This Day, December 26, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
1135: Coronation of Stephen I, king
of England, who in 1141 burned down the house of Aaron f. Isaac in Oxford as a
way to “induce” the Jews to providing him with funds to continue his war with
Empress Matilda who had previously extorted funds from the same Jewish
community.
1194: Birthdate of Frederick II,
the Holy Roman Emperor who improved the conditions for the Jews of Palermo,
Naples and Jerusalem.
1402: Queen Bianca, who in 1415
expelled the Jews from Vizzini began her
tenure as Queen consort of Sicily
1424: The city of Barcelona, Spain was granted the
right to exclude Jews for all time.
1495:
Savonarola expelled
the Medici and the Jews from Florence. The Jews, who had previously served as
the Medici's bankers, were replaced by a Monte di Pieta, a public loan bank.
1634: Religious freedom was
granted to Jews and Catholics in Brazil. This was the period of time when
Brazil was under the control of the Dutch.
Things would change in 1654 when Portugal took Recife, Brazil and the
Jews were forced to flee. One group of
these refugees would arrive in New Amsterdam and the rest is history.
1693: The parents of Sampson Gideon
were married today by Haham Ayilon at the Creechurch Lane Synagogue in London
which had been found by “Antonio Fernandez Carvajal, one of the Sephardic
merchants allied to Oliver Cromwell and the Roundheads”.
1751: Cosmo George Gordon, 3rd Duke
of Gordon, and his wife, Catherine gave birth to Lord George Gordon who took
the name Yisrael bar Avraham Gordon when he converted to Judaism in 1787.
https://jewishmag.com/82mag/lordgordon/lordgordon.htm
1755(22nd of Tevet,
5516): Torani Uri
Shraga Feivish b Moses passed away today after which he was buried at the
Alderney Road Jewish Cemetery.
https://jewishmag.com/82mag/lordgordon/lordgordon.htm
1764(2nd of Tevet,
5525): Eighth Day of Chanukah observed for the last time during the reign of
Francis I, the Holy Roman Emperor not to be confused with Francis II, “the Holy
Roman Emperor later styled ad Francis I, Emperor of Austria who “ordered the
Judenamt (office for Jewish affairs) to enforce the numerous restrictions on
Jewish settlement in *Vienna and raised the Bolleten (tax paid by a Jew each
time he entered the city)”
1769(27th of Kislev,
5530): Third Day of Chanukah
1769: Birthdate of German historian
Ernst Moritz Arndt, who “played a crucial part in the development of German
nationalism, with a corollary of hostility to, and fear of, the Jews” whom
believed “had become ‘a depraved and degenerate people…unfit to be full
citizens of a Christian state.’”
1772(30th of Kislev,
5533): Parashat Miketz; Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Sixth Day of Chanukah observed on
the same day that the Providence (RI) Gazette) published a letter by Samuel
Adams under his penname “Americanus” which was an attack on the royal
commission investigating the burning of HMS Gaspee which was one of the steps
on the road to the American Revolution.
1775: On the day after Chanukah,
“The Continental Congress called for another three million dollars in bills of
credit to be issued to help defray the costs of building a navy and supplying
the army” which is yet another example of the financial problems besetting the
Americans and which Haim Solomon tried to help to ameliorate.
1776: In an act of daring-do
Washington ferries his freezing, starving troops across the ice choked Delaware
River and leads them to victory at the Battle of Trenton. There were certainly
Jewish soldiers among those who joined in the Crossing of the Delaware two of
whom may have been Abraham Levy and Phillip Russell. Since Washington’s Army
was on the verge of destruction, defeat at Trenton would have meant the end of
the American Revolution, a war which created a nation rightfully described as
“the last best hope men” – an appellation with which the Jewish people would
heartily agree. One of the most readable
treatments of this turning point in American history is The Crossing by
the Jewish author Howard Fast which was the source for a film by the same name.
1777(26th of Kislev,
5538): Second Day of Chanukah
1777: As Jews prepare to light the
third Chanukah candle, Washington’s troops are completing their first full week
at Valley Forge having arrived there on December 19.
1780(28th of Kislev,
5541): Fourth Day of Chanukah
1780: Sixty-eight-year-old Dr. John
Fothergill who sought solace in the suffering of the Friends or Quakers by
compares to the Jews as can be seen when he wrote “John Pemberton during the
American Revolution that he often reflects “on the history of the Jewish people
with humbling admiration” and that their sufferings afford “instructive
lessons.”
1783(1st of Tevet,
5544): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; 7th day of Chanukah
1783: Áron Chorin, a Hungarian
rabbi who sought to reform some Jewish practices, married today following which
he had a short, unsuccessful career in business before making use of his
Talmudic knowledge and rabbinic skills as the leader of the Jewish community of
Arad.
1783: Isaac Baruh Lousada, a member
of a family of prominent planters and merchants in Jamaica and his wife gave
birth Emaneul Baruh Lousa, “a collateral ancestor of Moshe Baruh Louzada , a
founder of the London Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue” who after moving to England lived at Sidmouth
which he developed into a “popular resort.”
1783: In Germany, Voegele Juda and
Loeb Moses Sontheimer gave birth to Moses Loeb Sontheimer, the husband of
Ruchele Rosenheim with whom he had six children.
1786(5th of Tevet,
5547): Fifty-two-year-old Abraham de Leon the son of Abraham de Lyon and Esther
de Lyon passed away today after which he was buried at Spanish Town, Jamaica.
1787: Hannah de Jacob Dias and
Aaron De Pass gave birth to Abraham De Pass who was living in Jamaica at the
time of his death.
1788(27th of Kislev,
5549): Third Day of Chanukah
1791(30th of Kislev,
5552): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Sixth Day of Chanukah
1796(26th of Kislev,
5557): Second Day of Chanukah observed three days after the establishment of
the Pale of Settlement by Catherine whom the Boyars called great.
1796: In
Amsterdam, Aaron de Sola and his wife gave birth to David Aaron de Sola, the
great-nephew of the physician Dr. Benjamin de Sola, who in 1818 was called to
London to become one of the ministers of the Bevis Marks Congregation under
Haham Raphael Meldola who become his father-in-law when a year later he married
Rica/Rebecca de Hezekiah
Meldola with whom he had fifteen children and whose talents produced a popular
tune for “Adon Olam” and several books including his Biography of Isaac
Samuel Reggio.
1799(28th of Kislev,
5560): Fourth Day of Chanukah
1799: American Jews who have been
welcomed by The Father of our Country join their fellow citizens in mourning
the passing of George Washington who was buried today. (Washington’s letter to the Jews of Newport
set a tone of acceptance that has been the unique hallmark of the Jewish
experience in the United States)
1801: A deed bearing today’s date
conveys land owned by Charles Carroll to Levi Solomon and Solomon Etting which
the Baltimore Jewish community will use as a cemetery.
1807(25th of Kislev,
5568): Shabbat Shel Chanukah; Parashat Vayeshev
1809: Anne Emilie Furtado, the
daughter of Abraham Furtado the President of the Assemblee des Notables married
Moise Aime Solar, the son of Aaron Felix Solar.
1810(29th of Kislev,
5571): Fifth Day of Chanukah
1810: Solomon Jonas married Rosetta
Joseph today at the Great Synagogue.
1815(24th of Kislev,
5576): In the evening light the first light of Chanukah which American Jews are
doing in an environment of peace for the first time since 1812.
1821(2nd of Tevet, 5582)
Eighth Day of Chanukah celebrated for the second time during the reign of King
George VI of the United Kingdom and on the same day that future president of
the United States John Q. Adams wrote to future President of the United States
Andrew Jackson.
1823: As the struggle between
Reform movement and traditionalists became more pronounced, a party of Orthodox
Jews obtained a royal cabinet order that frustrated attempts “to adapt the old
ritual to new forms” including sermons preached in German. This forced Isaac
Noah Mannheimer, a rabbi who was a leader in the Reform movement to leave
Berlin for a pulpit in Hamburg which led him to a position in Vienna where he
was able to fully display his intellectual and oratorical gifts.
1825: In Amsterdam, Rachel Bueno
and Samuel Coelho gave birth to Rebecca Coelho, the husband of Aaron Coronel,
the mother of Rebecca, Moses, Rachel, Samuel, Eleazar and Jacob Coelho.
1825: Several Imperial Russia army
officers lead force of approximately3000 soldiers on the Senate Square in the
failed Decembrist uprising. Pavel Pestel, one of the leaders of the
unsuccessful Decembrist revolt, proposed sending all Jews from Russia to some
territory in Asia Minor, especially acquired for this purpose, where they would
be able to establish independent state.
1826(26th of Kislev,
5587): Second Day of Chanukah
1829: One day after she had passed
away, Francis Harris the wife of Henry Harris was buried today at the Brady
Street Jewish Cemetery
1830(10th of Tevet,
5591): Asara B’Tevet observed for the first time since the “Great Powers”
recognized the independence of Belgium where Judaism was given the status
of an officially recognized religion in the same year.
1834(24th
of Kislev, 5595): Kindle the first Chanukah Candle.
1834: Birthdate of Abraham Baer the
cantor who was a native of Prussia and who moved to Gothenberg in 1857 at the
age of 23 to pursue his career.
1837(28th of Kislev,
5598) Fourth Day of Chanukah
1838: Birthdate of Giueseppe
Ottolenghi the native of Lombardy who rose to be a General in the Italian Army
serving as the Commandant of the First Army Corps.
1843(24th of Kislev, 5595): In the
evening, kindle the first light of Chanukah
1843: In Paris, Count Salomon Henry
d'Avigdor, Duke d'Acquaviva, the Nice born son “of Count Isaac Samuel d'Avigdor
and Gabrielle Pauline Henriette Avigdor and his wife Countess Rachel d'Avigdor
gave birth to Mariam Isabelle Olga Lucas the wife of Anglo-Jewish painter
Horatio Joseph Lucas.
1845:( 27th of Kislev,
5606): Third Day of Chanukah
1847: In Amsterdam, Hester Goudsmit,
the Dutch born daughter of Levie Emanuel Goudsmit and Magdalena Hartog Goudsmit
and her husband Salomon Abraham van Raalte gave birth to Benjamin / Bernardus
Jacobus van Raalte, the husband of Clara Bovingdon and the “father of Alice
Hester Van Raalte; Leah M Van Raalte; Susannah Van Raalte; Solomon Van Raalte
and Ethel May G Van Raalte.”
1848: In Philadelphia. Buchau,
Germany, native Max Einstein, the owner of a ribbon and silk store who would
rise to the rank of Colonel during the Civil War married Helena Guggenheim.
1851: Lord Palmerston completed his term of Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs during which the British blockaded
the port of Piraeus as part of the response to Greece’s abuse of David
Pacifico, whom Palmerston defended as this “man of Jewish persuasion” and on
whose be he “made a celebrated speech which concluded that all British subjects
ought to be able to say, as did citizens of ancient Rome, "Civis Romanus
sum" ("I am a citizen of Rome"), and thereby receive protection
from the British government.”
1852: The Reverend Samuel Osgood
delivered a talk at the Church of the Messiah in NYC entitled “The Enigma of
History- A Discourse on the Jewish Race” which was based, in part, on
information provided by Rabbi Morris Raphall with whom Osgood had carried on a
correspondence.
