August 27
410: The sacking of Rome by the Visigoths ends after three days. Some view the Visigoths as just one more group of barbarians that helped to bring an end to the Roman Empire. But that is only part of the story. The Visigoths were Arians and they supplanted the anti-Jewish Catholic hierarchy, when they took control of parts of what is now Spain later in the 5th Century. For the Visigoths, the Catholics were synonymous with their Roman enemy but they had no animosity for the Jews. They took advantage of their unique skills and the Jews repaid them by taking a leading role in defending the passes of the Pyrenees against invasion from the Catholic Franks and Burundians. All this would come to an end in the last half of the sixth century when the Visigoth kings converted to Catholicism and adopted the anti-Jewish policies espoused by the Church.
1097(16th of Elul): Samuel ben Shealtiel ha-Nasi passed away.
1255: The day on which Hugh of Lincoln reportedly died. Discovery of his body two days later touched off one of the first, if not the first, Blood Libel.
1490: The Grand Inquisitor, Tomas de Torquemada issued an indictment ordering the transfer of the prisoners from Segovia to Ávila to await trial on charges of having murdered an alleged victim of Jewish ritual murder who came to be known as The Holy Child of La Guardia.
1523: Cardinal Domenico Grimani who when asked by the German scholar Johann Reuchlin for a tutor on Hebrew Literature, recommended Rabbi Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno, passed away today.
1556: The reign of Charles, the King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor who dealt with the rise of the Protestant faith in the Netherlands in several ways including issue edicts “against Jews who had not been baptized” on several different occasions came to end when he had to abdicate due to declining health.
1590: Papacy of Sixtus V came to end. There seem to be competing view on how he treated the Jews. According to one source “the condition of the Jews was somewhat improved. He repealed many of the regulations established by his predecessors, permitted Jews to reside in all parts of his realm, and gave Jewish physicians freedom to practice their profession.” While another contends that “he revoked Pope Gregory’s policies allowing Jews to reside in the Papal States and to print the Talmud.”
1698:(18 Elul): Birthdate of Rabbi Yisroel (Israel) ben Eliezer (רבי ישראל בן אליעזר often called Baal Shem Tov or Besht. There is no way to even begin writing about his effect on Judaism.
1770: Birthdate of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. In his article “Sublimity and Resentment: Hegel, Nietzsche, and the Jews,” Yirmiyahu Yovel offers the following comment about Hegel and the Jews. ‘According to the Hegelian dialectic, every cultural form makes some true, genuine contribution to world history (and the world Spirit), after which it is sublated (aufgehoben) and disappears from the historical scene. Yet the Jews continued to survive long after their raison d'tre had disappeared--indeed, after they no longer had a genuine history in Hegel's sense but merely existed as the dead corpse of their extinguished essence. With the French Revolution, the Jews were entering the modern world and claiming their rights and place within it. Hegel, despite his anti-Jewish bias, was perfectly disposed to grant these rights, but he did not know what to do with the Jews in modernity as Jews, nor could he explain their survival in terms of his system.”
1743: Henry Pelham, the Prime Minister who would pass the Jew of Act of 1753 assumed office today.
1776: The British defeated American forces under the command of George Washington at the Battle of Brooklyn Heights in the first of a series of military actions that will lead to the British taking control of the city of New York for the duration of the war. While most of New York’s Jewish population favored independence, the community was split between Rebels and Tories; a splitt which was even felt at Shearith Israel.
1779: In Charleston, SC, Gershon Cohen married Rebecca Sazrzedas, the daughter of the late Abraham Sarzedas from Georgia.
1782: While in Philadelphia, James Madison wrote to Edmund Randolph, I cannot in any way make you more sensible of the importance of your kind attention to pecuniary remittances for me than by informing you that I have for some time been a pensioner on the favor of Haym Salomon, a Jew Broker.”
1793(19th of Elul, 5553): Abraham Aaron (Abraham ben Uri HaCohen of Hichburg) passed away today in London.
1794:Simon Magruder Levy distinguished himself at the Battle of Fallen Timbers while serving as an Orderly Sergeant under General "Mad Anthony" Wayne.
1801: Birthdate of Ludwig Hirzel who taught Hebrew at the Carolinum in Zurich and whose included a Commentary on the Book of Job that was so popular it went through three editions after having first appeared in 1839.
1813: Birthdate of Moses Polydore Millaud, a native of Bordeaux who gained fame as the found of Le Petit Journal
1816: Birthdate of Polish born Jewish journalist Aleksander Zederbaum who in 1860 founded Ha-Meliz, the first Hebrew language periodical published in Russia.
1825(13th of Elul, 5585) Parashat Ki Teitzei
1825(13th of Elul, 5585): Seventy-three year old Flora Aarons (Bluma bat Eleazer), the widow of Aaron Aarons passed away today in England.
1828: Jacob Montefiore married Justina Lydia Gompertz today.
1834: In New Orleans, LA Clarice Allain and George Eustis gave birth to James B. Eustis who was the U.S. Ambassador to France during the Dreyfus Affair.
1840: Sixty-year old Herman Wedel Jarlsberg, the Norwegian count who opposed the ban Jews settling in his country passed away today.
1845: Isaac ben Eliezer HaLevi married Rebekah bat Moshe at the Great Synagogue today.
1846: Charles V. Lewis married Eliza Isaacs today.
1854: Birthdate of Marx Warley Platzek, a native of North Carolina, member of the 1894 New York Constitutional Convention tand he New York Supreme Court Judge who was President of the YMHA and a “benefactor of the American Jewish Historical Society.”
1857: Birthdate of Max Szabolcsi, author and newspaper editor who wrote numerous articles about the blood libel known as the Tisza-Eszlár affair
1858: Sixteen year old Nathan Cohen arrived in Tamworth, Australia so he could go to work in his Uncle William Cohen’s store on Ebsworth Street
1861: Birthdate of Edward Aaron who was buried in The Jewish Cemetery in Natchitoches, LA when he passed away in 1913 at the age of 51.
1861: Philadelphian Samuel Alexander enlisted in the 44thRegiment where he served as an Assistant Surgeon until he was killed during the fighting at Dranesville, VA in November.
1862: Henry Berg began serving as a Private in Company E of the 107th Regiment – service which would lead to his being wounded in fighting near Richmond in October of 1863?
1863: Two days after he had passed away, 63 year old businessman and author Israel Albu, the husband of the former Johana Cohen with whom he had five children was buried today at the Lauriston Road Jewish Cemetery.
1864: The New York Times published a letter in which the author complained about the difficulty in getting a naval substitute. He ties his complaints about the process to involvement of the Jews. He claimed that all of the locations where one goes to complete the forms are “all located either above or alongside of Jew clothing stores,” that the naval substitutes are coerced into buying their outfits at these Jewish clothing stores and that Jews attempt to extort cash from the participants that they then split with government officials. [Ed. Note – The author is a draft dodger. Under the law, a draftee could buy a substitute to serve in his place. This reinforced the concept that it was rich man’s war and poor man’s fight. The system was amazingly corrupt and led to the infamous Draft Riots of 1863 in New York City.
1867: In Tamworth, Australia, Esther and Nathan Cohen gave birth to Ida Cohen who married her first cousin Victor Cohen in 1901 with whom she had three sons: George, Nathan and Alan
1867: In Memphis, TN, Netherlands native Jacob Joseph Peres and Eve Chute Peres gave birth to Yale trained lawyer Israel Hyman Perex who served on the School Board and was a member of the YMHA.
1867: Following his trip to Romania, Sir Moses Montifore wrote a letter to Prince Charles concerning the treatment of the Jews of Romania. Prince Charles will eventually be crowned as King Carlos I.
1868: Six days after he had passed away, Hamburg native Joseph Baum, “the son of Peter Frederick Baum” and the former “Hannah Behrens” was buried today at the West Ham Jewish Cemetery.
