August 5 In History
135: Betar fell to the Romans
1100: Henry I is crowned King of England at Westminster Abby. During Henry’s reign the first attempts were made to introduce the continental principle - that all Jews were the king's property. Under King Henry, a clause to that effect was inserted in some manuscripts of the so-called "Laws of Edward the Confessor."
1199: Birthdate of Ferdinand III of Castile. Catholics remember as the monarch who was canonized as Saint Ferdinand III. Jews remember him as the King who refused the Pope’s demand that Jews be forced to wear special badge and clothing. Apparently he was afraid that if the Jews mistreated they would flee to Muslim Granada, which would be disastrous for the revenues of the kingdom
1264: Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Arnstadt Germany
1381: Rabbis and communal leaders from Speyer, Worms and Mayence met at Mayence to review and reinforce laws pertaining to marriage and the rights of widows in the wake of the Black Death. One of the rules enacted was Tekanoth Shum which allowed a childless widow to receive a definite portion of her late husband’s property even though she had refused to marry her brother-in-law.
1391: More than 400 Jews were killed in attacks in Barcelona. Attempts by the city Fathers and Artisans to protect them were of no use. The attacks were instigated for the most part by Castilians, who had taken part in the massacres in Seville Valencia
1529: Francis I, King of France and Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire who was also King of Spain appear to settle their differences by signing the Treaty of Cambrai in which Francis agrees to give up his claim to Italy and Charles gives up his claim to Burgundy (a part of modern day France.) The Jews had been expelled from France in 1394, so officially there were no Jews for Francis to mistreat or exploit. Charles treatment of his Jewish subjects depended upon where they lived. As King of Spain, Charles followed the line established by his forbearers starting with the Spanish Inquisition. As Emperor he took a much more benign attitude towards his Jewish subjects living in central Europe. Pope Clement VII, whose support of the Jews earned him the “accolade of ‘favorer of Israel’ and a price gracious to Israel,” made the mistake of siding with Francis over Charles in their dispute. Once in control of Italy, Charles allowed his troops to sack Clement’s Rome, safe in the knowledge that no French troops would come to the Pope’s assistance. Dona Gracia, the famous Marrano businesswomen who reasserted her Jewish identity, lent money to both monarchs and her nephew was well known to both of these competing rulers.
1748: Empress Maria Theresa revoked the edict of expulsion directed at the Jews of Bohemia
1769: In a move that set him apart from many of his predecessors and successors, Pope Clement XIV elevated the conditions of the Jews when he declared that they were “no longer under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition and are instead subject to the authority of Rome's cardinal vicar (Vicariato di Roma). Jews were furthermore given permission to work as artisans and even to own small factories.” (As reported by Austin Cline)
1772: First of the three partitions of Poland begins. The Jews of what had been Poland Lithuania Russia
1802: Birthdate of Eliakim Carmoly, a French born Jewish scholar and rabbi who would eventually resign from the rabbinate, move to Frankfurt and devote himself to Jewish literature and to the collection of Hebrew books and manuscripts.
1843: Birthdate of Jacob Ezekiel Hyneman, the son of Isaac Hyneman who was born in Richmond, Virginia but moved to Philadelphia, PA. When the Civil War broke out, the southern born Hyneman cast his lot with the Union, serving with the U.S. Army from 1862 to 1865.
1854:John Griffins, a native of Poland, was arrested today for swindling Reverend Stephen Wilkins, the pastor of a Baptist church in New York. Wilkins gave money to Griffins because the latter claimed to be collecting funds for a society for "aiding and better the conditions the Jews." Griffin’s claims were false.
