December 21
69: The Senate acknowledged Vespasian as emperor. This marked the end of the so-called The Year of the Four Emperors during which four individuals - Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian – held the position of imperial leadership. This period of apparent anarchy was very unsettling for the Romans and part of Vespasian’s acceptance as emperor stemmed from the fact that he would be able to provide an imperial heir and stability for the emperor. In Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations, Martin Goodman ties the destruction of the Temple to the unsettling events of the Year of the Four Emperors and Vespasian’s determination to prove that he could bring order to the Empire.
640: As the forces of Islam sweep across North Africa in a wave that will end with the conquest of Spain seventy years later, Muslims capture the Babylon Fortress in the Nile Delta after a seven month siege
1140: Conrad III of Germany besieged Weinsberg. Seven years later, Conrad would be one of the leaders of the Second Crusade during which the Jews of Mainz, Cologne and Worms were all attacked.
1361: As Christian forces continued their attempt to drive the Moslem from Iberia, forces from the Kingdom of Castile (Catholic) defeated forces from the Emirate of Granada ((Islam at the Battle of Linuesa, part of the Reconquista that when concluded would result in the expulsion of the Jews from Spain more than a century later
1375: Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio passed away. No, Boccaccio was not Jewish but Jews play an important part in his literary life. Boccaccio wrote about the “corruption and decadence” that were part of the Church in the 14th and 15th centuries. “In his classic work, Decameron, a Jew by the name of Abraham is convinced by a Christian friend to visit Rome in the hope that he will be so impressed that he will convert to Christianity. Abraham returns disgusted and reports: ‘I say this for that, if I was able to observe aright, no piety, no devoutness, no good work or example of life or other what did I see there in any who was Churchman: nay lust, covetise, gluttony and the like and worse ... And as far as I judge, meseemeth your chief pastor and consequently all others endeavor with all diligence and all their wit and every art to bring to naught and to banish from the world the [values of the] Christian religion ...’” Boccaccio and others like him help lay the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century
1733: Despite the efforts of some Englishmen to overcome Oglethorpe’s decision to allow Jews to settle in his Georgia colony Jews from the Suasso, Salvador and Da Costa families were among those who received conveyance of town lots, garden and farms that were executed today.
1761(25thof Kislev, 5522): Chanukah is observed for the first time during the reign of King George III of the United Kingdom.
1772(25thof Kislev, 5533): Chanukah is celebrated for the first time following the first partition of Poland.
1795: Birthdate of German historian Leopold von Ranke, author of Universal History: The Oldest Historical Group of Nations and the Greeks in which speaks highly of Moses’ presentation of The Decalogue which makes “no distinction …between religion, moral laws and civil institutions” which means that “under the immediate protection of God individual life enjoys those rights and immunities which are the foundation of all civil order.”
1804: Birthdate of Benjamin Disraeli. Disraeli was born Jewish but his father had him baptized. The baptism resulted from a dispute that the father had had with the local Jewish community. The change in religion opened the doors to a political career for Disraeli that resulted in him serving two terms as Prime Minister. Disraeli was the victim of anti-Semitic remarks and was also quite proud of his Jewish heritage. He passed away in 1881.
1828: Birthdate of Albert Cardozo, the Philadelphia native who became a prominent New York State jurist and was the father of Benjamin Cardozo, the second Jew to serve on the U.S Supreme Court.
1829(25thof Kislev, 5590): Chanukah
1832; “Louis Samuel a watchmaker of Liverpool and his wife Henrietta Israel, daughter of Israel Israel of Bury Street, St. Mary Axe, London” gave birth to “Samuel Montagu, a British banker who founded the bank of Samuel Montagu & Co.”
1834: Birthdate of Adolf von Sonnenthal, the Budapest born actor who was well known for playing “Nathan” in Lessing’s “Nathan der Weise”
1846: Birthdate of infamous German “Jew baiter” Hermann Ahlwardt was the co-founder of the Anti-Semitic People’s Party
1853: In Budapest, Moritz Jellinek and his wife gave birth to Heinrich Jellinek de Haraszt who “succeeded his father as president of the Budapest Tramway Company” where “he introduced electric traction, and extended the system to the environs of Budapest, establishing the branches Budapest-Szent-Endre and Budapest-Haraszti.”
1859: Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky, the future Anglican Bishop of China whose parents had expected him to be a rabbi before he converted “arrived in Shanghai aboard the SS Golden Rule.
1859: Birthdate of Gustave Kahn. The French Symbolist poet wrote works on a variety of topics including Zionism. This theme was the inspiration for “Terre d'Israël” published in 1933. He passed away in 1936.
1860: Birthdate of Henrietta Szold, American Jewish leader; founded Hadassah. Among other things she was responsible for the Youth Aliyah that brought European Jews to Palestine
1861: The Congressional Medal of Honor was created at the start of the Civil War. Six Jews were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War.