1853(25th of Kislev,
5614): 1st day of Chanukah observed for the first time during the
Presidency of Franklin Pierce who “was the first President to appoint a Jew,
August Belmont, as U.S. charge d ’affairs and Ambassador to the Hague.”
1854: In Bavaria, Mendel Emanuel
Schloss and Adelheid Baer Schloss gave birth to Leopold Schloss, the husband of
Karoline Schloss.
1854: Two days after he had passed
away, Hyam Hyam, the husband of Hannah Lazarus with whom he had had eight
children, was buried today at the Brady Street Jewish Cemetery.
1856(29th of Kislev,
5617): Sixth Chanukah candle kindled for the last time during the Presidency of
Franklin Pierce.
1857(9th of Tevet,
5618): Parashat Vayigash
1857(9th of Tevet,
5618): Eighty-two-year-old Grace Cohen
Abinun de Lima, the Curacao born “daughter of Joshua Cohen Peixotto and Esther
Levy Maduro, the wife of Mordechay de David de Mordechai Abinun de Lima and mother
of Clara Abinun de Lima; David Cohen Peixotto; Jeosuah Abinun de Lima and
Rachel Abinun de Lima” passed away today in St. Thomas, VI.
1859(30th of Kislev,
5620): Sixth Day of Chanukah; Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1859(30th of Kislev,
5620): Bernhard (Isaacher Baer) Oppenheim the Moravian born son of Hyyim
Oppenheim who led a congregation Eibenschutz while raising two son David and
Joachim who became rabbis and his daughter Hinde who married Isaac Hirsch Weiss
passed away today.
https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11724-oppenheim
1860: In “Ballston Spa, NY,” Lewis
Muhlfelder and Rosa Schwarz gave birth to Union College undergrad and Albany
Law School trained attorney David Muhlfelder
1861: During the Civil War, in what
was known as The Trent Affair, Confederate diplomatic envoys James M. Mason and
John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus heading off a
possible war between the United States and Britain. Slidell, the Louisiana
politician who had been a power in the Democrat Party, before the war, was a
close ally of August Belmont who had married his niece. During the war, Slidell would serve in Paris
where his daughter would marry a leading French-Jewish financier.
1862: The Union “Army of the
Cumberland” including the 79th Indiana Regiment under the command of
Colonel Frederick Knefler left Nashville to face the Rebel “Army of Tennessee”
which was camped at Murfreesboro.
1862: In Bremen, Germany, Sophia
and Israel Frank gave birth to Hanover Seminary trained rabbi Julius Frank who
in 1892 came to the United States where he became the spiritual leader of
Congregation Oheb Shalom in Reading, PA and married Florence W. Weitzenkorn,
daughter of Levi and Henrietta F. Weitzenkorn in 1909.
http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?117,409119
1864(27th of Kislev,
5625): Third Day of Chanukah
1864: Today as Jews prepare to
light the Fourth Chanukah candle, Abraham Lincoln wrote to General William
Tecumseh Sherman ““Many, many, thanks for your Christmas-gift—the capture of
Savannah. When you were about leaving Atlanta for the Atlantic coast, I was
anxious, if not fearful; but feeling that you were the better judge, and
remembering that ‘nothing risked, nothing gained’ I did not interfere. Now, the
undertaking being a success, the honor is all yours; for I believe none of us
went farther than to acquiesce.”
1866: Birthdate of Toby Cohn, the
native of Breslau, who became a “German physician and medical author.”
1867: Birthdate of Julien Benda,
the Paris born “philosopher and novelist” best-known for his short book, La Trahison des Clercs (The
Betrayal of the Intellectuals).
1870(2nd of Tevet, 5631): 8th
and final day of Chanukah
1870: Dr. Max Landsberg was chosen
to serve as Rabbi at Berith Kodesh in Rochester, NY. He began serving in that capacity in March of
1871. Prior to his selection, the
position had been vacant for 2 and a half years. Landsberg’s three predecessors were Marcus
Tuska, Isaac Mayer and Aaron Ginbserg who completed his service in 1868.
1872: The London Daily Telegraph reported on a paper presented by George
Smith on recent explorations of the Tigris and Euphrates river valley which
should shed further light on the origins of the ancient Hebrews including the
dates for the life of Abraham.
1873: Rabbi Aron Chorin gets married and
leaves the rabbinate for the world of Commerce. The change will be
short-lived and will become the Rabbi in Arad in 1789.
1874:
In Posen Louis Kaplan and Minna Margolius gave birth to Jacob Kaplan who in
1885 came to the United States where he was “ordained as a rabbi at H.U.C. in
1902 after which he served a congregation New Mexico before starting in 1926 to
serve as the rabbi for Miami’s Temple Israel.
http://collections.americanjewisharchives.org/ms/ms0185/ms0185.html
https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00010876/00001
1875(28th
of Kislev, 5636): Fourth day of Chanukah
1875:
Birthdate of London native and solicitor Emile Maurice Marx, a captain in the 1st
Sussex Royal Engineers and Mayor of Brighton from 1903 to 1904.
1875:
It was reported today that “an ‘English Jew’ had recently written an essay
modern Judaism in which he asserted that it was utterly impossible to convert a
respectable Jew to Christianity. When it
was pointed out to the author that the Prime Minister of England was a convert
to Christianity from Judaism, the ‘English Jew’ claimed that the Disraeli’s
father, Isaac, had a quarrel with the Synagogue about money and that he had
left the Synagogue. While the Prime Minister had somehow become a churchgoer, he
had “never been baptized as a Christian.” [Editor’s note – “The English Jew”
was right about Isaac but wrong about Benjamin.
The father had the children baptized after his falling out with the
synagogue.]
1876(10th
of Tevet, 5637): Asara B’Tevet
1876:
Three days after she had passed away Esther (Brandon) Varicas, the wife of
Abraham Varicas was buried today at the “Brompton (Fulham Road) Jewish
Cemetery.
1877(20th
of Tevet, 5638): Israel Jones, the younger brother of Solomon Jones, who became
a leader of the Jewish community in Mobile, Alabama as well as serving on the
City Council, passed away today.
1877:
Miriam K. Arnold, the Louisville born daughter of Rebeca Ezkiel and Abraham
Kahn who was the first chairmen of the women’s committee of the Hebrew
Education Society of Philadelphia, an active member of Rodeph Shalom Synagouge
in Philadelphia and a charter member of the Women’s Republican organization in
Philadelphia married Ezra W. Arnold
today.
1878(30th
of Kislev, 5639): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1878:
“A Romance of Rascality” published today described the life and times of South
Carolina’s Franklin J. Moses, “a Jew” who “held his head high among the planter
aristocracy.”
1879(11th
of Tevet, 5640): Sarah Reibeiro-Furtado, the daughter of Abraham Furtado,
the President of the Assemblee des Notables passed away in Paris.
1880: “The
annual meeting of the patrons and members of the Mount Sinai Hospital” is
scheduled “to be held at the Standard Club” at eleven o’clock this morning.
1880:
Tonight’s “driving snow-storm” did not keep a throng from filling the Plymouth
Church this evening to hear Reverend Henry Ward Beech deliver his talked
entitled “Persecution of the Jews in Germany.”
1880: It
was reported today that the growth in attendance at the opera in New York City
is attributable, in part, to the growth of the German-Jewish population in New
York. After all, the members “of this
ancient race were drawn to New York because of its rapid development in
literature, in art and…in operatic music.”
1881: The
Warsaw Pogrom, which result in the death of two Jews and injuries to another 24
continued for a second day.
1881: It
was reported today that a riot broke out in Warsaw when a pickpocket who was
allegedly a Jew was caught plying his trade during the recitation of high mass
in the Church of the Holy Cross. During
the violence four shops owned by Jews were destroyed and 30 people were
injured.
1881: It
was reported today that the Directors of Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York have
agreed to provide a doctor to work at the offices of the Society for the Aid of
the Russian Hebrew Immigrants and Refugees. 1881: It was reported today that
during the 3,182 patients were admitted to Mt. Sinai Hospital, of whom 1,566
were not charged for treatment.
https://www.amazon.com/American-bedlam-Harry-Allen-Gordon/dp/B0007EH9H6
1883(27th
of Kislev, 5644): Third Day of Channukah
1883:
“Georgia In Early Times” published today provided a detailed review The
History of Georgia by Charles C. Jones, Jr. which included a description of
the arrival of the first Jews in 1733. Governor Oglethorpe championed their
cause despite opposition from some of his English supporters because he saw
that as being “peaceful,” “orderly” and industrious.
1885: It
was reported today that the population of Sofia has grown from 15,000 to 25,000
since it became the capital of Bulgaria.
Approximately half of the citizens are Jewish.
1885:
Fifty-four-year-old Austrian jurist Julius Anton Glaser who converted to
Christianity passed away today.
1886(29th
of Kislev, 5647): Fifth Day of Chanukah
1886:
Birthdate of Gyula Gömbös the right-wing Hungarian politician who recanted his
anti-Jewish views in order to become his country’s Prime Minister during the
1930’s,
1886: Paul
Heyse, the German-Jewish writer, is one of the “eminent authors of the 19th
century according to Dr. George Brandes, whose book Eminent authors of the
nineteenth century: Literary portraits
was reviewed in today’s New York Times.
(Brandes is Georg Morris Cohen Brandes, a Danish born Jews who was a leading
literary critic)
1886: “When
To Go Long Or Short” published today traces the career and financial dealings
of Solomon Mopus a Polish born Jew living in New York City.
1886: In
“Mr. Tooker on Religion” published today, Joseph Tooker a leading New York
merchant, writer and theatre managers provided his views on the celebration of
Christmas. Among other things he
believes that the Jewish merchants “are heart glad over every return of this
jubilee season of their Christian fellow-citizens” since “they make so much
money.” He also marveled at the fact
that some Jewish children hang up stockings on Christmas eve which he sees as
an example of “where ignorance is bliss ‘tis folly to be wise.”
1887: In
South Carolina, Albert E. Hertz married Laura E. Bonnoitt today.
1887: It
was reported today the society providing financial support for Mt. Sinai
Hospital had grown by 101 during the year and now totaled 3,564.
1888: Moriz
Rosenthal, “the eminent pianist” will give a recital today at the Academy of
the Music in New York.
1888:
Birthdate of Brezin, Poland native Jacob D. Berg who in 1914 came to the United
States where her served as a director of the Sholem Aliechem Folk Institute and
YIVO and became a member of the World council for Jewish Culture.
1888: It
was reported today that children under the care of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum
will be among those New York youngsters who will attend upcoming performances
of “Little Lord Fauntleroy.”
1889: It
was reported today that the Hebrew Free School Association had assets of
$58,682.37 which it uses to support three schools that are open daily from 3:30
in the afternoon until 6 in the evening.
1889:
Birthdate of actor Vladimir Sokoloff, the Moscow native who went from the
Moscow Art Theatre, to Berlin in 1923, Paris in 1932 to avoid the Nazis and
finally to the United States in 1937 where he appeared on Broadway, television
and films that included oddly enough his portrayal of a Filipino in John
Wayne’s “Back to Bataan.”
1889: In
St. Louis, George Washington Milius, the Cincinnati born son of William and Eva
Milius and his wife Pauline gave birth to William Stix Milius
1890:
Sixty-year-old Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court William Dunlap Simpson,
who as Governor of South Carolina had pardoned Francis Cardozo, the “son of
Lydia Weston, a free woman of color, and Isaac Nunez Cardozo” and a cousin of
Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo” who had been convicted on trumped up charges of
fraud, passed away today.