1860:The consecration of the new synagogue to be used by congregation B'nai Israel, located on the corner of Stanton and Forsyth streets, took place this afternoon. The building, which is capable of holding about 800 people, was formerly a Baptist Church, but has recently been purchased, and converted into a synagogue by the above congregation, most of whom are natives of Holland. The interior transformations required to convert it into a synagogue were not extensive or costly -- the only change being a shifting of the position of the pews, so as to leave a space for the "reading desk" in the centre of the church, and the erection of a semicircular ark in the place of the pulpit. The reading desk is the same as that used in the old synagogue of this congregation, in Christie-street, made of rosewood, and surrounded by an enclosure, or railing, about ten feet square, and of elegant workmanship. On the four corners of the enclosure are gas fixtures, in imitation of candies, and over head depends a magnificent bronze chandelier, with numerous jets, all of which were kept burning during the consecration service. The "Ark" is also made of rosewood, with sliding doors, and, when closed, is screened from public view by rich damask curtains, which were presented by the ladies of the congregation. The synagogue was filled to its utmost capacity, yesterday, by an audience composed about equally of ladies and gentlemen. As the congregation B'nai Israel is among the strictest of the "orthodox" party of the Jews, and opposed to the modern "improvements" and "reforms" that have been introduced into some other synagogues, the old customs, seating the sexes apart, was adhered to, and the ladies occupied the gallery, while the gentlemen sat in the body of the church. Among the Jewish clergy of other congregations present were Rabbi Morris Jerome Raphall, of the Greene-street Synagogue; Rabbi Samuel Myer Isaacs, of the Wooster-street Synagogue and Rabbi J.J. Lyons, of the Portuguese Synagogue. The ceremonies of the consecration were arranged and conducted by Rabbi M.R. de Leeuw, of the congregation B'nai Israel. The consecration service opened with a chant from the choir, which occupied the enclosure surrounding the reading-desk, and was led by the minister of the congregation. The trustees of the synagogue then entered bearing the "sacred scrolls," and proceeded by twenty-four young girls, dressed in white, with blue scarves, and each one carrying in her band a basket of flowers. The trustees took their position in the open space, between the reading-desk and the ark, and were flanked on either side by a column of the young girls, who commenced picking flowers from their baskets and throwing them at their feet, while the choir chanted a dedication psalm. The bearers of the sacred scrolls, accompanied by the honorary officers of the church, men marched in procession seven times around the synagogue, each circuit being accompanied by an appropriate chant from the choir. On each return of the procession to the open space fronting the ark they were pelted with roses from the fair hands of the young misses until the ground was literally covered with these fragrant floral offerings. The seventh circuit having been completed, the ark was opened, the sacred scrolls were deposited therein, the doors were closed, the damask curtains were drawn close around it, and the perpetual lamp which depends from the ceiling in front was ignited, never to expire. After another chant from the choir, Rev. Dr. RAPHALL ascended the platform on which rests the ark, and addressed the congregation in a few remarks befitting the occasion, taking for his text the passage of Scripture commencing, "How beautiful are thy Tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts." He alluded to the persecutions which the children of Israel had suffered under the Roman Empire, and all through the Middle Ages, even to the time when they crossed the ocean and landed in this home of freedom and equality. He spoke of the progress of the congregation B'nai Israel, from the time when he first addressed them in their Synagogue in Pell-street until now, and exhorted them to renewed devotion and praise to the Lord for the prosperity that had attended them. Rabbi Isaacs alluded in disparaging terms to the innovations of the "reform party" among the Israelites, which he attributed to religious pride. He thanked God that the congregation B'nai Israel remained uncontaminated by these pretended reforms, and adhered strictly to the ceremonials of their fathers. A consecration prayer was then delivered by Rabbi de Leeuw, and the ceremonies closed with a Hallelujah by the choir.
1860:The London correspondent for the New York Times reported that the Times of London no longer enjoys any special advantage over its competitors because it has lost its monopoly on information. The accumulated wealth of the Times had given it access to the telegraph providing it with an advantage over its poorer competitors. “But since the monopoly of telegraphic communication has been secured by that clever and far-seeing German Jew, Mr. Reuters, all the journals are supplied, share and share alike, at the same time, and at the same tariff. In many specialties, such as "City Intelligence" and "Foreign Correspondence," the Daily News is nearly equal to the Times. The leading articles of the Telegraph are generally on the same subjects as those of its high-priced rival, and the Post, Herald and Star each appeal to their own peculiar class of readers.”
1861: At the meeting of the Board of Alderman in New York City this evening the report of the Committee donating $30,000 to the Hebrew Benevolent Society was adopted, but was subsequently reconsidered and laid over, on the motion of Alderman Tuomey.
1865:A correspondent for the Levant Herald wrote from Smyrna today describing the mortifying effects of the Cholera epidemic that has struck the city. Among other things he reported that Hyde Clark, the English engineer, has informed Sir Moses Motifiore of the suffering among the Jewish people. In response, the Jewish philanthropist has begun raising funds from the Jewish communities in London and France and it is thought that he and his associate, Dr. Hodgkins might personally come to the city with the necessary aid.
1876: Leopold Wintner who had assumed the position of the eight rabbi of Temple Beth El in Detroit gave his farewell sermon today. When Wintner delivered a sermon at the Church of Our Father in May of 1876, he became “the first Detroit rabbi to preach in a local Christian church.”
1878: It was reported today that the Peace Society had sent a delegation headed by Professor Leone Levi to the Congress of Berlin that was supposed to present a petition to the leaders of Europe calling for the use of arbitration as a method of settling international disputes. Britain’s Lord Salisbury expressed his sympathy with the effort but held out little hope for any action. Levi was an Italian born Jew who moved to Great Britain where he converted and became a lawyer and author.
