JUNE 10 In Jewish History
1190: During the Third Crusade Frederick I
Barbarossa drowns in the Saleph River while leading an army to Jerusalem. The German emperor was one of three monarchs
leading the crusade. The other two were
Phillip Augustus of France and Richard the Lionhearted of England. From the Jewish point of view, the untimely
drowning was a great loss. “For German
Jewry, The Third Crusade could have raised havoc similar to the first.” That it didn’t was a result of the foresight
demonstrated by Frederick. “His timely order not to preach against the Jews,
directed to monks and priests, helped, and his warnings to the Diet (Parliament)
that anyone convicted of killing Jews would with his own life helped even
more. Local marshals dispersed surly
mobs hovering around Jewish districts, and Frederick let it be known that
anyone who inflicted injury on a Jew would have his hand chopped off. At the emperor’s urging, bishops in his realm
threatened people who attacked Jews with excommunication. A Jewish chronicler, Ephraim ben-Jacob of
Bonna, wrote, ‘Frederick defended us with all his might and enabled us to live
among our enemies, so that no one harmed the Jews.’”
1539: Pope Paul III sends out letters to his Bishops
calling for a delay in the start of the Council of Trent, which would turn out
to be one of the major conclaves in the history of the Catholic Church. Pope Paul III is the Pope who is credited
with starting a series of tribunals that became known as the Roman Inquisition
or, more simply, The Inquisition. While the Inquisition was aimed at a variety
of non-believers, over the centuries Jews, Marranos and Conversos suffered disproportionately
under this scourge.
1577: Pope Gregory XIII issued a warrant that “confirmed
the statutes of the (Roman) Jewish community and permitted the collection of
taxes.”
1624: During the Dutch War for Independence France
and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Compiegne which enabled France to supply
the Dutch with financial aid in their fight to gain independence from Spain.
Since Protestant Holland’s victory over Catholic Spain was in the best interest
of the Jews since the former had provided a safe haven and the latter followed
a ruinous policy of anti-Semitism.
1648: Start of the Cossacks ten year war with the
Poles also known as the Chmielniki Uprising. The Jews were caught between
the Russian Orthodox Cossacks who hated the Roman Catholic Poles who had been
occupying their land. Jews had served as agents for the Polish nobles
managing their lands and collecting the taxes. For this, and the fact
that they were Jews, the Cossack hated them. At the same time, the Poles
betrayed the Jews, in many instances turning them over to the Cossacks thinking
that this would mollify the angry horde. It didn't but from the Jews'
point of view that really did not matter since they were killed regardless of
what happened. In the ten tumultuous years that followed, over seven hundred
Jewish communities were destroyed and between one hundred and five hundred
thousand Jews lost their lives. The ensuing sense of helplessness contributed
to the rise of the messianic movement which soon followed.
1729(13th of Sivan): Rabbi Abraham ben David
Yizhaki, author of Zera Abraham passed away
1749 (7 Sivan 5509): Count Valentine Potocki is
burned at the stake in Vilna. The count, along with his friend Zeremba, met an
old Jew in a tavern and promised to convert if he could convince them of the
preeminence of Judaism. Potoscki converted and eventually settled in Vilna.
Zeremba hearing that his friend converted did likewise and moved to Eretz-
Israel. His presence became known and he was put on trial for heresy when he
refused to recant. His ashes were collected and buried in Vilna where the
inscription on tomb read Abraham Ben Abraham Ger Zedek (a righteous proselyte).
The Jews of Vilna would visit his grave and say Kaddish.
1760 (7 Sivan 5520): On the secular calendar, of
Israel ben Eliezer passed away. Also known as the Baal Shem Tov he was the
"founder" of the Chassidic Movement. Born in 1700 in Lokop,
Podolia and orphaned at a young age, he was raised by the Jewish community and
spent much of his time alone in the nearby forests. After he married, he moved
to the Carpathian Mountains and then to a small town where his wife set up an
inn. At age thirty-six, he revealed himself to the community as a healer and a
comforter. He received the name 'Baal Shem Tov' (Master of the Good
Name) and was simply called the 'Besht'. His major philosophy consisted of
worshipping G-d with joy and believing that simple prayers when uttered in
earnest were more important that extreme intellectualization. The Besht
believed that Tzaddikim, or righteous ones, were sent by G-d to guide
the people. Though he left no writings of his own, he was immortalized by the
often miraculous and magnified stories of his life as told by his closest
followers.
1760:
Canadian businessman and political leader, Aaron
Hart, became a member of the St. Paul's Lodge of Freemasons today “making him
one of the first Jews in North America to become a Mason”
1827: Birthdate of Thomas W. Ferry, U.S. Senator
from Michigan who would be the first President Pro Tempore of the United States
Senate to attend the consecration of an orthodox synagogue in Washington, D.C.