1863: Mendez Nathan, the son of Seixas Nathan, was one of the signatories of the agreement to form a public stock exchange, to be known as the "Open Board of Stock-Brokers" which was made public today.
1867: The Austrian constitution abolished discrimination based on religious differences. This did not mean the end of anti-Semitism in Austria
1864: The Mayor of Savannah presented the key to the city to the General commanding the leading column of the Union forces marking the successful conclusion of “Sherman’s March to the Sea” in which Company C of the 82nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, an all Jewish Unit from Chicago participated.
1870: The Hebrew Charity Fair came to a close tonight marking the end of the three week long successful fund raising event. The fair raised almost $155,000 which will divided between Mount Sinai Hospital and the Hebrew Orphan Asylum. The hospital will get 75% of the money and the orphanage will get 25% The funds will enable Mount Sinai to complete its new hospital and the orphanage to build a new industrial school.
1872: It was reported today that the human remains found on the shore of Oneida Lake in New York were not those of a farmer named Blodgett but were probably those of Jewish peddler who was known to carry large amount of money when he travelled through this area. It is thought that the peddler was attacked by a local gang and killed during the robbery
1876: Albert Lavergne, alias Abraham Levy, who had stolen $30,000 worth of diamonds from his employer Les Fils de C Oulman, diamond brokers at No. 2 Rud Durot, left Paris for London from which he planned to board the Anchor Line steamer bound for New York.
1876: The Hebrew Charity Ball took place tonight at the Academy of Music. The ball is a fundraiser for the United Hebrew Charities, an organization devoted to taking care of the poor Jews of New York that has been so successful it is a model for similar non-Jewish organizations. Last year the ball raised more than $13,000.
1878(25thof Kislev, 5639): First day of Chanukah
1879: Birthdate of Joseph Stalin. As head of the Communist Party and Prime Minister of the Soviet Union Stalin gave vent to his anti-Semitic beliefs on more than one occasion. At the same time he was the head of the Soviet nation that fought the Nazis and whose forces liberated several concentration camps. His decision to recognize the state of Israel U.S. Israel Israel Eastern Europe , including the first combat aircraft of the IDF. This may be one an example of the Rabbinic admonition that Yetzer Ha-Rah (the evil inclination) can produce a positive result.
1880: “The Hebrew fair for the benefit of the Forty-fourth Street Synagogues and the Ladies Lying-in Relief Society’ which is taking place at the Metropolitan Concert Hall is scheduled to come to an end today.
1880: In New York, The Thalia Theatre Company will give a benefit performance at the Terrace Garden as a fundraiser for the Hebrew Ladies’ Benevolent Society of Yorkville.
1883(22ndof Kislev, 5644): Isidor Goldsmidt, a native of Bavaria who came to New York where he developed “a prosperous millinery business” passed away today.
1883: The first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army were formed. According to the Jewish Canadian Military Museum “members of the Jewish community have participate in every significant conflict that has involved Canada” since 1759 when Jews fought in the forces of General James Wolfe. These conflicts have included the Boer War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and various “peacekeeping activities” since 1953.
1884: Count Tolstoi, the Minister of the Interior has struck “a blow against the Jews” with his announcement that effective with New Year’s 1885, the Russian Imperial Government “will monopolize the business of pawnbroking” an enterprise, at least in the popular mind, dominated by Jews who charge unreasonable rates of interest.
1885: The Ladies’ Fair, a fund raiser for the Hebrew Free School Association will come to an end tonight with an auction followed by a ball.
1886: “Leah: The Forsaken” a five act play by German-Jewish playwright Salomon Hermann Mosenthal opened at the Union Square Theatre in New York City. The play deals with issues of confronting 17th century Jews living in Germany and intermarriage.
1889: After two weeks the Hebrew Educational Fair, a joint fundraising effort by several NYC Jewish organizations, came to an end
1890: In New York City, Joseph Muller who was Catholic and Frances Lyons who was Jewish gave birth to Hermann Joseph Muller whose method for recognizing spontaneous gene mutation led to his discovery of a technique for artificially inducing mutations by means of X rays that has since had broad theoretical and practical application. For this discovery he was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
1891:”Aid For Jewish Refugees” published today described the first ever appeal by the Jewish residents of the United States “to the American people, irrespective of creed or religion for assistance in a work of charity” i.e. funds to help with resettlement of Russian Jews in New York City to other places in the United States, a project already funded by Baron de Hirsch.
1891: The will of Deacon Josiah W. Cook of Cambridge was filed for probate today including a bequest to the Hebrew Academy.
1891(20thof Kislev, 5652): Sixty-four year old Jacob Hecht, one of the leading Jewish citizens in Baltimore, MD, passed away leaving behind seven sons and two daughters.