1879: “Tracing Some Stolen Goods,” an article published today described how a Jew named Louis Pollard was arrested and falsely accused of stealing shoes worth five hundred dollars from a shoe factory on West Broadway last September. The police finally realized their error and release him.
1881: It was reported today that mobs have started to attack the synagogues and shops owned by Jews in Pomerania. The police had to be called to disperse the mobs.
1882: The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established. During the 1930’s “Standard of New Jersey…forged a synthetic oil and rubber cartel with the Nazi-controlled I.G. Farben.” This “helped the Third Reich to make significant gains “in the development of synthetic rubber and gasoline”; gains which would prove to be of invaluable assistance to the Nazis during WW II. During the 1930’s Farben’s holding in Standard of New Jersey “were second only to those of John D., Jr., himself.” (For more about Standard Oil and the Jewish people, see The Secret War Against the Jews by John Loftus and Mark Aarons.)
1883: It was reported today that there was an anti-Semitic riot at Presburg in protest over the not guilty verdicts rendered in the case of Esther Solymosi.
1883: “The Scientific Gossip” column published today explained earlier comments by M.G. Lagneau about the differences in birthrates between Catholics, Protestants and Jews. Although Jews have a lower birthrate than the other two religions, there mortality rate “is remarkably low” a condition attributed to their religious dietetic and hygienic regulations, early marriages, the fact that most Jewish women do not work out of the home and “general sobriety.”
1885:Herzl withdrew from the court service in order to become a writer.
1888: It was reported today that plans have been to provide the youngsters at the Sanitarium for Hebrew Children with an extra summer excursion.
1888: According to a review of Quince Culture by W.W. Meech published today, the fruit is so mild that In Palestine it is eaten as soon as it is picked from the tree. According to Jewish tradition, the quince was “the apple” that Eve used to tempt Adam.
1889: Salvatore Levy was arrested on charges of obtaining credit under false pretenses. A Greek Jew, Levy claimed to be the son of Elie Levy, who had a seat on the Bourse in Paris and had sent him to America.
1889: Assemblyman Charles “Silver Dollar Smith got into an altercation with Samuel Roberts at the Golden Rule Hotel during a meeting of Republicans of the 8thAssembly District. [Smith was a Jewish political leader named Solomon who, among other things, passed out free Matzot at his saloon each year before Pesach.
1889(8thof Av, 5649): Erev Tish’a B’Av
1889(8thof Av, 5649): Seventy-seven year old Isaac Phillips passed away this morning in New York City. A successful businessman, he worked in the cutlery industry in Philadelphia and New York before pursuing a life of public service including work as a Customs Examiner and Surveyor of the Port. He also edited the Courier Enquirer. A life-long Democrat, he attended the convention that nominated James K. Polk to serve as President of the United States.. An active member of the Sephardic community, he was one of the founders of Mount Sinai Hospital. In 1834, he married Sophia Phillips and after she died in 1855, he married Miriam Trimble, a gentile woman who had converted to Judaism. He was the son of Naphtali Phillips who held a position of responsibility at the Custom House and was editor of the National Advocate
1889: The members of gang called the Yellowstone Cowboys were sentenced to the Albany Penitentiary for their role in terrorizing a boarding house owned by Jew in Ulster County. (Compare this to what was going on in Russia at this time)
1890: When asked about the order to enforce the Russian edicts of 1882 against the Jews, Sir James Fergusson, the Under Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons “that the British Government could interfere with the Czar’s treatment of the Jews.” (Sort of reminds you of the British not being able to “interfere” with Hitler’s “treatment of the Jews.”)
1890: The U.S. State Department cabled the American Legation at St. Petersburg asking if there was “any foundation” to reports of wholesale Jewish expulsion.
1890: A man described as a slender 5’ 8” German Hebrew attempted to obtain three copies of a recently issued book using a forged purchase order from H.C. Squires, a gun dealer on Broadway.
1890: “Dancing At Saratoga” published today provided a summary of activities and events at the New York resort including the fact “that Judge Hilton no longer holds a controlling interest in…the Grand Union Hotel” and there the “Hebrews are once more welcomed there.”
1891: “Russian Jews Released” published today describe the decision to let a group of Jews from Russia enter Baltimore now that the Maryland State Board of Immigration has been “given satisfactory assurances that the immigrants would not become public charges.
1892: A letter printed in an English publication, the Jewish Chronicle, “confirmed the failure of Baron de Hirsch’s colony in Argentina.” According to the writer, the conditions at Moiseville, the Jewish colony, “baffled description. The land selected for the settlement was ill chosen and an enormous number of the families are huddled together in tents and sheds, where they have been living for months in idleness and intrigue.” After failing to improve conditions, Colonel Goldsmid disbanded the colony and made arrangements for eight hundred of the colonists to sail back to Europe.
