This Day, August 4, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
August 4
70: According to some, the date on the secular calendar when the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans.
367: Gratian, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-August by his father and associated to the throne aged eight. The reign of Valentinan I was a period of religious toleration where all cults, including Judaism, were practiced with little or no interference from the state. Gratian would reverse his father’s policy of toleration, although most of his actual edicts were aimed against the Pagans.
1060: The reign of King Henry I of France ended today when his most famous Jewish subject, Rashi, was 20 years old.
1265:
During the Baron’s War, Prince Edward (the future King Edward I of England),
leading the armies his father, King Henry III defeated the forces of rebellious
barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester at the Battle of Evesham
killing de Montfort and many of his allies. “During the Barons Wars, the Jews
were seen as instruments of royal oppression and one Jewish community after
another was ransacked and many of its inhabitants killed during the fighting”
which had begun in 1263. In 1264, the
violence became so bad, that many Jews fled to Normandy. As bad as things were under King Henry III,
life would be worse under the reign of Edward who would order their expulsion
in 1290.
1278:
Nicholas
1442: Eugene IV issued “Dudum ad nostrum
audientam” a Papal Bull that “forbade Jews to live with Christians or fill
public functions.
1558: The first printed
edition of the Zohar appeared. This popularized the study of Kabbalah,
mysticism and Messianism.
1578: This date is
considered a Moroccan Purim (Purim de Los Christianos); a celebration of a time
when Jews there faced near disaster because forces led by King Sebastian of
Portugal nearly succeeded in conquering the country. The Portuguese were
defeated at al-Qasr al-Kabir. Their defeat meant that the Inquisition would not
be coming to Morocco. The Jews of Morocco saw themselves as being delivered
from a Portuguese Haman, hence the name of the celebration.
1598: Seventy-seven
year old William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, Queen Elizabeth’s chief
advisor who believed that “the state could never be in safety where there as
toleration of two religions’ (he was speaking here of Catholic versus Church of
England but it would stand to reason that he would not have favored the
re-admission of the Jews) but who also looked to the ‘Old Testament” for
guidance in such matters a usury believing “that while the judicial laws of
Moses were to some uniquely framed for the Jews, their moral equity applies to
all nations” passed away today, working until the last moment for his
sovereign. (Cecil’s seemingly schizophrenic view of relying on the Jewish book
for moral guidance while not wanting to have the Jews around was not unusual then
and for that matter now.)
1704: During the War of
the Spanish Succession, a joint Anglo-Dutch force attacks and captures
Gibraltar. Under the terms of the treaty
ending the war, the British will gain control of Gibraltar but the British are enjoined
from allowing Jews to settle on this newly acquired possession. The British ignore the prohibition and Jews
are allowed to live there.
1707: Birthdate of
Thringia native Johann August Ernesti the “Protestant theologian and classical
scholar who wrote several tracts “on Jewish topics” including “De Templo Herod
Magni ad Aggaei II.”
1725(6th of
Elul, 5485): Abraham Chaim de Lucena, the merchant and rabbi for New York’s
Congregation Shearith Israel who provided supplies to American forces during
Queen Anne’s War and who was the husband Rachel Abraham de Lucena passed away
today in New York city.
1756(8th of
Av, 5516): Erev Tish’a B’Av observed as George Washington, the future President
of the United States wrote to Virginia Governor Dinwiddie about the garrisoning
of Fort Cumberland which would be part of the early events tied to the the
French and Indian War.
1767(9th of
Av, 5527): Tish’a B’Av observed for the last time while Charles Townsend, the
creator of the Townshend Acts, was serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer in
Great Britain.
1769: Herz Wesel
Gumperz and Abraham Wesel Gumperz gave birth Ruben Samuel Gumperz the husband
of Roeschen Gumperz
1773(15th of
Av, 5533): Tu B’Av observed for the first time during Hafiz Mustafa Pasha
Bustanji’s rule as the Ottoman Governor of Damascus.
1776: Colonel William
Thomson wrote a letter to William Drayton from the banks of the Keowee River in
which he described the death of 29 year old Francis Salvador. Salvador, a Jewish patriot had been killed in
South Carolina on the first of the month.
After having been wounded he was scalped. He died of his wounds and according to
Thomson, was lucid to the end.
1780: In London,
Solomon da Silva Solis and Benvenida de Isaac Henriques Valentine gave birth to
Jacob da Silva Solis who arrived in the United States in 1803 married Charity
Hayes with whom he had seven children and still found time to found “Congregation
Shanarai Chasset in New Orleans” and later became active in Congregation
Shearith Israel in Mt. Pleasant, NY.
1784: Zipporah
Phillips, “daughter of Jonas and Rebecca Mendes ‘Machado’ Phillips” became
Zipporah Phillips Noah today when she married Manuel Noah with whom she had two
children – “Mordecai Manuel Noah and Judith Noah.”
1785: Joseph de
Palacios a Sephardic Jew living in Charleston, SC, married Mrs. Nathan Harris,
a widow from the Island of St. Eustatius.
1788: In Charleston, SC
Mordecai Marks and his wife gave birth to Alexander Marks, who married Esther
Hart on July 10 in Charleston.
1789: Almost a month
after the storming of the Bastille on July 14, today “members of the
Constituent Assembly took an oath to end feudalism” – an action that would help
move the Jews one step closer to full citizenship in a future French Republic.
1790:
A newly passed tariff act creates the Revenue Cutter Service (the forerunner of
the United States Coast Guard). Some of the Jews were members of, or associated
with this valiant force were: musician and vocalist, Mel Torme,; Arthur Fiedler
who “volunteered during the early days of World War II for the Temporary
Reserve of the U.S. Coast Guard and was later a member of the Coast Guard
Auxiliary” and comedian and television star Sid Caear who joined the Coast
Guard in 1939. This proved to be a boon to his career. Assigned to play in
military shows, he caught the attention of producer Max Liebman, who was
impressed by his ability to make other musicians laugh. Liebman took him out of
the orchestra and cast him as a comedian, jump-starting his career upon release
from the Coast Guard in 1945. And the rest is show biz history. When Sid Caesar
was celebrating his 80th birthday, The Coast Guard presented him with a public
service award that read as follows:
"The
Commandant of the United Stated Coast Guard takes great pleasure in wishing a
joyous 80th birthday to Coast Guard veteran Sid Caesar and presenting to him
this Coast Guard Certificate of Appreciation, in recognition of his public
support of the Coast Guard, most notably in the early days of his career as an
actor, musician and comedian and more recently as public spokesperson for the
U.S. Coast Guard. Mr. Caesar joined the Coast Guard in 1939, after studying saxophone
at the Julliard School of Music and playing in a number of prominent big bands.
In the Coast Guard, he was assigned to play in military revues and shows, such
as "Tars and Spars," but he showed a natural penchant for comedy by
entertaining other band members with his improvised routines, prompting show
producer Max Liebman to move him from the orchestra and cast him as a stand-up
comedian to entertain troops, jump-starting his career upon his release from
the Coast Guard in 1945. After leaving the Coast Guard, Mr. Caesar went on to
perform his "war routine" in both the stage and movie versions of the
revue, and continued under Liebman's guidance after the war, in theatrical
performances in the Catskills and Florida, but he never forgot the service that
launched his career. Mr. Caesar's performance distinguished the Coast Guard as
an honorable and valuable service. Friends and acquaintances say he always kept
the Coast Guard close to his heart, especially its hardworking enlisted
members. Each and every time the Coast Guard asked Mr. Caesar for a favor, he
came through for us, whether it was speaking before the Coast Guard Chief Petty
Officers Association or recording audio public service announcements for Coast
Guard recruiting campaigns. His respect, admiration and fondness for our
service shines bright. Mr. Caesar's years of generosity, concern and dedication
to the Coast Guard family are deeply appreciated and are in keeping with the
highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard and public service."
1792 :( 16th of Av, 5552): Parsshat Vaetachanan;
Shabbat Nachamu observed on the same day that “armed revolutionaries in Paris
stormed the Tuileries Palace” in a move that would to the abolition of the
French monarchy and the establishment of the “First French Republic.”
1794(8th
of Av, 5554): Erev Tish’a B’Av observed on the same that Justice James Wilson
delivered his opinion that western Pennsylvania was in a state of rebellion
which led President Washington to send troops to deal with the first challenge
to federal authority in what became known as the Whiskey Rebellion. (Editor’s
note – from the outset, the founding fathers did not consider secession as a
legitimate political act)
1805(9th
of Av, 5565): Tish’a B’Av observed on the same that Lewis and Clark must decide
on which fork of the Jefferson River they must choose as they continued moving
west.
1813(8th
of Av, 5573)” Erev Tish’a B’Av was observed by American and English Jews as
their countries continued the War of 1812 for a second year.
1814:
Samuel Marx confirmed with seven other witnesses that his brother Heinrich was
born in April 1777 Saarlouis.
1816(10th
of Av, 5576): Fast of Tish’a B’Av observed in what was known as “The Year
Without a Summer.”
1817: Birthdate of Max
Ring, the native of Silesia who gained fame as a German poet, author and
playwright.
1819: Lewis Emanuel
married Rachel Henriks today at the Great Synagogue.
1819: Michael and
Catherine Solomon were married today at the New Synagogue.
1821: Birthdate of
Louis Vuitton, French designer and founder of the French fashion house that
bears his name. According to Louis Vuitton, A French Saga, by French
journalist Stephanie Bonvicin the fashion house collaborated with the Nazis
during the German occupation of France. Reportedly, “members of the Vuitton
family actively aided the puppet government led by Marshal Philippe Pétain and
increased their wealth from their business affairs with the Germans. The family
set up a factory dedicated to producing artifacts glorifying Pétain, including
more than 2,500 busts. Petain's Vichy regime was responsible for the
deportation of French Jews to German concentration camps.”
1823: Birthdate of
Oliver P. Morton, who as Governor of Indiana during the Civil War gave
Frederick Knefler his first “leg up” on a military career that would lead to
him becoming a Major General by the end of the war. Morton showed that in
America, a man’s patriotism was more important than his religious background.
1827: In Romania,
untold numbers of Jews perished when the Jewish quarter of Jassy was swept by
fire.
1830: In “Ebenezer
Square, Middlesex,” Elizabeth and Jacob Lyons gave birth to Samuel Lyons, the
husband of Sarah Lyons with whom he had seven children.
1832(8th of
Av, 5592): Parashat Devarim; Erev
T’ish’a B’Av
1832: Moses Q.
Henriques became an Ensign today.
1835(9th of
Av, 5595): Tish’a B’Av observed on the same day as the race Riot of 1835 took
place in Washington, DC.
https://searchblackandeducation.com/stories/2017/8/7/the-riot-of-1835-washington-dc
1845(1st of
Av,5605): Rosh Chodesh Av observed on the day
the British emigrant barque Cataraqui was wrecked on King Island
(Tasmania) with 400 people killed and only 9 survivors
1847: Ralph Levy and
Phoebe Abrahams were married today at the Great Synagogue.
1856: The
"Literary Items" column reported that a soon to be published 8 volume
work about the religious and scholastic learning of the Jews by J.W. Etheridge
is to be called Jerusalem and Tiberias, Sora and Cordova. According to the title page, the book was designed
to be “A survey of the religious and scholastic learning of the Jews; designed
as an introduction to the study of Hebrew Literature.”
