July 16
622: The Prophet Mohammed begins his Hijra from Mecca to Medina. This marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. The importance of this to Jewish history should require no explanation.
1099: As the Crusaders sacked Jerusalem, they burned an untold number of Jewish scrolls and books. According to Matti Friedman, the Christian soldiers spared the some of the texts with the hope that Jews in other communities would ransom them. Among these books was the Aleppo Codex. [For more on this topic see The Aleppo Codex by Matti Friedman]
1212: In Spain, an Almohades Army was defeated by a coalition of Catholic forces at The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa,. The Almohades were a puritanical Moslem sect that had taken control of the southern portion of the Iberian Peninsulas. As can be seen by their attack on the Jewish community of Castille during which they seized the Codes Hilleli, a 600 year old Biblical manuscript considered to be the oldest Hebrew copy of the Bible in Spain and the decision of the family of Maimonides to leave Spain rather than live under their rule, the Almohades did not practice the policies of religious acceptance attributed to other Islamic sects at this time. At the time the Christian victory seemed liked a plus for the Jews of Spain. However, this proved to be illusory since the victory was a major step in The Reconquista â the uniting of Spain under Christian monarchs which would culminate with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.
1216: Pope Innocent III, a prelate who had an inimical effect on the Jewish people died. He presided over the Fourth Lateran Council which among other things which enacted a series of anti-Semitic canons including those that required the Jews to wear a distinctive badge on their clothing and to pay for unfunded Christian tithes. Other banned Jews from holding public office and denied Jews who had converted to Christianity the right to return to the faith of their fathers. In 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council, called by Pope Innocent III, decreed that, on the basis of Numbers 15:37-41, Jews should wear distinctive dress (a restriction also applied to Saracens and later to heretics, prostitutes and lepers. In addition, a distinctive mark was imposed on their clothing -- centuries before the Nazis' Yellow Star -- the badge of shame, the shape and color of which varied from country to country. The badge of shame made Jews social outcasts, exposing them to both physical and verbal abuse.
1391: Valencia's King Pedro IV ordered that all Jews who had hidden in Christian houses were to be allowed to return to their homes unmolested. Furthermore he decreed that synagogues were not to be turned into churches. This did not prevent him from personably confiscating all the property of those Jews who had either been murdered or fled.
1547: Pope Paul II issued Meditatio Cordis a Bull that brought the Inquisition to Portugal establishing offices in Lisbon, Evora, Coimbra, and even in Goa. (From The History of the Jewish People)
1588: Negotiations between the Spanish and the English broke off and the English fleet at Plymouth prepared to do battle against the Spanish Armada as soon as its location could be ascertained. Victory for the Spanish would be a disaster for the Jews since it would mean an end to the haven in Protestant Holland and the spread of the Inquisition to the British Isles.
1782: First performance of Mozart's opera The Abduction from the Seraglio. Seventeen eighty-two also marked the beginning of the relationship between Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte, the son of a Jewish convert who had trained as a priest. Together, they co-produced such classics as "The Marriage of Figaro", "Don Giovanni" and "Cosi fan tutte".
1775: Marie Elizabeth Louise Dubois, a native of Canada, and Ezekiel Solomon gave birth to Ezekiel Solomon, Jr.
1790: The District of Columbia is established as the capital of the United States after the signing of the Residence Act. Isaac Pollock, the grandson of one of the founders of the Newport Jewish community, reportedly arrived in D.C. in 1795 making him the cityâs first Jewish resident. [For more information about the Washington Jewish Community see Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington http://www.jhsgw.org/]
1793(7thof Av, 5553): Catherine âKittyâ Solomons who was married in the Great Synagogue in 1792 passed away today.
1815: Birthdate of Wolf Alois Meisel, the native of Roth-Janowitz who became a leading Hungarian rabbi despite his fatherâs conversion to Christianity.
1823: Birthdate of Gerson Wolf, the native of Holleschau, Moravia, the âAustrian historian and educatorâ whose involvement in the political upheavals of 1848 and 1849 almost cost him his career.
1825(1stof Av, 5585): Rosh Chodesh Av
1825(1stof Av, 5585): Ephraim Hart, one of the founders of the New York Stock Exchange, passed away today. Born in Furth, Bavaria, he served as a private in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. While living in Philadelphia, he joined Mickvé Israel in 1782 and married Frances Noah, sister of Manuel Noah in the following year. By 1787, he hand moved to New York where his success as a businessman led to him being one of the founders of the Board of Stock Brokers in 1792.
1829: Birthdate Graziadio Isaiah Ascoli, a native of Austria who was the âgodfatherâ of all Italian philologists.
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1901-ascoli-graziadio-isaiah
1831: Birthdate of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, the King of Persia who employed Jakob Eduard Polak as his personal physician for 5 years.
1832: Henry Clay, the Senator from Kentucky, wrote a letter to Solomon Etting a Jewish businessman from Baltimore, MD. Etting had written a letter to Clay complaining about the Senatorâs derogatory use of the term âJew.â In his letter, Clay apologized since his use of the term Jew was intended to describe one person name either Moses Meyers or Meyer Moses and was not used to cast aspiration on the Jewish people. Clay claimed that he judged people as individuals and he was sure that there were individual Jews, Christians and Moslems who were bad people. Furthermore, Clay claimed to have many Jewish friends and acquaintances including the Gratzâs of Lexington, KY who are relatives of the Gratz family of Philadelphia, PA.
1836: Birthdate of German physiologist Isidor Rosenthal.
1837: In Vienna, Jonas Königswarter and his wife gave birth to Moritz Königswarter the banker whose services to the Emperor earned him âthe cross of the Order of Francis.
1841(28thof Tammuz):Moshe Teitelbaum, the Rebbe of Ujhely in Hungary passed away today. Born in 1759 he also was known as the Yismach Moshe,(Moses Rejoiced) which was also the name of text containing homilies on the Torah which was first published in 1849. Some of his descendants became leaders of the Satmar Chassidim.
1843(18thof Tammuz, 5603): Tzom Tammuz observed
1848:Today, the Hebrew Education Society of Philadelphia was formally organized, with Solomon Solis as its first president.
1855(1st of Av, 5615): Rosh Chodesh Av
1856: Samuel Belasco married Hannah Isaacs at the Bevis Marks Synagogue today.
1858: "Progress of Liberal Ideas in England" published today stated that The Jew Bill, which has so often met its fate at the portals of the House of Lords, has at last managed to secure a majority of forty-six on a second reading, and all doubt as to its ultimate triumph may now be considered at an end. No measure, since the Reform bill, has met with so many reverses, and has had so little reason arrayed against it.
1859: In Albany, Oregon, Bohemian natives Jacob Fleischner and Fanny Nadler gave birth to Isaac Newton Fleishner, an 1878 graduate of St. Augustineâs College, a partner in Fleischner, Mayer & Company, âthe largest wholesale dry goods house on the Pacific coastâ and President of the local Bânai Bârith Lodge who married Tessie Goslinsky with whom he had two daughters.
1859: Moses and Esther Lazarus gave birth to the their Annie Lazarus who would become Annie Humphrey Johnston when she married John Henry Johnstone
1862: After having lived in England for 25 years, Louis Lowe a father of five who âhad presided over the Board School for Jewish Boys since 1861â âwore the Oath of Allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria.â
1863: In Birmingham, England, Benjamin and Charlotta Bernard gave birth to the American actor and vaudevillian Sam Bernard, the husband of Florence Deutsch who began his career at the age of 13 in âthe Grand Dukeâs Theatre.â
1863: âIn Bielitz, Austrain Silesia, Bertha Jager and Salomon Blumenfeld, gave birth to their youngest child concert pianist Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler, the wife of Sigmund Zeisler, the graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law who served as âco-counsel in the trial of the Haymarket Riot âanarchists.ââ
1863: During the Civil War, the New Draft Riots, during which âGeneral William Mayerâ performed âheroic service for which he receivedâ a letter of thanks from President Lincoln, came to an end.
1863: During the American Civil War, Jacob C. Cohen who was serving with the 27thOhio Infantry wrote to the Jewish Messenger from Memphis, Tennessee.