1894: “Masquerade Ball at Deal Beach” published today described this social event that included Bryan Kennelly and Lou Rolston dressed as “a Hebrew merchant and his wife.” (Is it Shylock or Rothschild?)
1894: “Remains of the Eight Cities” published today provided a detailed review of A Mound of Many City: Tell-el-Hesy Excavated by Fredrick Bliss the American archaeologist who worked at the site under the auspices of the Palestine Exploration Society and under the direction of the famed British archaeologist Flinders Petrie
1895: “Objects To Having Jews Converted” published today described “Aaron Drucker’s indignation” that “has been aroused” by the Saturday afternoon meetings in the Church of Sea and Land “for the purpose of converting his co-religionist to Christianity.” He broke up one such meeting when shouted “Such meetings as this should not be held! It is an outrage to humanity. If a man is born a Jew… nothing can change him!” Efforts to convert the Jews of the Lower East Side continued despite his objections.
1895: Louis Stern, a New York dry goods merchant, went on trial today in Kissingen, Germany on charges that he had insulted Baron von Thuengen, the Deputy Commissioner of the city’s Spa much to the delight of “the Jew-baiters” and “the anti-Semitic press.”
1895: Birthdate of William Sawelson, World War I recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
1896 “Free Trade In Money” published today provides the view of Edward Atkinson that the attempt to switch United States currency from a gold standard to a bi-metal standard is a plot spearheaded by William Jennings Bryan, the silver miners and “the Jews bankers.”
1896: “Notes of Stage People” published today provided a preview of the fall season in New York including Oscar Hammerstein’s production of the romantic comic opera “Santa Maria” which will open at the Olympia.
1897: The roof garden on the Hebrew Institute Building opened for its second season this evening. The delay in re-opening this facility which provides relief from the heat for thousands on the Lower East Side was brought by the need to finish “extensive repairs…to the building” that will make it nicer for those seeking some semblance of “coolness.”
1897: The Straus sterilized milk booth (so named because they are funded by Nathan Straus) which was located at the roof garden of the Hebrew Institute last year opened today “for the first time this year.”
1898: “A Riot In East New York” published today described a spontaneous outbursts of violence when Jewish immigrant mothers thought that attempts to vaccinate their daughters were an attempt to put the mark of the cross on their bodies and convert them to Christianity.
1898(17thof Av, 5658): Seventy-six year old Isidor Bush the native of Prague whose “maternal great-grandfather was Israel Hönig, Edler von Hönigsberg, the first Jew raised to nobility in Austria” passed away in St. Louis MO. He moved to the United States after the failed Revolutions of 1848 where he enjoyed an exciting life that included a career in banking, service in the Union Army and helping to develop the Jewish community in St. Louis and the wine growing industry in Missouri; an effort that was felt all the way back to France.
1899(29thof Av, 5659): Seventy-five year old Myer Stern passed away today at Bath Beach while staying at the Hotel Argyle. A native of Bavaria, at the age of 16 he went to work for a banking house owned by the father of Baron Hirsch before coming to the United States where he became a successful banker and merchant. An active philanthropist, he served as President of the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum, first President of the Institute of Deaf Mutes and was a founder of Temple Emanu-El.
1899: Israel Zangwill, the author of “The Children of the Ghetto” was one of the first passengers to come down the gangplank of the SS Campania when “she docked at the Cunard pier” today.
1899: Israel Zangwill left New York this evening to visit Judge Meyer Sulzberger in Philadelphia, PA
1899: The United Hebrew Charities acknowledged that it had raised an additional $200.50 for an impoverished family that sought to move to the country since both of the parents had become chronic invalids as result of overwork in the city The contributions ranged from as much as $20 from A.A. Levy to fifty cents from Philip Domich.
1902: Herzl’s trip to the Ottoman Empire begun on
1903: Herzl begins his journey to visit the Jews of Russia. The trip will end on the 18th day of the month.
