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Page 6 The Southern Israelite Jews Enslaved In France Controversy Over the ‘'Riddle of Glozel” Settled By PIERRE VAN PAASSEN Jewish slaves lived in / ranee some seven hundred years be fore our present era—this is the startling outcome of a protracted dispute between outstanding European arche ologists. Ever since the find ing of mysteriously inscribed pottery at Glozel, France, a heated controversy has raged over the historical significance of the inscriptions. The noted correspondent of the Seven Arts Feature Syndicate and The Southern Israelite traces the various views of European scholars on the Riddle of Glozel, and gives the final findings of Professor Voel- ker, whose opinion about the Jewish origin of this pottery has recently been accepted as final.—THE EDITOR. result that the French courts of justice soon heard a number of actions for slander and defamation of character. As for the Glozel meadow—all this-con troversy had brought it such fame that hundreds of French citizens would travel miles of a Sunday with the aim of taking a peek at the mysterious pot tery. After a while the Fradin family, in sheer defense, fenced in their meadow with barbed wire and obtained a police guard to protect their property from curious sight-seers. Sometimes the excitable Gallic temperament of these latter would get the better of them and they would start a little war over the pottery themselves, using the meadow as their battlefield and the dis puted pieces of baked clay as missies; in fact, one of the Fradins was badly hurt during one of these frays. Among those who believed in the au thenticity of the Glozel finds was Dr. Solomon Reinach, the Jewish scholar, who is one of the world’s most famous experts on ancient and prehistoric ob jects, and who bolds the post of Curator of the Gallic Museum at Saint-Ger- main-en-Laye. Despite the ridicule heaped upon him by many of bis 4— archeological colleagues, Dr. Reinach maintained his thesis that the Glozel pottery was unquestionably genuine and ancient. Although Dr. Reinach had not reached a definite conclusion as to the date of the pottery, and had not suc ceeded in deciphering the curious in scriptions, he is now completely vindi cated by the theory of the Dutch savant Dr. Voelker, head of the Semetic De partment at the University of Amster dam, 1 lollaud. In a pamphlet on the controversy, recently published at Strasbourg, Pro fessor Voelker points out that there is no difference between the Glozel in scriptions and those on the stone tablets found years ago in the Sinai Desert, which lies between Egypt and Pales tine. It was there that the ancient Jews wandered about for forty years when they migrated from Egypt to Palestine under the leadership of Moses. The Sinai tablets, which Professor Hubert Gruenne deciphered some years ago, told of the slavery of the people of Israel in the land of Egypt, and are considered a most authoritative sub- ♦ stantiation of the Biblical stories , Ten Plagues and the Exodus. Son these tablets were of copper, and rht workmanship on them was such the scientists were able to trace t origin to Egypt, where the Hein had acquired the art of engraving But the identification of the pottery as being of Hebraic brought Dr. Voelker face to face with another and even greater puzzle: How could Jews have lived in France seven centuries before the beginning of the Christian era? To overcome this dif ficulty he has advanced the theory that the prehistoric Jewish colony of France consisted of Hebrew slaves. For this he provides the following quite plaus ible explanation : The pharaohs of Egypt, as we know from the account given in the Bible, grew alarmed at the rapid increase of the Jewish population in their country. The Jews, of course, had come to Egypt in the time of Joseph, leaving their nomadic life in Canaan. In order to reduce the growth of this alien people in their land the Egypt ians not only made slaves of the lews, but* ordered that all male Jewish children be killed. The severity of the Egyptian decrees can be seen from the story of Moses who, in his infancy, was hidden in the bullrushes along the bank of the Nile by his sister Miriam, there to be found by the Egyptian princess, who later adopted him. Not content with having the male Hebrew children thrown to the s, crocodiles, the Egyptians sold large numbers of Hebrew slaves to their a lies, the Phoenicians. The