Dr. Zeitlin Challenges Prof. Yadin's
Conclusions in Masada Excavations
on History of Fortress and the Sicarii
Danny Raskin's
LISTENING
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•
In an essay in the forthcoming
issue of Jewish Quarterly Review
on "Masada and the Sicarii," in
which he reviews
the story of the
last fortress to
hold out against
the Romans in
the Jewish strug-
gle for indepen-
dence and ex-
plains the role
of the Sicarii, the
rebels who used
the sica—a short Dr. Zeitlin
dagger—to kill their opponents,
Dr. Colomon Zeitlin, Dropsie Col-
lege professor and editor of the
Quarterly Review, takes issue
with Prof. Yigal Yadin's conclu-
sions regarding the findings dur-
ing his excavations in Masada.
Giving credit to Prof. Yadin
whom he recognized as "a de-
voted archaeologist, a person of
great enthusiasm," Dr. Zeitlin de-
clares that "no sensational dis-
coveries have been made which
would change our historical per-
spective of Masada nor of the
Sic aril. "
Referring to Prof. Yadin's re-
cent claim that "the Zealots were
the occupants of Masada," Dr.
Zeitlin declares, quoting from
Josephus' "Jewish War," that:
"It is crystal clear that Jose-
phus, the sole source for the his-
tory of that period, differentiated
between the Zealots and the Sicarii,
and that the occupants of Masada
were the Sicarii—not the Zealots.
To confuse the Zealots with the
Sicarii is a glaring distortion of
the history of that period."
Further developing his theme,
Dr. Zeitlin states:
"There were two distinct
groups during the revolt against
the Romans—the Zealots and the
Sicarii. The Zealots never took
refuge in Masada — they were
all the time in Jerusalem. The
Sicarii were the followers of the
Fourth Philosophy which was
founded by Judas of Galilee in
the year •6 CE. When Judas was
killed, his son Menachem be-
came- the leader. After the assas-
sination of Menachem, his rela-
tive Eleazar, son of Jairus, as-
sumed leadership and fled with
his followers, the Sicarii, to Ma-
sada for refuge. The Zealots
came into being in the year 66 as
an opposition to the constitution-
al government whose members
they suspected of secret dealings
with the Romans. They were
zealous in pursuing war to the
utmost and hence were called
Zealots. Their leader was Eleaz-
er, son of Simon."
Pointing out that the "Sicarii had
a philosophy," Dr. Zeitlin adds:
"After the destruction of Jerusa-
lem, the survi-
vors of the Sica-
rii continued to
incite t h e Ju-
daeans in the
Diaspora against
the Romans,
their motto being
that there is no
lordship of man
over man, and
that God is the
only ruler. The
!,ealots had no Prof. Yadin
philosophy. Their sole aim was to
continue vigorous prosecution of
the war. After the destruction of
the State they disappeared from
the arena of Judaean history.
There was no raison d'etre for
their existence. To write that the
Zealots were in Masada and that
they committed suicide is distor-
tion of a great chapter in Jewish
history."
Paying honor to Prof. Yadin's
archaelogical work, Dr. Zeitlin
states: "I do not minimize the
importance of Prof. Yadin's ex-
cavations in Masada. It is a great
work,---a great contribution to ar-
chaeology- and scholars will be in-
debted to him for his contributions,
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
30—Friday, July 23, 1965
but I must say these excavations
do not reveal new aspects of the
Jews. They are not significant for
history."
But Dr. Zeitlin also declares
that "in general archaeologists
by the nature of their work are
inclined to sensationalism."
Proceeding again to press the
view he has propaganated that the
Dead Sea Scrolls do not belong to
the pre-Christian era, as claimed,
Dr. Zeitlin asserts:
"Archaeologists engaged in ex-
cavations of a period of which
there is an abundance of litera-
ture must know the literature of
that period. There is a vast litera-
ture of the time of the latter part
of the Second Commonwealth.
There is the Apocryphal and much
of the Tannaitic literature of that
period, also an abundance of ma-
terial in Graeco-Roman literature.
An archaeologist occupied in ex-
cavations of this period must be
well versed in its literature. It
is indeed regrettable to note that
neither the history of the Second
Commonwealth nor the develop-
ment of the halakha has been
taken into consideration. The lack
of this knowledge mars the studies
of the Dead Sea Scrolls and of
Masada. One must register that
the Hebrew University does not
have a Chair for the History of the
Second Commonwealth nor the
History of the Development of the
Halakha."
Spokesman Explains
Praise for Hitler by
Viet Nam Premier
LONDON (JTA) — An official
spokesman for Premier Nguyen
Gao Ky confirmed that the South
Viet Namese leader had praised
certain of Adolf Hitler's qualities.
The British ambassador to Viet
Nam, Gordan Etherington-Smith,
had raised a question with Gen.
Ky because of British indignation
over the reported assertions in
which Gen. Ky lauded Hitler as
his personal "hero."
Gen. Ky's spokesman said the
premier had intended only to voice
admiration for Hitler's qualities
of leadership and that he did not
intend to praise the Nazi leader in
all respects. The spokesman noted
that "nobody can forget the in-
human methods he (Hitler) used
during the Second World War."
The original statement of Gen.
Ky said that "I admire Hitler
because he pulled his country
together when it was in a ter-
rible state in the early 1930s.
But the situation here is so des-
perate that one man would not
be enough. We need four or five
Hitlers in Viet Nam."
(Officials in Washington have
sought to explain that the Ameri-
can backed Vietnamese premier
admires Hitler as his ideal of a
dynamic nationalist leader and
anti- Communist fighter but does
not necessarily identify with Hit-
ler's anti-Jewish policies.)
