April 26
121:
Birthdate of Marcus Aurelius the Roman Emperor who described the Jews as being
“stinking and tumultuous.”
1198:
Frederick I, Duke of Austria who employed a Jew named Schlom as his master of
the mint, passed away today.
1478:
The Pazzi attack Lorenzo de' Medici and killed his brother Giuliano during High
Mass in the Duomo of Florence. The Pazzi were rivals of the Medici family.
Lorenzo’s death was a setback for the Jewish community of Florence. The Pazzi’s big claim to fame was their
participation in the First Crusade. On the other hand Lorenzo de’ Medici had
defended the Jewish community from expulsions and from the aftermath of the
anti-Semitic sermons given by Bernardino da Feltre in which he whipped up the
masses into a violent frenzy by demonizing the Jews as the Christ Killers.
1575:
Francesco I de’Medici, the 2nd grand duke of Tuscany who “invited
Jewish merchants to settle in Livorno, granting them free residence, unlimited
access to trade and extensive self-government in this new Medicean free-port on
the Mediterranean” and Johanna Erzherzogin von Osterriech gave birth to Marie
de’Medici, queen consort of Henry IV of
France and the mother of King Louis XIII who “signed letters patent renewing
the expulsion order "against not only Jews but also those who profess and
practice Judaism."
1624:
Birthdate of Johannes Leusden, the native of Utrecht and a Professor Hebrew who
authored numerous text on the Hebrew language and “in 1660, together with the Amsterdam rabbi
and book printer Joseph Athias, published his Biblia Hebraica, the first
edition of the Hebrew Bible with numbered verses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Leusden#/media/File:LEUSDEN_JOHANN_1688_Sefer_Tehilim_Liber_Psalmorum_p5_A2_JEHOVA.png
1654:
The Jews were expelled from Brazil. The city of Recife had
been taken from the Dutch by the Portuguese. As a Dutch city, Recife
had been hospitable to the Jews. But Portugal meant the Inquisition,
forced conversion or exile. It was the Jews fleeing from Recife who
ended up in New Amsterdam later in 1654 and thus began what would become the
American Jewish Community. Professor Arnold Witzner, author of
“Jews In Colonial Brazil” the Jews could have remained in Brazil if they had
converted. They chose not to which meant
that “all openly professing Jews left Brazil” prior to this date. “A total of
16 ships transported the Jewish and Dutch colonists from Recife. Some claim as
many as 5,000 Jews left Recife at this time. Most of these Jews returned to
Holland; some relocated to colonies in the Caribbean. Twenty-three of the Jews
aboard one of these ships eventually arrived in New Amsterdam (New
Netherland/New York) on September 7, 1654. There are at least two versions of
the story of how these Jews came to settle in New Amsterdam. One version is
that the original ship was captured by pirates at one point. The Jews were subsequently
taken aboard the French ship the St. Charles, and this ship brought them to New
Amsterdam. According to Wiznitzer, there was no capture by pirates. Instead,
the Jews were driven by adverse winds to Spanish-held Jamaica. From there they
boarded the small French frigate, Sainte Catherine, which took them to New
Amsterdam.”
1655:
Today, “is charactered as ‘a most glorious one in the annals of Israel,’ for on
that day came a reply from Holland that after many consultations it had been
resolved and determined that the petitioners be granted leave to remain, upon condition,
however, that they provide for the poor among them, and that such unfortunates,
if any, be not a burden or charge upon others.”
https://www.rijha.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/RIJH-Notes-Volume-13.2-157-332.pdf
1655: The directors of the Dutch West India Co.
refused to grant permission to Governor Peter Stuyvesant to exclude Jews from
New Amsterdam. This put an end to official efforts to bar Jews from North
America. The Dutch West India Co. also specified that no restriction of trade
be imposed upon the Jewish settlers. Thus it guaranteed not only the physical
inviolability of the Jews but also their orderly economic development and
progress. The only condition contained in the directive provided that "the
poor among them shall be supported by their own nation." This gave further
impetus to the growth of Jewish philanthropy in the New World.
1695:
Isaac Levy, the husband of Bella Levy with whom he had three children passed
away today.
1706:
In Barbados, Abraham Burrows wrote his will today.
1721:
A massive earthquake devastates Tabriz. There are records of a Jewish community
in Tabriz dating back to the 12th century. The community must have
been large and culturally diverse since it included bath Rabbanites and
Karaites. In 1830, the Jews of Tabriz were massacred during a rise of Islamic
fervor that also included the forced conversions of the Jews in Shiraz and
Mashhad.
1737:
Without any warning, the King of Prussia ordered that the decree limiting the
number of Jewish families allowed to live in Berlin be enforced. According to a
document entitled “General privilege and regulations to be observed concerning
the Jews in his Majesty's dominions,” issued in 1730, the King had granted the
Jews the right to settle 120 families in the capital city. By 1737, the number
of Jewish families had risen to 180 and the king wanted these additional sixty
families to depart even if it meant a loss of tax revenue.
1742:
Today, Charlotte Farieres “was naturalized in New York City.”
1743:
In London, Sarah Nunes Navaro and Aaron Nunez Cardozo who were married in 1739,
gave birth to Rachel Nunez Cardozo
1753(22nd
of Nisan, 5513): Eighth Day of Pesach
1753:
As Jew munched on their matzah Justice of the Peace Thomas Winslow presided
over the marriage ceremony of Mayflower descendants Benjamin Small and Bridget
Eldredge.
1758(18th
of Nisan, 5518): Fourth Day of Pesach
1774(15th
of Iyar, 5534): Moses Lindo passed away. Born in England he moved to South
Carolina where he became a leading planter and merchant. “He did more than any
other individual to encourage and advance the indigo industry of the colony,
among the most important industries in South Carolina in prerevolutionary
times. His transactions were enormous, and in 1762 he was appointed
"Surveyor and Inspector-General of Indigo, Drugs, and Dyes," an
office he resigned in 1772.
1776:
In Norwalk, Ct. Joyce and Myer Myers who were married in 1767 gave birth to
Rebecca Mears-Myers, the wife of Philadelphia native Jacob Mordecai whom she
married in 1798 and with whom she had seven children.
1788:
Birthdate of future Ohio resident. Solomon Stix, the husband of Deborah Cohan
Stix and the father of Charles, Herman, Henry, Caroline, Aaron and Louis Stix.
1791(22nd
of Nisan,5551): Eighth Day of Pesach including Yizko.
1792(14th
of Iyar, 5724: Joseph ben Meir Teomim, the native of Galicia who served as a
rabbi in Lemberg and Frankfurt an der Order and whose works include “Pri Megadim (פרי מגדים), a
supercommentary on some of the major commentators on the Shulkhan Aruch passed
away today.”
1795:
In Savannah, GA, Shankey Hart and Abraham Jacobs gave birth to Maria Jacobs.
1796:
The Jews of Fossano escaped from a massacre which they commemorated by
celebrating the Purim of the Bomb
1808:
Birthdate of Jonathan-Raphaël Bischoffsheim, the native of Mainz, who was part
of the Bischoffsheim family and co-founder of the bank of Bischoffsheim &
Goldschmidt which played an important role in the financial world during “the
early years of Belgian independence.”
1810(22nd
of Nisan, 5570): Eighth Day of Pesach, Yizkor is recited on the day before
Beethoven competed composing “Fur Elise” a piece that Judy Levin Rosenstein
mastered in her youthful piano player years.
1812(14th
of Iyar, 5572): Pesach Sheni
1812:
“The ten members of the Committee of Separation signed a handwritten document.
It would be immediately designated simply as the “Act of Separation.”
https://jewish-history-online.net/source/jgo:source-30
1815:
Birthdate of Fredericia, Denmark native Henriette Nathansen, the
husband of Meyer Hartvig Meyer.
1817:
Joseph Freiherr von Sonnenfels the son of Perlin Lipman “who was baptized in
his early youth” and went on to become a leading “Austrian and German jurist
and novelist.”
1826(19th
of Nisan): Chaim (Hermann) Bloch, author of “Mavo ha-Talmud” passed away today
1826:
Birthdate of Edel Nathansen, the wife of Joel Isaac Cohn.
1826:
Birthdate of Civil War Veteran and early homesteader Daniel Freeman. Freeman was not Jewish. He was the successful plaintiff in one of the
first landmark cases that declared Bible reading and praying in public schools
were unconstitutional. Most of the
landmark cases involving separation of church and state were brought by
non-Jews.
1827:
One day after he had passed away “Tanhum bar Jacob Abraham” Was buried today at
the Canterbury Jewish Cemetery.”
1829:
French jurist and parliamentarian Pierre-Stanislas Bédard who opposed Ezekiel
Hart taking his seat in Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada because he did not
think Jew should sit in the legislature, passed away today.
1829:
Birthdate of Prussian-born Austrian surgeon Christian Albert Theodor Billroth
who in 1876 trigger a storm with his “criticism of what he considered the
disproportionately large share of Jewish medical students from Hungary and
Galicia. Billroth questioned the success of assimilation, arguing "that
the Jews are a sharply defined nation, and that no Jew, just like no Iranian,
Frenchman, or New Zealander, or an African can ever become a German; what they
call Jewish-Germans are simply nothing but Jews who happen to speak German and
happened to receive their education in Germany, even if they write literature
and think in the German language more beautifully and better than many a
genuine Germanic native. "Therefore [we should] neither expect nor want
the Jews ever to become true Germans in the sense that during national battles
they feel the way we Germans do."
1837(21st
of Nissan, 5597): Seventh Day of Pesach
1837(21st
of Nissan, 5597): Thirty-seven-year-old Kitty Etting the daughter of Rachel
Gratz and Solomon Etting, the wife of Benjamin I. Cohen with whom she had 11
children passed away today.
1839(12th
of Iyar, 5599): Alexander Schönfeld, the husband of Esther Schoenfeld with whom
he had three children – Lisette, Moses and Betty – passed away today in Lower
Saxony.
1843:
One day after he had passed away “Itzhak bar Meir” was buried today at the
“Brady Street Jewish Cemetery.”
1843:
Philip Marcus Leuw married Hannah Van Gelder today in Holland.
1845(19th of Nisan, 5605): Fifth Day of Pesach
and Shabbat observed for the first time during the Presidency of James K. Polk.
1846(30th of Nisan, 5606): Rosh
Chodesh Iyar celebrated as the United States clashes with Mexican forces in
what was the prelude to the Mexican American War.
1850(14th
of Iyar, 5610): Pesach Sheni
1850(14th
of Iyar, 5610): Sixty-nine-year-old, Leo Wolf, who was one of the founders of
the “Temple’ (reform) in Hamburg passed away today.
1853:
Following a recent vote by the First Prussian Chamber to exclude Jews from
public employment, today, thousands of Prussian citizens including Alexander
Von Humboldt, presented petitions to the Second Chamber urging it to reject the
action of the First Chamber and adopt legislation allowing Jews to hold “civil
offices” and allowing everybody full freedom of religious opinion.
1854:
Albert E. Hertz and Maria S. Solana, daughter of Mathew Solana were married
today in St. Augustine, FL.