1829: Birthdate of Filosseno Luzzatto “an Italian
Jewish scholar” who was the son of Samuel David Luzzatto.
1837(7th of Sivan): Rabbi Chaim Isaac Mussafia of
Jerusalm, author of Chaim va Chesed passed away
1846(16th of Sivan, 5606): Heimann Joseph Michael, the native of Hamburg who became a leading Hebrew
bibliographer of the first half of the 19th century passed away. His
impact outlived his death as can be seen by the fact that his seminal work Or
ha-Hayyim which was edited by his son was published in Frankfort in 1891.
1852: In New York, a Jewish peddler was arrested
today on charges of having stolen a watch valued at $30 from a resident of
Newton.
1860: In New York, Congregation B’nai Israel
purchased additional land on the corner of Stanton and Forsyth Streets on which
they were building a sanctuary that was consecrated in August of the same year.
1870: The New York Times reported that the
fact that Sir Moses Montefiore has verified reports of the massacre of Jews in
Romania has discredited claims that these attacks did not take place.
1872: An article published today entitled “The
Russian Jews” described a paper on the Jews of northwestern Russia that was
presented at a recent meeting of the Russian Geographical Society held at St.
Petersburg. The author of the paper
divides the Jews into a variety of groups and sub-groups. According to him the Jews belong to two major
groupings which differ in regard to “religion and language.” One group believes in the Talmud and speaks a
“corrupt German dialectic.” The second
group, called the Karaites, “rejects the Talmud, are not even absolute
believers in the Bible… “have their own traditions which have collected into a
book” that “has the same authority over them as the Talmud has over other
Jews” and speak a language that “is of
Tartar Origin. The author goes on to
divide the first group into two subgroups – the Mitnagdim and the Chasidim who
are called “Jumpers” by the Russians because they leap from the ground when
praying – and describes the differences in their respective views and practices. Finally, the Jews are broken down into Four
Groups that include “the worldly Jews,” “the devout” Jews, “the Germans” who
are followers of Moses Mendelsohn and the “Epicureans” who reject all forms of
Jewish custom and ceremony as well as the Talmud.
1872: An article published today subtitled “The Romanian Jews and the Reichstag” reported that in May of this year the German government has joined other European powers in responding to requests to help the Jews of Romania. The government announced that it could not interfere in the internal affairs of another country especially since none of those affected were German citizens. Germany reiterated the request of the other powers which had been made in February that persecution of the Jews stop. The government also took credit for the release of some of the wrongfully convicted Jews. [Editor’s note- the issue of the treatment of Romania’s Jews is one that would agitate the European Powers and the United States during the last decades of the 19th century.]
1872: An article published today subtitled “The
Israelites of Prussia” reported that “the Jewish questions” (the treatment of
the Jews of Romania) is of special interest in Berlin because “trade and
banking is mainly in the hands of the elect people.” “The financial heads of the dispersed nation
have joined..to make their power felt to get the other nations to act against
Romania. “A Committee of the Alliance Israelite Universelle has been
formed” in Berlin “as a standing council of war” that would destroy the value
of Romanian bonds. “That is a strong measure, but one for which the Jews have
the power.” [Editor’s Note – The view of the Jew as “the other” who is part of
an international financial concern would grow along with other European
stereotypes: International Communist Conspirator and impoverished shiftless vermin.]
1872: An article published today sub-titled “Jewish
University” reported that a Jewish university was opened at Berlin in May. The Jewish community has been working on this
project for several years and its opening is another example of the great
strides made them in the Kaiser’s Empire.
The ceremony was attended only by Jewish officials but this should not
be of any concern since there are plenty of Jews to attend the school.
1877: “A Jewish Suit For Divorce” published today
described the adjudication of cause of action in Great Britain filed by an
American Jew named Elias Isaacs naming his wife Deborah as respondent and her lover, Bloc, as correspondent. The
jury found that the respondent and co-respondent were guilty of damages but
declined to assess damages because the petitioner had “conduced” (contributed
to) his wife’s misconduct by separating from her for an extended period of time
and not given her the protection one should expect in a marital relationship.
[And people think that Jews are dull and
boring]
1877: An article published today entitled “The Place
of Wailing” reported that the picture which Jerusalem presents that longest
haunts the memory is perhaps the spectacle of the Jews wailing before the
ancient wall of their city. There in
full sunlight, bowed in every attitude of grief, their faces set against those
gigantic blocks which reveal…their antiquity, a group of 30 to 40 Jews are
seen, perhaps a little too much as in an opera, by a long line of cold-faced
Europeans. The two groups are in
startling contrast. Everything in the one speaks of the orderly life, the
suppression of feel, the formality of vesture, a colorless insipidity, the
outcome of our modern conventional existence; the other shows us figures, for
the most part, which might stepped froth from the pages of the Bible, some of
the heads of such grandeur that they might be the descendents of prophets; maidens
whose contrite aspect reminds one of Ruth and Esther, surrender themselves to a
sorrow which reverberates through the ages and is the one true bond which
connect the grand days of old with the present.
