This Day, November 11, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
November 11
603 BCE (7th of Kislev): King
Jehoiakim burned the scroll which had been dictated by the prophet Jeremiah to
Barcuh ben Heriah.
518 BCE: A delegation of Babylonian
Jews arrived in Jerusalem to inquire from the prophet Zechariah whether the fast
of Av should be discontinued (Zechariah 7:1)
1050: Birthdate of Henry IV, who as
Holy Roman Emperor took steps to protect his Jewish subjects. For example, Henry granted the request of
Moses ben Guthiel, leader of the Jewish community of Speyer that Jews who had
been forcibly converted by marauding Crusaders be allowed to renounce the vow
and return to Judaism without penalty. This and other such protective measures
set him at odds with various leaders of the Church.
1155: Birthdate of King Alfonso VIII
of Castile who employed a number of Jews in position of importance including
Joseph ben Solomon Ibn-Shoshan and Abraham Ibn-Alfachar who served as his
ambassador to Morocco which was governed by the intolerant Almohades.
1215: The meeting of the Fourth
Lateran Council during the the papacy of Pope Innocent
1216: Today, following the death of King John, William Marshall who had
“regarded King John’s policy towards the Jews…as harmful to the welfare of the
state” “was named by the King’s council to serve as protector of the nine year
old King Henry II and regent of the Kingdom.
1477: King John of Portugal who employed Abraham Zacuto, the Spanish born
Rabbi who for the lunar crater Zagust was named, as his Royal Astronomer, began
his first, short reign today.
1500: Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon sign The Treaty of
Granada in which they agree to divide the Kingdom of Naples between them. The
treaty did not hold and Ferdinand would not gain control of Naples until 1510
at which time he would expel the Jews, following the same pattern he adopted in
1492.
1651: The Cossacks are forced to accept a peace treaty dictated by John
Caimir, the Polish King. One of the
terms of the treaty, was a guarantee that Jews could settle anywhere in the
Ukraine and could hold property on lease.
Chmeilnicki, the leader of the Cossack uprising would soon break the
treaty and the violence would resume again.
1711: Birthdate of Benjamin Mendez Pacheo a New York merchant, the uncle of
Isaac M. Seixas and husband of Judith Seixas who “donated money for the
erection of the first synagogue of Congregation Shearith Israel and for the
steeple on Trinity Church
1711(29th of Cheshvan: Rabbi Moses Hefez (Gentili) author of Melekhet
Mahashevet, passed away.
1736: The Will of Isaac Franks, the brother of Isaac and Aaron Franks, all
three of whom were ”named as contributors two the fund for part of the new
synagogue in New York in 1730” was probated in London today.
1761: In Tower Hill, England, Sarah Cohen and Henry Marks gave birth to
Michael Marks, the husband of Massachusetts native Jochabed Isaacks with whom
he had ten children.
1763: Dutch born Frances Hart and Savanah, GA born Mordecai Sheftall gave
birth to Perla Shetall.
1766: In Philadelphia, PA, Moses Mordecai from Bonn, Germany and Elizabeth
"Esther" [Whitlock] Mordecai from England gave birth to their third
son Joseph Mordecai who moved to Virginia before finally settling in
Charleston, SC.
1770: Esther (Hetty Asher) Hays, the Philadelphia born son of Rachel and
Asher Etting and her husband David Barrack Hays gave birth to Elinor E. Hays
1774: Birthdate of France “Fanny” Elizer, the daughter of Isaac Elizer.
1792: Birthdate of Mary Anne Evans, who gained fame as Mary Anne Disraeli, 1st
Vicountess Beaconsfield, the wife of Benjamin Disraeli.
1803(26th of Cheshvan, 5564) Eighty-one year old Raphael Cohen
who served as Chief Rabbi of Alton-Hamburg-Wandsbek passed away today.
1807: In Charleston, SC, Rebecca Phillips married Josiah Moses this evening.
1807: Nathan ben Yedhuda and Sara bat Chaim were married today at the Great
Synagogue.
1813: During the War of 1812, Mordecai Myers of Newport, Rhode Island, was
wounded “while leading the Thirteenth Pennsylvania Infantry at the Battle of
Chrysler’s Farm” which was fought on the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence
River
1813: Mordecai Davis married Esther Bendahn at the Great Synagogue today.
1819(23rd of Cheshvan): Rabbi Joseph Raphael Hazzan, a native of Smyrna who
came to Palestine in 1811 where served as a Rabbi at Hebron and then Jerusalem
who was the father of four rabbis and the grandfather of two more – Hyyim
Palaggi and Israel Moses Hazan, passed away today.
1820: Today, “Philadelphia educator and social activist Rebecca Gratz wrote
to her sister-in-law Maria Gist Gratz in Kentucky” saying “One of the curses of
slavery is the entire dependence the poor mistress is reduced to when she is
rich enough to have all her wants supplied by numerous servants.”
1821: Birthdate of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky”s
anti-Semitic views were revealed in The Diary of a Writer.
1822: Birthdate of Amsterdam native Lea Nabarro, the wife of David Zacharias
Baruch and the mother of Gratia, Rebecca, Clara, Isaak and Abraham Baruch each
of whom was born in Amsterdam.
1827: In London, Eleano Levy and Amsterdam native Simon Marcus gave birth to
James Marcus.
1828: In Birmingham, England, Phoebe and Nathan Jacob Claisher gave birth to
Julius Calisher, the husband of Dublin native Julia Calisher.
1830 (26th of Cheshvan): Rabbi Raphael Yekutiel Zalman author of Torat
Yekutiel passed away
1835: One day after he had passed away, Henry Ezekiel, the son of Abraham
and Sarah Ezekiel and the husband of the former Betsy Levy and father of Ellen
Ezekiel was buried today at the Exert Jewish Cemetery.
1838: In New York City, Mary Ann Gomez and Joshua Lopez, who were married in
1836 gave birth to Aaron Edwin Lopez.
1839: At, Lexington, founding of Virginia Military Institute (VMI), “the
oldest state supported military college” in the United States. Moses Jacob
Exekiel, who joined his fellow cadets at the Battle of New Market in 1864, was
the first Jew to attend the academy.
1840: In New York, Esther Nathan, the daughter of Isaac and Sarah Nathan
became Esther Lazarus when she married Moses Lazarus with whom she had several
children the most famous of whom as the poet Emma Lazarus.
1842: Salomon Grätz and Henrietta Grätz gave birth to attorney Louis
Alexander Gratz, the Mayor of North Knoxville, TN and a Major in the Union Army
serving with the Army of the Cumberland and fighting at the Battle of
Chickamauga with the 6th Kentucky Cavalry.
1848: In Moravia, Elijah Karpeles and his wife gave birth to historian and
editor Gustav Karpeles.
1849: Birthdate of Kherson, Ukraine native Maximilian Bern the novelist
whose first work was Auf Schwankem Grunde which seemed to open the road
to success in Berlin but was actually the highpoint of a life that ended with
suicide in the 1920’s that was driven, in part, by the hyperinflation of the
time.
1851:
Reverend Henry Giles delivered at lecture at the Mercantile Library Association
entitled “The Hebrew Man, or the Man of Faith." Giles "gave a
clear analysis of Hebrew laws, showing that the thought they seemed extremely
sever, yet provisions was always made to mitigate or avert them. He
contended that "The Hebrew man stands out among ancient men as the
special recipient of religion -- among modern men as its special witness, and
often as its special martyr. As the man of Faith, the, he may be considered,
first, as the man of theocracy; second as the man of tradition....His mere
existence is evidence of vitality, and strength and honor."
1851:
In Dresden,39 year old painter Eduard Bendemann, the son of a banker, and his
wife gave birth to German painter Rudolf Bendemann who died in 1884 “at Pegli,
near Genoa, Italy”
1852: Rabbi Jonas Wiesner and Estra (Therese) Wiesner gave birth to Leopold
Wiesener.
1852: Tonight a number of citizens of the Jewish persuasion, met at
Constitution Hall, to celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the "HEBRA
HASED V. AMET," a society originally established, and still sustained, by
Benevolent Israelites, for the purpose of aiding the sick of their faith who
need aid, and to bury the dead according to the rites and ceremonies of the
Jewish persuasion. George Henriques chaired the event. He was assisted by Isaac Philips, the President
of the Association.
1853: Birthdate of Posen native Marcus Feder Sr. who came to Titusville, PA
when he was in seventeen and made money in the oil business before going broke
in the tobacco business and who invention of the Sweet Caporals brand of
cigarette earned him a fortune and the sobriquet of the “Father of the American
Cigarette.”
1853: One day after he had passed away, Philip Magnus was buried today at
the Lauriston Road Jewish Cemetery.
1853: The Jewish Chronicle
reported that in Jersey, Alfred Alexander Jones of Quality Court, Chancery Lane
was elected to represent the synagogue in London.
1855: Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard passed away.
http://pietyonkierkegaard.com/category/kierkegaard-and-the-jews/
1856: Cecilia Levy and Israel Cohen
who were married in 1850 gave birth to Georgie Cohen
1857: In the UK, the will of John
Abrahams, a member of Bevis who worked as manufacturer of jewelry, upholsters,
cabinets and furniture was probated today.
1857: Rabbi Isaac Lesser officiated
at the marriage of Morris Rosenbach and
Isabella Polock, the parents of collector and rare books expert Abraham Simon
Wolf Rosenbach.
1860: First Jewish wedding takes
place in Buenos Aires Argentina.
1862: During the Civil War, Jacob
Miller, a Corporal serving with Company H of the 61st Regiment was
discharged from the Army today because of the injuries he had sustained when
wounded while fighting a Malvern Hill during McClellan’s ill-fated Peninsular
Campaign.
1863: Mrs. Sarah Brydges Willyams
passed away today. She left her
considerable estate to Benjamin Disraeli “in testimony of her affection for him
and in approval and admiration of his efforts vindicate the race of Israel…”
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D0DEEDC133EE433A25756C2A9619C94609FD7CF
1864: Birthdate of Alfred Hermann
Fried, Austrian born pacifist and winner of the 1911 Nobel Peace Prize.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/alfred-fried
1864: Birthdate of Ukraine native
Yehousha Hankin who in 1882 moved to Rishon Le-Zion with his parents which led
to becoming one of the major land purchasers for the Zionists and who was
helped in his cause by his wife, the famous mid-wife “Olgad Belkind-Hankin
http://www.zionism-israel.com/bio/biography_yehoshua_hankin.htm
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/belkind-hankin-olga
1864: During the Civil War Corporal
Jacob Frank completed his six months of service with Company C of the 197th
Regiment.
1865: In Baltimore, MD, Samuel and
Julia Thanhouser gave birth to Edwin Thanhouser who went on to start the
Thanhouser Film Coporation in New Rochelle, NY while raising his son Lloyd with
his wife the former Gertrude Homan
1867: Birthdate of Kingston, Jamaica
native Zillah Cohen D’azevedo, the wife of London born Joseph Ansell
1872(10th of Cheshvan,
5633): Thirty-one year old Annetta Luzzati Foa, the wife of Professor Giuseppe
Foa, chief rabbi and Knight of the Crown of Italy, passed away today.
1873: Bertha Bamberger and Aaron
Friedenwald who were married at Baltimore gave birth to Norman Friedenwald, the
husband of Beatrice Shewbrook and the father of Norman Friedenwald, Jr.
1874: The Times of London reported
approvingly on the judicial performance of Sir George Jessel who disdained the
“proverbial slowness” of others serving in the judiciary. Jessel cleared cases quicker and with more accuracy
than his colleagues.
1874: “A Rabbi’s Scientific
Expedition, published today traces the life of Mardochée abi Serour the son of
a poor Moroccan Jewish family whose travels took him to Palestine where his
studies earned him the title of Rabbi.
