Did Melito of Sardis Directly Accuse "Israel" of Killing the One He Identified as Divine?
Person: Melito of Sardis · Work: Peri Pascha / On Pascha, ~sections 72–99 · 2nd century CE
What the ancient record says
More severe than Justin. Melito's Pasakh homily directly addresses Israel as the accused. ~section 72: "This one was murdered"; asks where; answer: in the center of Yahrushalam.
Following sections repeatedly address Israel directly, accusing Israel of killing the one described, later using divine language for the victim, why historians watch Peri Pascha in the history of anti-Yahudi polemic. Did Melito use the modern English "deicide"?
Not to be claimed without the source term, "deicide" is a later analytical label (killing of a deity); show Melito's actual Greek, then explain why historians characterize it as a deicide accusation; do not replace primary wording with a later label. Did Melito say every Yashar'alite in every generation personally participated?
The address is collective, but scope/function must be interpreted from the text; do not convert polemical rhetoric into a factual claim of inherited biological guilt. Matters as a documented second-century development, rhetoric more aggressive than "you misunderstand the writings"; the people themselves collectively addressed in connection with the killing, later dangerous when combined with political power, but later consequences documented separately (cannot make Melito responsible for later laws without an evidence chain).
Read it for yourself. Melito, Peri Pascha 72–99 (watch the repeated "O Israel").
Evidence strength: Strong second-century textual evidence. Proven: addresses Israel collectively; accuses Israel of killing the central figure; attributes divine significance to that figure. Later analytical term: "deicide." Not automatically proven: every later anti-Yahudi doctrine/persecution descended from Melito.