The Crucifixion: A Libelous Accusation Against the Jews

Introduction to the Fourth Edition of "Who Crucified Jesus?" by Dr. Solomon Zeitlin. Published by Bloch Publishing Co., New York

For eighteen centuries the Jews have been accused
of the crucifixion of Jesus. To this day they are still called
Christ killers, deicides. This grave charge, fraught with
sorrow and suffering to the Jewish people, is still preached
by some ministers of the gospel and taught to the children
in the schools. It is recognized as a dominating factor in
spreading and perpetuating anti-Semitism.
This accusation, propagated from the beginning of
the second century, has continued to our own day. In this
book I have demonstrated that the Gospels and the
Apostle Fathers did not place the onus of the crucifixion
upon thte Jews. The accusation was brought forward by the
early leaders of the Church to show that the Jews, who
originally were chosen people of God, were no longer
chosen after they had crucified Jesus — God had forsaken
them. Those who accepted Jesus as the true Messiah
became the chosen people, the true Israelites. They held
that the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the
Temple by the Romans were a punishment for their guilt
in the death of Jesus. This accusation was brought first
to show the truth of Christianity, second to show that
Judaism was no longer the true religion. It was theologically
important for the leaders of the early Church to place
.responsibility for the crucifixion upon the Jews. Christian-
ity was a new religion and they had to struggle to support
it and to win recruits.
Some modern historians do recognize that a distinction
must be made between the theology in connection with
the crucifixion and the historical facts. Recently certain
Christian theologians have maintained that the Jews should
acknowledge the actual historical fact that their fore-
fathers. the spiritual leaders. were responsible for the
crucifixion, and that the Jews could eliminate anti-Semitism
if they would make that admission.
The sources are the four Gospels, Mark, Matthew, Luke,
and John. The first three are called the Synoptic Gospels.
They are more or less in agreement in their accounts of
the ministry of Jesus. The Gospel according to John is
called non-Synoptic, since it differs from the others and
there are many discrepancies. Although Mark. Matthew,
and Luke are generally in agreement, nevertheless different

versions are recorded regarding events in connection with
the arrest and trial.
In this book I show that the Gospels are not historical
books. Their authors were not interested in presenting the
cold facts. They presented their theological conception of

Jesus and his ministry. To them the resurrection as well
as the crucifixion was the cornerstone upon which the new
religion of Christianity was founded.
An impartial historian in presenting the facts of the
trial and crucifixion must take cognizance of the differences
in the accounts in the Gospels. It is also his duty to ex-
amine all the available manuscripts of the Gospels. To
demonstrate this I have shown that in Mark X:33 which
has, "Behold we go up to Jerusalem and the Son of man
shall be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes. And
they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to
the Gentiles." In some manuscripts the word "death" is
omitted. Such an omission cannot be ascribed merely to a
scribal error. The Church in the Middle Ages thought that
the Jews were responsible for the crucifixions of Jesus;
therefore it is certain that the copyists had a manuscript
which went back to the period before the Gospels were
actually put into writing and canonized. The author of
Mark accused the chief priests and the scribes only of
delivering Jesus to the Gentiles but not of his death. Again
in Mark 111:6 the text has, "And the Pharisees went forth
and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against
him. how they might destroy him." In some ancient Greek
manuscript the text has - to deliver him" in place of
"destroy him."
Jesus was arrested and put to death as a rebel against
Rome. and was crucified as king of the Jews. On the
cross was inscribed in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin: Jesus
Nazarenus, Rex Iudneorum, "Jesus of Nazareth. King of the
Jews." It was the Roman custom to offer the reason for
the execution, Pilate followed the established method.
This book was written from the historical angle, not
the theological. I have demonstrated that the Jews are
guiltless and cannot be blamed for the crucifixion. The
Christian world must atone for their guilt towards the

Jewish people for using the incident as a pretext for
enslaving and persecuting the Jews throughout the ages.
The accusation of being deicides accelerates anti-Semitism.
The Jews need not apologize to the Christians; responsibil-
ity for the crucifixion cannot be put upon them for the
acts of their forefathers. The verdict of this book is that
the spiritual leaders of the Jews of that time were not
guilty.
Judaism and Christianity are separate religions, each
with its own theology. Though Christianity arose in Judaea
and its founders were Jews, Christianity in the process
of time became a Gentile religion. The founders of Chris-
tianity, to prove that Jesus was the -true messiah Christ,
based their assumption on the Pentateuch and Prophets.
Christianity arose as a Judaeo-Christian religion. The Jews
of the Diaspora paved the way for the Apostles to the
Gentiles to preach Christianity to the pagans. For centuries

the Jews of the Diaspora preached and taught that there
is only one God, that He is the God of the universe, that