1869(20th of Elul, 5629); Rebecca Gratz passed away. Born in 1781 to a prominent Jewish family in Pennsylvania, Gratz spent most of her adult life in Philadelphia where she was the patron of many philanthropic and social organization aimed at benefiting the Jewish community. She is best known as the founder of the Jewish Sunday School. “In 1838 Gratz and the women of the congregation of Mikveh Israel established the first Hebrew Sunday School in the United States, which served as the model for all others that followed.” Gratz, who was quite lovely and never married, was reputed to be the model for Rebecca, the heroine in Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Ivanhoe. [Ed. Note – a Jewish connection: When Hollywood turned Ivanhoe into a big screen delight during the 1950’s, Elizabeth Taylor played the part of the Jewess Rebecca. Taylor would convert to Judaism when she married Mike Todd.]
1871: It was reported today that the editor of the Jewish Times supports “American Jewish Seminary” for the training of rabbis in America. The editor contends that the Hebrew Orphan Asylum would provide a platform for creating such an institution since it would have a ready-made group of candidates and the additional training could be added on to the courses already offered by the Asylum.
1875: Birthdate of Albert M. Hyamson who was honored with the OBE for his work as the immigration officer in Palestine and who was the husband of Marie Rose Lavey with whom he had two sons Captain Theodore Hyamson and Corporal Philipp Hyamson both of whom were killed during WW II.
1877: Outfielder Jay Pike made his major league debut with the Hartford Dark Blues
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1877: Jacob Emanuel “Jay” Pike played in his first and last major league baseball game today when he took the field for the Brooklyn Hartfords of the National League. Pike went 1 for 4 giving him a batting average of .250. He was charged with 1 error but there is no record of his fielding average. Pike may have been part of the first Jewish Family entry in major league baseball. His brother was Lipman Emanuel Pike whose career spanned sixteen seasons. Pike “batted and threw left-handed. He is credited as the first ballplayer named Jay to appear in a major league game…Pike also played the outfield for the Lowell, Massachusetts team that won the 1875 state championship and claimed the New England title. That same year, he also served as an umpire in the National Association.”
1878: In Vladislavov, Duvvid Schubart and Katrina Helwitz gave birth to their second son and fifth child theatrical producer Samuel S. “Sam” Schubert who along with his brothers built one of the most powerful “theatre empires” of the early twentieth century.
1880: In Leadville, Colorado, Eva Schloss and Lottie Beaumont performed with the Pinafore Company at the Windsor Hotel.
1882: According to some, birthdate of movie mogul Sam Goldwyn. The confusion about his natal day was created by Sam himself. He is the ‘G’ in MGM . As has been noted in previous items, Goldwyn was one of many Jewish immigrants who created Hollywood and the American Entertainment Industry. He passed away in 1974.
1882: “The Jews of York” published today described the conditions under which “the persecuted race” lived in this English city during the 12th century. During the reign of Henry II and his son Richard the Lionhearted, they enjoyed royal protection and prospered as could be seen by the “splendid houses” on Jubbergate. All of that change when Richard left for the crusades and the citizens of York massacred the Jews. While Richard expressed his displeasure, “no serous punishment was inflicted on the murderous people of York for their fiendish cruelty.” Ironically, the city’s long term punishment came in the loss of commerce and prosperity. Without the Jews to lend money, business went elsewhere.
1882: It was reported that Professor Robertson Smith has written the article on “Lamentations” the new published edition of The Encyclopedia Britannica. According to Smith, Jeremiah is traditionally viewed as the author of the text. He sees a shift in the stance of the author as the book unfolds going from “an isolated figure among unsympathetic countrymen” to “a representative of Israel among the heathen.”
1882: It was reported today that little Jacob Greenhaldt a Hungarian Jewish immigrant “who was badly injured by a street car about a month ago” is out of the hospital and back at work on the streets of Cleveland. The boys are said to be “imbued with the spirit of trade” so characteristic of his race. They may make hard bargains but they are never beggars.
1882: “Facts About Street Gamins” published today described changing conditions on the streets of Cleveland, Ohio. Immigrant Jewish boys from Hungary have replaced the Irish. The Hungarians begin as shoe shine boys. But as soon as they learn enough English, they begin work selling newspapers.
1883: It was reported today that Nathan Gottgetren, a 35 year old Jew who uses the alias Nicholas Gilbert, will be appearing before the District Attorney in New York to faces multiple charges of forgery.
1884(6th of Elul, 5644): Schaje Tripock an octogenarian Polish Jew living with his son in an apartment on Essex Street apparently took his own life today. He was reported to “suffering from senile insanity.”
1885: Birthdate of Natchez, Mississippi native and American architect Samuel Abraham Marx, the husband of Florence May and the son-in-law of David May, the founder of May Department Stores.
1886: The Pope approved of the Hungarian Diet’s vote to reject a bill that would legalize marriages between Jews and Gentiles.
1887: It was reported today that The Board of Managers of the Sanitarium for Hebrew Children has received a total of $3,238.95 in contributions.
1887: Birthdate of Pittsburgh native Rachel Vixman, the wife of Avrom H. Vixman and “a certified parliamentarian and authority on parliamentary procedure, who founded the Pittsburgh Chapter of Hadassah, served as national vice president of the organization in the United States and as associate director of the Canadian Chapter.”
1889(30th of Av, 5649): Rosh Chodesh Elul
1890: Birthdate of Emmanuel Radnitzky, the native of Philadelphia who gained fame as “American modernist artist” Man Ray.
1890: The 10thfree excursion sponsored by the Sanitarium for Hebrew Children will set sail on the East River at 9 a.m. this morning.
1891: “In Putzig, West Prussia, Germany, Herman and Jenny (Eisack) Eisenstadt”gave birth Dr. Joseph Herman Isenstead, a holder of the Iron Cross for his four years of service in the Medical Corps of the German Army in WW II who, along with his wife the former Elly Neuman, in 1936 came to the United States where he practiced “medicine specializing in the treatment of liver disease.”
1891: In today’s editorial, the New York Times expresses its sympathy with the plight of the Russian Jews on board the SS Marsala who were barred from entering the United States but insists that under the law Superintendent O’Beirne had no choice in the matter. “The whole subject matter is a complicated one and it is like that the law will have to be amended in some particulars….” (Sounds as if this could have been written in 2014 just as easily as 1891)
1892: As cholera threatens to spread across Europe, “Hamburg is plague stricken today because it humanely too on itself the brunt of the burn of the” exodus of Jews from Russia.
1892: A representative of “the Hebrew branch of the Federation of Labor” investigated conditions at Ziontown, NJ, where Jewish settlers who have been on strike for six weeks face “actual starvation.”
1892: Four year old Ida Samyan the daughter of Russian Jews arrived today in London on a ship that came from Hamburg, Germany.
1892: In New York, the Board of Health said that it does not know anything about a group of Jews from Odessa who were supposed to come to this city but instead went to Havre where they were to go to Boston. (These reports are all given against the background of a cholera epidemic that is breaking out in Europe)
1892: It was reported today that near Mariapol, Russia a mob ten thousand “terrorized the village killing several Jews” as they expressed their resentment over governmental measures to control cholera.1892: The first passenger train belonging to the Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway arrived in Jerusalem today. Reactions were mixed, with some local inhabitants declaring it to be the work of the devil. However, the Jewish Chronicle wrote: "The year 5653, which is about to burst upon us, will witness one of the grandest sights that have been known in many centuries. May it prove an unmixed blessing." The Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway was the first modern railway line to open in the Middle East. The railway was built in response to the increasing demand of all the pilgrims who began visiting the Holy Land and specifically Jerusalem starting in the middle of the 19thcentury. In writing about the history of the railroad Anthony S. Travis notes that “building the railway was a tremendously ambitious undertaking, considering the local conditions. Hundreds of tons of rails were brought from Belgium, coal from Britain and rolling stock from France. The unloading of all this in Jaffa's primitive harbor presented an immense challenge. A report in Railway Magazine said it was "a wonder that all the materials for the railway were safely and without loss conveyed to their destination... Bulky but light articles, such as boiler barrels or water tanks, were thrown into the sea and tugged ashore..." The weather also presented difficulties, as heavy rains washed away the jetty, and in some places along the track bridges were destroyed. Despite other problems related to construction crews leaving to tend their crops, and outbreaks of disease in the work camps, work progressed fairly rapidly, and by December 4, 1891, the line had reached Deir Aban (today's Beit Shemesh). From there, construction was much more difficult, owing to the mountainous terrain. While the first train did reach Jerusalem in August, the official opening would not take place until September of 1892. Theodor Herzl, who took the train in 1898 on his way to meet Kaiser Wilhelm II, was not very impressed, calling the line a "miserable little railway." It was in stark contrast to the earlier part of his journey, in the luxurious Orient Express, with dining cars and sleeping accommodation. The Jaffa-Jerusalem railway coaches did not have ashtrays or toilet facilities, and according to Herzl, not even drinking water. He said the heat was "frightful... sitting in the cramped, crowded, scorching compartment was torture." As if that were not enough, when Herzl and his party arrived at the hotel for which they had reservations, it turned out there were no rooms available, as they had been appropriated by Turkish officials and members of the Kaiser's entourage.” As an avid fan of science and technology, Herzl expressed his belief in the future of rail travel when in Altneuland he predicted that by the 1920s there would be high-speed electric railways throughout the country. Unfortunately even now, more than a century later, Israel has not yet reached that stage, although railway development has certainly come a long way in the last 20 years.