1857: According to handbills which had been posted
today is the deadline for all Germans and all Jews to leave Goldsboro, N.C. The
order, from parties unknown, stemmed from a violent outburst that had taken
place during a trial that pitted Dr. John W. Davis, a popular local physician,
against Falk Odenheimer, a German-Jewish merchant. During the trial Windal T. Robinson, a nephew
of Dr. Davis, struck Odenheimer on the head with a spade, or shovel, breaking
his skull. In the ensuing mêlée Charley Spaght, a step-son of Odenheimer shot
Dr. Davis, seriously wounding him. Even though Davis’ nephew had started the
trouble, a crowd formed that wanted to lynch Odenheimer. Odenheimer had to be taken jail for his own
safety where he was protected by a brave local citizen named T.T. Hollowell.
Odenheimer and Davis both recovered from their wounds and many of the Jews who
had gradually returned to Goldsboro.
1857: Birthdate of
Louisville, KY resident Roy Forst Kaluber, the wife of Morris Kaluber and
mother of Marie and Edward Kaluber.
1858: Solomon Harris
married Elizabeth Hart today at the Great Synagogue.
1858: A report published
today describing the impact of the final passage of the Oaths Bill in Great
Britain said that “Henceforth Jews may sit in Parliament. The Oaths Bill from
the House of Lords has passed in the Commons, and is the law of the realm. A
Jew may now qualify without swearing to uphold the Christian religion.” The
final passage took place on July 21.
Word of the passage was brought by ship from England.
1860(16th of
Av, 5620): Parashat Vaetchanan; Shabbat Nachamu
1860: It was reported
today that the Times of London no
longer has a “special advantage” or “monopoly on information” which would make
a sought after journal because Mr. Reuters, “that clever and far-seeing German
Jew” has used his control over “telegraphic communication to see to it that all
newspapers receive the same domestic and foreign news make The Daily News the
equal of the Times or its other high priced rivals. (Reuters actually converted
shortly after he arrived in England from Germany, but the impact of his news
service is accurately described)
1861: In Bischofstein,
Prussia, Rabbi Goldreich and his wife gave birth to Samuel Goldreich, the
resident of Nottingham, UK and President of the South Africa Zionist Federation
who was “publicly thank by the High Commissioner for South Africa for services
rendered to the Government.”
1862(8th of
Av, 5622): Erev Tish’a B’Av celebrated by Jews on both side of the American
Civil War.
1864: In accordance
with the Proclamation issued by President Lincoln, today was observed as a day
of fasting and prayer. All business was voluntarily suspended, the public
offices, the banks and stores were closed, and citizens flocked to such places
of worship as were open for services. At
the Wooster Street Synagogue, Rabbi S.M. Isaacs, “after the usual morning
service, read the Prayer for the Government, and delivered a discourse from Jonah,
3d chapter, 8th verse: "Let men and beast be covered with sackcloth, and
let man call unto God with might, and let them turn everyone from his evil way,
and from the violence which is in his hands." He referred to the
proclamation of the President calling upon all loyal and law-abiding people to
convene at their usual places of worship and implore the Almighty not to
forsake the nation. He alluded to these days of fasting and humiliation recommended
to be observed by the Executive authorities as losing their value from the
circumstance that fasting and prayer are too often devoid of meaning; that they
are unaccompanied by practical amendment. This idea was predicated on the Book
of Jonah, where it is recorded that God repented of the evil he intended
the Ninevites, because He observed that they forsook their evil ways and became
truly penitent. He adverted to the critical condition of the country and the
singular appropriateness of our national appeal to the never-ceasing mercy and
goodness of Heaven. Israelites, especially, have reason to sincerely pray for
the restoration of the Republic to its former greatness, prosperity and
harmony. While recognizing the unspeakable happiness they had enjoyed under the
protection of the Stars and Stripes, they should gaze hopefully heavenward, and
their supplication would not be in vain. He prayerfully invoked Heaven to endow
the rulers and the people of the land with the proper spirit -- the spirit of genuine,
earnest patriotism -- that the severe trial to which our capacity for
self-government and our professed loyalty to the principles of liberty and
right may be for our ultimate benefit and regeneration; that the war which is
now desolating the land may be speedily terminated by the return of the
disaffected to the embrace of the banner whose far-spreading folds yearned to
receive them as of old. He concluded his address with a suitable prayer. "
1865: A Jewish cigar
peddler, hailing from New-York, was arrested and taken before Recorder Avery,
of Hoboken, today, charged with peddling cigars without a license, and for
which he was required to pay a fine of $5. The accused, who gave his name as
Louis, pleaded and begged to be let off, declaring that he was poor; had only a
dollar and a quarter; that he got married only six months since and that his
wife had a baby, etc. When Wolfksy realized that the Recorder was unmoved by
his plea for mercy, and that he would have to go to jail if he did not pay the
fine, he very quickly produced the money and paid the fine.
1865(12th of
Av, 5625): Seventy-seven-year-old Solomon Stix, the German born son Relia and
Coshman Stix and the husband of Deborah Cohen whom he married in 1815 and with
whom he had ten children passed away today in Westwood, OH.
1868: In Bohemia, David
and Catherine (Bondy) Klein gave birth to New York cigar manufacturer D. Emil
Klein, the founder of the Allied Tobacco Division of the Federation of Jewish
Philanthropies and husband of Sadee Schwartz Klein with whom he had two
daughters, Norma and Claudia.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1956/01/17/86501018.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1870: In New York,
Miriam Maduro Davis, the New York born daughter of Dr. Daniel Moses Levy Maduro
Peixotto and Rachel Lopes Mendes Peixotto and her husband Michael Marks Davis
gave birth to Alice Gertrude Menken.
1872: A group of Jewish
immigrants from Alsac and Lorraine met at Mehl’s Assembly Rooms in New
York. They appointed a committee that
was to organize a congregation made up of members from these two former French
provinces.
1873: In Chicago, Rabbi
Aaron J. Messing and his wife gave birth to University of Cincinnati graduate
and HUC trained rabbi Abraham Joseph Messing who led Temple Anshai Emeth in
Peoria, Il before coming Temple Beth-Or at Montgomery, AL in 1897.
1876: Birthdate of
Altoona, PA native and Building and Loan executive Malcolm W. Neuwa. (Editor’s
note – building and loan refers to financial institutions later known as
savings and loans, most of which disappeared during the early 1980’s)
1876(14th of
Av, 5636): Eighty-one-year-old Maria
Jacobs, the Savannah born daughter of Abraham Jacobs passed away today in New
York City.
1878(5th of
Av, 5638): Eighty-one year old Maria Jacobs, the Savannah, GA born daughter of
Abraham Jacobs passed away today in NYC.
1878: “Ill-Treating A
Faithful Wife” published today described eventful life of Mrs. Josephine
Lewinski who is seeking a divorce from Phillip Lewinski “one of the members of
the notorious Lowery gang of gang of counterfeiters” who were arrested in
Brooklyn.
1878: Mr. Ottinger is
President of a new Jewish organization in New York that has been formed to
provide free trips up and down the Hudson River for poor and sick children
during the summer. If the group can
raise more than the $1,200 it already has, it will provide “seaside” recreation
for poor Jewish girls working in local shops and factories.
1878: The facts surrounding the condition of Jennie
Minster which has been described as a “case of insanity” were revealed at
Bellevue Hospital tonight. Miss Minster,
an 18 year old Jewess, went to work for Simon Metzger, a prominent Jew living
in New Haven, Connecticut. Given her beauty and accomplished nature, Metzger
made her the governess for her children.
Last week she was brought back to her parents’ home in New York by Mr.
Metzger who said she was “a violent lunatic.”
According to Metzger, Miss Minster had been bathing with the family at
the summer resorts called Savin Rock when she sank in the water. She was rescued and when she regained
consciousness, “it was found that her fright had entirely robbed her of her
sanity.” Her parents took her to
Bellevue where she was placed in a padded cell due to her violent nature. Authorities accept Metzger’s version of
events but are still puzzled as what to do next.
1878: The San
Francisco Chronicle reported that the estate of the Jewish businessman
Michael Reese is valued at somewhere between five and ten million dollars. The
bequests show the same broad generosity that he had displayed during his
lifetime. Among the beneficiaries are the University of California which is to
get $650,000 and the Hebrew Orphan Asylum which is to get $25,000.
1878: It was reported
that “a number of charitable Hebrew gentlemen” in New York “have formed an
association for the purpose of taking” sick and poor Jewish children on
excursions on the Hudson River. So far
they have raised $1,200. If they can
raise more money they plan to include “poor shop or factory girls” in the
excursions.
1881(9th of
Av, 5641): Tish’a B’Av
1881: In
Jerusalem, Rabbi Hayyim Hirschensohn and Eva or Chava (ha-Cohen) Hirschensohn
gave birth to Dr. Nima H. Adlerblum, a promoter of the works of John Dewey as
well an active member of the world’s Jewish community as can be seen in her
role as “a founder of the national cultural and educational program of Hadassah
and her authorship of such works as A Perspective of Jewish Life Through Its
Festivals
https://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Childhood-Approach-Jewish-Philosophy/dp/0765760126
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/nima-adlerblum
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/adlerblum-nima
1881: In what would
seem to be a strange choice of date, the Young Men’s Hebrew Association is
scheduled to host an outing aboard the SS Long Branch will sail out to and
around Staten Island.
1881: After the deputy
coroner performed an autopsy on Samuel Alt, an elderly Jewish man found
floating in the water at the foot of east 76th Street, the coroner
concluded that “death resulted from
concussion of the brain and compression due to serious effusion caused by
violence.” The deceased had probably
been knocked down by a “violent blow over the left eye” and after being
rendered unconscious was “thrown or pushed into the water.”
1882: In New York State
Supreme Court, Judge Donahue granted Fannie Warburg a limited divorced from her
husband August Warburg “on the grounds of inhuman conduct toward her…” The judge awarded her custody of the four
children and appointed a Referee to recommend that amount of alimony she should
receive.
1883(1st of
Av, 5643): Rosh Chodesh Av
1883: It was reported
that the ten Hungarian Jews who have been standing trial on charges that they
killed a Christian girl so they could her blood “in their Passover bread” have
been acquitted. While the prosecution had not case, the defendants would have
been found guilty were it not for the fact that the “abundant perjury”
prosecution witnesses had been exposed to the world “under the bright light of
publicity.”
1883: Charles A.L.
Totten, one of those who supported the plan for the Jews to return to “their
old homes in Palestine” “through an international conference” began serving as
Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the Cathedral School of St. Paul
in New York
1884: It was reported
today that Solomon Rintel, a Jewish immigrant from Hungary had taken his own
life because he was despondent about having lost his job. In a note found by Max Schack, his
brother-in-law, Rintel had tried to commit suicide three years ago while he was
living in Gratz. [Adjustment to a new land was tough on immigrants as stories
like this remind us. The streets were
not paved with gold.]
1884: Herzl enters his
law practice in the service of the state.
1884: In Ukraine,
Charles and Frances (Schwartzman) Antin gave to NYU trained attorney Benjamin
Antin, the husband of Dora Polksy who served in the New York State Assembly and
New York State Senate.
1884: Jacob and Esther
(Serody) Greenfield gave birth to University of Pennsylvania trained lawyer who
was the husband of Edna Florence Kraus with whom he had four children – Gordon,
Elizabeth, Carolotta and Patricia – who was a successful banker and real estate
broker.