1879: Today, the U.S. House of Representatives
passed the point resolution reported by the Committee on Foreign Affairs in
relation to treaty negotiations with Russia as to American Israelites.
1880: Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont graduated from the
U.S. Naval Academy. Belmont was the son
of August Belmont the Hessian Jew who came to the United States as a
representative of the Rothschilds and built a fortune of his own. The naval career might have seemed strange
for the son of a Jews. But, his maternal grandfather Commodore Mathew Perry who
commanded the naval expedition that opened trade with Japan and a maternal
grand-uncle was Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the War of 1812.
1880(1st of Tammuz, 5640: Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
1886(7th of Sivan, 5646): Second Day of
Shavuot
1886: For the second day in a row, final exams are
scheduled to be given on Shavuot at Philadelphia’s Central High School despite
the requests of the city’s rabbis to make other arrangements.
1898: The Jewish Chronicle carried a vivid
account of an anti-Jewish riot in Jassy, Romania — a place that the paper
decided was no longer safe for Jews
1901:
Birthdate of Austrian-born American composer, Frederic Lowe. Lowe teamed with Alan Jay Lerner to create
such hits as Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon and My Fair Lady.
1907: The parents of Riva (Rebecca)
Hillesum-Bernstein who would be the maternal grandparents of Riva (Rebecca)
Hillesum-Bernstein arrived in Amsterdam where they were re-united with their
daughter and son.
1908: Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, the son of August
Belmont, who inherited a fortune large enough when his father died to marry a
Vanderbilt. In an era of matrilineal
Judaism, Belmont was not Jewish and he certainly was not considered to be one
as he moved through the high society of his time. But he was August’s son and
the enemies of August never let anybody forget about his Jewish antecedents.
1909: First day of a two day conference held in New
York that would create the youth organization known as Young Judaea.
1910: Gustave Bauer, a banker from Madrid was
elected, to the Spanish Parliament as the deputy for Corogna. He was the first
Jew elected to public office since the expulsion in 1492.
1911: Birthdate of Hans Herzl, son of Theodor Herzl.
1915:
Birthdate of author Saul Bellow. Bellow
won both the Pulitzer and the Nobel prizes. Among his more famous works are Herzog
and Humboldt’s Gift.
1916:
Birthdate of William Rosenberg, founder of Dunkin Donuts. Rosenberg opened his first Dunkin Donut shop
in his native New England in 1950. Not
only was he a pioneer in this particular food genre, he was a pioneer in the
franchise industry. Rosenberg was an
equine enthusiast and philanthropist. By
the time he died at the age of 86 he had given millions to several causes
including Harvard Medical School where a chair was endowed in his honor.
1917:
A column styled "Latest Publication" published today reported that
copies of “The Russian Revolution” by Issac Don Levine and the “The Holy
Scriptures,” a new English translation published by the Jewish Pubication
Society were available in New York City.
1917: In the United States, three hundred and
thirty-five thousand people chose representatives for the first American Jewish
Congress. The Congress would meet for the first time in 1918 under the
leadership of Rabbi Stephen Wise. Founded to ameliorate the suffering from WW
I, the Congress became an advocate for civil rights and civil liberties as well
as seeing to it that the Jewish point of view was taken into consideration on
the national political scene. The organization
is a staunch defender of the doctrine of separation of church and state and an
ardent advocate for the state of Israel.
1923: Birthdate of Slovokian-born British media
mogul Ian Robert Maxwell.
1925: Birthdate of Nat Hentoff
1926:
Socialist Congressman and champion of the underdog Meyer London was buried
today at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Queens following a funeral that included a
procession of 50,000 mourners and half a million on-lookers. London may have the distinction of being the
only Socialist who was condemned as an anti-American radical to have a United
States naval vessel named in his honor. The U.S.S. Meyer London, one the famed
fleet of Liberty ships, was launched in 1943 and was sunk by an enemy torpedo
off the coast of Libya in 1944.
1928: In Philadelphia, Betty and Rabbi Simon Greenberg,
the future vice chancellor of JTS gave birth to Moshe Greenberg, “one of the
most influential Jewish biblical scholars of the 20th century.”
1928:
Birthdate of Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are.
1932:
In Brooklyn, Morris and Evelyn (Bayer) Ginsburg gave birth to Martin David
Ginsberg Georgetown University Law Professor and famed tax attorney.
1932(6th
of Sivan, 5692): First Day of Shavuot
1933:
President Roosevelt submitted the name of Dr. William E. Dodd to serve as
Ambassador to Germany and the Senate voted to confirm the nomination. Dodd served with distinction, but much to his
dismay was unable to convince the State Department and others of the dangers
presented by the rise of the Nazis.