He traveled to Timbuktu where he established the first Jewish
counting-house which he ran successfully for ten years until his caravans were
attacked leaving him penniless. Mardochée eventually made his way to Paris
where he convinced the French government to provide financial support for an
expedition to Timbuktu that will combine commerce with scientific inquiry.
1878: It was reported today that Dr. E. M. Snow’s
Annual Vital Statistics Report shows that only two Jews were married in
Providence, Rhode Island. This ranks
them at the bottom of the list along with the members of the Mormons.
1882: It was reported today that
following riots in the suburbs of Vienna, the police tore down posters from the
lampposts reading “Down with the Jews.”
1883: It was reported today that the
district attorney in Troy, NY, will prosecute an unnamed Jewish merchant for
bigamy if he goes ahead with his planned marriage. The Polish Jewish merchant said he plans on
marrying a Jewess from New York City because he has received a bill of divorce
from a religious tribunal. The DA does
not recognize their authority in this matter.
1883: “By Direction of the Grand
Lodge No. 1, of the Independent Order of the Free Sons of Israel, Julius
Harburger, the District Grand Master, will send Sir Moses Montefiore a letter
congratulating on him on the celebration of his 99th birthday.”
1883: Birthdate of Rumanian native
Dr. Arthur S. Calman, the Columbia trained gynecologist.
1883: Birthdate of Judge William F.
Bleakly, who during his unsuccessful bid to defeat Governor Lehman in 1936
smeared David Dubinsky as a “Red” the sobriquet for being a Communist at a time
when the anti-Semites were making the unwarranted connection between Communism
and Judaism.
1884: It was reported today that Mt.
Sinai Hospital in NYC is planning a reception to introduce its recently
completed wards.
1884: “Mr. Irving” published today
highlights the month-long appearance of Henry Irving and Ellen Terry who bring
an added dimension to their respective portrayals of Shylock and his daughter
Portia in “The Merchant of Venice.”
Irving, a noted English actor portrays Shylock in a manner that is
“delightful” for its “completeness, beauty” and “scholarship.”
1884: Counselor John H. Bird is
scheduled to play the role of Shylock, the Jew in the Mimosa Dramatic Society’s
performance of “The Merchant of Venice.”
1885: The funeral of Albert Cardozo,
attorney, jurist, leader of the Sephardic Jewish community and father of future
Supreme Court Justice, was scheduled to take place at 10:30 this morning in
NYC.
1885: Birthdate of General George
Patton, Jr. Regardless of how you may about the career of Old Blood and Guts”
and allegations that he was an anti-Semite, many Jews will always remember
Patton as the leader of the troops that liberated Ohrdruf, a sub-camp of
Buchenwald, the first concentration camp liberated by American troops. (There
is a note of irony that the Warrior General was born on the date that would
become synonymous with “Peace In Europe.”
1885: It was reported today that
Referee hearing the suit for divorce filed by Mrs. Clara Bronner Waterman
against her husband B. Frank Waterman.
The Watermans were married in a synagogue in Syracuse but she moved back
to New York City after he suffered financials reversals and stopped supporting
her and their children.
1886: It was reported today that all
of the students escaped unharmed when a night school for Jewish children caught
fire in New York City. It was determined
that the fire was started by a kerosene stove in the basement of the building
occupied by Joseph Bluestone, his wife and child all of whom escaped from the
flames.
1887: Albert Parsons, the husband of
Lucy Parsons who addressed the Jewish dominated the Jewish dominated Chicago
Tailor’s Union on the danger of overly powerful capitalists, was hung today for
his alleged role in the Haymarket Riot.
1888: Birthdate of Stefan Lux
the Jewish Czech journalist, who
committed suicide in the general assembly room of the League of Nations during
its session to alert the world on the perils of German anti-Semitism.
1888: Two days after he had passed
away, four month old George Ernest Leverson, the son of Ernest Leverson and the
former Ada Esther Beddington, was buried today at the Balls Pond Road Jewish
Cemetery.
1888: It was reported today that
Acting Grand Master Julius Harburger addressed the 400 people who attended the
20th anniversary celebration of the Free Sons of Israel.
http://www.freesons.org/Home.html
1888: It was reported today that the
benefit council held for the Hebrew Sheltering and Guardian Society was
well-attended and raised “a neat sum.”
1889: It was reported that new wards
have been added to the Home For Aged and Infirm Hebrews to meet the needs for
the “exceedingly old and infirm patients.” This latest addition to the building
and improvement to the grounds cost $24,000 and was brought to fruition under
the leadership of Simon Borg and the Building Committee.
1889 The Young Men’s Hebrew
Association is scheduled to host its “first informal entertainment of the
season” tonight at the Vienna Hall in New York City.
1889: Washington joins the Union as
the 41st state. Isadore Friedlander, a trader in Washington during
its territorial days, gained fame and notoriety when he married an Indian
princess named Sken-What-Ux who was also known as Elizabeth. According to one source, “in her later days
she became affectionately known as ‘Grandmother Elizabeth’ Friedlander.” Edward
S. Salomon, a decorated hero of the Civil War and one of the famed Salomon
cousins all of whom became generals in the Union Army, served as governor of
Washington territory for two years.
Bailey Gatzert served as mayor of Seattle during the 1870’s. Gatzert had
married Babette Schawbacher. Her three brothers had settled in Walla Walla,
Washington where they prospered as merchants becoming leaders of the
communities in Walla Walla and Seattle.
Babette is described as the first woman (not just the first Jewish
woman) to establish a home on the northwestern frontier. The ups and downs of the Schawbacher clan,
which played an active role in Washington’s secular and Jewish communities
until the 1970’s, is a saga worthy of a made for television movie or HBO
special.
1890: Today Rabbi Samuel Schulman
married Emma Wienberg with whom he “had four children: Mitchell Simon,
Aubry Aaron, Walter Harris and Dorothy.
1890: In what became the Czech
Republic, Hermann Ullman, the son of Rabbi Benjamin Ullmann and Theresia
Ullman, and his wife Bertha Ullmann gave birth to Ernst Ullman
1891(10th of Cheshvan,
5652): “Hungarian oculist” Ignaz Hirschler, “who was made a life member of the
Hungarian House of Magnates by the Emperor Franz Joseph and who “was the
intellectual leader of the Jewish community in Hungary” passed away today.
1891: Birthdate of Lilya Yuryevna
Brik, the Moscow born Jewess who was married to Osip Brik, the Jewish-Russian
author.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilya_Brik
1893: Birthdate of Clarence D.
Chamberlain who flew Charles Albert Levine to Europe in what would make the
Jewish businessman, the first “passenger” to fly the Atlantic.
1893: By special request the band
from the Hebrew Orphan Asylum is scheduled to play this evening at Mr. McCrow’s
Flower Show, a major New York City social event.
1894: Birthdate of Aaron Avshalomov
who fled pogroms and revolutions in Russia in the beginning of the 20th
century, went to China where he entered the world of Shanghai's academia and
trained a number of young Chinese musicians in classical music, who in turn
became leading musicians in contemporary China. He moved to Portland Oregon and
was the father of composer Jacob Avshalomov, conductor of the Portland Junior
Symphony (now called the Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra) from 1953-1994.
1894: The London Daily News reported
that the total number of Jews leaving Russia in 1894 will total 250,000 by the
end of the year.
1894: A “fire was discovered at
11:10 o’clock” tonight on the first floor of a tenement at 80 Henry Street
which is occupied by 20 families most of whom are Jewish.
1894: Professor Felix Adler
delivered the first in a series of lecture on “the religion of humanity” at the
Society of Ethical Culture entitled “It’s Dawn In Palestine.”
1894: A fund raiser was held tonight
at the Lenox Lyceum for the benefit of Beth Israel Hospital, “the poorest of
the three Jewish hospitals in New York.”
1895: In Manhattan, Anne and Harry
Krulewitch gave birth to Columbia University graduate Melvin Krulewith, the
U.S. Marine Corps General who served in WW I, WWII and Korea and Chairman of
the New York State Athletic Commission.
1895: Birthdate of Gertrude Wald
Kaphan, the sister of Nobel Prize winning Professor Dr. George Wald and the
wife of Dr. Ludwig Kaphan who “was a founder and former president of the
Women’s International ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation Through Training”
and “a consultant on problems facing Jewish youth in Africa, Europe and
Israel.”
1896: While still working in his
family tobacco business twenty-four year old Staten Island born George Louis
Beer the Columbia trained historian married Edith Hellman, “the niece of E.R.A.
Seligman” “one of his early mentors at Columbia who was also his
brother-in-law.
1897: The Education Committee of
Jews’ College met this evening in the office of the Chief Rabbi
1897: Today, in New York City, Miss
Julia Richman, the Principal of Grammar School 77 will celebrate “the 25th
anniversary of her first appointment as a teacher in the public schools. In addition to her work as a public school
educator, Miss Richman is a champion of improving the quality of Jewish
education as can be seen in her works as the Director of the Hebrew Free School
Association, Vice President of the Jewish Religious School Union and “Chairman
of the National Committee on Sabbath School Work of the Council of Jewish
Women.
1897: According to reports published
today during the past year the United Hebrew Charities of New York raised $135,
348.93 and spent $133,680.97 providing aid and assistance. The society spent $38, 210.24 in relief work
while expending additional sums for 16,420 free burials and working to obtain
employment for almost 6,600 people.
1897(16th of Cheshvan, 5658): Rabbi Sabato Morais passed away. Rabbi Sabato
Morais was the spiritual leader of Philadelphia's Spanish and Portuguese
Congregation Mikveh Israel from 1851 until his death in 1897. To many in his
community, the Italian-born Morais epitomized the idealized traits of a sage:
piety, humility, and wisdom.
http://personal.stevens.edu/~llevine/sabato_morais.pdf
1898: Today, Mr. Stern of the firm of Stern and Jackson which had purchased
the property on Clinton Street that had been home Ohab Zedek for fifty years
following a mortgage foreclosure,
proposed to sell the property back to the congregation for $66,000 which
the congregants said would be impossible that the “sanctuary would have to go.
1898: George Dixon who would defend his Featherweight title against Joe
(Youselle) Bernstein in 1899 won this Featherweight Championship today.
1899(9th of Kislev, 5660): Parashat Vayetzi
1899(9th of Kislev, 5660): Texan Arthur D. Radzinski, a
Quartermaster Sergeant with the 1st U.S. Volunteer Infantry who,
during the Spanish American War had been mustered into service on May 22, 1898
died today during the Battle of San Jacinto, in the Philippine Islands.
1899: In Paris, the police raided the offices of the La Croix the daily
newspaper published by the Assumptionist priests which was “the principal
vehicle for the transmission of the Catholic Church’s anti-Semitism during the
late 19th century.”
1899: A list of the editors of compiling “The Jewish Encyclopedia” which is
to be published by Funk & Wagnalls showed Dr. Isidiore Singer of New York
City “who is the author of several books on the Jewish question” as being the
managing editor.
1899: In New York, Ida Japhe and advertising executive Samuel Knopf gave
birth to Edwin H. Knopf who pursued a career in film after working for his
brother’s publishing house – Alfred Knopf.
1899: “Florodora,” a musical with lyrics and music by Paul Rubens opened in
London at the Lyric Theatre.
1899: “In Re Haym Salomon – The Loan Never Returned “published today
1900: In Lithuania, Hannah Rivkin and Abraham Saks gave birth to Emil
Solomon (Solly) Sachs who gained fame as English labor leader Emil Solomon
Sachs.
http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/emil-solomon-sachs
1900: Birthdate of Nat Holman’s younger brother Aron Holman who played
forward on the 1920 NYU championship basketball team.
1900: In Minneapolis, MN, Jacob and Clara Halpern gave birth to University
of Minnesota trained attorney Saul Ernest Halpern who was buried at Adath
Yeshurun Cemetery in Edina, MN after he passed away in 1961.
1901: The Charles Frohman production “Quality Street,” a comedy in four acts
written by the same author who created Peter Pan opened today at the
Knickerbocker Theatre in New York.