1885: In Zurich,
Switzerland, Mathilda Gutmann and Albert Liebmann gave birth to Federal Technical
College and Zurich University trained engineer and New York resident Alfred J.
Liebmann, the husband of Edna Keller and starting in 1920, the manager in New
Jersey of the Elkow Works of General Eleectric
1885: It was reported
today that the Cassell & Co will
soon be published a new novel – As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician’s Story
by Sidney Luska. “The name Sidney Luska is a pseudonym. The author is said to be a young man, the son
of a noted lawyer” who has spent so much time with the Jews “that he fairly
thinks as a” Jew. (For more about this from an non-contemporaneous source see
Josh Lambert’s “As It was written: A Jewish Musicians Story”
1887: Birthdate of
Minneapolis native Louis H. Phillips, the WW I veteran, lawyer and National
Commander of the United Veterans of the Republic.
1887: In Galicia,
Charles and Taube Treitler gave birth to American actress who was a member of
the Hebrew Actors Union.
1887: In Long Branch,
NJ, Maurice S. and Rosalie (Meyer) Cohen gave birth to Columbia trained physician
and author Ira Cohen, the veteran of U.S. Army action on the Mexican border and
in Europe during WW I who was the husband of Margaret Nathan Meyer, a member of
the surgical staff of Mt. Sinia and Montefiore hospitals and a member of
Congregation B’nai Jershurun.
1888: At least 20
people died today when the Stern Building in the Bowery went up in flames. The
fire probably began in the stove of a loft occupied by Solomon Cohn. At first
the authorities thought that the fire was set intentionally but when they
discovered that none of the tenants had insurance they discounted that
theory. Mr. Stern, the owner of the
building has asked the United Hebrew Charities to take of the funeral
arrangements, which along with any medical expenses, he will pay for out of his
own pocket.
1888(27th of
Av, 5648): Parashat Re’eh
1888: Rabbi Tabenahus
preached his first sermon at the Temple Gates of Hope based on the teachings of
Isaiah, “And then thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great peace
shall come to thy children.”
1888: “Mistaken
Quotations” published today described the repeated attempts to attributed to
the Bible stories that are not actually there, including the one that the
Hebrews in the Bible were commanded to make bricks without straws. “If men
would examine the Bible text more carefully before they assail it or before
they attempt it defense, there would fewer blunders made in both directions.”
(For those of you living in the United States, you realize that this advice is
still very valid in the 21st century.)
1889: In Ulster County,
NY, a gang of thugs calling themselves the “Yellowstone Cowboys” were arrested
this morning when they returned to a Mr. Epstein’s boarding house with the
intent of forcing him to feed them a free breakfast.
1889(7th of
Av, 5649): Seventy-seven year old Isaac Phillips, the fifth child of Naphtali
Phillips and Rachel Hannah, the husband of Miriam Timble who had converted to
Judaism before her marriage, who “served as president of Congregation Shearith
Israel” and co-founder of Mount Sinai Hospital passed away today.
1890: In Jerusalem,
Rabbi Chaim Hirschenson, originally of Safed, and Eva (Cohen) Hirschenson gave
birth to Tamar de Sola Pool.
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/pool-tamar-de-sola
1891: Birthdate of
University Maryland trained attorney Samuel B. Plotkin, the husband of Theresa
Scott, who settled in Bridgeport, CT where he was a member of the Board of
Education and the Board of the Jewish Community Council.
1891: Twenty-one of the
Russian Jews who had been detained at the Barge Office, New York’s entry point
for immigrants, were allowed to leave and continue on their respective
destinations.
1891: Thirteen Jewish immigrants
who arrived at Locust Point, MD aboard a Dutch ship were allowed to land today.
1891(29th of Tammuz,
5651): Seventy-three year old Salvatore de Benedetti, the Italian scholar who
took advantage of the news granted to the Jewish people under Victor Emmanuel
to pursue an academic career that included becoming a Professor of Hebrew at
the University of Pisa where he wrote Vita e Morte di Moses, a compilation of
“the legends concerning the great Hebrew legislator.”
1891: “The Russian Jew
Exodus” published today described the plans sponsored by Baron Hirsch and
supported by Western Jews to deal with wave of immigrants leaving the Czar’s
Kingdom. A delegation will be sent to
St. Petersburg to serve as a central committee and will establish provincial committees
which will be “charged with regulating the exodus.” Russian Jews who leave “without the sanction
of the Central Committee” will not receive the benefits offered by Baron
Hirsch. (Compare the 19th century response to the crisis of Russian
Jewry with the 20th century response to the crisis of German Jewry)
1892: “Sanitarium for
Hebrew Children” published today provided a summary of the society’s including
the fact that from June 28 to July 31, it has provided free excursions for
3,481 mothers and children.
1892(11th of Av, 5652):
Eighty two year old Ernestine Louis Rose, the daughter of a Polish rabbi who
became a leading feminist, abolitionist and self-declared atheist, passed away.
http://www.fau.edu/library/brody21.htm
http://www.brandeis.edu/wsrc/affiliates/ernestinerose/index.html
1893: Abraham Finberg,
the President of a small Orthodox congregation at 44 Orchard Street said he is
prepared to go to court to retrieve the synagogues records that had been taken
Louis Cohen, who had been deposed as the rabbi.
1894: In Aurich,
Germany, Isaac and Reginal Wolff gave birth to future New Yorker Siegfried Isak
Wolff, the husband of Kate Wolff.
1894: As evidence of
the acceptance of Jews at the highest level of British society, Lord Rothschild
nominates six horses for the upcoming Derby.
1895: Birthdate of
“Brailov, Russia” native Samuel L. Calechaman who came to New Haven, CT in 1897
where he attended Yale, worked as an “insurance agent and chemist” who was an
active member of the Jewish Community Center.
1895: Birthdate of New
York native Edward Anthony, a reporter for the New York Herald, press director
for Herbert Hoover’s 1928 presidential campaign and the publisher of two
leading magazines – “Woman’s Home Companion” and “Colliers.
1895: The Jewish
citizens of Yonkers, NY, were reported today to have chosen B.H. Shulman to
serve as president of their newly formed “religious organization” which hold
High Holiday Services at the Odd Fellows Hall this September.
1895: Attorney Meyer J.
Stein filed a suit in replevin in Kings County on behalf of a client who had a
dispute over a hotel bill from a stay at the Hotel Lowry owned by J.L. Lowery
which had sign saying “No Jews” posted.
1895: Aaron Drucker was
fined five dollars in the Essex Market Court today after the Magistrate “told him he had acted
wrongly” when he interrupted the services Church of Sea and Land denouncing
them as a vehicle for converting Jews to Christianity.
1895: “Jewish Women’s
Council” published today provided a history and description of the National
Council of Jewish Women which was formed following “the Woman’s Congress held
at Chicago in 1893” during the Columbian Exposition. The council was formed in
Chicago in 1894 and currently has chapters in 13 cities. Mrs. Rebekah Kohut is
President of the New York Council. Miss Rosa Sonneschein is the editor of The
American Jewess, the council’s monthly magazine. The next national convention
is scheduled to take place at New York in May, 1896.
1896: Rehearsals began
today at the Olympia Theatre for Oscar Hammerstein’s “new romantic comic opera
‘Santa Maria.’”
1896(25th of
Av, 5656): Bertha Lewis (née Cohen), the daughter of Rabbi Raphael Isaac Cohen,
sister of Theresa Otterbourg (née Cohen) and wife of David Lewis with whom she
supported many Jewish institutions including “the Seel Street and Princes Road
synagogues of the Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation” passed away today. Her
obituary in the Jewish Chronicle states: “She had friends everywhere – in
France and Germany as in England. During the last few years, she resided at
Devonshire Lodge, Landbroke Terrace, and at her home one was almost sure of
meeting somebody interesting – a painter or a sculptor or a professor.”
1897: “The Pan-Anglican
or Lambeth Conference issued an encyclical today that, among other things
expressed “a wish for an increase in proselytizing among the Jews.” (Ah the
1890’s – the Russian are trying to kill the Jews and the English are trying to
convert the Jews)
1898: Joseph Purzin
began teaching at a summer school funded by the Baron de Hirsch Fund at Osborn
Street and Sutter Avenue in Brownsville.
1898 Birthdate of
Russian born American Conservative Rabbi, William S. Malev.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/malev-william-s
https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/15/archives/rabbi-william-malev-dies-led-houston-congregation.html
1898: Corporal Moses
Blum, 1st Sergeant John F. Wolfson and Private Charles Myer were
among those who became part of the United States Military when the 3rd
Mississippi Volunteer Infantry was mustered into service today at Jackson,
Mississippi.
1898: Mrs. Bella Pesin
and her husband gave birth to Samuel Pesin a graduate of NYU Law School and New
Jersey state legislator who served as the Secretary of the Young Men’s Hebrew
Association in Hudson, NJ and was the husband of Libby Pessin with whom he had
two children – Edward and Ada.
1899:”Actors Get
Engagements” published today provided information about the upcoming theatrical
season including the fact that Jacob LItt has hired Sidney Herbert to play a
leading part in “The Ghetto” which will open at the Broadway Theatre in
October.
1900: Birthdate of
George Himmelfarb, the son of a Lodz shoe manufacture and the hold of a Ph.D in
Comparative Religion who settled in London in 1937 where he gained fame as
George Him the “freelance designer and design consultant” whose clients
included El Al and illustrator of children’s books including The Little Red
Engine Gets a Name.
1900(9th of Av, 5660):
Russian-born artist Isaac Levitan died days before his fortieth birthday. For a
look at some of his works see
http://www.abcgallery.com/L/levitan/levitanbio.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Isaac_Levitan_selfportrait1880.jpg
1901(19th of
Av, 5661): “Simon Rice of Scranton, PA,” passed away today “in a hospital in
Philadelphia” leaving behind bequests that included “$100 each to the Deborah
and Jewish Relief Societies of Scranton” and a provision in his will that “the
residue of the estates, amounting to $40,000 or $50,000 to be equally divided –
after his wife’s demise – between the Hebrew Union College, the Jewish Hospital
for Consumptives in Denver, CO and the Farm School in Doylestown, PA.
1901: Thirty-year old
:NYU trained attorney and Grand Secretary of the Order of B’rith Abraham George
W. Leisersohn married Etta Davis today.
1902(1st of
Av, 5662): Rosh Chodesh Av
1902: Birthdate of
Clara Peller, the Russian born Chicagoan who gained famed in the 1980’s as the
“Where’s the Beef” lady in the Wendy’s commercials.
1903: “Prayer Shawls
Seized as Smuggled” published today described the seizure of “several hundred
prayers shawls and headgear” that was “found among a quantity of baggage belong
to immigrants who arrived on the Graf Waldersee” which “officials were smuggled
into the country.
1904: Birthdate of New
York City native Dr. Isidor Margolis, a member of the Yeshiva University
Faculty and author who “served as executive director of the World Council on
Jewish Education and the National council for Torah Education of the Religious
Zionists of America” while raising three children with his wife Edna Heffler
Margolis.
1904: Beginning of the
reign of Pope Pius X who met with Theodore Herzl at the Vatican in 1904 and
expressed the statement that “Jerusalem cannot be placed in Jewish hands”
because the Jews did not recognize Jesus Christ…”
1905: An official
report received today in St. Petersburg says that during the strike on the
Novorossiysk-Vladikavkaz Railway, several riots broke in which the houses of
the Jews were bombarded with stones.