1856:
In Mannheim, Germany, Lazarus and Babette Morgenthau gave birth to Henry
Morgenthau, Sr. the American lawyer and businessman who was best known as
America’s Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambassador_Morgenthau%27s_Story
1856:
In Philadelphia, sixteen German boys have been charged with savagely beating a
boy named Bernadotte Glischman. After
attacking him a barroom, they took the boy to his room where they stuck him
with pins and covered his face with a pillow so he could not cry out. According to the boy, he was attacked because
he was Jewish and the other boys were Catholics who wanted to punish him
because the Jews crucified Christ. The
boys were being held with bail being set at $250 for 15 of them and $800 for
the remaining defendant.
1857:
“The original Broadway Tabernacle” which was replaced by a new building
designed by Leopold Eidlitz “was opened for the last time for “Divine Service”
today.
1857:
Birthdate of Dayton, Ohio native Louis D. Beaumont who with “his two brothers
joined with David May, their brother-in-law, in the 1880s to form the May Shoe
and Clothing Company, which became the predecessor to May Department Stores.”
1859:
Odo William Leopold Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill, a British diplomat serving in
Italy, wrote to Sir Moses Montefiore describing the progress he has made in
attempt to present a petition to the Pope concerning the kidnapping of Edgaro
Martoro
1860:
Seventy-year-old Friedrich Wilhelm Carl Umbreit the “Protestant theologian and
Hebrew Bible scholar” whose works included translations and commentaries on Job
and Proverbs and “a four-volume exegetical work on the prophets of the Old
Testament” passed away.
1860:
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (originally named 2nd Battalion, Volunteer
Militia Rifles of Canada) whose most famous Jewish member may have Benjamin
“Ben” Dunkelman who led them ashore at Normandy and later turned down the
opportunity to command the unit, was formed today.
1860:
As of 6 o’clock this evening the body of the unknown man, who was supposed to
have committed suicide by shooting himself at Weehawken, NJ, had not been
identified. For reasons that have not been disclosed, authorities believe him
to be a German Jew from New York.
1861: The
Jewish Messenger publishes the following editorial entitled “Stand by the
Flag” which demonstrates the patriotic, pro-Union beliefs held by a majority of
Jews living in the United States.
“It is almost a work of
supererogation for us to call upon our readers to be loyal to the Union, which
protects them. It is needless for us to say anything to induce them to proclaim
their devotion to the land in which they live. But we desire our voice, too, to
be heard at this time, joining in the hearty and spontaneous shout ascending
from the whole American people, to stand by the stars and stripes!
“Already we hear of
many of our young friends taking up arms in defense of their country, pledging
themselves to assist in maintaining inviolate its integrity, and ready to
respond, if need be, with their lives, to the call of the constituted
authorities, in the cause of law and order.
The time is past for
forbearance and temporizing. We are now to act, and sure we are, that those
whom these words may reach, will not be backward in realizing the duty that is
incumbent upon them—to rally as one man for the Union and the Constitution. The
Union—which binds together, by so many sacred ties, millions of free men—which
extends its hearty invitation to the oppressed of all nations, to come and be
sheltered beneath its protecting wings—shall it be severed, destroyed, or even
impaired? Shall those, whom we once called our brethren, be permitted to
overthrow the fabric reared by the noble patriots of the revolution, and
cemented with their blood?
And the
Constitution—guaranteeing to all, the free exercise of their religious
opinions—extending to all, liberty, justice, and equality—the pride of
Americans, the admiration of the world—shall that Constitution be subverted,
and anarchy usurp the place of a sound, safe and stable government, deriving
its authority from the consent of the American People?
“The voice of millions
yet unborn, cried out, 'Forbid it, Heaven!' The voice of the American people
declares in tones not to be misunderstood: `It shall not be!'
“Then stand by the
Flag! What death can be as glorious as that of the patriot, surrendering his
life in defense of his country—pouring forth his blood on the battlefield—to
live forever in the hearts of a grateful people. Whether native or foreign
born, Gentile or Israelite, stand by it, and you are doing your duty, and
acting well your part on the side of liberty and justice!
“We know full well that
our young men, who have left their homes to respond to the call of their
country, will, on their return, render a good account of themselves. We have no
fears for their bravery and patriotism. Our prayers are with them. G-d speed them
on the work which they have volunteered to perform!
“And if they fall—if,
fighting in defense of that flag, they meet a glorious and honorable death,
their last moments will be cheered by the consciousness that they have done
their duty, and grateful America will not forget her sons, who have yielded up
their spirit in her behalf.
And as for us, who do
not accompany them on their noble journey, our duty too, is plain. We are to
pray to Heaven that He may restore them soon again to our midst, after having
assisted in vindicating the honor and integrity of the flag they have sworn to
defend; and we are to pledge ourselves to assume for them, should they fall in
their country's cause, the obligation of supporting those whom their departure
leaves unprotected. Such is our duty. Let them, and all of us, renew our solemn
oath that, whatever may betide, we will be true to the Union and the
Constitution, and STAND BY THE
FLAG.”
1862: Colonel George Henry Grey and Harriet Jane Pearson gave birth
to the long serving Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Sir Edward Grey who in 1914 when asked
by MP Herbert Samuel “about a homeland for the Jewish people” replied “that the
idea had always had a strong sentimental appeal to him and he would be prepared
to work for if the opportunity arose”
1864(20th of
Nisan, 5624): Sixth Day of Pesach
1864: As the Jews munched
on their matzah today Admiral David Porter’s fleet which had been trapped by in
the low level of the river” was badly damaged by Confederate guns after it had
rescued the forces of the incompetent General Banks during the ill-fated Red
River Campaign.
1865(30th of
Nisan, 5625): Rosh Chodesh Iyar
1865: Seventeen-year-old
Henry Schneeberger, a student at Columbia was invited to deliver his first
sermon at Rodeph Shalom in New York. His
discourse provoked a resounding round of approval from the congregants. (This
may be an incorrect date since a source claims that this sermon was delivered
on the second day of Pesach which fell on April 12)
1865:
Reuters, the news service created by Paul Julius Reuter, brought news of
President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in the United States to the European
public, making it the first news service to provide the information to those on
the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean.
1865:
Edward Storm, a resident of Greenville, MS, was discharged from the Confederate
Army having served in Company D of the 28th Mississippi Cavalry.
1868:
Today’s European Affairs column reported that
“Thirty-one radical members of the Rumanian House have proposed the most
Draconic laws against theJews, which, if put into effect, would result in an
absolute expulsion of the unfortunate Hebrews.
England, Prussia and other Governments havemade the most energetic
protests agains such foolish measures, and the cry of indignation thoughout
Europe has already had so much effect as to cause of the signers of the bill to
withdraw their signatures from it.”
1869:
Public school teachers and “scholars” living in and around New York City have
reportedly been swindled by “an individual calling himself a converted Jew” and
“a long-time resident of Palestine. He promises to take their photographs, asks
that he be paid in advance and promises to return with the pictures “in a day
or two” Needless to say, he has not been
returning with the pictures
1867(21st
of Nisan, 5627) Seventh Day of Pesach
1867:
As Jews munched on their Matzah, visitors continue to attend the second World’s
Fair which had opened on the first of the month.
1871:
It was reported today that Jacob Cohen is the publisher of a new Jewish
newspaper, The Hebrew News. The
paper will be published weekly in Hebrew and English.
1874:
Birthdate of New York City native and author Nathan L. Ottinger, a director of
the Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
1875(21st
of Nisan, 5635) Seventh Day of Pesach
1875(21st
of Nisan, 5635): Seventy-two-year-old Jamaica native Asher Isaacs, the fifth
born son of Solomon Isaacs and husband Marylebone, England native Charlotte
Jane Thornthwaite
Passed
away today in England.
1876:
Judge McAdams officiated at the wedding of Marion W. Dibble and Eliza Emma
Ottolengui both of whom live in Charleston, SC.
1878(23rd
of Nisan): Orthodox Rabbi David Duetsch of Budapest, author of “Goren David”
passed away today.
1879:
Isaac Samuel Isaacs, the New York born son of Jane Symmons and Rabbi Samuel Meyer
Isaacs and his wife Estelle Isaacs gave birth to Isabelle Estelle Levy, the
wife of Edgar A. Levy and the other of Julien Sampson Levy; Edgar I. Levy and
Elizabeth Ann Woolf,
1880:
Birthdate of Vinnytsia native and composer Oscar Potoker who after coming to
the United States created several movie scores and became a close friend of
fellow composer Josiah Zuro with whom he was riding when the latter died in a
fatal automobile accident.
1880:
A letter from St. Petersburg that was first published in the London Times takes
issue with the contention that the Jews dominate the Nihilist and revolutionary
movements in Russia.
1881:
Pogroms spreading across the Ukraine, reached Kiev.
1882:
Rabbi David Levy officiated at the wedding of Louis L. Cohen of Atlanta, GA and
Hortense Solomons which took place at the residence of her father, S.S.
Solomons.
1882:
It was reported that the “poorer Jews” in Odessa, Russia, are marrying at the
rate of 150 couples per day. There is a
belief that if they are married, they will be given free land in either the
United States or Palestine.
1883(19th
of Nisan, 5643): Sixty-year-old author and philosopher Samuel Alexander Byk
passed away today in Leipzig.
1883:
The Brooklyn Eagle reported today that after two previous failures Baith
Israel, Beth Elohim, and Temple Israel, Brooklyn's three leading synagogues,
tried to merge for a third time.
1883(19th
of Nisan, 5643): Rabbi Solomon Reimann was crushed to death tonight when he
attempted to jump from a ferry on to the dock.
The distance was only three feet, but no reason was given as to why he
attempted the jump in the first place. He leaves behind a widow and four adult children.
1884(1st
of Iyar, 5644): Rosh Chodesh Iyar
1884:
A motion to grant convicted killer Edward Brice was denied today in Washington,
DC. The motion was based on the grounds
“that one of the jurors” who was Jewish took the oath on a Christian Bible
instead of on the Five Books of Moses.
The judge said that the objection should have been raised at the time of
the swearing in and refused to consider it.
1885:
Phoenix, AZ suffers one of its worst fires during Emil Ganz’s first term as the
city’s mayor. Among the buildings burnt
was the Bank Exchange Hotel which was owned by native of Germany who come to
Phoenix by way of Georgia.
1885:
The new facility of the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum “which had cost about
$20,000 was occupied and in operation when the seventh annual meeting took
place” today where it was reported the facility was not caring for 29 boys and
17 girls.
1885:”
Archaeological Frauds In Palestine,” published today recounts the various sales
of an inscription written in Greek that had supposedly been found in “an old
Arab house near the Mosque of Omar.” The
inscription that read “Let no foreigner pass within the precincts of the
temple. Anyone found so doing will be
guilty of his own death.” Those who sold
the relic claimed that it was a sign posted in the precincts of Herod’s Temple.
1886(21st
of Nisan, 5646): Seventh Day of Pesach
1887:
“Eliot and Beatrice de Pass of Kensington, London,” gave birth to Frank
Alexander de Pass who as “a Lieutenant in the 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own
Poona Horse” became the first Jew and the first officer of the Indian Army to
receive the Victoria Cross which was awarded posthumously for his bravery in
the trenches in France on November 24, 1914.
1887:
Birthdate of Russian born American clothing merchant Samuel Krasnick and husband of Jennie Paykel
Krasnick who in 1906 moved to Sheboygan, WI where he was the organizer of a
B’nai B’rith chapter and a Federation of Jewish Charities.
1888:
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, five Jews from two different synagogues faced a
preliminary hearing on charges that they were leading a boycott of a Jewish
butcher named Jacob Weisfeld. Weisfeld
claimed that the two congregations were boycotting his business because he
refused to pay a tax of one half a cent per pound of meat sold to the rabbis.
