This Day, October 29, In Jewish History

OCTOBER 29 In Jewish History

539 BCE: On the secular calendar, Babylon fell to Cyrus the Great of Persia. This is a significant date because it marked the start of the return of the exiles to Eretz Israel where the Second Temple would be built.

1833: All Jews except for peddlers and petty traders were granted civic equality in the Germanic domain called Hesse-Cassel. The remainder of Germany took nearly forty years to follow suit.

1879: Birthdate of Leon Trotsky, Born Lev Davidovich, Trotsky would turn his back on his Jewish background and became the number two man in the Communist Revolution. As the father of the Red Army he saved the Communists from defeat by invading armies as well as the Whites who supported the Czar. Trostky would lose out in to Stalin for the role as Lenin’s successor. He would be forced to flee the Soviet Union ending up in Mexico where Stalin would have him murdered in 1940.

1880: Birthdate of Soviet physicist Abram Ioffe.

1884: Birthdate of Fred Lazarus, Jr. The grandson of a rabbi who began a small retail establishment in pre-Civil War Cincinnati, Lazarus parlayed his family’s commercial ventures into the retail giant known as Federated Department Stores. The only Jew who had a greater impact on the celebration of Christmas in the United States than Fred Lazarus, Jr. would have been Jesus himself. During the Great Depression, he convinced President Franklin Roosevelt that changing the Thanksgiving holiday from the last Thursday of November to the fourth Thursday, extending the Christmas shopping season, would be good for the nation's business. A 1941 Act of Congress perpetuated the arrangement. No other Jew besides Jesus may have had as big an impact on the celebration of Christmas as did Lazarus may have had the biggest impact on the Christmas This American merchandiser and philanthropist passed away in May, 1973.

1891: Birthdate of Fanny Brice. "Fanny Brice" was the stage name of Fania Borach, born in New York City, the third child of relatively well-off saloon owners of Hungarian Jewish decent. In 1908, she dropped out of school to work in a burlesque review. She is best known for her association with Florenz Ziegfeld, and headlined his Ziegfield Follies starting in 1910 and continuing into the 1930s. During the late 1930s, she had her own radio show which featured her as a bratty toddler known as "Baby Snooks". The multitalented entertainer passed away in May of 1951.

1894: The anti-Semitic newspaper La Libre Parole appeared with the headline: “Arrest of the Jewish Officer A. Dreyfus. The editor of the paper, Edouard Drumont, would fill subsequent editions of the paper with lurid “facts” detailing the “confimed evidence against the Jewish traitor.”

1898: The Zionist Delegation sets out for Jerusalem.

1902: Herzl's health deteriorates. After the Annual Conference, Herzl finds himself in a state of collapse, incapable of writing a single line. He reports himself sick to the office of the Neue Freie Presse and goes for a rest cure to Edlach a little village at the foot of the Rax Alpes, south of Vienna.

1909: Alliance Israelite Universelle makes representation to the French legislation over the hardships suffered by the Jews of Fez.

1911: Joseph Pulitzer passes away. The life of this Hungarian born Jew who served in the Union Cavalry during the Civil War, reminds one of a colorful novel more than the life of an American newspaperman who built what we would call today a media empire. After his death in Charleston, SC, his estate funded the Pulitzer Prizes which honor excellence in journalism and other field of culture and art.

1912: Oscar Straus who is running for governor of New York on the Bull Moose Ticket (the party of Teddy Roosevelt) announced that he will spend the last four days campaigning on New York’s East Side and Brooklyn.

1915: Birthdate of Dr. William Berenberg, an American physician, Harvard professor, and pioneer in the treatment and rehabilitation of and cerebral palsy. He was a member of the Board Of Advisors of New England Sinai Hospital Center when he passed away in 1995.

1925: Birthdate of Klaus Roth German-born British mathematician who was awarded the Fields Medal in 1958. His major work has been in number theory, particularly the analytic theory of numbers. He solved in the famous Thue-Siegel problem (1955) concerning the approximation to algebraic numbers by rational numbers (for which he won the medal). Roth also proved in 1952 that a sequence with no three numbers in arithmetic progression has zero density (a conjecture of Erdös and Turán of 1935).