all men are equal before God regardless ofrace, that He
is the God of all mankind.
The Jews do not wish to convert the Christians to
Judaism nor to be converted to Christianity.
The great humanitarian and saintly Pope John XXIII,
in the dark days of Jewish history when millions of Jews
were destroyed and burned in the gas chambers for no
crime but that they were Jews, interceded whenever he
could and saved the lives of many. On Good Friday the
Catholics, in praying for all peoples, have a prayer pro
perfidis Judaei,s and they ask God to have mercy on
Judaica perfidia. Pope John ordered the words perfidis and
perfidia be omitted. The present Pope Paul VI is following
the the steps of his great predecessor in summoning the
Ecumenical Council.
We trust that this Council will show good will to the
mother religion by removing the unjustifiable stigma from
the Jews in declaring in its schema that historically the
Jews are not guilty of the crucifixion of Jesus. This would
erase the guilt of the Church for defamation of an innocent
people, the people of the prophets.

(Copyright, 1964, Bloch Publishing Co.)

Historical Background to Myths About Crucifixion

(Continued from Page 1)
Pharisees — Separatists, that is,
those who separated themselves
from the Jewish people and the
Pentateuch. The priests called
themselves Zaddokites — Sadduc-
cees, since they were descended
from the High Priest Zaddok who
lived in the time of Solomon.
The high priests, the Sadduccees,
by virtue of the canonization of the
Pentateuch, held full authority
over the Jewish people. As they
became more powerful, corruptive
influences began to penetrate their
ranks. By 332 B.C. the Persian em-
pire had crumbled under the Mac-
edonian forces of the mighty Alex-
ander. But with his sudden death
in 323 B.C.. his vast empire fell to
pieces. Ptolemy seized Egypt;
Seleucus ruled Syria. Judea lay
geographically between these two
powerful states. For over a cen-
tury the empires of Egypt and
Syria warred with each other for
possession of Judea.

The close intercourse between
the Jews and the Egyptian court
wrought significant changes in the
cultural life of the Jews. The
Greek language was brought into
Judea. Jerusalem which, up to the
Hellenistic (Greek) period. was an
obscure town. now became a prom-
inent metropolis. The corruptive
forces of assimilation began their
evil work.
The assimilationists did not have
free and easy sailing. They were
strongly opposed by Jews of the
middle class. especially the Phari-
sees. So strong did this opposition
become that the Syrian govern-
ment had to take cognizance of it.

Judaism and civilization by re-
volting against the Syrians. Mat-
tathias and his five sons won the
allegiance of the people at large,
, into whose ranks Hellenistic cul-
ture did not penetrate. Among
these people, the teachings of the
Pharisees had made great strides.
Resentment grew hot and strong
against the high priest who had
forsaken the Jewish religion and
had adopted the Hellenistic way of
living. Two Pharisaic doctrines in
particular strengthened them in
their conviction to resist their ene-
mies, foreign and domestic.
Mattathias, in his testimony to
his sons, affirmed that while the
priesthood was given to the family
of Phineas, the kingdom was given
to David, forever and ever, The
second doctrine of the Pharisees
which inspired the life of the Jew-
ish masses with hope and daring
was concerned with the matter of
reward and punishment in the fu-

ture world, and resurrection.
It helped to answer questions

concerning God's justice in a world
that seemed filled with injustice.
It renewed their faith sufficiently
to enable them to struggle with
hope that their reward was as-
sured, if not in this world, then
surely in the world in which God's
justice comes to its complete ful-
fillment.

When Mattathias died, his sons
took over the leadership in the
struggle against the Syrians.
Through the military victories of
Judas Maccabeus and the political
statesmanship of his brothers, Jon-
athan and Simon, the Jews gained
their independence. In 142 B.C.,
an independent Jewish state was
In 171 B.C., Antiochus Epi- proclaimed. A great assembly con-
phanes, learning that the Ptolem- vened, consisting of Israelites, Le-
ian army was about to assault
vites and Priests. They elected Si-
Syria, marched with his army to mon, son of Mattathias, high priest
the Egyptian frontier. Having met
and ruler.

the menace firmly, Antiochus made
his way back from Egypt. He in-
vaded Jerusalem, entered the Tem-
ple, and slew many Jews who were
known to be opposed to the Hel-
lenization of Jerusalem.
A priest named Mattathias, the
Hasmonaeus, fled with his family
from Jerusalem to the little village
of Modin. lie and his sons saved

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
56—Friday, November 20, 1964

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•

the Jews had gained freedom from
the Syrians, was again conquered
by another expanding power, the
Romans. And the independence
they had won at the cost of blood
and tears was once more lost. The
Jews suffered much more under
the iron heel of Rome than under
the rule of the Ptolemies.