1865: In Carlsbad, Austria, Alexander and Cecilie (Oesterrich) Pam gave birth to Max Pam who came to the United State in 1858 where served as counsel to U.S. Steel and was a benefactor of both to a Catholic University (Notre Dame) and Hebrew University.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=9C07E6D7133AEF3ABC4D52DFBF66838E639EDE
1865:Rabbi Samuel Marx Levi (Mordechai) and Eva (Chaje) Moses Lewuw gave birth to Esther Marx, the wife of businessman Gabriel Kosel and the aunt of Karl Marx.
1866: During the Third Italian war of Independence Lt. Colonel Enrico Guastalla (Isaac Michael Benedict) and âdeputy chief of the General Staff of the Italian Volunteer Corpsâ served with such distinction at the Battle of Condino today that he âwas decorated with the Cross of the Order of Savoy.
1868: In England, âJoseph Simmons Belasco and Sarah Belasco gave birth to Rabbi George S. Belasco, a product of âthe Spanish and Portuguese Congregational Schoolsâ and founder of âthe Jewish Communal League who was the âhusband of Cordeilia Jane Belascoâ with whom he had seven children.
1874: In Cleveland, Ohio, the Council of American Hebrews heard the report of the Committee on Theological Institute which presented the laws for the organization and governance of an institution of higher learning which will be called the Hebrew Union College which is âto be permanently located in Cincinnati.â
1879(25thof Tammuz, 5639): Italian politician and journalist Giacomo Dina passed away. Born into poverty in 1824 at Turin, he became a teacher before founding Opinione, a journal that he edited for 30 years and used as a springboard to serving in the Parliament as deputy from Imola, Bologna.
1880: It was reported today that the National Rabbinical Association has elected Dr. Max Lilienthal as its President and chosen Chicago as the location for its meeting in 1881.
1880: âNot A Hebrew After Allâ published today described the confusion over the ethnic origins of an unidentified body found on the Newark, NJ Turnpike near Hackensack. Since the undertaker reported him to be Jewish, the Jews of Hoboken, NJ took up a collection to provide him with a decent burial. After finding out that this was not the case, the Jews asked the undertaker to return the money. He refused and told them that they would have to sue him.
1882: âTrouble in a Synagogueâ published today described the impact of the addition of some prayers in English at the St. Constant Street Jewish Synagogue in Montreal. Police were stationed in the synagogue during services after some members who were upset by the change threatened to cause trouble.
1882: As of today, there were 250,000 Jews living in the United States. Sixty thousand of them live in New York and another 14,000 live in Brooklyn. San Francisco, with a population of 16,000 and St. Louis with a population of 6,500 are the only two cities found in a list of 20 cities with the largest Jewish populations. New Orleans, with a population of 5,000 Jews is the only Southern city found in this same list. Cincinnati, the home of Reform Judaism has a Jewish population of 8,000. With a total population of over 80,000, New York State had the largest population while at the other end of the spectrum, the Dakota Territories were home to only 19 Jews.
1882: A young Jewish woman named Rudolpha Leischinsky who had come to New York from Europe several months again was taken to the Castle Garden Hospital today shortly before she had attempted to commit suicide by cutting her throat.
1882: As the Freight Handlerâs Strike continues in New York, five hundred dollars will be given to the Jews today who have stopped working and joined the strikers.
1882. The Committee of Persuasion, made up of striking freight handlers sent out representatives to various ethnic groups, including the Jews, to convince them to join the strikers. The representatives are fluent in the language to the particular group to which they are appealing.
1884: Lazarus Lemisch, his wife and five children arrived in New York aboard the SS Amerique. Their passage had been paid for by the Hebrew Relief Society of Paris.
1884: Russian Jewish Markus Holz, Gerson Selkowitz, Adolph Lazarus and Samuel Rasenzweig and their family members who arrived from Hamburg yesterday are being held Wardâs Island from which they will be shipped back to Europe because they do not meet the requirements to show they will not become public charges.
1884: It was reported today that a young un-named Jew has openly embraced Christianity at the Boston Industrial Home. This is believed to the first time in the history of Boston that a Jew has responded directly to conversion attempts by Christian missionaries. [The Boston Industrial Home may refer to a rescue mission]
1885: The will of Edward J. King was admitted to probate today. Among the bequests were $2,000 to Mount Sinai Hospital; $1,000 in cash and $2,000 in bonds to the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum; $2,000 to the Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews of New York; $2,000 to the United Hebrew Charities; $500 to Congregation Bânai Jeshrun; $500 to be held in trust by the congregation, the income of which is used to pay the expenses to maintain the testators cemetery plot. The bulk of the estate went to Kingâs wife, sons and son-in-law.
1885: Birthdate of Austrian historian and archaeologist Robert von Heine-Geldern, a grandnephew of Heinrich Heine.
1886: Birthdate of Salt Lake City native Clarence Bamberger, the husband of Marie Bamberger and father Clarence âClickâ Bamberger, who was part of âa pioneering Utah mining and railroad familyâ and the nephew of Utah governor Simon Bamberger, the first non-Mormon to hold the position.
1887: As of today, the Sanitarium for Hebrew Children had raised $1,944 to provide free summer excursions for poor Jewish children and their mothers.
1887: Berthold Riese was being held in the Jefferson Market Police Court on charges of abandoning his wife. Riese, who is Jewish, claimed that he had never married the woman because she had never divorced her first husband, John T. Kennedy. The woman in question is a Catholic who claims they were married by a Lutheran minister as an act of religious compromise.
1887: In New York, Simon Kleber and Judah Waser, two Jewish peddlers, have filed a complaint against Frederick Timme, a police officer stationed at the 14thPrecinct. According to the complaint the two men were attacked by a bartender when they went into a liquor store to sell their wares. When they were driven into the street, they called out to the policeman for help. He responded by clubbing them and driving them away. This was not the first complaint filed against this police officer. [Note â charges of police brutality by immigrants are something that have survived into the 21stcentury; the only change is in the immigrant group.]
1890: It was reported today that as part of the Russian governmentâs new âstringent measures against the Jews, the newspaper Novostihas been âsuppressedâ and the editor has been ordered to leave the country
1891: The large number of Russian Jews who arrived in Montreal yesterday have been found to be âpoor people in a sickly condition.â
1892: The School of Applied Ethics under the leadership of Dr. Felix Adler is holding classes today at the Old High School Building on Main Street in Plymouth, MA.
1893: It was reported today that âthe story about the Grand Duke Michael personally saving the Jews of the Caucasus from expulsion may be dismissed as apocryphalâ since the Grand Duke has little influed with the Czar and this region has been âexempted from the anti-Jewish edictsâ enforced in other parts of the empire.
1893: It was reported today that while the number of anti-Semites in the Reichstag has been growing, in a strange twist, a Jew has been elected to the Town Council of Rostock which was one of the last cities in Germany âto abrogate the medieval laws against the Jews.â
1893: Between July 3 and today, ânearly 2,000 mothers and childrenâ have enjoyed âa dayâs outing at the Sanitarium for Hebrew Children at Rockaway Park.
1893: At the Essex Market Police Court, Police Justice Ryan âremitted the ten dollar fine he had imposed on 25 year old Morris Goodmanâ who had been arrested on charges âobstructing the sidewalkâ and assault, after he delivered a talk on his view of Jews whom he feels do not respect the law and the rights of Christians.
1893: The Jew of Yalta ârefused to obey the decree toâ leave the Crimean city and move to the Pale.
1893: The delegates from the Hebrew Typographical Union complained that Joseph Barondess and Samuel Gompers had tried to get some of their members from an office where they were working as printers.
1894: Two days after he had passed away, 54 year old Henry Silver, the son of Samuel and Priscilla Silver and the husband of Sarah Nathan with whom he had seven children â Pricilla, Kate, Hannah, Sam, John, Lewis and Fanny â was buried today at the West Ham Jewish Cemtery.
1894: It was reported today that Herman Ahlwardt has composed a pamphlet while serving time in prison that is âso rabidly anti-Semitic as to suggest the insanity of the author.â
1894: The Baltimore Sun reported today that a Judge Dennis has signed a decree giving Jacob and Henry Herman to the right to remove the bodies of their parents from the cemetery of Shearith Israel so that they could be re-interred at the cemetery of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation.
1894: âMr. Straus Has A New Planâ published today described the success of the 14 depots selling low-cost sterilized and modified milk and the benefit that sick children have enjoyed from drinking the sterilized beverage. Nathan Straus is so pleased with the results that he has commissioned plans for a year-round depot for which construction will begin this fall.