1906(13th
Av, 5666): Parashat Nachamu; Shabbat Nachamu
19063(13th
of Av, 5666): Seventy-seven-year-old Caroline Stix Swarts, the daughter of
Solomon and Deborah Cohan Stix and the wife of Joseph Louis Swarts passed away
today in Little Traverse Township,
Michigan after which she was buried at the Walnut Hill Jewish Cemetery
in Evanston, OH.
1906: According to
information received in Paris the emigration of Jews, which has “rarely
exceeded 100,000 a year” is expected to reach 250,000 by the end of this year.
1906: As unrest grew in
Warsaw, in a proclamation issued today, “the Jewish Socialists urged the Jews
to be ready to fight.
1907: It was reported
today that Roman Catholic authorities in New York are eagerly awaiting the text
of the new Papal Syllabus, the "Decree of the Holy and Universal
Inquisition," promulgated by Pius X. on July 17 that states in section LX
“Christian doctrine was the beginning Judaic, then by successive evolutions it
became Pauline, then Johannine, then Hellenic and universal.”
1908: A benefit is
scheduled to be held today to raise funds “for the erection of a Hebrew temple
and religious school in Far Rockaway, NY.”
1909: In São Paulo,
Brazil, “Cecilia Burle, an upper class Brazilian Catholic woman whose family
came from Pernambuco and France, and Wilhelm Marx, a German Jew, born in
Stuttgart and raised in Trier gave birth to landscape artist Roberto Burle
Marx.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/arts/design/21burl.html?_r=0
http://thejewishmuseum.org/exhibitions/roberto-burle-marx-brazilian-modernist
1910: Birthdate of
Hedwig Lindenberg, the Bucharest native who gained fame as “Hedda Sterne, an
artist whose association with the Abstract Expressionists became fixed forever
when she appeared prominently in a now-famous 1951 Life magazine photograph of
the movement’s leading lights” (As reported by William Grimes)
1910: Birthdate of
American composer and educator William Schuman who passed away in 1992 at the
age of 81.
1911(10th of
Av, 5671): Seventy year old Heinemann Vogelstein a leader of the Reform Movement
who served as the rabbi in Pilsen and then Szczein and expressed his opposition
to Zionism in a pamphlet entitled “Zionism, A Threat to the Prosperous
Development of Judaism” passed away today in St. Moritz.
1911: Birthdate of
Jacob Mortimer Rothschild the son of Pittsburgh, PA residents Lillian and Meyer
Rothschild.
1911: In
Russia, the St. Petersburg Jewish community opened a Teacher’s Training College
and Museum in memory of two deceased Jewish communal leaders, Barons Horace and
David de Gunzberg.
1911: The
Jewish community of Ekaternioslaff, a Russian city on the Dneiper River,
petitioned the government for the right to build a medical school next to the
local Jewish hospital. The government
agreed if the Jewish enrollment was limited to fifteen per cent. By October, the governor of the province
would be attempting to ban Jews from the town.
1911: In
Great Britain, American Reform Rabbi Israel I. Mattuck was named as the first
spiritual leader of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue. Born in 1883, Mattuck, who passed away in
1954, was an author, commentator and proponent of Classical Reform Judaism
1911: At a
conference in New York, the Seventh Day Adventists adopted resolutions
condemning the mistreatment of Jews.
1911: Rabbi Israel I.
Mattuck was “elected as the first minster of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue” in
London.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/mattuck-israel-i
https://www.amazon.com/Israel-Mattuck-Architect-Liberal-Judaism/dp/0853038791
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/archives/cataloguedatabases/webguidemss326.page
1911:
Birthdate of Bernardo Segall, the native of Campinas Brazil who became a
popular American composer and pianist.
http://articles.latimes.com/1993-12-01/local/me-62674_1_bernardo-segall
1911:
Samuel Oppenheimer was elected professor of Astronomy at the University of
Vienna.
1912: Birthdate of
Raoul Wallenberg, one of the truly great, brave people of history. A Swede,
Wallenberg risked his life by going to Hungary in 1944 and literally yanking
thousands of Jews from the jaws of death. He disappeared into the hands of the
Red Army when it liberated Budapest. Some claim that he passed away in a Soviet
prison in 1947. But nobody really knows what happened to him other than the
fact the world did nothing to save him.
1912: In Donora, PA,
founding of Congregation Ohab Sholom
1912: Birthdate of
historian Daniel Baruch Aaron.
http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/162723
1912: In Trenton, NJ,
founding of People of Truth Synagogue
1912: Birthdate of composer and writer David Raskin
who wrote the scores for numerous films, many of which were famous in their day
but now are only seen on
1913: It was reported
today that “new synagogue is being erected in the Brownsville section of
Brooklyn” at a cost of $30,000 which might explain why the “lower part of the
building” will not be used for worship, but will rented for stores instead.
1913(1st of
Av, 5673): Rosh Chodesh Av (Unbeknownst to anybody, Europe is starting its last
twelve months of peace. A year from now
WW I will have begun. To paraphrase one English statesmen, the lights of the
world were about to go out and we do not know when they will come back on
again.
1913: Funeral services
are scheduled to be this afternoon for 23 year old Lillian (Levy) Gordon, the
wife of Louis J. Gordon and the daughter of Joseph and Anna Levy followed by
burial at the Waldheim Cemetery.
1914: After Great
Britain had declared war on Germany at the start of World War I, Sir Edgar
Speyer resigned as a partner in the Frankfort branch of his family’s banking
business. Speyer, the American born son
of German parents had become a naturalized British citizen in 1892. Speyer
would spend the war defending himself against charges of being disloyal and
accusations that he was supporter/spy for Germany.
1914: “When war was
declared” today, “the Jewish Chronicle front page headline proclaimed: “England
has been all she could be to Jews; Jews will be all they can be to England” and
as proof of that statement “within a year 10,000” Jews had signed up “including
Lieutenant Frank De Pass, who was to become the first Jewish soldier awarded
the Victoria Cross – and the very first soldier in the Indian Army to be
awarded a VC.” (As reported by Lord Sterling, president of the Association of
Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women (AJEX))
1914: Germany invaded
Belgium which forced Great Britain to declare war on Germany since the British
are guarantors of Belgian independence and neutrality. It was the invasion of Belgium that “sealed
the deal” and turned the nascent European hostilities into World War I. From the vantage point of the 21st
century, we can see so many places where this war might have been avoided and
all that flowed from it including the Shoah.
In other words, if the Germans had viewed treaties as more than “a scrap
of paper” (the way one German leader reportedly described the treaty
guaranteeing Belgium’s independence, six million Jews might not have been smoke
and ashes.)
1915: “On the Lower
East Side of Manhattan, Max Schwartz, “a carpenter who sang in local choirs”
and his wife Eva gave birth to Yitzhak Schwartz, the youngest of their six
children who gained fame as pianist and band leader Irving Fields who “pioneered the melding of Cuban sound
with Jewish rhythm via his Bagels and Bongos series in the 1950's to create a
vibe which is equal parts Havana, Harlem, and the Catskills.”
1915:
It was reported today that among the ten thousand prisoners being held by the
Germans in a camp “near the university town of Giesen in Upper House includes
“Russian Jews.”
1916:
During the Battle of Romani, the last attempt by the Central Powers to cross
the Suez, the Anzac Mounted Division engaged the German Pasha I formation and
the Ottoman 3rd Infantry Division slowing their advance and giving
other units of the British Army to mount a defense.
1917(16th
of Av, 5677): Shabbat Nachamu is observed for the first time after the U.S.
began fighting in WW I.
1917:
“Late reports from the local exemption boards in all parts of New York tonight
indicated that the 30,000 men for the National Army to be supplied by New York
City,” a significant number of whom will be Jewish according to Benjamin
Swartz, will be met by the end of this week.
1918:
Birthdate of Sidney Harman the Montreal native an audio pioneer who built the
first high-fidelity stereo receiver, dabbled in education and government, and
made a late-in-life splash by acquiring an antiquated Newsweek magazine and
wedding it with a sassy young Web site, The Daily Beast…(As reported by Robert
McFadden)
1918:
“An Allied force landed at Arkhangelsk, Russia, beginning a famous military
expedition dubbed Operation Archangel with the professed objective of which was
to prevent the German Empire from obtaining Allied military supplies stored in
the region” but was really thought to be a way of thwarting the Bolshevik
Revolution.
1918:
“Mrs. Moses Mielzner, he widow of the late Dr. Moses Mielziner, dean of the
faculty of Hebrew Union College…celebrated her 80th birthday
anniversary at the home of her son Benjamin Mielziner” where she was joined by
“her son Leo Mielziner, the artist from New York City, her daughters Belle and
Ernestine, the latter of whom is a Red Cross Nurse at Camp Sherman” but not by
her son Rabbi Jacob Mielziner, the 1900 graduate of Hebrew Union College “who
is ow living in Copenhagen” with his wife.
1918:
Corporal Adolf Hitler was award the Iron Cross, First class, based on the
recommendation of his regimental adjutant, Captain Hugo Guttman who was Jewish.
1918:
In “East Side’s Patriotic Upheaval” published today, Richard Barry described
the change in this predominately Jewish neighborhood from Socialism to American
patriotism in the last six months.
1919:
Dr. Joseph Silverman, the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El delivered the eulogy at the
funeral of Oscar Hammerstein which was attended a large throng including “men
and women of theatrical and operatic prominence.”
1919:
Abraham Goodman Jacobs and Sarah Jacobs, the daughter of Abraham Simcha (Simon)
Flashtiq and Rebekah Flashtiq, gave birth to David Samuel Jacobs
1919:
It was reported today that “Hetman Gregorieff who commanded the troops in the
capture of Odessa a month ago” where there was a massacre of those living in
the Jewish quarter “has been shot with a revolver by a rival commander of the
Ukrainian insurgent forces.”
1920(20th
of Av, 5680): Eighty-four year old Morris Grabfelder, a native of Bavaria and a
U.S. veteran of the Civil War and a retired distiller from Louisville, KY who
served on “the board of the Jewish Hospital for Consumptives” passed tonight in
Atlantic City where his brother Samuel had been a realtor for several years.
1921(29th
of Tammuz, 5681): Seventy-three year old “Alfred Neymarck,” the son of “Mayes
and Henriette Neumark” and the “husband of Jeanne Neymarck” with whom he had
one child “Henriette” passed away today in “La Tronche sur Isere, France.”
1922:
In the Bronx, David Winick, a house painter, and his wife the former Sadie
Brussel gave birth to “Charles Winick a professor of anthropology and sociology
who wrote a book bemoaning the blurring of lines between the sexes and who
challenged prevailing views about the dangers of drug abuse.”
1922:
“A young Zionist named Zalker was killed by an Arab in the outskirts of Haifa.”
Early in the day, five Jewish porters had been injured in a clash with Arabs
over who would carry the luggage of tourists arriving at the port.
1922
(10th of Av): Jewish author David Frischmann passed away today
http://www.ithl.org.il/page_13631
https://streetsofisrael.wordpress.com/2013/02/
1923(22nd
of Av, 5683): Parashat Eikev
1923:Rabbi
Herbert S. Goldstein, President of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregation of
America announced that prayers would be offered in every orthodox synagogue in
the United States” for the later President of Harding.