1893: “B’nai B’rith’s Jubilee” published today described the plans that are being for the celebration of “the well-known Hebrew benevolent organization’s” golden anniversary which will take place this October.
1893: “The Correspondence of 3,500 Years Ago” published today described new information that described the role of clay tablets in ancient Palestine. In the past such evident has been ignored “by those who regard the early Hebrews a savages and who think that, though place in the very center of the ancient civilized world between the the Egyptians and Assyrians they were unacquainted with arts” or culture. This evidence shows that “the art of writing was known in the time of Moses” and that the inhabitants of Palestine wrote on thin clay tablets in the same way we write on a sheet of notepaper.
1893: Among the dead bodies taken to Henry Skelton’s undertaking establishment in Newton, LI following the collision in Berlin 38 year old Max Stein who was employed by Abram Stein & Co, Mrs. Bertha Weinstein and her young son Sidney Weinstein who was identified by a medal of merit given to him Temple Rudolph Sholom.
1893: In Camden, NJ the Jewish shopkeepers and merchants are scheduled to meet tonight to organize themselves to provide protection from the thieves and marauders who have been attacking them.
1894: Rabbi Bernhardt Hailperin was chosen chief rabbi by the Orthodox Jews of Newark.
1894: In Rixdorf, Germany, the police broke up a meeting of anarchist because the chairman “urged those present to use guns and dynamite to exterminate the Jews.”
1895: A coroner’s jury exonerated Solomon Pulka of charges that he had caused the death of nine year old Benjamin Pincus by kicking him in such a manner that it caused peritonitis.
1895: “Over on the East Side” published today described the changes in the district bounded by Catharine Street, the Bowery, Houston Street and the East River where can now be found “the children of Israel in their new exodus out of the Russian Egypt and house of bondage into the Canaan of the West.” More for 2015
1896: Abraham Gruver, Myer S. Isaacs, Julius Lowenthal and Edward Lauterbach were among those who listened to Benjamin Harrison’s speech last night at Carnegie Hall.
1897(29th of Av, 5657) Forty-eight year old David J. Seligman, the husband of Addie Walter Seligman, the eldest son of Babette and the late Joseph Seligman passed away today at Hollywood, NJ.
1897: The funeral of the late Albert Tobias who had been a member of the Young Men’s Hebrew Association and Chevra B’nai Israel will take place at his home this morning.
1897: A list of the bequests by the late David Blumenthal published today included two hundred dollars each to the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, the Montefiore Home and the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society. Mt. Sinai Hospital will receive either two hundred or five hundred dollars.
1898: Based on information that first appeared in The Jewish Messenger, it was reported that Colonel Teddy Roosevelt intends to recommend four men in his command be promoted for gallantry including one Catholic, one Jew, one Protestant and one whose religion is not known. The Messenger sees this an example of American brotherhood and unique cooperation of those of all creeds.
1898: “Zangwill’s Visit” published today described the anticipation with which New Yorkers are filled now that that Israel Zangwill, the author of Without Prejudice and The Children of the Ghetto is about to arrive in the Big Apple.
1898: A review of Alexander Harkavy’s Yiddish Dictionary was published today.
1898: “Books and Authors” published today described “an extensive collection of 2,500 Hebrew and Arabic manuscripts that has recently been acquired by the British Museum.” The collection which “includes a number of Arabic deed, written both in Hebrew and Arabic characters” has items that date fro the 9th through the 14thcenturies.
1899: In Chicago, trade unionist and newspaper man Benjamin "Ben" Schlesinger married Rae Schenhause with whom he had three children – two sons and one daughter.
1899: “Answers To Correspondents” published includes a reply to J.F. which tells him that there are between 350,000 and 400,000 Jews living in New York
1899: “Meyerbeer’s Posthumous Works” described yet another delay in the posthumous publication of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s compositions which according to his will should have been published in 1894. One of his daughters Cornelie Meyerbeer who was married to Gustav Richter refuses to allow the publication to take place.
1898: In Sheboygan, Wisconsin Congregation Adath Israel dedicated its new synaoguge.
1899: Fernand-Gustave-Gaston Labori the French attorney who defended Zola and Drefyus was featured on the cover of “Le Petit Journal.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Petit_journal_8_27_1899_Fernand_Labori.jpg
1901: In Newark, NJ, haberdasher Max Joachim and his wife Pauline gave birth to Albert Joachim who gained fame as Al Ritz, one of the Ritz Brothers.
1902: Herzl wrote to the Polish writer Pauline Korvin-Piatrovska asking her to obtain an audience with the Czar.
1903: After today’s session of the Zionist Congress where delegates “remodeled the National Fund” delegates continued to talk about establishing a Jewish colony in East Africa even after the meetings came to an end.
1904: Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer described upcoming plans for the re-dedication of a synagogue in Camden, NJ.
1904: Rogers Adolphe Pinner, a senior partner of the Mutual Electric Company, was shot by his `former girlfriend', one Mrs. Augustina Hermann, a pretty hat-maker/designer of French extraction, who was a two-time widow.”
1908: Birthdate of Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States. Unbeknownst to most people, Johnson played an active role in rescuing Jews from Hitler’s Europe. According to Ladybird LBJ wept when he visited Auschwitz in 1945. . Lyndon Johnson was a staunch supporter of Israel. He helped the Israelis exhaust all diplomatic possibilities to avoid the Six Day War in June, 1967. The real test for Johnson came on June 10 when the Soviets threatened Israel unless the Jewish state would immediately surrender the gains it had made against the Syrians and Egyptians, which were their client-states. Unlike President Eisenhower in 1956, Johnson responded firmly by sending the Sixth Fleet towards Syria to thwart any Soviet moves. He also began supplying arms to Israel since DeGaulle had betrayed Israel by cutting if its supply of weapons. As Israel’s Ambassador to the United States wrote, “When it came to the crunch of 1967, the United States (thanks to Johnson) was firmly on Israel’s side, logistically and politically.” He passed away in 1973.
1908: Samuel Gompers to-day announced that he would take to the stump in a personal effort to drive Speaker Cannon from the House. The President of the American Federation of Labor will open the campaign, which he intends to make a general fight for the Democratic ticket, at the Labor Day exercises at Danville, Ill., the home of "Uncle Joe."
1911: In Cleveland, Ohio found of Anshe S’fard.
1911: “The sale of seats to those not members of K.A.M. for the upcoming High Holiday is scheduled to take place for two hours this morning “at the Vestry Rooms of the Temple.
1915: “Meir Steinbrink, one of the Republican delegates” to the Constitutional Convention “from Brooklyn” explained his vote in favor of “requiring a literacy test as a voting qualification” saying that Louis Marshall had exaggerated the negative reaction that the state’s Jewish population would have to adding this provision to the New York State Constitution.