Weisfeld claimed that his refusal led to a whispering campaign that claimed his
meat was not kosher. The defense tried to prove that Weisfeld was in fact,
guilty of not slaughtering his meat in a kosher fashion.
1889:
Birthdate of Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein, an Austrian born professor of
philosophy at Cambridge University.
Wittgenstein was not Jewish, but his family was up until the beginning
of the 19th Century when the road to wealth and social acceptability
was opened to those who would trade the Magen David for the Sign of the Cross.
1889:
The Coroner’s Inquest that is trying to determine the cause of death a young
Jewish boy named Tobias Hipper entered into its second day. Dr. Stern and Deputy Coroner Jenkins have
already testified as to the manner of death and two other witnesses have
identified a couple of neighborhood boys as the culprits.
1890:
Henry Rice, President of the United Hebrew Charities, testified before the
sub-committee of the Joint Congressional Committee on Immigration.
1891:
In NYC, “David and Netta (Donner) Bloch” gave birth to Maurice Bloch the NYU
trained attorney and New York State Assemblyman who voted against ousting the
Socialist members who had been elected in 1920, served as a trustee of Park
Avenue Synagogue and who was the husband of the former Madeline Neuberger.
1891:
“Sir Pertinax Macpsycophant” published today provides a review of Charles
Macklin by Edward Abbott Parry, a biography of the 18th century
actor whose signature role was his portrayal of Shylock done in such a
unique manner that when “King George II
saw the production” he “was so moved he could not fall asleep that night.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Macklin
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F20714FA3D5E10738DDDAF0A94DC405B8185F0D3
1892:
Manchester native Nellie Joel and London native Solomon Barnatro Joel gave
birth to Lt. Woolf Joel.
1893:
Abraham E. Pumpiansky, the rabbi at Riga, passed away today.
1893:
Birthdate of New York native Hyman Kaplan “executive director, Federation of
Jewish Charities, San Francisco” who in May of 1934 attended “the 13th
annual conference of the California Committee of Personal…at Temple Beth
Israel.
1893:
It was reported today the Prussian Supreme Court has declared “that to exclude
Jews, qua Jews, from a Freemasons’ Lodge would be a violation of the Prussian
Constitution. The case stemmed from the decision of a newly formed lodge of
Freemasons to admit Jews which had been objected to other lodges that did not
admit Jews because the “anti-Semitic members” did not want “to fraternize with
Jews.”
1893:
Birthdate of economist and author Abraham David Hannath Kaplan, the holder of
Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins who was a department head at the University of Denver
before joining the Brookings Institute
while raising two children – Stephen and Nancy – with his wife Bella.
1894(20th
of Nisan, 5654): Sixth Day of Pesach
1894:
In Russia, “Nicholas and Fannie (Silver) Ehrlich” gave birth to Columbia
educated physician David Ernest Ehrlich, the roentgenologist who raised his
daughter Frances with his wife “Emma Grace Smith.”
1894:
Rockford, Illinois native and Sears, Roebuck executive Albert Henry Loeb
married Anna Bohnen today
1895:
Mayor Strong held hearings on the Hebrew Benevolent Home Bill which has already
been passed by both branches of the Legislature.
1895:
In Hungary, “Kaufmanny Joseph Lengyel and his wife, the former Johanna Adam”
gave birth to Hungarian-American journalist, author and college professor Emil
Lengyel, who, in the 1930’s was one of the first to trace Hitler’s rise to
power and to write the Civil War in Siberia while a raising a son Peter with
his wife, “the former Livia Delej.”
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/archival/collections/ldpd_4078360/
1896:
In South Bend, Indiana, “Louis Stein, a dry goods store owner, and Rosa Cohen
(née Kahanaski) gave birth to Jules Stein, an ophthalmologist by training who
was also the founder of MCA which became the leading talent agency in the
United States. Stein joined forces with another Jew name Lou
Wasserman to create the Universal entertainment empire. Stein used his
fortune for humanitarian purposes primarily in the field of research and
treatment related to the eye. He passed away in 1981 leaving behind such
legacies as the National Eye Institute and the Jules Stein Eye Institute at
UCLA.
1896:
It was reported today that Great Britain has “a national concern” as a result
of the death of Baron de Hirsch’s death. The Baron had large investments in
England and the death duties owed on these properties would “yield enough
revenue to build three or four new” battleships which would help the UK in its
naval race with Germany. However, the
Baron is an Austrian and the will will be probated in Vienna. The fear is that
this will make it difficult if not impossible for the British to collect any
taxes on the estate.
1896:
A betrothal reception for Lucien L. Bonheur and Amelia Simon was held today at
the home of Miss Simon’s parents on East 56th Street.
1896:
David Wolffsohn visited Herzl and offers his cooperation. Wolffsohn had been a
supporter of groups seeking to establish a Jewish homeland in Eretz
Israel. Wolfffsohn provided Herzl with
an entree into the German Hovevei Zion, Lover’s of Zion, organizations.
1896:
In the report of the Committee on the Hebrew Technical Institute which was
presented at the meeting of Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum Society the
necessity of creating a fund to provide assistance for the boys who were
graduating but who had not started working was called to the trustees’
attention.
1897:
According to a report by Superintendent Herman Baar published today, the Hebrew
Benevolent and Orphan Asylum is caring for 823 children. Of these, 350 children attended Grammar
School No. 43 while the balance attended classes at the asylum.
1898:
In Romania, Sara and Israel Freedman gave birth to radio gag writer David
Freedman and author whose bestselling biography of Eddie Cantor was nominated
for a Pulitzer Prize.
1898:
Richmond, VA native and West Point graduate Otho B. Rosenbaum was promoted from
the rank of 2nd Lt. in the Seventh Infantry to the rank of 1st
Lt.
1898:
Max Nordeau delivered a speech on "Die
Gegner des Zionismus" in Berlin today.
1899:
In New York City, Philip and Kate (Weiss) Fuchs gave birth to violinist Josef
Fuchs, who served as “concertmaster of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra and
lead of the Cleveland String Quartet.”
1899:
The list of the Board of Directors for the Society of Aid of Jewish Prisoners
published today included “Jacob H. Schiff, William N. Cohen, Jacob A. Cantor,
Samuel B. Hamburger, Dr. Joseph Wiener, A.S. Solomons, E. W. Bloomingdale and
the Reverends Davidson and Harris.
1900:
“Charles Frohman’s London comedians” continued their engagement at the Lyceum
Theatre in New York.
1901:
The Boston Globe reported today that Massachusetts State Legislature had
rejected Samuel Hyman Borfosky bill exempting “persons observing the seventh
day of the week as the Sabbath from any penalty for keeping shops open or for
performing secular business and labor on the first day of the week” which in
the days of Sunday Closing Laws would have meant that Jews could close on their
Shabbat and not lose a day’s business since they would be open on Sunday.
1901:
In Richmond, VA, Jacob Levy Ezekiel and Rachel Brill Ezekiel gave birth to American
phytopathologist, mycologist and microbiologist Dr. Walter Naphtali Ezekiel,
the husband of Sarah Ritzen Ezekiel and father of Herbert Mordecai Ezekiel.
1902:
Birthdate of painter Isaac Soyer, the native of New York whose older twin
brothers Moses and Raphael Soyer were also painters.
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/16/obituaries/isaac-soyer-a-painter-of-the-american-scene.html
1903:
Herzl has a meeting with representatives of the I.A.C. in Paris who had read
the report about the expedition to the Sinai Peninsula. The I.A.C. is the
Jewish Colonization Association which was funded by Baron de Hirsch. The I.A.C.
was established to set up agricultural settlements in places like Argentina,
Brazil, Canada and the United States.
The settlements were supposed to provide places of refuge for Romanian
and Russian Jews. Herzl sought enlist I.A.C. support for the establishment of
agricultural colonies in the Sinai which would be a stepping stone to a Jewish
home in Eretz Israel.
1903:
The building of the Jewish Theological Seminary at West 123rd Street
which had been funded by Jacob Schiff “was erected” today.
1903:
According to an article in today’s edition of the New York Daily Tribune, “the gang that would become the Eastman
Gang (named for Monk Eastman, the turn-of the-century gangster who was its
leader) “first came on the scene in the early 1890s. They started out in the
notorious Corlear's Hook section of the lower east side on Rivington Street in
the vicinity of Mangin and Goerck streets. Another gang of the era, the
Short-Tail Gang, had its headquarters in this same area, making it entirely
possible that the Eastmans grew out of the Short-Tails. Originally composed of
gentiles from the local slums, the gang quickly became almost exclusively
Jewish with the influx of Jewish immigrants into lower Manhattan and nearby
Brooklyn. When Monk Eastman himself entered the gang is unknown, but the fact
that several newspaper articles refer to him as hailing from Corlear's Hook
indicates that it was probably during this early era”.
1904:
Birthdate of Marion Elkus Kohlman who would be buried at the Springhill Avenue
Temple Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama when she passed away at the age of fifty.
1904:
Solomon Barnato Joel and his wife the former Ellen “Nellie” Ridle gave birth to
Conservative Party MP and horse racing aficionado Dudley Jack Barnato Joel, the
husband of Esme Oldham who “was killed in action 1941” while serving as a
member of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve aboard the steam merchant ship
Registan.
1904:
In Little Rock, AR, “Ephraim and Sadie Cohn Eichenbaum” gave birth to
Washington University trained architect, the partner of Frank Erhart and
husband of Helen Marion Levin who was a member of Congregation B’nai Israel,
the Little Rock Reform congregation that traces its origins to the years before
the Civil War.
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=7030
1905(21st
of Nisan, 5665): Seventh of Pesach
1905:
Birthdate of Charles Kenneth Gould who gained fame as talent agent and producer
Charles K. Feldman.
1906(1st
of Iyar, 5666): Rosh Chodesh Iyar
1906:
Mayer Sulzberger, Oscar S. Straus, Cyrus L. Sulzberger, Adolphus Solomons
Herman Rosenthal, Dr. Herbert Friedenwald, Rabbi Goodman Lipkind and Bernard G.
Richards attended a meeting tonight that launched “The Jewish Territorialist
movement for the establishment of an autonomous Jewish settlement under a free
government’ either in Palestine or some other location, in the United States
that supports the work of English Zionist, Israel Zangwill.
1906:
Birthdate of Dashev, Russia born American labor
leader Israel Broslow who in the early 1930’s came to the United States where he
was an active member of the ILGWU and the Workmen’s Circle.
1907:
The funeral for Bavarian born, New York Businessman Nathan Necarsulmer who for
“twenty years was a Trustee of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum and was a member of the
School Committee of Temple Beth El is scheduled to take place this morning.
1907:
Birthdate of New York native and decorated NYPD Davis Wahl, the winner of the
Medal of Valor and father of two daughters – Patricia and Sandra – whom he
raised with his wife Kathryn.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/01/10/77317204.pdf
1907:
Klauber, Horn and Company, of which Samuel David Klauber was partner was
dissolved today.
1908:
“400 Boys Drill Like Veterans” published today described how “four hundred boys
between the ages of 10 and 13 from the Hebrew Orphan Asylum proved themselves
able to compete with regular soldiers in parade maneuvers…at the Seventh
Regiment Armory” thanks to the efforts of Lionel J. Simmons, the Assistant
Superintendent at the orphanage who had served as their drillmaster.