1901: Birthdate of Helen Faith Kahn, the daughter of Jewish immigrants from
Poland, who would gain famed as Helen Reichert, the graduate of Cornell
University who founded The Round Table of Fashion Executives.
1901: In Galicia, “Regina and Simon
Spiegel, a tobacco wholesaler” gave birth to Samuel P. Spiegel the successful
movie producer who left Europe after the rise of Hitler and came to the United
States where he was responsible for cinematic classics as “On the Waterfront” and “Bridge Over The River
Kwai.”
1901: Birthdate of Bensison Gotlob, the native of Pologne, France who was on
board Convoy 25 that left Drancy for Auschwitz in August of 1942.
1902: In St. Louis, German immigrant Carl M. Loeb “who made a fortune after
gaining control of the American Metal Company” and Adeline Moses gave birth to
Harvard graduate John Langeloth Loeb, Sr. the grandson of Alabama banker Alfred
Huger Moses and husband of Frances Lehman who was president of Loeb, Rhoades
and Company and “a financial supporter of Israel where he funded the building
of the Jewish Community Center in East Jerusalem.”
1903: Herzl writes the "Letter to the Jewish People".
1903: Jacob De Hass “a British-born Jewish journalist and an early leader of
the Zionist movement in the United States” wrote a letter today wrote a letter
today in which he took issue with Bishop Charles Grafton positive description
of Russian civilization and his comments on Jews “who are animated by the
‘crafty wealth-getting spirit of Jacob…’”
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1903/11/13/102029755.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1904: Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton “who was head of the British
delegation to the conference on refugees at Evian, France” and delivered a
speech in Parliament in 1938 calling on the Germans to cooperate in dealing
with the problem of “minorities forced to leave the country of their birth” and
praised “the moderation, good sense and common sense of the many
representatives of Jewish organizations with whom he had discussed the Refugee
Problem, began serving as a Member of
Parliament for Horsham.
1904: Mrs. Grover Cleveland laid the cornerstone today of the new building
of the Hebrew Technical School for Girls in New York during exercises overseen
by former President Grover Cleveland.
1905: On New York’s Lower East Side a meeting at Capitol Hall tonight raised
$2,000 for the Relief Fund Committee which had been formed to aid those
suffering from the massacre of Jews in Russia.
1906: Eighty-one prominent Jewish Americans met at the Hotel Savoy in New
York and established the American Jewish Committee.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-american-jewish-committee/
1906: Birthdate of “Theodore Gottlieb, who as Brother Theodore performed
apocalyptic one-man shows about life, death and broccoli in Greenwich Village
nightclubs to dazzling and disturbing effect.” (As reported by Douglas Martin)
1907: Yesterday, “a strike of the Hebrew bakers in Harlem was declared after
the Hebrew Boss Bakers’ Association held a meeting and decided to increase the
price of long rye loaves from 7 to 8 cents each” which is expected to lead to a
“general strike in New York today” resulting in
“a bread famine” “among the users of kosher bread.”
1908: It was reported today that there had been a violent confrontation at
the University of Vienna between a pan-German faction and members of the Jewish
Students Corporation.
1908: Drexel Institute and University of Pennsylvania educated Philadelphia
Stock Exchange Member and author Oscar Loeb who was a director of Rodeph Shalom
Synagogue and a member of the Jewish Publication Society married Rebecca W.
Thomas today.
1909: The meeting of the Central Conference of American Rabbis is scheduled
to continue for a third day in New York.
1910: Birthdate of Israel Scheib who gained fame as Israel Elad, leader of
Lehi. He described his activities from 1938 in The First Tithe which was
finally published in English by the Jabotinsky Institute in 2008. He passed
away at his home in Jerusalem in January of 1996.
1910: A Jew, Zeki Effendi Hayon, was appointed Inspector of Finance for the
Ottoman Empire.
1911: Jewish colony of Petach-Tikvah in Palestine passes a resolution to
contribute 1,000 Francs to the Ottoman military towards defense of the
[Turkish] country.
1911: It was reported that in Camden, NJ the Sons of Israel has chosen
Samuel Albert as the President of the Board of Education governing the
congregation’s Hebrew school.
1912(1st of Kislev, 5673): Rosh Chodesh Kislev
1912(1st of Kislev, 5673): Seventy year old Lithuanian native
Hinde Margolis, the daughter of David
Aryeh Leib Zirilstein and Kaila Bernstein and the wife of Isaac Margolis passed
away today in the Bronx.
1912: The Jewish Consumptives’ Relief Society headquartered in Denver
continued their 8th annual meeting for a second day in New York
City.
1912: Birthdate of Cleveland, OH native and Western Reserve University
alumnus Morris Abrams the president of Curtis Industries, “a founder of Albert
Einstein College of Medicine and the Technion” and an advocate for a
strengthened United Nations.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/09/17/89546923.pdf
1913(11th of Cheshvan, 5674): “Cotton planter” Philip Feld, the
“president of the Board of Trade” passed a way today in Vicksburg, MS.
1914: In New York, “Ida (née
Miller), a British Jewish immigrant, and
Barney Fast, a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant whose name was shortened from
Fastovsky upon his arrival in America” gave birth to author Howard Fast who is
known to many as the author of Spartacus, the historical novel that
provided the inspiration for a movie and television series.
https://spartacus-educational.com/USAfast.htm
https://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2004-Di-Ko/Fast-Howard.html
1914: Birthdate of Jacob C. Hurewitz, “Columbia University professor whose
voluminous research, belief in the importance of local histories and evenhanded
scholarship contributed depth and complexity to the emerging field of Middle
Eastern studies starting in 1950.” (As reported by Douglas Martin)
1914: “Sell Stamps to Aid Jews” published today described a plan of the
Central Committee for the relief of Jews” to issue “self-taxation stamps to
storekeepers and others who will then sell them to their customers and use them
on their business letters.”
1914: It was reported today that according to Dr. Alexander von Nuber de
Pereked, the Austro-Hungarian Consul General…there were more than 400,000
Jewish refugees from Galicia, Poland and other parts of the war zone in Vienna
and Budapest nearly of” who “were in need of immediate relief.”
1915: In the Bronx, ”Hillel Jacobson and the former Pauline Shainmark,
Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe” gave birth to Anna Jacobson who would
gain fame as “Anna J. Schwartz, a research economist who wrote monumental works
on American financial history in collaboration with the Nobel laureate Milton
Friedman..” (As reported by Robert D. Hershey, Jr)
1915: In a case of Jew versus Jew “German Jews Indignant” published today
described the anger of the German members of the Alliance Israelite Universille
over a circular sent by its French Secretary General which has led to the
decision to “dissolve relations with the International Society until full
satisfaction is given.”
1915: While in a hospital in England, Corporal Zalman Cogan wrote today
about the impact Second Lieutenant Alex Grodsky’s death had on the members of
the Zion Mule Corps including its commander Colonel Patterson. ‘He had been an
officer and at the same time best friend of all the soldiers. Owing to his
knowledge of English he was the intermediary between us and the Colonel … I
never heard from him one complaint … an honest and just man …we have lost one
of the best men of the Corps …promoted in the field to Lieutenant.’ (Jewish
Virtual Library)
1916(15th of Cheshvan, 5677): Parashat Vayera
1916(15th of Cheshvan, 5677): Hebrew educator Samuel Spiers, a
“chief administrative officer of public works” passed as away in London
1916: “Ralph Horween (born Ralph Horwitz) kicked a 35-yard field goal to
lead Harvard over previously unbeaten Princeton
1916: Herman Bernstein, the editor of the American Hebrew said “that Poland
will again become an independent nation after the present European war, whether
or not the Central Powers make good their recent promise to grant her
independence” and “that the position of the many of Jews in Poland might be
very precarious under the new regime unless steps were taken immediately to
insure them equal rights with other citizens of the new country.”
1916: It was announced today that “a campaign to raise $10,000,000 for the
relief of Jews in the war zones of Europe” under the auspices of the Joint
Distribution Committee for the Relief of Jewish War Suffers will officially
begin on December 21 with a meeting in Carnegie Hall.
1916: The triennial convention of the national council of Young Men’s Hebrew
and Kindred Associations continued to meet for a second day in New York City.
1917: Louis Marshall presided over “the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the
American Jewish Committee at the Hotel Astor in New York City.”
1917: Birthdate of Eliezer Henkin the son
of a rabbi and Talmudic scholar who gained fame as “Louis Henkin, a legal
scholar often credited with creating the field of human rights law and the
author of classic works on constitutional law and the legal aspects of foreign
policy…”
1918: After Victor Adler's today the
37-year-old Otto Bauer, seen as the young and dynamic leader of the SDAP's left
wing, was brought into the party's leadership.
1918: The Western Allies and the
Germans signed an Armistice that signified the official end of World War
I with an Allied victory. Out of the estimated 1,506,000 Jewish soldiers in all
the armies approximately 170,000 were killed and over 100,000 cited for valor.
In Germany alone over 100,000 Jews fought for the Fatherland with 12,000
killed. According to Winston Churchill some 60,000 Jews had fought in the Armed
Forces of the British Empire. Of these
2,324 gave their lives for the cause and 6,350 were wounded. Five Jewish soldiers won the Victoria Cross,
Britain’s highest decoration and another 1,533 won other awards for
bravery. Considering the small size of
the Jewish population, Churchill described the Jewish participation as
disproportionately high for such a small number of people.
1918: Among those who breathed a sigh of relief that the war was over was
Saul Adler, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants who was born in Pittsburgh, PA
and who proudly kept the marksman’s medal he earned as a Marine long after the
war was over.
1918(7th of Kislev, 5679): At 10:45 am, 15 minutes before the Armistice on
the Western Front was to go into effect, Battery D, 2nd Battalion, 129th Field
Artillery of the American Expeditionary fired its last barrage. The unit was commanded by Captain Harry S.
Truman, the man who consider himself as a modern day Cyrus for the role he
played 30 years later during the creation of the state of Israel and included
in its ranks his friend Eddie Jacobson who would boldly plead for President
Truman’s support of the Jewish state.
1918: Rabbi Hyman Gerson Enelow “submitted a report to the Jewish Welfare
Board and the people of Temple Emanu-El today” which “set forth in details his
activities” starting with July 18, 1918 which was when he arrived in France.
1918: Birthdate of Stubby Kaye. The chubby,
cherubic Kaye played in a wide variety of hits including “Guys & Dolls,”
“Lil' Abner” and “Cat Ballou.”
1918: Józef Piłsudski comes to
Warsaw and assumes supreme military power in Poland. Poland regains its
independence. “As one of his first acts as chief of state, he assured a
delegation of Jewish leaders of his full-heated commitment to their people’s security.”
But the Poles did not share Pilsudski’s enlightened views. As a wave of xenophobia in general, and
anti-Semitism in particular, swept the re-born nation of Poland, Pilsudski gave
into to pressure to diminish the role of the Jewish people. Pilsudski would become disgusted with Polish
political life and return to serving as chief of the Army. In the mid-twenties he was brought back to
political power in a bid to bring peace to the nation. At the time of his return, conditions
improved for the Jews. However, with the
advent of the Great Depression, anti-Semitism returned in full force.
1918: In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, William L. Shirer, who
was in an officer training unit watched the Armistice celebrations with a sense
of disappointment because he would not be able to respond to Wilson’s call to
fight in the “War to end all Wars.”
Shirer would see the face of war as covered the rise of Adolph Hitler
and the opening years of WW II for CBS News and write two classics on the
subject - Berlin Diary and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
1918:
As WW I comes to an end, “at least thirty nine Utah Jews” had joined the armed
forces.
1919:
“The first Armistice Day in Jerusalem” was celebrated today on a cloudless,
sunny day by an outdoor party hosted by Lady Watson and Mrs. Popham which
brought “together for the first time in the history of Jerusalem
representatives of all races and religions” in a public event.