Phoei were a trading and sea-faring people ot northern Africa, whose ships sailed a parts of the Mediterranean, founded a number of colonies i Western Mediterranean, among the Marseilles. The Phoenicians, according to Voelker’s theory, transplanted the sands of their Jewish slaves to their colonies in the south of France, some of these slave colonists escaped northward and settled in what i the Department of Alliere. near > aforementioned hamlet of Glozel. This is how Professor \ oelker t the source of the Semetic inscrip found on the Glozel pottery. And this way, many believe, he has > the dispute in which the learned archeologists have been engaged ing the past few years. Or has he settled one dispute to give life to a new controvi another scientific battle, this tinu cerning the origin of the Jews wh> scribed the Glozel pottery? -Copyright 1931 by S. A. F. S. ldolph S. Ochs Made /lonorary Member Of l) ''mil /Frith in Honolulu At last the long controversy, aroused some years ago by the "Riddle of Glozel" among French archeologists has come to an end. It was settled by the declaration by an eminent authority, Professor Voelker, of Amsterdam, that thousands of Jews lived in slavery in France about seven hundred years be fore the present era, and that it is to these slaves that we must attribute the manufacture of the pottery found at Glozel and the inscription of it with mysterious symbols, over which scient ists have puzzled for years. Many pieces of pottery bearing these undecipherable inscriptions were found in a meadow near the tiny village of Glozel, France, in 1925. Some ircheol- ogists, always on the alert for clever forgeries, refused to accept the find as genuine and accused the owners of the meadow, the Fradin family, of "plant ing the pottery, with faked inscrip tions, in the field. Others conceded that no fraud was involved, and stated with considerable assurance that the pottery had been part of the sacrificial para phernalia used by the pagans of ancient Gaul in their Druidical ceremonials. For months the question was dis cussed, with ever increasing violence, in scientific journals; eventually the two opposed groups of archeologists lost their scientific objectivity, as well as their tempers, to the extent of calling each other by impolite names—with the Cincinnait, Ohio.—Adolph S. Ochs, publisher of the New York Times, has been made an honorary member of the Honolulu Lodge No. 112(>, B’nai B’rith. Mr. Ochs addressed a meeting of that lodge while visiting Hawaii recently. A large gathering was present for his ad dress, which was delivered upon the oc casion of the first anniversary of Hono lulu Lodge. Mr. Ochs suggested that Hononlulu Jewry build a temple to cost about $50,000, and expressed a willing ness to contribute to it financially. "I had never imagined that a man of Mr. Ochs’ influence, position, and prest ige would talk so eloquently and en thusiastically about Judaism as he did,” said Mr. Harry Baron, president of Honolulu Lodge, in a letter just re ceived by national B’nai B’rith head quarters here. "It was a most wonder ful and powerful speech. The whole community here did its utmost to en tertain Mr. Ochs. Even the army held a special review to honor him. All or ganizations vied with each other to se cure Mr. Ochs for their meetings. "I feel that B’nai B’rith accomplished something of genuine value when it was privileged to have Mr. Ochs at its meeting. I feel that Mr. Ochs honored us in the extreme by appearing with Mrs. Ochs at our meeting. I asked him if we might have the honor of conferring upon him honorary mem bership. Mr. Ochs replied that he con sidered it a high honor and would cherish his honorary membership in Honolulu Lodge.” Mr. Baron wrote that despite the short notice given of the event, and re gardless of the atet that it took place on a legal holiday, the eminent pub lisher was greeted by the largest Jew ish gathering ever recorded in the en tire history of Honolulu. "\Ye are con vinced," wrote Mr. Baron, "that the visit of Mr. Ochs will have a beneficial and stimulating effect, not only upon our own B’nai B’rith group, but on the entire Jewish community.” London.—The Great Royal Palace, which Joshua destroyed when he en tered Jericho 3,400 years ago, has been discovered in the ancient ruins, accord ing to an announcement by Sir Charles Marston, who is backing the archeol- oogical expedition, of which Prof. John Garstang is the head.