Purely Commentary

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Are They 'Vastly Vague'?
The discussion of the validity of the recently found Dead
Sea Scrolls continues, and the overwhelming sentiments are in
support of both their authenticity and their antiquity. Yet, there
are frequent dissenting opinions. Not only Prof. Solomon Zeitlin,
of Dropsie College, Philadelphia, who disputes the antiquity of
the documents, but others have come forth from time to time
with criticisms of emphasis placed on the scrolls.
Referring to the public's interest in the Dead Sea Scrolls,
which he calls "more complex than Paul," Dr. Samuel Sandmel,
states in his foreword to his new book, "The Genius of Paul"
(published by Farrar, Straus and Cudahy), our review of which
will appear later, that "if the general reader is as curious about
early Christianity as the public fascination with the Scrolls seems
to indicate, then he needs to know that these Scrolls at best are
only the front porch, and by no means the house itself. Mention-
ing specifically Edmund Wilson's work on the Scrolls, Prof.
Sandmel declares:
"Faulty and irresponsible inferences have gone hand in hand
with colossal exaggeration. I abstain in the body of the book
from any mention of the Scrolls and any speculation about their
relationship to Paul because I believe that there was none at
all. . . . The person who having read Wilson wonders about
his ridiculous charge that New Testament scholars have avoided
the Dead Sea Scrolls will note in the ensuing pages that the
literature of the New Testament, in contrast to the Scrolls, is
neither a product of Palestine nor in Hebrew. The New Testa-
ment rather is in Greek and from the wide Mediterranean Greek
world. My considered judgment about the Scrolls is why I have
ignored them entirely in this book. Wilson charges the New
Testament scholars with having a theological bias against the
Scrolls; he attributes to them the fear that their theologies will
be upset. I presume that he has in mind Christian students of
the New Testament who may possibly have something theological
at stake. I chance not to be a Christian, but a Jew. Wilson's
charge against Christian New Testament scholars is itself a bias,
and little short of being libelous. If I, myself, have a bias, and
I suppose I do, it is that of the impartial historian eager to
understand accurately and honestly some ancient events and
their relationships. I claim to be completely free of any Christian
theological partiality. I do not make the same contention about
some possible Jewish bias; I would only hope that my personal
wish to be characterized as a relatively impartial historian pro-
vides an adequate counter-balance against conscious bias."
Then, in the concluding chapter of "The Genius of Paul,"
Dr. Sandmel states:
"I cannot accept Teicher's identification of the Teacher of
Righteousness and the Prophet of Untruth of the Dead Sea
Scrolls with Jesus and Paul (Journal of Jewish Studies, II, 87-98).
Dr. Teicher's proposal is made with a becoming lack of dog-
matism, and he is a fine scholar. His proposal is no more extreme
than are those of many others who have emerged from the Dead
Sea Scrolls with shouts of Eureka. While I do not share Dr.
Zeitlin's unrelenting and total skepticism about the Dead Sea
Scrolls being a hoax, I have enjoyed most of the acrid style with
which he has punctured the pretentiousness of his literary op-
ponents; I have occasionally felt that his remarks would be
stronger if they were gentler. My attitude towards the scrolls
can be summarized briefly. Even if all they contain is truly au-
thentic and credible, the contents are so vastly vague that the
vagueness has prompted a spate of scholarly theories which con-
tradict each other. It is not the deficiency of the scholars, but
their wish to penetrate the vagueness of the material that leads
to the bewildering array of theories — of which Edmund Wilson
appears to have known primarily Dupont Sommer. Material as
vague as the Dead Sea Scrolls does not lend itself to being at-
tached to fixed points in history; the identifications have ranged
from 325 B.C. to the Karaitic period of medieval history—a span
of at least 1,000 years. You can't illuminate Christianity by
things which. are so vague."
When the Edmund Wilson article first appeared in the
New Yorker, Prof. Sandmel was among its severest critics.
The HUC-JIR Provost ridiculed Wilson's comments on the
Essenes as lacking in historical information and charged that
"Wilson leads us astray when he declares and quotes authorities
that the Scrolls will necessitate a complete rewriting of the
history of the period." While Millar Burrows' book on the
Scrolls was commended, Wilson's article was interpreted by
Dr. Sandmel as having "fantastically exaggerated" the im-
portance of the Dead Sea Scrolls." •
Thus, the debate continues. In the current issue of the
Jewish Quarterly Review, A. N. Poliak, of Tel Aviv, in the lead-
ing article, "The Dead Sea Scrolls; A New Approach," questions
the validity of some of the approaches by those who have hailed
the Scrolls as great historic documents. In the same issue, Prof.
Zeitlin, writing in the book review section on "The Masora and
the Dead Sea Scrolls," expresses disappointment over the views
of Dr. Robert Gordis in an article in Tarbiz. Differing with Dr.
Gordis, Prof. Zeitlin applauds the views of Dr. Harry Orlinsky.
He writes: "Prof. Orlinsky's theories are sound and he is correct
when he said, 'Its text (the Isaiah Scroll) is worthless to the
student who wishes to go beyond the Masoretic text'."
Both sides should be heard in this issue as the only way of
eventually arriving at the truth both regarding the authenticity
and antiquity of the Scrolls.