1890: Rose and David Frantz gave birth to illustrator
Marshall Frantz whose works appeared in several magazines including the
Saturday Evening Post, McCall’s and Harper’s Bazar before working exclusively
for Hearst publications.
https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Samuel-Marshall-Frantz/98FF0F81AC643C27
1891(25th
of Kislev, 5652): First day of Chanukah
1891: In
New York, Sarah Rachel Bluestone and Joseph Isaac Bluestone gave birth to
Columbia trained physician Ephraim Michael Bluestone, a Lieutenant in the Army
Medical Corps during WW I, a director of the Hadassah Hospital in Palestine and
director of Montefiore Hospital and the husband of “the former Rodetsky.
https://library-archives.cumc.columbia.edu/obit/ephraim-michael-bluestone
http://digifindingaids.cjh.org/?pID=364826
1892: “Our
Superstitious Lore” published today described quaint customs of different
national groups including the Jews “who have a custom of breaking crystal at a
wedding to scatter brightness upon the happy pair” and who like others, “throw
rice…to bring” the newlyweds “good fortune.”
1892: It
was reported today that of the more than one million people buried in and
around Brooklyn an untold number are buried in Washington Cemetery in
Gravessend which is only used by the Jews.
1892:
Birthdate of Dvinsk native Isidor
Kadis who in 1905 came to the United States where he attended the University of
Cincinnati and HUC and became a “field director of the JNF” who worked with
Chaim Weizmann and raised two children with his wife Jean Price Kadis.
1893:
Twenty-one-year-old Louis Topkis, the Odessa born son of Jacob and Rachel
Topkis and leading Delaware businessman married the former Esther M. Krigstein
today.
1893:
Today, Sioux City, IA businessman David Davidson, the Russian born son of Cima
and Henry L. Davidson married his first wife Sara Frank who passed away in
1919.
1894:
Today, in France, “many journals urged that the degradation of Captain Dreyfus
should be” done “as a public ceremony.”
They say “he should be stripped of his military honors…on the Longchamps
race course or the Vincennes rifle range, where thousands could witness his
disgrace rather than in the privacy of the barracks.” (The term degradation
refers to the formal stripping of ranking and branding of the convict military
officer as a traitor before he his shipped off to Devils Island.)
1894: “A
reception and ball was given by the Progressive Bowling Club at the Hebrew
Young Men’s Hall on Plane Street” tonight.”
1893: Four
days after he had passed away, 88-year-old Joseph Isaacs was buried today at
the “West Ham Jewish Cemetery” on Buckingham Road.
1894: Oscar
S. Straus presided at the third annual meeting of the American Jewish
Historical Society which began this morning at the Arlington Hotel in
Washington, D.C.
1894:
According to reports published today the newly elected officers of the Hebrew
Free School Association are President Albert F. Hochstadter, Vice President
Henry Budge and Honorary Secretary Edmund E. Wise
1894:
“Loyal Hebrew Children” published today described the Americanization of Jewish
immigrant children from Russia and Romania that takes place at classes financed
by the Baron de Hirsch Fund at the Hebrew Institute which also include basic
academics with an emphasis on English.
1894: In
New Orleans, LA, Rabbi Maximilian Heller and Ida Annie Heller gave birth to Max
Heller
1895: The
objective of those attending the Hebrew Anarchist “was to devise ways and means
for” promoting Anarchist principles” and their newspaper Die Freie Gesellschaft (The
Free Society)
1895:
Thirty-year old Baltimore merchant Henry Oppenheimer, the German born son of
Goetz and Johanna (Strauss) Oppenheimer who would serve as President of Har
Sinai Congregation in Baltimore and who was a member of the Associated Jewish
Charities in Baltimore married Cara Hutzler today in Baltimore.
1895:
Toledo native Edward Nathan Calisch and Hebrew Union College graduate who
became rabbi of Congregation Beth Ahabah in Richmond, Virginia in 1891
officiated at a service attended by members of the Travelers Protective
Association which he said the “first instance in which any organization, not
composed of Jewish members, had attended service in a body that house of
worship.”
1895: In
Richmond, VA, “members of “Post A, Travelers Protective Association attended
services” today at “Beth Ahabah Synagogue” during which Rabbi Edward Nathan
Calisch said in his sermon “that this was the first instance in which any
organization, not composed entirely of Jewish members had attended services in
a body in that house of worship.
1896(21st
of Tevet, 5657): Parashat Shemot
1896(21st
of Tevet, 5657): Fifty-six-year-old Richmond businessman and leader of the
Democratic Party in Virgina William Lovenstein, the Laurel, VA born son of
Solomon Lovenstein and the former Mary Wasserman, the husband of the former
Dora Wasserman and the father of Irene, Rosa, Flora, Hattie, Stella and Etta passed way
today while serving a member of the Virginia Senate from the 35th
District and President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia.
1896: In
San Francisco, La Loie Fuller “declined to either confirm or deny that the
report” that she was engaged to New York State Senator Jacob A. Cantor whom she
described as “a dear friend.”
1897(1st
of Tevet, 5658): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Seventh Day of Chanukah
1897:
Birthdate of Sarah “Salle” Blumberg Parnes, the widow of Harold Solomon
Gerstner and Maxwell Parnes and the daughter of David Blumberg, passed away
today after which she was buried in the Mount Ararat Cemetery
1897: It
was reported today that “the Purim ball of 1898 is scheduled to be held at the
Waldorf Astoria on February 15.
1897: The
American Jewish Historical Association held its seventh annual meeting in
Philadelphia. The meeting was chaired by
First Vice President Simon W. Rosendale who read a letter of resignation from
the association’s President, Oscar S. Straus who can no longer fulfill his
duties because he is serving as United States Minister at Constantinople
1897:
Founding of the Hebrew Hospital and Asylum Musical Association which gave
concerts at the Hebrew Hospital and the Hebrew Orphan Asylum and whose members
included Dr. Joseph Blum, Mrs. J.J. Seldner and Miss Hennie Van Leer.
1898(13th
of Tevet, 5659): Twenty-two-year-old Edward C. Fraley, the son of Moses and
Roses and Harsch Fraley and the brother of Sadie and Jessie Fraley passed away
today after which he was buried at the Mount Sinai Cemetery in Affton, MO.
1898:
President Albert F. Hochstadter presided over the annual meeting of the Hebrew
Free School Association which was held today at Temple Emanu-El in New York
City. With but one dissenting vote, the association voted to decide on a plan
that would lead to a merger with the Educational Alliance. The Association had
ended the year with a shortfall of $5,000 and it is believed that the merger
might allow the two groups to meet their goals in a more economic manner. Uriah
Hermann volunteered to pay for the new prayer books needed for the People’s
Synagogue
1898:
Birthdate of Ernst Fraenkel, German born political scientist, lawyer and
university lecturer who fled Nazi Germany but returned to Germany after the war
and resumed his career.
1899: In
New York City Clara and David Mannes gave birth to Leopold Mannes, the
“American musician” who played a leading role in creating “the first practical
color transparency film, Kodachrome.”
http://www.gf.org/fellows/9330-leopold-mannes
1900:
Birthdate of Samuel Cashwan, the Russian born American sculptor whose works
include “Aquarius,” “Musicians” and the “Lincoln Memorial Statue at the Lincoln
Consolidated Training School in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
1900: The
day after he had passed away, Hananel Abendana, the son of Joseph Abendana and
“steward of the Spanish Portuguese Hospital was buried today the New Jewish
Cemetery in London.
1900: On
the day after his 21st birthday, NYU Law School graduate Leo Bernard
Brodsky, the Odessa born son of Sarah Brodsky and Elias Brodsky “an embroider”
applied for U.S. citizenship on the first day he was eligible.
1900:
Twenty-six-year-old Aaron Berman, the Radomisil, Russia born son of Jacob
Hirsch and Ida (Clara) Berman who went on to become the President of the
Philadelphia and Suburban and Mortgage Guarantee Company and a member of Beth
Judah Congregation and the West Philadelphia Jewish Community Center married
Shiphra Malinsky today in his hometown.
1901:
Birthdate of Brooklyn native and Yale trained physician Dr. Maxwell Bogin, the
award winning pediatrician and namesake for the Maxwell Bogin MD Lectures in
Pediatrics who was the husband of Edith Bogen with whom he raised two daughters
– Deborah and Abby.
1901: The
Fifth Zionist Congress convenes in Basel. The Jewish National Fund is
established. The Jewish Colonial Trust, the monetary arm or bank of the World
Zionist Organization, finally raises sufficient sums to be established. By the
end of the year, 250.000 English Pounds have been collected.
1902(26th
of Kislev, 5663) Second Day of Chanukah
1902:
Birthdate of Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan, the Russian painter whose work often
reflect his Jewish origins.
1902: Final
publication of the American Hebrew which would merge with The Jewish
Messenger and resume publication in 1903 as The American Hebrew &
Jewish Messenger
1903: It
was reported today that Lord Rothschild had president over “a joint meeting of
the Foreign Committee and Board of Deputies of the Anglo-Jewish Association”
where reports predicting a renewal of anti-Jewish outrages at Kishineff” were
reviewed and “it was decided to approach
the Foreign Secretary and urge him to take joint action with the government of
the United States for the purpose of averting further persecution of the Jews
in Russia.”
1903: “The Paris correspondent of The Times of London says it will probably be
a few weeks before the Court of Cassation takes up the Dreyfus case.”
1904: It
was reported today that the family of Adolph Herschkopf, who after having
served eight years of a life sentence in Sing Sing, was pardoned by Governor Odell
“is glad because the jury judge and prosecuting attorney” have changed their
minds as to the guilt of the Jewish tailor.
Herschkopf
was not the most miserable man in New York last night. He had been employed in
the prison tailor shop, and had not felt the touch of snow on his face since
entering the prison gate
1905(28th
of Kislev, 5666): Fourth Day of Chanukah
1905:
Winston Churchill was approached by a leading Jewish constituent, Dr. Joseph
Dulberg of Manchester, who was seeking British support for a Jewish national
home.
1905:
“Jewish Refugees in London” published today described the arrival “in the last
few weeks of hundreds of Russian Jews victims of the recent onslaughts in South
Russia” in the British capital most of whom have
“only a few shillings in their pockets” or are completely penniless and if they
are “fortunate, find work with sweating tailors” that earns them five or six
shillings a week “which enables them to share a night’s lodging…where eight or
ten men sleep on sacks on the floor” and to buy “black bread, a bit of pickled
herring and a cup of bad tea.
1906:
Charles Frohman moved “The Beauty of Bath” a musical with songs by Jerome Kern
to the Hicks Theatre where “it ran for a total of 287 performances.”