1924:
Birthdate of Alfred Klein who in 1942 was transported from Prague to Ujazdow
where he was murdered.
1925:
Jacob Fishman, editor of the Jewish Moring Journal and Morris Rottenberg, the
chairman of the Palestine Foundation Fund are getting ready to board the Cunard
liner Berengaria as they head for the 14th World’s Zionist Congress
in Vienna.
1926:
In Boston, Benjamin Sachs, the Ophthalmologist who was on the faculty of
Harvard and Tufts and Bessie Cushing Sachs gave birth to Dr. Baruch Sachs
1927:
According to a report received today by the United Palestine Appeal from
engineer C.Q. Henriques, “Zionist settlements in Palestine suffered damage
estimated one hundred thousand dollars during the recent earthquake.
1928:
“Warming Up,” a baseball movie produced by Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky based
on a story by Sam Mintz was released today by Paramount Pictures.
1929:
Founding of the Jewish agency for Palestine.
1929:
Based on previously published reports, Judge Henry Horn of Chicago and James
Davis of Chicago, the brother of Major General Abel Davis, are the latest
non-Zionist members to be appointed to the Jewish Agency Council.
1929:
Felix M. Warburg, chairman of the Non-Zionist Committee of the Seven on the
Jewish Agency is somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean today having set sail from New
York aboard the Majestic on August 2.
1930:
Hopes
which the Jews had in the Maniu Government in Rumania have been bitterly
disappointed, and conditions of that minority are now worse than they were
under the last Bratianu regime, according to Morris D. Waldman, secretary of
the American Jewish Committee of New York, who” arrived in Geneva “to consult
with Cyrus Adler, president of the American Jewish Committee of New York.”
1930:
A memorandum asserting that the Jewish national home forms the central part of
the Palestine mandate and expressing confidence that the British Government
will take action to secure its establishment was submitted today to Lord
Passfield, the Colonial Secretary by the Jewish delegates to the conference of
h Inter-Parliamentary Union.
1931:
In Brooklyn, Yiddish
theatre actress Rose (Zapol) Avrich” and “dress manufacturer Murray Avrich”
gave birth today to Cornell and Columbia trained historian Paul Avrich
who specialized in the study of 19th and 20th anarchism
while raising two daughters – Jane and Karen – with his wife Ina Avrich
1932:Theodore
McCown, “a young America archaeologist is two days away from presenting “his
startling discoveries of new type of fossil man in the caves at Mount Carmel in
Palestine at the Congress of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Science.
1933: In France, An International Committee
for the Protection of Academic Freedom and the Rights of Savants in all
countries is formed to help German Jewish scholars and students in jeopardy in
Germany.
1933:
In Austria,
President Miklas appoints four Jews as
university professors out of nine new appointments.
1933:
In the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Sarah (née Tonkin) and Arthur Adelson
gave birth to Sheldon Adelson, who in 2011 “was ranked as the world's
16th-richest man with a net worth of $23.3 billion.”
1933:
In Moscow, an official map of Soviet nations and nationalities, shows that the
Jewish population is two and a half million or 1.7% of the total.
1934(23rd
of Av, 5694): Parshat Eikev; Rosh Chodesh Elul
1934:
In response to claims by Sir Archibald Hurd that he is was of Jewish origin and
that his "ancestry" had powerfully influenced the policy of the
government since he became Foreign Secretary, it was reported today that Sir
John Simon has written to Sir Archibald “denying a rumor that he is a Jew.”
1935(5th
of Av, 5695): Sixty-year-old Taina, Russia native and American Jewish labor
leader Sola Palokoff who in 1887 came to the United where he was one of the
founders of the International Ladies Garment Workers passed away today.
1936:
“Judge William Allen of General Sessions, following a half-hour argument today
reserved decision on a motion to inspect and minutes of the June grand jury
that indicted Robert Edward Edmondson, pamphleteer on allegations that he
libeled the Jewish religion” among others.
1937: Zurich was
in a holiday mood with thousands of visitors arriving hourly for the 20th
Zionist Congress. Hotels and pensions were filled to capacity. Only one Swiss
paper, Die Front, a Nazi organ, published a venomous attack on Jews. Dr.
Franz Kahn opened the Congress with the same gavel used by Theodor Herzl at the
First Congress in 1897. Dr. Chaim Weizmann delivered his 40-minute opening
address. He pointed out the need to decide whether to accept or reject the
Royal (Peel) Commission¹s Report on Palestine, pointing out to the advantages
and disadvantages of the scheme.
1937: In Geneva, the
Permanent Mandate Commission of the League of Nations examined both the Peel
and Palestine administration¹s reports and tried to determine whether the
Palestine Mandate, drafted in 1922, was indeed no longer workable and whether
the necessary fundamental changes, as requested by Great Britain, ought to be
carried out.
1937(27th of
Av, 5697): Mrs. Babette Marcus, the wife of User Marcus and one of the founders
of the Babette Marcus Aid Society which, among other things, provided
non-interest bearing loans to poor people passed away today in Brooklyn
1937: Birthdate of
Chicago born Chicago Tribune columnist Aaron Michael Gold.
1937: “Artists and
Models” a comedy starring Jack Benny, featuring Ben Blue and with music by
Victor Young, Leo Robin and Frederick Hollander was released today in the
United States.
1938: Birthdate of
Judith Smith Kaye, the first woman to serve as Chief Judge of New York, “the
State Judiciary’s highest office.”
1938: In Philadelphia,
Edwin and Margaret Dannenbaum Wolf gave birth to Ellen Wolf Schrecker the
graduate of Radcliffe and Harvard who is “an American professor emerita of
American history at Yeshiva University” and considered by some to be “the dean
of the anti-anti-Communist historians.”
1938: The New York
Round Table of the National Conference of Jews and Christians” at Hunter
College sponsored a “mass meeting” where the topics covered were “The Jew In
America,” “Catholicism and Fascism “ and “Students and the Interfaith
Movement.”
1938(7th of
Av, 5698): Seventy-eight year old Austrian native and “clothing merchant” Leon
Tuchman, “the treasurer of the Uptown Talmud Torah,” “a member of Congregation
Ohab Zedek” and father of Aaron Tuchman and Rebecca Weil who eight years ago
“gave $50,000 to the endowment fund of Yeshiva College” passed away today.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/08/05/98174503.pdf
1938: Rabbi Benjamin
Plotkin spoke at mass rally this evening sponsored by the New York State
International Labor Defense.
1938: It was reported
by the official news agency in Germany, that “the City Council has expropriated
the old synagogue and administrative buildings of the Jews Cultural Society on
Hans Sachs Platz” so what Julius Streicher described as “the disgrace of
Nuremberg” can be demolished before the Nazi Party’s annual convention in
September.
1938: While on a
boating trip, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini discussed Adolf Hitler’s new
anti-Semitic laws with his mistress, saying “We must give Italians a feeling of
race so that they don’t create half-castes, so that they don’t spoil what is
beautiful...
1939: As the election
campaign for Mexico’s next President gains new candidates, General Juan Almazan
gained support among the nation’s railway workers with a platform that promises
to oppose “the immigration of Spanish and Jewish refugees. (Editor’s note - how does this play with 21st
century contest over immigration in the
United States)
1939: “The
Four Feathers,” a film version of the novel by the same name, directed by
Zoltan Korda and produced by Alexander Korda was released today in the United
States.
1939: The inquiry into
recent attacks on Jews in Beirut revealed that a cache of arms including
machine guns, rifles, pistols, dynamite “and a good deal of ammunition: has
been found in “the house of a municipal night watchman whose duty it was to
guard the Jewish quarter”
1940(29th of Tammuz, 5700): Just months before his 60th
birthday, Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky passed away while inspecting a Betar Camp
in New York.
http://www.jabotinsky.org/Site/home/default.asp
http://www.ou.org/chagim/yomhaatzmauth/jabo.html
1940: Margret and Hans Rey arrive in Rio de Jeneiro
aboard the Angola.
1940: Hugo Gutmann (aka Henry G. Grant) who during WW I
served as an officer in a regiment that included Adolf Hitler and his family
reached Lisbon and safety after having fled from Brussels across France ahead
of the advancing Nazi forces.
1941: Edgar J. Nathan Jr, “a member of the law firm of
Cardozo and Nathan which “was head by the late Benjamin Cardozo” was named
today “by the Republication Executive Committee as its candidate for Borough
President of Manhattan.”
1941: The Jewish community of “Varklan, a small town
north of modern-day Daugavpils in Latvia” which had been the home to many of
the Jews who began arriving in Tulsa, OK in 1902 “was exterminated today by the
Nazis.”
1942(21st of Av, 5702): Sixty-six year old
Riga born, and University of Buffalo trained physician George Joseph Saylin,
and ardent Zionist who was among those who met with Lord Balfour at the British
Embassy in 1922 passed away today.
1942: The first train
with Jews from Belgium went to Auschwitz. The train contained 998 Jews.
Normally the Germans would wait until they had an even thousand before sending
a train from Belgium to Auschwitz. (On April 19, 1943, three Jewish resistance
fighters would stop the Twentieth Train with Jews bound for Auschwitz. Several
hundred Jews would escape, although many were caught in later round-ups and
sent to the camps. This episode teaches us many valuable lessons. One of them
is about Jewish courage in the face of almost certain death. Another of them is
that history is not made up of events, but of the events we know about. The
ambush took place on the same day as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Both were
events of great courage. But we only celebrate the events at Warsaw because
that is the one that most people know about.)
1942: One thousand Jews
were deported from Theresienstadt.
1942: In Warsaw, Chaim
Kaplan wrote the last entry in his diary before he was murdered: “If my life
ends - what will become of my diary?”
Saul Friedlander would see to it that the material covered in the diary
would survive the killers and the victims when he would he use it as resource
material for The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews,
1939-1945
1942(21st of Av, 5702):
In Radom, Poland, 10,000 Jews were assembled for deportation to Treblinka. The
Germans began shooting them as they gathered.
1942: An additional
13,000 Jews were rounded up in Warsaw as Operation Reinhard continued into its
second month.
1942: “My Sister
Eileen,” a comedy written by Joseph A. Field and Jerome Chodorov and produced
by George S. Kaufman which had opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre,
transferred to the Martin Beck Theatre where it opened tonight.
1943: Fifty-seven year
old Dr. Ernst Eylenburg was deported from Berlin to Terezin, which was the
first leg on the trip to Auschwitz where he was murdered.
1943: “The Man from
Down Under” a movie set in post WW I Australia directed and produced by Robert
Z. Leonard was released in the Unites States today.
1944: A limited number of Jewish war refugees arrived in New York
Harbor. They then moved to a
decommissioned army camp in Oswego New York. Ruth Gerber, an American
journalist was selected “to go on a secret mission to escort the refugees to the
United States. This journey became ‘the defining Jewish moment’ of Gruber's
life. In her role as a
spokesperson for the refugees, Gruber presented the refugees' journey as a
human interest story for the press. She told the New York Times that the
refugees represented "a cross-section of every refugee now pouring into
Italy," including Jews, Catholics and Protestants for whom religious
services were held onboard the ship. In a touching moment in Haven, her
book recounting the voyage, Gruber recalls a rabbi conducting a service as the
boat passed the Statue of Liberty, and her pride in telling the Jewish refugees
of the Holocaust that the poem on the base was written by Emma Lazarus, an
American Jew. The story of these European refugees stands out as a
momentary relaxation of America's restrictive immigration policy. President
Roosevelt's decision provided the refugees with a safe haven as
"guests" in the United States during the war, with the assumption
that "they were destined to be sent back to their homelands when the peace
comes." While Roosevelt planned to allow the nearly 1000 refugees to
reside in the United States only until the end of hostilities, when the end of
the war came, Gruber lobbied the President and Congress—with the help of
Catholic, Jewish and Protestant clergy—and convinced the officials to let the
refugees stay. While the story ended happily for these refugees, sadly it came
at the expense of others waiting in displaced persons camps in Europe. Since
the overall immigration laws and quotas remained unchanged, the close to 1000
refugees were just subtracted form that year's quota.
