'Trial of Jesus' Study Published in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM—A research study
on the legal aspects of the trial
and death of Jesus, by Justice
Haim H. Cohn, of the Supreme
Court of Israel, was published in
the Israel Law Review and has
been issued as a pamphlet by the
Israel Law Review Association,
Faculty of Law, Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, un-
der the title "Re-
flections on the
Trial and Death
of Jesus".
Justice Cohn is
on the teaching
staff of the facul-
ty of law and is
chairman of the
executive counci
of the Hebrew
University of
Jerusalem.
The study is
based on the An- Justice Cohn
nual Moshe Smoira Memorial Lec-
ture, delivered by Justice Cohn at
the Hebrew University Faculty of
Law in 1966.

The author looks at the incidents
of the trial and crucifixion of
Jesus from a legal point of view.
At the outset he expresses surprise,
that "of the 60,000 books said to
have been written on the life of I
Jesus in the last century alone,"
very few were written by lawyers
and from the legal aspects,'
though "no trial in the history of
mankind was of such momentous
consequences" and "none has ever
given rise to such widespread, au-
thoritative and persistent assertions
that a grave miscarriage of justice
had occurred." As a lawyer, he is
not concerned with the theological
or historical truth of any statement
or description contained in t h e
Gospels," but he attempts to in-
terpret the events "as to which
there is general consensus" among
the various Gospel accounts, in the
light of our knowledge of the legal
institutions and conceptions pre-
vailing at that time in Jerusalem.

could not afford to alienate their and means to save Jesus from his
fate at the hands of the Roman
feelings.
Procurator, either by having him
As Jesus was arrested by a con-
tingent consisting of Roman and acquitted (hence the finding that
the witnesses testifying against him
Jewish troops, it stands to reason
were false), or by having his sen-
that the Romans initiated the ar-
be-
rest (presumably for the purpose tence suspended during good
of the trial for which Pilate was havior (hence his interrogation by
ready early the next morning), and the High Priest to find out whether
that the Jewish troops were pres- he would be willing to cooperate).

ent at their own request. It appears The Jewish leaders of the day must
that the purpose of their presence have been really and vitally inter-
was to obtain permission to have ested in preventing the execution

Jesus brought into the High Priest'sby the Romans
of a Jew (and
-Pharisee) who enjoyed the affec-
house instead of a Roman lock-up.
The various theories propounded tion and love of the• people; this

to explain the night proceedings in is why they went out of their way
the High Priest's palace (Jewish in the nightly and last-minute ef-

Trial Theory, Preliminary Investi- fort to forestall the Roman trial.
gation Theory, and others) are Finally, the theory is refuted
carefully examined and, in the light that crucifixion was ever pradticed
of available information on the by the Jews, and it is shown that
while hanging may at some late
usages of the Sanhedrin, rejected stage have been authorized as a
in turn. mode of execution, it was death by
On the assumption that the San- strangulation which was intended
hedrin did indeed convene that to be introduced as a more humane
night in the High Priest's house, mode, and not death on the cross
it is submitted (and reasoned) that which was known and rejected by
their only purpose was to find ways the Jews as cruel and inhumane.

Last Two Arab Schools Open in East Jerusalem

(Direct JTA Teletype Wit.
to The Jewish News)

His first conclusion is that Jesus
was duly tried under Roman law
by the Roman Procurator. As he
pleaded guilty to the charge of pre-
tending to be king of the Jews,
there was no need for further
evidence. The Gospel accounts of
the various negotiations between
Pilate and the Jews during the
trial, and of the Barabbas episode,
are analyzed, with the result that states.
However, the figures showed
they are found incompatible with
Roman law and procedure as ap- also that 59 per cent of Amer-
icans
flatly oppose armed in-
plied in occupied Judea and with
what is known of the character tervention by the United States
and modus operandi of Pilate. The
Jews could not have taken any British Institute Warns
active part in the trial before
Pilate, particularly as the Jewish Israel of Problems
masses were "ardent admirers and of Multi-Racial Society
sincere wellwishers of Jesus," and
LONDON (JTA) — Israel was
their leaders ("the chief priests") warned here that as a consequence
of her lightning victory over the
30,000 Druze No Longer Arab states last June, she will face
in the future "all the problems of
A 'Minority' in Israel
a multi-racial society in which the
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The minority group is potentially hos-
tile
and sustained by powerful sup-
affairs of Israel's 30,000 Druze,
an Arabic speaking, non-Moslem porters beyond the frontier."
The warning was contained in
religious community, have been
removed from the minorities de- a special report by the Institute
partments of the various govern- for Strategic Studies, which asserts
ment ministries, and will here- that while Israel's military victory
after be directed through the eliminated many points in dispute
same channels used by Israel's over the past 20 years, Israel will
Jewish citizens, it was announced never again be the almost homo-
Tuesday by Prime Minister Levi geneous state that its Zionist foun-
Eshkol. He made the announce- ders envisioned.
ment at a special meeting with
Whatever settlement is made on
Druze leaders, at which he the West Bank, the report says,
hailed the community's loyalty Arabs are likely in the future to
to Israel during 19 years of make up at least a quarter of Is-
statehood.
rael's population. If the Arab
Unlike Israel's Arab popula- states learned anything from their
tion, Druze serve in the armed defeat "it should be the folly of
forces and form a high per- challenging Israel to the kind of
centage of Israel's border po- war which only fully developed
lice, which is responsible for societies can effectively fight," the
combating infiltration and sab- report states and warns that ter-
otage. During Israel's War for rorism and sabotage will increase.
Israel's future security will de-
Independence, 1948-1949, the
Sinai Campaign of 1956 and the pend on her ability to solve these
Six-Day. War last June, Druze problems, the report says, adding
have Identified themselves with that "if Israeli statesmanship does
the Jewish majority, and their not match up to her military
soldiers and policemen have a achievements, her victories, like
high record of bravery in the so many victories in the past may
bear very bitter fruit."
field.