1907:
Months of organizing work by sixteen-year-old Pauline Newman culminated in the
start of the largest rent strike New York City had ever seen. One reason for
the strike's success was Newman's enlistment of neighborhood housewives. While
working-class activists like Newman had to work during the day, the impassioned
housewives that they organized could go from tenement to tenement to convince
others to strike. Thus, the success of the strike depended on shop floor
networks of teenaged girls and on networks of neighborhood housewives and
mothers. The strike, involving 10,000 families in lower Manhattan, lasted only
until January 9, but about 2,000 families succeeded in having their rents
reduced. More importantly, the strike attracted the attention of leading
figures in the settlement house movement who suggested capping rents at 30% of
a family's income. Though their suggestion was not implemented, it introduced
the idea of rent control into New York politics. The idea stayed alive into the
1930s, when rent control was finally implemented in New York City. Newman's
leadership of the strike began a lifetime of activism. It brought her to the
attention of the Socialist party, which ran her for secretary of state of New
York the following year (despite the fact that women did not yet have the vote
in New York). She used the opportunity to call for woman's suffrage. Newman
also began organizing female garment workers and was a key organizer in the
1909 Uprising of the 20,000.
1908: In
New York City, “Alex and Sarah (Reichick) Elson gave birth to Washington
University trained lawyer Sam Elson, the holder of JSD from Yale who taught at
his alma mater, was a member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews
and was the husband of Getrude Clemens Palmer with whom he had four children.
1908: Hyman
Hirsch and Miriam Phillips Hirsch gave birth to Hyman Hirsch, Jr. who would
only live to the age of 23.
1909:
Birthdate of Jersey City, NJ, native Robert S. Marcus, the City College and
Yeshiva University trained rabbi and hold of doctorate of Jurisprudence from
NYU Law School who led congregations in Lawrence and Newburgh, NY before
serving overseas as a chaplain with the Ninth Tactical Air Force where he
worked with concentration camp survivors and returning to the United States
where among other things, he served as the Director of the Department of World
Jewish Affairs of the American Jewish Congress while raising two children with
his wife Fay.
1909(14th
of Tevet, 5670): Schaie Gittelsohn passed away today.
1909: Three
days after he had passed away, George Joel Marks, the son of Solomon Marks and
Amelia Joel and the husband of Elizabeth Samuels with whom he had had ten
children was buried today at the “Plashet Jewish Cemetery” in London.
1909: Dr.
Felix Kornfeld and the former Paula Mandle gave birth to their first child,
Peter Kornfeld, the older brother of Ulrich Kornfeld and brother-in-law of the
former Lorie Granitsch.
1909: In
London, Hans Leopold Hoff, a “German Jewish merchant” and his German Lutheran
wife gave birth to Australian scholar Ursula Hoff.
1909:
Today’s edition of the Jewish Record, “a magazine for Jewish interests”
published today at Richmond, VA included the text of the sermon Dr. E.N.
Calisch had delivered at Beth Ahabah Synagogue on “Jews and Christians Can
Learn From Each Other” as well as a sermon entitled “The Old Wells,” delivered
by Rabbi Enelow at the Conference of American Rabbis held at New York City.
1910(25th
of Kislev, 5671): Chanukah
1910: “Rabbi Philip Klein of Ohab
Zedek, First Hungarian Orthodox Congregation” officiated at the wedding of
attorney Harris Koppelman and attorney “Esther Kunstler, the daughter of real
estate dealer Felix Kunstler.”
1910: Ten
months after Avrohom Bornsztain, founder and first Rebbe of the Sochatchover
Hasidic dynasty” who was “known as the Avnei Nezer ("Stones of the
Crown") after the title of his posthumously published set of Torah
responsa, which is widely acknowledged as a halakhic classic” passed away,
today his wife Sara Tzina passed away leaving their “only son, Shmuel,” to
mourn their passing.
1911:
Today, the “Baltimore section of the National Council of Jewish” voted to
withdraw “from the National body” using a resolution that “expressed
dissatisfaction with the administration of the National officers.”
1912: In
Portland, OR, Isaac and Ruth Neuberger gave birth to Senator Richard Neuberger
who was succeeded by his wife Maurine who was elected to the office after his
death in 1960.
https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/neuberger_richard_1912_1960_/#.XCGMMfZFx9B
1913(27th
of Kislev, 5674): Third Day of Chanukah
1913: In
Camden, NJ, the Hebrew Ladies’ Aid Society are making plans to host their tenth
annual reception at Turner Hall in January, 1914.
1913:
“Atlantis” a Danish film featuring future award winning director Michael Curitz
in one of his early acting appearances was released today.
1914(9th
of Tevet, 5675) Parashat Vayigash.
1914: Edwin
S. Friendly, the business manager of the New York Sun and a leader of the
Federation of Jewish Philanthropic Societies who was the Elmira, NY born son of
Sarah Meyerfeld and Myer Friendly
married Henrietta S. Steinmeier in Boise, Idaho today.
1914: In
New York City, Leo Simonson, “a successful wigmaker for the theatre and movies
businesses” and Irene Simonson, a member of the family that owned the Illinois
Watch Case Company” gave birth to gold medal winning chess champion Albert
Charles Simonson
1914:
“Josephus Daniels, the Secretary of the Navy, took immediate steps today to
obtain verification of reports that the USS North Carolina, which was on its
way to deliver aid to the Jews of Jaffa had threatened to bombard Tripoli when
“a mob attempted to prevent the departure of an American merchant vessel”
carrying refugees.
1915:
Twenty-nine-year-old Rabbi Abraham Shapiro, the Wilno born son of Rabbi Zalman
M and Rebecca Shapiro who would become the chief rabbi in Utica, NY in 1920 and
who was a contributor to several Yiddish publications married Minnie Pink today
in Passaic, NJ.
1915: In
St. Louis, Rabbi Max Heller of New Orleans was the principal speaker at today’s
session of 24th annual assembly of the Jewish Chautauqua Society.
1915: In an attempt to “weaken Russia
internally, the authorities in Berlin handed Russian Jewish Bolshevik,
Alexander Helphand, a million rubles to spread anti-war propaganda through
Russia.
1915:
Having fallen too ill to be treated at Alexandria, Lieutenant-Colonel John
Henry Patterson arrived in London today leaving Joseph Trumpeldor, the Jewish
veteran of the Russian army, in command of the Zion Mule Corps.
1915: A
list those who have contributed to “the American Jewish Relief Committee which
is raising $5,000,000 for the Jewish suffers of the war” and plan on contributing more is scheduled to be prepared
today.
1915: In
speaking at Temple Beth-El in New York, Rabbi Schulman “advocated the plan of
the League to Enforce Peace as the only suggestion yet put forward which
promised peace-loving nations a method of escape from the necessity of arming
themselves to avoid conquest by aggressive nations.”
1915: The
second annual conference of Young Judeans which had been opened by Rabbi David
De Sola Pool opened yesterday with a speech “on the subject of Judaism in
America and the patriotism of the Jews” continued for a second day.
1915: Amidst
reports of possible general strike in New York at the beginning of 1916, “Dr.
Felix Adler, Chairman of the Arbitration Committee appointed by the May at the
suggestion of Jacob Schiff to which both the garment workers and manufacturers
agreed to submit their differences said” tonight “that the committee had no
notification that a strike of 85,000 workers was at hand.”
1915: It
was reported today that after the Russian forces retreated from Brest-Litovsk
ending the destructive battle around the city, the refugees who had been hiding
in the swamps, most of whom were Jews sick with “malignant diseases” “began to
straggle back into the city.”
1915:
“Henry Fisher, Chairman of the Brooklyn Jewish Volunteer Relief
Committee…announced” tonight “at the headquarters at 16 Manhattan Avenue that
the street collections of the day amounted to $5,000.”
1915: “The
Bath Beach division of the Brooklyn Jewish Volunteer Relief Committee for War
Sufferers obtained contributions amount to $1,034 in a house-to-house canvass”
today.
1915: Dr.
J. L. Magnes said tonight that “the most recent report from Russia was that the
3,500,000 Jews” many of whom were being driven from place to place without food
and shelter “were in need of assistance.
1916(1st
of Tevet, 5677): Rosh Chodesh Tevet, Seventh Day of Chanukah
1916: In
New Orleans, the Jewish Chautauqua Society led by Chancellor Berkowitz of
Philadelphia met for a fifth day today in New Orleans
1916: It
was reported today that the movement to hold a congress to demand the removal
of civil and political disabilities imposed on Jews has been one of the most
widely debated movements in the history of the Jews” of the United States and
developed divisions of opinion with Louis Marshal, Jacob H. Schiff and Oscar S.
Straus and “others in the American Jewish Committee opposed to idea of such a
congress” and another group led by Justice Louis Brandeis, Judge Hugo Pam and
Rabbi Stephen S. Wise” favoring the convening of such a congress in the United
States.
1916: Rabbi
Abraham Shapiro, the Wilno born son of Rebecca and Rabbi Zalman M Shapiro and
graduate of CCNY and Syracuse University who became chief rabbi in Utica, NY
and National Director of Hias and the Hebrew National Orphan Home married
Rebecca Shapiro today.
1916: In a
protest against the high cost of kosher beef, nearly 3,000 shops refused to
receive or sell kosher meat today. “Many kosher butchers closed their shops and
put up signs in their windows reading ‘Because of the high prices on
kosher-killed products, this shop will be closed until further notice.’”
1916:
Inspectors working for Joseph Hartigan, New York City’s Commissioner of Weights
and Measures, reported to him tonight that the people had virtually all stopped
buying kosher meat.
1917:
Orthodox rabbis in Jerusalem establish the Ashkenazi Community Council to
oppose the Zionist dominated City Council of Jerusalem Jews.
1917: The
Menorah Quintennial Convention, a gathering of the leaders of the
Intercollegiate Menorah Association, which Israel Zangwill said he could not
attend, was scheduled to open today in New York.
1917: Fresh
Turkish troops attack the British hoping to take back Jerusalem. After eight hours of fierce nighttime combat,
the British beat them back.
1917(11th
of Tevet, 5678): Ninety-two-year-old Henry Sonneborn a “manufacturer” passed
away in Baltimore, MD.
1917:
Twenty-nine-year-old Abraham Belsky married Caroline Dickerson today in New
York.
1917:
Twenty-two-year-old Cleveland born featherweight Danny Frush fought and won his
fifth bout leaving him with a record of four wins and one loss.
1918:
Following the British elections, Churchill wrote Prime Minister Lloyd George
cautioning him against appointing three Jews to a cabinet that had only seven
openings. This was not based on any anti-Semitic feelings on Churchill’s part. He was merely expressing concerns for the
reality of British politics at a time when Lloyd George needed to build a
broadly supported government that could “win the peace” now that the World War
had been won. In the end, Lloyd George
appointed only one Jew to the first post-war cabinet.
1919: Sir John Monash, Australia’s
ranking General on the Western Front in World War I, who served with great
distinction, returned home to a hero’s welcome. Monash was the son of a
German-Jewish couple who had arrived in Australia two years before Monash’s birth.
1919:
Birthdate of Sam Aaronovitch, the native Londoner who became a leading
economist and a “senior member of the Communist Party of Great Britain.
1919: Harry
Frazee, owner of the Boston Red Sox, sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees.