1915: “Councilors For Warsaw” published today described the new system of government set up for the Polish city by its German conquerors which includes the appointment of councilors based on proportion of population which means there are twelve Germans, twelve Poles and six Jews holding these posts.
1915: As of today, it is reported that there are more than 50,000 black Jews or Falsha “inhabiting the mountains of Abyssinia” for whom the American Jewish Committee has raised $5,000.
1916: It was reported today that The Central Committee for the Relief of Jews Suffering Through the War has received a $25,000 contribution from its Chicago Committee.
1916: Birthdate of Oregon State University “forestry professor,” Alan Berg, the husband of Helen Berg who became “the first woman to serve as mayor of Corvallis, Oregon.”
1916: The Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society announced today it has received more than 100,000 letters in the past two weeks “from families in the provinces occupied by the German Army in Russia and Poland” “in accordance with arrangements made with the German Government by Isidore Hershfiled who had recently visited Germany.
1916: Clarence Butler and William Hoffman, two instructors at the American College who returned to New York today after making a circuitous trip home that included a stop in Jerusalem said “There were no pilgrims in Jerusalem and no Jews…as the majority had been driven out Palestine shortly after Turkey entered the war “and those who remained were forced to convert to Islam so they could retain their lands and other property.”
1917: “Municipal Court Justice Leonard A. Snitkin today the District Attorney “to investigate the remarks alleged to have been made by Russell Dunne at an open-air meeting in Madison Square Park” in which he “had assailed the Jews as slackers and had called Joseph Friedlander, a Jewish soldier in uniform, vile names when the latter resented the defamation of his race.
1917: Simon Frank, the President of Temple Emanu-El in Brooklyn wrote a letter today inviting members of the United States Army and Navy to attend High Holiday services at the Temple without being charged for their seats.
1918: During WWI, today while serving with Company E of the 306th Infantry, USA, Isaac Hirsch “showed great heroism, determination, determination and courage” when while serving voluntarily as a stretcher bearer, carried wounded “in an area which was being swept by” fire from artillery, machine guns and rifles.
1918: “At Chateau Diable, near Fismes,” Sergeant Julius Goldstein, a Philadelphian” serving with Company E of the 307th Infantry “displayed unusual coolness and great bravery in the face of terrific enemy machine gun fire” when “he took out a patrol of four men and led it through the enemy’s lines” and rescued a group of soldiers from Company E who “had become lost in the woods.”
1919(1st of Elul, 5679): Rosh Chodesh Elul
1919: During the Russian Civil War, forces of the White Army occupied Boguslav a Ukrainian city, “pillaged all the houses” and “massacred” approximately forty Jews. [This was the war between the Reds (Bolsheviks) and the Whites (supporters of the former Czarist regime). The Jews were often caught in the middle and slaughtered by both sides]
1920: On Friday night, “Dr. William Rosenau of Baltimore, MD, conducted the last in a series of seven services sponsored by Department of Synagogue and School Extension of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations at Oden, Michigan.
1920: “The American Bible Society” announced “the immediate publication of the Revised Mandarin Bible,” “a translation of the Bible into Chinese…which Chinese and foreign scholars have been” working “for more than a quarter of a century.
1920: It was reported today that “the I.L. Peretz Writers’ Organization has donated the first $1,000” to a Jewish Writers’ Fund that is being created by the Jewish Writers of America to help fledgling authors.
1920: Mr. Albert Rosenblatt announced that the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society of America has received a contribution of $10000 to the Building Fund from the Arbeiter Ring or Workmen’s Circle.
1921: The New York Times published a letter from Samuel Gompers in which he corrects the Times report of his speech to the Kiwanis Club of Atlantic City. Gompers contends that the “misquote” of his remarks changes them so that they read like support for business instead of support for the workers of America.
1921: In Lawrence, MA, Jewish immigrants Elizabeth (née Melincoff) and Maurice Daniel Penn gave birth to WW II veteran, actor and director Leo Z. Penn, the father of Michael, Sean and Chris Penn.
1922: "The League of Nations is a Jewish idea, and Jerusalem someday will become the capital of the world's peace," declared Dr. Nahum Sokolow, Chairman of the Zionist Executive Committee, at a special meeting of the Zionist Conference today. Dr. Sokolow “said the Jews of the world will back the League and that Jerusalem will be the International Peace Capital.”
1923: Birthdate of Danzig native Yitzhak "Ike" Aronowicz the captain of the famous SS Exodus.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/world/middleeast/24ahronovitch.html
1925: Birthdate of Herman Cohen, the producer of horror film who helped launch the career of Michael Landon when he featured him in “cult classic, ‘I Was a Teenage Werewolf.’”
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-06-12/news/0206120136_1_evil-adult-teenage-werewolf-mr-cohen
1926: Featherweight Harry Blitman fought and won his second bout today.
1926: In Vlagtwedde, Vlagtwedde, Groningen, The Netherlands, Sophie Josephine Franks, the daughter of Louis and Emma Sachs and Siegfried Frank gave birth to Emma Frank
1926: “The White Horse Inn,” a film version of the play by Oskar Blumentahl and Gustaf Kadelburg directed and produced by Richard Oswald was released in Germany today.
1927: Birthdate of Harlem native Morris “Mo” Levy, “owner of Roulette Records and the Birdland jazz club who passed away before he could begin serving a prison sentence after having been convicted of “conspiring to extort” in connection with an investigation into mob involvement in the record industry.
https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/23/obituaries/morris-levy-is-dead-power-in-recording-and-club-owner-62.html
1927: Samuel Greenwald declined to accept the Republican nomination for the Judgeship in the Second District Court of the Municipal Court in New York.
1927: Two years after opening on Broadway, George S. Kaufman’s “The Butter and Egg Man” opented today at the Garrick Theatre in London.
1928: The Kellogg-Briand Pact, which failed in its anti-war making goal but provided part of the legal justification for the Nuremberg War Crime trials was signed today by “Germany, France and the United States.”
1929: Birthdate of Ira Levin, author of many popular novels including Rosemary's Baby
1929: While Moslem leaders in Jerusalem have issued an appeal to Arab raiders to return to work and cease their attacks, widespread disorders occurred in Palestine. Marauding band of Arabs have left hundreds of victims, dead and wounded, from Dan to Beersheba while British troops have been unable to stop the violence.
1929: “Black Magic” a silent film featuring Fritz Feld as “James Fraser” was released in the United States today.
1930: “Monte Carlo” a musical directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch was released today in the United States.
1931: Birthdate of “actress, singer and AIDS activist” Marilyn Lovell Matz, the wife of composer Peter Matz
http://richardskipper.blogspot.com/2012/04/marilyn-lovell-matz-remembrance.html
1932: In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, attorney Morris Fromkin “and the former Selma Strelsin, the sister of Albert A. Strelsin, the industrialist and arts patron” gave birth to historian David Fromkin, the author of A Peace to End All Peace, a must read book by anybody who wants to talk intelligently about events in the Middle East and beyond. (As reported by Sam Roberts)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/world/middleeast/obituary-david-fromkin-dead-middle-east-author.html
1933: Birthdate of magazine editor, author and Presidential speech writer, Ben Wattenberg.
1933: Birthdate of Leonard Irving Weinglass who was according to some “the nation’s pre-eminent progressive defense lawyer, who represented political renegades, government opponents and notorious criminal defendants in a half century of controversial cases, including the Chicago Seven, the Pentagon Papers and the Hearst kidnapping.” (As reported by Bruce Weber)
1933: In Prague, The economic development of Palestine is outlined in a report of the Zionist Executive to the Congress, which reveals the following: During the past two years £3,252,000 has been invested in Palestine, of which £1,350,000 or 42% went into agriculture, mainly citrus planting, £1,400,000 or 43% went into building, and the remainder into industry and handicraft. A survey of 213 immigrants of the capitalist class shows that 54% of their total capital of £697,000 was invested in agriculture. During this period 21,767 immigrants came into the country; 11,384 workers on labor schedule, 3,122 capitalists, 2,697 certificates went to relatives of residents and 4,168 people came under unspecified classifications.