1908:
Tonight’s concert for the benefit of the United Hebrew Charities held at the
Metropolitan Opera
House
actually produced a deficit of $1,400 despite the appearance of several
“prominent artists.
1909:
Prominent Chicago Jews have endorsed the stand taken by Senator Guggenheim of
Colorado who demands that the Immigration Commission cease to classify Jews as
a race” because as Lessing Rosenthal said, “The Jew is a native of the country
in which he is born” and “each has the well-known characteristics of the
country from which hails” which “are so different that there not anything left
which might be called a Jewish race.”
1909:
“Million No Forfeit Yet” reported that the one million dollars which Louis
Heinsheimer, a member of Kuhn, Loeb had “left to certain Herbrw charities on
condition that they should federate had reverted to his brother Alfred
Heinsheimer, in consequence of the failure of these societies to reach an
agreement.
1910:
It was reported today that with the building of the Lexington Avenue Subway
line congregants will have “easy access” to several houses of worship including
Temple Beth El and Congregation Rodolph Sholom.
1911:
Birthdate of New York native Leonard Pines creator of Hebrew National, the
brand that changed the face of cold cuts for American Jewry.
1912:
Anglo-Jewish boxer Mathew “Matt” Wells lost a bout to Packey McFarland at
Madison Square Garden.
1912:
In New Zealand, Arthur Myers received “the portfolios of Finance, Defense and
Railways.”
1913(19th
of Nisan, 5673): Fifth Day of Pesach; Shabbat
1913(19th
of Nisan, 5673): Eighty-one-year-old Rabbi Moses Trager passed away in London.
1913:
It was reported today that “Benjamin Alexander has been elected Secretary of
the Jewish Publication Society of America succeeding the late Dr. Lewis W.
Steinbach who held this office for many years.
1913:
Mary Phagan comes to the pencil factory where she is given her pay for the week
by Leo Frank. According to the testimony
in the trial, Leo Frank was the last person to see Mary Phagan alive.
1913:
It was reported today that in Cleveland the Hebrew Orthodox Hospital Alliance
now has 2,000 members and has already raised $10,000 which will be used to
build a “strictly Jewish hospital in the only diet will be kosher.”
1914:
“Liberal Judaism here and abroad is gaining ground, according to Dr. Maurice H.
Harris, President of the Eastern Council of Reformed Rabbis, which opened its
Fifth Assembly tonight at Temple Emanu-El, Fifth Avenue and Forty-Third Street.
He said that an international propaganda for Liberal Judaism had been started
and that a conference on the plan and scope of the movement probably would be
arranged in Europe in 1916.”
1914:
Rabbi Samuel L. Levinson officiated at the dedication of the new synagogue of
Temple Beth Emeth, the second such building to be built in Brooklyn. Dr. Stephen Wise, the rabbi of the Free
Synagogue addressed the crowd who had come to the building which cost $40,000.
1914:
Birthdate of Lillian Rolfe, a courageous member of the Marquis who was murdered
by the Nazis at Ravensburck concentration camp.
1914:
Today, “Dr. Samuel Buchler, the rabbi of the New People’s Synagogue of the
Hebrew Education Alliance urged Jews to war” if the United States should become
a participant in the World War.
1914: Birthdate of author and Pulitzer Prize
winner, Bernard Malamud. While many think of him as a Jewish writer, one
of his biggest hits, which Robert Redford later turned into a hit movie was The
Natural - a book about baseball that has no Jewish characters.
Malamud passed away in 1986.
1915:
The Zion Mule Corps prepared for it landing at Cape Helles which was scheduled
to being tomoow.
1915: As a corporal in the 1st Battalion, The
Manchester Regiment, Issy Smith was engaged in the Second Battle of Ypres.
Today, Smith, on his own initiative, recovered wounded soldiers while exposed
to sustained fire and attended to them "with the greatest devotion to duty
regardless of personal risk". In
August, 1915, Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross for his brave behavior.
1916:
The annual convention of the Order of B’nai Zion is scheduled to meet for the
second and final day of its annual convention in Baltimore, MD.
1916(23rd
of Nisan, 5676): On the day after Pesach, seventy year old Elchanan (Henry)
Harkavy, the Russian born “son of R'
Yosef-Moshe Moses Harkavy and Tzirl Epshtein who married Dvora Vishnevski after
his first wife Feiga Yalonsky had passed away died today in New York Cityhttps://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/04/29/100205509.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1916:
On behalf of the “Kehillah of New York City” Dr. J.L Magnes wrote to Dr.
Nachman Heller expressing regarded that “there is no position for him in the
Bureau of Education” but that he was still enclosing “a check for $5 as a
contribution toward the printing fund of your new book.”
1916:
Dr. Stephen Wise of the Free Synagogue wrote to Rabbi Nachman Heller expressing
his regret that he could not grant him a loan “from our Social Service
Department” towards the printing of his brook for which he was enclosing a
check for five dollars as personal loan to help with the project
1917:
It was reported that as of today “no Jew has had the right to officer’s rank”
but that “in June over 2,000 Jews will be promoted to Lieutenants.”
1917:
The text of a telegram from Louis Marshall, Henry Morgenthau, Jacob H. Schiff,
Oscar Straus and Julius Rosenwald of the American Jewish Committee to the new
Russian government which was “made public by the State Department today
expresses the alarm felt by American Jews over reports that Russia might make a
separate peace.”
1917:
Dr. Schmarya Levin, formerly a member of the Russian Duma, told “an
enthusiastic gathering of Zionists” tonight at Cooper Union who were meeting
under the auspices of the Poale-Zion that “a Jewish homeland in Palestine was
inevitable in view of recent world developments.”
1917:
At this afternoon’s meeting “of the Women’s Proclamation Committee, the
national Jewish women’s organization for war relief” Rabbi Stephen S. Wise
“told of the sufferings of Jews on the eastern front” and Mrs. Samuel Elkeles,
the Chairman of the Committee said that in the last year the group “had
contributed $10,000 to the Joint Distribution Committee.
1917:
In response to “President Wilson’s reported intention to aid the aid project
for a Jewish republic in Palestine” in Berlin the Zeitung am Mittag that while
“this scheme is intended to impress pious American Jews” “it only proves that
that certain insidious imperialistic British purposes are to covered with
Wilson’s noble ideals of the independence of nations.”
1917(4th
of Iyar, 5677): Thirty-nine-year Herman Shaw, the Camden Town born son of
Michel and Fredericka Schwabacher of German, a Lieutenant in the Royal
Engineers “die of his wounds in France” today, eight months and two days short
of his 40th birthday.
1917:
“Dispatches from Petrograd received” today “by the Jewish Daily Forward” in New
York City “tell of the proposal of the new Russian government to bring to trial
Minister of Justice Shtcheglovitoff who
was instrumental in prosecuting Mendel Bellis, the shoemaker of Kiev, whose
trial on the charge that he participated in a ritual murder horrified the
world.”
1917:
As thousands of Jews fight for the Kaiser, “The Deutschvölkische Blätter,
official publication of the anti-Semitic Deutschvölkische Partei (DVP),
announced that it's time to declare war on Jews openly because of the Jewish
opposition to World War I. Ferdinand Werner, chairman of the Deutschvölkische
Partei spoke to the Reichstag and demanded that the government pass laws
"against the Jewish race, which agitates for strikes and raises the price
of food." (Yes, this 26 years before Hitler came to power)
1918:
Three Jews were elected as members of the fifty-two-member
State
Council in Warsaw.
1918:
Leone Ravenna was appointed grand officer of the Crown of Italy.
1918:
It was reported today that the London Jewish Chronicle has learned “that the
Union of Polish Rabbis has decided to send three delegates to the conference of
the Agudath Yisrael branch at Frankfort” where they will make a case for
complete emancipation of the Jews in Poland.
1918:
Birthdate of Miriam Shinezon, the native of Vitebsk, Russia who gained fame as
“Miriam Ben-Porat, the first woman to serve as a
Justice on Israel’s Supreme Court…” (As reported by Isabel Kershner)
1918: In Sofia, Bulgaria the premiere praised “the patriotism
of Jews and pledged his government as an ally of the Jewish cause in the
negotiations with Roumania.”
1919: It was reported today that “the Jewish Welfar Board has
received a letter from Action Secretary of the Naty Franklin D. Roosevelt
expsssing the government’s thanks for welfar servce rendered to soldiers during
the war.”
1920: Birthdate of Oga Zatorsky, the thrid and last wife of
Joseoph H. Hirshorn with whom she played a roled as a patron of the arts and
art museums.
1920: The San Remo Conference, where delegates had reaffirmed
the Balfour Declaration and incorporated it in to the terms of the Mandate over
Palestine and where Arabs and Zionists held cordial meetins came to an end
today.
1920: Julus J. Dukac, the Acting Chariman of the Central
Committee sent a letter to the Directors of the Central Committee for the
Relief of Jews Suffering Through the War asking them to attend a dinner
meeeting at the Broadway Central Hotel, where among other things, they will a
report from Rabbi Ephraim on the conditions of the Jews in Poland.
1921(18th of Pesach, 5681): Fourth Day of Pesach
1921: “With the announcement by Israel Sachs, President of
the Beth David Hospital, that the building fund of $179,000 was lacking nearly
$140,000, an urgent appeal for funds was made at the eighth annual meeting of
the instituintion in the McAlpin tonight.”
1921: “Just Married” staring Anton Ascher as the “taxi drive”
opened on Broadway toay at the Comedy Theatre.
1922(28th of Nisan, 5682): John Simon Guggenheim
the son Olga Hirsch Guggenheim and Simon Guggenheim the U.S. Senator from
Colorado and president of the American Smelting Refining Company passed away today
after which he parents established The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial
Foundation which “awards Guggenheim Fellowships to professionals who have
demonstrated exceptional ability by publishing a significant body of work in
the fields of natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the creative
arts, excluding the performing arts.”
1922: In Hartford, CT, Russian Jewish immigrants Sophia and
Samuel Kellin gave birth to Myron Kellin who gained fame as actor Mike Kellin
who “made his Broadway debut in 1949 in ‘At War with the Army.’”
1922: Di Tsayt, a Yiddish language daily founded in 1920 that was the “house paper” for the “Labor
Zioinist Paole Zion” movement which employed David Pinski as editor “was closed
down today” signaling a loss of power and prestige for its parent organization.
1923: It was reported today that rabbi Schneersohn, Rabbi
Barishansky and other prominent Jewish clegrymen in the town of Gomel…are to be
placed on trial for assuming “the prerogativees of State courts” in advising
Jewish litigants to have recourse in Jewish ritual courts o law, according to
annuouncement made by Chief Justice Druginsky.
1924(22nd of Nisan, 5684): Eighth Day of Pesach
and Shabbat
1924(22nd of Nisan, 5684): Eighty-one year old Moritz Walter the native of Bavaria who was the son of Nathan and Rosa Walter passed away in San Francisco.
1925:
The New York Times featured a review of “My Portion: An Autobiography” by
Rebekah Kohut with an Introduction written by Henrietta Szold. According to the
review, the book describes “Kohut's Life Story of Social Service” and should
appeal to both Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike.
1925:
The Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Edna Ferber for So Big. This Jewish author became famous for her
sweeping novels that portrayed American history. Showboat and Giant
are two of her literary hits that went on to become cinematic successes.