1897: Herzl publishes his article "Protest rabbiner" - "Protest Rabbis" in the German newspaper, â"Die Welt.â The Protest Rabbis refers to western Rabbis who were opposed to Zionism.Â
1897(16th of Tammuz, 5657): Emanuel Rich, co-founder of Richâs Department Store, passed away.
1897(16thof Tammuz, 5657): Sixty-eight year old German jurist and lawyer Levin Goldschmidt passed away today.
1898: âThe Numbering of Housesâ published today described the role of the Jews in the introduction of house numbers in London.
1899: âSlavonic and Semitic Booksâ published today described the growth of the Jewish Department of the New York Public Library which now contains over 4,000 volumes in modern and ancient languages including Yiddish.â
1899(9th of Av, 5659): Tish'a B'Av
1899: âThe Marquise de Mores has addressed an appeal to the Criminal Chamber of the Cour de Cassactionâ in which she charges that there were serious errors made in the investigation of the death of her husband Marquis de Mores by the Court in Algiers. Her husband, an officer in the French Army, was a vocal anti-Semite who had befriended those who framed Dreyfus and instigated duels in which he killed at least one Jewish officer. Ironically, the Marquiseâs maiden name was Mendora von Hoffman, the daughter of Louis von Hoffman a prominent Jewish banker.
1899: âContribution to a Poor Familyâ published today described the efforts of the United Hebrew Charities of the City of New York to raise $400 settle a family of four in the country because the husband and wife have become âchronic invalids through overwork in the city.â
1899: Birthdate of comedian and movie director Larry Semon who appeared with Laurel and Hardy and in the 1920âs directed the silent screen version of âThe Wizard of Oz.â
1901: Birthdate of Austrian born composer and conductor Frtiz Mahler, the son of a âprofessor of Oriental Languages who was also a cousin of composer of Gustav Mahler.
http://archives.nypl.org/mus/20282
https://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/19/archives/fritz-marler-72-conductor-dead-led-erie-philharmonic-and-the.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20070712204303/http:/www.nypl.org/research/lpa/mus/pdf/MUSMAHLE.pdf
1903: The British Foreign Office sent a second telegram to Herzl informing him that his idea to establish a Jewish settlement in the Sinai as first step towards establishing a Jewish homeland in Eretz Israel was not practical.
1904(4thof Av, 5664): Parashat Devarim; Shabbat Chazon
1904: In response to the calls by Dr. Harry Friedenwald the President of the Federation of American Zionists, to take note of the recent passing of Theodor Herzl, many Jewish congregations offered up special prayers.
1905: Sixty-one year old Major General Sir Henry Trotter, who as the General Officer Commanding the Home District attended a âpublic displayâ in 1909 of the Jewish Lads Brigade, âthe UKâs oldest Jewish youth movement founded by Colonel Albert E.W. Goldsmidâ with a goal, in part of helping the children of poor immigrants assimilate into British society passed away today.
1905: When Commander Robert Peary left New York today aboard the SS Roosevelt, in the latest attempt to reach the North Pole, his crew included the surgeon Dr. Louis J. Wolff of Silverton, Oregon who had given up his work at the Cornell Dispensary and the Bellevue Dispensary to serve as the medical officer for the expedition.
1906(23rdof Tammuz, 5666):Fifty-three year old Hamburg native Alried Beit who made his fortune in the gold and diamond fields of South Africa and whose philanthropies included the creation of what is now the âBeit Professor of History of the British Commonwealthâ at Oxford passed away today.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5088230
1906: Birthdate of Abraham Orovitz, the native of Vienna, Georgia who gained fame as director and actor Vincent Sherman.
1907: The will of the late Isidor Worsmer was filed with the Surrogate today. Among the bequests left by the successful banker were $5.000 to Temple Emanu-El; $2,500 to both the Mount Sinai Hospital and the United Hebrew Charities Association; $1,000 to the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, the Montefiore Home, the Hebrew Technical Institute, the Educational Alliance and the Tuskegee Institute. The rest of the sizable estate was left to family members and employees of I & S Wormser. [Contributions to non-Jewish institutions were par for the course. The surprise here is the contribution to Tuskegee, the newly established institution for African-Americans headed by Booker T. Washington in rural Alabama.]
1908(17thof Tammuz, 5668): Tzom Tammuz
1911: Eighty-five Jews from Shiraz, Persia appeal for assistance to go live in Palestine.
1912: Harry Horowitz and three other Jewish gangsters gunned down bookmaker Herman Rosenthal two days after he had complained that that âhis illegal casinos had been badly damaged by the greed of New York City Police Lt. Charles Becker and his associates
1914(22ndof Tammuz, 5674): Fifty-six year old âFinsbury, Londonâ native Mathilde Tuck, the wife of Herman Tuck and the mother of David and Rosina Tuck passed away today
1914: Dr. Schmarja Levin of Berlin who was a member of the first Russian Duma is scheduled to speak in Brooklyn, NY, tonight.
1915: It was reported today that Alfred S. Engel, the son of Tammany leader and âSilver Dollarâ Smith ally Martin Engel âwill inherit a comfortable fortune.â
1916(15th of Tammuz, 5676): Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov Russian microbiologist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1908 passed away.
1916: Eighty nine delegates from 26 Jewish organizations including the United Synagogues of America (Conservative), the Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform), the American Jewish Committee, the Council of Jewish Women, the Independent Order of Free Sons of Israel, the National Workmenâs Committee on Jewish Rights, the Order of Bârith Abraham and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations attended the conference of the American Jewish Committee today at the Astor Hotel in New York where they adopted a proposal for the meeting of a congress with the object of obtaining full rights for the Jews of all lands and the abrogation of all laws discriminating against them.
1916: Among the donations to The Central Committee for the Relief of Jews Suffering Through the War of which Harry J. Fischel is treasurer are $24 from the Daughters of Jacob of Manchester, New Hampshire and $32 from the Relief Committee of Yarmouth, Canada.
1916: It was reported today that âPaul E. Kretzman has contributed the Library of Educational Methods a monograph entitled âEducation Among the Jewsââ that âdeals with the years running from the earliest of times to the end of the Talmudic Period in 500 A.D.â
1916: Among the donations to the American Jewish Relief Committee of which Felix M. Warburg is treasurer are $1,000 dollars from the committee in Des Moines, Iowa and $2,000 from the Committee in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1916: âWill Immigration Tide Rise After the War?â published today provided the views of Frederic C. Howe, the United States Commissioner of Immigration on this topic including the observation that âthe Jews have suffered more than any one from the war, they always do. In Russia and Rumania they are not permitted to own real estate; they are kept within a pale, and whenever opportunity offers are subjected to oppression. So I expect more Jews than ever to turn to the United States when the war is over.â
1917: As the Kerensky government tries the impossible â staying the war while dealing with the economic and social dislocation brought on by Revolution â âarmed anti-government demonstrations erupted in Petrograd which would lead to anti-Semitic attacks throughout the tottering empire.
1918: The Second Annual Zionist Summer Course sponsored by the Intercollegiate Zionist Association continued today for a second day.
1918: The execution of Czar Nicholas II brought an end to a dynasty guilty of many crimes against Jews. Unfortunately, the regime that replaced it was no better for the Jews.
1918: âJews Lean to the Alliesâ published today described the feeling among Austrian Jews that the Entente powers are prepared to do more for âthe Israelitesâ while the Central Powers promise to do less and less which reportedly has led to a decision by them âto abandon their neutrality an forcibly renounce our rights as citizensâŠâ (Editorâs note â this seeming act of disloyalty stands in stark contrast to the participation of Jews in the Army fighting under Franz Joseph)
1919: âThe Most Rev. Dr. Platon, the Metropolitan of Kherson and OdessaâŠwho is visiting New Yorkâ took issue with the way the press had portrayed his view of Jews saying that while it is true that âJews participate in the Bolshevist movement in Russiaâ he also has said that âthe Jewish people cannot be held responsible for the participation of its individual members in the Bolshevist movementâ and that âthe best elements of the Russian Jewry participate actively in the great movement head by the All-Russian Government in Omsk.â
1922: German born American Jewish inventor and businessman Emil Berliner and his son Henry Berliner demonstrated a working helicopter for the United States Army. Berliner had moved from Hanover, Germany and settled in Washington, D.C. where he is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery.
