Dr. Zeitlin Renews Charge That Dead Sea Israel to Issue Stamp Honoring WA
Scrolls Antiquity Claim Is 'Fallacious
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEW S -- Friday, November
.
In an article to appear in and the laymen who read them
the forthcoming issue of the are deluded into believing that
Jewish Quarterly Review, of the Hebrew Scrolls were written
which he is the editor, Dr. Solo- by intelligent people possessed
mon Zeitlin, professor of history of ideas. Such is not the case.
at Dropsie College, Philadelphia, The so-called 'Manual of Disci-
again challenges the claims that pline' was written by a semi-
have been made by many schol- literate person who could not ex-
ars, Jews and non-Jews, that the press himself and had no ideas.
Dead Sea Scrolls are traceable As a matter of fact the Hebrew
text is untranslatable. Some
to pre-Christian times.
Entitled "The Fallacy of the translators, in order to assert
Antiquity of the Hebrew Scrolls the antiquity and value of the
Once More Exposed," Dr. Zeit- scrolls, have referred to pass-
lin contends that the Carbon ages in some work of Hebrew
14 test, which was emphasized literature which does not even
by theologians as demonstrating exist."
Dr. Zeitlin proceeds to cite
the Scrolls' antiquity, "now
comes to naught," as a result examples of faulty translations,
of new evidence. He declares and he points to dissimilarities
that the test was never applied between the ideas of the Essenes
to the Scrolls themselves but to and those of the authors of the
their wrappings, and he charges scrolls. He declares:
that no scholar ever saw the
"Josephus and Philo both
Scrolls in wrappings since "they state that the Essenes laid
were brought to the archbishop stress upon the belief in im-
(who purchased them) in a bag." mortality of the soul and in
reward after death. There is
Referring to the purported
no mention whatever in the
finding of tephillin, Dr. Zeit-
scrolls of these beliefs which
lin asks how Babylonian or
were cardinal among the Es-
Egyptian phylacteries could be
senes. If the scrolls were in-
found in a cave near the Dead
by the Essenes
deed written
•
Sea, and he says we must as-
we could not by any stretch
sume that these pentateuchal
of the imagination assume that
sections of tephilin "were
they would not refer to these
brought out from Egypt and
two vital points which were
placed in a cave to be dis-
contested by many people."
covered later." He adds that
these tephilin have no value
Dr. . Zeitlin accuses Prof.
for the history of the Jewish Dupon-Sommer and others of
religion.
being unable to refute his argu-
Dr. Zeitlin challenges the ments against the antiquity of
claims made by Dr. Y. Yadin the scrolls and stated that they
relative to the discovery of Bar "hence resorted to silence." Con-
Kokba documents. He especially cluding his arguments against
criticizes the "Hollywood type" the claimed antiquity for the
of publicity given to the find- scrolls and his accusations that
those who uphold the view he
ings.
He is equally as critical of challenges have failed to respond
the sensation created with the to his claims, Dr. Zeitlin de-
announcement of the finding of clares:
It has been asserted that the
the text of a new psalm and
charges that it has deceived majority of the scholars have
many people into believing that rejected my views and that
it is traced to the time of David. therefore my contention against
Quoting his critics who have the antiquity of the scrolls can
called him "obstinate" in his no longer be "credited." I
refusal to concede the: antiquity have already said that scholar-
of the findings, Prof. Zeitlin ship is not counted by noses.
challenges the scholars named Scholarship is not a beauty
in his article to refute his argu- contest. Scholarship must be
ments and he states that he will based on learning and histor-
retract if they are able to do ical facts. It is regrettable that
so. He proceeds to show that the archaeologists and theolo-
some of the terms in the dis- gians are not well versed ei-
covered documents belong not ther in the vast Hebrew lit-
to the Palestine of antiquity but erature or in the history of
Judaism. Hence they are not
to later Babylonian periods.
competent to deal with the He-
Referring to articles that
brew Scrolls. Some of them
appeared in The Detroit Jew-
have axes to grind. They have
ish News in 1956 — one by
employed innuendoes instead
Dr. S. Yeivin, of Jerusalem,
of refuting my arguments
Director of Israel Antiquities,
against the antiquity of the
on June . 29, claiming that the
scrolls.