1892: Two fresh outbreaks of Cholera in Hamburg today have given rise to fears that this “will strengthen the movement in America to shut out immigrants” especially among Russian Jews are thought to be carriers of the disease.
1893(12thof Tevet, 5654): Seventy-four year old Charles Dyte, the son of David Moses Dyte and Hannah Lazarus and the husband of Evelina Nathan passed in Ligar St, Bllarat, Victoria, Australia.
1894: Birthdate of David T. Wilentz, the native of Dvinsk who as Attorney General of New Jersey “successfully prosecuted Bruno Hauptmann in the Lindbergh kidnapping trial” and father Robert Wilentz, Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and Norma Hess.
1894: The Dreyfus Court Martial held its penultimate session.
1895: An article tracing the use of saffron published today points out that to this day, the cooking of “the Jews of Spanish descent” derives some of its unique character, from the “use of saffron in their dishes.”
1895: The charity fair sponsored by the Jewish community for the benefit of the Educational Alliance and the Hebrew Technical Institute came to an end today with an auction of all of the previously unsold items just before midnight.
1896: A laparotomy was performed today on Morris Goodheart, President of the Hebrew Mutual Benefit Society and the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society “for the removal of an abscess in the peritoneal cavity.
1896: “Santa Maria” an operetta composed by Oscar Hammerstein I opened at the Alvin Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA.
1898: “Rev. Dr. Baar to Resign” published today described the decision of Dr. Herman Baar, who has been serving as the Superintendent of the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum Society of the City of New York for the past 22 years to retire next Spring.
1902(21stof Kislev, 5663): Forty-six year old Russian painter Isaac Lvovich Asknazi whose award winning works included "Abraham Expelling Hagar with Her Son Ishmael" and "The Publican and the Pharisee" passed away today.
1903(2ndof Tevet, 5664): 8th and final day of Chanukah
1904: In an article simply entitled “Benjamin Disraeli,” the New York Times takes note of the fact that this date is the exact centenary of the birth of the English statesman. The Times reminds its readers that despite the fact that he had been named Earl of Beaconsfield, he will always be known to posterity by his given name or by the nickname of “Dizzy.”
1906: It was reported today that Dr. Schmarja Levin, a former member of the Duma which has been dissolved by the Czar, had denounced a recent bill promulgated by the Russian Council of Ministers while visiting the New York home of Dr. J. Leon Manges, the Secretary of the Federation of American Zionists. Levin said that the bill did not give the Jews living in the Pale of Settlement any new rights and actually discriminated against Jews living in or trying to do business in other parts of Russia.
1911(30thof Kislev, 5672): Rosh Chodesh Kislev
1911(30thof Kislev, 5672): Seventy-seventy year old Benjamin F. Jonas, the third Jew to serve in the United States Senate and the second Jew to represent Louisiana in the “Upper House” passed away in New Orleans.
1912: U.K. premiere of “The Miracle” a British silent film based on a play by Max Reinhardt.
1912: In Warsaw, Rabbi Nathan Mileikowsky and his wife gave birth to Israeli mathematician Elisha Netanyahu who was the brother of historian Benzion Netanyahu and the uncle of Benjamin Netanyahu
1913: It was reported today that the Sisterhood of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue will holding their annual Chanukah Ball at the Astor.
1914: “A conference held today” in Chicago resulted in the issuance of a call for “men of all creeds and races to join in the movement” “to save Leo Frank from death” by attending a mass meeting as part of the efforts on behalf of this talented and much wronged young man.”
1914: The first feature-length silent film comedy, "Tillie's Punctured Romance" was released. Charlie Chaplin was one of the three stars in this feature film.
1914: “Jews Starving in Jerusalem” published today warned that “there is grave danger of pestilence as well as famine” in the city “unless steps are taken at once to provide a regular supply of food and free medical services” -- an effort for at least $100,000 a month will be need while the present crisis last.
1914: The list of contributors to the American Jewish Relief Committee for War Sufferers published today included The Hebrew Ladies’ Relief Society of Harrison, First Galician Society, Jews of Wilmington, N.C. Jews of Nacogdoches, Texas, the Wide Awake Circle, the society of Peru, Indiana and the First Konstantiner Benevolent Society.
1915: The Board of Directors of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York
1915: The second round of talks between the French and the British concerning the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after the World War opened today with Sir Mark Sykes representing the British and Francois-Georges Picot representing the French. The final product would be known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement.
1916(26thof Kislev, 5677): Sixty-one year old Harry Hananel Marks, the founder of the Financial News and a leader of the Anglo-Jewish community passed away today.
1919: Emma Goldman, along with 248 other radical "aliens," was deported to the Soviet Union on the S.S. Buford under the 1918 Alien Act, which allowed for the expulsion of any alien found to be an anarchist.
