Friday, January 12, 1951

Trial of Jesus by Romans

Continued from Page 1

Pilate, according to the Gos-
pels, sought to take advantage
of t h e custom prevalent in
Judea of releasing a prison6r for
the Passover festival. He asked
the Jews whether they wanted
Barabbas to be released or
Jesus. Barabbas, according to
Mark, had been imprisoned for
participating in a revolt. He
was a political offender. Under
pressure of the high priest, the
people asked for the freedom
of Barabbas.
The apprehension of the high
priests was very strong. They
were fearful that Pilate was
scheming to involve them as
accomplices of Jesus in his
claim to be the King of the
Jews.
Not all the Jews who were

present at the trial were anx-
ious that Jesus be condemned
and put to death. When Jesus
was led to be crucified, Luke
tells us, "There followed him
a great company of people
and of women which also be-
wailed and lamented him."
Many Jews were sorely dis-
tressed on seeing Jesus led
to death.

Pilate, John relates, came out
a number of times from the
judgment hall to argue with the
Jews and to tell them that he
did not find Jesus guilty of
any crime, To this, the Jews
answered, "We have a law and
by our law he ought to die be-
cause he made himself the Son
of God." But there is no Jewish
law, 'either in the Bible or in
the Talmud, to the effect that
a person who- claims to be the
"Son of God" is liable to capital
punishment.
Jesus was condemned by Pil-
ate, and was crucified. On his
cross were inscribed the words
"Jesus of Nazareth, King of
the Jews." From the penalty
which Jesus suffered, namely
crucifixion (a Roman, never a
Jewish, penalty), it is clear that
Jesus was put to death for the
political offense of claiming to
be the King of the Jews.

That the religious Sanhe-
drin had nothing to do with
the trial of Jesus may be
deduced from the fact that,
though the first three Gospels
—especially in the controver-
sies between t h e Pharisees
and the disciples of Jesus—ex-
hibit great hostility toward
the Pharisees, yet at the trial
of Jesus the Pharisees were in
no way implicated. It is ob-
vious that if Jesus had been
tried by the religious Sanhe-
drin, the first three Gospels
would not have failed to ,at-
tack the Pharisees, since we
know that the religious San-
hedrin was dominated by the
Pharisees.

The Fourth Gospel, John, does
not show any animosity toward
the Pharisees, but for another
reason. Hostility in this Goipel
is directed against the Jews as
a whole. As we have many times
stated, the Gospel according to
John was written for Gentile
Christians, and the Gentiles had
no interest inetthe Pharisees; in
deed, many of them probably
were entirely unaware of their
existence. The hostility toward
the Jews in this Gospel was in-
tended to emphasize the fact
that Jesus, although by birth a
Jew, was not accepted by his
people, and that the destruction
of the Temple was ,. a punish-
't ent for their .rejection
of
j
Jesus.
A superficial reading of the
story of the Passion gives the
impression that the Jews were
responsible for the crucifixion
of Jesus. As we analyzed the
narrative of the trial and cru-
cifixion against the background
of the times, however, it became
evident that the Jewish people
were not responsible for the
death of Jesus.

The Jewish people were
crushed under Roman tyran-
ny. The Roman authorities
Punished not only the indi-
vidual who incited the people
against the Romans, but the
leaders of the people as well.
The Jewish leaders, we may
say, were held as hostages for
the submission of the Jewish
people to the Roman state.
Many Jewish leaders in such
circumstances a n d political
conditions had to act as in-
formers ; against the hssenters

20—THE JEWISH NEWS

and revolutionaries among
their brethren in order to save
their own lives.
The Gospel according to Mat-
thew tells us that, when Pil-
ate condemned J e s u s, he
washed his hands as a symbol
of his innocence and said, "I
am innocent of the blood of
this just person." Washing
the hands as a symbol of in-
nocence was not known to the
Romans. It w a s practiced
among the ancient Jews. It is
paradoxical that Pilate, whom
Philo pictures as one of the
most cruel persons, who mur-
dered even innocent people
without any trial, became of
a sudden a man of scruples
and of conscience and did not
want to put Jesus to death.
These verses, undoubtedly,

are a later addition, to show
that the Jews, not Pilate, were
responsible for his crucifixion.
When the Christians strove to
exonerate the Romans from
this guilt, they placed the re-
sponsibility upon the Jews. And
hence, the entire story was in-
serted as if put into the mouth
of the Jews, "His blood be upon
us and our children," If any-
one had the right to wash his
hands when Pilate crucified
Jesus, certainly the Jewish peo-
ple had that right, for they were
blameless of the death of Jesus.