1924: In the Bronx, Louis and Bella Myerson gave birth to âthe second of three daughters,â Bess who was crowned the first Jewess to be crowned Miss America. When Bess Meyerson won the crown in 1945, it demonstrated a certain level of acceptance of Jews in the general American culture. She went on to a successful career that included hosting daytime game shows in the 1950âs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/nyregion/bess-myerson-miss-america-and-new-york-official-tarnished-in-scandal-dies.html?hpw&rref=obituaries&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=1
1925: Birthdate of Brooklyn native Stanley Shapiro the screenwriter whose scripts included the WW II comedy âOperation Petticoat.â
https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/24/obituaries/stanley-shapiro-65-pillow-talk-script-won-him-an-oscar.html
1926: In Brooklyn, âHarry Royze, who operated a flooring business, and the former Ella Greenwaldâ gave birth to chemist and Nobel Prize Winner, Irwin Rose. When Rose won his Nobel Prize in 2004, five out of the six winners of Nobel Prizes in the sciences were Jewish.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/science/irwin-rose-nobel-winning-biochemist-dies-at-88.html?hpw&rref=obituaries&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
1927: An out of court settlement was announced today in the defamation suit that Aaron Sapiro had brought against Henry Ford, Sr. after The Dearborn Independent had published claims that Sapiro and a group of Jewish bankers and merchants were seeking to control the nationâs wheat farming. Ford would eventually close his anti-Semitic newspaper and apologize for his role in published The International Jew. Those who thought this demonstrated a change in Fordâs hatred of Jews were disabused of that notion when Ford accepted the Grand Cross of the German Eagle from the Nazis in 1938. (As reported by the Jewish Virtual Library)
1928: In London, âNewson Bruckner, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, and Maude Schiska, a singer whose father had emigrated from Poland and founded a tobacco factoryâ gave birth to their only child, âart historian and award winning authorâ Anita Brookner. (As reported by Alan Cowell)
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/arts/international/anita-brookner-hotel-du-lac-obituary.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=Moth-Visible&moduleDetail=inside-nyt-region-3&module=inside-nyt-region®ion=inside-nyt-region&WT.nav=inside-nyt-region&_r=0
1929: Victor Luitpold Berger, the first member of the Socialist Party to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives suffered a fracture skull today when he was hit by streetcar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The injury would prove to be fatal.
1930: Civilization and its Discontents by Sigmund Freud is published for the first time in the United States.
1932: âSkyscraper Soulsâ featuring Gregory Ratoff as Mr. Vinmont and Jean Hersholt as Jacob Sorenson with music Nathaniel Shilkret was released by MGM in the United States today.
1933: In an interview with a deputation of representatives of the Jewish Community of Briinn, Czech President Thomas G. Masaryk declares that the waves of anti-Semitism âwill not overflow into the country's bordersâ.
1934: The body of Chaim Nachman Bialik arrived in Tel Aviv today. Tens of thousands of Jews from all walks of life and from all parts of the political spectrum were on hand to mark this historic moment. It was the largest funeral in the history of the Jewish homeland. While there was no lack of notables in attendance, at the request of the widow, no speeches were delivered.
1934: Morris Rothenberg, President of the ZOA, presided over the memorial service for Chiam Nachman Bialik held at New Yorkâs Carnegie Hall. The near capacity crowd heard a wide spectrum of speakers and then listened to Canter David Putterman of the Park Avenue Synagogue chant the Hazkarah and Jewish actress Miriam Elias recite two of Bialikâs poems including âWhen I am Dead.â
1935: In London, Erwin and Elisabeth Rosenthal (née Marx), refugees from Nazi Germany gave birth to publisher Thomas Gabriel Rosenthal.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10590405/Tom-Rosenthal-obituary.html
1936: The Palestine Post reported that British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden declared that the British Mandate in Palestine would not be relinquished. Two British officers and a Jewish driver were wounded near Nablus when Arabs opened fire on a military patrol. Shots were fired on a train near Lydda. The High Commissioner, Sir Arthur Wauchope, visited the new Tel Aviv port. He hoped that over a million cases of citrus would be handled there in the next season. The Manchester Guardian wrote that Jewish immigration to Palestine had never been allowed to keep pace with the "absorptive capacity." The Arab population had increased from 500,000 in 1922 to 850,000 in 1936, because Palestine became more attractive by the Jewish influx
1936: Among those visiting Governor Landon, the Republican nominee for President, in Topeka, Kansas today were Eugene Myer former Chairman of the Federal Reserveâs Board of Governors and the owner/publisher of the Washington Post, Rabbi Samuel Mayerberg of Kansas City, the past regional President of Bânai Bârith and Joseph Cohen the Kansas City attorney âwho has been active in Jewish fraternal association work.â
1936: In Bucharest, Romania, the eight members of the âanti-Semitic Iron Guardsâ which had murdered Premier Ion Duca four years ago fired forty bullets into the body of Michael Stalescus who ârecently violently attacked the Iron guards for mass attacks on Bucharest Jewsâ as he lay âin his hospital bedâŠawaiting an operation for appendicitisâ
1936: At a meeting in the Hotel New Yorker, Rose Schneiderman was elected vice chairman of the New York State Labor Party. The newly formed party declared its support for President Franklin Roosevelt and New York Governor Herbert Lehman, but called on all working people to desert the two established parties and join in a new coalition. http://jwa.org/thisweek/jul/16/1936/rose-schneiderman
1936: âMeet Nero Wolfâ directed by Herbert Biberman, produced by B.P. Schulberg and co-starring Lionel Stander was released by Columbia Pictures Corporation in the United States today.
1937(8thof Ave, 5697): Fifty-four year old âDr. Abraham Coralnik âŠthe veteran writer for The Day, a New York Yiddish newspaperâ passed away this morning at Mt. Kosco, NY.
https://www.jta.org/1937/07/18/archive/dr-a-coralnik-journalist-dies-of-heart-attack-at-54
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1937/07/17/94401563.pdf
1937: The Buchenwald concentration camp opens when the first 300 inmates arrive the installation outside of Weimar.
1938: After 500 performances at the Cort Theatre, the curtain came down on the original Broadway production of âRoom Serviceâ which was âbasis for the Marx Brothers film of the same titleâ and which featured Alexandro Asro and Sam Levene
1938(17thof Tammuz, 5698): Parashat Balak
1938: âA special prayer composed by the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Dr. Joseph Herman Hertzâ which âspoke of the spirt of perverseness which has come over a renowned nation whose rulers have proclaimed an idolatry of race and bloodâ was recited this morning as part of weekend in which âCatholics and Protestants joined with Jews in special services throughout the British and Dominions in behalf of the persecuted Jews in all countries, particularly in Germany and Austria.â
1938(17thof Tammuz, 5698): Seventy-five year old Moses Jacob Mandelbaum the thrice married Cleveland businessman and philanthropist who was the son of Jacob and Amelia (Lehman) Mandlebaum passed away today.
https://case.edu/ech/articles/m/mandelbaum-maurice-j-moses
1938: âIn commenting on the conference at Evian, France, to assist refugees from Germany, the Westfaelische Landeszeitungâ asserted âthat the United States âis interested primarily in rich Jewsâ and in the âpossibility of doing business â naturally at Germanyâs expense.â
1938: âAspect of intergroup cooperation will be discussed this afternoon at the opening of a two-day conference on intercultural education for teachersâ being held âunder the sponsorship of the National Jews and Christiansâ which will be attended by more than â500 religious education, visiting teachers and college leaders.â
1939: In âNew Bach Arrangement,â published today Dr. Peter Gradenwitz describes a performance by the Palestine Symphony Orchestra in Tel Aviv of Bachâs âArt of the Fugueâ using a new orchestration by Swiss composer Roger Vuataz. The orchestra performed under the baton of Dr. Hermann Scherchen the famous German musician who left his native land in protest over the policies of the current rĂ©gime.
1940: Paul Schulman, the son of Columbia trained lawyer Herman Shulman and his wife Rebecca passed his physical for entrance into the United States Naval Academy which was a critical step on his path to serving the USN and playing an active role in Israelâs nascent naval force in 1948.
1941: The Final Solution came to Bar,when the Germans occupied the town in the Ukraine.