1906:Today, eleven English-speaking Jews held a formal meeting in Havana with the intention of founding a congregation and cemetery. The venue was the home of Manuel Hadida at Pasaje Arcado No. 9. Hadida was a Sephardic Jew originally from Algeria, who apparently had migrated from North Africa to Paris, and then to the United States. Evidently it was from the United States that he moved to Havana. Typical of the period, most of the others were Ashkenazi "Americans," although some had been born in Europe.At the first meeting Louis Jurick was elected chairman of the Hebrew Congregation of Cuba, and Manuel Hadida was chosen as general secretary
1906: Birthdate of Nobel Prize-winning economist, Wassily Leontif. Born in St. Petersburg, the son of an economist, Leontif received his Ph.D. from Berlin University
1908: Birthdate of Miriam Rothschild, the heiress who discovered how fleas jump, brought Chaucerian wildflowers back to modern England and was acknowledged as one of the world's most distinguished naturalists. . Dame Miriam's father was the banker Nathaniel Charles Rothschild, who found more than 500 new species of fleas. Johnson on her program to beautify American roadsides. Her interests ranged far beyond science.
1908: In Charenton-le-pont, Meir Pines and his wife gave birth to Sholomo Pines the Israeli scholar who made Aliyah in 1940 and is best known for his English translation of Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed. The Shlomo Pines Society, founded in 1990 is dedicated to advancing his work a preserving is memory http://www.shlomopines.org.il/len/
1918: The New York Times reported that the Hebrew University has received a gift of five thousand shares of the Jewish Colonial Trust valued at $25,000 from Jacob Schiff.
1919(9th of Av, 5679): Tish'a B'Av
1920: Birthdate of Selma Diamond. Born in London, Ontario this comedienne with the gravelly voice gained lasting fame as Selma on the television hit, Night Court.
1925: In Brooklyn, Phillip and Minnie Shainmark Bloom gave birth to Joel Nachum Bloom “who in his 21 years as director of the science museum and planetarium at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia transformed a lackluster exhibition space into a bright and appealing one with hands-on experiments and walk-through exhibits, including a giant, pulsing human cell…” (As reported by Dennis Hevesi)
1926: Houdini stays in a coffin under water for more than one hour
1933:Archaeologists working for the Palestine Exploration Fund discovered an ancient synagogue, dating from the sixth century C. E near Nahalal.
1933:In Montreal, The arrival of Sir Herbert Samuel in Montreal, as leader of British delegation to the fifth biennial conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations, is made the occasion of attack by anti-Semitic newspaper, Le Patriot, which charges him with being the emissary of the "Elders of Zion" to open Canada to Jewish refugees from Germany.
1933:The Nazi Lawyers' Association addresses a formal letter to business establishments threatening them with a boycott if they continue to employ Jewish lawyers.
1933: In Frankfort, Court imposes a two months' imprisonment sentence upon a Jewish journalist for wearing a swastika, even though he contends that he renounced Judaism in 1922 and had applied for membership in the National Socialist Party.
1933: In Hamburg, The Heinrich Heine monument is removed from the city park.
1933: The Nazi Rhine officials issue an order prohibiting the employment of Jews as non-qualified labor in the entire Rhine district. Employers are warned of penalties if they employ Jews who do not produce a special card entitling them to employment.
1934(24th of Av, 5694): One hundred Jews are killed in an anti-Semitic pogrom at Constantine, Algeria.
1936: Arab disturbances and on the division of responsibilities between the Palestine
1937:The British Palestinian policy gained its first ground today when Dr. Chaim Weizmann, president of the World Zionist Congress, made an eloquent though guarded plea in favor of the partition principle to the biennial congress.
1937: Birthdate of Dan Shomron the Sabra who would play a key role in the 1976 Raid on Entebbe
1937: The 20th Zionist Congress, held in Zurich
1937: In Geneva Britain Palestine
1938: As they attempted to halt Arab instigated violence, British troops clashed with a band of armed men, killing three and wounding four.
1940(1st of Av, 5700): Rosh Chodesh Av
1941(12th of Av, 5701): The Holocaust continued to gain momentum. In Rasaininai, 213 men and 66 Jewish women were murdered.
1941: A three day long slaughter of Jews begins in Pinsk that results in the death of eleven thousand Jews.
1942: In the Warsaw Ghetto German soldiers came to collect the 192 (there is some debate about the actual number and it may have been 196) orphans and about one dozen staff members to take them to Treblinka extermination camp. The children were under the care of Janusz Korczak,the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit a Polish-Jewish children's author, pediatrician, and child pedagogue, known as Pan Doktor(Mr Doctor). Korczak had been offered sanctuary on the “Aryan side” of Warsaw but turned it down repeatedly, saying that he could not abandon his children. Now too, he refused offers of sanctuary, insisting that he would go with the children. The children were dressed in their best clothes, and each carried a blue knapsack and a favorite book or toy. Joshua Perle, an eyewitness, described the procession of Korczak and the children through the ghetto to the Umschlagplatz(deportation point to the death camps):
... A miracle occurred. Two hundred children did not cry out. Two hundred pure souls, condemned to death, did not weep. Not one of them ran away. None tried to hide. Like stricken swallows they clung to their teacher and mentor, to their father and brother, Janusz Korczak, so that he might protect and preserve them. Janusz Korczak was marching, his head bent forward, holding the hand of a child, without a hat, a leather belt around his waist, and wearing high boots. A few nurses were followed by two hundred children, dressed in clean and meticulously cared for clothes, as they were being carried to the altar. (...) On all sides the children were surrounded by Germans, Ukrainians, and this time also Jewish policemen. They whipped and fired shots at them. The very stones of the street wept at the sight of the procession.