Boston fans never forgave Frazee for the sale of the Bambino which was the
start of the Yankee dynasty. On top of
everything else Frazee was one of those gentiles who had the dubious
distinction of being smeared for being Jewish. “The Dearborn Independent,
a newspaper published by one of this nation’s most infamous anti-Semites,
automobile pioneer Henry Ford, published an article titled “The Jewish
Degradation of Baseball”, which insisted that Frazee was a Jew, that he was out
to “get” Ban Johnson and that he was part of a grand Jewish conspiracy designed
to place Organized Baseball under Jewish control. Frazee was in fact
Presbyterian and a Mason and, though he was not Jewish, being a Freemason
branded him guilty by association. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,
a forgery originating in Russia that detailed a Jewish plot to dominate the
world, claimed that Jews and Freemasons were acting in concert. Judaism and
Freemasonry were so intertwined in Europe, even as far back as the 1860s, that
the Nazis eventually adopted the slogan “All Masons Jews—All Jews Masons,” and
Hitler abolished Freemasonry in Germany in 1935. But, as evidenced by Ford and
his newspaper, bigotry wasn’t just endemic of Europe, and Organized Baseball
certainly was no stranger to it.”
1920: The
29th annual assembly of the Jewish Chautauqua Society is scheduled
to being today in Cleveland, Ohio.
1920: The
Intercollegiate Zionist Association is scheduled to hold its annual convention
today at Columbia University.
1921(25th
of Kislev, 5682): First Chanukah celebrated during the Presidency of Warren
Harding.
1921(25th
of Kislev, 5682): Eighty-three-year-old James Martin Eder, the Russian born son
of “Martin Sass Eder and Dorina Kaiser” the Harvard Law School student and wife
of London born Elizabeth “Lizzie” Benjamin who was known as Santiago Martín
Eder Kaiser, the founder of the Columbian sugar industry,
1921:
“School Days,” a comedy produced by Harry Rapf was relased today in the United
States.
1922: “A
crowd of students at Galatz on the Danube…attacked a group of young Jews
returning from a meeting in the Maccabbe Club” after which “the mob is reported
to have gone into the commercial district…and broken into several Jewish
shops…”
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/12/27/102908985.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1922:
Today, at the Near East Conference, the sub-commission which had been hearing
claims for the establishment of homeland for the Armenians “also discussed the
question of fixing the nationality of of the peoples inhabiting provinces
detached from Turkey such as …Palestine.”
1923: One
day after he had passed away, 52-year-old Samuel Lewis was buried today at the
Crumpsall Jewish Cemetery.”
1923: In
Washington, DC, “Prussian born Protestant botanist” Ernst Artschwager and the
former Eugenia Brodsky, a Ukrainian born Jewish designer game birth to painter
and sculptor Richard Ernst Artschwager.
1924: Birthdate of Israeli spy Eli Cohen. Since we cannot do justice to this heroic
figure you might want to go to http://www.elicohen.org/ for more information
about his contribution to the survival of the Jewish state.
1925: “Lady
Windermere’s Fan” a silent film version of the stage play by the same name
directed, produced and edited by Ernst Lubitsch was released today.
1926:
“A benefit concert of
Hebrew music was given under the auspices of the League of
Zionists-Revisionists at Carnegie Hall this evening” featuring performances by Eugenia
Eranow, soprano; Leon Cortilli, tenor; Yascha Fishberg, violinist; Gdal
Saleski, cellist; Ignace Hilsberg, Isidor Gorn, Max Barnett and William Sauber,
pianists, and Naum Zemach of the Moscow Theatre Habima.
1927: Birthdate of Alan King. King was equally
adept as a comedic actor and as a monologist.
One of his most famous lines was, “It is not how long you live, but how
well you live” that counts. After uttering that bon mot, he would take a deep,
long pull on his signature cigar and give you that knowing smile. His
philanthropic commitments included founding the Alan King Diagnostic Medical
Center in Jerusalem, establishing a scholarship fund for American students at
Hebrew University, and establishing a Dramatic Arts Chair at Brandeis
University. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Long Island
Jewish Medical Center. He passed away in 2004.
1928:
During “the first public meeting of the American Academy for Jewish Research at
the Jewish Theological Seminary,” D.S. Blondheim, the secretary of the academy
read a paper prepared by Professor Max L. Margolis of Dropsie College that
provided a plan for the preparation of “an authoritative edition of the Hebrew
text of the Scriptures” that would involve “forty scholars in Europe, Asia and
America working for ten years.”
1929(24th
of Kislev, 5690): In the evening, kindle the first light of Chanukah during the
first year of The Great Depression and for the first time during the Presidency
of Herbert Hoover who appointed Justice Cardozo to the Supreme Court which
meant that two out of the nine Justices were Jewish.
1929: In
New York, Sidney Benjamin Cardozo, Sr. the New York born son of Clara and
Daniel Henry Cardozo, Sr. and his wife gave birth to Anne Sonnenfield
1929: The
Wall Street Synagogue, which is temporarily worshipping 35 Maiden Lane is
scheduled to hold a Chanukah service this afternoon a 5 o’clock during while
Cantor Joseph Shapiro will chant the traditional hymns and light the candles
after which Benjamin E. Greenspan, the president of the congregation will
deliver an address.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/12/26/94223893.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1930: The
Jewish Daily Bulletin reported today that four Jews will sit as judges of the
Cleveland Municipal Court during the coming year, as a result of the
appointment this week by Governor Myers V. Cooper of Maurice J. Meyer and
Alfred L. Steur to fill vacancies on the Municipal Court bench where they will
join the other two Jewish judges -- Jacob Stacel and Mary D. Grossman.
1931: U.S.
premiere of “Arrowsmith” the film version of the novel by the same name
produced by Samuel Goldwyn with music by Alred Newman.
1931: George and Ira Gershwin's Pulitzer
Prize-winning musical play "Of Thee I Sing" premieres on Broadway
1931: “Mata
Haria” a movie about the WW I spy produced by Irving Thalberg with a script by
Leo Birinsky and Benjamin Glazer was released in the United States today.1933:
U.S. premiere of “Queen Christina” a film treatment of the life of Queen
Christina of Sweden produced by Walter Wanger with a script by S.N. Behrman and
Ben Hecht.
1932(27th
of Kislev, 5693): Third Day of Chanukah
1932: “The
annual drive of the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic
Societies swung into what is expected to be its final week today with $272,878
needed to achieve its goal of $3,923,000.
1932: The
NBC Blue Network broadcast episode five of “Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel”
starring Chico and Groucho Marx.
1933: “Queen
Christiana,” a biopic written by S.N. Behrman based on a story by Salka Viertel
whose father Jospeh Steuermann was the
first Jewish mayor of Sambor, of was released today in the United States by
Warner Bros.
1933: It
was reported today that during a lecture at the Pennsylvania Hotel, held “under
the auspices of the National Labor Committee of Palestine, Chaim Greenberg, the
editor of the Yiddish language Labor Zionist Weekly declared that “modern
culture is in great danger from the forces of communism and fascism.”
1933: “A
Wiesbaden court has sentenced a Jewish butcher…to imprisonment for two months
and fined his father 600 marks for slaughtering animals in the manner
prescribed by Jewish dietary law.”
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/12/27/105836486.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1933: New
York Governor Herbert Lehman announced today the “formation of a commission for
the study of the educational problems in penal institutions for the aid of
youth.”
1934: “Pipe
Paid” with a script by Viola Brothers Shore opened today on Broadway at the
Ritz Theatre.
1934: In
London, “Barnett Samuel, a solicitor and Minna Nerenstein, a composer and
partner in Jewish publishers Shapiro, Valentine” gave birth to Raphael Elkan Samuel, the Marxist and Professor of History
at the University of East London who left the Communist Party when the Soviets
crushed the Hungarians in 1956 and who was the husband of historian Alison
Light.
https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/obituary-raphael-samuel-5588939.html
1934: Anna
Birshtein married Louis Geffen. Anna’s uncle was a rabbi, and Louis was the son
of Tobias Geffen had been who had been an orthodox rabbi in Atlanta, GA, since
1910. Geffen and his brother Samuel
formed the Atlanta law firm of Geffen and Geffen, a firm founded out of the need
for the brothers to be able to practice law while remaining observant Jews.
1935: “The
mobilization of world Jewry to resist the establishment of a Legislative
Council in Palestine to combat the menace of the ‘disgraceful Nuremberg laws’
of the Hitler regime was ordered today by the executive of the World Zionist
Organization” headed by Dr. Chaim Weizmann.
1936(12th
of Tevet, 5697): Parashat Vayechi
1936: A
delegation of American Jewish labor leaders including Joseph Schlossberg, Max
Zaritzky, Isador Nagler, Reuben Guskin, Samuel Perlmutter and Joseph Brislaw is
scheduled to set sail for Europe today where members are going “to confer with
experts in France, England, and Poland on the Jewish labor movement in
Palestine.”
1936:
Founding of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The Polish born violinist
Bronislaw Huberman is credited with founding the orchestra. It was originally called the Palestine
Philharmonic Orchestra but changed its name after the founding of the state of
Israel.
1936: In
Tel Aviv, Arturo Toscanini, who had fled Mussolini’s Italy, conducted the first
performance of the Palestine Philharmonic. At the end of the concert Bronislaw
Huberman, declared that “Nothing could describe this concert except the word
divine."
1936:
Founding of the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra, now known as the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra under the leadership of Bronislaw Huberman. “The orchestra, first conducted by Arturo
Toscanini, debuted after a struggle that also involved Albert Einstein, Chaim
Weizmann and a characteristically defiant David Ben-Gurion. Huberman’s epic quest is the
subject of the new documentary “Orchestra of Exiles,” a real-life tale of
Jewish musicians in need of a home, and a nascent country in need of an
orchestra.
1936: It
was announced today that ten thousand dollars had been pledged to ORT by the
American Committee Appeal for the Jews in Poland at a dinner hosted by Samuel
Lamport who had pledged five hundred dollars in his own right.
1936: Birthdate of Kitty Dukakis the Jewish wife of
U.S. Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.
1937: The Palestine Post reported that over
1,000 British troops, police and troopers of the Transjordan police force,
spent Christmas under pouring rain in a raging battle in the Wadi Hamud area,
north-west of Tiberias, where nearly forty Arab terrorists were killed. The
troops and police suffered five wounded.
1937: The Palestine Post reported that Taleb
Nanini, a local notable, was killed by an Arab terrorist in his village of
Akraba. Yehuda Mintz and his two sons, Isaac, 35, and Eliahu, 27, watchmen of
the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives were wounded on their way to work.
In Haifa, Private Mott, a British soldier of the Essex Regiment, picked up a
bomb with a burning fuse and threw it off the pavement, saving by his bold
action lives of numerous passersby.
1938:
Harold Goldblatt presided over the second session Avukah’s three-day conference
being held at the Hotel Claridge.
1938:
Funeral services are scheduled to be held today at Temple Emanu-El, on the day
after what would have been his 79th birthday for Dr. Henry W. Berg,
the Austrian born son of Moritz and Josephine (Schiff) Berg, who was the award
winning graduate of Columbia University’s College of Physicians and who was “an
authority on infectious diseases and internal medicine.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/12/23/98222043.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1938: The
will of Rabbi Morris Newfield, leader of Birmingham’s Temple Emanu-EL and the
President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which was dated today
contained a bequest leaving “his extensive private library to the Birmingham
Public Library.”
1938: In
Montreal, Sarah and Jack Lev gave birth to Judy Feld Carr, the “Canadian woman”
who “would rescue more than three thousand five hundred Syrian Jews between
1975 and 2000.” (As reported by Jewish Women’s Archives)
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/carr-judy-feld
1939(14th
of Tevet, 5700): Fifty-four year old Romanian born University of Michigan
Professor of Economics, Max Handman, who had earned his Bachelor’s degree at
the University of Oregon and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1917 after
which served as a professor of sociology and economics at several universities
including Texas and Minnesota passed away today from the effects of heart
attack he suffered “while listening to a radio broadcast of the declaration of
war by Great Britain against Germany.”