The Apostolic fathers never
accused the Jews of the
crucifixion of Jesus. In their
polemics against Judaism —
which are many—they never
once used this accusation.
What the Apostolic fathers
did charge the Jews with was
their delivering Jesus to Pi-
late. The Apostolic Father Ig-
natius, in his Epistle to the
Trallians, said, "Who (Jesus
Christ) was of the family of
David and Mary, who was
truly born, both ate and
drank, was truly persecuted
under Pontius Pilate." Like-
wise Tacitus, the pagan his-
torian, confirmed the fact
that Pilate put Jesus to death.
The Jewish people did not
crucify Jesus.
This charge was conceived
in a later period, and was in-
troduced into the records of
the past. Hence, this accusa-
tion against the Jews, so
fraught with misery, suffer-
ing and death, is a tragic lie,
evilly wrought on an innocent
people.
The Synoptic Gospels, Peter
and Paul, and the Apostolic
Fathers — in a w o r d, the
founders of Christianity and
the creators of the Church—
have never accused the Jew-
ish people of the death of
Jesus of Nazareth.

Council Women
Open Resale Shop
In NW Thursday

After a year- of planning, the
National Council of Jewish
Women has completed arrange-
ments to open a branch Resale
Shop on Thursday at 20550
Cherrylawn, one door south of
8 Mile Road.
The support which has been
given to Council's downtown
Resale Shop on Clifford St. by
members and friends, plus the
response of the community to
the ingathering in December at
the Royal Theater has made
this north branch possible.
Credit for preparing the new
shop for opening has been given
by Mrs. Stanley Akers, chair-
man of the Resale Shop and to
Mrs. Sidney Solomon. The duties
of the chairman of the North
Shop, Mrs. Sam Berman, has
been temporarily assumed by
Mrs. Gilbert Michel, due to Mrs.
Berman's illness.
Through its shop, Council has
provided customers with good,
serviceable clothing and house-
hold articles at very reasonable
prices.
With its proceeds Council is
enabled to furnish re-sources
and energy to fill unmet welfare
needs in the community, to
support vital social legislation,
to increase understanding
among religious and racial
groups, to provide teacher train-
ing to meet the growing needs
of Israel children, to serve the
foreign born who seek to re-
build their lives in America.

Mothers' Clubs Honor
All 30 Year Members

Six women, members of the
Mothers' Clubs of the Jewish
Community Center since the
program was founded, will re-
ceive citations at the Club's 30th
anniversary banquet, Jan. 24, at
the Woodward Center.
The 30-year members include
Mrs. Ida Drapkin, dean of the
Mothers' Council; Mrs. Sarah
Avrin, former president of the
Fenkell Mothers' Club; Mrs. Git-
tel Garber, Mrs. Rose Grantz,
Mrs. Eva Lang and Mrs. Mina
Kramer.
Honors will also be distributed
to 25-year members and to for-
mer presidents of the Mothers'
Clubs. Mrs. Sidney Allen, for
many years chairman of the
Clubs' advisory committee, and
Mary Caplan, professional su-
pervisor of the Clubs since their
founding, will also be honored.
Mrs. William New is chairman
Next Week: The concluding of the anniversary banquet com-
chapters of Prof. Zeitlin's trea- mittee.

tise. Some of the events which
followed Jesus' death and led to
the development of Christianity
as a major world religion. The
trials of Peter, Stephen and
Paul. How history could serve
as the world's greatest teacher
—if the world would but accept
its lessons.

THE ADVENTURES
OF

At Mothers' Clubs' 20th Anniversary

Mining Town In Israel
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — T h e
first mining village in Israel
will be founded within a few
days near Tel Hirum, in the
southern part of Israel, where
rich deposits of minerals have
been discovered.