1922: Birthdate of Paul Winchell. Born in New York
1923: In Baltimore, MD, Fannie Hirsch Flom and Itak Flom gave birth to Joseph Harold Flom, pioneering corporate lawyer who helped build Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom into one of the nation’s leading law firms. (As reported by Jonathan D. Glater)
1925: In Newark, NJ, Sara Lasser and Martin Kurtz gave birth to Paul Winter Kurtz “a philosopher whose advocacy of reason ahead of faith helped define contemporary secular humanism.” (As reported by Bruce Weber)
1925: Premiere of Eisenstein's movie “Potemkin” in Moscow.
1926: Birthdate of Arnost Lustig, an acclaimed Jewish Czech author who drew on his own harrowing experiences as a teenager in World War II to produce novels and short stories laced with tales of young people who survive the Holocaust. (As reported by Dennis Hevesi
1928: The New York Philharmonic Symphony performs Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” and Bloch’s “America.”
1930(1st of Tevet, 5691): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1931: Birthdate of Ysrael Abraham Seinuk, the native of Havana, Cuba, “a structural engineer who made it possible for many of New York City’s tallest new buildings to withstand wind, gravity and even earthquakes.”
1934: Churchill wrote the High Commissioner, Sir Arthur Wauchope, expressing his support for the practice of collective punishment – in the form of fines – aimed at terrorists who burned groves of fruit trees “in a thirsty land.” The fruit trees had been planted by Jewish pioneers; those burning them were Arabs taking part in the armed revolt organized by the Grand Mufti.
1935(25thof Kislev, 5696): Chanukah
1935: The 75th birthday of the pioneering Zionist Henrietta Szold was celebrated with a radio address broadcast across the United States United States
1935:The British High Commissioner announces to Arabs and Jews the British intention of setting up a Legislative Council in Palestine
1935:Sir Grenfell Wauchope, High Commissioner of Palestine, summoned Arab leaders today and presented to them a memorandum outlining the features of the proposed Legislative Council of Palestine. The preface to the memorandum states that in view of the fact that municipalities are now functioning smoothly the time is ripe for the establishment of the Council.
1936:Helmut Hirsch, the German Jew who actively worked to carry out a plan to murder Hitler was arrested by Gestapo agents in Stuttgart.
1936:Rabbi J.Z. Dushinsky, representing Audath Israel, told the Peel Commission, "The holy Torah has promised the Holy Land to the people of Israel, but is by the very Torah that we are commanded not to occupy the country by force...but we are confident that to the extent that the returning exiles to Zion will fulfill the will of god, as revealed in the torah, and will make the national home the abode of the torah in all branches of economic and cultural endeavor...
Sir Horace Rumbold questioned him:
Q. There should be a proportion of members of Audath Israel employed in the posts and in the railways, but you also object to their working on Saturdays?
A. Yes
Q. do you not see what that leads to?...The railways certainly are an important element in the economic life of the country...do you not thinking that is going to make it rather difficult?
A. They will be run by Arabs on Saturday, by non-Jews. On Saturdays the work can be done by non Jews
1936: “Vicious Circle” published today provided a review of Some of My Best Friends Are Jews by Robert Gessner.
1937: In a debate over the visit of Lord Halifax, the British Foreign Secretary, to Berlin, Churchill spoke out against the Nazi treatment of the Jews. “It is a horrible thing that a race of people should be attempted to be blotted out of the society in which they have been born.” He further expressed his fear that the British were negotiating from a point of weakness and that the Halifax Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia
1938: As British, Zionist and Arab leaders prepared to meet at a conference in London Palestine
1939: Hitler named Adolf Eichmann leader of "Referat IV B"
1939: Premiere of “Tevye” a Yiddish language film based on the Sholem Aleichem character, directed, produced and starring Maurice Schwartz, who also wrote the script.
1940: Birthdate of Frank Zappa, composer of the controversial, satirical song “Jewish American Princess.”
1941: A group of Palestinian Jews who had been trapped in Nazi occupied Europe at the start of WWII and who were exchanged for Germans living in Palestine arrived back in their native land.
1942(13thTevet, 5703): Eighty-four year old Franz Uri Boas the native of Minden who is known as the “Father of American Anthropology” passed away in New York City.
1943:Hersz Kurcweig, a Jew, and Stanislaw Dorosiewicz, a non-Jew, escape from Auschwitz after killing an SS guard.
1943: U.S. premiere of “The Song of Bernadette” a cinematic treatment of the life of St. Bernadette based on a novel by Franz Wefel, produced by William Perlberg and music by Alfred Newman.
1944(5thof Tevet, 5705): Eighty-three year old Alfred Leopold Delgado, who is buried in the Falmouth Jewish Cemetery in Jamaica passed away today.