1940(26th
of Kislev, 5701): On the second day of Chanukah, 89-year-old Daniel Frohman,
the “Jewish American theatrical producer and manager and early film producer’
passed away today.
1940: U.S.
premiere of “The Philadelphia Story” a romantic comedy directed by George
Cukor, produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, filmed by cinematographer Joseph
Ruttenberg with music by Franz Waxman.
1940(26th
of Kislev, 5701): One day after her 71st birthday, Chicago native
Benvenida Solis Firth, the daughter of Moses and Esther Ritterband and the wife
of Emil Firth passed away today in Beverly Hills.
1940: The
British government suspended the quota for legal immigration for three months,
thus halting all immigration until March, 1941.
1940: The
Broadway production lf “My Sister Eileen” written by Joseph A. Field and Jerome
Chodorov and directed by George S. Kaufman opened at the Biltmore Theatre
today.
1940:
Birthdate of record producer Phil Spector.
1941: The USS Blue, which had not been sunk or
damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor thanks to the efforts of Ensign
Nathan Asher, a graduate of the Naval Academy who took command U.S.S. Blue since the skipper was
ashore” unloaded supplies at Midway which would be the scene of the pivotal
battle in June of 1942.
1942: The
U.S. Army Medical Corps completed establishing an evacuation hospital at
Tlemcen, the Algerian city whose “most important place pilgrimage of all
religions was the Jewish cemetery on the outskirts of town.”
1942:
“Marine in the Making” an Oscar nominated documentary filmed by cinematographer
Richard Freyer (born Morris Kolsky) was released today.
1943: “The
American Jewish Conference, 521 Fifth Avenue, today urged intensified efforts
to rescue the Jews of Europe and criticized Assistant Secretary of State
Breckinridge Long's report to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on rescue
measures taken since the discussions in Bermuda.”
1944:
During WW II, the Red Army and the Romanian completed their encirclement of
Budapest, a city which had lost most of its Jewish population to Auschwitz.
1945: The
Jewish Agency charges that Palestinian government has stopped issuing
immigration certificates despite British foreign minister Ernest Bevin's
declaration that monthly quota would be permitted.
1946:
Diamond factories in Natanya and Tel Aviv are raided, reportedly by Jews who
would have been using the proceeds of the raid to finance the fight against the
British.
1946: Peter
H. Bergson, Hebrew Committee of National Liberation, formed exile government
for Hebrew Republic of Palestine in France. In the wake of British
intransigence, he promises a revolt.
1946: Zero
Mostel opened in tonight’s Broadway premier of “Beggar’s Holiday” a musical
which Dale Wasserman would update and present with the Marin Theatre company in
2004.
1946: Bronislaw Huberman the
Polish born violinist who was President and founder of the Palestine Symphony
Orchestra returned as a soloist performing in Tel Aviv on the tenth anniversary
of Arturo Toscanini’s first appearance as conductor of the orchestra.
1946: Mobster Bugsy Siegel opened
the glitzy Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada
1947: The second radio
broadcast series of “The Thin Man” which was produced by Himan Brown came to an
end today.
1947: The SS Abril left New York today bound for France sailing under a
Honduran flag and operated by the American Sea and Air Volunteers for Hebrew
Repatriation, an offshoot of the American League for Free Palestine and the
Hebrew Committee for National Liberation
1947: “Good News” a musical produced
by Arthur Freed, with a screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green was
released in the United States today.
1947: Birthdate of Israeli
soccer player Manacham Bello.
1947(13th
of Tevet, 5708): Hans Beyth, a central figure in welcoming newly arrived
immigrant children to Eretz Israel, was one of seven Jews killed by Arab
snipers as they traveled in convey coming from the coast up to Jerusalem. Beyth
had just completed arrangements for the care of 20,000 young survivors of the
Holocaust and other youngsters from Europe.
1947: Golda
Meyerson, acting head of the Jewish Agency’s Political Department escaped
injury today when the convoy in which she was traveling came under attack by
Arabs.
1947: One
Jew was killed and two were wounded today when Arabs attacked a Jewish patrol
at Imara in the Negev.
1947: A
four-year-old Jewish girl, whose name has not been made public was killed today
a bullet in Tel Aviv. The assailant has
not been identified.
1947: Lazar
Kaganovich completed his second term as First Secretary of the Communist Party
of Ukraine.
1947: In
Jerusalem, an Arab Legion truck that had illegally entered the city, was fired
on by Jews manning a Haganah outpost. No
casualties were reported by either side.
1948:
Despite defending itself against a war of annihilation, immigrants keep coming
as can be seen by the fact that today; Israel greeted the arrival of its
100,000th immigrant since its declaration of statehood in May.
1948: The
International Ladies' Garment Workers, Union (of American Federation of Labor)
donates $250,000 and lends another $500,000 to Israel.
1948: A six-plane
formation of Spitfires arrived in Israel from Czechoslovakia.
1948(24th
of Kislev, 5709): In the evening, the Chanukah light is kindled for the first
time in almost 2,000 years in an independent Jewish state.1948: The Knesset,
the Israeli Parliament, which had been meeting in Tel Aviv moves to Jerusalem.
1948: As
Israel clandestinely moved aircraft from Czechoslovakia to the fighting front,
Jack “Cohen led” fellow pilots Sinclair, Ruch, Jacobs, Schroeder, and Finkel
across the sea. Cohen flew Spitfire 2014, the plane that he, as test pilot and
flight leader, considered the worst. Just after take-off, Cohen had to turn
2014 around and land again. A flap on the cowling had come open and he returned
to have it secured after which he rejoined the others.
1948: King
Abdullah of Jordan attended a Palestinian conference in Ramallah that “declared its
support for the Jericho Conference resolution, calling for unification of the
two banks of the Jordan under the Hashemite crown.” (And that is what happened. The West Bank and the Old City of Jerusalem
were annexed by Transjordan which changes its name to Jordan. No state of Palestine was created or
contemplated by a large swath of the Arab leadership.)
1949(5th
of Tevet, 5710): Sixty-five-year-old Philadelphia, PA native Leon Schlesinger, the
motion picture producer “behind Warner Bros. cartoons of the 1930’s and 1940’s”
who “oversaw the creation of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd”
and who was the husband of Bernice Schlesinger passed away today.
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/classic/leon-schlesingers-obituary-6088.html
1950: It
was reported today that “German rearmament has been sharply attacked in the
Knesset, most of who 127 members have mourned kinsmen murdered by the Nazis.”
1951:
“Double Dynamite,” a comedy “based on a story by Leo Rosten,” with a screenplay
co-authored by Mel Shavelson and starring Groucho Marx was released today in
the United States.
1951:
Birthdate of Roslyn, NY and Barnard College Columbia University School of
Journalism trained “sportswriter” and author who has written books about Sandy
Koufax, Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth and the worlds that produced them.
1952: The Jerusalem Post reported that the
Mapam Council voted, by 232 to 49, to support a very carefully worded
"protest" against the Czech anti-Zionist trials and activities while
identifying itself completely with "the world's revolution." The
Sneh-Riftin bloc justified the trials and advocated a complete acceptance of
the accusations.
1953(20th
of Tevet, 5714): Eighty-two-year-old Lee Shubert, the eldest Lituanian born of
seven brothers who build the Shubert theatrical empire passed away today.
http://www.shubertfoundation.org/about/brothers.asp
1953:
Monnett B. Davis passed away while serving as the second U.S. Ambassador to
Israel.
1953(20th
of Tevet, 5714): Dr. Alexander Marx, the director libraries and Jacob H. Schiff
Professor of History at the Jewish Theological Seminary passed away today at
the age of 75. A native of Germany, Marx
served in the Prussian Army and earned his Ph.D. in 1903 following which he
came to the United States where he took up his position with JTS. When he
arrived, the library contained 5,000 volumes. At the time of his death, the
collection had grown to 144,000 books and 8,000 manuscripts making it one of the
finest collections of Judaica in the world.
1954: ABC
broadcast the final episode of “What’s Going On” a gameshow created and
produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman.
1955:
“Storm over the Nile” based on “The Four Feathers” directed and produced by
Zoltan Korda, with music by Benjamin Frankel and co-starring Laurence Harvey
was released today in the United Kingdom.
1956:
Birthdate of Yehudit Ravitz, the native of Beersheba and member of “Sheshet”
who is a successful singer-songwriter, composer and music producer.
1956: Los
Angeles premiere of “This is Baby Doll” a dark comedy starring Carroll Baker
and Eli Wallach and filmed by cinematographer Boris Kaufamn.
1959(25th
of Kislev, 5720): Chanukah and Parshat Vayeshev
1959: “Pictures
in the Hallway,” for which Karl Bernstein served as General Press Representative
opened today on Broadway at the Phoenix Theatre.
1960: “Do
Re Mi” a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph
Green, with a cast that included Phil Silvers and Al Lewis “opened on Broadway
at the St. James Theatre” today.
1961: From
February 17, 1952, through today, Dolph Schayes played in 706 games setting an
NBA record for not missing a single game.
1962:
“David and Lisa” the movie based on Jordi, Lisa and David by Theodore Isaac
Rubin starring Janet Margolin and Howard Da Silva was released in the United
States.
1963(10th
of Tevet, 5724): Asara B’Tevet
1963: “Act
One,” the film version of the Moss Hart autobiography directed and produced by
Dore Schary who also wrote the script and featuring Sam Levene, George Segal, Jack Klugman and Eli Wallach and and
which was filmed by cinematographer Arthur Ornitz, was released today in the
United States.
1963(10th
of Tevet, 5724): A year after the death of his son John, 83-year-old, Jacob J.
Shubert, the Lithuanian born son of David Schubert and Katrina Helwitz and the last of the three Shubert Brothers who
created a mini theatrical empire passed away today.
1964: The
Buffalo Bills defeated Sid Gillman’s San Diego Chargers in the American
Football League Championship Game.
1965(3rd
of Tevet, 5726): Eighth Day of Chanukah
1965: Today
“at the 38th annual meeting of the American Academy for Jewish
Research, Norman Gold, an assistant professor of Medieval Jewish Studies at the
University of Chicago, announced the discovery of a document that “bears the
date of 1020” which “he called the oldest extant legal document of the Jews in
Sicily” and which he said “showed that a community of Jews flourished in
Syracuse under the Arabs before the Norman conquest of the island in 1080.”
1965:
"Funny Girl" with Barbra Streisand closes on Broadway. The Broadway hit had a Jewish diva portraying
Fanny Brice, the Jewish comedic star of the Follies and radio-fame.
1966: A
funeral was held today in Omaha for fifty-four-year-old Omaha University alum
and decorated WW II paratrooper Abe J. Siegel who gained fame as award winning
actor David J. Stewart, “a principal player in the Lincoln Center Repertory
Company from 1963 to 1965” and a performer in film and television who raised
two children – Jean-Pierre and Judy—with his wife Helene.