1941: Today, FregattenkapitĂ€n Dr. Hans Kawelmacher, who would call for a âquick implementation of the Jewish problemâ was appointed the German naval commandant in LiepÄj
1941: Vichy continued to mirror the anti-Semitism of the Third Reich by banning Jews from the legal profession.
1942: The first train with Jews from Holland left for a killing camp.
1942: On order from Pierre Laval, the Prime Minister of the Vichy French government, between 13,000 and 20,000 Jews living in Paris were rounded up by the French police for deportation. This was known as âLa Grande Rafleâ or the Big Sweep. The group of Jews in this round up is primarily German and Austrian born Jews who were living in the French capital. The first one thousand would be deported three days later on a so-called "Eichmann Train." There were no protests from the Parisians.
http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/this_month/july/01.asp
1942(2nd of Av, 5702): A large number of Jews were killed in Molxzadz.
1943: In Vilna, Lithuanian police raided a meeting of the United Partisan Organization attended by the head of the Jewish Council. Jewish partisans rescued the head of the resistance.
1943: Flight Commander Lydia Litvyak who was already an âAceâ shot down âa bomber and shared a victory with a comradeâ but took a hit from the Germans that forced her to make a belly landing.
1943:Â Theophil Wurm, bishop of the Evangelical Church in WĂŒrttemberg, Germany, sends a letter to Berlin in which he asks that the persecution of "members of other nations and races" be halted immediately.
1943(13thof Tammuz, 5703): Sixty-one year old pioneer pathologist Dr. Avrum Herman Zeiler, the native of Poland who came to the United States 56 years ago and whose son Lt. Meyer Zeiler followed in his footsteps when he joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps passed away today in Los Angeles.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1943/07/17/85110445.pdf
1943: Birthdate of Stan Gebler Davis, the native of Dublin âwho belong to a breed of rake-hell, rumbustious very rumbustious, very Irish journalist of great charmâŠâ (As reported by John Calder)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-stan-gebler-davies-1424755.html
1943(13thof Tammuz, 5703): Eighteen year old Dutch diarist Helga Deen was murdered today at SobibĂłr extermination camp.
 http://www.mibba.com/Articles/Biographies/2577/The-Diary-of-Helga-Deen-Written-at-Vught-Concentration-Camp/
1943(13thof Tammuz, 5703): Thirty-six year old resistance fighter Yitzhak Wittenberg died today.
http://www.geni.com/people/Yitzhak-Wittenberg/6000000016355083827
1943: Itzik Wittenber (the Communist commander of the Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye (FPO), the United Partisans Organization, the ghettoâs underground resistance movement), whether on his own accord, or compelled, or something in between, met with Jacob Gens (the de factor head of the Vilna Ghetto) near the Judenrat building, where a car was waitingâ which took him to the Gestapo headquarters, a couple kilometers outside the ghetto on the day before his death. (Editorâs note â the tumultuous events of that day are part of âToday is the Sixteenth of July,â a poem by Abba Kovner.
1943: Today Pravda reported: that  âpopular actor and director of the Moscow Jewish State Theatreâ Solomon Mikhoels who was chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee and Itizk âFeffer received a message from Chicago that a special conference of the Joint initiated a campaign to finance a thousand ambulances for the needs of the Red Army."
1944: The first five thousand Brazilian Expeditionary Force (BEF) soldiers, the 6th Regimental Combat team that had left on July 2nd arrived in Italy. Among the members of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force was Salomao Nauslausky who served so courageously that he was âmentioned in dispatches.â
1945: The United States successfully tested an atomic bomb at the Trinity sit near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The Jewish involvement in the decision to build and the actual construction of the bomb is a well-documented fact. Thanks to these Jews, America beat Germany in the race to build the bomb. Regardless of how some may view the decision to use the bomb against Japan, the fact is that a lot of Allied service men lived through the war because there was no invasion of Japan. The estimated casualties for the invasions and pacification were in the million plus category.
1946: Birthdate of Ann Kathryn Turkel, the New York model who went to an acting career starting with an appearance than the sport comedy film âPaper Lion.â
1948: After fierce fighting, the Israelis successfully took Nazareth.
1948: The Irgun planned to make one more attempt to re-take the Old City, âa day before the second cease-fireâ was set to begin.
1948: The Arab Liberation Army completed its evacuation of Ein Kerem, a village which would be incorporated into the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem.
1948: During Operation Dekel, the Israeli 7th Armored Brigade took the villages of Amqa, al-Damun and Lubya.
1948: Operation Death to the Invader, an Israeli military operation designed âto link Jewish villages in the Negev with the rest of Israelâ began this evening.
1948: David Ben Gurion noted in his diary today the arrival of three B-17âs in Israel âand mentioned that they had already been used for several bombing runs in Egypt. These were the only âheavy bombersâ the Israelis had. Known as 69 Squadron they had been obtained by Charles Winters who was known as âthe godfather of the Israeli air force.â
1948: While Israel was waging its War of Independence (and survival) world-renowned violinist Pinchas Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv.
1948 Premiere of Key Largo, the truly dark film noir produced by Jerry Wald, with a script co-authored by Richard Brooks, co-starring Lauren Bacall and Edward G. Robinson.
1949(19thof Tammuz, 5709): Parashat Pinchas
1949: After having already opened in Los Angeles, âCalamity Jane and Sam Bass,â produced by Leonard Goldstein and Aaron Rosenberg, with a script co-written by Melvin Levy and filmed by cinematographer Irving Glassberg premiered in Los Angeles.
1949: After 157 performances at the Cort Theatre, the curtain came down on the original Broadway production of âTwo Blind Mice,â a comedy written by Samuel and Bella Spewack.
1950:Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett declined to commit himself today on Israel's answer to the request of United Nations Secretary General Trygve Lie for aid in the Korean War. He said that the matter would be considered by the Cabinet this week, but implied that Israel's defense needs must be considered
1951: The Jerusalem Post reported that thousands of apartment-seeking Israelis registered for the government's popular housing scheme. There were long queues for domestic ice delivery in Jerusalem. Shoe sales increased considerably after 17 new shoe ration points went into effect.
1951: Birthdate of Philadelphia native Daniel Singer âDanâ Bricklin, âthe American co-creator of the VisiCalc spreadsheet programâ known as âthe Father of the Spreadsheet.â
http://www.bricklin.com/bontech/
1951: J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye was published. Jerome David Salinger was born in New York in 1919. His father was Jewish. His was mother was Irish-Catholic. This genealogy according to some critics was the source of some of Salinger's inner-conflict that came out in his writings and in his decision to become the most famous literary hermit of the century.
1952: âZombies of the Stratosphereâ featuring Leonard Nimoy in one of his earliest film roles, was released by Republic Pictures in the United States today.
1955: Birthdate of Zohar Argov âa popular Israeli singerâ who provided âa distinctive voice in the Mizrahi music scene.â
1956(8thof Av, 5716): Erev Tishâa BâAv
1956(8thof Av, 5716): Seventy-six year old Maurice P. Davidson the son of Philip and Rebecca Davidson and NYU trained attorney who was the âfounder of the City Fusion Partyâ which played a key role in the election of Mayor La Guardia and the husband of âthe former Blanche Reinheimer and father of Robert, John, Alfred, Harold and Frank Davidson passed away today.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1956/07/17/88463041.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=ArticleEndCTA®ion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=23
1956: Birthdate of Anthony Robert Julius the British lawyer whose clients included Diana, Princess of Wales.
1956: In New York, Sylvia (nĂ©e Deutscher), a bassoonist, and William David Kushner, a clarinetist and conductor gave birth Lake Charles, LA and Columbia educated Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner whose most notable works was âAngels in America.â
1957(17th of Tammuz, 5717): Tzom Tammuz
1958: âRock-A-Bye Babyâ comedy produced by Jerry Lewis who was also the star with music by Sammy Cahn and Walter Scharf premiered in Los Angeles.
1963: In New York City, Lily Cates and Joseph Cates (born Joseph Katz) âa major Broadway producerâ who also helped to create the amazingly popular quiz show, The $64,000 Question, gave birth to actress Phoebe Belle Cates who became Phoebe Cates Kline when she married fellow thespian Kevin Klin.