population rapidly expanded. New
cities were built. In the course of
time the people of Judea which, up
to the Hellenistic period, consisted

continual outbreaks. Suetonius re-
lates that a belief prevailed all
over the Orient that a leader of two classes, added another so-
would arise in Judea who would cial class—an urban population.
*
rule the world. Other historians
also recorded this prevailing be-
Antagonism
sprang up be-
lief. It referred, of course, to the
tween the farmers, the Ame Ha-
Jewish hope for the coming of a
The reign of Herod as King of
Aretz and the Haberim, the city
Messiah. This Jewish belief dis-
Judea began in 41 B.C. His king-
dwellers. This antagonism
turbed the Romans; they regarded
ship was that of a rex socius, that
it as a challenge to their own hege-
spread from the economic to the
is, he was entrusted with the king-
mony. Therefore, they viewed with
social realm. The Haberim
dom only as long as he lived. After
alarm any Jewish movement
would hardly associate with the
his death, the Emperor Augustus
against the Romans as a menace
had the power to decide who
Ame-Ha-Aretz. These farmers of

should succeed him.

to their entire imperial dominance
in the Near East. They supressed
such movements with the utmost
cruelty and rigor.

As Herod's reign drew along, it
was more and more filled with cru-
elty, violence and bloodshed. He
did not gain the submission of the
Jews, either by his terroristic acts
The Social Classes
against them or by the favors he
conferred upon them. Like all dic- and Social Strife
With the establishment of the
tators, he could not be satisfied by
the mere conquest of the people; commonwealth, changes in the ec-
he wanted their acquiescence as onomic and social life of the Jew-
ish community took place. These
well. This he never received.
changes had far-reaching conse-
The younger generation
quences. They brought about the
seethed with revolt against en- emergence of new social groups.
slavement by Rome and its vas- They initiated social strife within
sal, Herod. The winds of revolt
Judea. They even helped the
were rising steadily, and heavy
spread of Christianity later, among
clouds darkened the horizons of
certain sections of the people.

• * •

Jewish-Roman relationships. Af-
ter Herod's death, Judea was de-
clared a province of Rome, to be
ruled by a procurator with all
judicial powers.
* * *

From the time of Herod on-
wards, the high priesthood ceased
to be hereditary. Herod had ap-
pointed and dismissed high priests
whenever the occassion suited his
purposes. Some of them did not
even complete a full year in office.
Now, since the procurator assumed
the power to appoint the high
priest, the latter was compelled to
execute the orders of his superior.
Thus, he became a mere agent of
From Commonwealth
the Roman authorities.
to Roman Province
Pontias Pilate was procurator
The commonwealth which was es-
tablished after the Jews won their
of Judea when Jesus was cruci-
independerice did not last long.
fied. For 10 years, Pilate piled
Only a few decades later, a mon-
crime upon crime in his antipa-
archy was set up in Judea, and the
thy
for the Jewish people and
kingdom was usurped by Simon's
their religion.
descendants. The people were
ruled by tyrannical kings.
Judea was a veritable volcano,
Judea, less than a century after ready to erupt. The scorn of the

•

procurators for the Jews and their
religion incensed the populace to

The Persian period saw Judea a
small obscure country within the

satrapy of Syria. It consisted of
villages and one important city,
Jerusalem. The inhabitants were
divided into two classes; one class

was composed of the priests and
Levites, engaged in the service of
the Temple, the other class was
made up of the landed folk, the
farmers, the so-called Ame Ha-

Aretz.
Following the conquest of Judea

by the Ptolemies, a new social

class emerged which no longer en-
gaged in agriculture, but followed
the channels of trade and manu-
facturing. With the development
of the commonwealth, this group
increased its prominence and pow-
er.
Cities along the coast were an-
nexed to Judea either by penetra-
tion or conquest. Galilee to the
north, inhabited by Gentiles, also

was added to Judea. Trade and

commerce flourished. The urban

Judea, as well as those of Gali-
lee, answered this contempt with

resentments and scorn.

Many of the Ame-Ha-Aretz, es-
pecially those of Galilee, became
the rank and file of the various
revolutionary sects which stood for
such democratic ideals as "equality
of men before God." The masses
enthusiastically joined such move-
ments which preached the principle
of equality. They smarted under
the whip of social and cultural
degradation. They keenly felt the
injustice of social snobbery and
even more sharply, they suffered

under inequitable economic forces.
From Galilee- came forth two
men who were kindled with the
same ideal of social and economic
equality—Judas of Galilee and
Jesus of Nazareth. Both Jesus and
Judas preached that there is but
one ruler over mankind and He is
the Lord. They sought out their
followers from among the farmer
folk of Galilee. And the first dis-
ciples of Jesus were humble people
—the fishermen, the farmers, the
toilers of the land in Galilee.

(Condensed from "Who Cruci-
fied Jesus?" by Solomon Zeitlin.
Published by Bloch Publishing
Co,. 31 W.'' 31st St.. New York. Re-
printed with the permission of the
author and the publisher).

(Copyright, 1964, by Bloch
Publishing Co.)

• 0 •

WEEK: The political
and religious status of Judea
when Jesus began to preach. The
two Sanhedrins. The parties,
sects and philosophies which
dominated Jewish life in the
first century of the Common
Era.

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