1967(24th
of Kislev, 5728): In the evening kindle the first Chanukah candle
1968(5th of
Tevet, 5729): Arthur Fellig, known by his pseudonym Weegee passed away.
http://backflashes.tumblr.com/post/15053833751/weegee-was-the-pseudonym-of-arthur-fellig-june
1968(5th of
Tevet, 5729): Fifty-year old Leon Shirdan, a marine biologist from Haifa
was murdered today when two Palestinian terrorists attacked El Al Flight 253
when it stopped in Athens on its way to New York.
1968:
“Montgomery Pop,” concert film co-produced by Lou Adler and co-starring Simon
and Garfunkel was released in the United States today.
1969:
Funeral services are scheduled to be held at the Riverside for Harry Small of
the Perfect Thread Company who was the husband of Sarah Small after which he
will be interred at Beth David Cemetery.
1969:
Operation Rooster 53 was launched at 9 p.m. as A-4 Skyhawks and F-4 Phantoms
began attacking Egyptian forces along the western bank of the Suez Canal and
Red Sea which provided cover for three Aérospatiale Super Frelons, carrying
Israeli paratroopers, made their way west towards their the communication
network which was their ultimate target.
1970(28th
of Kislev, 5731): Parashat Miketz, Fourth Day of Chanukah
1970(28th
of Kislev, 5731): Seventy-nine-year-old University of Maryland trained
physician George Piness, the Odessa born son of Louis and Sara Piness and
husband of the former Hortense Weil passed away today.
1971: In
New York the 22nd national convention of the Farband, which “finally brought about the merger of
Farband, Poalei Zion, and the American Habonim Association” came to an end.
1972: Harry
S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States passed away in Kansas City,
Mo. Truman’s activist, anti-Communist
policy and his progressive domestic program earned Truman the support of Jewish
voters. But his greatest moment, from a
strictly Jewish perspective, came when he decided that the U.S. would support
the creation of the state of Israel and single-handedly ensured that the U.S.
was the first nation to recognize the new Jewish state
1973(1st
of Tevet, 5734): Rosh Chodesh Tevet and 7th Day of Chanukah
1974: “The
Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann” directed by Radley Metzger, a product of the
Grand Concourse in the Bronx was released in the United States today.
1974(12th
of Tevet, 5735): Comedian Jack Benny passed away at age 80
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jack-benny
1976(5th
of Tevet, 5737): Fifty-seven-year-old Western Electric general manager David
Kass, the husband of “the former Hortense Tackler” passed away today.
1977: The Jerusalem Post reported from
Ismailia that Prime Minister Menachem Begin, after a meeting with Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat, saw "peace in a few months." Begin had also
expressed his anger and disappointment with Knesset members who leaked details
of his peace plan before he could hand it over to Sadat. The Egyptian president
described the meeting as "one of the happiest days of his life" and
added that he was now ready for full ties and normalization with Israel.
1977(16th
of Tevet, 5738): Fifty-one-year-old New York native and NYU graduate Alvin
Lewis Erlich, the husband of Patricia Erlich, with whom he had two daughters –
Betsy and Merry and an active worker with the United Jewish Appeal of Greater
New York who went from being a sales manager with Chunky Corporation to serving
as the president and chief executive of Ward Foods passed away today.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1977/12/29/75705909.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1977(16th
of Tevet, 5738): Seventy-five-year-old University of Chicago trained attorney
Benjamin Barnard Davis, the Lithuanian born son of Max and Dora Flaxman and
husband of Janice Muller with whom he had one son – Muller Davis – who was a
partner in several law firms including Davis, Jones and Baer passed away today.
1978:
Birthdate of Alan Senitt, a British political activist and volunteer in the
campaign of Virginia’s Mark Warner.
Senitt was stabbed to death in Washington, D.C. defending his female
campaign co-worker from street thugs.
1980: It
was reported today that President-elect Ronald Reagan’s choice for director of
the Office Management and Budged have urged Reagan to “declare a national
economic emergency based in part on two memorandums written by 42 year old
Lewis E. Lehrman, the chairman of the executive committee of the Rite Aide
Corporation
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/12/26/111331949.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1981(26th
of Kislev, 5742): Shabbat Shel Chanukah; Parashat Miketz
1981: “The
Prince and the Aviator” directed by Jerry Adler and featuring Ellen Greene
opened at the Alvin Theatre.
1982: The New York Times published a review of
Leon Blum by Jean Lacouture.
1984: “Mrs.
Soffel” a prison moved produced by Scott Rudin and featuring Maury Chaykin was
released today in the United States.
1985: It
was reported today that “Moscow may restore diplomatic ties with Israel and dramatically
increase the number of Jews permitted to immigrate to Israel, according to
reports of a conversation between a representative of an American Jewish group
and a Soviet diplomat. The Jewish representative met a few days ago with an
unidentified Soviet official who predicted the restoration of full
Soviet-Israeli diplomatic relations and an increase in emigration to Israel.
1985: One
person was injured in terrorist bombing that took placed out of a restaurant in
Tel Aviv.
1986(24th
of Kislev, 5747): Kindle the first Chanukah Candle
1986: NBC
broadcast the final episode of “Search for Tomorrow” for which Tex and Irving Elman
had been the “head writers.”
1986(24th
of Kislev, 5747): Eleven days after his 73rd birthday Kovel born
journalist Rachmiel Wirnik, a member of Beta and the author of The Jewish
People Then and Now and The Old Youth Guard passed away today in Tel
Aviv.
1987(5th
of Tevet, 5748): Parashat Vayigash
1987:
Sixty-five-year-old U of Pennsylvania Phi
Beta Kappa graduate Hershel Johan Matt, the Minneapolis, MN, born son of Rabbi
Calman David Matt and Lena Matt, who after earning a MHL from JTS and receiving
Semicha at JTS went to lead several congregations while raising four children –
Jonathan, Daniel, David and Deborah—with his wife Gustine passed away today.
https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/31/obituaries/rabbi-hershel-matt-professor-65.html
1988:
Benjamin Netanyahu began serving as Deputy Foreign Minister
1989(28th
of Kislev, 5750): Fourth Day of Chanukah celebrated for the first time during
the Presidency of George Bush.
1989:
Birthdate of Israeli singer, songwriter, producer and IDF veteran
Noga Erez whose first two albums were “Off the Radar” and “Kids.”
1990: Tele 5, a Spanish television station, is
scheduled to broadcast an interview with President Hussein that had been taped
on December 22nd in Baghdad during which the Iraqi leaders says Tel
Aviv will be Iraq's first target if war breaks out in the Persian Gulf.
1991:
Robert S. Strauss began serving as the United States Ambassador to Russia
during the Presidency of George H.W. Bush
1992(2nd
of Tevet, 5753): Parashat Miketz; Seventh Day of Chanukah
1992: New
York Jet announcer Marty Glickman retires at 75
1992: The standoff between Lebanon and
Israel over the fate of 415 Palestinian deportees trapped in a snow-covered
valley in southern Lebanon, continued today as both sides again rejected
appeals to allow relief agencies to deliver food or medicine. Prime Minister
Rafik al-Hariri, whose Government has blocked relief assistance from reaching
the group, asked Washington to intervene with Israel to allow aid to reach the
Palestinians. But at the same time, his Government turned down a request by the
deportees to give the ill and injured treatment in Lebanese hospitals. An envoy
of Yasir Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said he
supported the Lebanese Government's decision to refuse entrance to the men.(As
reported by Chris Hedges)
1993:
Comedian Rodney Dangerfield weds Joan Child.
1994: The
French now suffer the fate of the Israelis at Entebbe when an Air France Flight
is hijacked by four members of the Armed Islamic Group.
1996: Eighty-year-old
actress Eleanor Lynn, a star in Clifford Odets’ “Rocket to the Moon” who was
the wife of movie executive Morris Helprin and the mother of novelist and
journalist Mark Helprin passed away today.
1997(27th
of Kislev, 5758): Third Day of Chanukah
1999: The New York Times book section includes
a review of My First 79 Years by
Isaac Stern with Chaim Potok.
2000(29th
of Kislev, 5761): Eighty-seven years old Felicia Shpritzer who was the first
woman to earn “sergeant’s stirpes” in the NYPD passed away today.
2001: In Moscow, a monument
honoring Shalom Aleichem was unveiled at a public ceremony attended by Nathan
Meron, the Israeli Ambassador. The
Moscow newspapers reporting the event described Solomon Rabinovich as “the
great Russian Jew” and “a sagacious writer.”
2001: Benyamin Ben-Eliezer won
the Labor primaries that were held today.
2002: “The Hours” a film
version of a novel by the same name produced by Scott Rudin was released today
in the United States.
2002: In “The Cultural Spoils
of War,” Ronald Lauder the chairman of the Commission for Art Recovery and
co-chairman of the Research Project on Art and Archive describes attempts to
reclaim and return cultural treasures stolen during the Holocaust.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/26/opinion/the-cultural-spoils-of-war.html
2003(1st
of Tevet, 5764): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
2003:
“The Company” a ballet movie with a screenplay by Barbara Turner was released
in the United States today.
2004:
Sir Martin Gilbert “argues that Bush and Blair may one day be seen as akin to
Roosevelt and Churchill. (Editor’s note – even the great ones get it wrong once
in a while)
2004(14th
of Tevet, 5765): Ninety-five-year-old Simon “Si” Gerson a leading member of the
Communist Party USA whose political activism spanned 7 decades passed away
today.
2005: “Builders Reveal Hidden
Synagogue and Dark Era of Portugal's Past” published today describes the fate
of Medieval Jewish Community of Porto.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/26/international/europe/26portugal.html
2006: Two boys, both 14, were
injured about 9 p.m. when a Qassam rocket landed in the street near where they
were walking. Both were treated by Magen David Adom paramedics and taken to
Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. A total of eight Qassams were fired at
Israel during the day, the most in a single day since the cease-fire was
declared about a month ago. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for firing the
missiles from the Gaza Strip at the western Negev town. One of the Qassams
fired at Israel Tuesday landed in the industrial area in south Ashkelon, close
to a strategic infrastructure installation.
2006: About Alice by Calvin
Trillin, “a slightly expanded version of the essay Alice, Off the Page” was
published today.
https://www.amazon.com/About-Alice-Calvin-Trillin/dp/1400066158
2007 (17 Tevet): Yahrtzeit of Rabbi
Aaron Zelig Ben Joel Feivush, author of Toldot Aaron and Rabbi Yaakov
Wolf Krantz, Maggid of Dubna
2008: HaTzofe (The Observer) printed its last edition today.
2008:
Closing session of the Hazon Jewish food conference in Pacific Grove,
California.
2008: The New York Times publishes a review of Searching for Schindler
by Thomas Keneally
2008: “Waltz With Bashir” opens in
selected movie theatres across the United States.
2008: The final
decision to launch Operation Cast Lead was made on this morning, when Barak met
with Chief of Staff General Gabi Ashkenazi, the head of the Shin Bet Security
Service Yuval Diskin and the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate,
Amos Yadlin
2008: In “Author Defends
Disputed Memoir,” Dave Itzkoff describes the controversy surrounding the soon
to be published Angel at the Fence by Herman Rosenblat.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7D6103AF934A15751C1A96E9C8B63
2009:
The Gilad Barkan Band, led by Israeli native Gilad Barkan, appears at the Café
Vivaldi in New York City. Barkan's band includes Israeli flutist Amir Milstein,
co-leader of Bustan Abraham, who bestows the music with a mesmerizing and
soulful new dimension.
2009: Itamar Jobani makes his final appearance at the “Open Studios: Artist
at Work program hosted by New York’s Museum of Art and Design.