1933:
Joe T. Robinson of Arkansas, the Democratic majority leader, gave a speech on
the floor the U.S. Senate strongly condemning the persecution of the Jews in
Germany. He described what was going on
in Germany as “sickening and terrifying.”
As the Senate’s leading Democrat, Senator Robinson often serves as the
unofficial spokesman for the administration.
Jesse Metcalf, the Republican Senator from Rhode Island joined in the
condemnation saying that “a violation of religious freedom in any part of the
world is a blow at” American ideals. Senator Robert Wagner of New York
expressed his “horror at the resorts of inteolerance, discrimination and
violence.” Wagner’s condemnation carried
additional weight since he was born in Germany and grew up there.Senator Royal
Copeland spoke approvingly of Jews as a group, endorsed the comments of Senator
Robinson but expressed the view that the German people were not responsible but
rather they were “under a power over which they have no control.” [An early
version of “the Germans are not Nazis” argument]
1934(27th of Sivan, 5694): Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky
passed away. He “was
a Soviet developmental psychologist whose work received widespread recognition
in the Western world around the 1960s. According to Vygotsky, the intellectual
development of children is a function of human communities, rather than of
individuals.”
1936: The Palestine Post reported that two
Arabs died and 26 Arabs and Armenians were injured by a bomb which exploded
inside the Jaffa Gate on June 8.
1936: The Palestine Post reported that Mr.
Ormsby Gore, the colonial secretary, told the House of Commons in London that
the Palestine government was taking all possible action to protect life,
property and communications in the country. The Palestine government was
granted further emergency powers under the Palestine (Defense) Order in Council
of 1931.
1936:
“Five Arabs were seriously wounded today in as part of a round of disorder such
as have become typical of the Arab anti-Jewish campaign In Palestine.” As the Arab uprising continued, “Jerusalem
was again cut off from the rest of Palestine and the world in general when
telephone and telegraph lines were severed” supposedly by Arab vandals.
1940: As the Nazi Blitz of the Low Countries and
France was reaching a successful climax Italy under Mussolini,
entered World War II on the side of the Germans. Italy's attack on
France was described by Churchill as the hand that has held the dagger has
now struck it in the back. This move by Mussolini would ultimately imperil the
Italian Jewish Community, resulting in deportation and death later in the war.
1940: The French government departed Paris as
the German armies swept forward. Soon an Armistice would be signed
dividing control of France between Nazi occupation and the pro-Nazi Vichy
Government. Jews would be at peril in both places.
1940: As two million Parisians flee the City of
Light, Hans and Margaret Rey find themselves trapped in a city that the French
government has declared “an open city.”
This declaration means that unlike Warsaw, London, etc. Paris will be
the one major city not bombed by the Nazis. This marks the beginning of strangely
cordial relationship between the Nazis and the French which bodes ill for the
Jews trapped in France including Hans Rey, the creator of Curious George and
his wife Margaret.
1942: Today, during the
siege of Bir Hakeim, part of the battle being fought against Rommel in North
Africa, the British campaign headquarters of the British 8th Army issued an
order to retreat. By then The Jewish Company, a volunteer unit that had
consisted of 400 men at the start of the fight, had lost 75% of its men as they
fought to delay Rommel's offensive for 10 days.
1942: Thousands of Jews were sent from Prague to ‘an
unknown destination in the East' in cattle cars. The destination was Belzec,
the site of their murder. The Jews of Biala Podlaska were sent to Sobibor.
1943:
Birthdate of television news personality Jeff Greenfield.
1943(7th
of Shavuot, 5703): Second Day of Shavuot
1944(19th of Sivan, 5704): In the French
village of Oradour-sur-Glane, Germans kill 642 residents as revenge for the
killing of an SS officer by a Resistance sniper. Women and children are burned
alive in a church and the men are machine-gunned. Of the 642 victims, seven are
Jewish refugees who had escaped deportation to Auschwitz by living with
sympathetic Oradour-sur-Glane villagers. Included among the dead is
eight-year-old Serge Bergman.
1944:
Reszoe (Rudolf) Kasztner, head of the Aid and Rescue Committee known as Va’adah
chose “388 members of his own extended family, as well as groups of family
friends” to serve as a selected groups of Jews that will be allowed to leave
Hungary as a token of German “good faith” during the negotiations with Eichmann
and Himmler that are being conducted by Joel Brand.
1948: Syrian forces over-ran Mishmar Ha-Yarden a
Jewish settlement on the west bank of the Jordan River. The Syrians had every advantage including
control of the air, tanks and a full array of artillery. Realizing the desperate nature of their
situation, the Jewish settlers sent the women and children away. The few surviving defenders were taken to
Damascus. The Syrians called the victory
Faith-Allah (the Capture of God). After
the war, the Jews rebuilt Mishmar Ha-Yarden a mile from the original kibbutz. The ruins of the original settlement were
left as a memorial to those who fought and fell in the fight to create a Jewish
home. This was one of the last military actions before the first truce between
the Israelis and the Arabs which was slated to start on June 11.
