July 27
1192: As Richard the Lionheart and Saladin continued their conflict during the Third Crusade, Saladin laid siege to Jaffa.
1214: French King Phillip II defeats the forces headed by Otto IV, the Holy Roman Emperor and King John of England at the Battle of Bouvines. For the Jews, this is a lose-lose proposition. King John and King Phillip were both notorious for the mistreatment of their Jewish subjects. Four years before the battle, King John had locked a group of Jews at Bristol Castle and said he would only free them if a 66,000-mark ransom were paid. King Phillip began exploiting and expelling Jews from the start of his reign in 1180. At the time of the battle, the king had actually allowed Jews back in his realm so he could take further financial advantage of them. Otto gets a pass because his relations with Jews are a “blank slate.”
1245: At the First Council of Lyons Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor is deposed by Pope Innocent IV, the pope who will condemn the Blood Libel in 1249 but who will authorize the use of torture against Jews by Spanish inquisitors in 1252. The First Council of Lyons would follow in the footsteps of the Fourth Lateran Council and adopt decrees compelling Jewish creditors to renounce all claims to interest on debts or similar ordinances which supposedly would encourage men to “take up the Cross” and become Crusaders.
1290: Following his edict expelling the Jews from England, King Edward issued the following concerning how they were to be treated as they left the country. “The King to all his wardens, officers and sailors of the Cirque ports, greeting…You should ensure that their passage is safe and speedy…free from danger.” According to Elliot Rosenberg, “the king meant what he said. When a ship’s captain took passage money from a group of Jews, then left them stranded on asandbank to drown at high tide, Edward ordered him hanged.”
1400: King Ladislas offered the Jews of Naples a charter which would give them economic equality.
1588: After having been driven back across “the Channel” the Spanish Armada anchored at Calais where its leaders found out that the greatly reduced Spanish Army of invasion was not ready to attack England which meant that the Inquisition was still not a fact of life for the Netherlands and the British Isles.
1655: Jews in New Amsterdam request a place to bury their dead. "Abraham de Lucena, Salvador d'Andrade and Jacob Cohen, Jews in the name of the others, petition the Honorable Director General this day to be permitted to purchase a burying place for their nation…." Less than a year after arriving, the Jews of New Amsterdam requested permission to open a cemetery in 1655. Permission was initially denied and was finally granted a year later. Very often, the formation of a burial society and the start of a cemetery preceded the organization of the Synagogue or Temple. In fact these community organizations were often the progenitors of the house of worship which would follow as the community grew.
1656: Spinoza was excommunicated in Amsterdam. . Spinoza had been accused together with Juan de Prado of denying the being of Angels, the immortality of the soul and that the Torah was given by God. De Prado apologized but Spinoza refused. The council forbade anyone to communicate with him in any fashion or to read any of his books.
1671(20thof Av, 5431)Abraham de Fonseca ḥakam of the Portuguese community at Glückstadt, and later at Hamburg and author of Ene Abraham” passed away today.
1782(16th of Av): Rabbi Jacob Raphael Hezekiah Hazak (Forti) author of Meginnei Erez passed away
1789: The United States Congress creates the Department of Foreign Affairs which later be renamed the United States Department of State. A Jew would not get the top job at State until 1973 when Richard Nixon appointed Henry Kissinger to position of Secretary of State.
1825: Forty-six year old Jakob Salomon Bartholdy the Jewish born German diplomat who converted to Christianity and was the brother-in-law of Abraham Mendelssohn passed away today.
1836 (13th of Av): Rabbi Abele Poswoler a leading Lithuanian Talmudist passed away
1846: Joseph B. Montefiore, his wife, nine daughters and two sons accompanied by two servants arrived in Adelaide where he went into “business with his nephew Eliezer Levi Montefiore as importers and shipping agents."
1849: Birthdate of Herman Naphtali Hyneman, the Philadelphia born painter whose works included “It Might Have Been” and “Marguerite in Prison."
1851: In Great Britain, Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana, née Cohen gave birth to their only child, Hannah de Rothschild who would marry the 5thEarl of Rosebery and become Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery.
1853: Jewish architect Leopold Eidlitz and Lazelle Warner, his non-Jewish wife gave birth to Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz who designed One Times Square and the New York Times Building on Times Square.
1855: Today’s issue of The Israelite was published by Edward Bloch. Bloch replaced Charles F. Schmidt who had been publishing The Israelite since it was founded by Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise in 1854. Bloch would also publish another publication founded by Rabbi Wise, Die Deborah.
1855: On the day before the death of Solomon Rothschild, the French poet Joseph Mery "said in his weekly article: If I owned the Hotel of the Rue Lafitte (Rothschild's) where ennui and lassitude reign undisputedly, I would do so and so and it would the first time in which a million was ever of benefit to mankind."
1857: The “Foreign Correspondence” column reported today on the status of the “Jewish Oaths Bill” now before Parliament, specifically, the House of Lords.
1860: "Remarkable Archaeological Discovery in Ohio" published today reported that “several New-York Archaeologists have, within the past week, received various communications concerning the discovery of a very curious stone relic, covered with Hebrew inscriptions, said to have been found by Mr. Wyrick of Newark, Ohio, in one of those artificial earthworks so numerous in that vicinity.” The inscription on the stone, which may easily be rendered by any Hebrew scholar, reads as follows
1. Kedosh Kedoskim -- The Holy of Holies.
2. Torath, Jehovah -- The Law of God.
3. Melec Erets -- The King of the Earth.
4. Devar Jehovah -- The Word of the Lord.
“Some have suggested that the stone might be a Masonic emblem -- the keystone which Master Masons anciently deposited in the corner-stone of their temples. (But, unfortunately for this hypothesis, the shape is not the same.) Others have supposed it furnished evidence of the presence of the lost tribes of Israel. Copies of the inscription have been submitted to some of our learned Rabbis, who generally agree that the above is a fair rendering of the text. But a difference of opinion has been expressed with regard to the antiquity of the characters, some carrying them back to the rime of Ezra, whilst others think them more modern.” To date, there has been no agreement on the antiquity or sources of the stone.
1860: “A Jewish Republican Candidate” published today reported that “an expression having been made in a Republican meeting, at St. Louis, that ‘even the Jews’ were represented on the Republican legislative ticket of Missouri, Mr. Isidor V. Bush takes the remark as the text of a communication to the Democrat. Mr. Bush is a Jew and a Republican candidate for the Legislature. He contends that neither he nor his people have any personal or selfish ends to serve in politics, but that the Jews unite their interests with those of the State. He adds the following suggestive observations: ‘At the same time you will find the Jews, with few exceptions, in favor of our party, and naturally so -- first, from the impression's received in early youth by the teachings of the Bible, (Exodus xxi., Deuteronomy xv., Leviticus xxv.) "And ye shall proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof;" secondly, from his own historic recollections. His daily prayers remind him that his forefathers were slaves in the land of Egypt, freed and brought forth by the Lord; and almost like slaves, worse than free negroes here, burdened with exceptional laws, disfranchised, were our fathers -- are to this very day millions of Jews in some other countries. From sympathy, therefore, the Jew cannot and will not vote for those who enact such cruel, inhuman laws as the selling of free Negroes into Slavery again.’"
1862: The Richmond Enquirer printed in full what it terms "an eloquent invocation for the success of the Confederate Army," which was pronounced in the synagogue on Mayo-street ( Bayeth Ahabah) by Rabbi J.M. Michelbacher.
"We give Thee thanks, O God of Israel for Thou hast brought the vaunting and insulting army of our enemy to naught -- they boasted of strength and valiant deeds, and Thou hast made them weak and caused them to flee. Their wisdom and their cunning arts of war they exalted and enthroned as the minor of might, to be reflected upon the numerous hosts that believed their standards to anticipated triumphs; but Thou, O Eternal God of Israel; hast debased their proud exaltation, and brought it down in its pride, its vanity and its foolishness. Their vain and forward words were like the sound of threatening thunder from an approaching and lowering cloud -- as to meet David, Thy servant, so they come forth to the army of people who trust in Thee; and Thou hast caused their threatenings and their vain is to be heard me more! For all these manifestations of Thy divine care and goodness we desire, with of hearts, to other the cure of our worship of thanks to Thee with dispositions of joy and gladness in the presence of the country unity shining light of Thy visible and emitting protection."
The following is its conclusion:
"O, God, continue Thy protecting care of our army -- and our soldiers to deeds of self-sacrifice and value in the battles for the liberty and independence of our country. Be with them, O Lord! in the lights and push them with Thy right hand against the enemy, and give them a firm foot-hold upon the trend, and let them think of Thee, and call upon Thy name, that they may be always led to victory -- let one of them be as ten thousand in the sight of the toe; and giant that in all engagements our soldiers may win the victory by the presence of Thy countenance. O, God! the perpetuity of a patriotic and just government, with counsellors and refers of wisdom, is a great blessing from Thee to the people; therefore, we pray Thee, that the Government of the Confederate States of America may be firmly established, and that Thou be unto it the rock upon which it shall be founded. Let the nations of the earth respect and revere it, and [???] its just resentment; let the dispensation of its laws be equal and just, and let its exaltation consist in the righteousness of the people. Protect and defend it from enemies abroad and foes within; and grant that the hearts of the people may be ever turned toward Thee, both in the public and private affairs of life. Grant that the Ministers of Government may have a constant fear of Thee, and a continual desire to subserve the best interests of the common welfare. We earnestly pray Thee to inspire the President of the Confederate States of America with true piety, courage, wisdom, prudence and foresight. Give unto him a just fear of disobeying Thy divine laws, and let his heart do reverence at the mention of Thy great and glorious name, that our people may be blessed in the Chief of their choice. Keep him in the path of patriotism and rectitude, that he may be a model the people of an upright citizen that [???] the Lord. Endow our Governor with all the attributes meet and proper for his station; and let his private and official conduct redound to the honor had best interests of the State of Virginia, and the happiness and prosperity of the people.
1862: The Knoxville Register reported that it has been informed that certain parties in Huntsville, who were unpatriotic enough to sell their cotton to the Jews who swarmed there from the North, were paid by them in bogus gold. “The galvanized coating has worn off the pewter, and these gentlemen have lost their cotton as effectually as if they had burned it like other true Southerners.”
1863: As the United States implemented a draft during the Civil War that resulted in a major riot in July of 1863, today a man, said to be a “Jew broker, made his appearance in Westchester, Penn., accompanied by a dozen others, whom he represented as anxious to serve as substitutes, for a consideration. Although some of the men, it is said, boasted of having taken part in the New-York riots, yet they were eagerly caught up by drafted men, and engaged at various prices as substitutes. Two of the number were sharp enough to get their money before being mustered in, and they immediately skedaddled. Four others were accepted by the Enrollment Board, and sent to the barracks, but three out of the number turned up missing the next morning. They were pursued by the Deputy Provost-Marshall and by dint of threats, and the more powerful argument of a loaded revolver, were induced to return, when they were lodged in jail for safe keeping. Three others escaped, and have not yet been caught.
1868: Birthdate of Milton S. Florsheim, the native of Chicago, Illinois who founded the Florsheim Shoe Company in 1892.
1870: Playwright and poet Hermann Hersch passed away today in Berlin.
1874(13th of Av, 5634): Baron Anselm Salomon von Rothschild, the second generation leader of the Austrian branch of the House of Rothschild passed away. Born in 1803 in Frankfurt am Main he was the son of Baron Salomon Mayer von Rothschild and his wife Caroline. In 1826 he married his cousin Charlotte Nathan Rothschild, daughter of Nathan Mayer Rothschild from the London branch of the family; they had eight children.
1879: In the wake of Austin Corbin’s announcement banning Jews from Manhattan Beach, it was reported that “they are not prohibited on account of their religious principles from buying Humphrey’s Parisian Diamonds” which are on sale at Humphrey’s Jewelry Store at the corner of Broadway and 12th Street.
1880: Theodore Herzl passes his first legal exam.
1881: Forty-eight year old Michael Meyer, a Jewish immigrant from Germany, lies in a hospital bed in Jersey City fighting for his life. Meyer, a popular cattle driver, was attacked by a bull this morning leaving him with crushed ribs and a mangled right leg. Meyer, who lives in Brooklyn with his wife, had begun working in the cattle business in Germany before coming to the United States.
1881: “The Affairs of Russia” published today described the outbreak of new violence aimed at the Jews of Pultava in the Ukraine.
1882: In San Francisco, CA, nobody has seen Samuel L. Sachs since he shot his wife yesterday. Sachs is the son of Louis Sachs and a partner in Sachs, Heller & Co, a firm that specializes in importing dry goods.
1884: “Lessing” published today provided a summary of the writings and philosophy of Gotthold Ephriam Lessing best known for “Nathan the Wise” that portrays religious toleration in mythical meeting of a Jewish merchant, Saladin and a nameless Templar during the Crusade.
1885: “The Russian Idea of Cowboys” published today described the offer of a Polish born Jew living in Dallas, TX to supply to supply the Czar with 106 cowboys if he should go to war with England. (Considering the oppressive treatment of Jews in Russia, this is a bizarre offer to say the least.)
1887: It was reported today in New York that Joseph Levy will act as business agent for Booth-Barrett.
1887: It was reported today that John Howson has been chosen to play the part of “the Jew” in “Pawn Ticket No. 1,525) a play by Clay M. Green which is an adaptation of the novel Court Royal
1887(6th of Av, 5647): Long-time Brooklyn resident, Hirsch Harris who was known as “Rabbi Hirsch” passed away today at the age of 109. A native of a small town near Warsaw, Harris made his fortune making and selling kimmel a liqueur made from cumin, fennel and caraway seeds. He came to the United States in 1850 where he continued to enjoy success manufacturing kimmel. His nickname came from his scrupulous observance of Jewish laws and customs.
1888: The managers of the Sanitarium for Hebrew Children have collected $179 to pay for next week’s excursion. Since the children are poor and the excursions are free, the public can send additional donations to Nathan Lewis, Hezekiah Kohn and Joseph Davis.
1889: The general public is invited to attend the upcoming lecture by Cyrus Adler of Johns Hopkins University that will be delivered at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City.
1889: It was reported today that the 5th free excursion sponsored by the Sanitarium For Hebrew Children will take place next week. The cruise will be limited to children six years and younger.
1890: In St. Petersburg, Russia, the Minister of the Interior “has ordered the local authorities to prevent foreign missionaries from” proselytizing among the Jews since it infringes on the Orthodox Church’s “exclusive right of conversion “
1890: “A Queer Sort of Victory” published today described the victory of the workers led by Joseph Barondees over the Cloak Manufacturers Association during a season of strikes that spread throughout the New York area.
1891: Members of the United States Immigration are scheduled to leave Great Britain for the European continent where they will continue their investigation into abuses of the system including the practice of buying cut-rate tickets for Russian Jews to sail for America so they will not remain in France and England.
1891: The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury received a communication from Simon Wolf and Lewis Abraham written on behalf of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations objecting to Russian Jewish immigrants being classified as “paupers or assisted immigrants” “when hands of help to elevated them to the exalted position of American citizenship without demanding any contributions from national or local taxes.”
1892: The New York Times reported that Washington Nathan had died in France. Nathan was the son of Benjamin Nathan, the prominent New Yorker who was murdered in 1870. The murder has never been solved. There are those who think that the son was involved in his father’s murder.
1892: Police continue to scour the area around Pittsburg looking for other anarchist who may have been part of the plot in which the Jewish-born anarchist Alexander Berkman shot Henry Clay Frick during the Homestead Steel Strike.
1893: The funeral of Priscilla J. Joachimsen, President of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum and the widow of Judge Joachimsen is scheduled to take place this morning.
1893: Fire broke out this afternoon at 123 Clinton Street, a double tenement occupied by sixteen Russian-Jewish families when the stove of Mrs. Morris Lewenthal exploded. Her husband operates a butter and provision store on the ground floor next Meyer Norman’s poultry and meat store.
1894: In Minneapolis, MN formation of Council No. 9 of the National Council of Jewish Women with Nina M. Cohen serving as President and Mrs. Mamie Lehmaler serving as Secretary. (Council No 10 would be formed at Duluth in September and Council No. 11 would be formed at St. Paul in October giving the state three chapters of this major national Jewish women’s organization.
1895: Herzl leaves Paris and will never return as a resident. He will become an editor for the Neue Freie Presse at a reduced salary.
1895(6th of Av, 5655): Austrian physician Karl Bettelheim passed away.
1895: The resolution adopted by the Council of the University Settlement Society of New York published today expressed the members’ sense of loss at the death of Abram C. Bernheim and acknowledged his contributions including the organization of the first free art exhibition on the Lower East Side which has become an annual event.
1897: “National Jewish Chautauqua” published today described events at the second assembly which is meeting at Atlantic City including Dr. Henry Berkowitz’s report on the work of the society and a talk by Dr. M.H. Harris on Ezra the Scribe.
1904: Birthdate of author Isaac Bashevis Singer. Singer won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1978. He passed away in 1991.
1905: The seventh annual Zionist Congress opened today in Basle, Switzerland. Dr. Max Nordau was elected President at the afternoon session and Rabbi Judah L. Magnes was elected as Secretary of the English-speaking section.
1909(9th of Av, 5669): Tish'a B'Av
1909: In Dunedin attorney Henry Brash (born Hyam Brasch) and Helene Mary Fels gave birth to Charles Orwell Brasch New Zealand poet and patron of the arts.
1909: Turkish Parliament passed a law allowing Jewish societies to have the privilege of purchasing land in their own names.
1915: During WW I, in Berlin, Albert Einstein was among a group of 91 prominent German intellectuals who signed a declaration opposing all territorial annexations and calling for a compromise peace
1916: It was announced today that many of the philanthropic organizations working in New York City had come together to form The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. The new organization should increase efficiency both in the soliciting and distribution of funds. Based on the experience of other cities, there should be a 30% increase in the amount of money raised. Abram I. Elkus, whom President Wilson recently named to serve as Ambassador to Turkey is the Chairman of the new federation. Alfred M. Heinsheimer kicked off the donation process with a contribution of $25,000.
1916 Ed Wynn the Jewish comedian whose career ran from Vaudeville to Television and Hilda Keenan gave birth to actor Keenan Wynn.
1918: Birthdate of cellist Leonard Rose. Born in Washington DC, Rose was the concert cellist with the New York Philharmonic from 1943 to 1951.
1920: Keren Hayesod (Eretz-Israel Foundation Fund) was created in London at the London Zionist Conference. It was intended for education, absorption and the development of rural settlements in Eretz-Israel.
1922: Birthdate of television producer Norman Lear. Yes, the man who made Archie Bunker a national institution, who created the “Jeffersons” which provided a acting vehicle for numerous Afro-American performers and who got Americans to look at their own prejudices, is Jewish.
1920: Chaim Weizmann was elected president of the World Zionist Organization.
1924: The Eighth Olympic Games close in Paris. The 1924 Olympics were the focal point of the movie hit “Chariots of Fire” which featured the struggle of Harold Abraham to gain social acceptance and athletic success. The real Abraham had lost in his attempt to win a medal in the 1920 Olympics. In 1924, he surprised everybody by winning the Gold Medal in the 100 meter race, making him the first European to win in one of the sprint competitions.
1925: Birthdate of Marion “Meg” Dulin. Dulin, a native of Vinton, Iowa, served with the 423rd Medical Collecting Company during World War II and “was among the young Americans who entered Buchenwald Concentration Camp to free prisoners” an event that must have been of some significance in his life since it was specifically mentioned in his obituary when he passed away in July, 2009 at the age of 83. While there are those who have been quick to criticize America for its lack of effort to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust, Dulin is an example of the American G.I.’s who literally liberated the remnant of our co-religioinst from “the Night.”
1926: Birthdate of Bernard Harper Friedman, known as Bob to his friends, “a real estate executive who gave up his business career to write well-received novels and art criticism and whose books include an early biography of Jackson Pollock.”
1927(29thof Av, 5687): Less than two months before his 67th birthday, Solomon Joseph Solomon the acclaimed artist who was the brother of Lily Delissa Joseph, who was also an artist, passed away today.
http://underpaintings.blogspot.com/2011/09/color-palettes-solomon-j-solomon-1860.html
1929: Birthdate of Alan Lloyd Haberman, the native of Worcester, MA, who led the industry committee that chose the bar code over other contenders in 1973.and then spent years afterward cajoling manufacturers, retailers and the public to accept the strange new symbol, which resembles a highly if irregularly compacted zebra. (As reported by Margalit Fox)
1930: Birthdate of Anthony Janoff Weiner, the New Jersey native who became a noted futurist after he co-authored The Year 2000: A Framework for Speculation on the Next Thirty-three Years (As reported by Douglas Martin)
1934: A dispatch to The Timesfrom Palestine calls the attention of the British Government and people to the fact that the Jewish national home is turning out to be something very different from what they expected and even from what the first Zionists expected. The Anti-Jewish Campaign in Germany has sent a flood of immigrants to Palestine. In the mean time the Revisionists appear to be gaining recruits and support.
1935: As the condition of German Jews continues to deteriorate an “article entitled ‘Finish Up with the Jews’ urges German girls to wake up and not go with Jews any longer.” Equating social interaction with economic activity, the article continues, ‘Gewrman woman, if you buy froms, and German girl if you carry on with Jews, then both of your betray your German Volk and its Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, and commit a sin against your German volk and its future.’”
1936: The Palestine Post reported that 12 Arabs were known to have been killed in a battle with British troops in the hills, off the Jerusalem-Jaffa highway. Barbed-wire barricades and other police precautions were evident in Jaffa as Arabs observed the 100th day of their national strike and uprising. The Iraq Petroleum Co. pipeline and railway lines were damaged and the government imposed heavy collective fines on villages suspected of sabotage. Arabs attacked Ramat Hakovesh and other settlements near Kfar Saba but were beaten off.
1937 A ritual-murder trial of five Jews opens in Bamberg, Germany
1940: With Mel Blanc providing the voice Bugs Bunny makes his official debut in the animated cartoon A Wild Hare. The Bunny had the voice of the Jew without a Yiddish accent.
1941: German and Rumanian troops entered Kishinev, Soviet Union. Five thousand Kishinev Jews would be executed within a week.
1941(3rdof Av, 5701): Jews were taken from the Kovno and executed by Lithuanian militia at the Seventh Fort.
http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/this_month/july/06.asp
1941(3rd of Av, 5701): In retaliation for Jewish resistance, 1,200 Jews were taken from Belgrade to the labor camp at Tasmajdan. One hundred twenty of them were taken to Jajinci and shot. In other words, one out of every ten captives is shot. The reality is that they would all have been killed at some point in time as part of the Final Solution.
1941: A second pogrom known as the "Petliura Days",which had been named for Symon Petliura came to an end. “For three straight days, Ukrainian militants went on a murderous rampage through the Jewish districts of Lwów. Groups of Jews were herded out to the Jewish cemetery and to the prison on Łąckiego street where they were shot. More than 2,000 Jews were killed and thousands more were injured.”
1941: The clothing of Jews murdered in Ponas, Ukraine, is sold by the Ukrainian and Nazi killers
1941: In Holland, a collaborationist military force with ties to the SS, Freiwillingen Legion Niederlander (Dutch Volunteer Legion), is established.
1942: The Nazis take Rostov for a second time, touching off another wave of slaughter for the Jews that would take the life of Sabina Spielrein, the first female psychoanalysts.
1942: The Germans distributed a proclamation stating that any Pole or Ukrainian who tried to help a Jew would be shot.
1942: The first Belgian Jews arrived at Mechelen. The ancient fortress in this small town between Brussels and Antwerp was actually the first stop for the Jews being transported to Auschwitz. The Jews thought they were going to work in factories in the East. Mechelen would serve as the collection point. Each time a thousand Jews were brought together, a train would leave for the death camp in Poland.
1943: While combing the ruin of the Warsaw Ghetto for loot, the Germans uncovered hidden Jews, most of who are shot on the spot.
1943: The Leon Group escaped from the ghetto in Vilna. The Leon Group was made up of 21 Jewish partisans under the command of Joseph Glassman. Michael Kovner, brother of Abba Kovner was a member of the group. The Leon Group was the first group of what were intended to be many groups of partisans that Abba Kovner would send into the woods beyond Vilna to take part in guerilla warfare against the Nazis and their allies. As the group of 21 made the fifty mile trek to the forests they were ambushed. Nine of the Jews died in the brief, uneven fight. A search of the corpses produced the names and addresses of the victims.
1944: Siauliai, Lithuania, is liberated by the Red Army, 12 days after German deportations of 7000 local Jews and the murder of 100 left behind.
1944: Dvinsk, Latvia, is liberated by the Soviet Union two years too late to save the Jewish community. When the Germans occupied Dvinsk at the end of June 1941, the Nazis organized a Pogrom. Synagogues were burned down or taken over by the army. A ghetto was set up in July 1941 including Jews from the surrounding localities. In October, 1941, most of the Jews in the Ghetto were murdered and the Ghetto was liquidated in May, 1942
1944: The Wehrmachtretreats from Lvov, Ukraine. Only a few of the city's Jews, many of them hiding in sewers, have lived through the German occupation
1945(17thof Av, 5705): Shakne Epshtein, the “Jewish-Russian journalist and the secretary and editor of the Eynikayt (Unity) the newspaper published by the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee who championed the creation of a Jewish republic in the Crimea passed away today.
http://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/yt/lex/E/epstein-shakhne.htm
1946(28th of Tammuz, 5706): Gertrude Stein passed away.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0203.html
1946: Theodore Levin received his commission to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan He served as chief judge of that court from 1959 to 1967, and thereafter served until his death.
1946: In Metuchen, New Jersey, Helen and Stanley Cowen gave birth to Scott Cowen who served as President of Tulane during the challenging times brought on by Hurricane Katrina.
1947(10th of Av, 5707): Tish’a B’Av observed since the 9thof Av fell on Shabbat
1947: Jews who had tried to enter Palestine aboard the Exodus, observed the fast of Tish’a B’Av as the Empire Rivaltransported them back to France.
http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/this_month/july/16.asp
1948(20th of Tammuz, 5708): Forty-four year old S.J. “Skid” Simon the native of Harbin who gained fame as a bridge player and author of comic works including Don't, Mr. Disraeli! passed away today.
1948(20th of Tammuz, 5708): Fifty-two year old Joel Woolf Barnato, the British financier, racing driver and RAF veteran passed away today.
1949: In Brooklyn, Irving and Clarice Chaykin gave birth to Maury Alan Chaykin, Canadian character best known to many for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe. (As reported by Bruce Weber)
1950: New Zealand recognized Israel.
1951: The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel had asked the UN Security Council to instruct Egypt to open the Suez Canal for Israeli cargoes and shipping "permanently and unconditionally." Final plans were made for the new Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem, including a 430-bed hospital, a nursing training school and nurses' home and a medical school.
1953: King Hussein of Jordan declared that east Jerusalem was the ‘alternative capital of the Hashemite Kingdom.’ In fact, the Jordanians would do all they could to discourage development of the portion of Jerusalem they had occupied since 1948.
1955(8thof Av, 5715): Erev Tish’a B’Av
1955(8thof Av, 5715): A plane bound for Israel was shot down by Bulgaria. Fifty one passengers and seven crew members were killed. This episode took place at the height of the Cold War when such incidents were not that uncommon. The plane was flying from Vienna to Tel Aviv when Bulgarian fighters forced the El Al plane to land at Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital. As the plane was circling to land, it was shot out of the sky by the Bulgarians. The Israeli government claimed the bodies and buried them in Israel. The episode provided opponents of El Al with an argument for doing away with a national airline as a luxury the infant state could not afford. But the government stuck to its guns. There were no other such incidents and El Al continued to fly.
1955: Forty year old Pinchas Porat who was one of Israel’s pilots who flew with 101 Squadron died today while serving as the co-pilot aboard El Al Flight 402 which was shot down by Bulgaria.
1956: Birthdate of Carol Leifer, an American comedian, writer, producer and actress who describes herself as a Jewish lesbian vegan.
1961: Birthdate of Israeli performer Erez Tal whose “first hit program was "Ma Yesh" ("What's Up"), broadcast on Galattz, Israel's Army radio.”
1968(2ndof Av, 5728): Seventy-five year old Czech architect Otto Eisler passed away today a Bron.
1969(12th of Av, 5729): Seventy-three year old Vivian de Sola Pinto the British poet who served at Gallipoli in World War and who “appeared for the defense in the obscenity trial regarding Lady Chatterley’s Lover in 1960 passed away. (For the ultimate literary experience consider the during WW I he served in a company in which he was second in command to Siefgried Sasson – were the orders in prose or poetry)
1969: As Operation Boxer continues “several 109 Squadron Skyhawks carried out a nighttime attack.”
1976: The Jerusalem Post reported that the US State Department sought to downplay the significance of its contacts with the PLO, stressing that they were only "technical" and designed to assure a safe departure of American citizens from Lebanon. The management of the Koor Industries decided to close the Steel City until further notice, after one of the workers, unhappy with his job, locked the gates and accompanied by his wife stopped 900 workers from entering the factory.
1979: Zuheir Mohsen, head of PLO military operations was killed by unknown parties as he exited a casino in the fames French resort of Cannes.
1980(14th of Av, 5740): A Jewish boy from France was killed and others were injured when terrorists threw grenades at a group of children in Antwerp, Belgium.
1981(25th of Tammuz, 5741): Award winning movie director William Wyler passed away. There is no way that this blog can do justice to his career.
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/alt.obituaries/Wx2KzqNjebo
1991:TV Guide publishes its 2000th edition. This icon of American culture was created by Jewish millionaire publishing magnate Walter Annenberg.
1993: “The Senate today confirmed the nomination of Arthur Levitt Jr., President Clinton's selection as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
1993: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Joseph Stiglitz to serve on President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers.
1995: In “Dead Birdie” published today, Gerald Thomson pans the Davis Production of Charles Strouse’s musical “Bye Bye Birdie.”
1997: The Sunday New York Times features a review of Bloomberg by Bloombergby Michael Bloomberg
1998:G. Oliver Koppell, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for state attorney general, attacked two of his rivals on of which was Elliot Spitzer, today for accepting campaign contributions from members of the Tisch family, which controls the Lorillard Tobacco Company.
2000: Medieval Hebrew Poetry in its Religious and Secular Context, a colloquium sponsored by The European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS) came to an end.
2003: The New York Times features reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including History of Britain by Simon Schama, Support Any Friend by Warren Bass and My Anecdotal Life: A Memoir by Carl Reiner.
2004(9th of Av, 5746): Tish’a B’Av
2004: A revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” opened today at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, England
2006: Police interrogated Haim Ramon for seven hours today, the same day on which, in an unrelated matter he said "Everyone in southern Lebanon is a terrorist and is connected to Hezbollah”
2006: During the first round of what would become his 15th tour title, Jewish golfer Corey Pavin broke the record for the fewest number of strokes needed to complete nine holes at a PGA Tour event, with an 8-under par score of 26.
2006: Yaakov Edri “was named Minister without Portfolio responsible for Jerusalem Affairs.”
2007: Toby Press publishes the thirtieth anniversary edition of Brothers by Chayym Zeldish.
2007: In Jerusalem, Zubin Mehta leads the Israel Philharmonic in a concert to celebrate the birthday of philanthropist Edmund Safra and the 40th anniversary of united Jerusalem.
2007: Ralph A. Alpher awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest such honor in the United States, which was presented to his son Dr. Victor S. Alpher because he could not travel to receive the award due to failing health.
2007: The U.S. Post Office released a full-sheet pane of Marvel Super Heroes. Ten of the stamps are portraits of individual Marvel characters and the other 10 stamps depict individual Marvel Comic book covers. According to the credits printed on the back of the pane, Jack Kirby's artwork is featured on: Captain America, The Thing, Silver Surfer, Amazing Spider-Man #1, The Incredible Hulk #1, Captain America #100, X-Men #1, and Fantastic Four #3
2008: The Saul Steinberg: Illuminations travelling exhibition, which displays original Steinberg works at various museum and galleries around the world has its final showing the Fondation Cartier-Bresson, in Paris.
2008: The Sunday New York Times book section featured a review of Moral Clarity A Guide for Grown-Up Idealistsby Jewish author Susan Neiman.
2008(27th of Tammuz, 5768): Eighty-four year old Mexican multi-millionaire Isaac Saba Raffoul, the son of an immigrant from Aleppo, passed away today.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/M12Y.html
http://www.respectance.com/Isaac_Saba_Raffoul/
2008: The Washington Post book section featured reviews of a children’s book entitled Little Brother by Canadian born Jewish author Cory Doctorow and The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State by Noah Feldman.
2008: In TheWashington Post, “The Poet’s Choice” column features reviews of the work of Jewish poet Allen Grossman including "A Pastoral,""The Piano Player Explains Himself"and"The Work" from The Ether Dome and Other Poems: New and Selected
2009: In Jerusalem, it is Open Mic Night In English at the Off the Wall Comedy Basement on Ben Yehuda Street.
2009: In Jerusalem, Agite Drive plays Balkan music at the Biblical Zoo aka, The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens (Biblical Zoo)
2009: Newsweek magazine reads like a copy of the Forwards with a spate of articles about Jews and/or of special interest to Jews including “Israel Fights Wire With Wire,” “Hit Squad vs. Mossad,” “The Israel Trail,” about a 600-mile footpath “that ambles from the country’s…border with Egypt…to the edge of Lebanon”, a profile on the views of economist Joseph Stiglitz and the semi-positive quote from “the normally pessimistic economist Nouriel Roubini” that “the light at the of the tunnel, for once, is not an incoming train.”
2010:Random House is scheduled to publish Gary Shteyngart’s third novel, Super Sad True Love Story
2010: As part of WJFF Year-Round, a creening of Eli & Ben is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C.
2010: After a 29-year hiatus, the Annual National Bible Quiz for Adults is once again underway with 2,078 contestants taking part in the first round in Jerusalem today.
2010: “Junk food junkies” were saddened today at the passing of 90 year old Morrie Yohai, the “developer of Cheez Doodles. (As reported by Dennis Hevesi)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/business/03yohai.html
2010(16th of Av, 5770): Sixty-one year old character actor Maury Chaykin, passed away today in Toronto. (As reported by Bruce Weber)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/arts/29chaykin.html
2011: Rabbi Mordechai Becher is scheduled to deliver a lecture entitled “Two Great Jewish Mystics – The Ramcal and the Maharal of Prague at the Philadelphia Ethical Society on Rittenhouse Square.
2011: YJAM-Young Jewish Adults of Milwaukee is scheduled to provide a free nosh for those attending the Battle of the Bands at River Rhythms.
2011: Planet Money reporters Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson are scheduled to offer a practical and humorous field guide to America's economic future at Washington’s Sixth and I Historic Synagogue.
2011: Today, the French Foreign Ministry circulated comments made by its minister Alain Juppe last week saying that any solution to the Middle East will need to recognize Israel as the nation-state for the Jewish people.
2011: Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini pledged support today for demonstrators protesting across the country for affordable housing, saying the Histadrut would join protests "at all levels" if the government did not invite the labor organization to discuss real solutions to the issues facing the middle and lower classes, Israel Radio reported
2011(24th of Tammuz, 5771)): Ninety-three year old Admiral Maurice “Mike” Rindskopf, a hero of the Silent Service during WW II passed away today. (As reported by Dennis Hevesi and Emily Langer)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/us/07rindskopf.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/retired-rear-adm-maurice-h-mike-rindskopf-dies-at-93/2011/08/08/gIQAprcF5I_story.html
2012: Donald Sanford, the 400 meter runner, is scheduled to be part of the Israeli team representing the Jewish state at the Olympics which open today in London.
2012: The Tel Aviv International Children’s Festival which features 30 films for children between the ages of 3 and 13 is scheduled to come to an end today.
2012: Since the IOC has sided with the killers and decided against “a moment of silence” to honor the memory of those slaughtered at 40 years ago at Munich the following prayer composed by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is scheduled to be offered by many Jews throughout the world
2012: The faces of the 11 murdered Munich Olympians, flashed on the screen in Israel as the Israeli delegation marched into the stadium.
2012: Terrorists fired two Kassam rockets from Gaza into southern Israel this evening.
2012: Ninety-eight year old Tony Martin, the son of Polish immigrants, whose singing career spanned eight decades passed away today. (As reported by Frank J. Prial)
2013: The Arab-Hebrew Theatre is scheduled to present “Eyes based on the works of Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish in New York City.
2013: “Joe Papp in Five Acts” is scheduled to be shown at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
2013: Avital Raz is scheduled to debut her newest album in Jerusalem.
2013(20th of Av, 5773): Seventy-seven year old Rabbi Jacob Immanuel Schochet passed away today.
2013(20th of Av, 5773): Eight-six year old pioneering television newsman Herbert Kaplow passed away today. (As reported by Douglas Martin)
2014: In a sign of that summer is ending, Temple Judah is scheduled to hold its Religious School In-Service.
2014: “A Serious Man” and “The Big Lebowski” are scheduled to be shown at the Washington Jewish Film Festival.
2014: The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and the ADL are scheduled to host “Family Day” where attendees can explore identity through art.
2014: The New York Times reviewed books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames by Kai Bird, Good Hunting: An American Spymaster’s Story by Jack Devine and Vernon Loeb, Lucian Freud: Eyes Wide Open by Phoebe Hoban, The Golden Age Shtetl: A New History of Jewish Life in East Europe by Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern and The Essential Ellen Willis edited by Nona Willis Aronowitz.