1945: The United States and Great Britain announced that the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine will open hearings January 7, 1946.
1946:Arabs in Palestine refuse to pay taxes if money is used for Jewish immigration.
1946: Birthdate of Josh Mostel. Mostel followed in the thespian footsteps of his famous father, Zero Mostel.
1946:Morton Gould's "Minstrel Show" premieres in Indianapolis
1946: Rabbi Jonah B. Wise declared at the centennial celebration of Central Synagogue that "Reform Judaism looks forward to the union of all Jewish religious groups in a great synthesis with freedom for all."
1947:Arabs plan to win full control of Palestine and set up an all-Arab state
1947(8thof Tevet, 5708): Forty-four year old journalist and producer Mark Hellinger passed away in Los Angeles.
1948: Birthdate of Barry Gordon the American performer who served as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1988 to 1995 making him “the longest-serving president.”
1948: Birthdate of Zev Yaroslavsky a Los Angeles County politician who served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D. Edelman.
1949: New York premiere of Samson and Delilah, “Biblical Epic” starring Hedy Lamer, with a screenplay co-authored by Jesse Lasky, Jr. based on a “film treatment” by Vladimir Jabotinsky, the late Zionist leader.
1950: Birthdate of Jeffery Katzenberg. The former head of Walt Disney, Katzenberg produced the car.
1951: Larry Blyden played Hector and Howard Da Silva played Dupont-Dufour Sr. in “Thieves’ Carnival” this week’s offering on “The Play of the Week.”
1952:Paul Celan married graphic artist Gisèle Lestrange over the opposition of her parents.
1952(3rd of Tevet, 5713): Eliyahu Hacarmeli an early Zionist leader, who served in the first Knesset, passed away.
1952: Shlomo Hillel entered the Knesset today as a replacement for the deceased Eliyahu Hacarmeli.
1952: Near tragedy struck the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America when fire destroyed the headquarters at 1380 Jerome Avenue, Bronx, New York. Fortunately, complete tragedy was averted because of the diligence of some members of the brotherhood residing in the area and who were nearby at the time of the fire. They prevailed upon the firefighters to saturate the office area with water, thus averting any major destruction of the records.
1953: Birthdate of András Schiff, the native of Budapest who gained fame as a “British classical pianist and conductor.
1953: As claims resurfaced that Dr. Robert Oppenheimer was a Communist, Lewis Strauss told “Oppie” that “his security clearance had been suspended.” Oppenheimer refused Strauss’ suggestion that he resign and demanded a hearing on the charges.
1954: Congregation B’nai Jeshurun marked it 130th anniversary as the second oldest Jewish congregation in New York by staging a Chanukah celebration in its Community Center on West 88th Street. B’nai Jeshurun is the oldest Conservative Congregation in the United States. Rabbi Israel Goldestein opened the festivities by lighting the “torch of freedom” which had been flown to New York from Israel last week
1956, the Metropolitan Opera premiered a new version of La Périchole an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach with a libretto co-authored by Ludovic Halévy that included interpolations from other scores and turned the speaking role of the Old Prisoner into a singing role for a comic tenor.
1957: A terrorist attack took place in a field near Kibbutz Gadot.
1958(10th of Tevet, 5719): Asara B'Tevet
1958(10th of Tevet, 5719): Lion Feuchtwanger, German born American author passed away while living in his Los Angeles. Born in 1884, and writing under the pseudonym, J.L. Wetcheek, Feuchtwanger’s life reads like something out of suspense thriller as he fled Nazi Germany, took refuge in the Soviet Union and France before escaping to the United States under a secret program run by Varian Fry. Of course, he was a significant author in his own right to boot. At the same time, there is something depressingly repetitive about his life – one more European Jew forced to take it on the lamb before finding a final refuge in the United States, England or Israel where he or she then enriches the culture, science or business communities of their place of refuge.
1959: Shimon Peres, a member of Mapai, began serving as Deputy Defense Minister.
1961: “Take Her, She’s Mine” a “Broadway comedy written by Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron opened at the Biltmore Theatre.
1961: In Patterson, NJ, Isaac Weiner and his wife gave birth to Michael Weiner, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. (As reported by Richard Goldstein)
1962: U.S. premiere of “In Search of the Castways” with songs by Richard and Robert Sherman – The Sherman Brothers.
1964: Despite supportive testimony from a bevy of performers and authors, Lenny Bruce was sentenced to four months in jail for using “obscene” language in his nightclub act.
1967(19th of Kislev, 5728): Chabad celebrates
1967(19th of Kislev, 5728): Louis Washkansky, a Lithuanian born Jew and the first man to undergo a heart transplant, dies in Cape Town, South Africa, after living for 18 days after the transplant.