1959:
In the Bronx Anne (née Goldhaber), an English literature professor, and Bernard
Spitzer, a real estate mogul gave birth to Eliot Spitzer New York State’s
Attorney General, Governor and talking television head for cable news.
1960(15th
of Sivan, 5720): Charles Joseph Singer, distinguished “British historian of
science, technology and medicine passed away.
He was the son of Simeon Singer, the Rabbi of London’s West End
Synagogue who translated the Authorized Daily Prayer Book into English. He was
the husband of Dorothea Waley Cohen, who in a manner unusual for her time was a
leading historian of the Medieval Period.
There is no way that this blog can do justice to Singer’s long and
distinguished career.
1962:
Birthdate of actress Gina Gershwin
1966:
Birthdate of Gina Bellman, “a New Zealand-born British actress.”
1967:
As of today, Syria had lost approximately 100 combat aircraft.
1967: At 6:30 p.m. a cease-fire went into effect on
the Golan Heights effectively ending the Six Day War. There was no Arab
military force that could have kept the Israelis from taking Cairo, Damascus or
Amman. But as Yitzchak Rabin pointed out, the Israelis had not gone to war to
cease territory. They had gone to war only after all diplomatic efforts had
failed and they were faced with the choice of fighting or facing extinction. In
a week’s time they had changed the map of the Middle East. The forces facing
them were not "tin men." Contrary to some of the comments made by the
ill informed, the Arabs had fought hard and the IDF had suffered the casualties
to prove it. The fact was that in a week Israel had gone from a nation with a
noose around its neck to being victors who had reclaimed Jerusalem, seized the
Golan Heights from which the Syrians had shelled Israeli farmers for almost two
decades and occupied a swath of land from the Jordan River to the Suez Canal. In the weeks prior to
the war, Israel had been subjected to constant shelling from the Golan Heights
and blockading by Egypt of the Straits of Tiran (Israel's only southern sea
outlet). Once the UN observer forces left the Sinai at Egypt's behest the stage
was set for war. Within a few days, the entire Sinai was in Israel's hands, and
despite being warned not to interfere, Jordan shelled Jerusalem opening that
front as well. This battle led to the capture of the West Bank and the
unification of Jerusalem. On the Syrian front, Israel succeeded in pushing the
Syrians back to Kunetra and taking part of the Hermon range. In fewer then six
days, Israel had routed all three of its neighbors losing over 700 men and
having over 2,500 wounded. More than 400 Arab planes and 500 tanks were
destroyed. The UN Security Council rejected a Soviet call for an unconditional
pullback to the "green line".
1976: The Jerusalem Post reported that the
Knesset approved the Ben-Gurion Memorial Bill on its first reading. The
memorial covered Ben-Gurion's home in Tel Aviv, the Institute for the Legacy of
Ben-Gurion at Kibbutz Sde Boker and the Desert Institute in the Negev. There
was a threat that Egged buses would grind to a halt as the cooperative was
unable to pay its fuel suppliers to whom it owed IL 4m., in addition to
millions it owed to suppliers of other equipment. The Ministry of Transport
insisted that if the cooperative wished to obtain the IL
200m.government-guaranteed loan, it would have to deduct IL 300 per month from
its members' salaries. But following the ministry's order to carry soldiers
free, Egged reneged on this agreement.
1976(12th
of Sivan, 5736): Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount Studios and one Hollywood’s
early movie moguls passed away at the age of 103.
1982:
Units of the Golani Brigad and the Barak Armored Brigade finished the fighting
that resulted in the capture of two villages on the outskirts of Beiruit.
1994(1st
of Tamuz, 5754): Rosh Chodesh Tamuz
1999:
In Baltimore, Maryland, Anshe-Emunah-Aitz Chaim-Tifereth Israel voted to merge
with Moses Montifore Emunath Israel-Woodmoor Hebrew Congregation.
2000(7th of Sivan, 5760): Second Day of Shavuot
2001: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest
to Jewish readers including Skeptical Music: Essays on
Modern Poetry by David Bromwich and Dance with Demons: The Life of
Jerome Robbins by Greg Lawrence.
2002:
President Bush welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the White House.
2004:
Ambassador Earle I. Mack presented his credentials to the President of Finland,
Tarja Halonen. Ambassador Mack has a long history associated with
business, the arts, public service, and education. He received his Bachelor of
Science from Drexel University and was honored being selected from 65,000
candidates as one of 100 outstanding alumni among the "Drexel 100",
and he attended Fordham School of Law. He holds an honorary degree in Doctor of
Humane Letters from Yeshiva University. From 1992-2004, he served as Chairman
of the Board of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law where presently he is
Chairman Emeritus.