Scrolls belonged to the pre-
Unfortunately sensationalism
Christian period; and his re-
has plagued the subject of the
ply to Dr. Yeivin on July 13,
Dead Sea Scrolls since its in-
Dr. Zeitlin insists that his ar-
ception. The archaeologists and
guments were not refuted, that
theologians have employed
"archaeology must be disre-
Madison Avenue methods, re-
garded as a criterion for the
sorting to radio, television and
antiquity of the Scrolls" since
the daily press. Serious schol-
"archaeology is not yet a clef ,
arly objections were disre-
finite science." He reiterates
garded. A pseudo-historical
that "the Scrolls were not dis-
covered by archaeologists." , chapter was foisted upon stu-
In advancing his arguments, dents which the future histor-
Dr. Zeitlin calls attention to the ian will not consider a credit
Piltdown Hoax, when, in 1953, to scholarship.
On April 22, 1962, a dis-
it was proved that a jaw bone,
which was first acclaimed as dat- patch from Jerusalem was
ing back 500,000 years ago, was published in the New York
the skull of a modern ape. He Times in which it was stated
that Dr. Hillel Nathan, of the
then declares:
"I am not insinuating that the HebreW University, h o 1 d s,
archaeologists and the theologi- "that the ancient. Israelites
ans misrepresented the findings represented a variety of racial
of the Hebrew Scrolls, but they types." He bases his theory on
do show their naivete in believ- the skeletons found in the
ing the stories of the Bedouin caves where the rebels of Bar
and the Bethlehem merchant Kokba found a refuge and died
about the discoveries. It is re- nine skeletons in Bar Kochba's
grettable that not only the Chris- group that could be measured
tian professors but the Jewish with accuracy, twenty-four
professors as well have demon- were brachycephalic." I won-
strated their lack of knowledge der how Dr. Nathan ascer-
of ancient Hebrew and Mediaeval tained that the forty-nine
literature and Karaitic litera- skeletons were Jews of Bar
ture. The history of the Jews Kokba's men. Were there
during the " Second Common- signifying marks? Could not
wealth and rabbinic literature they have been skeletons of
are for them a terra incognita. Romans? We know that in the
Their translations of the Hebrew years from 615-617 C.E. when
text are faulty and deceptive Jerusalem fell to the Persians
the Romans were being an-
nihilated and many of them
to escape sought refuge in the
caves where they perished.
When King Heraclius recap-
tured Jerusalem, the Jews
were massacred and many of
them sought refuge in the
caves where they later per'
ished. Could not the skeleton
examined by Dr. Nathan have
been either of the Romans or
the Jews of that period? As
long as sensational news is
printed in the daily press we
may expect more.
To sum up — the Hebrew
Scrolls are of the Middle
Ages. Most of them fit into
the period when the Persians
captured Palestine from the
Byzantines and promised the
Jews an independent state.
Some of the scrolls are of
the Karaitic period. As to the
Bar Kokba letters those which
have been published were not
Written by Bar Kokba. About
the documents which were dis-
covered in the Spring of 1961,
and have not yet been pub- ,
lished, I have an open mind.
Is hall express my views upon
their publication.
Israel's UJA 25th Anniversary Stamp
English Youth Is
Investigated as Nazi
(Direct JTA• Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
LONDON — Leicester School
officials ordered Tuesday a full
scale investigation into the ac-
tivities of a 16-year 7old student
who is a member of the youth
branch of the British National
Socialist Movement and who has
boasted openly that "I am a
nazi."
The youth, Brendan Willmer,
is a student at the Roundhill
Grammar School near Leicester
where, according to police, nazi
pamphlets have been circulated.
The youth has praised Hitler as
"the greatest idealist for 2,000
years." Leicester School officials,
in announcing the investigation,
said, "We will not tolerate nazi
doctrines in our schools."
The youth is editor of a pub-
lication called The Buglar which
is printed at the National So-
cialist headquarters in London.