1919:
Following a banquet last night hosted by King George V in honor of the
President of French Republic, “the first official Armistice Day was held this
morning on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
1920: Birthdate of Chaike
Belchatowska Spiegel, the Warsaw native who would become a fighter during the
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Spiegel was one
of the few who survived the fighting and settled in Montreal after the war.
1920: The Triennial Convention of the Council of Jewish Women continued to
meet in Denver at the Brown Hotel.
1920: The seventh annual convention of the Mizrachi Organization of the
United States and Canada came to a close in Baltimore, MD.
1921: Vladimir Jabotinsky, organizer of the Jewish Legion, which served
under General Allenby in Palestine, arrives in New York on the SS Olympic with
a delegation of European Zionists headed by Nahum Sokolow.
1921: “Violets” a silent melodrama co-starring Eugen Berg was released in
Germany today.
1922 (20th of Cheshvan): Composer Abraham Baer Birnbaum passed away.
1922: The Executive Committee of the American Jewish Committee met for the
sixth time this year.
1922: After having won the British Middleweight title in June Ted “Kid”
Lewis won the European Middleweight title.
1923: Today at the Klaw Theatre, “the Lenox Quartet gave the first
performance of Ernest Bloch's Piano Quintet No. 1.”
1923: “In an Armistice Day speech today in Perth Amboy, N.J., S. Stanwood
Menken. President of the National Security League, took sharp issue with Israel
Zangwill because the latter described preparedness as foolish.”
1923: Today, “the Maccabean Hall (also known as the Jewish War Memorial) in
Darlinghurst Rod, Darlinghurst in Sydney was officially opened by Sir John
Monash.”
1924: The Martin Beck Theatre which will be renamed the Al Hirschfeld
Theatre in 2003 opened in New York City.
1925: In Yonkers, attorney Maurice Blinken “who was credited with helping to
persuade the U.S. government to support the establishment of Israel as a state”
and the former Ethel Horowitz gave birth to Donald Mayer Blinken “a financier,
patron of the arts and Democratic Party donor who became an ambassador to
Hungary, helping to inspire the career in politics and diplomacy of his son,
Antony, the current secretary of state…” (As reported by Alex Traub)
1925: “The Gentleman Without a Residence” a silent comedy film starring Paul
Otto who will commit suicide in 1943 when his Jewish origins were discovered
was released in Germany today.
1926: Birthdate of Yitzhak Arad “a Lithuanian-born Israeli historian and
retired IDF brigadier general. A veteran of the Nazi-era Jewish resistance
movement in ghetto; partisan, he has researched, lectured, and published
extensively on the Holocaust.”
1926: Birthdate of Worcester native and WW II Noah Gordon, the newspaper
reporter turned novel who won the first James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best
Historical Fiction for his novel Shaman and whose novel The Last Jew the
won "Que
Leer Prize" (Spain) and "Boccaccio Literary Prize" (Italy).
1926: “Chaste Susanne” a silent comedy film starring Otto Wallburg was
released in Germany today.
1927: GUS magnate Sir Isaac Wolfson, 1st Baronet and his wife gave birth to
Sir Leonard Gordon Wolfson who would become 2nd Baronet in 1991.
1927: “Turkish Delight” a silent
comedy co-starring Rudolph Schildkraut was released in the United States today.
1928: Morris
Hinenburg the Kodinoff, the Russian born son Sarah Henes and Abraham Jonah
Hinenburg and Yale University trained medical doctor, who in 1906 came to the
United States where he served as a hospital administrator and executive
director of the Jewish Hospital in Brooklyn married Rose Becker today.
1928: In Omaha, Nebraska,
Russian-Jewish immigrants “Sonia (née Feldman) and Hymie Zorinsky” gave birth
to U. of Nebraska graduate Edward Zorinsky, the Mayor of Omaha and when elected
Senator , “the first Jew to be elected to a statewide office.
https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/08/obituaries/edward-zorinsky-58-dies-us-senator-from-nebraska.html
1928: In Vienna, at the Vienna
University, “groups of Christian students who favored the return of the
monarchy attacked Jewish students, including the girls, throwing them
downstairs, beating them with sticks while shouting “Down with the Jews! Down
with the Jewish Republic.”
1928: In Jerusalem, “memorial
services were held “today” at the British military cemetery” and “wreaths were
laid on the graves of soldiers who fell on the Palestine front” as part of the
commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Armistice ending the World War.
1928: In the Bronx, “Adolfo
Socolovsky, an Argentine who had trained as a classical violinist, and the
former Sarah Mindich” gave birth to Saint Socolow, who under the name Sandy
Socolow became a leading executive of CBS news during its “golden years.”
1929: “More than 100 rabbis from New
York and vicinity, meeting tonight at the Broadway Central Hotel, adopted
resolutions protesting against the proposed reform of the calendar on the
national level on the ground that it would militate against the Jewish Sabbath,
as well as against the holy days of other religions
1929: In the Bronx, Sara and Isidore
Appelbaum gave birth to Ida Appelbaum who gained fame as “Ida Applebroog, “an
acclaimed artist who confronted the violence, coercion and mortality that can
simmer beneath everyday relationships with a prolific stream of drawings,
paintings, sculptures and videos…” (As reported by Will Heinrch)
1930: “Money on the Street,” a
German language film co-starring Leopold Kramer was released today in Germany
and Austria.
1930: In Brooklyn, Polish Jewish
immigrants “Ethel (Teichtheil) and Meyer Spiewak” gave birth to Mildred Spiewak
who gained fame as MIT professor Mildred Dresselhaus, “the recipient of
numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal
of Science, the Enrico Fermi Award and the Vannevar Bush Award.”
1930: Patent number US1781541 was
awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd for their invention, the Einstein
refrigerator.
1931: In Atlantic City, NJ, Hadassah
held the final session of its convention during which Mrs. Edward Jacobs was
re-elected national President and Mrs. Robert Szold was elected first vice
president.
1932: Birthdate of American
photographer Herb Snitzer.
1933(22nd of Cheshvan,
5694): Parashat Chyei Sara
1933(22nd of Cheshvan,
5694): Ohio State University, led by team captain Sid Gillman, defeated the
University of Pennsylvania.
1933: In Cleveland, Ohio, Helen
Rosenfeld and Joseph Lewis, who co-founded the Progressive Mutual Insurance
Company, gave birth to Peter Benjamin Lewis the insurance mogul who was also a
noted philanthropist.
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/11/peter_b_lewis_dies.html
1934: Following today’s meeting of
the executive board of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations “200 leaders
of Reform Jewry” attended a memorial service at Temple Emanu-El for the late
Ludwig Vogelstein, the industrialist and philanthropist who chairman of the
board of the executive board of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations at
the time of his death.
1934: The landscape of the modern
town of Tiberias “was shaped by today’s great flood.”
1934: The emergency campaign of the
Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies the goal of which
is to raise $2, 071,000 to wipe out its deficit and balance its budget
“officially gets under way today.”
1934: Judge Irving Lehman, A. Leo
Weil, Joseph M. Proskauer and Rabbi Samuel H. Goldenson are scheduled to speak
at the memorial service for Ludwig Vogelstein which are being held at Temple
Emanu-El in Manhattan.
1934: Father Coughlin, the
anti-Semitic pro-fascist Detroit priest announces the formation of the National
Union for Social Justice.
1935(15th of Cheshvan,
5696): Sixty-three year old Albert Osterman, the Dutch born son of “Bonna and
Albertje Osterman passed away today in Cicero, Illinois after which he was
buried at Forest Park in Cook County.
1935: In Baghdad, Joseph Rejwan, a
tailor and importer and his wife Victoria (Abada) Rejwan gave birth to Eviline
Rejwan better known Ruth Pearl the mother of Daniel Pearl who was murdered by
terrorists because he was a Jew and journalist.
1936: In Brooklyn, “dance band
musician Mal Keller and his wife Reva” gave birth to James Walter Keller who
gained fame as “composer, songwriter and record producer” Jack Keller whose
musical partners included Howard Greenfield.
1936: The officers and board members
of the Jewish Education Association tonight attended a testimonial dinner at
the Savoy-Plaza hosted by Harry H. Liebovitz in honor of Mark Eisner, chairman
of the Board of Higher Education of the City of New York.
1936: In Los Angeles, Lupita Tovar a
Roman Catholic Mexican born actress and Paul Kohner a Czech Jewish movie producer from Bohemia
gave birth to Gold Globe award winning actress Susanna “Susan”Kohner.
1936: In Belgrade, Yugoslavian,
“Prince Paul, the Regent, gave an audience to Dr. Nachum Goldman, the president
of the Jewish World Congress” during which he “expressed a strong interest in
Zionism and grief over the present maltreatment of Jews in Central Europe” said
that “my dynasty has always regarded Jews as loyal and trustworthy citizens.”
1936: Armistice Day exercises held
this evening at Temple Rodeph Sholom under the auspices of the Jewish War
Veterans of the United States, the Metropolitan Conference of B’nai B’rith and
the Men’s Association of Temple Rodeph Sholom were opened with an invocation by
Rabbi Wendell A. Phillips and included a speech by former Supreme Court Justice
Joseph M. Proskauer who reviewed the commendable record of Jews during the World War and
assailed the anti-Semites who smear Jews with the claim that all Jews are Communists.
1936: The Maccabee champion soccer
team which had been playing exhibition matches in the United States since
September 14th, departed for home on the French liner Normandie.
1936: The Peel Commission was
sent to Palestine to investigate the Arab riots. Though Peel judged Arab claims
to be baseless, he encouraged partition into three separate Arab and Jewish
states. This, he claimed, would silence Arab objections to a Jewish state.
1936: The members of the Peel
Commission arrived in Jerusalem and since it was Armistice Day, they attended
the memorial services at the British Military Cemetery on Mt. Scopus.
1937: In Washington, DC, Rosemary Wolf who
“converted to Judaism” and “actor and comedian Jack Wolf gave birth to
sportscaster Warner Wolf
1937: Birthdate of Brooklyn native
Rudolph A LaRusso the Dartmouth basketball player who went to play in the NBA
for the Lakers and the Warriors.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jul-10-me-larusso10-story.html
1937: Today, during the Civil War,
Soviet agent Walter Krivitsky (Samuel Goldberg) had a meeting with Elsa
Poretsky during which he warned that she and her children were “in grave
danger”
1938: Jews are killed and
injured during an anti-Semitic pogrom at Bratislava, Slovakia.
1938: After having escaped from
Vienna in March, seventeen year old Leo Bretholz finally found a safe haven in Antwerp where
he spent the next 18 months learning to become an electrician.
1938(17th of Cheshvan, 5699):
Fifty-year old Jesse Sampter an
influential Zionist educator, a poet, and a Zionist pioneer passed away at
Kibbutz Givat Brenner. Born into a highly assimilated home in New York City,
Sampter was influenced by Henrietta Szold, Josephine Lazarus, Mary Antin,
Mordecai Kaplan and others to become an ardent advocate of Judaism and Zionism.
Assuming the role of Hadassah's leading educator, she produced manuals and
textbooks and organized lectures and classes. She led Hadassah's School of
Zionism, training speakers and leaders for both Hadassah and other Zionist
organizations. She also wrote poems and short stories throughout her life that
emphasized her primary concerns: pacifism, Zionism, and social justice. Having
contracted polio at age thirteen she remained in poor health throughout her
life. This did not prevent her from settling in Palestine in 1919 where she
helped organize the country's first Jewish Scout camp. Sampter developed a
strong commitment to assisting Yemenite Jews, founding classes and clubs
especially for Yemenite girls and women who often received no education. At the
time of her death, she had established a vegetarian convalescent home at
Kibbutz Givat Brenner. Henrietta Szold presided at her funeral.