1933: Testimony given in the magistrate's court at Jaffa, on August 25th,alleging that Revisionist extremists had contemplated recourse to murder over shadowed all other issues here as the eighteenth World Zionist Congress entered its second week of deliberations today.
1934(16thof Elul, 5694): Four days before his 41st birthday, Yale educated engineer Alexander Cahn passed away today in Branford, CT.
1934: “The original Broadway production of ‘Life Begins at 8:40’ a musical revue with music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and E.Y. Harburg and sketches by David Freedman opened at the Winter Garden Theatre.”
1934: In Iraq many Jews were dismissed from public service and quotas were set up in colleges and universities
1935: In Switzerland, Rabbi Dov Yehuda and Sarach Schochet gave birth to Rabbi Dov Yehuda Schochet.
http://www.jewoftheweek.net/
1935: In Chicago, “Sam Patinkin, a scrap dealer and the form Eva Brezinsky” gave birth to Sheldon Patinkin, a writer, director and teacher who helped shape the theatrical life of Chicago over half a century.” (As reported by Bruce Weber)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/chi-sheldon-patinkin-dies-20140921-column.html
1935: The Federal Theatre Project is established. Elmer Rice, the Manhattan born son of Jacob and Fanny Lion Reizenstein, was the first director of the New York office of the Federal Theatre Project, but resigned in 1936 to protest government censorship of the FTP's "Living Newspaper" Ethiopia, about Mussolini's invasion of that country. The FTP included a Yiddish Unit.
1935: In New York, Morris Yablans, a cab driver and his wife Annette gave birth to producer and studio executive Frank Yablans, the younger brother of producer Irwin Yablans.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/29/business/media/frank-yablans-film-executive-dies-at-79.html
1936: In Brooklyn, “Rose (Farber) Kovel” and Louis Kovel, “an accountant and the namesake of the Kovel Rule, a legal doctrine that extended the lawyer-client confidentiality privilege to other professionals and experts” gave birth to psychiatrist and “eco-socialist” Joel Kovel.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/04/obituaries/dr-joel-kovel-a-founder-of-ecosocialism-is-dead-at-81.html?hpw&rref=obituaries&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
https://louisproyect.org/2018/05/02/joel-kovel-1936-2018-an-appreciation/
1936: “Leaders of the Arab Youth party began collecting signatures for a memorandum demanding an Arab boycott of the Royal Commission” coming to Palestine to investigate the causes of the violence begun by the Arabs in April, 1936. The Arabs are demanding that Jewish immigration and land sales must be stopped before there will be any negotiations.
1936: It was reported today that Senator William H. King cabled Max Rhoade, the Washington representative of the Zionist Organization of America from San Juan that “As president of the American Palestine Committee, I have followed with much anxiety and concern the serious disorders for the last few months in Palestine” and have refrained from any public expression with regard to Great Britain’s policy in Palestine because he thinks we can rely “on the good faith of the British to carry out their pledge to Jews and to the League of Nations for the establishment of the Jewish National Home in Palestine.
1936: “Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, president of the Zionist Organization of America said today on his return from Europe that the great task facing the Zionist movement in this country and of all Jews throughout the world who are concerned with the rebuilding of the Jewish national homeland in Palestine was firm resistance to the threatened suspension of Jewish immigration in Palestine.”
1937(22nd of Elul, 5697): Lionel Walter Rothschild passed away. The 2nd Baron Rothschild was a British zoologist who became a great collector and founded the Rothschild Natural History Museum in London. The museum was opened to the public in 1892. As the eldest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild, he was somewhat of a disappointment to his father as his life was devoted to natural history and not banking. His interest in natural history began when he was a child, collecting butterflies. Numerous species and sub-species of animals were named after him. He issued Novitates Zoologicae from Tring, his country estate and published scores of scientific papers. He received his titles on the death of his father in 1915. The Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum became part of the Natural History Museum.
1937: Birthdate of Philip Arthur Shulman, the native of Glasgow, Scotland who gained game as Phil Shulman, “a member of the progressive rock group Gentle Giant.”
1938(30th of Av, 5698): Rosh Chodesh Elul
1938: As British forces sought to bring an end to the latest wave of Arab terror two Arab youths were wounded, one fatally, when troops today opened fire on a group that refused to disperse when caught setting fire to a closed wine shop at Jaffa. Meanwhile “armed Arab completed the evacuation of the Jewish settlement of Jamam in the Beersheba district and set fire to every building there.”
1939: In France, “the Communist deputies” were excluded from the Assembly “after the Nazi-Soviet pact was signed.”
1939: “After two days of packing, truck convoys” filled with art from the Louvre including the collection of engravings, drawings and illustrated books that had belonged to Baron Edmond de Rothschild which had been donated in 1935 “began to leave Paris” as it became obvious that war was about to break out in Europe.
1940(23rd of Av, 5700): One of first to reprisals against the Germans, Israel Karp was shot by Germany military authority in France.
1940(23rd of Av, 5700): Sixty-seven year Alice Lillie Seligsberg “a social worker and Zionist who helped to found Hadassah:” passed away today. (As reported by Marilyn J. Sladowsky)
1940: The Vichy French government rescinded the law forbidding racial hatred. This made hating Jews legal.
1941(4th of Elul, 5701): First group of 11,000 Jews from Kamenets are taken out of town to a pit and gunned down in bomb craters.
1941: Isidore Newman who was being trained as a Wireless Oifficer with SOE “went for a long walk today saying he was suffering from nostalgia.
1941(4th of Elul, 5701): The Nazis massacred the Jewish community of Posvol, Lithuania
1941(4th of Elul, 5701): “Detachments of the Einsatzgruppen in Kamenets-Podolsk and troops under the command of the Higher SS and Police Leader for the southern region, SS General Friedrich Jeckeln, began to carry out mass killings of the Jewish deportees as well as the local Jewish population.
1942: Thirty-six year old Mohammad Essad Bey, who was Lev Nussimbaum before converting to Islam passed away today.
1942(14th of Elul, 5702): Eight thousand Jews from Wieliczka, Poland, are killed at the Belzec death camp.
1942(14th of Elul, 5702): When a transport train carrying 6000 Jews from Miedzyrzec, Poland, arrives at the Treblinka extermination camp, guards discover that all 6000 have died of suffocation during the 75-mile journey.
1942(14th of Elul, 5702): Several thousand Jews from Chortkov, Poland, are assembled in the town square and forced to witness the murders of the community's children
1943(26th of Av, 5703): All the Jews working at a cement factory at Drogobych, Ukraine, near the Janówska labor camp, are murdered. One of the victims is Dr. Mojzesz Bay, a 36-year-old graduate of the Sorbonne.
1943: “Hitler’s Madman,” a “film about the assassination of Nazi Reinhard Heydrich and the Lidice massacre revenge taken by the Germans” based on a story by Albrecht Joseph and Emil Ludwig with a screenplay by Peretz Hirschbein, Melvin Levy and Edgar G. Ulmer was released in the United States today.
1944: Bruce Sundlin the U.S. bomber pilot who had been working the Marquis (French Resistance) and serving with OSS was among those who took part in the battle at Marseilles today during which most of the city was liberated from German control.
1944: As of today Victor Cavendish Bentinck, assistant under-secretary in the British Foreign Office still doubted the existence of gas chambers when he said, 'I think we weaken our case against the Germans by publicly giving credence to atrocity stories for which we have no evidence.'These mass executions in gas chambers remind me of the story of the employment of human corpses during the last (1914-18) war for the manufacture of fat, which was a grotesque lie and led to the true stories of German enormities being brushed aside as being mere propaganda.'
1945: Premiere of “True Glory” -- “a documentary account of the allied invasion of Europe during World War II compiled from the footage shot by nearly 1400 cameramen” – directed by Garson Kanin with a script created by Paddy Chayefsky and Eric Maschwitz among others.