In the current issue, he has writ-
ten, "We, the new generation of
nordic youth, will continue the
fight for race and nation which
began in National Socialist Ger-
many."
He also boasted in the publi-
cation that he attended the neo-
nazi party rally last August which
American Nazi George Rockwell
clandestinely slipped into Britain
to attend.
Colin Jordan, head of the Brit-
ish neo-nazi group, and three of
his key aides are currently serv-
ing jail terms for violating the
British Public Order Act.
The Israel government, in recognition of the outstanding
humanitarian services performed by the United Jewish Appeal
in behalf of immigrants to that country and for distressed
Jews in all parts of the world, will issue a special Com-
memorative Stamp in December, on the eve of the UJA's 25th
anniversary year, to be observed in 1963. Designed by the
Israel Philatelic Services, the seven cent (20 agorot in Israel
currency) stamp is the first of its kind to be issued in honor
of a non-Israel organization. It depicts the UJA as a central
cogwheel, which constitutes the main driving force behind
four smaller wheels. The latter represent each of the social
and economic areas in which funds raised by the UJA in
the United States are spent on newcomers to Israel: immigra-
tion, housing and agriculture—responsibilities of the United
Israel Appeal-Jewish Agency, Inc., which receives the bulk
of its funds from the UJA. The fourth wheel symbolizes the
Malben program of assistance for the aged, chronically ill
and handicapped immigrants run by the Joint Distribution
Committee in Israel, a second beneficiary of UJA funds. First
day covers, illustrating UJA's humanitarian role, are to be
sent to 100,000 UJA supporters throughout the country when
the stamp is issued in December. The covers will contain a
special message from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion paying
tribute to the historic function of the UJA in safeguarding
the Jewish people wherever and whenever an emergency
arises. Throughout the anniversary year especially mounted
sheets of the UJA stamps will be presented to campaign
leaders by the more than 3,000 communities associated with
the UJA recognition of their devoted services to the Appeal. •
r
,
•
T •
T
n:;1 qin '717 1774 It - t?
n, tt):ir) ?tr: - ,nn L Ptg
Hebrew Corner
Bath-Yam
Who did not hear about the beau-
tiful seashore of Bath-Yam? Many
inhabitants of Tel Aviv and Jaffa take
pleasure in coming to the shore of
Bath-Yam, to bathe and swim in the
sea.
In the year 1923 a company by the
name of "Bayit Vogan," bought land
at the distance of about 8 kilometers
to the south of Tel Aviv. The com-
pany erected houses there and built
a new quarter — Bath-Yam. The new
quarter was built on sand dunes, and
the inhabitants would go to look for
work in Tel Aviv and other places.
Something prevented the develop-
ment of the place: between Bath-Yam
and Tel Aviv was the Arab city of
Jaffa. The Arabs would attack the
Jews in their settlements and on the
roads, and the inhabitants of Bath-
Yam suffered very much.
When the State was set up, there
were in Bath-Yarn about two thou-
sand inhabitants. However, during the
period of the great immigration, the
place developed quickly.
Today about thirty thousand in-
habitants live here, while the old-
timers are only a small minority of
this number. The growth of Bath-
Yam is a good example of the de-
velopment of an immigrant city.
When immigrants began to come
from Europe, Bath-Yam was among
the first places that absorbed them in
large numbers, so that the number
of inhabitants, as well as the number
of factories grew.
Translation of Hebrew Column,
Jerusalem
(Published by Brith Irvith
T
(rrtt.Piv
„, r1,-1:r4
11'12
.1
nxinz)
••T
'7;
1.7bL? rx , rrit.t
.n' T n
1173 1 r.lr.i'?
► m 1923 Inv;
7ry1 74 r 17 Tti
rn" nttr
ninlp n ,--)tppity?
l 7t#
inn ; 1 1 r.r7
rIpv 71ri7 . 11 taii. 77.pn
ripntp
—
ntriir7
topriL ni i' 1'7 r ri, trj.ir))
ninipp;i
swir.M
•
lt.P.:; 1 .41
nT- nn 7y :nipr?n rrIrTp
npitti ri4)T;
r.3 , 117ri r
inyrj
tr•rir)