2004:
Effi Eitam
and Yitzhak
Levy quit the government to protest the plan to leave Gaza.
2004:
Tzipi Livini succeeded Effit Eitam as Minister of Housing and Construction.
2006: Bat Mitzvah of Gail Barnum, daughter of Amy
and Joel Barnum.
2007: At Temple Judah, In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Dr. Howard Lenhoff
describes a real and modern exodus--the rescue of Ethiopian Jews and their
deliverance to Israel. Dr. Lenhoff, a graduate of Coe College and a distinguished
biologist at the University of California (Irvine), was instrumental in this
rescue. He is the author of author of, Black
Jews, Jews, and Other Heroes. How Grassroots Activism Led to the Rescue of the
Ethiopian Jews
2007:
Annual Temple Judah Congregational Meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
2007:
The Sunday New York Times book
section featured a review of Sylvia and The Collected Stories two
works by the late Jewish author Leonard Michaels.
2007:
Norman Finkelstein, who gained famed for his controversial comments about the
Holocaust, has been denied tenure by De Paul University
2007:
The Sunday Washington Post book
section featured a review of 1967: Israel, the War and the Year That
Transformed the Middle East by Tom Segev.
2007: The
Sunday Chicago Tribune featured an article entitled “Facing a grim reality
in Austrian Town” which tells of how beneath the quiet homes and neat hedges of
Gusen, lie the remains of a Nazi concentration camp. Ironically, Mauthausen is
only four miles away and it is preserved as a monument the victims of the
Holocaust. At Gusen, the citizens
actually live in buildings left from the camp.
Christopher Mayer, a 32 year old artist has designed an audio tour for
visitors to hear the recollections of
survivors. www.chicagotribune.com/nazicamp
2007: Today, the Great Synagogue’s emeritus Rabbi,
Raymond Apple, was confirmed as the keynote speaker for the International
Council of Christians and Jews’ (ICCJ’s) 2007 conference in Sydney to be held
in July.
2007:
Ronald Lauder was elected President of the World Jewish Congress today
defeating the South African businessman Mendel Kaplan and Einat Wilf of Israel
2008(7th of Sivan, 5768): Second Day Shavuot
2008: Ninety percent of the Israeli public thinks that the country
is tainted with corruption and over half say that corruptibility is a necessary
to prerequisite to success in the political sphere, according to the Israeli
Democracy Institute’s (IDI) annual Democracy Index which was submitted to
President Shimon Peres.
2009: Simon Schama, a professor of art history at Columbia University
and a cultural critic for the New Yorker magazine, discusses and signs
his new book, The American Future: A History at Politics and Prose in
Washington, D.C.
2009: The Hebrew Book Fair opens at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv.
As
part of the Book Fair events, the Centennial Year Administration will launch 4
new books dedicated to Tel Aviv – Yafo. These four volumes, selected from 50
candidates include: A Crane Points to the Sea – A poetry book by Gilad
Cahane, The Sarona Templar Colony at Times of Struggle by Nir Mann, A
City with a Concept: 100 Years of Urban Planning in Tel Aviv by Natty Marom
and The Lost Children: Mandatory Tel Aviv's Back Yard by Dr. Tami Razi
2009: The RSX European Open Windsurfing Championship begins at Tel
Aviv’s Gordon Beach.
2009: Ken “Feinberg was appointed by the U.S. Treasury Department
to oversee the compensation of top executives at companies which have received
federal bailout assistance.”
2009: An American white supremacist opened fire at the US Holocaust
Memorial Museum today killing a security guard before being shot himself,
according to initial reports. The shooter was named as James Von Brunn by a law
enforcement official, pending confirmation and speaking on condition of
anonymity, who noted that his car had been found near the museum. Both Von
Brunn and the unnamed security officer were rushed to hospital following the
shootout, which took place at midday. Von Brunn was described by officials as
in "grave condition." A Washington Fire Department spokesman said
that a third person had been lightly wounded in the exchange, in which two
officers fired back at the assailant. Following the attack, President Barack
Obama reacted with shock, saying that the act demonstrated the need to fight
anti-Semitism. "I am shocked and saddened by today's shooting at the US
Holocaust Memorial Museum," he said in a statement. "This outrageous
act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice
in all its forms. No American institution is more important to this effort than
the Holocaust Museum, and no act of violence will diminish our determination to
honor those who were lost by building a more peaceful and tolerant world.
"Today, we have lost a courageous security guard who stood watch at this
place of solemn remembrance," the statement continued. "My thoughts
and prayers are with his family and friends in this painful time."
Bystanders described a scene of fear and chaos as they heard security officers
yell at hundreds of students, tourists and museum staff to flee the premises.
