It is not "Little Sir Hugh" who is Jewish, it is the young woman who murders him.

As others have noted in this thread, the blood libel is a very widespread piece of folklore that has sometimes been incorporated into official church doctrine. Indeed, until the advent of Hitler, it was the single most pernicious bit of anti-semitic lore and was undoubtedly responsible for the most violence against Jews in many countries.

One need not ever have encountered a Jew in order to harbor and propagate anti-semitic beliefs. Indeed, complete ignorance of Jews and their actual ways often furthers anti-semitism. I would suggest that to know us to love us, not the other way around.

Moreover, a song need not explicitly mention Jews for a listener, especially one who grew up in the same tradition as the singer, to understand the reference to Jews and the blood libel. The blood libel is something that has often been preached from pulpits over the centuries and was a piece of semi-sacred folklore that many of the "folk" were familiar with.

There is a tendency among some to try and sanitize folk songs as artistic works of an innocent, or at least an unprejudiced, people. In fact they often reflect the prejudices of the people.

Closing one's eyes to what "Little Sir Hugh" is actually about, and singing a version from which all explicit references to Jews have been cleansed, is a form of self-delusion. Many of those who hear it will understand its meaning and its importance, whether the singer is willing to admit it or not.

I am not one to prevent anyone from singing anything that they want to sing. I personally do not want to sing this one and do not much care to listen to others who sing it. I am only offended when those who sing it fail to acknowledge what the song is about and to place it in an appropriate context. This is especially true when the singer is not someone who learned the sung from a parent, who in turn learned it from ten generations before, but is a schooled person who has chosen which songs he or she wishes to sing from all of the wonderful ballads that are out there.