1944(15th of
Av, 5704): Tu B’Av – Editor’s note: there are times when the calendar seems to
be mocking us.
1944(15, of Av, 5704:
“On only the fourth day of the Warsaw Uprising, the 23 year old poet Krzysztof
Kamil Baczyński was killed by a German sniper in the city’s Old Town.” (As reported
by Benjamin Paloff)
http://cosmopolitanreview.com/krzysztof-kamil-baczynski/
1944: Anne Frank was
arrested with her parents and sister. Anne, 15 years old, was sent to
Bergen-Belsen where she died in March 1945.
1944: Victor Kugler,
one of the people who helped to hide Anne Frank was arrested by Karl
Silberbauer and taken to Gestapo headquarters where he was interrogated and ten
transferred “to a prison for Jews and 'political prisoners' awaiting
deportation on the Amstelveenseweg.”
1945(25th of
Av, 5705): Fifty-five year old Eugene E. Sperry, a native of New York and the
son of Levi and Bertha Spiegelberg passed away today in Deal, N.J.
1945: In Haifa Miriam
and Shmuel gave birth to Benjamin Zeev Kol-Kari who lost his life when the
Dakar, an Israeli submarine sank with all hands on board.
1945: British movie producer Sydney Bernstein received a memo from the
British Foreign Office which put an end to the documentary he was making
“German Concentration Camps Factual Survey” although the footage he had
gathered was used in the war crime trials at Nuremberg.
1945: Birthdate of
actor and comedian Richard Belzer
1946: It was announced
today that Prime Minister Attlee has decided to remain in London “to give
personal attention to pressing international problems, mainly that of
Palestine.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/08/06/93142775.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1946: “Irgun Zvai
Leumi, Zionist underground organization that announced broadcast tonight a
threat of "new and heavy blows against our British enemies even in the
heart of their power.”
1947: In the wake of
yesterday’s anti-Jewish violence Walter Lever, a working-class Jewish resident
of Manchester said that “today, “all premises belonging to Jews for the length
of a mile down” Cheetham Hill Road “had gaping windows and he pavements were
littered with glass.”
1947: “The Secret Life
of Walter Mitty” a movies based on the short story character of the same name produced
by Samuel Goldwyn, starring Danny Kaye and featuring songs by Sylvia Fine and a
score by David Raskin, premiered in Chicago today.
1948: Today, Lee
Pressman, a labor lawyer and son of Jewish immigrants, “characterized” the
testimony of former Communist Party member Whittaker Chambers as “smering me
with the stale and lurid mouthinings of a Republican exhibitionist who was
bought by” Time/Life publisher Henry Luce.
1948: “Regulations of
the activities of the recognized religions, including Judaism, were set down in
the today’s order of the presidium of the Grand National Assembly (which also
served as the presidency of the state)
1949(9th of
Av, 5709): Tish’a B’Av (Does one still
mourn for the destruction of Jerusalem now that the Jewish state is a reality?)
1950: Sixty-four year
old Norihiro Yasue “an Imperial
Japanese Army colonel who played a crucial role in the so-called Fugu Plan, in
which Jews were rescued from Europe and brought to Japanese-occupied
territories during World War II” passed away today in Soviet labor camp.
1950: In Rehovot,
Daniel and Tzipora Gov gave birth to Israeli entertainer Gidi Gov who “was
married to playwright Anat Gov with whom he has three children.”
1951(2nd of
Av, 5711): Parashat Matot-Masei
1951:
Birthdate of Yona Metzger, the native of Haifa and IDF veteran who served as
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel.
1952: In Malibu, CA,
movie director Don Siegel and actress Viveca Lindfors gave birth to Christopher
Donald Siegel who gained fame as actor and director Kristoffer Tabori
1952:
Rishon Lezion or First for Israel celebrated its 70th anniversary. Rishon
is approximately seven miles southeast of Tel Aviv. By the time of its 70th century,
several well-known Israelis had worked or lived on the Moshav. Two future prime ministers of Israel, David
Ben Gurion and Levi Eshkol worked in the winery at Rishon Lezion. Eliezer
Ben-Yehuda, the father of the Modern Hebrew language taught at Rishon LeZion.
1956(27th
of Av, 5716): Parashat Re’eh
1956: “The
Indian Fighter” starring Kirk Douglas and Walter Matthau with a script by Ben
Hecht and music by Franz Waxman was released in the United States today by
United Artists.
1958: In
Gabès, Tunisia, Shimon Shalom gave birth to Silvan Shalom, who came to Israel a
year later where his political career has included in several ministerial
positions including Vice Prime Minister.
1959: “Some
five months after its Broadway opening, a Philip Rose production of “Raisin in
the Sun” opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End.
1959: “The
Big Fisherman” a Biblical biopic co-starring Susan Kohner and Herbert Lom was
released in the United States today.
1960(11th
of Av, 5720): Seventy-one year old Henry J. Hassenfeld , the Galician born son
of Chaya and Shaya Hassenfeld and husband of Marian Hassenfeld who was a founder and board
chairman of Hasenfeld Brothers, a pencil and toy manufacturer” and “a founder
of the Rhode Island Bureau of Jewish Education” passed away today.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/08/05/105451572.pdf
1961:
Birthdate of Highland Park, Illinois native and television producer Michael
Gelman, the husband of Laurie Hibberd and the father of Jamie and Misha Gelman.
1961:
Birthdate of Barak Obama whose Presidential campaigns were run by David
Axelroad; whose first chief of staff was Rahm Emanuel; whose use of Jack Lew, a
Sabbath Observant Jew, has filled many positions including Secretary of
Treasury. He was willing to triple down on Jewish Justices when he nominated
Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. While
he has been criticized by some for his failure to visit Israel until his second
term in office, Obama has fully funded Iron Dome during the worst economic
crisis since the Great Depression. He
has so many Jews on his staff that he has been hosting a Seder since 2009
making him the first President to recline and dine while hoping not leave a
stain from the chrain. Of course, it will be up to history and the historians
to evaluate his ultimate impact on the Jews as well as everything.
1962: Mr.
and Mrs. Samuel Abrams of Brooklyn announced the engagement of their daughter
Karen Linda Abrams to Private First Class Barry Greenholz
1962: Birthdate of
television executive Michael Gelman
1963: Funeral services
are scheduled to be held today for Lee J. Spiegel, the husband Ruth Spiegel and
father of Enid, Bert and Matthew Spiegel, whose business interests included
J.H. Spiegel, Inc. and the Spiegel Tanning Company and who was a member of the
board of directors of Congregationation Neses Israel of Sea Gate followed by
burial at Mt. Hebron Cemetery.
1963: At Cazenovia
College, Edward Rosenthal of Rochester, NY and Joseph Rosenstein of Ithaca, NY
were two of the players who part of “a four-way for the place in the New York
State chess championship’ that came to a close tonight.”
1964: Civil rights
workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney were found buried
inside an earthen dam in Mississippi. Schwerner and Goodman were two Jewish
youngsters who had come to Mississippi to work in a drive to register Black
voters. Chaney was an African-American from Mississippi. Their deaths helped to
galvanize support for what would become the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/08/07/101559905.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
http://yleksikon.blogspot.com/2014/06/avrom-aysen-abraham-asen-march-15-1886.html
1966: “CARE Starts
Sending Kosher Frozen Meat Packages to Israel” published today described how
the Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere (CARE) plans, for the first
time, to send “kosher Frozen meats to Israel” in time to be used for upcoming
High Holidays
1966(18th of
Av, 5726): Sixty-four year old Helen Tamaris, “the dancer and choreographer”
who “put a stress on social responsibility” in a career that spanned forty
years and was the wife of her “dancing partner, Daniel Nagrin” lost her fight
with cancer and passed at the Jewish Memorial Hospital.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1966/08/05/82503296.pdf
1968(10th of
Av, 5728): Tish’a B’Av observed
1968(10th of
Av, 5728): Harvard and Columbia educated Dr. Lawrence Levin the recently
retired editor in chief of “The Book of Popular Science” and the husband of the
former Ada Mandelstam, with whom he one daughter, Barbara, passed away today in
Mt. Vernon, NY
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/06/88957965.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0.
1972: “Alfredo, Alfredo”
an Italian language comedy starring Dustin Hoffman was released today in Italy.
1973(6th of
Av, 5733): Parahsat Devarim; Shabbat Chazon
1973(6th of Av, 5733):
Sam Katzman an American film producer and director passed away Born in 1907,into a poor Jewish family, Katzman
went to work as a stage laborer at the age of 13 in the fledgling East Coast
film industry. He would learn all aspects of filmmaking and become a highly
successful Hollywood producer for more than forty years.
1975: One day after he
passed away, funeral are scheduled to be held this afternoon at the Stephen
Wise Free Synagogue for sixty-three old NYU trained “labor lawyer and
arbitrator” Irving Robert Feinberg, the husband Lucille Feinberg, and the
father of Jean and Richard Feinberg who was active in Jewish communal
activities as can be seen his with the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies,
United Jewish Appeal, National Jewish Welfare Board, Development Corporation
for Israel, Montefiore and Maimonides Hospitals, and the Hebrew Home for the
Aged”
1976(8th of
Av, 5736): Erev Tish’a B’Av observed for the last time during the Presidency of
Gerald Ford.
1977: US President
Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
Dr. James Schlesinger, the son of Russian and Austrian Jews, was named the
first secretary of the Department.
Unlike another famous Harvard PhD. named Henry Kissinger, Schlesinger
converted to Christianity, when, according to some sources, he discovered that
the “faith of his father’s was an impediment to his budding academic career.
1977: "Nobody Does
It Better" “a song composed by Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics by Carole Bayer
Sager. It was recorded by Carly Simon as the theme song for the 1977 James Bond
film The Spy Who Loved Me” was released today.
1977: Three terrorists
who were on their way to Kibbutz Ashdod Ya'acov were killed and two captured
after they crossed the Jordanian border.
1977: Syria rejected
the American initiative to hold a Middle Eastern mini-summit in the US and
asked for the reconvening of the Geneva Peace Conference instead.
1978(1st of
Av, 5738): Rosh Chodesh Av
1978(1st of
Av, 5738): Lilya Yuryevna Brik, the so-called "muse of Russian
avant-garde" died at the age of 87.
1981: Birthdate of
Ariel Glaser
http://jwa.org/thisweek/aug/04/1981/ariel-glaser
1981(4th of
Av, 5741): Famed American actor Melvin
Douglas passed away. Born Melvyn
Edouard Hesselberg in Macon, Georgia, Douglas began his film career in
1931. Some of his more memorable films
include “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” and the “Americanization of
Emily.” He won two Oscars, including one
for best supporting actor as the crotchety old rancher in “Hud.” He has an additional claim to fame as the
husband of Congresswoman Helen Cahagan Douglas.