1929: On "Black Tuesday," the New York Stock Market crashed, triggering the "Great Depression." Like millions of their countrymen, the Jews suffered great financial hardships. Many newly arrived immigrants who were just beginning to make progress up the economic ladder found themselves on relief. As the economy soured, social unrest increased and there was a rise in various forms of anti-Semitism. The coming of the New Deal would prove a boon to many Jews. Besides providing relief through a variety of federal programs, the New Deal opened up career opportunities for many newly educated first-generation American Jews. For example, many young lawyers and accountants who found themselves locked out of the Christian only banks and law firms got their first jobs and gained valuable career experience working for the myriad of new federal agencies. These men (yes most of them were men) went to become part of a core of dedicated civil servants who really served the public good.

1932: Birthdate of Charlotte Knoblock, president of Germany’s Jewish community and one of only about 100 surviving Munich residents who returned to the city after World War II.

1932: In a letter to Louis Strauss, President Herbert Hoover reaffirms support for the Balfour Declaration on the 15th anniversary of the issuance of this seminal document in Jewish History.
On the occasion of your celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, which received the unanimous approval of both Houses of Congress by the adoption of the Lodge-Fish resolution in 1922, I wish to express the hope that the ideal of the establishment of the National Jewish Home in Palestine, as embodied in that Declaration, will continue to prosper for the good of all the people inhabiting the Holy Land.I have watched with genuine admiration the steady and unmistakable Progress made in the rehabilitation of Palestine which, desolate for centuries, is now renewing its youth and vitality through the enthusiasm, hard work and self-sacrifice of the Jewish pioneers who toil there in a spirit of peace and social justice. It is very gratifying to note that many American Jews, Zionists as well as non-Zionists, have rendered such splendid service to this cause which merits the sympathy and moral encouragement of everyone.

1937: The Palestine Post reported that the High Commissioner, General Sir Arthur Wauchope, announced his wish to retire from office.

1937: The Times of London claimed that the present Arab disturbances were inspired by secret societies in Syria. The newspaper endorsed the appeal of the former Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, who asked Britain to carry on the good work of historic justice in Palestine and to keep the Mandate.

1939: Birthdate of Ralph Bakshi. Born in Haifa, Bakshi is a director of animation and occasionally live-action films. As the American animation industry fell into decline during the 1960’s and 1970’s Bakshi tried to bring change to the industry by creating and directing a number of animated feature films that were aimed at adults instead of children. His most famous effort centered Fritz the Cat, the first animated feature film to get an X- Rating. Bakshi is also reported to be the inspiration for the Comic Book Guy, a character in the weekly cartoon program, The Simpsons.

1941: The SS and Lithuanian police carried out the brutal massacre of those Kovno Jews who were not "selected" the prior day for work. In groups of a hundred, Jews were stripped naked, marched to the edge of ditches, and then fired upon. Most were killed instantly. Many were left to die slowly of their wounds. Einsatskommando reported the killing of 2,008 men, 2,920 women and 4,257 children.

1942: Eliyahu Rozanski of the Jewish Fighting Organization assassinates Jakub Lejkin, the new commander of the Jewish police in the Warsaw ghetto. Soon after an additional 13 Jewish police who were very involved with the Warsaw actions of the summer were also killed. The Jewish resistance movements and many others in the ghettos viewed the ghetto police as loathsome collaborators. From their point of view, the police were doing the work of the Nazis. They were herding others off to the death camps in a deluded belief that some how they and their loved ones could avoid the same fate. While the idea of one Jews killing another Jew may seem troublesome from the distance of six decades, those who were not their have no right to judge those who were in hell we cannot even begin to imagine.

1942: Written comments by Winston Churchill excoriating Germany for the systematic extermination of European Jews are read at a London protest meeting chaired by the archbishop of Canterbury.

1942: The Nazis murdered 3230 thousand Jews from Sandomierz, Poland at the Belzec extermination camp.

1942: The Nazis killed 16,000 Jews in Pinsk, Russia.

1942: Leading clergymen, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, and political figures held a public meeting to register outrage over Nazi Germany's persecution of Jews. This expression of outrage did not include a meaningful demand that the British government lift the ban on Jewish immigration to Eretz Israel. This would have meant that Jews who escaped from Nazi control would have a place of refuge.

1945: The first ballpoint pen went on sale at that Jewish emporium, New York’s Gimbels Department Store.