1926:
In New York, Esther Garfunkel and Benjamin Gottesman gave birth to businessman
and billionaire David Sanford “Sandy” Gottesman, the brother of Milton and
Alice Gottesman and the nephew of Samuel Gottesman who has been married to his
wife for over sixty years.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/10/billionaires-2010_David-Gottesman_YFTR.html
http://www.forbes.com/profile/david-gottesman/
1926:
In Bulgaria , Shabbat and Leah gave birth to Aharoni Yaakov the Lehi solider
known as Yoram and husband of Rina “Sarah” Blustein with whom had two sons –
Dov and Yofer – who was captured and imprisoned by the British when made Aliya
in 1941 aboard the “Dorian” and during
the War for Independence IDF, joined the 8th Battalion’s 89th Brigade, as
first lieutenant and went on to fight in the Sinai Campaign the Six Days War
and the Yom Kippur where he reached the rank of major.
https://lehi.org.il/en/aharoni-yaacov/
1927:
Birthdate of Avi Livney, the New York native and WW II U.S. Navy veteran who
served aboard the President Warfield, which sailed under the name of the Exodus
carrying Jewish refugees to Palestine.
http://www.machal.org.il/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=292&Itemid=398&lang=en
1928:
“Present Arms” a Rodgers and Hart musical opened at the Mansfield Theatre.
1928:
“A concession which is expected to aid the Soviet trade balance has been
granted to an American business man, Montifiore Kahn, acting for a
German-American group.
1929(16th
of Nisan, 5689): Second Day of Pesach
1929:
“The Passover is not merely a festival of freedom, but a symbol of survival,
declared Rabbi Jacob Kohn at Temple Ansche Chesed, West End Avenue and 100th
Street, this morning on the second day of the Passover.
1929:
In Jerusalem, there was a cornerstone laying ceremony to mark the construction
of the building designed to house the Jewish National Fund. The building was part of a construction
project designed to provide space for several national institutions.
1930(28th
of Nisan, 5690): Parashat Shmini
1930:
As of today, Joseph Mizrachi Urphali “is the only Jew under sentence of death
for his alleged participation” in the Arab riots that took place in August of
1929.
1931:
In Manhattan Moe and Tillie Brillstein gave birth to Bernard Jules Brillstein,
the nephew of vaudeville performer Jack Pearl who gained fame as producer and
high-powered talent agent Bernie Brillstein.
1931(9th
of Iyar, 5691): Eighty-seven year old Vienna born “inventor and chemist Isidore
Kitsee “who is credited with more than
2,000 inventions” including “a wireless set using a tube” the patent rights for
which he sold to Marconi” and who claimed to be a descendant of Moses
Maimonides passed away today in Philadelphia,
1931:
More than 1,000 people, including Gustave Hartman, the President of the Israel
Orphan Asylum, attended a testimonial dinner for Herbert D. Perlman, the grand
master of the Independent Order of B’rith Abraham, who will be retiring this
year
1931:
Eighty-five-year-old Dr. Otis Glazebrook the American Consul in Jerusalem
during World War One who was honored by Jewish leaders for the effective way he
“distributed relief funds in Jerusalem passed away while aboard the SS
Belgenland.
1932(20th
Nisan, 5692): Sixth Day of Pesachh
1932:
Birthdate of Anthony Ray Gubbay, “the former Chief Justice of the Supreme court
of Zimbabwe.
1933:
In Munich Justine and Karl Penzias gave birth to Arno Allan Penzias, a “Kindertransport
kid” who won the Nobel Prize for Physics.
http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Arno_Allan_Penzias
1933: Hermann Göring
established the Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei; Secret State Police).
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-gestapo
1933: Hitler met with Bishop Wilhelm Berning of
Osnabrück and Monsignor Steinmann, prelates representing the Roman Catholic
Church in Germany. Hitler claimed that he is only doing to the Jews what the
Catholic Church has already done to them for 1600 years. He reminded the
prelates that the Church has regarded the Jews as dangerous and pushed them
into ghettos. Hitler suggested that his anti-Jewish actions are "doing
Christianity a great service." Bishop Berning and Monsignor Steinmann
later described the talks as "cordial and to the point."
1933:
Jewish students were barred from schools in Germany
1934:
U.S. premiere of “We’re Not Dressing” a musical comedy directed by Norman
Taurog with a story co-authored by Benjamin Glazer who also produced the film
and co-starring George Burns as “George Martin.”
1934(11th
of Iyar, 5694): Seventy-one-year old Rabbi Francis Lyon Cohen the English born
son merchant Woolf Henry Cohen and the former Harriet Phillips who “was the
first and, for most of his ministry, the only spiritual leader in Sydney, Australia
with rabbinical qualifications” passed away today.
Biography - Francis
Lyon Cohen - Australian Dictionary of Biography (anu.edu.au)
1934: Birthdate of actor Alan Arkin.
1934:
The third biennial Levant Fair opens in Tel Aviv. According to Israel B. Brodie, “the fair is
designed to attract trade to Palestine and also to draw attention to the
importance of Palestine in reaching many of the Near Eastern markets.”
1935:
“Mark of the Vampire” co-authored by Guy Endore (born Samuel Goldstein) was
released in the United States today.
1936:
“As sporadic acts of violence by Arabs continued…a young Jew walking near the
Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem was severly beaten by an Arab who
escaped. Buses in Jewish districts are
stone by Arabs and attempts by Arabs to set fire to Jewish owned fields have
been thwarted.
1936:
In France, the first of two rounds of elections take place that will bring a
Popular Front Government to power with Leon Blum serving as “the first
authentically Socialist prime minister in French history.”
1936:
In Purchase, NY a celebration was held marking the 80th anniversary
of the birth of Henry Morgenthau, Sr.
1936:
“A few hours after Chaim Wiezmann…had sent a cable telling of the recent
outbreak of violence in Palestine and asking for a special $150,000 fund to
meet urgent needs” a meeting was held tonight at the Hotel Astor that included
representatives from the ZOA, World Zionist Organization of America, the World
Zionist Executive, the Jewish National Fund, the Labor Zionists, Mizrachi, the
Order of the Sons of Zion and Hadassah.
1937:
Banker Felix M. Warburg and his wife returned today from Europe today where “he
had attended executive committee meetings of various Jewish charities” and
“said the hope for alleviation of Jewish distress in Europe lay in a possible
change of attitude by certain governments, not for ‘love of human’ but for
economic reasons.” (Editor’s note – when
criticizing the American response to the treatment of the Jews in Europe, one
should look to the words of leading Jews who provided input for the general society.)
1937:
It was reported today, that according to Dr. Samuel Buchler, the Jewish Court
of Arbitration which he founded “said that the court had reconciliated 3,600
families, helped 2,300 age parents to gain support from their sons and daughter,
and settled disputes for 425 synagogues , lodges and fraternities. “
1938: Austrian Jews were required to register property above 5,000
Reichsmarks. This came as part of the Nazification of Austria after the
Germans annexed Hitler's homeland. After the war, the Austrians
sought to portray themselves as the first victims of Nazi
aggression. The cheering throngs that greeted Hitler told a different
story.
1938:
Nazi Germany adopted a statute requiring government authorization for the sale
or rental of a company.
1938:
“Austrian composer and cabaret star” Hermann Leopoldi was kept from making his
planned trip to the United States today when he was arrested and transported to
Dachau.
1939:
“The decision to unify” Kibbutz BaMa’ale and Kibbutz BaMifne in Karkur “was
made in the secretariat of Hashomer Hatzair” today.
1939: Two
days after he had passed away, funeral services are scheduled to be held this
afternoon at Temple Rodelph Sholom for 77 year old Isaac Goldberg, the head of
“trucking business” that had been founded by his father Jacob Goldberg and
Democratic political leader who raised two sons – Bertram and Edwin – with his
wife “the former Mae E. Perlberg.”
1940(18th
of Nisan, 5700): Fourth Day of Pesach
1940:
It was announced today that Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz, the secretary of the
American Jewish Joint Distribution has been appointed vice chairman of the
charity’s European Council and that Moses Leavitt will succeed Dr. Schwartz as
secretary.
1940:
“Turks and Anzacs Joined on Gallipoli Anniversary” published today described
the events held throughout the Middle East marking the 25th
anniversary of the Anzacs storming ashore on that Ottoman peninsula including
the new generation of Aussie and Kiwis who are serving in Palestine.
1941:
The “Rats of Tobruk” continue their battle with Afrika Corps marking the first
time that the Germans had actually been stopped dead in their tracks which had
to be a bit of moral boost since the Yugoslavians had just surrendered to the
Germans giving them a free hand in the Balkans, and unbeknownst to anybody
clearing the way for the invasion of the Soviet Union which would be
devastating for the Jews of Eastern Europe
1942:
Leopold Müller and his wife Irene were marched on a roundabout route from a
Gestapo gathering point in a small park in Würzburg through the city's streets
to a train depot. There they left their luggage on the platform and boarded a
train to the East and to their deaths.
1943(21st
of Nisan, 5703): Seventh Day of Pesach
1943:
Day seven of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
1944:
Release date for “The Hitler Gang,” “a pseudo-documentary…which traces the
political rise” of the German dictator.
1944:
In Cleveland, OH Sylvian Bogart and Charles Redlick, the owner of a “carpet and
floor covering stores gave University of
Chicago trained attorney Linda Diane Redlick, the hold doer BA from Cornell and
Ph.D from the University of Illinois, Chicago who gained fame as Linda Diane
Redlick Hirshman “a lawyer and cultural historian and the author of Victory:
The Triumphant Gay Revolution and many other books who married David Forkosh
after divorcing Harold Hirsman and whose NYT obituary, like so many others, failed
to mention the fact that she was Jewish. (As reported by Penelope Green)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/us/linda-r-hirshman-dead.html
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/linda-hirshman
1945:
Prisoner Karl Riemer fled the Dachau concentration camp to get help from
American troops
1945:
“As the Americans approached Dachau about 7,000 prisoners, most of them Jews,
were sent on a death march to Tegernsee.”
1946:
U.S. premiere of “The Glass Alibi” directed and produced by W. Lee Wilder with
music by Alexander Laszlo.
1946:
“Thousands of British paratroopers made a house by house search through north
Tel Aviv today rounding up and question 1,200 suspected terrorists” following
the attack on a British police station.
Tel Aviv is placed under a strict curfew.
1947:
IN Russia, Bluma and Yechezkel Yadlovker gave birth to David Ben-Shalom
Yadlovker who made Aliyah 1960 and passed away when the INS Dakar sank in 1968.
1948(17th
of Nisan, 5708): Third Day of Pesach is observed as Arab armies besiege
Jerusalem seeking to strangle the Jewish state before it is even born.
1948:
“Air communication with Palestine was cut yesterday when the British evacuated
the Lydda Airport, today forces of the Arab Legion illegally gained control of
the facility.
1949:
“While hundreds of ex-servicemen and newly arrived immigrants demonstrated
against unemployment outside, the Knesset heard plans today for a comprehensive
building program over the next four years coupled with an austerity campaign
that will make the Israelis tighten their belts in British style.”
1949:
Following the occupation of east Jerusalem and territory on the west bank of
the Joran River, “foreign correspondents in Amman, “have been informed
officially ha Transjordan is incorrect as he name of this country and therefore
will not be passed by the censors” and that the name of the country is the
“Hashemite Jordan Kingdom.”