1938: Erich Kreutzberger and Anna
Blumenfeld Neufeld, the parents of Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld also
known as television personality Don Francisco, escaped to Chile.
1938: “The Italian council of ministers announces a
series of new anti-Semitic laws: all
Jews will get a special notation in their civil records, they are excluded from
the military, they are not allowed to employ "Aryan" servants,
marriages between Jews and "Aryans" are forbidden, any such marriages
that currently exist are annulled, and Jews are forbidden from owning large
tracts of land.”
1938: Following Kristallnacht,
Heydrich reported to Goering that 815
shops, 29 department stores, and 171 dwellings of Jews had been burned or
otherwise destroyed, and that 267 synagogues had been set ablaze or completely
demolished (in fact, this was only a fraction of the synagogues destroyed). The
selfsame report refers to 36 Jews killed and the same number severely injured,
but it was later officially stated that the number killed was 91. In addition,
hundreds perished in the concentration camps.
1939(29th of Cheshvan, 5700):
Parashat Toldot
1939: At Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Penn
State led by their Team Captain Spike Alter defeated the University of
Pennsylvania.
1939: Six hundred Jews are
murdered by German troops at Ostrow Mazowiecki, Poland.
1939: Two Jews are among six
men and three boys taken from Zielonka, Poland, to be shot in nearby woods.
1939(29th of Cheshvan,
5700): Thirty-eight year old wilderness advocate Robert Marshall, the son of
lawyer and Jewish communal leader Louis Marshall who had served as chief of
forestry in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, from 1933 to 1937, and head of
recreation management in the Forest Service, from 1937 to 1939” passed away
unexpectedly today.
1939: Under
threat of military action from the Nazis, António de Oliveira Salazar issued orders
today that consuls were not to issue Portuguese visas to "foreigners of
indefinite or contested nationality; the stateless; or Jews expelled from their
countries of origin". This order was followed only six months later by one
stating that "under no circumstances" were visas to be issued without
prior case-by-case approval from Lisbon.
1940: Fifty-five non-Jewish
Polish intellectuals are murdered at Dachau, Germany.
1940: German authorities in
Poland officially declare the existence of the Warsaw (Poland) Ghetto.
1940: Birthdate of Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator from
California since 1993. Born Barbara
Levy, Boxer worked her way through the system like any other politician serving
a stint in the Marin County Government and the House of Representative before
being elected to the Senate.
1941:
Sixty-one year old Charles Huntziger, the French general who “was one of the
signatories of the anti-Semitic Statute on Jews” which “excluded Jews from the army, press, commercial and
industrial activities, and the civil service and were quickly followed by other
anti-Semitic laws that ingratiated him with the victorious Nazis died today in
a plane crash.
1942(2nd
of Kislev, 5703): Seventy-four year old who had been sent to Drancy was
murdered today at Auschwitz.
1942: Norwegian
Protestant bishops in Oslo publicly protest deportations of Norwegian Jews.
They state in a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Vidkun Quisling: "God
does not differentiate between people."
1942: Seven hundred forty-five French Jews were
shipped to Auschwitz.
1942: As German troops “invaded the Southern Zone
and occupied all of France” Leon “Blum could see the troops moving south” which
caused him to be concerned about his own well-being as well as that of his
future wife Janot.
1942: After the Nazis took over “unoccupied
France” today, the Vichy government transferred Jewish resistance fighter
Georges Mandel to the Gestapo.
1942: Jews living in the Free Zone of France were
ordered to start wearing the Yellow Star.
1942: Until today, following the German
occupation of all of France, employees of HICEM which was “an acronym HIAS, ICA
and Emigdirect” – the three sponsoring organizations – were at work in all of
the French internment camps, including Gurs, which were little more than
way-stations on the road to the East and the death camps.
1942: In Newark, Henry and Ruth Wolkstein gave
birth to Diane Wolkstein, “a children’s author and folklorist who once served
as New York City’s official storyteller.”
(As reported by Paul Vitello)
1942: Varlık Vergisi ("wealth tax" or
"capital tax") was levied on the non-Muslims citizens of Turkey
including the Jews which was intended to pay for the national defense if the
country should enter the war – something which did not happen.
1942: HICEM which was “an acronym HIAS, ICA and
Emigdirect” – the three sponsoring organizations --
1943 “The Battle of Russia” the fifth film in the
“Why We Fight” series written by Julius and Phillip Epstein was released in the
United States today.
1943: Birthdate of Nashville, TN native Benjamin
Morris “Ben” Achtberg, the holder of a BA from Harvard and MA from the
University of Pennsylvania whose documentary “Code Gray: Ethical Delimas in
Nursing” was nominated for an Academy Award in 1985 and who has had one son
with his wife Emily Jo Paradies.
1943: Following in the centuries old custom of an
individual community creating its own special Purim when it is delivered from
great calamity, the Jews of Casablanca celebrated Hitler Purim (1 Kislev) when
the city was saved from falling into German hands. “A Hitler
Scroll was written, paraphrasing the traditional Megillah, including the
words ‘cursed be Hitler, cursed be Mussolini,’ and naming many of the other
Nazi and Fascist leaders.”
1943: On the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice in
the forest of Compiegne, German officials take revenge by assembling all 47,000
Jews not yet deported from Theresienstadt ghetto to Birkenau in a large square
for an ill-organized “census.” At 4:00 AM the torture began by rousing them all
and making them stand in the cold in the city square. As night fell, the Jews
stood in a drizzle made more miserable by falling temperatures. The Germans
held them until 10 pm at which time the survivors were allowed to seek shelter
inside. Drizzle came, the dark of night, and the temperatures lowered.
1943: “What’s Up?” the musical created by Frederick Lowe and Alan Jay Lerner
opened on Broadway at the National Theatre.
1943: “Sahara,” a film that deals with desert warfare whichwas directed
Zoltan Korda premiered today at the Capitol Theatre in New York.
1944: The leadership of Histadrut condemned the
killing of Lord Moyne and condemned the Stern Gang and Irgun as fascist.
1945: Senator Ralph O. Brewster (Maine) says
British-Russian disputes in Middle East may presage another war and urges
creation of a Jewish commonwealth in Palestine.
1945(6th of Kislev, 5706): Broadway and cinematic
composer, Jerome David Kern passed away.
Kern was born in 1885 to a first generation Jewish family from
Germany. Kern wanted to follow a career
in music. His father wanted him to enter
the family business. In one of his
first deals, Kern was sent to buy two pianos.
However, he mistakenly signed an order for two hundred pianos. When the pianos were delivered, Kern’s father
gave in. Young Jerome pursued his
musical education and then followed with a successful career as composer for
Broadway and the movies.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0127.html
1945(6th of Kislev, 5706): Yehoushua Hankin
passed away. Born in the Ukraine in 1864, Hankin made Aliyah in 1882 when he
moved with his family to Rish Litzion. He was active in purchasing land on
behalf of the World Zionist Organization.
Among his first purchases was the land that would be occupied by
Rehovoth.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/hankin.html
1946: Nikolai V. Novikov, Soviet ambassador to
Washington, suggested that Palestine be given independence from Britain and the
area be placed under UN trusteeship.
1947: Vaad Leumi (Jewish National Council) votes
to raise money for defense fund against Arab and Jewish terrorists.
1947: Release date for “Gentlemen's Agreement,” the
cinema version of Laura Hobson’s novel that dealt with the issue of
anti-Semitism with a script by Moss Hart and Elia Kazan and co-starring John
Garfield. Daryl Zanuck, who was mistakenly thought to be Jewish produced the
movie despite objections from Jewish movie moguls who were afraid of how
audiences would react to a movie on this topic.
1948: “Long Is the Road,” “the first German-made film to
directly portray the Holocaust” which it examines from the perspective of a
Polish Jewish family and a young man who is able to escape while being
transported to a Concentration Camp” was released today in the United States.
1948:”Recently ousted Haganah Chief of Staff Yisrael
Galili briefed members of the Mapam Political Committee” about reports
concerning “the killing of civilians during Operations Yoav and Hiram.”
1949: In “The Jews in Iraq” published today, Moshe Keren,
the Counsel of the Embassy Israel in Washington D.C. called for “a neutral
investigation by disinterred observers of the position of the Jews in Iraq.”
1951: “An American in Paris” an Oscar winning musical
“inspired by George Gershwin’s 1928 orchestral composition,” produced by Arthur
Freed, with a script by Alan Jay Lerner and co-starring Oscar Levant was
released today in the United States.
1952: In Marleybone, Greater London, David Charles Samuel
Montague, the son of the 3rd Baron of Swaythling and Mary Violet
Elliot-Blake and his wife Francoise Christiane Montague gave birth to Fiona
Yvonne Leave
1953(4th of Kislev, 5714): Seventy-nine year old Rabbi
Louis Ginzberg, a prominent Talmudist and leading figure in the Conservative
Movement of Judaism passed away in New York City.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/british-and-irish-history-biographies/louis-ginzberg https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Ginzberg
1953(4th of Kislev, 5714): Eighty-five-year old Krakow
native and Yiddish author Gershom Bader, the son of Izaak Moyzesz Bader and
Helene Bader passed away in New York City.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1953/11/13/83740343.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Bader_Gershom
1954: Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt is
scheduled to deliver an address on “Is American Facing World Leadership this
evening in San Diego, CA at event sponsored by the Jewish Community Center
which is a fund raiser for the organization.
1954: Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese
Synagogue, the oldest Jewish congregation In New York City celebrated its 300th anniversary today.
195415th of Cheshvan, 5715): Eighty-four year
old Russian native and Philadelphia resident Samuel Bayuk, the founder along
with his brothers Meyer and Max what became “Bayuk Cigars, Inc., the
manufacturer of ‘Phillies’” and the husband of Sadye Bayuk with whom he had
five children passed away today.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1954/11/13/84436567.html?pageNumber=15
1954(15th of Cheshvan, 5715):
Sixty-eight year old German actor and director Reinhold Schünzel who spent WW
II in the United States passed away today in Munich.
1955: At Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, Alan
Smason gets a sister with the arrival in the world of Arlene Smason Weider.
1955(26th of Cheshvan, 5716): Jerry Ross an
American lyricist and composer whose works with Richard Adler for the musical
theater include The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees, winners of Tony Awards in
1955 and 1956 respectively in both the "Best Musical" and "Best
Composer and Lyricist" passed away.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F00717F6385C177B93C0A8178AD95F418585F9
1956:”Samuel Adelman, the Rabbi of Adath Jeshurun
Synagogue of Newport News,” who “spent four weeks in Russia this summer as a
member of the Rabbinical Council of America Mission to the Soviet Union” is
scheduled to “be the guest speaker at a special Jewish Community Center Jewish
War Veterans” event today where he will deliver an address entitled “An Eye
Witness Account of Conditions Behind the Iron Curtain.”
1956: Sid Gillman’s Los Angeles Rams ended a five
game losing streak by defeating the San Francisco 49ers for their second win of
the NFL season
1957: The
New York Times reported from Jerusalem that “digging in Israel supports the
Bible’s accuracy as a historical document.” The contention is based on the
recent discovery of a “massive gate” that was “unearthed in Hazor” which
“appears to have been built by Solomon.” Further evidence of the Bible's
accuracy as a historical document has been uncovered by Israeli archaeologists
in their diggings at the site of ancient Hazor.
1957: In Birmingham, AL, as the Civil Rights
movement gained momentum, bomb was discovered at Temple Beth-El before it
exploded.
1957(17th of Cheshvan, 5718):
Sixty-eight year old Russian native Samuel Kappel, “the last survivor of the
three founders of Howard Stores Corporation” and the husband of Minnie Kappel
with whom he had four daughters who was “a member of the American Committee for
the Weitzman Institute of Industry and Science” and “a fellow Brandeis
University.”
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/11/12/102282687.pdf
1958(28th of Cheshvan,
5719): Seventy-two-year-old Abraham Dubin, the Kyiv born son of Morris and Leah
Dublin and the husband of Anna Dublin passed away in Los Angeles after which he
was buried in the Sholom Memorial Park.