1945: Anna Rosenberg became the first woman to receive the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award offered by the United States. In 1947 she would be the first woman to be awarded the United States Medal for Merit. In 1950 she was appointed Assistant Secretary of Defense, the highest position ever held up until that time by a woman in the United States military establishment. Her main task as Assistant Secretary of Defense was to coordinate the Defense Department's manpower, which had been divided among many different agencies. In the 1930s Rosenberg served in the New Deal administration as a regional director for the National Recovery Administration (1935) and on the Social Security Board (1936-1943), becoming a trusted advisor to both Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. She also advised and coordinated several Democratic congressional campaigns. Before being appointed Assistant Secretary of Defense, she was President Roosevelt's personal assistant in Europe. She has been acclaimed for her talents as a labor mediator, diplomat, adviser, troubleshooter, and administrator. She was also involved in many Jewish causes, including serving as the director of the Women's Division of the Joint Distribution Committee and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.

1947: Birthdate of actor Richard Refuses. Dreyfuss has enjoyed a long and successful career playing everything from college bound students, to police undercover agents to music teachers.

1947: At a ceremony held on Mount Scopus that marks the opening of the academic year, Dr. Judah Magnes speaks out, , against the growing divisions in the society, and against the terrorism that had begun to divide Jew from Jew.

1948: As part of Operation Hiram, Israeli brigades captured the village of Safsaf. The village was defended by the Arab Liberation Army's Second Yarmuk Battalion. About 50-70 people were killed. The village was attacked during the evening of October 29 and a fierce battle lasted until 7 AM the next morning. The village defenders inflicted heavy casualties to the attackers. According to some reports, the Israeli forces proceded to take part in vicious mascree of the Arab inhabitants.

1948: Operation Hiram continues with a pitched battle at the strong of Jish which is the same place as Gush Halav where the Jews had fought the Romans 2000 years ago. The difference is that this time the Jews are the victors.

1952: The Jerusalem Post’s editorial commented on the recent unrest of new immigrants in ma’abarot. While it was a pity that the current, mostly Communist agitation in camps turned the immigrants’ mind aside from the achievements of the government and the Jewish Agency in absorbing the massive immigration under difficult conditions, it was high time that the conscience of the entire Israeli people to be aroused to a nationwide effort to integrate the ma'abarot residents into the life of the country by a practical and abiding personal interest in their problems. Ma'abarot was the name given to the large, temporary camps constructed for newcomers to Israel. The first one was built in 1949 and hundreds more would be built to take care of the influx of immigrants. They were obviously not a perfect solution but they were the best the struggling state could do under the circumstances. Today there is a company that markets a variety of agricultural products including baby food and pet food under the name Macabre Products.

1956: The Sinai Campaign known in Hebrew as the Mivtza Kadesh began. It lasted 8 days; it was coordinated with both France and England. The reasons for the war were twofold: The increased attacks on civilians by the Egyptian backed Fedayeen from Gaza had caused 1300 casualties in Israel. The second was the blockade of the Gulf of Aqaba which denied the Red Sea shipping routes to Israeli ships or the ships of other nations that would be bring goods to Israel. This meant that Israeli shipping was limited to Mediterranean ports which meant that Israeli’s economy was “breathing on one lunge.” The French and English on the other hand were concerned with Egypt’s decision to nationalize the Suez Canal. While Israel attacked Gaza and pushed into half of Sinai, the French and English secured the canal itself. On the Israeli side 171 people were killed with several hundred wounded. Under massive United States and Soviet pressure Israel was forced to withdraw from the Sinai. The campaign began with an audacious paratroop drop by Israeli forces at the Straits of Tiran which opened the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping. As Chief of Staff, Moshe Dayan masterminded the lightning campaign that swept across the Sinai Peninsula. The man with eye patch became an international symbol for the “new Jew,” a resourceful fighter, the citizen soldier building and defending the ancient Jewish state. The Suez Campaign actually lasted for about 100 hours. The lightning quick victory gave rise to a number of jokes among comedians in the United States. “Why did the fighting only take 100 hours? The equipment was rented and the Jews had to get it back in time or they would lose their deposit.”