1949:
As of today, the prospects of getting 2,000 thousand Jews out Hungary, who had
been promised safe passage by the new regime “are not bright and right now the
only Jews arriving in Vienna appeared to be “younger men who had made their way
across the border without the consent of the Hungarian government.
1950:
Seventy-nine-year-old Irish archaeologist Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister
who “was responsible for the excavations at Gezer” from 1902 to 1909 where the
“Gezer calendar” was found passed away today.
1951(20th
of Nisan, 5711): Sixth Day of Pesach; 5th day of the Omer
1951:
Day of the Fight” a documentary directed, produced, filmed and written by
Stanley Kubrick and with music by Gerald Fried was released in the United
States today.
1951:
Birthdate of Erin Stoff, the native of Romania who gained fame as the American
film producer who formed 3 Arts Entertainment, Inc.
1951:
“Joseph Goldman, 76 Missouri Ex-Editor” published today described the life
Spanish American War veteran and Jefferson City, MO native Joseph Goldman the
journalist who had the courage to faced down the Ku Klux Klan at a time when
they were busy lynching and burning out Negroes, Jews and anybody who
challenged them
1953:
“Printer's Measure” an episode of the TV anthology series The Philco-Goodyear
Television Playhouse written by Paddy Chayefsky aired for the first time
tonight.
1954:
Field trials of the Polio Vaccine developed by Jonas Salk began today “at the
Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, VA, a suburb of Washington, DC.
1954:
For the first time, NBC broadcast “The Tony Martin Show” which showcased the
talent of the San Francisco born singer who was the son of Eastern European
Jews.
http://ctva.biz/US/MusicVariety/TonyMartinShow.htm
1955(4th
of Iyar, 5715): Yom HaZikaron
1956:
In Syracuse, NY, Malvina Jacob, “an English teacher,” and factory worker Paul
Sherman gave birth to Columbia and JTS graduate Philip Lloyd Sherman “whose
website (as well as his vanity license plate) was emoil.com, claimed to have
performed some 26,000 ritual circumcisions, mostly in the New York metropolitan
area, during his 45-year career. (As reported by Sam Roberts)
1958(6th
of Iyar, 5718): Parashat Tazria-Metzora
1958(6th
of Iyar, 5718): Seventy-seven-year-old “stage producer, director, playwright
and screen writer Philip Moeller, the Manhattan born son of Frederick and
Rachel Phillips Moeller and Columbia graduate who was a co-founder of the
Theatre Guild.
1959(18th
of Nisan, 5719): Fourth Day of Pesach and Shabbat
1959:
In “Ambassador at Large for a Nation in the Making” published today Walter
Laquer reviewed Chaim Wiezman by Isaiah Berlin.
http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/29/specials/berlin-weizman.html
1959:
“The Other Books of the Week” list published today included The Zionist Idea: A
Historical Analysis and Reader edited by Arthur Hertzberg was listed
1960:
West German release date for “ I Married a Woman” directed by Hal Kanter with a
script by Goodman Ace.
1964(14th
of Iyar, 5724) Pesach Sheni
1964(14th
of Iyar, 5724): Seventy-three-year-old Polish born New York realtor Alexander
S. Haberman the husband of Esther Lebowitz Haberman and the father of Simon V.
and Rabbi Jacob Haberman who “was president of the Beth Israel Center and president
of the Belzer Rabbinical Seminary in Jerusalem passed away today.
1965:
The World Zionist Congress tonight closed a two-day debate on Israel's security
crisis after having heard new attacks on United States and Soviet policies
1965:
Composer Aaron Avshalomov passed away. Born into a Jewish family in
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai, then Russian Empire) in 1894, “he was one
of highly qualified Jewish musicians (i.e., Alfred Wittenberg, Walter Joachim,
Arrigo Foa, etc.), who fled pogroms and revolutions in Russia in the beginning
of the 20th century, went to China (first arrived in Harbin, later moved to
Shanghai). They entered the world of Shanghai's academia and trained a number
of young Chinese musicians in classical music, who in turn became leading
musicians in contemporary China. Aaron fled China in when the Japanese invaded
in 1931 and moved to live in Portland, Oregon, USA. He was the father of
composer Jacob Avshalomov, conductor of the Portland Junior Symphony (now called
the Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra) from 1953-1994.
1966:
Funeral services are scheduled to be held for Leonard Drucker, the husband of
Annette Bloom Drucker in Stamford, CT followed by interment at the Beth David
Cemetery in Elmont, L.I.
1966: Arnold "Red" Auerbach retired as
Boston Celtic's coach
1967(16th
of Nisan, 5727): Second Day of Pesach
1967: In what would turn out to be part
of a diplomatic offensive leading to the Six Day War, the Soviet Ambassador to
Israel protested to Prime Minister Levi Eshkol that Israel was planning on
starting a war with Syria. Ehskol denied
the claim and offered to take the Soviet diplomat to the border so that he
could see that troops were not being massed for attack. The Russian declined to go, but the Syrians
believed the Russian report increasing tension in the area.
1967:
Hallelujah, Baby! a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Adolph Green
and Betty Comden, opened on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre
1968(28th
of Nisan, 5728): Seventy-eight-year-old Silesian born and decorated member of
Austria’s World War I Army, Benno Landsberger, a leading Assyriologist who like
so many of his generation had his career “interrupted by the rise of the Nazis
passed away today.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcm4fww
1969:
In Canada, the Bulletin published a list of the demands and goals made by a
group of students at Shaar Hashomayim that were designed to show their respect
for the synagogue while at the same time calling for “practices necessary for a
renaissance in Canadian Jewish life.”
1969:
"Suzanne," “a song written by
Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen”
“entered the Dutch Top 40 List today at number 39.”
1969:
After 161 performances, the curtain came down “Jimmy Shine” written by Murray
Schisgal at the Atkinson Theatre.
1969:
After 433 performances the curtain came down on the first Broadway production
of “George M!” a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Francine Pascal,
produced by Emanuel Azenberg and starring Joel Grey.
1970(20th
of Nisan, 5730) Sixth Day of Pesach
1970(20th
of Nisan, 5730): As part of a campaign to gain rights for Russian Jews, tens of
thousands of Jews shared in a Passover “Exodus March” that began at the Soviet
mission to the United Nations
1970(20th
of Nisan, 5730): Stripper Gypsy Rose
Lee, born Louise Hovick passed away at the age of 56.
1973:
A West End production of “Two Gentlemen of Verona” a rock musical based on
Shakespeare’s play of the same with a book by Mel Shapiro opened at the Phoenix
Theatre with Shapiro as the director.
1974:
“Jewish cameraman Mikhail Suslov and scriptwriter Felix Kamov-Kandel had their
names removed from film credits.”
1976:
For a second time, Pierre Goldman went on trial for his role in a robbery in
which two pharmacists were killed. This
time he was acquitted.
1976(26th
of Nisan, 5736): Sixty-two-year-old South African born British actor Sid James
suffered a fatal heart attack “while performing on stage at the Sunderland
Empire Theatre.
http://www.family-announcements.co.uk/localworld/view/3344731/sid-james
1976(26th
of Nisan, 5736): Seventy-two-year-old Sydney Franklin the first successful
American matador who was named Sidney Frumkin when he was born in Brooklyn to
Orthodox Jewish parents passed away today.
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/the-life-of-gay-jewish-bullfighter-sidney-franklin-591515
1977:
Samuel Lewis was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
1978: In a New York Times profile Lillian
Vernon was described as "the first lady of mail order catalogues," a
designation she had earned through more than two decades of entrepreneurship
and steady growth of her eponymous business. Born Lilly Menasche in
Leipzig, Germany, in 1927, Lillian Vernon fled with her family first to
Amsterdam and then to New York to escape Hitler. In the U.S., her father
manufactured leather goods, which would become the base of Vernon's first foray
into mail-order. Married and pregnant, Vernon began the business that
would become Lillian Vernon, Inc., in 1951. She took $495 of her wedding gift
money to place an advertisement for personalized belts and handbags in Seventeen.
Her father's company manufactured the belts and bags, and Vernon embossed,
packaged, and shipped them. The ad brought in over $32,000 worth of sales, and
Vernon's company was born. She mailed her first catalogue two years later. Taking
monogramming as its trademark, and catering mainly to women, Lillian Vernon mail-order
grew rapidly, generating $200,000 in sales in 1956, the year Vernon opened her
first manufacturing plant. By 1990, sales had risen to $238 million, and the
mailing list had grown to 17 million names. After pioneering her
successful mail-order business, Vernon continued to keep the company at the
forefront of commercial changes. She began opening retail outlets in 1985, and
went online a decade later. Hers was also the first woman-owned business to be
listed on the American Stock Exchange. The company continues to introduce new
catalogs regularly, and now produces special lines of items for children,
teens, and gardening, as well as its traditional products for the home. Vernon
has used her wealth to support over 500 charities, and has been recognized by,
among others, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, which awarded her its National Hero
Award. She has also received the NAACP Medal of Honor, and has been inducted
into the Direct Marketing Association Hall of Fame and the National Women's
Hall of Fame. In 1997, she was named one of 50 leading women entrepreneurs by
the National Foundation for Women Business Owners. Though she no longer
embossed items herself, Vernon was active as the CEO of her company and as its
main spokesperson until 2006.
1981(22nd
of Nisan, 5741): Eighth Day of Pesach marks the close of the celebration for
the first time during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan.
1985(5th
of Iyar, 5745): Seventy-six year old American screenwriter Albert Maltz a
member of the Hollywood Ten who were jailed for their refusal to testify before
Congress passed away today. (As reported by C. Gerald Fraser and Jerry Belcher)
http://articles.latimes.com/1985-04-28/news/mn-21334_1_albert-maltz
1987: At Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York Margaret
Howell Hudesman, an interior designer, was married to Gabriel Levinson, an
architect with Nadler, Philopena & Associates in Mount Kisco, N.Y. Rabbi
Gunter Hirschberg performed the ceremony.
1987(27th
of Nisan, 5747): Yom Hashoah,
1987:
Israeli radio quoted sources in Prime Minister Shamir's office as saying Mr.
Moshe Arens had succeeded in persuading Secretary of State Shultz to give up
the idea of an international conference, a report that was promptly denied by
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres's office. Foreign Minister Peres favors such a
conference. Shamir opposes it.
1989:
NBC broadcast the last episode of “Tattingers” a comedy-drama created by Bruce
Paltrow and starring Jerry Stiller and Rob Morrow and with them music composed
by Jonathan Tunick.
1990:
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, leader of the right-wing Likud bloc, was
chosen to form a new government after Labor Party leader Shimon Peres failed in
his attempt to form a coalition.
1990(1st
of Iyar, 5750): Rosh Chodesh Iyar
1990(1st
of Iyar, 5750): Ninety-five-year-old Irma (Seeman) Goldberg, the widow of Rube
Goldberg passed away today.
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/27/obituaries/irma-seeman-goldberg-hospital-volunteer-95.html
1991:
“Oscar,” a comedy directed by John Landis and with music by Elmer Bernstein was
released in the United States today.
1991(12th
of Iyar, 5751): Eighty-one year old Henry Lipson who served as Professor of
Physics at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
from 1954 to 1977 and then became Professor Emeritus passed away today.
1992(27th
of Nisan, 5747): Yom Hashoah
1992:
Appearing before 5,000 men, women and children gathered to mourn the Jews
killed by the Nazis, Vice President Dan Quayle pledged the commitment of the
Bush Administration to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and to
Israel, which he said "was built upon the ashes of the Holocaust."