The 30th anniversary of the Mothers' Club of the Jewish
Center, which will be observed at a banquet on Jan. 24, recalls
earlier events that were sponsored by the organization. At the
20th anniversary celebration in 1941, the late Fred M. Butzel joined
in commending the women for their community efforts. In the
photograph with him were, from left: BESS STONE, LOUISE
APTEKAR, JENNIE HURWITZ, MISS MARY CAPLAN, MRS.
SIDNEY J. ALLEN, the late BERTHA HENDEN and MILLY NEW.

Michigan Zionists Adopt Auto School
Project in Israel; Praised by Arditi

Isaac Arditi, Israel's automo-
tive pioneer, urged that the
projected Automotive Training
School, adopted by the Michigan
Zionist Region as its project in
Israel, be established as quick-
ly as possible.
Mr. Arditi, appointed the first
Jewish automobile distributor in
Palestine in 1929, recounted the
history of the wheel in the
Middle East, especially of Pales-
tine and Israel, illustrating the
urgent necessity for increased
numbers of skilled auto me-
chanics in Israel. Tracing the
history of transport in Palestine
under Turkish rule, British
rule, and the now independent
Jewish state, Mr. Arditi reveal-
ed: "In 1926 Tel Aviv had 12_
taxis, five private cars, and 18
buses. In the entire country
there were at most 1000 vehicles
of all types, with 85% of these
in Arab hands. Today there are
approximately 30,000 registered
vehicles of all types in Israel
alone, excluding those portions
of Palestine which are under
Jordanian administration."
"The number of trained auto
mechanics, on the other hand,
is at a critical low," Arditi said.
He went on to inform the con-
ferees that the auto industry
in Israel today pays its workers
from 20 to 60% more than the
Histadrut (Trade Union) stan-
dard.
Praising the human material
that is available for the skilled
trades, Arditi said that "despite
the conditions existing in their
countries of origin, which in
many cases were primitive, the
Israeli has proved that he can
overcome all those shortcomings
and develop his technical and
mechanical skills equal to any-
one anywhere."
Stressing the need for full
Jewish participation in this
Michigan project, Arditi remind-
ed the Zionist leaders that "the
vehicles which must be kept on
the roads during the times of
national emergency, during mil-

itary crises and even war, can
only be maintained with proper
care, with trained mechanics
performing this vital function."
Pledging the cooperation of
his organization in Israel, Mr.
Arditi continued, "I shall be
happy to make available to your
school the facilities of my or-
ganiza,tion. All Michigan Jewry
should participate in this nat-
ural project which will develop
into the finest automotive train-
ing school in the entire Middle
East."
Morris M. Jacobs, president,
received pledges of maximum
support from the entire attend-
ance. Nathan Finkelstein, Ford
Motor Co. engineer, promised
the immediate action of the
Dearborn membership in sup-
plying some of the equipment
needs. Benjamin Weiss, Detroit
industrialist, has made his huge
warehouse available as the proj-
ect collection station, at 2665
Michigan Ave
All inquiries regarding the
installation of the school, the
lists of the necessary tools and
equipment, etc., should be ad-
dressed to Jules Doneson, proj-
ect director, 1031 Penobscot
Bldkg, Detroit.

Heavy Rains Save
Crops in Israel

TEL AVIV—(JTA)—The long-
awaited rains — came down in
torrents in Israel, practically
saving the Jewish state's agri-
culture from a d i s a s trous
drought.
The rains brought terrible
hardships to newcomers living
in tents and huts in "work vil-
lages," particularly in the Jeru-
salem a n d Rehovot sectors.
Tents collapsed and roofs of
huts were blown away in a
number of immigrant villages
in the north.

SYNOPSIS: AS THE PAIR AWA IT
THE DREAD DAWN, CAPTAIN
TOV SUDDENLY NOTICES THE
ACTION OF / THEIR CANDLE—

COPYRIGHT 1950 BY SABRA FEATURES

k

THE DUST HAS BEEN
GATHERING HERE

FOR 2000 YEARS—
THESE WERE CAPTIVE

ROMANS LEFT TO DIE

LISTEN/ THE GUARDS,
THEY'VE DISCOVERED
OUR ESCAPE HURRY
THERE'S NO TIME T9
LOOSE