Public safety officers then secured the perimeter and cut off vehicles from the
site. FBI agents are helping with the investigation, as authorities said they
were checking for possible terror connections. Washington Police Chief Kathy
Lanier said the police had received no information or threats that such an
attack was in the offing. She refused to confirm that Von Brunn was the lead
suspect during a press conference following the shooting. Von Brunn is a
well-known white supremacist, Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center
told CNN, referring to a Web site and publications he produced over several
years in which he has "raged" against Jews and blacks. He noted that
Von Brunn had been arrested in the past in connection to hate crimes. But some
of the witnesses to today’s shooting said they didn't believe the shooter to be
elderly, though Von Brunn is in his late 80s. However, they also noted that
they found themselves amid chaos and confusion as museum-goers tried to figure
out what to do. "People were running as fast as they could... People were
on the floor," said 19-year-old Maria Hernandez, who heard the shots and saw
blood covering the ground. "It was just chaos everywhere." She also
heard this "very angry yell" coming from the perpetrator, while the
guards were telling him to drop his weapon and get down on the floor. Karen
Unruh, who was waiting in line with her two grandsons when the shooting
started, heard a "bang, bang, bang" and worried that they would be
the next victims, so "we just hit the floor." Standing among the
throng of reporters and curious tourists outside the museum following the
attack, she expressed shock at what happened. "I just can't believe this
is happening to us in America." Ora Mois, who was visiting Washington from
Kfar Saba, also couldn't believe that she found herself amid such violence in
the US. "In Israel, we've gotten used to this, but here? It's the American
dream, to come here, to travel, but not like this." But her brother Moti
Shair said he wasn't surprised. "People are looking for Jews, wherever
they are, to make a point," he said. "It's terrible. It reminds me of
some sad memories from the past. They're still looking for Jewish
targets." Several Jewish and Israel groups expressed alarm at the news.
"We are shocked and saddened by today's shooting incident at the US
Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The Embassy of Israel condemns this attack
and is closely following the situation," the embassy said in a statement.
Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon, who was concluding a two-day visit to
Washington, was not believed to be in the area, as a visit to the museum was
not on his itinerary. The Holocaust Museum also put out a statement emphasizing
its concern for the injured security officer, before he passed away. "Our
thoughts and prayers go out to the officer and his family," it read. The
statement indicated the facility was expected to reopen Thursday. US President
Barack Obama was saddened by the shooting at the museum, which is near the
White House, a spokesman said. In Jerusalem, Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli
Edelstein said, "This evening's incident is, regrettably, yet another proof
that anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are still alive and well. Israel must
fight these phenomena in the domestic arena, in the international arena, in the
legal arena, in academia and in the media, and must demand that the rest of the
world say 'No!' to incidents such as this." The Yad Vashem Holocaust
Memorial expressed shock at the "appalling" shooting attack on the US
Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Yad Vashem spokeswoman Iris Rosenberg
said in a statement that "the museum, in addition to being a memorial to
the victims of the Holocaust, is dedicated to educating against this kind of
hate. His target makes this shooting that much more heinous." Yad Vashem
Chairman Avner Shalev spoke to the Washington museum's Director Sara Bloomfield
to express support, and deep empathy, to her and all the museum staff. The
shooting was also condemned by the chief Nazi hunter of the Los Angeles-based
Simon Wiesenthal Center. "On many levels it is a very symbolic target, and
it is not surprising that someone who espouses White supremacy would want to
attack an institution like that, since Holocaust museums are the antithesis of
this person's racist ideology and anti-Semitism," said Dr. Efraim Zuroff,
the organization's Israel director. He noted that the fact that the suspected
shooter is 89 years old reinforces the organization's view that in terms of
bringing Nazi war criminals to justice, age is not an issue. He added that the
Wiesenthal Center in California has been the target of threats and violence, as
well as actual property destruction.
2010: Grammy Award-winners Susan McKeown and Lorin Sklamberg are scheduled to present Saints & Tzadiks,
a project celebrating Yiddish and Irish song at the Washington Jewish Music
Festival.
2010: Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak Dance Company is scheduled to
perform “Oyster at Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina.
2010: Israeli writer and peace activist David Grossman has been
named winner of the 2010 Peace Prize by the German association of publishers
and booksellers.Grossman, 56, is author of The Yellow Wind, a non-fiction work
that examined the lives of the Palestinians, and To the End of the Land, a
novel that examines the cost of war.The association said it chose to honour
Grossman because is "one of Israel's foremost authors and an active
supporter of reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.""[His]
books illustrate the extent to which we can only end the cycle of violence,
hatred and displacement in the Middle East by means of listening, restraint and
the power of words," it said in a statement today. Grossman will receive
the prize, which includes 25,000 euros ($31,300 Cdn), on Oct. 10 during a
ceremony at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Past winners include Orhan Pamuk, Susan
Sontag, Amos Oz, Vaclav Havel and Octavio Paz. Grossman was born in Jerusalem
and worked as a radio actor and correspondent for Israel's national
broadcaster. His books, The Yellow Wind and Death as A Way of Life, were
criticized within Israel and praised abroad for their portrait of
Palestinian-Israeli relations. He also wrote See Under: Love about the children
of Holocaust survivors.
