Friday, December 19, 1980 43
- THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Pianist Wins
Concerto Event
Archeological Find Re-Affirms French Jewish Roots
By BEN FRANK
ROUEN, France (JTA) —
There were no posters, no
trappings, no ribbons to cut,
no flag raising.
Yet, one knew im-
mediately on a cool brisk
day in October, in this capi-
tal of Normandy which bris-
tles with spires and towers,
that Jewish history was not
only being made, but more
important that the world
was being reminded that
the roots of the Jews of
France go deep.
What was happening in
this ancient courtyard of the
Palace of Justice — once the
town hall — was the formal
dedication of the archeolog-
ical discovery of a medieval
Jewish building found by
accident beneath the park-
ing lot of the Palace. More
significantly, the building
is apparently the only
Jewish institution of higher
learning in Europe whose
walls have survived either
from antiquity or the Mid-
dle Ages.
Uncovered in the exca-
vations, which were tobe
dedicated that day, were
Hebrew graffiti on the
walls of this academy of
higher learning of the
Normanic Jews. Thus,
the discovery of Rouen's
Jewish history in the
form of archeological
explorations was, in ef-
fect, the announcing to
the world what has been
known perhaps only by a
few scholars: that Rouen
was a most important
medieval center in
France for Jewish
studies, overshadowing
even Paris.
On the minds, too, of all
present, from the
plainclothes police, to offi-
cials, to Jewish and Chris-
tian and Moslem religious
leaders, was the abomina-
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ble terrorist bombing
exactly 10 days earlier at
the synagogue in Rue
Copernic in Paris that kil-
led four and wounded 32
persons.
The dedication in Rouen
— which is a little over an
hour's drive from Paris —
had been planned months
earlier. But in mid-October,
those present sought to
paint the pictures of sym-
bolism that were to be im-
printed that afternoon in
the form of a formal dedica-
tion of a Jewish school of
learning dating back to
about the year 1090. (Some
claim the building was a
synagogue).
The dedication cere-
monies were special for
Prof. Norman Golb of the
University of Chicago.
Before the Romanes-
que building was dis-
covered beneath the
parking lot, the 51-year-
old professor published
his hypothesis of a
yeshiva in the courtyard
in a book titled, "History
and Culture of the Jews
of Rouen," which ap-
peared in Hebrew in the
spring of 1976.
He had researched 150
manuscripts which he
studied, in Jerusalem; the
British Museum, the Bib-
liotheque Nationale in
Paris; libraries in Budapest,
Amsterdam, New York, as
well as the Vatican Library.
His selection of the site of
the yeshiva on Rouen's Rue
aux Juifs (The Street of the
Jews) was based on the fact
that references to the build-
ing stop with the 16th Cen-
tury. This was the point at
which the highly or-
namented Palais de Justice
was built.
Equally fascinating is the
fact that Golb may have dis-
covered why Rouen was
overlooked as a center of
Judaism during the Middle
Ages. It may have been
bypassed because Hebrew
references to the city were
misread by Latin scholars.
Until the 14th Century,
Rouen was known as Ro-
dom.
In surviving Hebrew
manuscripts, the name
Rodom is written like
Rhodoz, a medieval city
in southern France. What
happened was that
scholars, often in recopy-
ing the manuscripts, mis-
took the Hebrew letter
"samakh," for a final
"mem." Golb said he was
fascinated by the possi-
bility that the city they
were really talking about
and writing about as a
"thriving Jewish com-
munity," was really Ro-
dom, or Rouen.
"I went back to the origi-
nal manuscripts at the
British Museum and my
suspicions were im-
mediately confirmed," he
said. Subsequent studies of
manuscripts in Paris,
Amsterdam and Jerusalem,
revealed detailed maps and
descriptions of the Jewish
quarter and life in the city.
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`Increase in Arab Banks
May Threaten Politicization'
NEW YORK — The rise
of new Arab 'banks
threatens to politicize the
international banking sys-
tem in the next decade, ac-
cording to the latest issue of
"Petro-Impact," the bi-
monthly publication of the
American Jewish Commit-
tee's Institute of Human Re-
lations that reports on "pet-
rodollar influence in
American affairs."
According to the publica-
tion, the Arab banking sys-
tem readily combines both
political and financial goals
because Arab-owned banks
either are partly owned or
sponsored by their govern-
ments.
Though Arab bankers in
the past worked through
Western banks both be-
cause of their conservative
outlook and their lack of
managerial skills, today
they want greater control
and authority over man-
agement of their money. By
the end of this year, it is
predicted that Arab oil pro-
ducing states will have $340
million in assets worldwide,
a figure that could rise to $1
billion by 1984 should oil
prices remain stable.
In a related article
focusing on Arabs and
American banks,
"Petro-Impact" reports
that the "torrent of
petro-dollars expected to
flood U.S. banks is thus
far only a stream."
A third article discusses
Saudi investor Suliman
Olayan's recent appoint-
ment to Mobil Oil's board of
directors. Olayan's ac-
ceptance of the position was
considered unusual since he
prefers to hire highly placed
Americans to represent
him, such as former Treas-
ury Secretary William Si-
mon, now chairman of Cres-
cent Diversified Ltd., one of
Olayan's operating com-
panies.
Pianist Cathy Stay was
recently named the winner
in the annual concerto
competition held at Oak-
land University. In spring
she will perform George
Gershwin's "Rhapsody in
Blue" with the Oakland
University Concert Band.
Ms. Stay was graduated
from the University of
Michigan School of Music
and is now completing re-
quirements for a Master of
Music degree at Oakland
University.
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