1992:
“Lou Bernstein: Five Decades of Photographs” an exhibition that includes
“images of life the 1940s to the 1960s” came to an end today.
https://www.icp.org/exhibitions/lou-bernstein-five-decades-of-photographs
1993(5th
of Iyar, 5753): Yom HaAtzma’ut
1994:
Seventy-one-year-old Rostam Bastuni, a journalist and politician who was the
first Arab citizen to represent a Zionist Party (Mapam) in the Knesset.
1995(26th
of Nisan, 5755): Ninety-year-old Dutch born cellist Frieda Belinfante a member
of the Portuguese -Sephardic Belinfante family that settled in Holland in the
17th century passed away today.
http://articles.latimes.com/1995-03-07/local/me-39790_1_orange-county-philharmonic-society
1996:
According to a report published in the Bulletin,
two days before Passover, the leaders of Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal found out
the nature of the upcoming student demonstration that would confront the
congregation.
1997:
In “Adding a Contemporary Ring to an Ancient Story,” Gustav Neibuhr described a
Seder the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism hosted for the Dalai Lama.
1998(30th
of Nisan, 5758): Rosh Chodesh Iyar
1998(30th
of Nisan, 5758): Two days before her 80th birthday, Matilda
Meltsner, the daughter of Morris Meltsner, whose older brother Joseph Meltsner
had been killed during the battle for Iwo Jima, passed away today in Valley
Stream, NY.
1998: The New
York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of interest
to Jewish readers including Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi
Germany by
Marion A. Kaplan, Killing the Dream: James Earl Ray and the Assassination of
Martin Luther King, Jr. by Gerald Posner and Heading South, Looking
North: A Bilingual Journey by Ariel Dorfman.
1998:
An exhibit styled “An Expressionist in Paris: The Paintings of Chaim Soutine”
opened at the Jewish Museum in New York City. “\
1999:
Israel charged Avisahi Raviv, “a former undercover agent and right-wing radical
today with failing to prevent the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
by a Jewish hard-liner.”
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/26/world/ex-undercover-agent-charged-as-a-link-in-rabin-killing.html
2000(21st
of Nisan, 5760) Seventh Day of Pesach
2000:
In what is a growing trend Fred and Ruth Goldschmidt and “their children and
grandchildren have joined a growing number of observant Jews who leave their
homes to make the Passover exodus to resort hotels for the holiday,”including
the Wyndham Resort and Spa” where Lasko Family Kosher Tours is responsible for
the KP getaway.
2001(3rd
of Iyar, 5761): Yom HaAtzma’ut
2002:
“About a Boy” a comedy directed by Christ Weitz and Paul Weitz who also wrote
the screenplay and co-starring Rachel Weisz was released today.
2003:
Thirteen people were injured during a bombing at the Kfar Saba train station
for which the PFLP and Al-Aqsa claimed joint responsibility.
2003(24th
of Nisan, 5763): Seventy-three-year-old Peter Stone who scripts included
everything from lighthearted comedy like Father Goose to the Broadway hit
“1776” who won the trifecta – Emmy, Tony and Oscar – passed away today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/28/movies/peter-stone-award-winning-writer-of-1776-dies-at-73.html
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/may/19/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries
2004(5th
of Iyar, 5764): Yom HaZikaron
2004:
Two Palestinians were killed when suicide bomber coming from Gaza detonated
himself “on the way to carry out an attack in Israel.”
2005(17th
of Nisan, 5765): Third Day of Pesach
2005(17th
of Nisan, 5765): Eighty-six-year-old Mason Adams who may be best remembered as
the voice of Smuckers – “With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good” – passed
away today.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/star-gazette/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=3480066
2005:
Dr. Raul Hilberg, author of the three-volume, 1,273-page The Destruction of
the European Jews regarded as the seminal study of the Nazi Final Solution
was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2005:
‘One of Isaac Lazarus Israëls Donkey riding on the Beach series realised
€482,400 at Christie's, Amsterdam.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Isaac_Israels_-_Donkeyride.jpg
2006(28th
of Nisan, 5766): Yuval Ne’eman, founder
of Israel’s space program and a key figure in Israel’s nuclear program passed
away.
2006:
The family of real estate magnate and book lover Sami Rohr has created the Sami
Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, an annual $100,000 prize for an
"emerging writer whose work has demonstrated a fresh vision and evidence
of future potential."
2006: Haaretz
reviewed Betabat Hahenek or In a Stranglehold by Uri Ben-Ari
2006(28th
of Nisan, 5766): Yuval Ne’eman founder of Israel’s space program and a key
figure in Israel’s nuclear program passed away.
2006:
While delivering the James Fox Memorial Lecture today, Robert S. Mueller, III,
the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation described a terrorist plot
which included plans to blow up a synagogue in Los Angeles on Yom Kippur in
2005. When the would-be terrorists were caught, they also had lists of the
addresses of the Jewish houses of worship in Los Angeles and the address of the
Israeli consulate in Los Angeles
2006:
“The Hebrew Manuscripts of the Cairo Genizah” published today.
http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A10358868
2007:
Harman International Industries announced today that It entered an agreement to
be acquired by Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts (KKR) and Goldman Sachs.
2007: Today, the building that had been home to Temple B’nai
Abraham while it was located in Elizabeth New Jersey and was designed by the
Nathan Meyers was placed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
2008(21st of Nisan, 5768): Seventh Day of Pesach – Reform Jews
recite Yizkor
2008(21st of Nisan, 5768): Yossi Harel, who commanded four ships
bringing Jews to Israel illegally, died at the age of 90 in Tel Aviv. Harel
assisted 24,000 Jews in reaching Israel aboard four ships, including the famed
SS Exodus, between 1945 and 1948. Great Britain, which controlled the region at
the time, banned Jewish immigration due to Arab pressure. The other three ships
were called Knesset Yisrael (Gathering of Israel), Atzma'ut (Independence) and
Kibbutz Galuyot (Ingathering of the Exiles).The Exodus was made famous by a
film of the same name. Born in 1919, Harel was the sixth generation in his
family born in Jerusalem. At the age of 15 he joined the pre-state Haganah
defense force. By the age of 28 he oversaw the clandestine immigration
operations bringing Jews, many of them survivors of the Holocaust, to the Holy
Land. Later on, Harel oversaw the IDF’s Unit 131, an intelligence unit that ran
a spy ring in Egypt until the so-called Lavon Affair of 1954.Harel will be
buried at the Caesarea-area kibbutz, Sdot Yam.
2009: Final performance of “The Accomplices” at the Center Stage
Theatre in Jerusalem.
2009: The New York Times featured reviews of books by
Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Vincente
Minnelli: Hollywood’s Dark Dreamer by Emanuel Levy and the recently
released paperback edition of The Mayor’s Tongue a novel written by
Nathaniel Rich.
2009: First annual Mitzvah Day in Iowa City sponsored by Agudas
Achim
2009: Authorities fear a case of swine flu may have made it to
Israel after a 26-year-old Israeli who just returned from a trip to Mexico
today checked himself into the hospital reporting flu-like symptoms.
2009: Temple Judah in Cedar Rapids hosts its annual Big Dinner,
one of the congregations oldest and most important fund raisers.
2009(2nd of Iyar, 5769): Eighty-two-year-old Meir
Benayahu, the son of Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim and the brother of Moshe Nissim,
whose areas of research including the Sephardi Diaspora, Kabbalah and
Sabbataism passed away today.
2009(2nd of Iyar, 5769): Eighty-two-year-old award
winning historian Emanuel Tov whose disitinguished career included cofounding
the “Institute for Research on Israeli Communities in the Middle East.”2009(2nd
of Iyar, 5769): Eighty-sixty ear old Salamo Arouch, a Greek-born Jewish boxer
who survived the Auschwitz death camp in World War II by winning fight after
fight against fellow prisoners, to the delight of Nazi guards who had placed
their bets on him, died in Israel today.
2010: “The Wedding Song,” film about a Jewish girl and a Moslem
girl, living in war torn Tunisia, is scheduled to be shown at the 2010 NoVA
International Jewish Film Festival
2010: “Iron Man 2” a superhero movie directed by Jon Favreau was
released today in the United States.
2010:
Professor Gil Troy is scheduled to deliver a lecture
entitled "The 1975 Zionism is Racism Resolution: American Anger and
British Appeasement" in Jerusalem sponsored by the Israel Branch of The
Jewish Historical Society of England.
2010: The New York Times
featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to
Jewish readers including “Get Capone:The Secret Plot That Captured America’s
Most Wanted Gangster” by Jonathan Eig and “Ill Fares the Land” by Tony Judt.
2010: The Los Angeles Times included a review of “Three Chords For
Beauty’s Sake: The Life of Artie Shaw by Tom Nolan that traces the
transformation of Avraham Ben-Yitzhak Arshawsky from the son of immigrant Jews
to one of the main players in the world of Swing and the Big Band sound.
2011:
“The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of
Trust” by Diana B. Henriques, a book that “analyzes Mr. Madoff’s rise and fall”
is scheduled to be published today.
2011(22nd of Nisan, 5771): Eighth day of Pesach –
Yizkor
2011: The New York Times published a review of “A Book of
Recipes Gathered From Holocaust Survivors” by June Feiss Hersh.
2011: Peter Shumlin appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show via
telephone where he discussed health care reform in his state, his belief in
health care for all and that "health care is a right, not a
privilege".
2012: “Lea and Darija” about the “Croatian Shirley
Temple,” Lea Deutsch ,the Jewish star of a Zagreb song-and-dance troupe, and
her gentile dancing partner Darija Gasteiger is scheduled to be shown at the
Westchester Jewish Film Festival
2012:
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, said today that the chances “appear low” that the
Iranian government would bow to international pressure and halt its nuclear
program.
2012: “In Darkness,” a
film set in Nazi occupied Lvov, is scheduled to be shown for the final time as
part of the Yom HaShoah commemoration in Iowa City, Iowa.
2012(4th
of Iyar, 5772): Yom Ha’Atzmaut – Israel
Independence Day
2013:
“Family, ‘Not Willing to Forget,’ Pursues Art It Lost to Nazis” published today
described the fight of
3
generations of the Rosenberg family to recover art stolen during WW II.
2013: “No
Place Earth” is scheduled to open in several cities across the United States
including Beverly
Hills,
Philadelphia and Washington, DC
2013:
In New Orleans, Touro Synagogue is scheduled to host its 22nd annual
Jazz Fest Shabbat
2013:
One hundredth anniversary of the start of events that would become known as
“The Leo Frank Case,” the worst single outbreak of anti-Semitism in the United
States.
2013:
Today, Bulgarian investigators staged a re-enactment of the bus bombing that
killed five Israeli tourists, the bus driver and the alleged perpetrator at the
Burgas airport in July. The Europol-sponsored experiment, aimed to provide more
details about the attack, was done at a police compound near the city of
Ihtiman, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Sofia. Officials said the results
confirmed the facts they had previously established. (As reported by AP &
Times of Israel)
2013:
Lebanese media outlets reported this afternoon that the Israeli Air Force was
conducting mock raids over southern parts of the country, one day after an
unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by the IAF off the coast of Haifa
http://www.timesofisrael.com/lebanese-media-report-israeli-mock-raids-over-south/
2014:
“The Zig Zag Kid” is scheduled to be shown at the JCC Rockland International
Film Festival.