2011: The CSI Milwaukee Directors Seminar sponsored by the
Coalition for Jewish Learning is scheduled to take place at the CJL in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “The Coalition for Jewish Learning (CJL), the education
program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, promotes and advances Jewish
education in the greater Milwaukee community, provides a support system for the
community’s institutions of Jewish learning, and forges coalitions to ensure
excellence in Jewish education.”
2011: An award winning solo piece by Israeli based Idan Cohen - "My
Sweet Little Fur" is scheduled to be performed by Ran Ben-Dror on the
third night of Contemporary Israeli Dance Week.
2011: Police entered a sensitive Jerusalem holy site to disperse
Palestinian protesters who were hurling stones today. The scene of today's
violence was the Old City compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to
Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police
entered the compound after Palestinians began lobbing stones at security forces
stationed outside one of the gates. He says police used stun grenades to
disperse the crowd. Rosenfeld says no one was injured and that order was
quickly restored.
2011(8th of Sivan, 5771): Eighty-five year old Norman
Redlich, a leading member of the New York bar and the Dean of New York University
Law School passed away. (As reported by
Paul Vitello)
2011(8th of Sivan, 5771): Adolph William ("Al") Schwimmer, founder of
Israel Aircraft Industries and winner of the Israel Prize died today at Tel
Hashomer hospital on his 94th birthday. Schwimmer, an American citizen born in
New York, was convicted in 1950 of violating the Neutrality Act for smuggling planes
to Israel during the 1948 War of Independence. He was stripped of his civil
rights, but not imprisoned. The American Jew was able to covertly bring the
aircrafts to Israel by establishing false companies, one of which was
purportedly the official airline of Panama. Schwimmer was in the Air Transport
Command in World War II, providing him with many contacts that were pilots and
in the airplane industry. He was able to use his contacts to transport the
planes to Israel. Schwimmer was pardoned in 2001 by then outgoing U.S.
President Bill Clinton. The pardon was awarded without any formal request from
Schwimmer. In an interview with the Jerusalem Report in 2001, Schwimmer said he
never applied for a pardon, calling it is a "complicated process".
The expatriate added that "you have to express regret for what you did,
and I didn't feel that way." However, the eldest son of Hank Greenspun, a
close friend of Schwimmer's who worked with him when he was smuggling arms into
Israel during the Independence War, is an attorney and a friend of Clinton. The
younger Greenspun sent all the paperwork to the Justice Department and told
Schwimmer, "I'm not asking you. I'm telling you, I sent in your
application for a pardon." After the establishment of the State of Israel
in 1948, Schwimmer joined the nascent Israel Air Force, after which he
established an aircraft company that evolved to become the Israel Aircraft
Industries during the 50's. Schwimmer ran the aircraft company for over 20
years, during which he became close with current President Shimon Peres. After
disagreements with former Defense Ministers Moshe Dayan and Ezer Weizman,
Schwimmer left Israel Aircradt Industries, becoming a "special
adviser" for the Israeli government for which he was paid a symbolic one
shekel a year. Schwimmer was awarded the Israel Prize for his contributions to
Israeli society in 2006.
2011: Congressman Anthony Weiner acknowledged he had exchanged at least
five private messages on Twitter with a 17-year-old Delaware girl, but
indicated that the messages were “neither explicit nor indecent.”
2012: 45th anniversary of the end of the “Six Days War.” The Jews of the world gave a collective sigh of relief. David had defeated a really big Goliath. On June 5 when the war started the deck was stacked against Israel’s survival. Not only were they facing an Arab alliance with a massive military advantage, they were, in effect, facing the Soviets who were dedicated to the victory of their Moslem client states. When the first reports of Arab claims about having inflicted heavy losses on the Israelis, people were really scared. Remember, this was in the days before the internet, etc. so communication from the battlefield was a dicey thing at best. By the time the war was over, there were plenty of American Jews who had been ambivalent about Israel who know took great pride in the Jewish state and became active supporters. Despite what the revisionists might write today, that victory not only saved Israel, it created a whole new positive feeling that many Jews (and non-Jews) had about being Jewish.
2012: As Temple Judah continues to celebrate the 90th
anniversary of its founding The co-presidents of the congregation are scheduled to cook BBQ
before tonight’s annual congregational meeting.
2012: David Broza is scheduled to perform at Israeli-American Night part of
the Music Under the Stars program at Eisenhower Park.
2012: The New York Times featured
reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers
including A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian
Hellman by Alice Kessler-Harris
2012: Greater Chicago Jewish Festival is scheduled to take place at St.
Paul Woods in Morton Grove, Il
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