1961(3rd of Kislev,
5722): Parashat Toldot
1961(3rd of Kislev,
5722): Seventy-one-year-old Princeton graduate and executive with Abraham and
Straus Hugh Grant Straus, the New York born son of Lian Gutherz and Nathan
Straus and husband of Flora Stieglitz
who served as a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S.N.A. during World
War I and was director of the Brooklyn Federation of Jewish Charities passed
away today.
1963: Brian Epstein and Ed Sullivan
sign a 3 show contract for the Beatles
1964: Murray Schisgal's "Luv," directed by Mike Nichols and
co-starring Alan Arkin, Eli Wallach, Gene Wilder and Larry Blyden premieres in
New York City.
1965: Birthdate of Chicago native Jason Nidorf “Max” Mutchnik the television
producer and writer who has received both an Emmy and a People’s Choice Award.
1966:”Father of Biophilosophy” published today described the plans that
Jonas Salk has for the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=9506E3DC1330E43BBC4952DFB767838D679EDE
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9506E3DC1330E43BBC4952DFB767838D679EDE
1969(1st of Kislev, 5730): Rosh Chodesh Kislev
1969: Sam Melville the son of Dorothy and William Grossman who had named his
Samuel Joseph Grossman, was connected to today’s bombings at the Chase
Manhattan Bank headquarters offices and General Motors building
1971: Neil Simon’s “Prisoner of Second Avenue” premiered in New York City.
1973: The Egyptians and Israelis began negations for the disengagement of
forces along the Suez Canal. When the
fighting had stopped, Israeli forces were on the West Bank of the Suez Canal. They had reached kilometer 101 on the
Suez-Cairo Road. The Israelis offered to cross the Canal and to a position 10
kilometers to the east. Egypt wanted a
much deeper withdrawal with Israeli forces taking up positions on a line east
of the passes in the Sinai that were key to controlling the entire Peninsula.
1974(26th of Cheshvan, 5736): Seventy-seven year old Jane Ace
(born Jane Epstein) the wife of Goodman Ace with whom she created the American
radio hit show “Easy Aces” and who made America life with her “Jane-isms”
passed away today.
http://www.radiohof.org/easyaces.htm
1975: Today, after ignoring the political solution recommended by Professor
Zelman Cowen Governor-General Sir John Kerr sacked the Prime Minister.
1975: Seventy-five year olds “Soviet documentary filmmaker, Elizaveta
Svilova…the wife and collaborator of acclaimed Soviet film pioneer Dziga
Vertov” and Director of the “Nuremberg Trials” passed away today.
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/367302/
https://www.fandango.com/people/elizaveta-svilova-655955/biography
1979(21st of Cheshvan, 5740): Ukrainian born American composer
Dimitri Tiomkin passed away. Tiomkin wrote the scores for countless film
classics including Lost Horizon, It’s A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington and High Noon. He also wrote themes for popular television
westerns including Rawhide and Wild Wild West.
http://www.dimitritiomkin.com/
1980: The first phase of the Conference on monitoring the implementation of
CSCE or Helsinki agreements opened today in Madrid with Ambassador Max
Kampelman heading the U.S. delegation.
1980: “Shogun Assassin,” with a script co-authored by David Weisman who also
served as producer was released today in the United States.
1981(14th of Cheshvan, 5742): Eighty-three year old Soviet
economist Evsei Grigorievich Liberman whose “wife, Regina Horowitz, pianist and
pedagogue, was a sister of the famed pianist Vladimir Horowitz” passed away
today.
https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Liberman_Evsei_Grigorevich
1982: A gas explosion at an Israeli army headquarters results in 60 deaths.
1984(16th of Cheshvan, 5745): Fifty six year old Ritz Charmetz
Davidson the Yale Law School graduate and wife of David Sternheimer Davidson
who became “the first woman to serve on the Maryland Court of Appeals.
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/Davidson-Rita-Charmatz
1985: Funeral services were held today for eighty year old New York City
native Benjamin Hanft, a “prominent public relations executive for a number of
national Jewish organizations” and the husband of Esther Haft, with whom he had
three children including actress Helen Haft.
1985(27th of Cheshvan, 5746): Ninety-four year old Austrian born,
Columbia trained attorney Emil N. Baar, the former justice of the Supreme Court
of the State of New York and chairman of the board of the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations passed away today.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/baar-emil-n
1987: “Siesta” a film version of the novel of the same name starring Ellen
Barkin was released in the United States today.
1988: U.S. premiere of “Iron Eagle II” a film based on Operation Opera, the
Israeli bombing of an Iraqi nuclear reactor, co-starring Stuart Margolin and
Maury Chaykin.
1990: The first Chicago Humanities Festival featuring a keynote address by
Jewish playwright Arthur Miller was held today.
1991: “Black and White” for which John Landis would help develop the music
video was released today.
1992: "The Liberators," a film that portrayed the neglected
history of the 761st Battalion, putting considerable stress on the involvement
of some of its members at the liberations of two of the most notorious camps in
Germany, Dachau and Buchenwald was viewed today. (The film became controversial
because of the lack of evidence concerning the liberation of these camps by
this unit)
1997(11th of Cheshvan, 5758): “Shortly before her 90th
birthday, Gertrude Parkoff Schultz, the wife of “late Ben Parkoff and Jack
Shultz” and the mother of Sondra Henry and Linda Davison, passed away today in
Florida.
1998: Israel's Cabinet narrowly ratified a land-for-peace agreement with the
Palestinians. Six years later, the world
is waiting for the Peace.
1998: ABC broadcast the final episode of “The Secret Lives of Men” a sit-com
created by Susan Harris.
1999(2nd of Kislev, 5760): Rosh Chodesh Kislev
1999(2nd of Kislev, 5760): Jacobo Timmerman passed
away. Born in 1923, Timmerman published
a newspaper in Argentina that publicized human rights violations by the
Argentinean government, in particular calling attention to the disappearances
of people during that government's "Dirty War". As a result, he was
arrested, and during interrogations he was subjected to electric shock
treatments, beatings, and solitary confinement. He chronicled his experiences
in his 1981 book, Prisoner
Without a Name, Cell Without a Number. After his
release, he immigrated to Israel.
1999: After almost 21 years of service, David Herbert Samuel ceased to be a
member of the British House of Lords.
2000(13th of Cheshvan, 5761): Sgt. 1st Class Avner Shalom, 28, of
Eilat, was killed in a shooting attack at the Gush Katif junction in the Gaza
Strip.
2001(25th of Cheshvan, 5762): Aharon Ussishkin, 50, head of
security at Moshav Kfar Hess, east of Netanya, was shot and killed at the
entrance to the moshav on Sunday evening, after being summoned to investigate a
suspicious person.
2002: Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a militant offshoot of Yasir Arafat's
mainstream Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack on
Kibbutz Metzer in northern Israel where five people were killed.
2003: The helipad at the Ted Arison Medical Center in Tel Aviv is used by
the Israeli Air Force for the first time.
2003: Today, “in an interview with The
Washington Post, Soros said that removing President George W. Bush from
office was the "central focus of my life" and "a matter of life
and death".
2003: Museum of Jewish Museum in New York presents an exhibition styled “Ours to Fight For: American Jews During the
Second World War.”
2004: The reunion episode of Israeli sit-com “Krovim Krovim” named
"Hamatzav Tzav" was filmed today in the studios of the Israeli
Educational Television
2004: Theatre Or presents Voices from the Holy Land-A Festival of Staged
Readings of Cutting Edge Plays at the University of North Carolina in Chapel
Hill, N.C. Local co-sponsors North Carolina Hillel, the Freeman Center for
Jewish Life, Judea Reform Congregation, and Beth Meyer Synagogue. The purpose
of the festival is to present the community with unique artistic works from a
foreign culture that pose questions of universal urgency, help us reflect about
our values in new ways and promote cross-cultural dialogue. All plays are by
Israeli artists. The dramatic presentations include:
Hard Love by Motti Lerner:
Two young ultra-orthodox newlyweds are forced to divorce when the husband turns
his back on religion. Twenty years later, their children fall in love, and the
two meet to discuss their children's budding relationship. Can they also
rekindle their own? (Director - Joseph Megel)
Women's Minyan by Naomi Ragen:
Chana flees her orthodox home in Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, leaving behind her 12
children, and carrying with her a terrible secret. Two years later, armed with
a secular order, she returns to see her children who have now been hidden. She
convenes a secular minyan, a trial of 10 women, to judge her fitness to see
them. (Director - Joseph Megel)
The Fist by Misha Shulman:
Shauli, a highly-decorated officer, refuses to serve his military duty in the
occupied territories, spurring a three generational family debate about what it
means to serve and protect. Is conscientious objection justifiable? (Director -
Jerome Davis)
The Demonstration by Elisheva Greenbaum: Ambulance sirens
interrupt two Israeli sisters, who are arguing the merits of attending a peace
rally. When the radio announces that the terrorists have struck a bus, the
sisters wait anxiously to learn the fate of one of their daughters.
Masked Faces by Ilan Hatzor: The play describes the dilemma of
three Arab brothers during the Intifada as they wrestle with conflicts between
duty, family, survival and principles. The play is a brave attempt by an
Israeli playwright to depict the point of view of the "other" side.
(Director - John Feltch)
2005: The topsy-turvy world of Israeli politics becomes even more confused.
Shimon Peres has been defeated by Amir Peretz in the race to head the Labor
Party. This could bring down the
government led by Likud’s Ariel Sharon forcing new national elections. Since Sharon well might lose the chair of the
Likud Party, the elections might include a coaltion party led by Peres and
Sharon, two national leaders who cannot control their own political parties.
2005: “The Constant
Gardner” a movie version of the novel by the same name starring Rachel Weisz
was released today in the United Kingdom
2005: Right-wing
British historian David Irving, who claimed that Adolf Hitler knew nothing
about the systematic slaughter of six million Jews, has been arrested in
Austria on a warrant accusing him of denying the Holocaust. Under an Austrian law Holocaust denial is a
crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
2005: “Zathura” a
sci-fi fantasy adventure film directed by Jon Favreau was released in the
United States today.
2005: “The Bee Season,”
the movie version of Myla Goldberg’s novel of the same name was released in the
United States today.
2005: The Princeton University Board of Trustees approved the endowment for
S. Daniel Abraham Visiting Professor in Middle East Policy Studies in the
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Daniel C. Kurtzer,
former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt was the first one appointed to fill
this endowed chair
2006: Members of Congregation Beth-El, gathered, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont,
to celebrate their heritage and the many people who have enriched and defended
it
2006: Initial screening of Yoav Segal’s “Battle of Cable Street” in selected London cinema houses.
2006: As America honors its veterans on Armistice Day, the Jewish community
of Cedar Rapids takes special note of the following who served in uniform: Harold Becker, Arnold Bucksbaum, Maurice
Estes, Bill Gasway, Herman Ginsberg, Bert Katz, Sol Maikon, Oscar Siegel and Ed
Spector
2006: The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution
today that sought to condemn an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip
and demand Israeli troops pull out the territory. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton
said the Arab-backed draft resolution was "biased against Israel and
politically motivated."
2006(19th of Cheshvan, 5767): Esther Lederberg, pioneering microbial
geneticist and wife of Nobel Prize winner Joshua Lederberg passed away at the
age of 83. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/dec/13/obituaries.guardianobituaries
2007: In Tampa, FL, as part
of Jewish Book Day, the
2007: At the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington 38th annual Book
Festival, Brad Meltzer discusses his latest novel, The Book of Fate.
2007: The Sunday New York Times and the Washington Post book sections each feature a review of Otto
Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King by Foster Hirsch.
2007: On Veteran’s Day, The Cedar Rapids Gazette features an
article about the World War II military exploits of Bert Katz the 85 year old
businessman, philanthropist and pillar of the Jewish Community.