1967: Release date for “The Graduate,” a film classic directed by Mike Nichols, co-produced by Joseph E. Levine and co-starring Dustin Hoffman in the title role. (Oh yes, the music is courtesy of Paul Simon)
1968(30th of Kislev, 5729): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1969: Former Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin, who was serving was ambassador to the United States, was summoned from Washington to Jerusalem to give his views on an American response to a change in Israeli policy that would include in-depth bombings of Egyptian positions beyond the Nile in response to Nasser’s policy of bombarding Israeli positions.
1969: Three Lebanese nationals were detained when an attempt to hijack a TWA plane was thwarted at the airport in Athen.
1971: UN Security Council chose Kurt Waldheim as 4th Secretary General. Naming a former Nazi officer did nothing to engender Israeli or Jewish confidence in the world organization.
1972: U.S. premiere of “Up the Sandbox” an “ American drama/comedy film directed by Irvin Kershner, starring Barbra Streisand.”
1973: Representatives of Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, US and USSR met in Geneva.
1975: A Broadway revival of the Jerome Kern musical “Very Good Eddie” opened at the Booth Theatre where it ran for 304 performances
1976: Richard F. Shephard described “the third network raid-on-Entebbe production” which will be aired on NBC next month following the telecast of the Superbowl.
1977: The Jerusalem Post reported from Cairo that the Israeli and Egyptian peace negotiating teams were near an agreement on Israel's continued presence along the Jordan River.
1977: The Jerusalem Post reported that 3,700 government employees in the Tel Aviv area would be transferred to Jerusalem.
1979: It was reported today that “12 case of latkes – a donation from Empire Kosher Poultry of Miflin, PA – were delivered earlier this week to Manhattan’s Town Hall, where audiences were offered the potato pancakes and kosher wine after matinees this week of ‘”Rebecca – the Rabbi’s Daughter.’ They were also invited to join in a Chanukah blessing by a leading lady, Mary Soreanu, who is starring in the production at the concert hall – which leads to another reason for the celebration at the hall. The production marks the return to Broadway of Yiddish theatre after a 10-year absence.”
1979(1st of Tevet, 5740): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1981(25thof Kislev, 5742): Chanukah observed for the first time during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan.
1983: Sixty-four year old Paul de Man the “Belgian born literary critic” whose anti-Semitic views expressed during WW II did not become known until after his death, passed away today.
1984: U.S. premiere of “Protocol” directed by Herbert Ross with a script by Buck Henry.
1987(30th of Kislev, 5748): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1988: Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's agreement on a new coalition government with the Labor Party barely survived a challenge early today from hard-line members of his own Likud party led by Ariel Sharon.
1988: U.S. premiere of “Beaches” co-produced by Bette Midler who co-starred in the film along with Barbara Hershey.
1988: Sixteen crew members 243 passengers and 11 bystanders on the ground were murdered today when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie when a bomb planted by terrorists exploded. At the time Muammar Gaddafi of Libya was blamed for the attack although several other terrorist groups claimed credit for the attack.
1988: An Israeli court today postponed a lawsuit by the Bankers Trust Company of New York to break up troubled Koor Industries, Israel's largest industrial concern, over a $20 million debt. .
1989:In an article entitled “Deserted Synagogue of 1919 Sets Off Boston Tug-of-War” Constance L. Hays described the struggle over the fate of the Hub City’s Vilna Shul.
1991: El Sayid Nosair was acquitted of killing Meir Kahane.
1992(26th of Kislev, 5753): Ukrainian born violinist Nathan Milstein passed away.
1992(26th of Kislev, 5753): Actress Stella Adler passed away. Born in 1902, Stella Adler was the daughter of the famous actor, Jacob Adler. Hers was an acting family. In 1939 there were 15 fifteen members of the Adler family contributing to the Yiddish Theater and the Group Theater in New York.
1993: A family tour of Israel that include the opportunity to celebrate a bar or bat mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and at the Zealot's Synagogue in Masada sponsored by the American Jewish Congress is scheduled to begin today.
1994: Limited release of “Little Woman” starring Winona Ryder as “Josephine ‘Jo’ March.”
1994: U.S. premiere of “Mixed Nuts” directed by Nora Ephron who wrote the script along with her sister Delia featuring Kahn as “Mrs. Blanche Munchnik”, Robert Klein as “Mr. Lobel”, Rob Reiner as “Dr. Kinsky”, Adam Sandler as “Louis Capshaw”, Liev Schreiber as “Chris” and Garry Shandling as “Stanley.”
1995:Israel barred entry today to seven American Jews, including a New York rabbi whom the Government considers to be a security risk in light of the assassination last month of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The Interior Ministry said Rabbi Abraham Hecht, 73, of New York, had given a religious justification for the killing of Mr. Rabin only months before it occurred -- though he later apologized in a letter to Mr. Rabin days before the assassination. The ministry said today that the six other American Jews had been linked to illegal activities in Israel, had backed groups outlawed in Israel or had been active in the Jewish Defense League, which was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane, an anti-Arab activist who was assassinated in New York.