2009: The Israeli military killed six Palestinians today, three in the West
Bank whom it accused of killing a Jewish settler and three in Gaza who it said
were crawling along the border wall planning an attack. It was the deadliest
day in the conflict in nearly a year.
2010: The Gateways Winter retreat at Whippany, NJ
came to an end.
2010: Klezcamp is scheduled to open today in the
Catskills. Henry Sapoznik, a Ukrainian cantor’s son who founded KlezKamp in
1984, calls it a “Yiddish Brigadoon.”
2010: The Los
Angeles Times featured reviews of books
by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Letters:
Saul Bellow edited by Benjamin Taylor and When They Come for Us, We'll
Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry by Gal Beckerman
2010: The New York Times featured reviews of books
by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Hero: The Life and
Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda
2010:
IDF troops, with the help of a helicopter
gunship, fired on insurgents who detonated an explosive device against a
passing Israeli patrol near the border in the southern Gaza Strip today.
2010:
Opening day of the Limmud Conference, the
British Jewish community’s answer to the Edinburgh Festival, which celebrates
its 30th anniversary this week at the University of Warwick in Coventry.
2010: Today, the Supreme Court rejected an
appeal filed by Israeli settlers requesting it postpone again a long-awaited
order to evict an apartment building they constructed illegally in a
predominantly Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
2011:
For the first time ever, Jews in the I-380 corridor will have a chance to light
a menorah made from bowling pins at the Chabad-Lubavitch Chanukah Bowl under the direction of Rabbi Avremel &
Chaya Blesofsky
2011:
The final performance of The Kinsey Sicks in Oy Vey in a Manger is scheduled to
take place tonight in Washington, D.C.
2011:
Singer, composer, guitarist, and living exponent of Sephardic music Gerard
Edery is scheduled to perform at the 6th Street Synagogue Center for
Jewish Arts and Literacy as part of Sephardic Music Festival in NYC
2011(30th
of Kislev, 5772): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
2011: A
police officer was wounded as clashes erupted between ultra-Orthodox Jews in
two separate neighborhoods in Beit Shemesh. Approximately 300 ultra-Orthodox
Jews began chasing police officers, hurled rocks at them, and burned trashcans
after police were called to remove a sign on a main street that orders the
separation of men and women in the neighborhood.
2011:
The Foreign Ministry warned that Israel's possible recognition of the Armenian
genocide, which was discussed in a Knesset committee today, could lead to the
serious deterioration of Israel's ties with Turkey.
2011:
Thirty-nine year old Maya Amsellem is scheduled to marry 42 year old Israeli
actor Lior Ashkenazi. (As reported by Jada Yuan)
2012:
Inebriated gondoliers vying for the throne of Barataria are scheduled to take
over the Hirsch Theater at Jerusalem’s Beit Shmuel starting today, with the
next Gilbert and Sullivan production from the Encore Educational Theater
Company.(As reported by Jessica Steinberg
2012: “Zaytoun”
a film about a downed Israeli pilot who escapes from Lebanon with a disaffected
Palestinian will be released today exclusively at Curzon Renoir.
2012:
“High Noon” the classic American western film starring Gary Cooper and Grace
Kelly is scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.
2012(13th
of Tevet, 5773): Ninety-year-old Canadian poet Elizabeth Brewster passed away
today.
2012:
“Senior officials confirmed today that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a
secret meeting in Jordan with King Abdullah II, yesterday focusing on the
possibility that Syrian President Bashar Assad would use chemical weapons
against rebels in the ongoing sectarian conflict raging in that country.
2012: A
2,750-year-old temple and a cache of sacred vessels from biblical times were
discovered in an archaeological excavation near Jerusalem, the Israel
Antiquities Authority announced today.
2012: Hawaii
Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz was named today to fill the US Senate seat
left vacant by the death of fellow Democrat Daniel Inouye.
2013: A
Kassam rocket was fired from Gaza this evening, the second in as many days. The
rocket fell in open ground right near a community in the south, causing no
injuries or damage.
In
response, the IAF struck several targets in Gaza. According to an IDF
statement, the sites including a weapons production site in central Gaza, along
with a weapons storehouse in northern Gaza.
2013:
“Captain Phillips” starring Tom Hanks is scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem
Jewish Film Festival.
2013:
“A total of 38 Indian citizens from the Bnei Menashe community made aliya
today, the first cohort to arrive since the Knesset approved another wave of
immigration for the group.” (As reported by Henry Rome and Sol Sokol)
2014: The Eden-Tamir
Music Center is scheduled to host the next in its Future Generation Series of
concerts.
2014: “Bullets holes
were discovered at the entrance to a Paris publishing this morning” marking the
third time this week that Jewish buildings have been fired upon the other two
being at the Al Haeche Kosher Restaurant and the David Ben Ichay Synagogue. (As
reported by Lazar Berman)
2014: As “worshippers
were leaving the Temple Mount complex after morning prayers, two Border Police
officers were stabled near the Lions Gates” (As reported by Lazar Berman)
2014: “The Zig Zag
Story” and “The Farewell Party” are scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem
Jewish Film Festival.
2014: “Exodus: Gods and
Kings,” the $140 million Hollywood film about the biblical escape of the Jews
from Egypt, will not be shown there because it asserts historical falsehoods
and spreads a “Zionist view,” the Egyptian culture minister was quoted as saying
today meaning that it will join Morocco as the second Arab country to ban the
film. (As reported by Rick Gladstone)
2015(14th of
Tevet, 5776): Shabbat Vayechi
2015: “Nightlife -- A
festival of light and art, intent on illuminating the multicultural abundance
and complexity of Tel Aviv's Neve Sha'anan neighborhood is scheduled to take
place this evening
2016(26th of
Kislev, 5777): Second Day of Chanukah; in the evening, kindle the third light
2016(26th of
Kislev, 5777): Ninety-four-year-old Tony winning veteran Broadway actor George
S. Irving passed away today. (As reported by Richard Sandomir)
2016(26th of
Kislev, 5777): Fifty-one-year-old Chicago filmmaker David J. Steiner died in a
bus crash while traveling in Uganda.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?pid=183243867
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/chicago-filmmaker-david-steiner-killed-in-uganda-bus-crash/
2016: In Little Rock,
Lubavitch of Arkansas under the leadership of Rabbi Pinchas Ciment is scheduled
to host a Family Chanukah Party complete with Latkes and a Smooth bar at the
Chabad House.
2016: At the Town and
Village Synagogue a variety of acoustic acts led by “Book of J – an amazing new
Bay Area collaboration between singer/guitarist Jeremiah Lockwood (Sway
Machinery) and singer Jewlia Eisenberg (Charming Hostess) making their New York
debut” are scheduled to appear as part of YNY (Yiddish New York) Unplugged.
2017: Pete and Paul, A
Fargenign: Yiddish Swing Dance Party! Is scheduled to take place tonight as
part of Yiddish New York.
2017: The Illinois
Holocaust Museum and Education Center is scheduled to kickoff “Winter Break at
the Museum” by offering freed admission to “kids and students.”
2018: “A special
workshop on improvisation for instrumentalists by renowned pianist/composer
Anthony Coleman, longtime faculty member of New England Conservatory” is
scheduled to take place today at “Yiddish New York.”
2018: Penultimate
session of the USY International Convention is scheduled to take place today in
Orlando, FL.
2018: In Albany, NY,
“Rabbi Deb Gordon of Congregation Berith Sholom in Troy” is scheduled to
facilitate this year’s final Pirkei Avot Class sponsored by the Women’s Table.
2019(28th of
Kislev, 5780): Fourth Day of Chanukah
2019: In Brisbane, CA,
Cantor Barry Reich is scheduled to lead the menorah lighting at “Latkes,
Lumpias and Horns.”
2019: In London, JW3 is
scheduled to host the last screening of “Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles.”
2019: Chabad of
Downtown Boston is scheduled to host the “Chanukah Celebration at the Seaport.”
2019: In San Francisco,
Sherith Israel is scheduled to host “Latkes and Vodkas” for adults only.
2020: YNY is scheduled
to open this evening with Yiddish singer Sarah Gordon in a traditional Zingeray
(Yiddish sing-along).
2020 The final
performance of The 28th annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy is scheduled to take
place today.
2020: After yesterday’s
interception of two rockets fired by terrorist from Gaza at Ashkelon, Israelis
are confronted with a triple header of challenges – pandemic, electoral chaos
and terrorism.
2020(10th of
Tevet, 5781): Parashat Vayigash;
2021: In Boston, the
Emerson Colonial Theatre is scheduled to host the final performance of the “new
and improved” “Fiddler on the Roof.”
2021: According to news
reports on Channel 12, “Israel is expected to begin administrating fourth doses
of the COVID-19 vaccine” today.
2021: The National Library of Israel is scheduled to
present Moisés Hassán-Amselém
an honorary lecturer on Holocaust-Shoa Studies
and Antisemitism at Pablo de Olavide Universityin
Seville, Spain who will lead “a virtual journey” through
the “Jewish Footprints in Córdoba.”
2021: The New York
Times features reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special
interest to Jewish readers including Profusely Illustrated: A Memoir by
Edward Sorel and the recently released paperback edition of Shelter in Place
by Michael Leavitt.
2022: ANU-Museum of the
Jewish People is scheduled to host “Lights and Heroes,” a Hanukkah celebration
for the Whole Family.
2022: Ukraine's Jewish
president Zelensky is on the cover of Time because he has been named Time's
Person of the Year.
https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/bkodw70ds
2022: Yiddish New York is scheduled to open today
with an online lecture by Singer, Songwriter, Poet and Educator Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman.
2022(2nd of
Tevet, 5783): Eighth Day of Chanukah
2022: Boxing Day
https://njop.org/jewish-boxing-days/
2023: In Brookline, MA,
Temple Ohabei Shalom is scheduled to host the Brookline Parents Group under the
aegis of the Jewish Family and Children’ Service.
2023: Professor Ariel
Hirschfeld, Yaara Schori and actress Noa Koller are scheduled to attend the
Agnon Prize Ceremony for author Roy Chen.
2023: Yiddish New York
is scheduled to continue for a fourth day.
2023: Jewish Gateways
is scheduled to present Rabbi Bridget Wynne as she leads the next session of an
eight-part series that explores Here All Along: Finding Meaning,
Spirituality and a Deeper Connection to Life – In Judaism by Sarah Hurwitz.
2023: As December 26
begins in Israel, the Hamas held hostages begin day 81
in captivity. (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)
2024: Boxing Day
https://njop.org/jewish-boxing-days/
2024: The final night
of Kung Pao Kosher Comedy is scheduled to take place tonight at the Imperial
Palace in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
2024(25th of
Kislev, 5785): Chanukah Chanukah Jeopardy by
Avraham Elimelech Jeopardy Template
2024: The Illinois
Holocaust Museum is scheduled to re-open today.
2024: As December 26th
begins in Israel, an unprecedented wave of anti-Semitism that has
included Hamas supporters calling for Zionist passengers on a New York subway
to raise their hands, demonstrations at a high school production of “The Diary
of Anne Frank” and the beating of a college student in Chicago sweeps the
United States and the Hamas held hostages begin day 447in captivity while
Israelis brace for more rocket attacks by Hezbollah, Iran and terrorists based
in Iraq (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)