1964: âCircus Worldâ produced by Samuel Bronston, with a script by Ben Hecht and music by Dimitri Tiomkin was released by Paramount Pictures in the United States today.
1965(16thof Tammuz, 5725): Sixty-two year old German born Brazilian pianist composer Henry Jolles, the son of âDr. Oscar Jolles and his wife, Gertrude (nĂ©e Sternberg), a student of Kurt Weil the German-Jewish composer with whom he wrote at least one composition before 1933 who left Germany because of the rise of the Nazis, passed away today.
1966(28thof Tammuz, 5726): Parashat Matot-Masei
1966(28thof Tammuz, 5726): Eighty-two year old Abraham Balaban, the Russian born husband of Tillie Adamofsky Balaban passed away today after which he was buried in the Beth Israel Cemetery in West Springfield, MA.
1967: A young Kibbutznik got out of his jeep at Aalleiqa, an abandoned Syrian Army base on the Golan Heights, and became the first settler in the Golan. He would be joined by other secular Jews in the next few days and they would form the kibbutz now known as Merom Golan.
1969: While âthere had be no casualties, several head of cattle were reportedly killed today when âan Israeli patrol crossed the border with Lebanon and âblew up three deserted houses in a forest in a villageâ approximately sixty miles from Beirut.
1970(12th of Tammuz, 5730): Haim-Moshe Shapira, an Israeli political leader who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1948 passed away. Born in Grodno in 1902, he was a founder of Young Mizrachi who made Aliyah in 1925. He was Israelâs first Minister of Health and Minister of Immigration.Â
1970: Avner-Hair Shaki entered the Knesset as a replacement for Haim-Moshe Shapira of blessed memory.
1970: Golda Meir replaced the late Haim Moshe Shapira as Minister of Internal Affairs.
1970: Yosef Goldschmidt completed his first term as Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs.
1971: Birthdate of actor Corey Feldman.
1973: During the Watergate Scandal former White House aide Alexander P. Butterfield informs the United States Senate of the existence of heretofore unknown recording system that taped all conversations that took place in the White Houseâs Oval Office. The system had been installed by President Nixon. The tapes would prove to be Nixonâs undoing and lead to his leaving office. The tapes all revealed a nasty anti-Semitic streak in President Nixon. They also revealed anti-Semitic remarks by the Reverend Billy Graham.
1976: The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel and the US were pleased at the outcome of the UN Council's debate in which a resolution censuring Israel for the raid on Entebbe failed to receive the necessary nine votes. It was in effect an acknowledgement of "Israel's right to act in the way it did."
1976: Birthdate of Russian born, Israeli tennis player, Anna Smashnova.
1983(6thof Av, 5743): Shabbat Chazon
1983(6thof Av, 5743): Mutli-dimensional author Samson Raphaelson who wrote a sort story called âThe Day of Atonementâ based on the youth of Al Jolson which then became the successful play âThe Jazz Singerâ which then became the first talking picture the star of which was Al Jolson.
http://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/17/obituaries/samson-raphaelson-author-of-the-jazz-singer-is-dead.html
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/rbml/Raphaelson/
1985: âAn exhibition of Al Hirschfeldâs caricaturesâ including âseveral dozen of his works dating from the 1920âs to the 1980âsâ opened today âon the second floor of Londonâs National Theatreâ marking the first time such a showing had taken place in the United Kingdom.
1985: In Seligman, an Arizona named after Jesse Seligman âone of the founders of J.W. Seligman Co. who helped finance railroad lineâ that made the town economically viable, formation of the Seligman Historical Society.
1994: The Sisters Rosensweig, a play by Wendy Wasserstein that focuses on three Jewish-American sisters and their lives comes to a close after 556 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
1994(8th of Av, 5754): Julian Schwinger winner of the 1965 winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics passed away.
http://www.nobel-winners.com/Physics/julian_seymour_schwinger.html
1995(18th of Tammuz, 5755): Since the 17th of Tammuz fell on Shabbat today is Tzom Tammuz
1995(18thof Tammuz, 5755): Eighty-six year old poet and author Stephen Spender was appointed the seventeenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the United States Library of Congress in 1965, passed away.(As reported by Eric Pace
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/18/obituaries/stephen-spender-poet-of-melancholic-vision-and-social-conscience-dies-at-86.html
1995(18th of Tammuz, 5755): Lt. Gen. Mordechai "Motta" Gur, former Chief of Staff of the IDF passed away. He is best remembered as the commander of the brigade that liberated the Old City of Jerusalem in June, 1967.(As reported by Joel Greenberg)
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/17/obituaries/mordechai-gur-is-dead-at-65-army-chief-and-entebbe-planner.html
1997: Premiere of âGeorge of the Jungleâ the movie version of the television cartoon show featuring music by Marc Shairman and directed by Brandeis graduate Sam Weisman.
1998: In âMusical Plays on the Hebrew Stageâ published today, Dan Almagor described the history and the growth of âmahazemer.â
http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/mfa-archive/1998/pages/musical%20plays%20on%20the%20hebrew%20stage.aspx
1999: Fifty-six year old UNC graduate and Harvard trained lawyer Stuart E. Eizenstat ended his service as Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs began serving as the United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton.
1999:Morocco's King Hassan II passed away.The king's father, Mohammed V, is widely credited with having saved Morocco's Jews from deportation during World War II, and Hassan continued the philo-Semitic policies of his father. Although there was an outbreak of anti-Jewish incidents following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the Jewish community was generally safe under the protection of both Mohammed and Hassan, who proudly considered the Jews "Moroccans of Jewish origin."âHassan was considered a moderate in the Middle East. During his 38-year reign, he at first discreetly, then openly, promoted ties with Israel at a time when most of the rest of the Arab world rejected such contact. His efforts helped pave the way for the 1978 Camp David accord between Israel and Egypt. King Hassan also played a role in preparing for the 1991 Madrid peace conference and welcomed Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in September 1993, making Morocco the first Arab nation outside of Egypt to officially receive an Israeli leader. In 1994, Hassan hosted the first Middle East regional economic conference, which included Israel, in the Moroccan city of Casablanca. After the euphoria of the 1993 Oslo accords between Israel and the Palestinians, Israel was allowed to establish a consular office in Rabat, and an estimated 40,000 Israeli tourists visited Morocco in 1995 and 1996.â âThe Moroccan Jewish community in Israel observed a seven-day period of mourning for the late king.â
1999: âEyes Wide Shut,â an âerotic drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, based on Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle (Dream Story) and co-starring Sydney Pollack was released today in the United States.
2000: âMusic; Still a Sly Wit, Now Mostly for Himselfâ published today described the career of Tom Lehrer, the Harvard mathematician who has entertained generations of listeners with his satirical, musical wit.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/16/arts/music-still-a-sly-wit-now-mostly-for-himself.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
2000: The New York Times features reviews books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including My Love Affair With America: The Cautionary Tale of a Cheerful Conservative by Norman Podhoretz and The Harold Letters,1928-1943: The Making of an American Intellectual by Clement Greenberg
2000: Premiere of âNurembergâ a âdocudrama, based on the book Nuremberg: Infamy on Trialby Joseph E. Persico, that tells the story of the Nuremberg Trials.â
2001: In Jerusalem, more than 2,000 Jewish athletes from 43 countries marched in the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah games today.
2001: Opening of the 16th Macaabiah
2001(25thof Tammuz, 5761): Twenty-year old Staff Sergeant Avi Ben-Harush and nineteen year old Corporal Hanit Arami both of Zikhron Yaâakov were killed when a suicide bomber struck near the Binyamina Railway Station.
2002: Simon and Garfunkel released the album "Live In New York City."
2002(7thof Av, 5762):Nine people, including an eight-month-old infant, were killed and 20 injured in a terrorist attack on Dan bus #189 traveling from Bnei Brak to Emmanuel in Samaria. An explosive charge was detonated next to the bullet-resistant bus. The terrorists waited in ambush, reportedly wearing IDF uniforms, and opened fire on the bus. While four terror organizations claimed responsibility for the attack, it was apparently carried out by the same Hamas cell which carried out the attack in Emmanuel on Dec 12, 2001. The victims: Galila Ades, 42, of Emmanuel; Yonatan Gamliel, 16, of Emmanuel; Keren Kashani, 29, of Emmanuel; Sarah Tiferet Shilon, 8 months, of Emmanuel; Gal Shilon (her father), 32, of Emmanuel; Zilpa Kashi (her grandmother), 65, of Givatayim; Ilana Siton, 35, of Emmanuel. The premature infant delivered after its mother, Yehudit Weinberg, was seriously injured, died of her injuries overnight. Yocheved Ben-Hanan, 21, of Emmanuel, who was critically wounded, died on July 18.