The British ambassador in Sai-
gon confirmed that Gen. Ky ex-
pressed the "idea' that Viet Nam
needed above all a sense of disci-
pline in order to face the criminal
aggression of the Communists." It
was in this connection that Gen.
Ky saw merit in Hitler and the
Nazi philosophy.
Mapam Rejects Offer
to Join Mapai Alignment
TEL AVIV (JTA)—The central
committee of the Mapam Party re-
jected an offer by Ahdut Avodah,
inviting Mapam to join the politi-
cal alignment of Mapal and Ahdut
Avodah. Leaders of Mapam said
they would wait until after next
fall's elections to the Knesset be-
fore making up their minds on
alignment..
CASTILIAN ADVISER
Todros Abulafia, a 13th century
Jewish poet and scholar, was the
chief financial adviser in the
courts of Alfonso X and Sancho IV
of Castile.
LIKE MOTHER AT LEAST in one
respect is Ava Atler, 16-year-old
daughter of Helen and Dr. Le Roy
Atler .. Ava is the elected sweet-
heart of Gershwin Chapter A.Z.A.
. . . Back in 1937, Helen was Sweet-
heart of the Dworkin Chapter in
Columbus, 0. . . . Ava is an appren-
tice at Northland Playhouse, in the
program that assigns the several
in it to work on costumes, props,
stage settings, lighting and many
other facets of ."back stage" thea-
ter .- . They also have an oppor-
tunity to audition for some of the
shows that come through during
the summer season . . . Ava's par-
ticular field is musical comedy .. .
In May, she had one of the leading
roles in "Call Me Madam" put on
at North Farmington High . . . The
Atlers have a very talented son,
too . . . 18-year-old Edward is an
amateur photographer with plenty
of stuff on the ball . . . He recently
received $200 for a photo that ap-
peared in Life Magazine . . . and
was chosen to operate the $45,000
microscope and camera in the Biol-
ogy Dept. at Oakland University.
* * *
SPLASH PARTY by Knights of
Pythias, Detroit Lodge 55, set for
July 28, at home of Bernard Bolton
in Southfield.
* * *
MAX ROSIN TRAVELS a lot on
business and always calls his wife,
Lottie, from wherever he is . . .
This time he was using a pay sta-
tion in Chicago .. . After he and
Lottie had shared the news about
the kids and business, the operator
told him his three minutes were
up . . . So he said a quick goodbye
... As he left the booth, the phone
rang . . . Max dug for some change,
expecting to have to pay for over-
time . . . However, the operator
said, "I thought you'd want to
know. You hung up before your
wife finished. She said, 'I love
you'."
* a *
BACK AT HIS DESK after bat-
tling a bug for several days, steel
man Lou Stein reports, - "The doc-
tors have a new method for diag-
nosing these things. They say, 'If .
you feel better tomorrow, you have
the 24-hour virus'."
* * *
IN DETROIT from Los Angeles
recently, Sam Dictor 'told good
friend Bob Ostrow about a cohort
back on the coast who was thrilled
to receive a Poloroid camera for
his birthday . . . Three days later,
his 15th grandchild was born, and
he hurried to the hospital to take
the first picttne . . . When he asked
the nurse to hold up the baby,
she asked, "First grandchild?"...
"No," he replied. "First camera!"
*
*
SEPT. 18, 1953 . . . What Nate
Kaufman would call a typical fe-
male motorist came tooting merri-
ly down the wrong side of a crowd-
ed thoroughfare, Wyoming and
Curtis, and ran smack into Harry
Kasden's brand-mew convertible .
While they were trying to untangle
bumpers, the lady driver said
grudgingly, "I'm afraid this was
largely my fault." . . . "Nonsense,"
said Harry. I assure you the blame
rests entirely with me. I saw you
fully three blocks away and had
ample time to dart down a side
street."
.
Avoid Electioneering in Israel Army,
All Parties Are Warned by Eshkol
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime
Minister Levi Eshkol, who is also
minister of defense, issued a re-
minder to all Israeli political
parties Sunday, recalling the fact
that, under Israeli law, all elec-
tioneering or other political acti-
vity . among the armed forces is
forbidden.
In a letter to the heads of all
political parties, Eshkol urged
"strict adherence" to that law and
observance of regulations forbid-
ding the use of the army's name
on any political poster, picture or
other political campaign material.
Meanwhile, the new political fac-
tion now known officially as the
"Israel Workers List"—organized
by former Premier David. Ben-
Gurion and his supporters—an-
nounced it would contest not only
the Mapai Party's list for the elec-
tions to the Knesset (Parliament)
next fall, but also the candidates
in the elections to Histadrut, Is-
rael's federation of labor, and to
some major, local Histadrut coun-
cils.
Ben-Gurion demanded here in
the Knesset (Parliament) Tuesday
that Eshkol explain charges he
had allegedly made to the effect
that "things were not in order"
under the Ben-Gurion leadership
of the government.
Eshkol had been reported earl-
ier to have made such a remark
at a meeting of the Mapai Party's
secretariat. Later, Eshkol had
said he had been "misquoted" and
that his statement did not concern
B en- Gurion.
Tuesday, Ben-Gurion, who is a
member of the Knesset, took the
parliament rostrum to challenge
Eshkol's denial. Stating that he
has now read a stenographic re-
port on the proceedings at the
Mapai secretariat, where Eshkol
had presumably made the remark,
he said the premier's reply is "in-
consistent with the record." He
demanded that Eshkol "explain all
to the nation."
"Let him not pose as protecting
our honor," said Ben-Gurion,
"when he defames the man who
was premier for 15 years."
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