1995: The city of Bethlehem passed from Israeli to Palestinian control as part of the peace process begun at Oslo. Unfortunately there was no peace to go with the process.
1996(11th of Tevet, 5757):Margaret Rey passed away at Cambridge
1997(22ndof Kislev, 5768):Sholom Schwadron, “the Haredi rabbi and orator known as the ‘Maggid Jerusalem’” passed away today.
1997: The New York Timesfeatured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers includingThe Bible As It Wasby James L. KugelandBarney’s Version by Mordecai Richler.
1999: Shortly before the end of his term as Mayor of Philadelphia, Ed Rendell resigned to take up the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee (DNC
2000: Four Israeli soldiers were injured when a Palestinian rammed a truck into a West Bank checkpoint.
2001(6th of Tevet, 5762): Sport’s journalist Dick Schaap passed away.
2003: The New York Timesfeatured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or about subjects of Jewish interest including There Are Jews In My House by Lara Vapnyar, Sephardby Antonio Muñoz Molina; translated by Margaret Sayers Peden, Wise Men and Their Tales:Portraits of Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Masters by Elie Wiesel and The Roaring Twenties: A New History of the World's Most Prosperous Decadeby Joseph E. Stiglitz.
2006:The annual report put out by
2006: U.S. premiere of “The Good Shepherd produced by Jane Rosenthal with a script by Eric Roth.
2006: In Boston
2007: Release date for “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” a music comedy written b Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan.
2007: U.S. premiere of “Charlie Wilson’s War” directed by Mike Nichols with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.
2007:Today Shari Ellin Redstone, president of National Amusements, vice-chairman of CBS Corporation and Viacom, became chairman of Midway Games (a position she would subsequently relinquish in December 2008 when her father Sumner Redstone sold all his stock in the company).
2007:President Shimon Peres apologized for the Kafr Kasim massacre of 1956, in which Border Police officers killed 48 of the village's residents. .
2007: “A feature film adaption of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Sweeney Todd’ was released today with Sacha Baron Cohen as ‘Signor Pirelli.’”
2008: Opening session of the AJS (Association for Jewish Studies) 40th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
2008:Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies will present research at the annual conference of the Association for Jewish Studies in Washington, demonstrating that while some American Jewish leaders such as Rabbi Stephen Wise were firmly pro-British and opposed aliya on the eve of the Holocaust, others including Louis Brandeis recognized the need for emergency measures to rescue Jews from Europe and were willing to take a more hard-line position.
2008: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including American Therapy: The Rise of Psychotherapy in the United States by Jonathan Engel and The Hanukah Miceby Steven Kroll; Illustrated by Michelle Shapiro.
2008(24th of Kislev, 5769): In the evening, kindle the first Chanukah Candle
2008(24thof Kislev, 5769): Ninety-four year old Tony Award winning playwright Dale Wasserman whose works included “One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest” and “The Man of La Mancha” passed away today.
2008:A British tourist working in an archaeological dig in Jerusalem today unearthed a treasure of 264 gold coins from 1,300 years ago. Archaeologists called the find "one of the most impressive deposits ever found in the capital."
2008: “Shaul Ladany: The long walk through horrors of 20th century” published today
2009:Theatre Company Jerusalem presents "The King and the Magician," a tale of a soothsayer king, Balak ben Zippor, and a great magician, Bilam ben Beor. This is unique adaptation of the Biblical story, for children - story about curses and their disadvantages and blessings and their advantages.
2009:Habima Theatre presents "His Whole Life Ahead of Him," a new adaptation of Roman Gary's novel Emil Ajar.
2009:Today archaeologists unveiled what may have been the home of one of Jesus’ childhood neighbors. Archaeologist Stephen Pfann, president of the University of The Holy Land, noted: “It’s the only witness that we have from that area that shows us what the walls and floors were like inside Nazareth in the first century.” Pfann was not involved in the dig.
2009: Polish police detained five men today for stealing the metal sign that hung over Auschwitz, the former Nazi death, and said they were common thieves not neo-Nazis.
2009: In article published in Sports Illustrated entitled “Welcome the King of Israel,” Lee Jenkins describes the life of “Sacramento rookie Omri Casspi, the first Israeli to play in the NBA” who is “a modern extension of the league’s Jewish roots.”
2010:Rabbi Yosef Edelstein of MesorahDC is scheduled to lead “Food for Thought: Digesting Ethics, Mysticism, and Philosophy” at the Historic 6th& I Synagogue in Washington, DC.
