Did Democritus of Abdera, Thrace accuse the Jews of sacrificing Greeks in their religious rituals?

Question

I was on Wikipedia reading about Blood Libel when I came across the following sentence:

The earliest known antecedent is from a man named Democritus (not the philosopher) mentioned in the Suda,[15]..."

While Wikipedia says that it was NOT Democritus of Abdera, Thrace, on page 1 of the book Anti-Semitism and Its Metaphysical Roots (2015), David Patterson says:

Democritus of Thrace (ca. 460-370 BCE), known for his claim that all matter is composed of atoms, was a rationalist and materialist philosopher who believed that everything happens according to the ineluctable laws of nature. He is also known for his Maxims, a volume of deft bits of wisdom for living a virtuous life. And he is known as the first anti-Semite to invoke a blood libel, ..."

And the source given for the blood libel is Joshua Trachtenberg's book "The Devil and the Jews" published in 1983.

On the Jewish Encyclopedia's online entry of Blood Accusation, it mentions the same Democritus quote about every 7 years, but after that quote it says, "Nothing further is known of Democritus", suggesting that this is not the well-known philosopher who first proposed atomic theory. This entry appears largely copied from the 1925 Jewish Encyclopedia.

I searched the University of Kentucky's Suda Online attempting to find the specific quote, and I found the full entry, which you can see in the first revision of this question if you're curious.

Of note is that the entry is for Damocritus, NOT Democritus; however, I don't know if this could be a simple transcription error.

Also, I found times (in the Suda On Line) when Democritus was mentioned without any descriptors (such as his location or previous accomplishments), as well as at least one other Democritus of Chios. Adding to the confusion is Pseudo-Democritus, as well as Democrates of Aphidna, and another known Democrates who may have been confused with the most well-known Democritus.

So, my question is was the philosopher known for his atomic theory the same person who accused the Jews of human sacrifice, like the aforementioned books say, or was it a lesser-known historical figure, as the Internet seems to believe - or can we even say with any certainty, given the evidence?

One note to those who may not be familiar with anti-Semitic tropes, the blood libel is false. Jews never have used human blood in their rituals, but this has not stopped communities around the world from scapegoating their problems off onto the Jews, making false claims about their beliefs, leading to violence against the Jews. Wikipedia correctly records these accusations as "libel". I do not believe the comment by Democritus was true, regardless of which Demcritus/ates made the claim.

Answer 1

TL;DR: David Patterson has confused the philosopher Democritus (of Thrace, 4th century BCE) with the historian Damocritus (mentioned in the Suda, probably 1st century BCE).

This is a simple matter of following citations. Patterson cites Trachtenberg, who says:

Probably the oldest report of a ritual-murder charge is from the pen of a pre-Christian writer, Democritus […]⁸

_{Joshua Trachtenberg (1943). The Devil and the Jews, p. 126. Yale University Press.}

In endnote 8 on p. 243, Trachtenberg cites this claim to the following entry in Théodore Reinach:

Damocrite. Historien d’époque inconnue, mais probablement contemporain des Alexandrins Chærémon, Lysimaque, etc.

60. — Suidas, s.v. Δαμόκριτος (C. Müller, Frag. hist. graec., IV, 377)

Damocrite, historien. Ouvrages: Tactique en deux livres; Sur les Juifs

_{Théodore Reinach (1895). Textes d’auteurs grecs et romains relatifs au judaïsme, p. 121. Paris: Ernest Léroux.}

It seems that Trachtenberg (or his typesetter) made a typographical error, and that Patterson neglected to check.