2007(1st of Kislev, 5768): Rosh
Chodesh Kislev – It’s beginning to look a lot like Latke Time.
2008: 90th anniversary of
the Armistice that needed the War to End All Wars. The impact of that war is
with us to this day in places like Jerusalem, Baghdad and any home in the
United States where families mourn the loss of a loved one in Iraq or
Afghanistan.
2008: Idina “Menzel released ‘Hope’
benefitting Stand Up To Cancer.”
2008: Wagner College and the Center
for Jewish History present “The Pulpit and the "Bully Pulpit":
Religion in the 2008 Presidential Campaign in which a panel including Rev. James M. Dunn, PhD, Divinity School,
Wake Forest University, Rabbi James Rudin, Senior Advisor on Inter-religious
Affairs of the American Jewish Committee, Peter Steinfels, PhD, New York Times
columnist, Co-Director, Fordham Center on Religion & Culture, Seymour P.
Lachman, PhD, Hugh L. Carey Center for Government Reform, Wagner College,
co-author One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Science,
Moderator discussed “How
religion affected the 2008 presidential election and voting patterns.”
2008:
U.S. Jewish
organizational leaders are meeting today with Bahraini King Hamad ibn Issa
al-Khalifa, who has introduced democratic reforms in his Persian Gulf island
nations and who recently named Houda Nonoo, a Jewish woman, as ambassador to
Washington.
2008:
Uri
Lupolianski completed his service as Mayor of Jerusalem.
2008: Lyrics
by Paul Simon appears on bookstore shelves.
“Lyrics spans his entire career from Simon & Garfunkel’s 1964
debut album through this year’s unrealeased songs ‘Rewrite’ and ‘Hard Times.’”
2008:
Over 35
percent of eligible voters cast their ballot in the Jerusalem mayoral race by
9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, an indication that opposition leader Nir Barkat and MK
Meir Porush of the United Torah Judaism Party will be in for close finish.
Incumbent mayors of Afula and Beit Shean had reportedly won re-election as
Israelis went to the polls to vote in mayoral elections across the country.
2009:
Stephen P.
Cohen, the president of the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development,
discusses and signs his new book, "Beyond America's Grasp: A Century of
Failed Diplomacy in the Middle East," at Politics and Prose Bookstore in
Washington, D.C.
2009(24th
of Cheshvan, 5770): Seventy-four year old Emanuel Zisman, a former MK and the
2006 recipient of the Yakir Yerushalayim award passed away today.
2009(24th
of Cheshvan, 5770): Seventy-eight year old movie and television producer Mavin
Minoff, the husband of actress Bonnie Franklin passed away today.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?pid=135914438
2009:
David
Makovsky, author of Myths, Illusions, & Peace: Finding a New Direction
for America in the Middle East “offers a groundbreaking explanation of how
we have repeatedly fallen prey to dangerous myths about the Middle East
highlighting those with roots that reach back decades and still persist today”
during a session of the 40th Annual Book Festival sponsored by the JCCGW.
2010:
Americans observed Veterans Day. This
holiday was originally known as Armistice Day.
It was celebrated on November 11th because on the 11th
day of the 11th month at the 11th hour the guns fell
silent on the Western Front marking the end of what was then called the Great
War. One person who opposed the
Armistice was General John J. Pershing, the commander of the American
Expeditionary Force. He wanted the Allies to push forward with great assault on
the German Army. He said that if the war
end now, the German Army would march back into Germany as an intact force and
the people would never accept the fact that they had been defeated; a fact that
was fraught with all sorts of unforeseen consequences. Apparently Pershing knew what he was talking
about, because no sooner had the war ended then the myth that the German Army
had not been defeated but had been stabbed in the back began to gain wide
currency. This myth, which features the
Jews as prominent backstabbers, would become a staple of right wing politicians
including Hitler and his supporters.
2010:
In New York
City, The National Yiddish Theatre – Folksbiene is scheduled to present the
noted Israeli actor Rafael Goldwaser in “New Worlds: A Celebration of I.L.
Peretz,” an evening of multi-media one-acts based on the writing of the great
Yiddish writer I.L. Peretz.
2010:
A 1600 for
1600 rally was held on the mall in Washington, DC this evening. The goal was to
attract at least 1600 people to protest against the abduction and continuing
imprisonment of Gilad Shalit, who has spent 1600 days in captivity.
2010: “Roy
Lichtenstein painting fetches $42.6m at auction” published today described the
record setting sale of the Jewish artists work.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11732551
2010:
Today
Egyptian security forces arrested 25 members of a terror cell who allegedly
intended to carry out attacks on Israeli tourists in Sinai.
2010: Mohammed
Namnam, 27, a top operative with the Army of Islam, was killed by a missile
shot at his car from an Israeli helicopter.
2010:
The remains
of IAF pilot Maj. Amihai Itkis, 28, and navigator Maj. Emmanuel Levi, 30, whose
F16I jet crashed at the Ramon Crater last night, were found this afternoon. IAF
commander Major General Ido Nehushtan notified the pilot and navigator's
families of their loss. Nehushtan arrived earlier to the scene of the crash so
that he could oversee the search for the missing bodies. Army rabbis also
arrived to help with the searches of the two servicemen who were feared dead. The
IAF found the black box of the jet just a few hours after the discovery of the
remains, IAF Brig.-Gen Nimrod Shefer said. The Air Force expressed hope that
the black box will help them understand what occurred in the final minutes
before the crash.
2010:
Today, the Anti-Defamation League criticized as
“completely inappropriate and offensive” remarks by Glenn Beck on his radio and
television programs, in which he drew a link between the behavior of US Jewish
billionaire investor George Soros as a young boy and the actions of others in
sending Jews to death camps during the Holocaust.
2011:
Today, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art designed by Israeli Moshe
Safdie officially opened in Bentonville, AR
2011: “Jewish
Political Behavior in Europe, Israel, and the United States,” a two-day
symposium at the University of Michigan is scheduled to come to an end.
2011:
Agudas Achim Congregation is scheduled to host its annual New Member Shabbat
Dinner
2011:
Charlene Bry, Ellie S. Grossman, Jon Harris and Ari Axelbaum are scheduled to
take part in “Missouri’s Own Program” at the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival.
2011: The
Miami Marlins owned by Jeffery Loria and led by President David Samson
announced their re-branding campaign today.
2011: The UN
Security Council met today in New York behind closed doors to review a report
presented on whether the Palestinians meet the criteria for admission to the
UN, but did not raise a vote on the issue, nor is it clear when or if such a
vote would be brought to the body.
2011:
The Dead Sea
was not among the winners in the New 7 Wonders of Nature contest despite a high
profile campaign on the part of the government, according to a list of
provisional results released at about 9:30 p.m. Israel time today.
2012:
Yiddish Vinkl’s 20th Anniversary concert with Cantor Michael Smolash
is scheduled to take place at the Sabes Jewish Community Center in Minneapolis,
MN.
2012:
The largest
annual Jewish philanthropic conference in the country - The Jewish Federations of
North America’s General Assembly – is scheduled to open in Baltimore, MD.
2012: At
the UK Jewish Film Festival, premiere showing of “The Other Son,” a film about
a Jewish and Muslim baby who are switched at birth.
2012:
“For his Chromatic Silence show,” Wissam Jubran, a resident of Nazareth, “will
take the stage with only oud for company.
2012: The
4th Annual International Bazaar sponsored by the Illinois Holocaust
Museum and Educational Center is scheduled to come to an end.
2012:
Armistice Day – Today marks the 94th anniversary of the end of WW
I. On the 11th day, of the 11th
month at the 11th hour, the guns fell silent on the Western Front
marking the conclusion of what was called “The War To End All Wars.” For the Jews of Eastern Europe, this would be
a farce as tens of thousands more would die in the many wars and revolutions
that plagued the old Russian Empire into the 1920’s. On the other hand, Zionists were heartened by
the end of the hostilities which made it possible for Jews who had been
expelled from Palestine by the Turks to return to their homes and opened the
way for the implementation of the Balfour Declaration.
2012:
Veteran’s Day – As the following article points out. Jews have been serving in
the military since colonial times
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2010/45/at_column_berger_20101104.html
2012:
Three people
were wounded by rocket fire in Sderot during a barrage fired to coincide with
the daily commute to work.
2012:
The IDF
fired a warning shot, in the form of a guided missile, at the Syrian military
on today after a Syrian shell exploded in the Golan Heights for the second time
in recent days. Israel has not fired at Syria since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
2013: Rabbi Arnold
Resnicoff a decorated retired military
chaplain and Rear Admiral Herman Shelanski are scheduled to speak at the “53rd
Annual Meeting: Fait and the Foxhole” at Adas Israel in Washington, DC
2013: The Center for
Jewish History is scheduled to sponsor a discussion of The Short, Strange
Life of Herschel Grynszpan led by the father and son literary duo –
Jonathan and Adam Kirsch.
2013: 95th
anniversary of the end of “The War to End All Wars
2013: Justice Minister
Tzipi Livni, Religious Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett and Deputy Religious
Affairs Minister Eli Ben-Dahan proposed a bill today that would create one
chief rabbi replacing the dual system that leaves the state with the Ashkenazi and
Sephardic chief rabbis. (As reported by Lahav Harkov)
2013: “Yisrael Beytenu
Avigdor Liberman is now Foreign Minister, after he was sworn in to the position
in the Knesset today, less than a week after his acquittal from fraud and
breach of trust charges.” (As reported by Lahav Harkov)
2013: Today, “during the
First Creative Economy Forum between Korea and Israel held in Tel Aviv, which
featured the exposure of the Korea-Israel Hi-Tech Network - a project aimed to
increase industrial collaborations in various hi-tech fields,” “Korean
Ambassador in Israel Kim Il-soo announced that Israel and South Korea could
become an economic powerhouse, referring to hi-tech cooperation between the
countries.”
2013: Today one of Jack,”Keller's
arrangements, Stephen Foster's Beautiful Dreamer, appeared on the Beatles'
album On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2.”
2014: Professor Emma
Maayan Fanar a visiting Art Historian
from the University of Haifa spending the academic year at UConn.is scheduled
to deliver a lecture on Photographic
Expeditions to the Holy Land in the 19th & Early-20th Century
2014:
In Virginia, George Mason University Hillel is scheduled to host its second
annual “Expression of the Holocaust” that will include “Uniform,” a one act
play by Aaron Sulkin.
2014:
As Americans observed Veterans Day, Jews can take pride in their military
service which dates back to 1654 when Asher Levy insisted he be allowed to
serve as a guard in New Amsterdam and refused to pay a fee that would have
excused his service.
2014:
The “whole House of Israel” and decent people everywhere mourn the passing of
20 year old Almog Shiloni an IDF soldier who was murdered yesterday by a
terrorist at a Tel Aviv train station.
2014:
The “whole House of Israel” and decent people everywhere mourn the passing of
26 year old Dalia Lemkus who was stabbed to death yesterday as she waited at a
bus stop.
2014:
Fifty-nine year old Gilad Goldman is reported to be recovering from the wounds
he suffered yesterday when he tried to thwart a terrorist attack yesterday in
Tel Aiv.
2014:
“Thanks to a curious library volunteer, Canadians learned of the discovery of a
rare comic book honoring Jewish World War II heroes in time for the country’s
Remembrance Day” which is celebrated today.
2014:
“The IDF today deployed an Iron Dome missile defense battery in northern Israel
as a precaution against possible rocket fire from Lebanon or Syria.” (As
reported by Stuart Winer)
2014:
Former New York Times printer Carl Tobias Schlesinger was scheduled to be laid
to rest today.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/northjersey/obituary.aspx?pid=173112362
2014:
“Jews in the American Military,” an exhibit that conveys the role of American
Jews in defending their country, from Asser Levy’s being granted the right to
bear arms in 1657 to help protect Manhattan, to the 55 Jewish men and women
killed in this era in Iraq and Afghanistan” opened at at the National Museum of
American Jewish Military History. (As reported by Hillel Kutler)
2015: Abby Stein publicly came out as a transgender woman in a
blog post.
