whether the killer’s motive was to deflect police attention from himself — or to spark hatred of Jews.
Senise names his favored suspect as George Hutchinson, a man in his late 20’s. He claimed to be a witness to one of the murders, providing police with much greater detail than they’d been given before.
Hutchinson, Senise said, later fled Britain for Australia.
Contact Jesse Bernstein at [email protected] or on Twitter @__jbernstein
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO