OCTOBER 12
539 BCE : The Persian armies of Cyrus the Great captured Babylon
1129: The tombstone of Elijah ben Simon dated October 12, 1129 is among the oldest evidence of the Jewish settlement in Nuremberg goes back to the 12th century.
1285: The Jews of Munich (Germany
1366: In Sicily
1491: During the Blood Libel tied to the Holy Child of La Guardia, inquisitors arranged for a meeting between Yucef Franco and Benitor Garcia, the two Jews accused in this event.
1492: After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia. His expedition, including Hebrew speaker Luis de Torres (the translator) went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China India Columbus Western Hemisphere . He discovered and introduced tobacco into Europe . He saw a bird he thought to be a peacock and called it a "tuki" (Hebrew for peacock - I Kings X22). Today that bird is known as a turkey. (There are those who say that the story of the Turkey is pure fiction. All that I can say is “Of this I do not know.”)
1576: Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor passed away. Maximilian reversed the decree that had banished the Jews from Prague. Furthermore, he allowed them to return to other towns in Bohemia and to settle in Austria. The life of the Jews in these domains was far from tranquil thanks to pressure from the Catholic Church. But under Maximilian II it was better than it had been under his predecessor Ferdinand.
1589(2ndof Cheshvan, 5350): Rabbi Samuel ben Moses Medina (RaShDaM) passed away in Salonica. Born in 1505, his disciples included Abraham de Boton and Joseph ibn Ezra and his grandson was Samuel Hayyun, author of “Bene Shemuel “
1711: Charles VI who sought to limit the number of Jews living in Austria and Hungary began his reign as Holy Roman Emperor. Among his subjects was Ḥayyim Judah Löb Ettinger, the Austian Rabbi who was the son of Eliezer ha-Levi Lichtenstein Ettinger and the brother-in-law of Chaim Cohen Rapport, who served as a rabbi in Lemberg.
1772(15thof Tishrei, 5533): Six month old David Riccardo "celebrates" Sukkoth for the first time.
1775: The Continental Congress creates the United States Navy. Some of the famous Jews to serve in the U.S. Navy include: Commodore Uriah P. Levy who played a key role in ending flogging as a punishment for seamen; Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of the Nuclear Navy; Admiral Jeremy Michael Boorda, Chief of Naval Operations.
1778: In Denmark, Philip Hartvig Rée and Hanna Hartvig von Essen gave birth to Hartvig Philip Ree.
1789(22ndof Tishrei, 5550): Shemini Atzeret is observed for the first time during the Presidency of George Washington.
1793: The cornerstone of Old East the oldest state university building in the United States University of North Carolina Chapel Hill . This is an important date in Jewish history because my sister, Judy Sharon (Levin) Rosenstein, of blessed memory was a Tar Heel Grad. She met her husband, Larry Rosenstein of blessed memory, at Chapel Hill. All three of their sons are also Carolina
1796(10thof Tishrei, 5557): Yom Kippur is observed for the last time during the Presidency of George Washington.
1796: Israel Baer Kursheedt observed Yom Kippur as the only Jew aboard an American sloop sailing to the United States from Hamburg.
1797(22ndof Tishrei, 5558): Shemini Atzeret is observed for the first time during the Presidency of John Adams.
1800(23rdof Tishrei, 5561): Jews celebrate Simchat Torah for the first time in the 19thcentury and for the last time during the Presidency of John Adams.
1819(23rdof Tishrei, 5580): Simchat Torah
1822: Birthdate of Seligman Solomon, the German born American businessman and philanthropist best known for his support of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum in New York City
1830: Birthdate of Antony Mayer de Worms, a London born descendant of Amschel Moses Rothschild and Schoenche Lechnich
1837(13thof Tishrei, 5598): Seventy-five year old Talmudist, interpreter of Halacha and moel Rabbi Akiva Eger passed away today in Poznan
1838(23rdof Tishrei, 5599): Simchat Torah
1848(15thof Tishrei, 5609): Sukkoth
1853(10th of Tishrei, 5614): Yom Kippur
1853: Rabbi Raphall led services today at the Greene Street Synagogue in New York.
1854: Birthdate of Ida Kuhn, the daughter of Clara Regina Kuhn who became Ida Cohen after marrying Eduard Cohen
1864:The General News column reported today, Wednesday, that Monday’s livestock market was fairly active despite “the absence of the Hebrews, who” were “observing the Day of the Atonement, one of their principal fasts.” Tuesday’s market was more active than usual, in part, because “on account of the numbers of Jews present.”
1865: In a column styled “Our London Correspondence,” The New York Times reported that, “If you want a present proof that Mammon rules here, take the fact that yesterday Mr. Phillips, a gentleman of the Hebrew persuasion, was elected Lord Mayor of London. Not that a Jew has not teeth, hands, organs, dimensions, and all that, as well as any other man; but, in the face of English prejudice, money and money alone could make a man who is a Jew by birth and religion, member of Parliament or Lord Mayor.” “Mr. Phillips” referred to Benjamin Samuel Phillips, a prominent British citizen and leader of the Agnlo-Jewish community who had been elected Lord Mayor in September of 1865. He served with such distinction that Queen Victoria knighted him for his service. Phillips was the second the Jew to hold the post; the first being David Salomons. His son, Sir George, would also served as Lord Mayor. The level of anti-Semitism displayed in this items stands in stark contrast with the detailed and sympathetic description of Jewish holidays that this paper was publishing in the 19th century.
1865(22nd of Tishrei, 5626): Shmini Atzeret
1872(10thof Tishrei, 5633): Yom Kippur
1873(21stof Tishrei, 5634): Hoshanah Rabah
1873: “Curiosities of Superstition” published today traces the history of “host desecration” including a description of the 38 Jews who were burned to death in 1510 “because they had tortured the consecrated host until bled.”
1875: Birthdate of Yaakov Ben Zion Morein who gained famed as Rabbi Yaakov Ben Zion HaCohen Mendelsohn who served a congregation in Glasgow, Scotland before settling in the United States where he founded “his own shul, Congregation Beis Hamedrash Hagadol.”
1877: An application was made to Judge Barrett on behalf of the two children of the late Abraham Weisberg to order the Public Administrator to turn the two hundred dollars that constituted his estates to Rabbi Ash of the Ludlow-Street Synagogue so that he could send the money to the children living in Poland. Weisberg was a Jewish peddler who had been murdered two years ago in New York’s Westchester Country. The judge denied the application saying a guardian for the minor children would have to be appointed before going forward with the dispersal of funds.
1878(15thof Tishrei, 5639): Sukkoth
1878: The strict anti-Socialist legislation passed today outlawed, for all practical purposes, the German Socialist Democratic Party whose leaders included Eduard Bernstein
1879: An article published today devoted to describing the rich variety of shell-fish used by cooks in Morocco pointed out that these are “utterly tabooed” when it comes to the local Jewish population.
1882: It was reported today that the Prime Minister told members of the Hungarian Chamber of Deputies, that the recent anti-Jewish riots in Pressburg “might …degenerate into” an event “of a socialistic character.” He declared that would he would not tolerate “such excesses.”
1884(23rdof Tishrei, 5645): Simchat Torah
1884: As the effects of the sever economic recession, which has necessitated the closing of many major employers, including the Falls Cotton Mills, grip New England, it is reported that the Polish Jews living in Baltic, a city 8 miles north of Norwich, Conn, are reduced to begging from door to door.
1884: Roderick Waters, who is Christian and Michael Hauman, who is Jewish nearly came to blows today as they vied for the affections of a Jewish widow in St. Mark’s Place.
1884: “News of the World” published today described the change in fortunes for Mahmoud Pasha, aka Jacob Freund The Sultan has brought him back from the Island of Rhodes where he had been living in exile since 1876 and restored him to his former position of prominence. Mahmoud Pasha was a Polish born Jew named Jacob Freund who had fled Hungary after the revolution there failed and, after converting, became “the ablest of Turkish Generals.
1885: David J. Seligman and Adelaide (Addie) Seligman gave birth to Gladys Seligman who, after she married Henri Wertheim became Gladys Wertheim.
1885: “The Only One In America” published today described the opening of the first and only “Hebrew-Christian Church” in the United States. Located in New York, it is the only congregation that has been established by Jewish converts to Christianity. (Editor’s note – Jews for Jesus type movements are obviously note a creation of the late 20thcentury.)
1886: “The Anchroia’s Long Trip” described the perilous ocean crossing of a steamer that that had its propeller shaft brake causing havoc among the crew and passengers. Fortunately, only two passengers died in the chaos, one of whom was an unnamed Polish Jew who was buried at sea.
1888(7thof Cheshvan, 5649): Just two months before his 76th birthday, Joseph Moses Levy, the English newspaper editor and publisher whose properties included The Daily Telegraph passed away.
1888: “The Fifteenth Season” published today described the first event of 1888-1889 season sponsored by the Young Men’s Hebrew Association. Among those who addressed those attending the gala at Chickering Hall was Chauncey M. Depew. (Depew was not Jewish. He was an attorney who became President of the New York Central Railroad and U.S. Senator from New York. His willingness to speak at the YMHA gathering gives an indication of the importance of the organization.) The speeches were followed by an evening of choral music with violin accompaniment.
1889: Max Maretzek, the Moravian born American opera conductor and composer, celebrated his Golden Jubilee
1890: “Russia’s Milling Industry” published today attributed the decline in the country’s grain milling industry and the decline in the price of corn to “the persecution of the Jews.”
1891(10th of Tishrei, 5652): Yom Kippur
1891: Several “temporary places of worships have been established” in New York city “public halls” to accommodate the large number of people attending services, especially on the Lower East Side.
1891: In Columbus, GA, more than fifty Jewish owned stores closed because of the Day of Atonement.
1891: In Brooklyn, Sophie and Pincus Weinberg gave birth to Sidney James Weinberg
1891: An Indictment of Russia” published today described the view of the Jews that Nicholas I who reigned from 1825 to 1855 was “a Second Haman” whose 30 year reign “was filled with special hardship for” them. Much to their surprise, the reign of Alexander III has proved to be even worse.
1891: Birthdate of Edith Stein who later converted to Catholicism. When she became a nun she took the name "Teresia Benedicta ac Cruce." Sister Teresia left Germany Holland Holland Auschwitz in August of 1942. If people who converted to Catholicism are really Catholics it is hard to understand how the Pope gave up these members of his flock. Eventually, Edith Stein would be made Saint. Cynics would say that in one respect the Church has remained consistent. It loves Jews, as long as they are dead.
1891: Today, Jews in Missouri are upset by the recent attack John T. Blake the manager for William Warner, the Republican candidate for governor has made on Mr. Isaac Isaacs, Secretary of the Republican clubs that included a “roast of the Jews.”
1892(21stof Tishrei, 5653): Hoshana Rabah
1892: In New York, a conference of Orthodox rabbis which has dealt with changes espoused by the Reform including doing away requiring circumcision as part of the conversion ceremony, is scheduled to come to an end
1892: Carlos Pellegrini, who has a German-Jewish brother-in-law, completed his term of office as President of Argentina during which he expressed his support for Baron Hirsch’s plan to settle a half a million Russian Jews in the Argentine Republic.
1893: Julius Bien, the President of B’Nai B’rith is scheduled to address the opening session of a three day affair marking the Golden Anniversary of the Jewish fraternal organization.
1894: Alfred Gobert, “the handwriting expert from the Bank of France,” was summoned to the rue Saint-Dominique where he spent the day examining the treasonous documents supposedly written by Captain Dreyfus.(For more see The Dreyfus Affair by Piers Paul Read)
1894: This evening, General de Boisdeffre told Commandant du Paty de Calm that “he had been chosen to arrest Dreyfus.” Du Paty tried to avoid the task but the general insisted.
1897: In Kansas City, clothing store owner Jacob Epstein and his wife gave birth to Jane Epstein, the future wife Goodman Ace who became half of the comedy team known as “Easy Aces.”
1897: Expenses estimates submitted at today’s meeting of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment included: Aguilar Free Library $41, 500; Maimonides Free Library $5,000; Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum $324,992; Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society $89,000; Sanitarium for Hebrew Children $5,500; Mt. Sinai Hospital $26,000
1903(21stof Tishrei, 5664): Hoshana Rabah
1906(23rdof Tishrei, 5667): Simchat Torah
1906: In Australia, Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs began serving as Puisne Justice of the High Court of Australia.
1910(9thof Tishrei, 5671): Erev Yom Kippur
1910: Birthdate of Canadian screenwriter Ben Barzman who fell afoul of HUAC and ended up on one of its infamous blacklists.
1911: Multiple telegrams were received in London Malta Tripoli
1912: Birthdate of Elizabeth H. Friedman, the wife of Sylvan N. Friedman, the Jewish political leader who served in both houses of the Louisiana state legislature.
1914(22ndof Tishrei, 5675): Shemini Atzeret
1914: Birthdate of Mauricio Leib Lasansky, “an Argentine-born master printmaker who was equally well known for a series of drawings depicting the horrors of Nazism…” (As reported by Margalit Fox)
1916(15thof Tishrei, 5677): Sukkoth
1918: Dr. Madisen Clinton Peters, the former pastor of the Bloomingdale Church and author whose works included Justice to the Jew, The Jews as Patriot, The Wit Wisdom of the Talmud, The Jews in America and the Jews Who Stood by Washington, passed away after losing his week-long fight with Spanish Influenza.
1918:Upon hearing that the German government had accepted President Wilson’s condition for negotiation, “the German born Zionist Arthur Ruppin noted in his diary how he ‘went for a long walk and continuously repeated to myself the one word: Peace! How much it means.’” Ruppin’s joy was premature and it would be another month before Peace would become a reality.
1919: The New York Times includes a review of Past and Present: A Collection of Essays by Dr. Israel Friedlander, a noted member of the faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary and an author of several volumes on Jewish history.
1921(10thof Tishrei, 5682): Yom Kippur
1921: According to New York City political leaders yesterday's drop in voter registration, as compared with both the first day's registration and that of last year was mainly due to the fact that the Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur began yesterday evening. “In many instances Jewish registration inspectors left their booths at sundown” which delayed registration for those waiting in line. “The Jewish holiday kept the registration down on the East side of Harlem ” and other East side locations because Jews did not come out to register on the eve of Yom Kippur. The importance of observing Yom Kippur was a universal factor among Jews regardless of affiliation as can be sen by the fact that Jacob Schiff, who was serving as Chairman of one of the registration boards and a co-religionist serving on the board “quit work at sunset.” When Schiff was challenged by waiting voters he replied, “We are sorry, but you observe your holidays and we must observe ours.” The Board of Elections admitted that it had not even considered the disruption that would take place when voter registration coincided with the most important holiday on the Jewish calendar.
1923: Birthdate of Jean Nidetch, founder of Weight Watchers. “The story of the establishment of Weight Watchers International begins with the personal story of a New York housewife who wanted to succeed at losing weight. In 1963, Mrs. Jean Nidetch , a Jewish woman in her forties, who had experienced many failed attempts at losing weight and gaining weight, decided to lose weight forever.” So begins the saga as described by the Weight Watchers Program. There are those who say the program is very Jewish. Like Moses, Ms. Nidetch started with a list of foods you could not eat and book.
1924: Birthdate of Erich Gruenberg, the Austrian born violinist who studied at the Jerusalem Conservatory and “led the Palestine Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra from 1938 to 1945.
1925: Birthdate of Julius Bronstein, a 34 for year veteran of the Chicago Police Department
1925: Birthdate of Alan Howard Abelson, the New York native who became an editor of Barron’s magazine where he wrote “a pugnacious, sagacious stock market column that denounced Wall Street hucksterism and routinely rocked share prices (As reported by Douglas Martin
1925(24thof Tishrei, 5685): Thirty-two year old Polish born circus performer known as the “Strongest Man in the World” passed away today in Berlin after having injured himself during a performance.
1926: Birthdate of Dr. Ruth L. Kirschstein, a National Institutes of Health pathologist who helped develop and refine tests to ensure the safety of vaccines for polio and measles, organized the NIH response to the AIDS epidemic, and became the first woman appointed director of an NIH institute.”
1927: Anna Boudin, Mrs. Jacob Panken and Florence Dolowitz organized the first meeting of the Women's American ORT (WAO). (As reported by the Jewish Women’s Archives)
1929: The British High Commissioner sends a telegram to the government in London Transjordan and the Hedjaz which they intended to use in attacks on the Jewish population.
1930: Birthdate of New Rochelle native Jack Gottlieb, a noted composer who “served as President of the ASJM for a number of years.”
1933(23rd of Tishrei, 5694): Simchat Torah
1933: William E. Dodd, FDR’s newly appointed Ambassador to Germany, defied the conventional wisdom and gave a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Berlin in which he was highly critical of the Nazi regime. Among the high-ranking Nazis in attendance were Goebbels and Alfred Rosenberg.
1934: Birthdate of architect, Richard Meier.
1934: U.S. premiere of “The Bay Divorcee,” a musical directed by Mark Sandrich with a score by Max Steiner.
1935(15thof Tishrei, 5695): Sukkoth
1939: The first Jewish deportees left Vienna Bohemia
1939: Hans Frank is appointed governor-general of Occupied Poland.
1940(10th of Tishrei, 5701): Yom Kippur; it is also Shabbat.
1940:For the first time in 940 years, non-Christian religious services were held in Iceland. Approximately twenty five Jewish soldiers from England, Scotland and Canada gathered with eight Jewish refugees and Hendrik Ottósson, who had married a Jewish woman to observe Yom Kippur. Ottósson, served as their Shammash. The Icelandic authorities offered a chapel in Reykjavík's old cemetery. Ottósson found the suggestion insulting and rented a hall of the Good Templars' Lodge. They borrowed the only Torah scroll available in town.
1940: On this Jewish Day of Atonement, German loudspeakers in Warsaw, Poland, announce that all Jews in the city must move to the Jewish ghetto by the end of the month.
1940(10th of Tishrei, 5701): The Nazis executed 3,400 Jews in Galicia.
1941(21st of Tishrei, 5702): Hoshanah Rabah
1941: InStanislawow, Eastern Galicia, all of the Jews living in the district, were driven out of their homes into the center of the town where massive graves had been dug. SS troops and Ukrainian militia commence machine gunning of the gathered populace. Estimates of the number of Jews murdered range from a low of 6,000 to a high of 12,000. For the Jews, it was Hoshanah Rabbah, (the Great Prayer day.) The Ukrainian and German killers throw a "Bloody Sunday" victory celebration.
1941: At Sabac , Yugoslavia
1941: The head of the University ofLouisville Law School University of Louisville
1944: Gerda Baier was deported to Auschwitz where she was subsequently murdered.
1944(25thof Tishrei, 5705): The wife and young daughter of chess champion Salo Landau were gassed today at Auschwitz.
1945: Forty women rescued from Nazi concentration camps were the first to be sheltered in the new sixty-bed wing opened” today “at the Women’s League for Palestine home at Haifa. In New York, “Mrs. David L. Isaacs, who head the Palestine committee of the league” described “the welcome given the group rescued from Bergen-Belsen, Buchwald and Auschwitz.”
1945: British authorities continued their search of a secret radio that was “attempting to rally Jewish resistance forces.” Shortly before a secret radio station “that was attempting to rally Jewish resistance forces…broadcast the announcement ‘Listen to the voice of Israel! This is not a terrorist station. This is the station of Hebrew resistance. Never again will Jews be deported from their homeland. Our patience is over. No power in the world shall break our determination.”
1946: U.S. premiere of “Nobody Lives Forever” starring John Garfield (Jacob Julius Garfinkle)
1948(9thof Tishrei, 5709): Erev Yom Kippur; in the evening Kol Nidre is chanted for the first time in almost two thousand years in an independent Jewish state.
1948(9thof Tishrei, 5709): Eighty year old Alfred Kerr passed away today.
1948: Egypt Syria Lebanon Jordan West Bank and the Old City Jerusalem
1952(23rdof Tishrei, 5713): Simchat Torah is celebrated for the last time during the Presidency of Harry S. Truman, “the godfather of Israeli independence”
1953: The “Caine Mutiny Court Martial” opened at the Plymouth Theatre in New York. This Broadway dramatic hit was based on the novel The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk. Wouk has had a successful writing career dealing with both non-Jewish and Jewish themes. More to the point, he has been successful without compromising his very strong belief in traditional Judaism and the state of Israel
1954(15thof Tishrei, 5715): Sukkoth
1954: In Philadelphia, PA, Congressman Joshua Eilberg and his wife Gladys gave birth to Amy Eilberg, the first female rabbi ordained by the Conservative movement.
1955(26th of Tishrei, 5716):Arthur Hammerstein passed away. Born in 1872, this son of Oscar Hammerstein I and uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II, “was an opera producer and one of the writers of the song "Because of You," a major hit (#1 for 10 weeks) for Tony Bennett in 1951. Hammerstein wrote the song in 1940. It was used in the film I Was an American Spy (1951). He was the producer of the musical comedies The Firefly (1912), and Rose Marie (1924), which he did along with his nephew. He also was the producer of the film The Lottery Bride (1930), and made an appearance as himself in an episode of the film series Popular Science in 1949. Arthur Hammerstein was born and educated in New York City. Arthur's daughter, Elaine Hammerstein was a well-known stage and film actress.”
1956: In response to a request from a very worried Jordanian King, the British government informed Israel Jordan Iraq Britain Israel Israel France Britain Egypt Suez Canal .
1957: Publication of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged which, in 2007, will be described as one of the most influential business books ever written.
1958: Fifty sticks of dynamite exploded in the entryway of Atlanta Temple
1959(10thof Tishrei, 5720): Yom Kippur
1959: The Play of the Week broadcast David Susskind’s production of Media as its first broadcast.
1960(21stof Tishrei, 5721): Hoshanah Rabah
1960; U.S. premiere of “Inherit the Wind,” the cinematic adaptation of the play co-authored by Jerome Lawrence, directed and produced by Stanley Kramer.
1963: Archaeological digs began at Masada , Israel Masada was the site of the famous “last stand” during the “War Against Rome” that ended with the destruction of the Second Temple
1963: “A virulent anti-Semitic book, Judaism Without Embellishment, by Trofim Kichko was published in the USSR today.”
1967: In discussing his latest archeological finds, Dr. Yigael Yadin, Israel
1969(30thof Tishrei, 5730): Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan
1969(30thof Tishrei 5730): Seventy-two year old Dr. Max Schur, the friend and confidant of Sigmund Freud passed away
1971(23rdof Tishrei, 5732): Simchat Torah
1973: Moshe Koren safely ejected from his F-4E Phantom Jet after it fell victim to Lebanese anti-aircraft fire and was recovered by IDF forces.
1973: Ran Goren and Micha Oren were safely recovered by IDF forces after their F-4E Phantom Jet was shot down by an Egyptian MiG-21.
1973: A week after the Yom Kippur War began; Avraham Lanir scored his third and last aerial kill, downing a Syrian MiG-17 in the vicinity of Kuneitra while flying Mirage 5
1973: As many as 15,000 Iraqi troops had reached the Syrian front and were prepared to attack Israeli forces. The Israelis lucked out and spotted a lead contingent of fifty Iraqi tanks. When the Iraqis reached to within three yards of the outnumbered Israelis, the IDF tanks opened fire destroying 17 tanks and halting the assault The Soviets completed a twenty-four hour air lift during which eighty large Soviet transport planes landed in Syria filled with a wide variety of arms that more than compensated for the Syrian losses during the first week of fighting. On the southern front, Egyptian tanks and troops continued to pour across the Suez Canal posing a new threat to the Israelis.
1973: In the midst of the perilous first week of the Yom Kippur War a dispute broke out between the Sephardic Chief Rabbi and his Ashkenazi counterpart. October 12, 1973 was a Friday. As the sun was setting the Sephardic Rabbi announced that it was a sin to bake bread on Shabbat, even in war time. The Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Goren, the man who had been chief rabbi of the IDF in the 1967 war said that it was perfectly permissible to break the rules of Shabbat and bake bread during war time. Doesn’t this remind you of Jerusalem
1975: Birthdate of Aharon Mordechai Rokeach the only child and heir of the current Rebbe of Belz, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach. Born in Jerusalem, Israel, he was named after his father's uncle, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, the fourth Belzer Rebbe, and his father's father, Rabbi Mordechai of Bilgorai.
1978: Representatives of Israel and Egypt opened peace talks in Washington, D.C.
1984: It was reported today that memoirs of Jaroslav Seifert, the newly named Nobel Prize winner in Literature, contain a “selection, titled 'Russian Bliny,' is about Roman Jakobson, a Russian born Jewish scholar who emigrated to Czechoslovakia after World War I and came to the United States during World War II.”
1987(20th of Tishrei, 5748): Sixth Day of Sukkoth
1987(20th of Tishrei, 5748):Oliver Louis Zangwill an influential British neuropsychologist passed away today. Born in 1913, he was Professor of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, 1952-81, then Professor Emeritus. He was the son of Israel Zangwill and the grandson of William Edward Ayrton. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1977
1988: Israel China
1989:A Syrian Air Force major flying a Soviet-made fighter-bomber landed in Israel Syria MIG -23 plane had suffered mechanical problems and made an emergency landing, though the Syrian statement did not explain why the pilot had flown more than 50 miles into Israel noon today. Joined by several other military officials, he rushed to the site of the landing, a small crop-duster air strip outside Megiddo Galilee , and personally questioned the pilot. Syria Israel Israel Israel Israel MIG -21 to Israel MIG -23 from the same unit landed in Alexandria , Egypt Egypt Israel Israel Syria Galilee . Military officials said that the plane was one of several on maneuver near the Golan Heights and that it and the others were being tracked by radar even before it veered west, crossing into Jordanian and then Israeli airspace and flying west on its own. A MIG -23 is capable of flying at Mach-2, twice the speed of sound, and officials said the plane probably was airborne over Israel MIG -23, a single-seat, swing-wing fighter known as the ''flogger'' in NATO parlance, to several Arab nations, and it remains the principal plane of the Syrian and Iraqi air forces.
1990(23rdof Tishrei, 5751): Simchat Torah
1992(15thof Tishrei, 5753): Sukkoth is observed for the last time during the Presidency of George Bush.
1997: In “Neighborhood Report: Corona –New Worshipers Are Bane, Not Balm, for Old Synagogue,” Charlie Leduff describes the challenges faced at Tifereth Israel as an influx of Bukharan Jews face the aging members of the nine decades old synagogue.
1997:The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or about topics of special interest to Jews including The Myth of Rescue: Why the Democracies Could Not Have Saved More Jews From the Nazisy by William D. Rubinstein, Shtetl: The Life and Death of a Small Town and the World of Polish Jewsby Eva Hoffman and God & The American Writer by AlfredKazin.
2000: Ben Weider received the French Legion of Honor. A successful body builder and businessman, Weider was a student of history who worked to prove that Napoleon had been poisoned.
2000(13thof Tishrei, 5761): Vadim Nurhitz and Yossi Avrahami, two Israeli reservists who entered Ramallah by mistake were arrested by the PA. While in the custody of the PA, a mob savagely murdered them and then mutilated their bodies.
2000: During the Infitada, “vandals…desecrated the building” housing the mosaic that had been part of the Shalom Al Yisrael Synagogue, Jewish house of worship that dates back “to the late 6th or early 7th century and was discovered in 1936 “by Dr. Baramki of the Antiquities Authority under the British Mandate.”
2002: In Massachusetts, Boston College, a Catholic institution of higher learning, installed “a copy of the Torah in the worship center, where it is expected to be used” for future Friday and Saturday services.
2003:The New York Timesfeatured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or about topics of special interest to Jews including Madam Secretaryby Madeleine Albright with Bill Woodward and Why America
2005(9th of Tishrei, 5766): Erev Yom Kippur
2005: New York Times reporter Judith Miller testified one last time before the federal grand jury before being “relieved of contempt charges” in matters related to the Scooter Libby leak case.
2006(20th of Tishrei, 5767): Sixth Day of Sukkoth
2006(20thof Tishrei, 5767): Sixty-one year old Don Novick, loving husband of Denise Novick and father of Rochelle and Cassie Novick passed away. The son of Russian immigrant Jews, he was raised as an Orthodox Jew in Cheynne, Wyoming. A member of Temple Judah, he was a pillar of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Jewish community who gave freely of his time and cuillanary skills to so many worthwhile events. Among his many virtues, was the ability to cook anything you wanted to perfection, including the best falafel west of Tel Aviv. A quite man, he touched many lives and will never be forgotten.
2006: In New York, the Albany County District Attorney acknowledged that he was investigating the hiring of a chauffeur by the Comptroller of New York, Alan Hevesi.
2007(30th of Tishrei, 5768): Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan
2007: The film “Jewish Life in Cracow Guggenheim Museum New York City
2007: Yaakov Katz the military correspondent and defense analyst for The Jerusalem Post, the Middle East's leading English daily speaks at the Hillel House at the University of Iowa
2007:Some of the world's best klezmer musicians gathered in a New York
2008: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or about topics of special interest to Jews including My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar and The Partnership:The Making of Goldman Sachsby Charles D. Ellis.
2008: The Washington Post featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or about topics of special interest to Jews including Hitler’s Empire:How the Nazis Ruled Europe by Mark Mazower and two paperback offering: A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich; Translated from the German by Caroline Mustill and Just Say Nu Yiddish for Every Occasion (When English Just Won't Do)by Michael Wex.
2008: In Atlanta, members of The Temple gathered to observe the 50th anniversary of the blast that shook the congregation, recalling , recalling its terrifying aftermath and the way it changed their congregation's mission to promote racial equality. The bombing of a prominent Atlanta Oct. 12, 19 58Atlanta Temple Temple Temple Alabama Temple Atlanta Atlanta Atlanta
2008:A critically acclaimed fully staged off-Broadway production of Joseph Stein’s “Enter Laughing: The Musical” came to a close at The York Theatre. “It was nominated for a 2009 Lucille Lortel Award for outstanding revival.”
2009: Time magazine published an article entitled “How Moses Shaped America” by Bruce Feiler.
2009:Israel and the U.S. are scheduled to begin their biggest joint air-defense exercise today. Code named "Juniper Cobra," the maneuvers will be overseen by Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, chief of the U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet and are designed to test the missile interceptors that would serve as a strategic bulwark in any future showdown with Iran.
2009: As part of The New School's "Jewish Text" seminar series David Stromberg will be reading from and discussing his newest book, Baddies.
2009(24th of Tishrei, 5770): Ninety-six year old Mildred Cohn who overcame gender and religious discrimination to make major advances in biochemistry and who received the nation's most prestigious award in science passed away today. (As reported by Matt Schudel)
2010:Joshua Sobol is scheduled talk about his novel Cut Throat Dog at program sponsored byWesleyan University Jewish and Israel Studies program in Middleton.
2010:YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is scheduled to present “Protocols of Justice: Inside the Rabbinical Court of Metz, France (1771-1789).”
2010:After six years of construction, the American Consulate in Jerusalem is scheduled to open its new facility for consular services on Rehov David Flusser in the southern Arnona neighborhood today.
2010:British Jewish author Howard Jacobson was the surprise winner of the Man Booker Prize today for The Finkler Question, the first comedy to scoop one of the English-speaking world's most coveted literary awards.
2010(4thof Cheshvan, 5771):Ninety-five year old best-selling author Belva Plain passed away today (As reported Elsa Dixler)
2010: The Guardian published Shabtai Rosenne: Eminent International lawyer, teacher and Israeli diplomat” by Malcom Shaw.
2011(14thof Tishrei, 5772): Erev Sukkoth
2011: Israeli cellist Inbal Segev is scheduled to perform at the Bulgarian Concert Evening in Carnegie Hall.
2011:Galid Shalit's parents, Noam and Aviva, arrived this evening in their home in Mitzpe Hila in northern Israel, after leaving the protest site they had been encamped at in Jerusalem.
2012: NFTY/HUC/AJA Teen Study Weekend is scheduled to begin in Cincinnati, Ohio.
2012:The US State Department confirmed today that it had attempted to renew peace talks between Jerusalem and Damascus in 2010, before the outbreak of violence in Syria. The information partially confirmed an article in today’s Yedioth Ahronoth that stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed in principle to withdraw from the Golan Heights during indirect talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2010.(As reported by Yoel Goldman and Ron Friedman)
2012:Palestinian terrorists from the Gaza Strip fired a Grad rocket towards Netivot today, causing one civilian to suffer shock symptoms, according to the Negev Police.
2013: In Jerusalem, the Ensemble Millennium is scheduled to perform “Night Music,” a concert that will include works by Mozart, Schubert, Liszt and Schoenberg.
2013: The Hyman S & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival is scheduled to present “American Savage: Insights, Slights and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love and Politics” featuring Dan Savage.
2013: Iran said it arrested three Israelis suspected of spying and attempting to recruit Iranian citizens to gather intelligence for Israel, Iranian news agency Mehr reported today.
2013:"The State should act forcefully to send a message to these people," said Monique Ofer, wife of retired IDF Colonel Seraya Ofer, 61, who was murdered in a terror attack outside his home in the northern Jordan Valley early yesterday. "He was an amazing man, and two bastards took his life," she said. (As reported by Ahiya Raved)
2014: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution by Jonathan Eig
2014: “Race: Are We So Different?” is scheduled to open at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center.
2014: The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington is scheduled to host a new walking tour “Downtown Synagogues and D.C.’s Urban Evolution.”
2014: The Jewish Museum of London is scheduled to host “Zangwill’s Ghetto: An East End Story” which is a walking tour of the author’s childhood neighborhood held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Zangwill’s birth.
2014: In honor of Sukkoth, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education is scheduled to host “Pita in the Hut.”