(Communication to the Editor)
Sir:
The ramifications of the earthquake report in Palestine will no doubt arouse new interest in the oft discussed geology of the country.
The existence of a fault stretching from Nablus eastward under the Jordan to Amman, throws into the discard many of the theories set up as to the underlying differences between the people of Judea, Samaria and Transjordania in early times as a result of the presumed geology differences of these areas. For the same tremor to have passed from Nablus to Amman it must have crossed about 5,000 feet below Jerusalem and perhaps much deeper and that it did so pass is illustrated by what happened to Jericho which is more than 600 feet below sea level.
The incident may explain a good deal of the perplexing history of the Dead Sea and its assumed rise and fall in different centuries.
Of a thousand recorded earthquakes from the years 305 to 1,800 inclusive the minority have affected Palestine and Syria, but the historical record is no doubt incorrect. That the High Priest used to pray against affliction of earthquakes shows that earth trembling, quite apart from the serious quakes mentioned in the Bible, were among the recognized experiences of the land of Israel.
As quakes go few of those that have afflicted Palestine have been really serious like those that afflict other countries from time to time.
JACOB DE HAAS. New York, July 13, 1927.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