1956: Four Israeli propeller-driven P-51 fighters cross into the Sinai. Flying at 12 feet above the ground, they use their propellers to cut the telephone lines connecting the Egyptian air force and army communication centers. The Egyptians have the larger force. It is well supplied by the Soviets with the latest in equipment. But the Israelis have the “advantages” of audacity and desperation. This was followed by a drop of less than 400 hundred paratroopers at the eastern end of the Mitla Pass. The Mitla Pass was the key to the Israeli advance across the Sinai. Fortunately for the Israelis, the Egyptians were confused as to what was happening. If they had moved aggressively at this moment, these future four hundred war heroes would have been POW or casualties and the Sinai Campaign would have been over before it started.

1956: Border Police platoon shot and killed 48 unarmed Arab civilians in the village of Kafr Kasim east of Petah Tikvah because the residents were unknowingly in violation of a curfew imposed on the village due to the onset of the Sinai Campaign. The subsequent trial and conviction of the border policemen created a legal precedent that determined that certain military orders - such as those to shoot unarmed curfew violators - are so manifestly illegal that they must be disobeyed. The President of Israel will apologize publicly for this episode in a speech on December 21, 2007.

1957: The MGM producer and movie mogul Louis B. Mayer died at the age of 71. More than one person claimed to have attended Mayer’s funeral just to make sure he was dead.

1957: A blast from a hand grenade or a bomb in the Knesset wounded David Ben Gurion and four cabinet ministers.

1958: Birthdate of David Remnick, Pulitzer prize winning writer and editor of the New Yorker Magazine.

1964: The town of Carmiel in the Galil is established. Carmiel is “twinned” with Baltimore, MD.

1971: Birthdate of actress Winona Ryder. Born Winona Laura Horowitz, she was named for the Minnesota in which she was born. According to at least one source, she was raised in a hippie commune lifestyle. Her scrapes with the law have earned almost as much publicity as has her acting career.

2000: The New York Times book section features reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or on topics of special Jewish interesting including Ghost Light: A Memoir by Frank Rich and Susan Sontag: The Making of an Icon by Carl Rollyson and Lisa Paddock.

2004: In Toronto, Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein release a big screen documentary entitled “The Take.”

2004: Newspapers and sports programs continued to sing the praises of Theo Epstein, the young, Jewish, General Manager who played a key role in Boston Red Sox’s first World Series victory since 1918.

2006: The Seventh International Poetry Festival opens at Jerusalem's Mishkenot Sha'ananim. The festival opens Sunday at 6 P.M. with a poetry reading, "Kol Koreh," accompanied by students from the Rimon School of Jazz. The artistic directors of the Jerusalem festival are the poet Agi Mishol and Prof. Ariel Hirschfeld.

2006: The Washinngton Post book section features Haim Watzman’s review of Prisoners: A Muslime and a Jew Across the Middle East Divide by Jeffrey Goldberg.

2006: The New York Times book section features reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or on topics of special Jewish interesting including Journey to a Revolution: A Personal Memoir and History of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 by Michael Korda and the paper back version Wickett’s Remedy by Myla Goldberg.

2007: The Bank Leumi hosts a West End Gala as part of the UK Jewish Film Festival sponsoring a showing of the The Band's Visit.

2007: Jon Entine discusses his new book, Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People, as part of a book forum at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.

2007: St.-Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ehud Efrati, a 34-year-old father of three and the IDF's third casualty in Gaza this year, was killed in clashes with Palestinian gunmen near the Sufa Crossing in southern Gaza.

2007: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

2007: Israel “Poli” Poliakov, actor, singer and member of the legendary comedy trio Hagashash Hahiver (The Pale Scout) died of cancer at Petah Tivkva’s Rabin Medical-Beilinson Campus at the age of 66.

2008: The "Nextbook" series and the D.C. Jewish Community Center present a reading and discussion with Israeli writer David Grossman, author of The Yellow Wind, the novel Someone to Run With and the newly-published Writing in the Dark: Essays on Literature and Politics, at American University, in Washington, D.C.

2008: “The First Basket,” a documentary about Jews and basketball opens in New York City. www.thefirstbasket.com.

2008: The Twenty-Third Israel Film Festival opens in New York with an a gala event at the Ziegfeld Theater featuring the US premiere of the film "Lost Islands” the biggest Box Office Success in Israel in 2008.