2002: The New York Times reports in an obituary: "The American Sephardi Federation joins with all Sephardim of the world in mourning the loss of the eminent Chief Rabbi David Asseo, the spiritual leader of the vital Jewish community of Turkey. We recall his warmth, his grace and words of wisdom on the many occasions he received our delegations from America.
2003: Sixty-first anniversary of the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup (Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv) when the government of Vichy France ordered âthe mass arrest of 13,152 Jews who were held at the Winter Velodrome in Paris before being deported to Auschwitz.âÂ
2004: âA Cinderella Storyâ featuring future âBig Bangâ star Simon Heldberg as âTerrenceâ was released today in the United States.
2004: After its premier nine days ago in Los Angeles, âI, Robotâ a sci-fi thriller based on the work by Isaac Asimov, with a screenplay co-authored by Akiva Goldsman and featuring Shia LaBeouf was released in the United States today.
2005: The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported that Professor Chanan Eshel, an archeologist from Tel Avivâs Bar Ilan University, had announced the discovery of two scroll fragments near the Dead Sea. âThe two small pieces of brown animal skin inscribed I Hebrew with verses from the book of Leviticus, are from the ârefugeeâ caves in Nachal Arugot, a canyon near the Dead Sea where Jews hid from the Romans in the second centuryâŠThe scrolls are being tested by Israelâs Antiquities Authorityâ to determine their authenticity and era in which they were written. In a repeat of history, the fragments were discovered by a Bedouin who may have been looking for artifacts in the area. If the documents prove to be authentic, they will be the first scrolls discovered in the Judean Desert since the 1960âs.
2006: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Full Swing: Hits, Runs and Errors in a Writer's Life by Ira Berkow and the recently released paperback edition of Salonica, City Of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950 by Mark Mazower. âFor over half a millennium Salonika, a port city in northern Greece, was a place where Europe met the Middle East. Mazower, a professor of history at Columbia University, sets the history of Salonika and its Orthodox Greeks, Egyptian merchants and Spanish Jews within a "single encompassing historical narrative." He reconstructs this once vibrant city as it thrived under the Ottoman Empire (1430-1912), reverted to Greek control after World War I, and saw its Jewish population deported en masse by the Nazis in 1943
2006(20thof Tammuz, 5766):âDuring the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict train service to the station was suspended after a Hezbollah Katyusha rocket hit a train depot in Haifa today killing eight Israel Railways workers.â
2006: In âMarching as to War,â published today, The Washington Post reported on the efforts of Mikey Weinstein, graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and the father of an academy graduate, to stop the missionary work of Christian ministers at the Air Force Academy. In particular he is targeting the Officerâs Christian Fellowship who says its goal is a âspiritually transformed military with ambassadors for Christ in in uniform, empowered by the Holy Spirit.â
2006: The following were among a total of 43 Israeli civilians (including four who died of heart attacks during rocket barrages) and 116 IDF soldiers were killed in the Israel-Hizbullah war:Eight railway workers in Haifa: Shmuel Ben-Shimon, 41; Asael Damti, 39; Nissim Elharari, 43; David Feldman, 28; Dennis Lapidus, 24; Rafi Hazan, 30; Reuven Levy, 46; and Shlomo Mansura, 35.
2006: âINS Hanit Suffers Iranian Missile Attackâ published today
http://www.defense-update.com/2006/07/ins-hanit-suffers-iranian-missile.html
2007: Ryan Kalish suffered a season ending injury when he âwas hit by a pitch which broke the hamate bone in his right (non-throwing) wristâ at a time when he was leading the league in both stolen bases and runs scored, and batting .368 with a .471 on-base percentage and a .540 slugging percentage.â
2007: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Israel and the Palestinian Authority for her first visit to the region since Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip.
2007(1st of Av, 5767): Rosh Chodesh Av.
2007(1stof Av, 5767): Forty-six year old Lyn Pilowsky, a âPsychiatrist renowned for her research into schizophreniaâ passed away today.
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/sep/20/guardianobituaries.health
http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/her-work-eased-burden-for-the-mentally-ill/2007/09/30/1191090936668.html
2007:On the first anniversary of the Hezbollah-Israel War a âFree the Soldiers Rallyâ takes place in New York City. It commemorates the âone long year has passed since Israel Defense Forces soldiers Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser, and Eldad Regev were kidnapped by Hamas and Hezbollah.âÂ
2007:A group representing thousands of children of Holocaust survivors filed a class-action lawsuit against the German government demanding that Germany pay for their psychiatric care. The Israelis, calling themselves second-generation Holocaust survivors, say the scars of the Nazi genocide on their parents have crossed generations. Many still live with an irrational fear of starvation and incapacitating bouts of depression, the lawsuit claims.
2008: In Los Angeles, Hadassahâs 94th Annual Convention comes to an end.
2008:The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress sponsors a lecture, "The Moral Conscience of the World: The United Nations and Palestine in 1947," by William Roger Louis, a professor of English history and culture at the University of Texas at Austin.
2008: Dr. Rory Miller, senior lecturer at Kingâs College in London gave a presentation at the Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs as part of its fourth annual series of lectures on changing Jewish communal policies and attitudes in which he said that âthe future of the Jewish community in Ireland is bleak as its committed members age and the young immigrate to other European countries and Israel.â The average age of the Jewish community is 65. According to the 2006 census the Jewish population in Ireland has dwindled down to about 2,000 and has gone from being the third largest religious group to number 15.
2008: At the WorkShop Theatre, as part of the Midtown International Theatre Festival, the world premiere of âYom Kippur,â Meri Wallaceâs new drama based on the 1973 war.
2009: At the 18th Maccabiah Games, in Rugby, South Africa plays Australia, Israel plays Canada and the USA plays Chile.
2009: Julian âEdelman signed a four-year contract with the Patriots that included a $48,700 signing bonus.â
2010: Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni and young professionals plan to gather at the Historic 6th& I Synagogue for âShabbat Hoppinâ: Summer Style.â
2010: The Boston Museum of Fine Arts Announces Curatorship for Judaica
http://jwa.org/thisweek/jul/16/2010/judaica-curatorship-at-boston-mfa
2010: South African Justice Albie Sachs âwas awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of the University of York for his contribution to the construction of post-apartheid South Africa, in particular for his involvement in the creation of the Constitution.â
2010: It was announced today that seventy-one year old Harvey Golub was resigning as chairman of the American International Group (AIG).
2011: The work of Tel Aviv native Dana Levy is scheduled to be part of the Art Omni Weekend which is scheduled to open today.
2011: The Jerusalem Film Festival is scheduled to come to an end this evening.
2011: A group of close to 800 ultra-Orthodox protestors tried to block a central Jerusalem thoroughfare today, in an attempt to prevent what they consider the desecration of Shabbat. In a unique observance of Shabbat as a Day of rest, Orthodox Jews were throwing rocks and other objects at officers
2011:An IDF spokeswoman confirmed that an aerial attack was launched today under cover of darkness against Gaza terrorists preparing to fire a rocket into Israel, from near Gaza City. The IDF said 16 rockets fired from Gaza have struck Israel this month some of which damaged buildings. Israel said it responded to shooting two days ago with aerial strikes on tunnels dug beneath Gaza's border with Egypt.Â
2012 Director Dan Cohen is scheduled to discuss âAn Article of Hope,â his documentary about Israeli astronaut Illan Ramon after a noon-time showing at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.Â
2012: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to meet with top Israeli leaders in Jerusalem to discuss panoply of issues.
2012(26th of Tammuz, 5772): Ninety-year old William Asher, a pioneer in creating television sit-coms including âI Love Lucyâ and âBewitchedâ whose father was Jewish passed away today.
2012: A memorial service will held today for Alex Okrent, the 29 year old Evanston native who has been working for President Obama since his senatorial campaign in 2004, at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston.