2015:
In Los Angeles, “Paris On The Water” is scheduled to be shown at the 29th
Israel Film Festival.
2015:
Veterans Day – a good time to remember the work of the Jewish War Veterans of
the USA who use this week to raise funds for the valuable work.
http://www.jwv.org/images/uploads/JWV_History_Timeline.pdf
2016:
On Veterans Day, which was originally called Armistice Day to mark the day when
the guns fell silent on the Western Front, we are reminded that more than
200,000 Jews served in the U.S. Army which meant that Jews, who made up only
three per cent of the U.S. population made up four per cent of the American
fighting force.
2016:
“Disturbing the Peace” is scheduled to be shown for the first time in New York
City.
2016:
In honor of Veterans Day, no films are scheduled to be shown at the Chicago
Festival of Israeli Cinema.
2016:
The BBC rebroadcast portion of a 2007 interview with Leon Cohen in which he
spoke about his view about religion in which he said that while he
“investigates other spiritual systems,” he feels “very much part of” the Jewish
tradition” which he practices and which his children practice.
2016:
In the Crescent City friends and family of Arlene Smason Weider, the
Advertising & Marketing Director of the Crescent City Jews, the leading
voice for all things Jewish in the “City
that Care Forget” prepare to celebrate her natal day.
2016:
The Shabbos Project is scheduled to begin this evening.
https://www.theshabbosproject.org/en/?gclid=CMG4vpOMldACFQcIaQodGIEGrQ
2017(22nd
of Cheshvan, 5778): Parashat Chayei Sarah; for more see http://downhomedavartorah.blogspot.com/
2017:
In the United States, Veterans Day – While Jews have served in the American
military since the Revolutionary War and many of them have served with such
distinction that have won the Medal of Honor or reached the rank of General,
the Jewish military man who has had the
greatest impact on the nation’s defense was one who never fired a shot in anger
– Admiral Hyman Rickover, the “father of the nuclear navy” which was the most
leg of the “triad” during the Cold War and which provides the U.S. with an edge
against a myriad of threats in the 21st century. (Editor’s note – at a time when nativism
seems to be popular political stance of the day, one might ask where we would
have been if a Polish Jew named Chaim Godalia had been kept out of the United
States)
2017:
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is scheduled to host the
first day of its “Holiday Boutique Weekend.”
2017:
In New Orleans the JCC is scheduled to host an evening affair celebrating the successful
completion of its Capital Expansion Project.
2017:
The JNF”s National Conference is scheduled to continue for a second day in
Hollywood, FL.
2017:
“Master of York” and “The Outer Circle” are scheduled to be shown this evening
in Manchester as part of the 21st UK International Jewish Film
Festival.
2017:
In New Orleans, Armistice Day takes on an added festive note as the friends and
family of Arlene Smason Weider of the Crescent City Jewish News are scheduled
to gather to celebrate her natal day.
2018:
The New York Times features books by
Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jews including The Novel of
Ferrara by Giorgio Bassani
2018:
The Yoav Eshed Trio Millionaires with Yoav Eshed on guitar, Oren Hardy on Bass
and Eviator Slivnik on Drums is scheduled to perform at the Blue Note Jazz Club
in New York City.
2018:
“Who Will Write Our History?” and “An Israeli Love Story” are scheduled to be
shown on the final day of the Rutgers Jewish Film Festival.
2018:
While the rest of the world is celebrating the 100th anniversary of
the end of the War to End all Wars, the friends and family of Arlene Smason
Wieder, the sister of Alan Smason are scheduled to gather to celebrate her
natal day.
2018:
The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines is scheduled to host “A Global Day
of Learning.”
2018:
In Kansas City, MO, “For Liberty: American Jewish Experience in WW I” an
exhibition hosted by The National WWI Museum and Memorial is scheduled to come
to an end today.
2018:
The Center of Jewish History is scheduled to host a panel discussion that
covers material found in World War I and the Jews: Conflict and
Transformation in Europe, the Middle East, and America by Volker Berghahn.
2018:
One hundredth anniversary of the Armistice when on the 11th day, of
the 11th month at the 11th hour the guns fell silent on
the Western Front.
https://www.jewishhistory.org/world-war-i-and-the-jews/
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/wwi-and-the-jews/
https://www.momentmag.com/how-the-first-world-war-changed-jewish-history/
2019:
In Atlanta, The Temple is scheduled to host a screening of “In the Presence of
Their Absence.”
2019:
The Rutgers University Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to host a screening of
Aviva Kempner’s “The Spy Behind Home Plate.”
2019:
Friends and family of New Orleans native Arlene Smason Wieder, the sister of
Alan Smason, the driving forces behind the Crescent City Jewish News, are
scheduled to celebrate her natal day.
2019:
In London, “Last Stop Coney Island: The Life and Photography of Harold
Feinstein” and “The Birdcatcher” are scheduled to be shown during the UK Jewish
Film Festival.
2019:
In the United States observance of Veterans Day which began as Armistice Day
which marked the end of WW I on the Western Front on the 11th day of
the 11th month at the 11th hour.
2019:
In Australia, observance of Remembrance Day, the Aussie version of what was
known as Armistice Day.
2020:
The St. Louis Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to host a screening of “The Spy
Behind Home Plate.”
2020:
“Union for Reform Judaism’s 2020 Civic Engagement Campaign is scheduled to
present a celebration for mobilizing at least 500,000 votes, with discussions
about important issues and ongoing/future efforts.
2020:
The screening window for “Crescendo” hosted by the Columbus (Ohio) Jewish Film
festival is scheduled to “open” this evening.
2020:
Ben Gelber, the NBC4 Emmy award-winning meteorologist and founder and
keyboardist of the Klezmer band, Friday Night Live, is scheduled to speak
during Jewish Family Services of Columbus’ Zoom senior speaker series.
2020:
The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center is scheduled to host Dr. Oded Borowski is
Professor Emeritus of Biblical Archaeology and Hebrew at Emory University
lecturing on “For Everything There Is A Season: Daily Life In Biblical Times.”
2020:
The Jewish Museum of London is scheduled to host “Service and Sacrifices:
Stories from the Jewish Military Museum.”
2020:
The National Museum of American Jewish History is scheduled to host virtual
book talk “featuring Warren Hoffman, author of The Great White Way: Race the
Broadway Musical.
2020:
The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience is scheduled to present Stanley Mirvis
as he discusses his new book, The Jews of Eighteenth-Century Jamaica: A
Testamentary History of a Diaspora in Transition, “an in-depth look at the Portuguese Jews of
Jamaica and their connections to broader European and Atlantic trade networks.”
2020: Veterans Day which was originally known as Armistice Day because the guns
fell silent on the Western Front on the 11th hours, of the 11th
day of the 11th month
https://www.jwv.org/programs/in-your-area/veterans-day/
https://nmajmh.org/stories/over-there-profiles-of-american-jews-in-world-wwi/
2021:
The Illinois Holocaust Museum is scheduled to host a virtual docent-led
experience of our newest thematic tour by veteran Museum guides Miki Jona
Schreiber and Laurie Hasten as we explore the ways Jewish people maintained
their humanity and dignity by using their spirituality to lift themselves above
the dehumanization of the Holocaust.
2021:
The UK Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to host the final special 50th
anniversary screening of “The Policeman.”
2021:
The Boston Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to partner with the Museum of
Science for an exciting in-person screening of “Space Torah”, followed by a
conversation with director Rob Cooper and NASA astronaut Dr. Jeff Hoffman,
moderated by Paula S. Apsell, former senior executive producer for the PBS NOVA
science series.
2021:
Emory
University’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies is scheduled to present its 13th
Annual Rabbi Jacob M. Rothschild Memorial Lecture, entitled “The Demand for
Justice: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Jewish Tradition.”
2021:
Veterans Day which as Armistice Day originally commemorated the end of World
War I during which approximately a quarter of a million Jews served in the
armed forces of the United States.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/wwi-and-the-jews/
2022:
In Palm Beach Gardens, FL at Temple Judea Rabbi Yaron, Rabbi Rose Durbin, and
Cantor Abbie ares scheduled officiate at special Shabbat Service as part of –
Rabbis Against Gun Violence.
2022:
JWI is scheduled to host a special conversation via Zoom debriefing the
immediate results of the elections and likely implications for the rest of this
Congress.
2022:
On Veterans day Dr. Hilton Title, Post Color Sergeant, is scheduled to play
“Taps” in memory of all fallen veterans at the (New) Beth Israel Cemetery,,
4400 Elysian Fields Blvd, in New Orleans at which time he names of the fallen
will be read beginning on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month
followed by recitation of the Mourner’s Kaddish..
2022: Tonight, in New Orleans, at Gates of Prayer
Joel Picker is scheduled to host a special service honoring America’s veterans.
2022:
Tonight, following services at Temple Emanu-El, Ambassador Ido Ahronia is
scheduled to discuss the meaning of this week’s election in Israel.
2022:
Tonight, in New Orleans, at Temple Sinai, Post Commander Carol Berman is
scheduled to speak at a special service honoring America’s veterans. (As
reported by the Crescent City Jewish News)
2022:
The final episode of the sitcom “MASH” which was developed by Larry Gelbart,
the son Chicago born son of Jewish immigrants, is scheduled to be re-broadcast
tonight in honor of Veterans Day on MeTV.
2022:
The Eden-Tamir Music Center is scheduled to host “Singers of "Meitar"
Opera Studio of the Israel Opera.”
2022:
Holocaust Education in Florida which is held annually in the second November
which coincides with the anniversary of Kristallnacht is scheduled to come to
an end today.
Holocaust Education
Week - Tallahassee Community College (fl.edu)
2022:
Veterans Day which was originally Armistice Day. At the 11th hour, on the 11th
day of the 11th month, the guns feel silent on the Western
Front. One of the last guns fired on the
Western Front was part of a battery commanded by Harry S. Truman who as
President saw to it that the United States was the first nation to recognize the
state of Israel.
2023:
As part of their Veterans Day observances,
members of The Ben Katz Post #580 of the Jewish War Veterans (JWV) are
scheduled to attend service at Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation.
2023:
The UK Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to host a screening of “Seven
Blessings.”
2023:
105th anniversary of the end of World War I, a cataclysmic event which might be better
understood by reading The Routledge Atlas of the First World War by Sir
Martin Gilbert or The First World War: A Complete History by Sir Martin
Gilbert.
2023:
In Coralville, IA, Agudas Achim Congregation is scheduled to hold a special
Veterans’ Shabbat to coincide with Veterans Day.
2023:
This evening, The American Sephardi Federation is scheduled to co-present: “JewCE!, The Museum and
Laboratory of the Jewish Comics Experience.”
2023:
In Deerfield, IL, Hadassah Great Plains is scheduled to host the first day of
the fall leadership retreat and installation.
2023:
On the first day of the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival the Weitzman National
Museum of American Jewish History is schedule to host an in-person screening of
“Remembering Gene Wilder.”
2023(27th
of Cheshvan, 5784): Yahrzeit of Deborah Levin, wife of Joseph Levin Z”L, mother
of Judy, David and Mitchell Levin.
2023(27th
of Cheshvan, 5784): Parashat Chayei Sarah (The Life of Sarah); for more see https://downhomedavartorah.blogspot.com/
2023:
As November 11, begins in Israel, the
IDF continues its fight in Gaza, Eilat is the target of attacks from Syria and
the Houthis in Yemen and the Hamas held hostages begin day 36 in captivity. (As
reported by Emanuel Fabian)
(Editor’s
note: this situation is too fluid for this blog to cover so we are just
providing a snapshot as of the posting at midnight Israeli time)
