JUNE 4 In Jewish History
1039: Conrad II passed away. Born in 990, he served Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death. His reign was part of positive period for the Jews of the Rhineland. The first synagogue was built in Worms in 1034 and Rabbi Gershom ben Judah taught at his famous academy in Mainz until his death in 1028.
1391: A riotous mob led by the Queen Mother's confessor, killed many Jews in Seville, Spain. The massive riots were part of Ferran Martinez’s plan to eradicate the Jews. Historian Netanyahu stated the assault upon the Jewish community "resulted in a bloodbath of massive proportions that all but annihilated the Sevillian Juderia."
1672(9th of Sivan): Rabbi Moses Rikves,
author of Be’er ha-Golah passed away
1697: Birthdate Rabbi Jacob Israel Emden, the Altona born Talmudic scholar most
famous for his fight against those whom he considered to be Sabbateans. His most famous dispute was the one with
Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschutz.
1738: Birthdate of King George III, the
British monarch best remembered as the ruler during the American Revolution.
During his reign conditions of his Jewish subjects would improve on several
fronts as can be seem from the establishment of the London Board of Shechita,
establishment of the Jews’ Free School and Jewish Blind Society.
1751(11th of Sivan): Rabbi Abraham Geron of
Adrianople, author of Tikkun Soferim passed away
1840: During the Damascus Affair, Adolphe
Cremieux, vice president of the Central Consistoire
of French Israelites, dispatched an appeal to Sir Moses Montefiore, President
of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, to join with him and a delegation
from the French Jewish community in a visitation to Mehemet Ali in Alexandria , Egypt
1852: Beth Hamedrash Hagadol “a congregation for Russian Jews was formed with the help of former German Jewish immigrants. This traditional congregation opened a school and soon became the center of Orthodoxy in the U.S. Abraham Joseph Ash, an halachic authority, was elected as its rabbi in 1860 and held the position until his death in 1888. So as not to be dependent on a community salary, he also tried his hand in business without much success.” While some like to emphasize the cleavages between the different elements of the New York Jewish community, this synagogue formed for Russian Jews, with support from German Jews, received financial assistance from a Sephardic Jew, a member of Shearith Israel, who provided funds that helped with the congregation’s purchase of its first building.
1857: The Springfield Republican reported
that Isaac Jackson a Jewish boy who was either 17 or 18 years old had been
robbed and shot to death by Charles Jones while he was driving a wagon on the
road between Westfield and Russell, MA in a case of what the paper described as
“a dreadful murder.” Jackson was one of
four brothers who owned a store at Westfield and delivered merchandize to the
surrounding towns. The murder appeared to
have taken place on the first of June.
The missing wagon and the corpse were discovered on the second of
June. Charles Jones, a violent man with
a criminal record has been taken into custody.
1873: According to a report published today, the following New York City
institutions received these payments from the Excise Fund New York:
Hebrew Free
Schools: 1871 - $3899.00 1872 - $1806.00Polomes Talmud Torah School: 1871- $420.00
1877: U.S. Secretary of
State Seward received a letter from Meyer S. Isaacs, President of the Board of
Delegates of American Israelites which requests that American diplomats help to
protect Jews of Russian birth living in and around Jerusalem. The ruling Ottomans were hostile to the Jews
because they were Russian and because they were Jews.
1878: The Ottoman Empire
ceded control of Cyprus to the British Empire. Ironically, Benjamin Disraeli
was the Prime Minister when this happened.
After all for Jews, British control of the island has a negative
connotation. They turned the island into a giant prison for Jewish refugees
trying to get into Eretz Israel during after World War II.
1880: Sarah Bernhardt
signed a contract today for a series of 60 performances to be given this winter
at Booth’s Theatre.
1882: A conference of
delegates representing Jewish organizations from across the United States and Europe
opened this morning at the Hebrew Orphan Asylum to discuss how to cope with the
increasing stream of Jewish immigrants from Russia. The Executive Committee of the Hebrew
Immigrant Aid Society had issued the call for the meeting and H.S. Henry, the Society’s
President, presided over the opening session. Henry said that since its
founding in December of 1881, HIAS has collected over $75,000, all but $7,000
of which it has spent on helping over 3,000 immigrants. The leaders discussed the seemingly overwhelming
task of helping their suffering co-religionists but affirmed their commitment
to do so. One of the practical programs
discussed was the settling of refugees in the open tracts of land in Minnesota
and the Dakotas. According to figures presented to the conference it would take
over a thousand dollars to provide a single agricultural settler with
everything from provisions, fuel, seed, livestock, 80 acres of land, materials
to build a house, furnishings and provisions until the first harvest is sold.