Rep. Douglas ran against Richard Nixon for the Senate in 1950. She was an early victim of Nixon and the
right-wing Republicans smear tactics in which all liberals were equated with
Communists.
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/04/obituaries/melvyn-douglas-81-stage-and-film-actor.html
http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/melvyn-douglas/
1982: By a
vote of fourteen to zero, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution
calling for an immediate ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops
without calling for a complete withdrawal of the PLO from Lebanon, despite the
fact that it was their presence and terrorism that triggered Israeli military
action.
1982:
Israeli Ambassador Moshe Arens denied tonight “that Foreign Minister Yitzhak
Shamir had ‘snubbed’ President Regan by refust to say in Washington to receive
a message from him” today.
1985:
In Portland, OR, funeral services are scheduled to be held for Polish native and WW I
veteran Harry Mittleman, the son of peddler, whose family, in 1911 came to the
United States where he eventually settled in Portland, OR and went from being a
successful grocery store owner to real estate mogul while serving as an officer
of the “the Jewish Old People’s Home and the Jewish Education Association.
https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/mittleman_jewish_community_center/#.YKmnrI2SlPY
1986: Roz
Chast’s first cover for The New Yorker
appeared today “showing a lecturer in a white coat pointing to a family tree of
ice cream.”
http://rozchast.com/cartoons_newyorker.shtml
http://jwa.org/people/chast-roz
1989: After
five years, NBC broadcast the final episode of “Highway to Heaven,” a dramatic
series created by Michael Landon who also directed and starred in the seires.
1990
(5750): Shabbat Nachamu
1992: Ran
Cohen began serving as Deputy Minister of Housing and Construction.
1992: Eli
Ben-Menachem was appointed Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s office.
1992:
Mordechai Gur began serving as Deputy Minister of Defense.
1993:
Harvey Weinstein, a formalwear manufacturer and chairman of Lord West Formal
Wear was kidnapped in New York.
1994:
Playwright Arthur Miller’s “Broken Glass” was performed for the first time in
Great Britain at “the Royal National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre.”
1994(27th
of Av, 5754): Two days before his 86th birthday Solomon Adler, a
U.S. Treasury Employee who served in China during World War II and was later
accused of being “a Soviet intelligence source” passed away today.
1994: Actor
Richard Lewis has been sober from this date forward.
1996:
The Los Angeles Times featured a review of Rich Little Poor Boy: A Ghost
of a Chance by Peter Duchin with Charles Michener. Duchin was the son of
socialite Marjorie Oelrichs and musical genius Eddy Duchin, the son of Jewish
immigrants. When Oerlichs was kicked out of the Social Register for marrying
the Jewish Duchin she reportedly said, "Who cares?" "It's only a
telephone book." [“The Eddie Duchin Story” with Kim Novak and Tyronne
Power left the Jewish part.]
2000: David
Levy completed his term as Foreign Minister.
2000:
“Running on the Sun: The Badwater 135,” a documentary film directed by Mel
Stuart (born Stuart Solomon) was released today.
2001(15th
of Av, 5761): A triple header – Parashat Vaetchanan, Sabbat Nachamu and Tu B’Av
2002: On
the 110th anniversary of the death of Ernestine Rose, the Ernestine
Rose society “held a memorial service at London’s Highgate Cemetery to dedicate
the restored headstone of Ernestine and William Rose, fulfilling the group’s
mandate to ensure that this “courageous and pioneering woman… would no longer
rest in an unmarked grave.”
http://www.brandeis.edu/wsrc/affiliates/ernestinerose/index.html
2002(26th of Av, 5762):
Mordechai Yehuda Friedman, 24, of Ramat Beit Shemesh, Sari Goldstein, 21, of
Karmiel, Maysoun Amin Hassan, 19, of Sajur, Marlene Miriam Menahem, 22, of
moshav Safsufa, Sgt.-Maj. Roni Ghanem, 28, of Maghar, Sgt. Yifat Gavrieli, 19,
of Mitzpe Adi, Sgt. Omri Goldin, 20, of Mitzpe Aviv, Adelina Kononen, 37, of
the Philippines and Rebecca Roga, 40, of the Philippines were killed and 38
others were injured during a suicide bombing aboard Egged Bus 361 at the Meron
Junction for which Hamas took credit.
2002: The New York Times book section featured
a review of Stravinsky and
Balanchine: A Journey of Invention about the relationship between the gentile and his Jewish apprentice by
Charles M. Joseph, I’ll Be
Short: Essentials for a Decent Working Society by Robert B. Reich,
Bill Clinton’s first and Jewish, Secretary of Labor and Elvis In Jerusalem: Post-Zionism and the
Americanization of Israel by Tom Segev.
2003: “Israel today
published a list of nearly 350 Palestinian prisoners to be freed soon, a move intended
to improve the atmosphere for peace negotiations, but the list brought only
cries of complaint from Palestinians.” (As reported by Greg Myre)
2004: The Israeli
military expanded operations in the northern Gaza Strip in a bid to prevent
rocket fire from the area, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials.
2005(28th of Tammuz,
5765): Eden Natan Zada, age 19, who was absent without leave from the Israeli
army opened fire on a public bus traveling to an Arab town in northern Israel,
killing at least four people and wounding 10. In the immediate aftermath,
passengers swarmed the gunman, killing him before he could leave the bus.
2005: Eliat Mazar
announced she had discovered in Jerusalem what may have been the palace of King
David,
2005: The
Jerusalem Post reported that for the second year in a row, Canadian hockey
Jean Perron legend is conducting camp at the Canada Centre, in the town of
Metulla near the border with Lebanon
2005: Israeli
archaeologist Eliat Mazar announced the discovery the site of Palace of David,
a 10th Century
2006: Marissa Carson
leads Friday Night Services at Temple Judah in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as part of
the rituals marking her Bat Mitzvah.
2006: “Three rockets
fired by Hezbollah hit Hadera.”
2006: Over 200 rockets
were fired at northern Israel, killing three people. At least 86 more were
wounded, one critically and five seriously.
2006(18th
of Shevat, 5766): Seventy-four year old Brooklyn born and Cornell and Columbia
trained historian Paul Avrich, the son “Yiddish theatre actress Rose
(Zapol) Avrich” and “dress manufacturer Murray Avrich” and the husband of Ina
Avrich with whom he had two daughters – Jane and Karen – passed away today
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/24/nyregion/paul-avrich-74-a-historian-of-anarchism-is-dead.html
2007(20th of Av, 5767):
Eight-one year old Raul Hilberg, one of the historians who created the field of
Holocaust Studies passed away today (As reported by Douglas Martin)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/us/07hilberg.html
2007: To his
everlasting credit, Chet Culver, Governor of the state of Iowa, officially proclaims
this day as Raoul Wallenberg in honor of the Swedish Diplomats work in saving
thousands of Hungarian Jews and as an example of a great humanitarian who
provided living proof that one person’s efforts can make a difference in the
fight against evil.
2007: The Indianapolis
Colts place Mike Seidman on the inured reserved list.
2008: Taking time from
dealing with aftermath of the floods and tornadoes that have struck Iowa, Chet
Culver, Governor of the state of Iowa, officially proclaims this day as Raoul
Wallenberg Day in honor of the Swedish Diplomats work in saving thousands of
Hungarian Jews and as an example of a great humanitarian who provided living
proof that one person’s efforts can make a difference in the fight against
evil.
2008: In a testament to
the involvement of Jews in diverse strata of American life, U.S. News & World Report discloses that Henry Kissinger, the
first Jewish U.S. Secretary of State has agreed to lend his name to a foreign
policy think tank (at the Woodrow Wilson Center) while Sports Illustrated reports on the recent death of legendary
baseball writer Jerome Holtzman and marvels at re-emergence of basketball great
Nancy Lieberman, who at the age of fifty had two assists in playing nine
minutes for the Detroit Shock
2009: During the San
Francisco Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to show “Rachel” at the Berkeley
Repertory’s Roda Theater.
2009: Despite being
forced to deal with worst economic downturns since the Great Depression, Iowa
Governor Chet Culver still finds the time to proclaim today Raoul Wallenberg
Memorial Day on the 97th anniversary of the great Swede’s
birth. This is the third year in a row
that the Governor of Iowa has issued such a proclamation.
2009: Rashi’s
Daughters: Book III – Rachel by Maggie Anton goes on sale today. This is the third and final volume in a
fictional trilogy based on the lives of the daughters of the great sage.
2009: Israeli police
have broken up an Israeli-American crime ring specializing in tax fraud and
money-laundering in an operation codenamed "American Pie."
2009(14th of Av, 5769:
Eighty-two year old Israeli author and gadfly, Amos Kenan passed away today.
(As reported by William Grimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/world/middleeast/06kenan.html
2009: Two years after
the death of novelist Sidney Sheldon, the author of Master of the Game,
William Morrow and Company released a sequel entitled Sidney Sheldon's
Mistress of the Game
2009: The Russian
gentile who saved former chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau during the Holocaust was
posthumously honored at Yad Vashem with the prestigious Righteous Among the
Nations award today. As a young adult, Feodor Mikhailichenko risked his life to
feed, clothe and protect the young Lolek Lau, who was 10 years his junior, in
the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany
2009: Raoul Wallenberg
Day
2010: “Surviving
Hitler: A Love Story,” a documentary about a young Jewess named Jutta who
joined the Resistance and plotted to kill Hitler, is scheduled to be shown at
the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
2010: The United
Nations peacekeeping force in South Lebanon, Unifil, said today that it had
concluded that Israeli forces were cutting trees that lay within their own
territory before a lethal exchange of fire with Lebanese Army troops yesterday,
largely vindicating Israel’s account of how the fighting started
2011: The Jewish
community of Cedar Rapids, proudly awaits today’s opening of “13: The Musical”
starring one of its youthful and talented members, Bentlee Birchansky.
2011: The 2011 Security
Briefing For Jewish Institutions in Northern Virginia is scheduled to place at
Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation.
2011: “Next Year in
Bombay,” film that “profiles the surprising diversity of India’s Jewish
communities, some of which have existed for over 2,500 years” is scheduled to
be shown at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
2011: IDF aircraft
struck targets in the Gaza Strip in the early hours this morning, Palestinians
said, a day after Palestinians fired at least two Grad rockets, striking deep
into Israel.
2011: Israel Medical
Association chairman Dr. Leonid Eidelman said today that although progress has
been made in negotiations with the Treasury on the doctors' work dispute,
sanctions would continue in hospitals and clinics until a final agreement is
reached.
2011: Tomer Rotem, a
Chabad rabbi working in Quito, Ecuador, who was kidnapped on August 1 and held
for four days, was released tonight.
2011: Hundreds of
Wikipedia activists from around the world will descend upon Haifa today for the
seventh annual Wikimania conference, to discuss debate and deliberate all
things Wiki.
2011: Israeli Defense
Minister Ehud Barak approved the appointment of Ram Rothberg as the next head
of the Israel Navy, after being nominated by IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz
2011: Under the
leadership of Irene Rosenfeld Kraft Foods said it plans to split into two
publicly traded companies, with one focusing on its international snack brands
like Trident gum and Oreo cookies and the other on its North American groceries
business that includes Maxwell House coffee and Oscar Mayer meats.