in case another Arab-Israeli
war breaks oat. On the same
issue, 42 per cent favored U.S.
intervention.
In reply to another question, as
to whether the respondents be-
lieved a settlement of the Arab-
Israeli conflict was in the offing,
19 per cent thought there would be
a peace settlement; 50 per cent
thought that war would break out
again soon; while 31 per cent were
not certain.

'Decline and Fall'
Matches Old Rome
With the Present

Roger Price invented Droodles
and started the Pop Art Movement.
Now he has turned to Edward
Gibbon's "The Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire" and has col-
lected an impressive set of photo-
graphs of events and social aspects
of our own time and linked them
with Gibbon's comments on Rome.
It's a fantastically and hilarious-
ly successful Gibbon effort to
"stage a comeback," as the unique
effort is described, and "The De-
cline and Fall," as the pictorial
work is titled, will delight the read-
ers. It is bylined "Edward Gibbon
(His long awaited new book) and
Roger Price."
The uniqueness of this photo-
graphic work is that it includes
the hippies, the nudists, our Su-
preme Court, President Johnson,
the Middle East.
There is a photo of Nasser, Saud
and a group of cohorts and describ-
ing it is a quote from "The De-
cline and Fall of the Roman Em-
pire" by Edward Gibbon, Vol. II,
p. 300—" . . . the Moors and the
Africans were allured by the hopes
of plunder ... "
Senator Dirksen's photo in action
is accompanied by a quote from
Gibbon's Vol. 1, p. 109: " . . . the
tradition of republican maxims was
gradually obliterated."
A Ku Klux Klan group is de-
scribed in this one from Gibbon's
Vol. I, p. 75: "In the tumult of
civil discord, the laws of society
lose their force, and their place is
seldom supplied by those of hu-
manity."
Thus, all aspects of our modern
experiences are depicted by appli-
cation of lessons of the past, in a
most entertaining manner, with
humor at its best.

have vacated their jobs.
Of the East Jerusalem teachers

sidered to

JERUSALEM—The last two of who taught under Jordanian rule,
East Jerusalem's 24 elementary only about 30 have returned to
schools opened Monday with at- school. The rest have been re-
tendance just under 50 per cent, placed by substitutes, mainly Arabs
officials reported Tuesday.
who had taught in other Arab
Other schools reported that at- countries.
tendance was continuing to rise
with an over-all average of 80 per
cent attendance.
That total is only slightly less
than was averaged when the area
CALL
was under Jordanian control be-
fore the June war.
The Jordanians have a compul-
sory schooling law but it was large- 1
ly unenforced in East Jerusalem. I
Two hundred and seventy East
Jerusalem teachers who had not
15751 W. 101/2 Mile
reported for work since the open- ,
ing of the school term were given
353-6750 or 862-0963
until the end of this week to re-
turn to their classrooms or be con-

-TRAVELING--

YESHIVATH
BETH
YEHUDAH

Best Wishes For A Year Of
Health and Happiness
To Our Many Customers and Friends

Poll Shows More Americans Favor
Israel's Retention of Old Jerusalem

NEW YORK (JTA)—Results of
a new Harris Poll on the Middle
East situation, taken in Septem-
ber reported that 42 per cent of
the American respondents favored
Israel's retention of control of all
of Jerusalem.
Against full Israeli control of
the Holy City and in favor of in-
ternationalization of Jerusalem
were 33 per cent of the respond-
ents, while 24 per cent were listed
as "not sure."
The Harris polls are conducted
by Louis Harris, one of the fore-
most public opinion surveyors in
the country.
The figures showed that, last
June, immediately after Israel
took control over all of Jerusalem,
only 10 per cent of Americans fa-
vored Israeli control of the city,
60 per cent voted for internation-
alization, and 20 per cent were
not certain on that i ssue.
By a margin of 42 to 36 per
cent, Americans favor the idea of
United State's supply of arms to
Israel as 'ong as the Russians
seem to to rearming the Arab

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

12—Friday, October 13, 1967

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