1945: Today Hermann Göring became the first Nuremberg defendant to be interrogated intensively by the Allies.
1946(30th of Av, 5706): Rosh Chodesh Elul
1947: “Golden Earrings” a spy film with a script by Helen Deutsch and Abraham Polonsky and music by Victor Young was released in the United States today by Paramount Pictures.
1947: In Queens, NY, Jewish police officer Howard I. Golbach and his wife Marjorie who was not Jewish gave birth to Barbara Goldbach who gained fame as actress Barbara Bach the future wife of Beatle Ringo Starr.
1948: Birthdate of Los Angeles native Elliot Miles Goodman the Antioch graduate and composer who was the cousin of Johnny Mandel.
1951: Rabbi Israel Goldstein was re-elected today president of the World Confederation of General Zionists, and Mrs. Rose Halprin and Dr. Emanuel Neumann vice presidents. They are all from New York.
1952: In Peekskill, NY, Judy and Milton Rubenfeld gave birth to Paul Reubenfeld who gained games as Pee-Wee Herman.
1952: The Knesset endorsed by an overwhelming vote the agreement with the US for the purchase of arms and for the negotiations in Washington for military aid, within the framework of the Mutual Security Act. The vote came in the form of a vote of no confidence in the government, introduced by Mapam and supported by the Communists, which was defeated by 69 votes to 13.
1952: Reparation negotiations between West Germany and Israel end in Luxembourg; West Germany to pay 3 billion Deutschmarks.
1953: Birthdate of Jonathan David Simons, the native of Glasgow whose “first novel The Credit Draper…is set primarily with the Glasgow Jewish community in the early part of the 20th century.”
1954: “Shield for Murder” directed by Howard W. Koch was released today in the United States by United Artists.
1955(9th of Elul, 5715): Parashat Ki Teitzei
1955: Sandy “Koufax threw a two-hit, 7–0 complete game shutout against the Cincinnati Reds for his first major league win.”
1955(9th of Elul, 5715): Sophie Ratner, the wife of Benjamin Ratner and the mother of director, producer and actor Gregory Ratoff known for playing suave, sophisticates, passed away today.
1957(30th of Av, 5717): Rosh Chodesh Elul
1960: In Cleveland, Ohio, Victor and Ellen Cohn gave birth to Goldman Sachs millionaire Donald Cohn the husband of Lisa A. Pevaroff who was named Director of the National Economic Council by President Donald Trump whom he continued to serve despite publicly expressing his displeasure with the President’s response to Nazi Torchlight Marchers in Charlottesville, VA.
1964: The Democratic National Convention comes to an end having nominated two pro-Israel candidates – Lyndon Johnson for President and Hubert Humphrey for Vice President. Johnson had helped Jewish refugees enter the United States through Mexico in the 1930’s, passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and would stand up to Russians on behalf of Israel in 1967 in stark contrast to the craven behavior of the Eisenhower administration during the Suez Crisis of 1956)
1964: “Mary Poppins” with an Oscar winning score by Richard and Robert Sherman and featuring Ed Wynn as “Uncle Albert” premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
1964: Sixty-two year old comedian Gracie Allen, the wife and partner of George Burns, passed away today.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22
1967: Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles, passed away. Yes, the lads from Liverpool were managed by an English Jew.
1968(21st of Av, 5727): Movie Director Robert Z. Leonard passed away
1969(13th of Elul, 5729): Sixty-three year old Erika Mann, the actress and writer who was the “eldest daughter of Thomas Mann and Katia Mann and who had been baptized as a Protestant passed away today.
1969: “Medium Cool” a directed, written and filmed by Harold Wexler and starring Verna Bloom was released in the United States today.
1971(6th of Elul, 5731): Bennett Cerf, founder of Random House and panel member on the television hit What’s My Line, passed away at the age of 73
1971: Sixty-seven year old Margaret Bourke-White, one of the great photographers of the 20thcentury, if not of all times whose father was from an Orthodox Jewish family and whose mother was Irish passed away today. (For those who grew up in a world of hand-held video cams, satellite communications and cable network news, it is hard to appreciate the important role played photographers and photo-journalists like Bourke-White. Her photos filled the pages of such publications as Life Magazine, which brought the world of natural disasters, war and high fashion to Middle America. If you know anything about Jews and photography you will see why this was a must post item and a reason for supporting Patrilinealism)
1973: “The Recipes of Chairman Mao" by Marshall Brickman's appeared in The New Yorker. (Brickman was Jewish; Mao was not)
1976: It was reported today that the “release of Briton Robert G. Clegg” who had been charged with spying for the Israelis during the raid on Entebbe by Idi Amin came as a surprise since the Uganda government had previously said “it had no record of him ever being in the country.”
1977: The US State Department confirmed that a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization had applied for a visa to the US in order to be allowed to open a PLO Information Center there. But the PLO¹s rejection, at a special meeting held in Damascus, of both UN Resolution 242 and Israel¹s right to exist was seen here as a serious setback to President Carter¹s Middle East peace efforts. He was reported to be in a rather pessimistic mood.
1977: In Bucharest Prime Minister Menachem Begin described his Sabbath visit to the Bucharest synagogue as the most moving day in my life since the day Israel announced its independence. Begin sought to comfort Romanian Jews and praised President Ceausescu for his policy of tolerance toward religious practice. Ceausescu would lose much of his luster and ultimately be killed during a anti-Communist revolt.
1979: Funeral services for Joseph H. Blass, a member of Young Israel of Flatbush and the husband of Edythe Blass, the “Honorary Sisterhood President” are scheduled to take place this morning in Brooklyn
1979: After Lord Mountbatten was murdered by a terrorist bomb he was buried in Romsey Abbey which
was celebrated for its collection of Hebrew books.
was celebrated for its collection of Hebrew books.
1980(15th of Elul, 5740): Sam Levenson passed away at the age of 68. Levenson was a Brooklyn school teacher who became a television star in the 1950’s. The Sam Levenson Show was quite popular in its day. This was quite since surprising considering the source of Levenson’s humor. He was the son of Jewish immigrants who had worked as a school teacher in Brooklyn. These experiences were the basic material for his witty stories and quips.
1983: Barry Manilow (Barry Alan Pincus) “performed a landmark open-air concert at Blenheim Palace in Britain, an event that he told the audience was "one of the most exciting nights" in his life being the first such event ever held at that venue and was attended by a conservative estimate of 40,000 people.”
1986: ''We Were So Beloved,'' Manfred Kirchheimer's documentary about Jews who escaped Germany before the Holocaust opened today Film Forum 1 in New York City. (As reported by Vincent Canby)
1988: “A Friendship in Vienna,” a film set in Vienna at the time of the Anschluss starring Stephen Mach and Edward Asner premiered today on the Disney Channel.
1988(14th of Elul, 5748): Seventy-nine year old Dr. Max Black passed way today in Ithaca, NY.
1988: A single was recorded today with Carole Bayer Sager’s “A Groovy Kind of Love” on the “A-side.”
1989(26th of Av, 5749): Fifty-eight year old Melvin “Mel” Seeman , the Lincoln High graduate and star forward and center for NYU passed away.
1992: FOX broadcast the first episode of “The Heights” produced by Aaron Spelling.
1993: “Estate Fee To Wachtler Is $800,000” published today
1994: After 320 performances the curtain came down on the original Broadway production of Neil Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor”
1995(1st of Elul, 5755): Rosh Chodesh Elul
1996(12th of Elul, 5756): Fifty tow year old Tel Aviv native Yair Rosenblum the composer who was musical director of the IDF passed away today.
1997(24th of Av, 5757): Forty-eight year old television whiz-kid executive Brandon Tartikoff passed away.
1998: Eric Edelman began serving as U.S. Ambassador to Finland.