According to a popular legend, when the group of orphans finally reached the Umschlagplatz, an SS officer recognized Korczak as the author of one of his favorite children's books and offered to help him escape, but once again, Korczak refused. He boarded the trains with the children and was never heard from again.
Korczak's evacuation from the Ghetto is also mentioned in Władysław Szpilman's book The Pianist
"One day, around 5th August when I had take a brief rest from work and was walking down Gesia Street, I happened to see Janusz Korczak and his orphans leaving the ghetto. The evacuation of the Jewish orphanage run by Janusz Korczak had been ordered for that morning. The children were to have been taken away alone. He had the chance to save himself, and it was only with difficulty that he persuaded the Germans to take him too. He had spent long years of his life with children and now, on this last journey he could not leave them alone. He wanted to ease things for them. He told the orphans they were going out in to the country, so they ought to be cheerful. At last they would be able exchange the horrible suffocating city walls for meadows of flowers, streams where they could bathe, woods full of berries and mushrooms. He told them to wear their best clothes, and so they came out into the yard, two by two nicely dressed and in a happy mood. The little column was lead by an SS man who loved children, as Germans do, even those he was about to see on their way into the next world. He took a special liking to a boy of twelve, a violinist who had his instrument under his arm. The SS man told him to go to the head of the precession of children and play – and so they set off. When I met them in Gesia Street the smiling children were singing in chorus, the little violinist was playing for them and Korczak was carrying two of the smallest infants, who were beaming too, and telling them some amusing story. I am sure that even in the gas chamber, as the Zyklon B gas was stifling childish throats and striking terror instead of hope into the orphans hearts, the Old Doctor must have whispered with one last effort, ‘it's all right, children, it will be all right’. So that at least he could spare his little charges the fear of passing from life to death." The Pianist - Page 96
Sometime after, there were rumors that the trains had been diverted and that Korczak and the children had survived. There was, however, no basis to these stories. Most likely, Korczak was killed with most of his children in a gas chamber upon their arrival at Treblinka. There is a memorial grave for him at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.
1943: Along with 11 other women Liane Berkowitz was executed Plötzensee Prison for their part in the German Resistance Movement.
1943: Harold Alfond, the founder of Dexter Shoes, married Dorothy Levine of Waterford , Maine
1944: Polish fighters liberated the Gesoiowaka Labor Camp from the Germans. Among those freed were 384 Jewish prisoners.
1945: The Atom Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima Japan Roosevelt in 1939. While views about the use of the bomb have grown over the years, the tens of thousands of Allied soldiers and sailors who were projected to die while invading Japan
1947:Israel Rokach, the future Mayor of Tel Aviv is imprisoned in the prison at Latrun
1948: Today Austrian banker Sonja Kohn was born to Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe in Vienna. “She grew up in Vienna in a small Jewish community. In the 1970s, with her husband Erwin Kohn, she started an import-export business and moved to Milan, Italy. In 1984 she founded the Bank Medici in Vienna. One year later, she moved to New York. They lived in Monsey, a large, ultraorthodox Jewish community. Increasingly orthodox, she covered her hair as is customary for traditionally orthodox women. The Kohns founded a small brokerage firm, the Eurovaleur Inc. In New York City she became known as “Austria’s woman on Wall Street.” In 1990s, they moved back to Vienna. There, she cooperated with Gerhard Randa of Bank Austria. The Bank Medici was relaunched in 2003 as an Aktiengesellschaft. Sonja is shareholder of 75 percent and is head of the bank's supervising board. She also became consultant of the Vienna Stock Exchange and was member of the supervisory board of Italian Finlombardia bank.
1948: In light of the realities of the military situation and the failure of the UN to act, the Israeli government explicitly rejected the proposal for an internationalized Jerusalem
1957: Nobel Prize winning chemist Heinrich Otto Wieland passed away. Wieland was not Jewish. According to one source, Wieland provided educational opportunities for Jewish students who were expelled under the terms of the Nuremberg Laws. Wieland was also an associate of members of the White Rose, a secret anti-Nazi organization whose membership was, for the most part, killed off by the Gestapo during the last years of the war.