2010: Dulce Pontes, the famous Fado singer from Portugal, is scheduled to appear in Tel Aviv.
2010:A Qassam rocket struck the Ashkelon beach early today exploding in an open field near a kindergarten and lightly wounding a a teenage girl in a nearby building.
2010: A high-level priest on the morning show of the largest television station in Greece blamed world Jewry for Greece's financial problems on today. The Metropolite of Piraeus Seraphim also blamed world Jewry for other ills in the country during his appearance on Mega TV.
2010(14thof Tevet, 5771):Seventy-two year old“Marcia Lewis, an actress and singer known for bringing a comic brassiness to Broadway revivals of “Grease” and “Chicago,” died today in Nashville.” (As reported by Bruce Weber)
2011(25thof Kislev, 5772): First Day of Chanukah
2011: The band Girls in Trouble led by Alicia Jo Rabin is scheduled to perform this evening at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.
2011: Dan & Aviva and Drory Yehoushua are scheduled to perform at The Spanish Portuguese Synagogue as part of the Sephardic Music Festival.
2011: Yad Vashem is scheduled to posthumously honor a Polish man who saved the lives of Jews during World War II by hiding them in his attic. The Holocaust Museum will bestow the title of righteous gentile upon Wojciech Wołoszczuk, a farmer who let Frances Schaff, nee Feiga Bader; her brother, his family and two other Jews secretly stay in his house to avoid persecution by the Nazis and their allies. Food was scant during the war and Schaff's brother was shot dead while trying to forage food for his family outside the house. His wife and children survived the war but were murdered by Polish peasants in its immediate aftermath. Schaff, the sole survivor of her family, grew up in an orphanage in Israel. She later emigrated to the US In 2009 Schaff submitted a request to honor Wołoszczuk, who died in 1963, after visiting Poland with her family. His daughter, Janina Wołoszczuk, will come from Poland to accept the medal and certificate of honor on his behalf.
2011:Today, the Knesset Finance Committee allocated an additional NIS 780 million to Israel's defense budget, which came at the expense of other government offices such as welfare and housing.
2011:The situation in Syria is unstable and the IDF needs to keep a watchful eye on daily developments along its northern front, Commander of the Israel Air Force Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan said today. "
2011:TheUS Senate approved $211 million for Iron Dome in new $633 billion defense bill
2012: Three solid days of rainfall across the country has water authority officials calling the the winter of 2012-13 the wettest since 2004
2012: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear today that he has no intention of losing any more ground to his right wing challenger Naftali Bennett, giving a TV interview in which he slammed the Jewish Home party’s chairman for his apparent justification of insubordination
2012: Ensemble Dmama is scheduled to perform at the Eden-Tamir Music Center in Jerusalem.
2012: “The Shortest Day” is scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.
2012: Talia's Steakhouse & Bar, the only full dine-in Glatt Kosher (under OU Supervision) steakhouse on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, offers a pre-paid Friday night dinner where diners can enjoy their challah and have wine for Kiddush.
2013: The Eden Tamir Music Center is scheduled to host “The Best of Chamber Music – The Romantic Clarinet.”
2013: “Dancing in the Rain” (Ples v dezju) is scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.
2013:Today the Arab League rejected the US proposal, by which IDF soldiers would remain in the Jordan Valley for a 10 year period as part of peace agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). (As reported by Ari Yashar)
2013: “IDF forces foiled a terror attempt from Gaza on Saturday, shooting and wounding a 22 year old terrorist who was trying to place an explosive on the border.” (As reported by Ari Yashar)
2013(18thof Tevet, 5774): Eighty-four year old Edgar M. Bronfman passed away today. (As reported by Jonathan Kandell)
2013: On the 25th anniversary of the Lockerbie Bombing Israeli sources provided evidence the Ahmed Jibril’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command was responsible for downing Pan Am Flight 103.(As reported by David Horovitz) [Editor’s note: After you read about enough of these groups you almost feel like these guys are good at two things – murder and coming up with unbelievable names for their organizations]
2014: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish author/and or of special interest to Jewish readers includingIsabel’s Warby Lila Perl,The Brotherhood of Book Huntersby Raphaël Jerusalmy, The Norton Anthology of World Religions Volume II: Judaism, Christianity, Islamedited byJack Miles, David Biale, Lawrence S. Cunningham and Jane Dammen McAuliffe, The Wallby H.G. Adler andLiving The Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questionsby Phil Zuckerman
2014: “The Prime Ministers: Soldiers & Peacemakers” and “Felix and Meira” are scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.
2014: Chabad is scheduled to host the “Chanukah Bowl” at Colonial Bowling Lanes.
2014: Final performance of “On the Other Side of the River” is scheduled to take place today.
2014: Shaare Tefila is scheduled to hold its annual Chanukah Party, Dinner and Talent Show.”