The Elder Rockefeller and Zionism
Political mathematicians have begun to count the chickens
before the hatching of the eggs. Nelson Rockefeller's victory
in New York already is being interpreted as a sure sign of the
selection of the elder John D. Rockefeller's grandson as the
Republican nominee for the Presidency.
Your Commentator believes this is political bunk. It was
not difficult for a pizza- and blintza-eating, pleasantly smiling
multimillionaire to defeat another congenial shalom-saying multi-
millionaire for the Governorship. But we believe the American
people may not be so hasty to give the Presidential nomination
to a millionaire oil magnate. They didn't go for Harriman in
1956, did they? True, Rockefeller also is the owner of the large
chain of supermarkets in Venezuela and he has other financial
interests, but he is primarily linked with Standard Oil.
Furthermore, Mrs. Rockefeller was believed to be a mem-
ber of the Liberal Party, not the Republican, and Rockefeller

Are Dead Sea Scrolls
By Philip
'Vastly Vague'? . . , Elder
Rockefeller and Zionism SIOMOVitZ

himself emphasized his own name above that of his party,
often to the exclusion of his party's name.
Yet, there is a certain fascination about the name Rocke-
feller. Nelson, the grandson of John D. Sr., has appeared on
many social service platforms. He has spoken for the Council
of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds and other Jewish
groups. Now he'll be speaking for many more movements, and
in spite of his oil connections we may soon hear good words
from him about Israel.
After all, there is a tradition in his family on this score.
In 1891, John D. Rockefeller, Sr., was one of a very large group
of Americans, representing a veritable Who's Who of Ameri-
can leadership, who signed a Memorial that was presented to
President Benjamin Harrison and his Secretary of State, James G.
Blaine, "to consider the Israelite claim to Palestine as their
ancient home, and to promote in all other just and proper ways
the alleviation of their suffering condition."
Consider the fact that this Memorial antedated the modern
Zionist movement, and you have additional proof of the signi-
ficance of the petition to President Harrison in which its signers,
who thereby protested against the horrible conditions under
which seven million Jews then lived in Czarist Russia, proclaimed:
tC
. . . . Why not give Palestine back to them (the Jews) again?
According to God's distribution of nations it is their home —
an inalienable possession from which they were expelled by
force . . ."
This Memorial has become known as the Blackstone Petition,
the prime mover of it having been an eminent American
clergyman, the Rev. William E. Blackstone. The signers of the
.‘Memorial included, Chauncey M. Depew, 'U.S. Senator from New
York; Melville W. Fuller, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court; Thomas B. Reed, Speaker of the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives; William McKinley, then U.S. Representative from
Ohio, later President of the United States; Cardinal Gibbons,
J. Pierpont Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, William Rockefeller,
Charles Scribner the publisher, Joseph Medill of the Chicago
Tribune and scores upon scores of clergymen, Mayors and
Governors, bankers, editors, publishers, and men in all walks
of life.
The Blackstone Memorial was one of the traditional activities
that established an unending American policy in support of a
Jewish State — a policy that aided in the establishment of Israel.
Those who can point to ancestors who were supporters of the
idea surely will have a firm rack on which to hang claim to
glory. Rockefeller is fortunate to be among them.

Disgraceful Group's Irresponsible Action
The highest rung on the ladder of charity, according to
Maimonides, is to help those in need to help themselves. That
has been part of major policy sought in recent months by genuine
humanitarians in behalf of the unfortunate Arab refugees who
are kept by those who dominate events in the Arab portion of
the Middle East as pawns in a battle against Israel.
Nevertheless, the United Nations, and principally the United
States, are aiding the refugees.
But a small and very irresponsible group of self-hating Jews
last week had the audacity to give the impression that Jews are
abandoning the Arab refugees to their fate — a fate that has
been mapped for them by cheap politicians — and that Zionists
are out to do harm to the poor Arabs.
The American Council for Judaism, a group that is un-
American in its unfair actions towards American Jews whose
name they use, who are anti-Jewish and whose being a council
is questioned, has announced a gift of $12,000 to aid Arab refu-
gees. All the citizens of this land are sharing to the tune of
many millions of dollars annually in assistance given these refu-
gees, but the Judaic Council, whose leaders are so lacking in
respect for American and Jewish principles, seek to give the
impression that they are the great humanitarians!
Meanwhile, also — and it is for this reason that we take
note of their latest outlandish act — this council tries to renew
the false impression that the handful of people who have been
misled into paying dues to this council, under misguided leader-
ship, represents the loyal branch of Americans and that all other
Jews, who are supporting Israel, share in Israel's nationality.
It is too late in the day to repeat that nothing could be further
from the truth and that the council maligns all of American
Jewry.
Such actions are deserving only of contempt. That's the
feeling of American Jewry for this small group of people who
are libeling their kinsmen.