2012:Thousands of ultra-Orthodox children took to the streets of Jerusalem this evening to protest the possible inclusion of yeshiva students in the military draft.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/ultra-orthodox-children-rally-in-jerusalem-against-universal-draft/
2012: A 43-year-old woman started a fire at a National Insurance Institute branch in today. The woman lit the fire in protest of what she called a lack of financial help from the Institute, Army Radio reported.(As reported by Greg Tepper)
2012: Australian and New Zealand premiere of âThe Dark Night Risesâ based on story co-authored by David S. Goyer and co-starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
2012:A man tried to set himself on fire at the entrance of the Beersheba municipality building today. The man, who is known to the welfare services, was not injured in the incident as a security guard and passersby at the scene prevented him from starting the fire. (As reported by Stuart Winer)
2012: âParents of Dead Billionaire Heiress Eva Rausing Want Jewish Burialâ published today described the efforts of her parents to have her buried in South Carolina in accordance with Jewish law.
http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/07/16/parents-of-dead-billionaire-heiress-eva-rausing-want-jewish-burial/
2013(9th of Av, 5773): Tisha BâAv. Since Jews do not partake of food for the body we may want to partake of food for the mind by reading about the Destruction of the First Temple as described in Chapter 36 of Chronicles II; by reading about the Destruction of the Second Temple in Rome and Jerusalemor The Ruling Class of Judaea both by Martin Goodman; or by reading about the fall of Betar in Bar Kochba: The rediscovery of the legendary hero of the second Jewish Revolt against Rome by Yigael Yadin.Â
2013(9th of Av, 5773): Eighty-five year old Marvin âMarvâ Rotblatt a south-paw with the White Sox for three seasons passed away today.(As reported by Richard Goldstein)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/23/sports/baseball/marv-rotblatt-pitcher-celebrated-through-softball-marathon-dies-at-85.html?hpw&_r=0
2013: The annual Madridanza festival is scheduled to open at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv.
2013: Doubleday published Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish: A Novel by David Rackoff
2013: Mortar fire from inside war-torn Syria hit the Israeli part of the Golan Heights today, an IDF spokeswoman said. "Several mortar rounds fired from Syria exploded in northern Golan without causing any damage or casualties," the spokeswoman told AFP (As reported by Gil Ronen)
2013: Ryan Giley provides a look at âSimon Rich: The Funniest Man in America.â
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/jul/16/simon-rich-last-girlfriend-on-earth
 2013: Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish, the late David Rakoffâs, first and only novel, has been released by Doubleday today. (As reported by Renee Ghert-Zand)
http://www.timesofisrael.com/for-writer-david-rakoff-a-posthumous-debut/
2014:Seventieth Anniversary of the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup â a remembrance âmarking the mass arrest of over 13,000 Jews in Paris and their shipment to Auschwitz where they met their death.
2014: Eric Rubin, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and  Mark Levin, Executive Director of National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry (NCSJ) are scheduled to âdiscuss the current situation in Ukraine and how it is affecting the Jewish communityâ at a noon time luncheon in Washington, DC.
2014: Four hundred new immigrant from France made Aliyah today as they landed at Ben Gurion Airport.
2014: âIsrael announced today that it would halt all military operations against targets in the Gaza Strip for a period of five hours in order to allow humanitarian agencies to transfer food and medical supplies into the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave.â
2014: Variety reported today that âTyrantâ the television drama which co-created by Israeli writer Gideon Raiff will move production from Tel Aviv to Istanbul due to the on-going attacks by Hamas. (JTA)
2014: The DCJCC is scheduled to host a concert by Flory AltaraÄ Jagoda featuring the Ladino.
2014: UNRWA announced today that rockets had been found in their schools in Gaza.
2015: YIDSTOCK 2015 which âwill bring the best in klezmer and new Yiddish musicâ is scheduled to open on the stage at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts.
2015: âKnight of Cupsâ and âThe Memory of Justiceâ are scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
2015: MP Susan Veronica Kramer began serving as the âLiberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Treasuryâ today.
2015: âRocket alert sirens rang out earlyâ this âmorning in towns near the Gaza Strip after a missile was from the Palestinian territoryâ followed hours later by an IAF mission against the terrorists.
2015: âA law from the year 2000 defines today as âa French national day of memory for racist and anti-Semitic crimes and day of homage to the righteous of France.ââ (As reported by Elhanan Miller)
2015: In Memphis, Temple Israel is scheduled to host its âTrivia Night.â
2016(10th of Tammuz, 5775): Chukat
2016: In Memphis, TN, Temple Israel is scheduled to offer congregants an opportunity to combine beating the southern heat with Jewish ritual with a âWet Havdalahâ â outdoor water play âfollowed by a family Havdalah service and pizza dinner.â
2016: Thirty-eight year old Waheed Borsh, the United Nations humanitarian aid worker who confessed he had used his position to aid Hamas was arrested by Shin Bet and the Israel Police today.
2016: âA new Israeli documentary, âDown the Deep Dark Webââ premiered today at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
2016: âSchneider vs Baxâ and âDeath in Sarajevoâ are scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
2017: âIn what observers said was an unprecedented statement from the leader of France in support of the Jewish stateâ today âFrench president Emmanuel Macron condemned anti-Zionism as a new form of anti-Semitism.â
2017: The North American Jewish Choral Festival, sponsored by the Zamir Choral Foundation is scheduled to open today at Kerhonkson, NY.
2017(22nd of Tammuz, 5777): Ninety year old Clarence Sigal, the Chicago born son of âlabor organizers,â WW II Army veteran, blacklist victim and award winning author passed away today. (As reported by Sam Roberts)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/books/clancy-sigal-dead-author-of-going-away.html?hpw&rref=obituaries&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0
https://www.amazon.com/Going-Away-Report-Clancy-Sigal-ebook/dp/B00DZEJSZG
2017: The New York Times features reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including The Stars in Our Eyes: The Famous, the Infamous and Why We Care Way too Much About Them by Julie Klam as well as an interview of with Allegra Goodman.https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/books/review/allegra-goodman-by-the-book.html?ref=headline&nl_art=&te=1&nl=book-review&emc=edit_bk_20170714 and a list of recommended books including Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky.
2017:â1917: How One Year Changed The Worldâ is scheduled to come to an end at the National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia,
2017: âCamille Pissarro: Le premier des impressionnistes an exhibition at the MusĂ©e Marmottan Monet, Paris, is scheduled to come to an end today.
2017: At the Maccbiah games, in basketball the Israel and Russia are scheduled to play in 35+ finals and Israel and the United States are schedule to play the 45+ finals/
2017: Chassida Shmella Ethiopian Israeli Jewish Community in collaboration with the American Sephardi Federation are scheduled to co-sponsor âFrom Sinai to Ethiopia: The Halachic and Conceptual World of Ethiopian Jewryâ presented by Rabbi Sharon Shalom and Susan Pollack.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/you-are-invited-to-a-talk-and-discussion-with-rabbi-dr-sharon-shalom-and-susan-pollack-on-sunday-tickets-35733382509
2018: The North Carolina Museum of Art is scheduled to a performance by the Dana Ruttenberg Dance Group.
2018: In London, JW3 is scheduled to host the screening of the final episodes of the Israeli television drama âYour Honor.â
2018: âThe Cakemakerâ and âAn Israeli Love Storyâ are scheduled to be shown at the 9th annual Axelrod Israel Jewish Film Festival.
2018: As Israelis greet a new day, they look to the skies to see if yesterdayâs cease fire âbetween Israel and Hamasâ will hold.
2019: In Danville, CA, the Reutlinger Community Center is scheduled to host the opening reception for the exhibit ââIsraeli Street Life: Through the Lens of Dick Hymanâ which will include an appearance by the photographer, Dick Hyman.
2019: In Berkley, CA. the Aquarian Minyan is scheduled to host âauthor, columnist and educator Lorelai Kude who will be discussing Jewish astrology.
2019: In Coralville, IA, Congregation Agudas Achim is scheduled to host a presentation by Gamaliel, âa Chicago-based community organizing initiativeâ as attendees âdiscuss a faithful response to the increase in white nationalismâ
2019: The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center is scheduled to host âan evening with Daniel Silvaâ as the author discusses his work âwith his wife, CNN Special Correspondent Jamie Gangel.â
2019: In London, JW3 is scheduled to host a screening of âThe Matchmakerâ directed by Avi Nesher.