1958: Birthdate of Israeli political leader Silvan Shalom, the native of Tunisia who made Aliyah in 1959 and served in a number of ministerial positions including Vice Prime Minister
1959(1st of Av, 5719): Rosh Chodesh Av
1962(5th of Av, 5722): Actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home. She was 36. Her death was ruled a probable suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills. Monroe
1964: Mel Brooks marries Anne Bancroft.
1966: Birthdate of actor Jonathan Silverman the son of Rabbi Emanuel Silverman and the grandson of Rabbi Morris Silverman.
1975: Birthdate of Iddo Goldberg, the Israeli actor who played Yitzchak Shulman, in the film version of Defiance, the book and film that told the story of the Bielski partisans, a group led by three Jewish brothers who saved and recruited Jews in Belarus during the Second World War.
1976: Leonard Bernstein conducted the German-language premiere of Candide, at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna.
1978:Birthdate of Israeli tennis player Harel Levy.
1981: Ariel Sharon replaced Menachem Begin as Minister of Defense.
1981: Yitzhak Berman succeeded Yitzhak Moda’i as Minister of Energy and Water Resources.
1981: Mordechai Tzipori, succeeded Yoram Aridor as Communications Minister
1995(9th of Av, 5755): Because today is Shabbat, this evening is Erev Tisha B’Av
1995(9th of Av, 5755): Israeli composer Menachem Avidom passed away at the age of 87.
1999: Matan Vilnai succeeded Ehud Barak as Minister of Culture and Sport
1999: Yithak Vaknin began serving as Deputy Minister of Communications.
2001: The New York Times book section featured a review of Francine du Plessix Gray’s biography of Simon Weil, the ‘atheist Jew’ entitled Simon Weil
2005: Nicole Sarah Mackey, daughter of Mark and Karen Mackey, granddaughter of Harvey and Elaine Luber, and an all-around great person, becomes a Bat Mitzvah in Little Rock, Arkansas.
2006: Marissa Carson, daughter of Laura and Bill Carson is called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah in Cedar Rapids , IA.
2006(11th of Av, 5766): Fadiya Juma'a, 60, and her daughters Sultana, 31, and Samira, 33 were killed by Hezbollah rockets.
2007: An exhibition entitled “Dateline Israel: New Photography and Video Art” comes to a close at the Jewish Museum in New York City.
2007: The Sunday New York Times Book Section reviewed Dalia Sofer’s first novel, The September of Shiraz,a “richly evocative, powerfully affecting depiction of a prosperous Jewish family in Tehran shortly after the revolution” and 15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall: Three Generals Who Saved the American Centuryby the Jewish author Stanley Weintraub.
2007: The Sunday Washington Post book section reviewed Girls Gone Mild by Jewish author Wendy Shalit andFateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941 by Ian Keshaw.“The last decision Kershaw explores -- moving to the industrial-scale murder of
2007: The Cedar Rapids Gazette featured an article about In Tolerance a precision contractor manufacturing company owned by Jewish community leader Robert Becker describing it as “a Cedar Rapids company leading the way in family-friendly policies.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/world/europe/06lustiger.html?pagewanted=all
2008: In Little Rock, AR, opening session of From Ruins to Glory, a course of study based on a virtual tour of the Temple.
2008: In St. Paul, MN, the Modern Marvels series, “Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel”examines The Quitter by Harvey Pekar.
2008: Shaul Mofaz officially entered the race to be leader of Kadima and received a blessing by Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
2008: Yakov Kreizberg conducted his final symphony at the BBC Proms.
2009(15th of Av, 5769):Tu B’Av - “According to the Talmud (tractate Ta'anit, 30b-31a), Tu B'Av was a joyous holiday in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem: Unmarried girls would dress in simple white clothing (so that rich could not be distinguished from poor) and go out to sing and dance in the vineyards surrounding Jerusalem. One of the happier holidays on the Jewish calendar, the Fifteenth of Av is today considered the Israeli equivalent of Valentine's Day. Yet another holiday with agricultural origins, Tu B'Av is said to be the day that the members of the twelve tribes were first allowed to marry each other. While often forgotten elsewhere, Tu B'Av is a fairly big deal in Israel. People send cards and give flowers to their loved ones, and hold special "Holiday of Love" parties. http://www.sfjcf.org/resources/jholidays/
2009:The Times of Londonreported today that the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah has stockpiled 40,000 rockets near the border with Israel and is training its guerillas to use missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv. According to the report, militants are now being trained in the use of both long-range ground-to-ground missiles as well as anti-aircraft missiles to use against Israel.