Rountree Returns;
Anti-Israel Moves
Increase in Iraq

WASHINGTON, (JTA) —
Assistant Secretary of State
William Rountree returned from
his mission to the Arab coun-
tries where he especially studied
the mood in Iraq, reportedly
strongly pro-Soviet and fr‘ 0,-
American.
Washington officials make no
secret of the fact that Roun-
tree's mission was not entirely
successful. It has been noted in
the State Department that there
is an upsurge of anti-American
and anti-Israel propaganda in
Iraq and that
this propagan-
da has the sup-
port of the
new Iraqi re-
gime.
Baghdad
broadcasts and
news p a pers
have reflected
a Communist-
line in violent
propaganda
barrages seek
ing to link the
Rountree
United States with Is ae
Such propaganda had been
much less evident in Bagh-
dad since the new regime seized
power last Summer. But now the
anti - Israel and anti - American
attacks may even exceed in in-
tensity those currently voiced
by the United Arab Republic.
Commenting on a recent
meeting of Israel Ambassador
Abba Eban with Secretary of
State John Foster Dulles, the
Baghdad Radio accused the two
of "plotting" against the Arabs.
"American imperialist circles"
were "using" Israel "as an eco-
nomic, political, and military
bridgehead against the Arab
peoples." The Baghdad broad-
cast said: "It would be stupid
for anybody to imagine that Ben-
Gurion, the criminal puppet,
could stir up a single aggressive
activity against the Arabs were
it not for his American masters
and their imperialist partners.*
Another broadcast over Radio
Baghdad stated that while "the
imperialists are using every
means to force the Palestinian
refugees into abandoning their
right to repatriation and com-
pel the Arab states to settle
them where they are now, the
United States willingly spends
hundreds of millions of dollars
on its puppet, Israel, in order to
instigate further aggression.
"The imperialists were not
satisfied with rendering one
million Arab refugees homeless,
or with instigating Israel to at-
tack sisterly Egypt in 1956, or
with the 1.5 billion dollars which
they presented to the rulers of
Israel. They continue to prepare
Israel for new crimes in other
parts of the region," the Iraqi
broadcast declared.

r T

Yiddish Press Boom During N. Y. Strike

By DAVID SCHWARTZ

(Copyright, 1958, JTA, Inc.)

New York witnessed a heart-
ening and somewhat sensational
boom of the Yiddish press. The
Forward and the Tog sold on
the newsstands like hot cakes,
replacing for many the Times
and Tribune. The boom of
course was due to the newspa-
per delivery' men's strike which
has not affected the Yiddish
dailies who have their own de-
livery system. The Tog, catering
to the new demand, began run-
ning columns of news in English
on its front page, alongside
Yiddish.
The newsstand dealers on
42nd Street in the heart of New
York are full of stories about
the happening. One of them told
me some of the customers pick
up the Yiddish papers and cry
out, "Whoops, I can still read
it."
The same dealer said that
many of the people he had
taken to be Italians or Turks

or Frenchmen, he now finds to
be Jewish—as a result of the
strike—since they come asking
for the Yiddish papers.
Who can tell? Those who
gave up reading the Yiddish
papers many years ago and
who have now resumed may
also return to a more Jewish
way of life generally. A pos-
sible Jewish renaissance may
be in the offing.
The newspaper strike situa-
tion in New York is such that,
the other day, a man working
as Santa Claus for one of the
big department stores was seen
—in a quiet moment—reading
the Forward.
Yiddish has mothered a whole
list of American celebrities.
General Sarnoff, head of the
Radio Corporation of America,
was at one time an office boy
in the Forward. The late Gov-
ernor Floyd Olson of Minnesota,
who but for his premature
death might have been a serious
contender for the Presidency,

spoke a good Yiddish. He was
raised on Minneapolis' North
Side—the Jewish section. When
the -returns from the Minnesota
election came in showing that
he was the victor, he pounded
his fist on the table. "Mir haben
sie begroben" ("We have buried
them.")
A large number of Americat
popular song writers were
raised on the Yiddish language.
Cole Porter, a non-Jewish com-
poser, has testified that Amer-
icans seem to prefer what he
calls the Jewish type of song.
Jewish is not exactly the right
word. Yiddish would be better.
Yiddish has that heart quality.
Call it "schmalz" if you will.
Should the newspaper strike
continue it will not be difficult
for non-Jews to learn Yiddish. I
realized the other day how close
to English Yiddish really is
when I heard a Jewish girl say
to her mother:
"Mamma, Ich geh taking a
walk."