1999: “The Muse” a comedy directed, written by and starring Albert Brooks and featuring Mark Feuerstein was released in the United States today by October Films
2000: The New York Times book section featured reviews of Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms by Jewish born education reformer Diane Ravitch.The Secret Parts of Fortune
Three Decades of Intense Investigations and Edgy Enthusiasmsby Ron Rosenbaum andThe Presidential Difference: Leadership Style From FDR to Clintonby Fred Irwin Greenstein
Three Decades of Intense Investigations and Edgy Enthusiasmsby Ron Rosenbaum andThe Presidential Difference: Leadership Style From FDR to Clintonby Fred Irwin Greenstein
2000(26th of Av, 5760): Sixty-five year old Gilbert de Botton, the financial manager who was a descendant of the rabbinical scholar Abraham de Botton passed away. (As reported by Paul Lewis)
2002: Thirty-eight year old Meir Lixenberg was shot today by terrorists.
2001: Israeli helicopters fired a pair of rockets through office windows and killed Mustafa Zibri, Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). He was also known as Abu Ali Mustafa. “The PFLP is designated a terrorist organization by Israel and many western states. Israel held Mustafa personally responsible for 10 different car-bomb attacks undertaken by the PFLP during his time as general secretary.” He had been allowed to return to the West Bank in a deal worked out between Arafat and Barak. But apparently killing Israelis was more attractive than following the path of peace.
2002: Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon told Haaretz; "The Palestinian threat harbors cancer-like attributes that have to be severed. There are all kinds of solutions to cancer. Some say it's necessary to amputate organs but at the moment I am applying chemotherapy."
2003(29th of Av, 5763): Ninety-one year old Austrian born American architect and designer Henry P. Glass who survived Dachau and Buchenwald passed away today.
2004(10th of Elul, 5764): Sixty-four year old actress Susan Peretz passed away today from Breast Cancer.
2004: “Adam & Paul” a movie about drug addicts directed by Lenny Abrahamson was released in Ireland today by Element Pictures.
2004: “The Brothers” a Danish film directed by Susan Bier was released today by Nordisk Film.
2005: Under the leadership of President Scott Cowen, “Tulane began to publicly respond to the arrival of Hurricane Katrina today with an initial plan to close the university until September 1.”
2005: The Jerusalem Post reported on the Red Sea Jazz Festival at Eilat, Israel’s southern seaport. This marked the 19thyear for this annual event and the response of the crowd indicated that Jazz is a live, well and thriving in Israel. Apparently the rocket attack in Jordan which resulted in an errant warhead hitting Eilat by mistake did not dampen the spirit of the attendees who ranged in age from teens to grandmothers swaying in the aisles.
2006: In “Green's Chase Revives Greenberg's Name and Fame,” published today, Murray Chass notes that “Shawn Green, with 314 career home runs, is only 17 from matching Hank Greenberg's standard as the career leader among Jewish players? '’I would say the chances are outstanding; he'll probably do it as a New York Met next year,'’ said Steve Greenberg, Hank's son and the former deputy baseball commissioner. Green's passing his father would not bother him, Greenberg added. ''Why would it bother me?'' he said. ''Ed Kranepool broke my dad's record at James Monroe High School.''''I'm fine with it,'' he added. ''I think it's great. I'm fine with anything that keeps my dad's name in the news. The last 10 years have been incredible. I think my dad is better known among sports fans who never saw him play than he was 20 years ago with a generation that never saw him play.'' Hank Greenberg, who played from 1933 through 1947, missing nearly four seasons during World War II, nearly matched Babe Ruth's single-season record in 1938 when he hit 58 home runs. But, his son said, Hank didn't care much about home runs. ''Runs batted in is what he lived for,'' Greenberg said. ''If you had asked him what accomplishments he was proudest of, it would be R.B.I. for a single season and career. That's why I grew up not thinking about home runs as his legacy.'' Hank Greenberg led the American League in runs batted in four times, driving in 170 and 183 sandwiched around a season in which injuries limited him to 12 games. In 1935, he had 103 R.B.I. by the All-Star Game. Greenberg, an investment banker, is engaged in selling naming rights for the Mets' new park. He said his father was once asked about being known as the greatest Jewish slugger ever. '''I don't think of myself that way,''' he quoted his father as saying. '''I think of myself in terms of Gehrig, DiMaggio and Williams.''' If Green does pass Greenberg for career home runs, the name of the standard-bearer won't change all that much. In fact, Green's grandfather shortened the family name from Greenberg.
2006: The Sunday New York Times book section included a review of Selected Letters of Martha Gellhorn(St. Louis born Jewish novelist, travel writer and journalist), edited by Caroline Moorehead.
2006: “New Torah scroll presented to the Beth Israel Synagogue in New Orleans”
2006: As those who study history know, history is determined, in no small part, by the person writing the history. With that in mind, please excuse this shameless orgy of self-adulation in publishing the following letter as it appeared in The New York Times Sunday Book Review.
Letters
A Man in Cedar Rapids
To the Editor:
After a lifetime of reading about Jewish lawyers, doctors, brilliant writers and Nobel Prize winners, I cannot tell you how excited I was to read about A Woman In Jerusalem by A. B. Yehoshua (Aug. 13). I am totally blown away — a novel where the leading character is a Jewish human resources manager. I am a longtime Jewish human resources director and I never thought I would make it as a character in a novel, let alone the main character. Of course, I do this in Cedar Rapids, which is not exactly Jerusalem. But if you ever want to know what it is like to be Jewish in the heartland, hey, that’s a book I could write.
Mitchell A. Levin
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
2007: An article published today entitled “The Kibbutz Sheds Socialism and Gains Popularity,” described the changing face of kibbutz movement in Israel.
2007: As Phil Spector stood trial for the murder of Lana Clarkson, Bruce Clarkson, his second defense lawyer withdrew and was replaced with Linda Kenney Baden.
2007: In Cedar Rapids, Harold Becker, a pillar of the Jewish community and Guaranty Bank & Trust was honored for donating $75,000 to The Arc of East Central Rapids. This is just one more example of Mr. Becker’s philanthropic efforts on behalf of both the Jewish Community and the people of Cedar Rapids and its environs.
2007: The New Republic featured a review of Davide Ferrairo’s film, “Primo Levi’s Journey,” which follow, figuratively, Levi’s footsteps as made his way from Auschwitz back to his home in Turin.
2007(13th of Elul, 5767): Seventy-two year old, Gad Yaacobi passed away. A native of Kfar Vitkin he was an MK and held several ministerial positions.
2008(26th of Av, 5768): Eighty one year old Abie Nathan the Israeli air force trained pilot and self-declared peace activist who flew a plan from Israel to Egypt a decade before Sadat flew to Jerusalem passed away today.
2008: Yale University announced that Peter Salovey will succeed Andrew Hamilton as Provost, making him the fourth provost appointed by President Richard Levin
2008: Second night of the inaugural Gilboa Coexistence Festival taking place throughout the Gilboa region featuring David Broza with Yair Dalal and Ibrahim Eid.
2008 Florida Congressman Robert Wexler addressed the Democratic National Convention for the first time on the subject of national security and foreign policy. Wexler represents Florida’s 19thdistrict, one of the most heavily Jewish congressional districts in the United States and I considered a strong advocate for Israel in Washington.
2008: The Washington Postfeatured a review of The End of the Jews, the new novel by Adam Mansbach.
2009: Opening of the Ceremonies commemorating the 65thAnniversary of the Liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto in Lodz by German authorities.
2009: Six days after he passed away, funerals services are scheduled to be held for 93 year old Robert Bendheim, the “former president and chairman of M. Lowenstein Corporation, member of the Board of Trustees of Mt. Sinai Hospital who had graduated from Princeton and served in the Navy during WW II.
2009:The Israeli unemployment rate rose to 8 percent in the second quarter despite encouraging economic indicators pointing to a recovery, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today.
2009:Sketched on yellowing parchment, the 29 blueprints presented to Israel’s prime minister today lay out the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in chilling detail, with gas chambers, crematoria, delousing facilities and watch towers drawn to scale.