2009(15th of Av, 5769):Budd Schulberg, an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer passed away. He was known for his 1941 novel, What Makes Sammy Run?, his 1947 novel The Harder They Fall, his 1954 Academy-award-winning screenplay for “On the Waterfront,” and his 1957 screenplay for “A Face in the Crowd.”
2010: A screening of "Azi Ayima", a documentary that explores the roots of the Moroccan Jewish community, is scheduled to be shown at the Leavantine Cultural Center in Los Angeles, CA.
2010:Bankito, sometimes referred to as "Jewstock" -- a youth-oriented Jewish culture festival is scheduled to begin on the shore of Bank Lake, north of Budapest.
2010: The Senate confirmed Elena Kagan to a seat on the Supreme Court today.
2010:Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) has been easily re-nominated in his Democratic primary tonight, beating back former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton's effort to make race an issue against the white progressive Congressman from a majority-black district. With 59% of precincts reporting, Cohen leads by a whopping 79%-20%. This result so far seems identical to last cycle's Dem primary, in which the incumbent Cohen faced a challenge that not only centered around race, but also featured seemingly anti-Semitic attacks against him.
2010: Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, lost out on his bid to buy the Texas Rangers baseball team.
2010(25thof Av, 5770): Ninety-three year oldStanley Simon, the former Vice President of Bulova Watch Company who assisted veterans following World War II passed away today (As reported by Maraglit Fox)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/nyregion/16simon.html
2011:Jewish Rock Artist Sheldon Low is scheduled to perform at a musical family Shabbat service at Temple B'nai Shalom, in Fairfax, VA.
2011: Bellamy, the daughter of Debbie and Michael Beecher will be the center of attention at her baby-naming ceremony that is scheduled to take place at Temple Judah, in Cedar Rapids, IA
2011: This morning, the Air Force struck five targets in the Gaza Strip following several strikes earlier yesterday coming in response to increased rocket fire emanating from the Strip in recent days, including one rocket which reportedly landed in the Lachish area but caused no damages or injuries. .
2011:Due to escalation in rocket fire from Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided today to deploy a battery from the Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system outside the southern city of Ashkelon. Barak's decision came after close to thirty rockets have been fired into Israel since the beginning of July.
2011: Ten dairy farmers staged a small protest rally today near Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Shalom Simhon's home in Moshav Even Menachem in northern Israel. The farmers protested Simhon's support of the government's dairy market reform, which is likely to cut their profit margin.
2012: The New York Times features reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz, Einstein’s Jewish Science by Steve Gimbel, Uncanny Valley and other Adventures in the Narrative by Lawrence Weschler and What in God’s Name by Simon Rich
2012: A revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” sponsored by the Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre, featuring Cantor Joel Colman, is scheduled to have its final performance.
2012:Dozens of mortars were fired at Kerem Shalom from the Gaza Strip hours after an IAF airstrike killed a terrorist in Rafah.
2012: Lex Shatilov failed to win an Olympic medal today, finishing the men’s floor exercise in sixth place
2012(17thof Av, 5772): Ninety-six year old Martin Segal head of the Segal Company and “the elder statesman of Lincoln Center” passed away today. (As reported by Robin Pogrebin)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/arts/martin-segal-leading-new-york-cultural-figure-dies-at-96.html?_r=1&hpw
2012:In an ambitious and sophisticated attack, global jihad terrorists infiltrated Israel tonight after breaking into an Egyptian military base and stealing two armored jeeps. One of the vehicles, likely boobytrapped, exploded as it rammed through the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is shared by Israel, Egypt and the Gaza Strip. A number of terrorists succeeded in exiting the second vehicle before it was destroyed by an air strike. They crossed into Israel and engaged in a firefight with IDF troops.
2012(17th of Av, 5772): Ninety-eight year old Ben Heineman, the successful businessman who wrote speeches for Adlai Stevenson and advised Lyndon Johnson during his presidency, passed away today. (As reported by Denise Grady)
2012(17thof Av, 5773): Eighty-six year old Sami Rohr passed away today. (As reported by Dennis Hevesi)
2013: “The Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich” a documentary about “the controversial Jewish psychoanalyst and experimental scientist Wilhelm Reich” is scheduled to be shown at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
2013: “Fill the Void” a film that tells the story of an Orthodox Hassidic family from Tel Aviv is scheduled to open at the Bear Tooth Theatre in Anchorage, Alaska which is in an interesting choice of venues for such a film.
2013(29thof Av): Yarhrzeit of Abraham Cahan, the editor of The Jewish Daily Forward who passed away on the 29th of Av, 5711 (August 31, 1951)
2013(29thof Av: Yarhrzeit of Rabbi Samuel Salant
2013(29thof Av: Yarhrzeit of Moshe Leib Halpern, the modern Yiddish poet.