2012: Raoul Wallenberg
Shabbat
2012: Actress Roseanne
Barr won the 2012 presidential nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party.
2012: Sam Kringlen is
scheduled to be called to the Torah this morning as a Bar Mitzvah at Temple
Judah in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
2012: Yemen Blues, a
group that originated in Tel Aviv, is scheduled to perform at the City Winery
in New York City.
2012: In Auburn, ME,
Temple Shalom Synagogue is scheduled to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of the birthday of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg with a special
Saturday morning service and screening of a film later in the evening about his
rescue work.
2012:Israeli windsurfer
Lee Kurzits finished first in race eight of the women’s RS-X competition this
afternoon at the Olympic Games, and was in second place overall at the end of
the day with strong prospects of a medal.
2012: Bearing banners,
shouting slogans and calling for a better Israel and a brighter tomorrow,
thousands gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening for a major protest
organized by the social justice movements, which put aside their differences to
join forces for the event.
2012: IDF forces shot a
Syrian man who crossed into Israel through its northern border today. The
infiltrator, who was carrying a pair of wire cutters, was identified during a
routine patrol and asked to stop; when he didn’t, the troops on patrol opened
fire on him, injuring him in the leg.
2013(28th
of Av): Yarhrzeit for Larry Rosenstein, of blessed memory, husband of Judy
Levin Rosenstein, of blessed memory.
Gone to soon but always remembered!
2013(28th
of Av, 5773): Centenarian Yitzhak Berman, Israeli political leader passed away
today.
https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=317
2013:
“50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. & Mrs. Kraus” a documentary about
Gilbert and Eleanor Karus’ successful effort to save 50 Jewish children from
Austria.
2013:
The Alexandria Kleztet is scheduled to perform at the Washington DC Jewish
Community Center.
2013:
A group of 36 Democratic members of the House are expected to arrive in Israel
for a one week visit to the Jewish state.
A group of 26 Republicans are expected to visit next week. (As reported
by Herb Keinon)
2013:
The New York Times featured reviews
of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers
including a novel by Louis Begley, Memories of a Marriage and Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die,
Cherish, Perish by David Rakoff of blessed memory.2013: Generall Martin
Dempsy, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrives in Israel as the
guest of Major General Benny Gantz, Israel’s Chief of Staff who will host
meeting meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ya’alon.
2013: Igal Brightman,
the chairman and CEO of the major local accounting firm of Deloitte Brightman
who died in light plane crash is scheduled to be buried today in Tel Aviv.
2013: At Bloomfield
Stadium in Jaffa 12,000 youngsters joined President Shimon Peres, Tel Aviv
Mayor Ron Huldai and Education Minister Shai Piron enjoyed an evening with
soccer superstran Lionel Messi and his Barcelona Football Club.
2013: Jack Markell, the
Governor of Delaware completed his services as Chair of the National Governors
Association.
2013: American
journalist Steven Sotloff was kidnapped by terrorists near Aleppo.
2014: “Aftermath
Poland” is scheduled to be shown at the Berkshire Jewish Film Festival.
2014(8th of
Av, 5774): “Rabbi Abraham Wallis, a 29-year-old resident of Mea Shearim in
Jerusalem, was killed in what has been described as terrorist attack earlier today while working
at a construction site for Atra Kadisha, an organization which assures graves are
not disturbed during building.” (In life
he was loved and admired. He was swifter than eagles and stronger than
lions.)
2014(8th of
Av, 5774): Eighty-six year old physician and Holocaust survivor Emanuel Emek
Tanay lost his battle with prostate cancer today.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?pid=172345664
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_oi.php?ModuleId=10005059&MediaId=1128
2014: “An Israeli man
was shot in the stomach at the entrance to the Har Hatzofim (Mount Scopus)
tunnel in Jerusalem, in what looks to be the capital's second terror attack in
a matter of hours.” (As reported by Gil Ronen)
2014: President Barack
Obama signed a bill today granting an additional $225 million in US taxpayer
dollars for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4555008,00.html
2014(8th of
Av): In the evening fast of Tisha B’av begins
2015(19th of
Av, 5775): Seventy-three year old Hungarian-born American Jewish historian Yosef Goldman, the
son of Rabbi Lipa Goldman who came to the U.S. in 1950 and who was the
co-author of Hebrew Printing in America 1735-1926: A History and Annotated
Bibliography passed away today.
2015(19th of
Av, 5775): Ninety-nine year old “pop art furniture designer” Irving Harper,
born Irving Hoffzimer, passed away today. (As reported by Sam Roberts)
2015: Election Time! –
The Jewish Public Library Archives in Montreal shared its collection of campaign
memorabilia today during Canada’s “longest-ever federal campaign period.”
http://www.jewishpubliclibrary.org/blog/?p=3878
2015: Steve Gimbel,
author of Einstein: His Space and Times” is scheduled to speak at the
Washington DC JCC as part of its Brilliant Minds, Great Thinkers program.
2015: YIVO and the
Yiddish League are scheduled to present the New York Premiere of “Chava
Rosenfarb: That Bubble of Being.”
http://yivo.org/events/index.php?tid=205&aid=1395&utm_source=forward&utm_medium=banner
2016: The 92nd Street Y is scheduled to present
“The Power of Habit” in which Uri Galimidi will help attendees “learn simple
yet highly effective interventions to help you conquer undesired habits and
adopt new healthier ones.”
2016: “Australia said it was suspending funding for major
charity World Vision late today, hours after Israeli officials accused the
group’s manager in Gaza of funneling tens of millions of dollars in aid money
to terror group Hamas.”
2016:“Muhammad Halabi, a Hamas member and manager of
operations for World Vision in Gaza, was indicted in a Beersheba court today on
a number of security-related charges for his alleged role in the scheme to
divert “tens of millions dollars to fund the Hamas war machine in Gaza.”
2016: One hundred sixth anniversary of the birth of Raoul
Wallenberg
2016: Noam Banai, son of Meir and cousin to Ehud, Yuval
and Elisha continued his tour of Israel tonight a performance at the HaArbaim
Pub at Kibbutz Talilim.
2016: Anniversary of Iowa Governor Chet Culver proclaiming
today Raoul Wallenberg Day, in response to the efforts spearheaded by members
of Temple Judah in Cedar Rapids , IA.
2017:
This evening, a Shabbat Nachamu Shidduch is scheduled to take begin Kew Garden
Hills, Queens, NY.
2017:
A Shabbat Nachamu weekend sponsored by the Association of Orthodox Jewish
Scientists is scheduled to open this evening at the Crowne Plaza in Stamford,
CT.
2017:
Yiddish comedians, Mendy Cahan and Yuri Vedenyapin are scheduled to host a
“late-night open stage at the OMA café at the Yiddish Summer Weimar in Germany.
2017:
“Left-handed reliever Craig Brewslow was signed “to a minor league deal” today.
2018:
“Hitler’ Hollywood” and “The Price of Everything” are scheduled to be shown
today at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
2018:
“Classical Bridge, an international musical festival, academy and conference
designed to build bridges through music” featuring “Israeli musicians Pinchas
Zuckerman and Alexander Fiterstein” is scheduled to open today.
2018:
“Aziz Asbar, one of Syria’s most important rockets scientists” was killed by
car bomb today, allegedly by Mossad.
2018:
Lior Milliger, the Israeli Saxphonist is scheduled to bring his Lior Milliger
Trio to New York for their first ever appearance at The Shrine.
2018:
“The Israeli Jazz Spotlight festival, curated by Nadav Remez” and “featuring
some of the best NYC based Israeli Jazz acts” at the Cornelia Street is
scheduled to come to an end this evening.
2018(23rd
of Av, 5778): Parashat Ekev;
2019:
The New York Times features books by
Jewish author and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including the
recently released paperback editions of Flash: The Making of Weegee the
Famous by Christopher Bonanos and Reporter: A Memoir by Seymour
Hersh.
2019:
In London, JW3 is scheduled to host a screening of the biopic “Ask Dr. Ruth.”
2019:
The Kennedy Center is scheduled to host a performance of Tony award winning
“The Band’s Visit.”
2019:
In Jerusalem, the Bible Lands Museum is scheduled to host the first of its
Magical Mystery Tours.
2020:
“Presenters from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Center for
Jewish Education are scheduled to start the morning off at the second the
Summer Teachers Institute, a Zoom conference hosted by Jewish Museum of
Maryland.
2020:
The Illinois Holocaust Museum is schedule to host Children’s Storytime: Mala’s
Magic Pencil” as part of their Facebook Live Stream programs.
2020:
Today, the ADL is scheduled to partner with the National Constitution Center
for its annual Supreme Court review “when distinguished legal scholars break
down the most important legal questions of the term, including separation of
church and state.”
2020:
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is scheduled to host “Rising to the
New Challenge: Remote Holocaust Education,” a virtual event.
2020:
The Addison-Penzak JCC’s Virtual “two day Tu B’Ab celebration is scheduled to
being this evening with partner yoga, love songs in Hebrew and English and tips
for love and passion the Covid-19 era.
2020:
The 11th Annual Axelrod Israel Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to
host a virtual screening of “The Tobacconist.”
2020:
As Israelis awake today, they must not only deal with the reality of a lack of
protection against the Corona Virus, but that based on a report issued
yesterday by the state comptroller, they must deal with the fact that “approximately 2.6 million Israelis, around
28% of the population, do not have adequate protection in case of a missile
attack on the country.”
2021: The American Jewish Historical Society is
scheduled to present Laura Arnold Leibman discussing her new book, Once We Were
Slave: The Extraordinary Story of a Multiracial Jewish Family with Jewish
Studies Professor Samira K. Mehta.
2021: Based on reports published yesterday, starting
today Israelis could face "severe restrictions" if there is not a
sharp uptick in the number of people having the coronavirus vaccination in the
face of the fast-spreading Delta variant.
2022: JWA is scheduled to host a book talk with Courtney
Zoffness, author of Spilt Milk: Memoirs, which considers what we inherit from
generations past―biologically, culturally, spiritually―and what we pass on to
our children.
2022: Israelis living in communities near the
Gaza border have been told the security restrictions in area will remain in
place throughout today over fears of attacks from the Palestinian enclave
following an arrest of a known terrorist. Egypt, meanwhile, has been trying to
mediate between Israel and Gaza in an effort to calm the tensions. (As reported
by Itamar Eichner and Matan Tzuri|)
2022: In Cedar Rapids, funeral service are
scheduled to be held this morning at Temple Judah for Diane Lucore the daughter
of Pat and Bud Oshman and the wife of Danny Lucore with she had two children –
Randi and Cheri followed by interment at Eben Israel Cemetery which was founded
by her great grandfather, Max Ohsman.
https://www.cedarmemorial.com/Obituary/2022/Jul/Diane-B-Lucore/
2023: In San Francisco, the Jewish Baby Network is
scheduled to present “outdoor tot Shabbat with music, shakers, puppets, dancing
and playtime.”
2023: In Beverly, MA, Temple B’nai Abraham is scheduled to
present “Shabbat by the Sea.”
2023: In San Francisco, CJM is scheduled to host the world
premiere of “Regard,” a “dance performance inspired by Jewish philosopher
Martin Buber and celebrating connections between people.”
2023: In Wayland, MA, B’nai Torah Metrowest is scheduled
to present “Shabbat on the Beach.”