2009: Eighty-two year old Alex Grass the creator of Rite Aid Corporation passed away today. (As reported by Charles Duhigg)
2009:The publicly funded Multicultural Center's (Werkstatt der Kulturen) decision to remove educational panels of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Muhammad Amin al-Husseini, who was an ally of Adolf Hitler, from a planned exhibit, sparked outrage today among a district mayor, the curator of the exhibit, and the Berlin Jewish community.
2010: In Cedar Rapids, IA, Temple Judah celebrates the start of the fourth season of “Musical Shabbat.”
2010: In “Black and Jewish, and Seeing No Contradiction,” published today Trymaine Lee describes the life of African-Americans who are Orthodox Jews.
2011:Hutzot Hayotzer, the popular international arts and crafts fair that has become a Jerusalemite ritual, is scheduled to come to a close today.
2011: In the United Kingdom the curtain comes down on “Nine Suitcase” “a solo piece performed by British actor David Prince” of a this theatrical adaptation of Béla Zsolt’s novel of the same name which recounts the experiences of the author during the Holocaust.
2011:Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets tonight to participate in demonstrations protesting the high cost of living in Israel.
2011:Saeb Erekat repeated his claim that meeting thatConsul-General Daniel Rubenstein had threatened that the US would cut off aid to the Palestinians if they insisted on going to the UN adding that the Americans have threatened to veto the PA statehood bid and cut off financial aid to the Palestinians.
2011: Norfolk’s Beth El Synagogue did not hold service today as Hurricane Irene barreled its way up the East Coast.
2011(27th of Av, 5771): Eighty-three year Ezat Delijani, Iran born businessman and philanthropist passed away today. (As reported by Dennis McLellan)
2012: Christian Dawid is scheduled to appear tonight at The Montreal Jewish Music Festival.
2012: “Hutzot Hayotzer, the popular international arts and crafts fair that has become a Jerusalemite ritual” is scheduled to come to an end.
2012(9th of Elul, 5772): Seventy-one year old Duke Basketball start Art Heyman passed away today. (As reported by William Yardley)
2012(9th of Elul, 5772): Ninety-five year old WW II Australian RAAF war hero Sir Richard Kingsland who had changed his name from Julius Cohen “to avoid anti-Semitism” passed away today.
2012:President Shimon Peres said today that he could not understand the stupidity of the ongoing rocket campaign being waged by Palestinian terrorists, which has escalated in the lead in to Israel's 2012-2013 school year.
2012:An IDF soldier was critically injured during a joint exercise involving infantry units and armored corps in the Golan Heights this morning, according to the IDF Spokesman's Office. The soldier, from the IDF's Golani Brigade, received first aid treatment on the scene before being evacuated to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
2013: Tango Apassionata in Yiddish – A Night with Sharon Brauner is scheduled to take place at the Budapest Music Center.
2013: The Muzsikás Ensemble is scheduled to perform tonight as part of the Jewish Summer Festival in Budapest.
2013: With the US poised for military action in Syria and amid uncertainty as to how Damascus will react, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon made clear today that while Israel will not get involved, it will respond severely if attacked. (As reported by Herb Keinon)
2013: “The 5774 (2013-2014) school year formally opened today with over 2.13 million schoolchildren arriving in more than 4,500 schools nationwide for their first day of classes.” (As reported by Haviv Rettig Gur)
2014(1st of Elul, 5774): Rosh Chodesh Elul – the shofar is blown for the first time
2014: Dr. Eric Goldman is scheduled to present the final session of “Hollywood Zion: Israel Through the Lens of American Film Makers.”
2014: Noa Meir, Director of Israel Action Center & International Affairs for Jewish Community Relations is scheduled to speak at Shaare Tefila in Olney, MD on “Current Events and How to Advocate for Israel.”
2014: “An Israeli officer in the Golan Heights was moderately injured by apparent stray fire from fighting in Syria this morning, as an al-Qaeda linked rebel group took control of the only crossing between Israel and Syria.” (As reported by Spencer Ho)
2014: While Prime Minister Netanyahu’s supporters praised the most recent ceasefire, others including the Foreign Minister and residents of southern Israel questioned its value or condemned it as a failure because Hamas remained in power.
2014: Aaron Sofer, a New Jersey yeshiva student who disappeared while hiking in the Jerusalem Forest has not been found despite the offer of 100,000 shekel reward by his parents.
2015: “Prosecutors in Kansas rested their case today “in the murder trial of white supremacist” 74 year old Klu Klux Klan member Frazier Glenn Cross” “after playing a recorded call in which he expressed surprise the three people fatally shot outside two Jewish centers in suburban Kansas City, MO,last year were not Jewish.” (As reported by Kevin Murphy)
2015: Miri Ben-Ari, a Grammy Award-Winning sabra violinist/producer/humanitarian, “UN Goodwill Ambassador of Music to the United Nations Associations of Brazil”, and Global Brand Ambassador for Harman Kardon is scheduled to perform at the Highline Ballroom
2015: The historic Georgia Railroad Freight Depot is scheduled to host “Kosher Food & Wine Atlanta” during which Sandra Bank of A Kosher Touch Catering will be honored for her twenty years of service to the community.
2015: Friends and family of Murray Wolfe, led by his loving wife Charlene, prepare to say one last good bye as he his laid to rest in California.
2016: The International Al Jolson Society is scheduled to host “The 20thAnnual Long Island Jolson Festival” featuring a “A Tribute to Al Jolson.”
2016: At Temple Israel in Memphis, TN Michael Hirsch, son of Marci and Geoffrey Hirsch, will become bar mitzvah.,
2016: Agudas Achim Congregation which is now located in Coralville, IA, is scheduled to host its Centennial Celebration Dinner in Iowa City.
2016(23rdof Av, 5776): Shabbat Ekev;
2016(23rdof Av, 5776): Seventy-nine year old Jamie Davidovich who “helped create the Artists’ Television Network, which broadcast “The Live! Show” passed away today. (As reported by William Grimes)
2017(5thof Elul, 5777): Eighty-five year old Syd Silverman who had followed in the footsteps of Sime Silverman to become the editor of Variety passed away today.
2017: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Campus Confidential: How College Works, or Doesn’t for Professors, Parents and Students by Jacques Berlinerblau ,Galaxy Love: Poems by Gerald Stern, This Is Just A Test by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang and Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequalityby Jonah Winter.
2017(5thof Elul, 5777): One hundred and four year old ”Maj. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Pundak, a career military officer, civil servant and diplomat” passed away today
2017: As Hurricane Harvey ravaged Houston this weekend, The JCC of Houston which collected relief supplies would remain closed today and based on reports from the Texas Jewish Herald-Voice homes in heavily Jewish populated Houston subdivisions, including Meyerland, were reporting flooding this morning, for the third time in as many years.
2017: The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education a “special presentation with Romani Scholar Dr. Ian Hancock” styled “Romani Life: Then and Now.”
2017: The Federation of Greater Washington is scheduled to host “Grand Slam Sunday – Jewish Community Day Nationals Park.”
2017: “Our Great Tchaikovsky,” Hershey Felder’s latest one man show which challenged the actor’s ability to deal with the composer’s alleged anti-Semitism is scheduled to come to an end a the Hartford State in Hartford, CT
2017: The Red Sea Jazz Festival is scheduled to open at Eilat.
2017: The Kansas City Jewish Community is scheduled to host “Day of Discovery – Explore the Joy of Jewish Learning” in Overland Park, Kansas.
2017: As part of its centenary celebration Montreal’s Federation CJA to host “a big birthday party…that promises family fun.”
2017: “An exhibit at the Morgan Library and Museum called ‘Noah’s Beasts: Sculpted Animals from Ancient Mesopotamia” is scheduled to come to a close today.
2018: In Jerusalem, Mercaz Hatarbuyot is scheduled to host a “Tribute to Chopin” featuring award winning concert pianist Eliah Zabaly this evening.
2018: The American Sephardi Federation is scheduled to host a series of concerts starting at 3 p.m. featuring Sara Aroeste, Gerard Edery, Nashaz, Adam Maalouf and the Future of the Tribe and Steven Cehera at the Center for Jewish History.