2014:
Dominican priest Giuseppe Girotti “an opponent of Benito Mussolini and a
protector of Jews from the Nazi Holocaust who died at Dachau Concentration Camp
which earned him the designation of declared Righteous Among the Nations by Yad
Vashem” was beatified today by Cardinal Angelo Amato on behalf of Pope Francis
2014:
“Haunted Screen” an exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art that
described the role of German Jews in the film industry when the Nazis came to
power and the changes that came afterwards came to a close today.
2015:
“Watchers of the Sky” a documentary that includes a look at “the forgotten life
of Raphael Lemkin, the man who created the world genocide” is scheduled to be
shown at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
2015:
Music scholar Walter Frisch and Jewish historian Jonathan Karp are scheduled to
discuss the life and legacy of Harold Arlen in a program entitled That Old
Jewish Magic? Harold Arlen and American Popular Song presented by American
Society for Jewish Music
2015:
“Dior and I” and “While We’re Young” are scheduled to be shown at the
Westchester Jewish Film Festival.
2015:
“The Republican Jewish Coalition leadership conference is scheduled to come to
an end in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2015:
4th Annual ReelAbilities: Greater DC Disabilities Film Festival is scheduled to
open today.
2015:
Israeli choreographer and his company are scheduled to perform “Dabke” at the
JCC Manhattan.
2015:
“‘Martyrs Street,’ Misha Shulman’s new play about the Israel-Palestinian
conflict that explores the power and seduction of extremism” is scheduled to
complete its run “at New York’s off-off-Broadway Theatre for the New City”
today. (As reported by Cathryn J. Prince)
2015:
The Maccabeats are scheduled to perform at Beth Shalom Congregation in
Columbia, MD.
2015:
The New York Times featured reviews
of books written by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers
including The Do-Over: Poems by Kathleen Ossip, Infamy: The Shocking
Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II by Richard Reeves
and The Train To Crystal City: FDR’s Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and
America’s Only Family Internment Camp During World War II by Jan Jarboe
Russell
2016:
In the United Kingdom, the Oxford Jewish Chaplains are scheduled to provide “a
Kosher for Passover version of their popular Radcam Picnics.
2016:
Publication date for Disraeli: The Novel Politician by David Desarani and
Barbara Streisand: Redefining Beauty, Femininity and Power by Neal Gabler.
2017:
“Bribe Cases, a Jared Kushner Partner and Potential Conflicts” published today
described the interaction between the President’s son-in-law and Israel’s
Steinmetz family.
2017: In Vienna, Im Kinksy is scheduled to
auction Portrait of a Man, a painting by a 17th century Dutch Master
that had been part of a collection amassed by Adolphe Schloss which was looted
by the Nazis in 1943 and which is heirs are attempting to get back to the
rightful owners.
2017:
Dr. Norman Cohen is scheduled to lecture on “Abraham’s Journey from Ur to
Moriah” at the Streicker Center in NYC.
2017:
Rod Rosenstein completed almost twelve years of service as the United States
Attorney for the District of Maryland began serving as the 37th
United States Deputy Attorney General today.
2017:
Lynn Downey is scheduled to speak to the Nevada Historical Society about her
book Levi Strauss” The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World.
2017:
The American Jewish Historical Society is scheduled to host the launch of “the
third edition of Remember the Women Institute’s Women, Theatre, and the
Holocaust Resource Handbook.”
2018:
In Atlanta, the Bremen is scheduled to host am evening “Oud Musician and
Teacher James Schneider” as he serenades the audience while sharing “the
history of the Oud and Iraqi and Middle Eastern music amid tables filled with
“delectable Iraqi desserts.”
2018:
The Center for Jewish History is scheduled to present Ruth Wisse speaking “about
how her scholarship on the complex relationship between Jews and power in
history informs contemporary debates.”
2018:
The American Jewish Historical Society is scheduled to host “the book talk and launch
of Broadway: A History of New York City in Thirteen Miles, and hear from
author Fran Leadon about the extraordinary ways in which American Jews
contributed to making Broadway the iconic street that it is today.”
2018:
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Educational Center is scheduled to host “Meet
the Author: Fritz Bauer 1903-1968: The Man Who Found Eichmann and Put Auschwitz
on Trial.”
2018:
The President withdrew the nomination of Ronny Jackson who had been named to
replace David Jonathan Shulkin as the United States Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, the first member of the Jewish member of the Trump administration to
speak out against the white supremacists in Charlottesville.
2019:
The Arizona Cardinals traded their starting
quarterback Josh Rosen to the Miami Dolphins.
2019:
As Jews celebrated the Seventh Day of Pesach, hopefully they will pause and
realize that seventy-six years ago today, the fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto
were marking the day not with light of candles but with the burning wicks of
Molotov Cocktails. (Due to a calendar coincidence, the secular and Jewish
calendars of 1943 and 2019 are in perfect sync)
2019(21st
of Nissan, 5779): Seventh Day of Pesach; Sixth Day of the Omer
2019:
It was reported today that “The deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein,
attacked the Obama administration, former law enforcement officials, the press
and his own critics in a fiery last night that he used to defend his handling
of the Russia investigation.”
2020:
Congregation Mishkan Tefil is scheduled to host the second annual Mussar and
Mindful Living Conference, with sessions by Alan Morinis, author of “Everyday
Holiness” and founder of The Mussar Institute and Dr. Ronit Zev-Kreger,
Momentum, Director of Education and Leadership Development, a virtual event facilitated
by Rabbi Marcia Plumb
2020:
As part of its Virtual Program Series, the American Jewish Historical Society
is scheduled to host “Soapbox Yoga.”
2020:
Health Minister Ya'acov Litzman will reportedly leave his post for a new
cabinet position following weeks of criticism of his handling of the
coronavirus crisis.”
2020:
“Growing Up with Ruth and Marty” scheduled for today has been canceled by the
Illinois Holocaust Museum in accordance with the recommendations of Governor
Pritzker.
2020(2nd
of Iyar, 5780): Based on figures already released Israelis begin the week
mourning the loss of 199 of their countrymen to the coronavirus.
2020:
In Atlanta, “In the House of Cohen” part of the 2020 Molly Blank Concert
scheduled for today has been postponed because of concern for “health and
well-being” during the Pandemic.
2020:
As part of the “remote Concert Series” the Jewish Children’s Regional Service
is scheduled to present a concert by violinist Basil Alter.
https://www.basilalter.com/about
2021:
Dayan Ofer Livnat is scheduled to address some of the dilemmas dayanim are
faced with, and in particular how they relate to issues of Jewish identity,
conversions and monetary disputes.
2021:
Exhibition Launch and Artist Talk with Prof. Dana Arieli and Dr. Rotem Rozental
during which attendees are scheduled to meet the artist curator behind “The
Zionist Phantom,” a virtual art exhibition.
2021:
The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center’s collaboration with the Orchestra of St.
Luke’s is scheduled to continue with a celebration of both mainstays of the
chamber repertoire and significant works by living composers, with a focus on
those championed in OSL’s Music in Color programming initiative.
2021(14th
of Iyar, 5781): Pesach Sheni
2021(14th
of Iyar, 5781): Ninety-seven-year-old Arthur Wilbur Staats, the Greenburgh, NY
born son of Frank and Jennifer (Yollis) Staats the behavioral psychologist who
popularized the concept of the “time out” while raising two children – Jennifer
and Peter – with his wife Carolyn Kaiden passed away today. (As reported by Sam
Roberts)
2021:
The Center for Jewish History is scheduled to host a conversation with Michael
Shnayerson, the author of Bugsy Siegel: The Dark Side of the American Dream.
2022:
The Illinois Holocaust Museum is scheduled to co-sponsor an on-site and online
a Yom Hashoah Commemorative Concert ‘WE ARE HERE: Songs from the Holocuast.”
2022:
The JDC Archives and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History a
lecture by Dr. Jonathan Sarna on Re-Evaluating the Role of American Jewry
During the Shoah.”
https://theweitzman.org/events/american-jewry-during-the-shoah/
2022:
In New Orleans, Congregation Gats of Prayer and the Jewish Community Day School
are each scheduled to hold their board meetings this evening
2022:
The Eden-Tamir Center is scheduled to host “a Special Concert in cooperation
with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
2022:
Based on previously published reports, Israelis today face twin threats their
heath one of which comes from Elite chocolate which may be contaminated with
salmonella and the other of which comes from a BA.4 a new variant of Omicron
coronavirus three cases of which were detected among travelers arrived at Ben
Gurion Airport.
https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/hyefcfvh9
https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/rkr4ksnb9
2022:
Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat and Holocaust survivors Irene Weiss and Marcel
Drimer are scheduled to speak at the “2022 Days of Remembrance Commemoration.
2022:
Emma Kaufman Rose, the author of Saving Six Million: A Holocaust Memoir is scheduled to be the guest speaker at the Akron-Summit
Holocaust Commemoration and Award Ceremony in honor of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust
Remembrance Day, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. today in the main auditorium of the Akron-Summit
County Public Library at 60 S. High St.
2023:
“The Israeli Air Force is scheduled to hold its annual Independence Day flyover
today, with various aircraft zipping over cities and towns throughout the
country over the course of the morning and early afternoon.” (As reported by
Emanuel Fabian)
2023:
In Metairie, LA, Congregation Beth Israel is scheduled to celebrate Israel’s 75th
Independence Day with an that will include kid-friendly Israeli food from Dvash
Catering, crafts, games and more.
2023:
UK Jewish Film is scheduled to open a Yom HaAtzma’ut screening of “Karaoke.”
2023:
The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines is scheduled to host a Yom
Ha’atzmaut Concert followed by a community dinner.
2023:
The Weitzman is scheduled to host the Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media’s
screening of Upheaval.
2023:
Centro Primo Levi New York and the American Sephardi Federation are scheduled
to present “From Istanbul to Rio de Janeiro,” an evening with Monique
Sochaczewski Goldfeld (Brazilian Institute for Development, Education and
Research) and Louis Fishman (Brooklyn College) in conversation on the political
and cultural relations between Brazil and the countries of the former Ottoman
Empire.”
2023:
JNF is scheduled to host a Yom Ha’atzmaut Celebration in Be’er Sheva that will
include a signature concert, music festival, BBQ lunch and more.
2023(5th
of Iyar, 5783): Yom HaAtzma'ut; Israel’s Independence Day
2024:
The Museum at Eldridge Street is scheduled to host “All-of-a-Kind Family,” a
walking tour of the Lower East Side that will “”ollow in the footsteps of Ella,
Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie, the beloved sisters depicted in Sydney
Taylor’s children’s classic All-of-a-Kind Family.”
2024:
“For its second annual sold-out gala, “Elevate: Lifting Stories of Hope,” The
City Mission is scheduled to honor Dr. Fred and Jackie Rothstein, today at the
downtown Marriott in Cleveland in Key Tower.
2024:
Bravin Lee Programs is scheduled to present The Golden Thread: A Fiber Art
Exhibition that includes the work of Naomi Ben-Shahar.
2024:
As April 26th begins in Israel, the Hamas held
hostages begin day 203 in captivity.
(Editor’s note: this situation is too fluid for this blog to cover so we
are just providing a snapshot as of the posting at midnight Israeli time.)
2024(17th of Nisan, 5784): Fourth Day
of Pesach; for more see https://downhomedavartorah.blogspot.com/