1882: “A general conference of delegates from the various Jewish societies in the United States” which had been convened to discuss the challenges related to the continuous arrival of refugees from Russia opened this morning in New York at the Hebrew Orphan Asylum. “The meeting was called to order by H.S. Henry, President of the Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society of the United States.
1882:
It was reported today that appeal is being circulated in Paris to secure funds to
help Jews leave Russia. Famed author
Victor Hugo’s name is at the top of the list of those who signed the appeal.
1882:
It was reported today that President Chester A. Arthur and former President
U.S. Grant are among the leaders who will be attending the upcoming fundraiser
designed to provide aid for Jewish refugees from Russia.
1882:
It was reported today that European Jews are debating the direction Russian
immigrants should take – west to the United States or east to Palestine. An un-named Anglo Jewish citizen contends
that the United States is the better of the two destinations. The movement to
settle Palestine “is a mere hobby of Protestant Christians.” The Ottoman government would not support the
settlement and the Jews would be moving to a country less civilized than the
one they are leaving. Among the
advantages offered by the United States are a high state of civilization, large
unsettled areas and the 400,000 Jews already living there who would help the
newcomers.
1886(1st of Sivan, 5645): Rosh Chodesh Sivan
1897:
The
first issue of "Die Welt" appears. The English Hovevei Zion officially
dissociates itself from the Zionist Congress.
1899: The Neue
Freie Presse publishes Herzl's editorial about the return of Colonel
Dreyfus.
1900: Birthdate of Nelson Glueck, American Jewish archaeologist. Director of
the American School Jerusalem Palestine Near East .
One of his popular works was Rivers in the Desert.
1902: While in Paris London
1903: Herzl renews his efforts to gain support Great
Britain and again submits plans to Constantinople for a Charter for
Mesopotamia.
1909: The President of the Turkish Chamber of
Deputies speaks in favor of Jewish immigrants being admitted to the Ottoman Empire.
He sees it a as a necessity for the growth of the country.
1911: The Hahambashi receives several telegrams from Arabia and Syria
describing attacks on Jews. Details of the attacks were given to the
authorities who could then intervene.
1912: Massachusetts became the first state to
pass a minimum wage law. Boston attorney Louis Brandeis, the future Supreme
Court Justice, was an ardent advocate for minimum wage laws.
1916: Herman Bernstein, editor of The
American Hebrew received a cable from Lord Reading, Chief Justice of England,
expressing his approval of Louis Brandeis taking his seat on the Supreme
Court. “Membership in the Supreme Court
of the United States,” the English jurist wrote, “is one of the greatest
distinctions known to the legal world and I heartily congratulate the new
Associate Justice.”
1917: Birthdate of Howard
Metzenbaum. A Democrat and a liberal, Metzenbaum served in the U.S.
Senate representing the state of Ohio
1917:
The Pulitzer Prizes for journalism, literature and music are awarded for
the first time. America Hungary
1917: During World War I Jules Cambon,
Director-General of the French Foreign Ministry wrote to Nahum Sokolow offering
vague words of support for Zionist efforts in Palestine
1918: Catcher Bob Berman made his major
league debut with the Washington Senators.
1918: Encouraged by the British, “Dr. Chaim
Weizmann met the Emir Feisal, the leader of the Arab Revolt, near the port of Akaba Palestine
1919:
Birthdate of Robert Merrill. Born Morris
(Moishe) Miller in Brooklyn, New York, Merrill was the son of two Jewish
immigrants from Warsaw named Milstein who Americanized their name to
Miller. Robert Merrill became one of the
greatest operatic baritones of the 20th century. Lest anyone question his Jewishness please
note that when Merrill died in 2004 he was buried in the Sharon Gardens
Cemetery, the Jewish section of the Kenisco Cemetery.
1926: Dr. Nathan Ratnoff, Chairman of a Joint
Hospital Committee representing Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of
America and the American Physicians’ Committee, announced plans to establish a
college of medicine at Hebrew University and to upgrade hospital facilities at
the Mt. Scopus institution as part of a program to improve health conditions
for those living in Palestine. The
committee plans on raising at least one million dollars to make the plans a
reality.
1926: In Kiel, Germany, Rosel (née Zamora)
and Rabbi Max Malina gave birth to Judith Malina “an American theater and film
actress, writer, and director, who was one of the founders of The Living
Theatre.”
1927: Two weeks after Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris, Charles Levine’s plan Columbia took off from New York for what was supposed to be the first flight to Berlin. Clarence Chamberlin was the pilot, but Levine was planning to lay claim to being the first trans-Atlantic passenger. The flight ended at Eisleben, 100 miles short of Berlin but was longer than the Lone Eagle’s flight.
1928: Birthdate of Dr. Ruth Westheimer,
self-described sex therapist and author.
1931: It was reported today that Miss Dorothy
Duveen, the only daughter of Jewish art dealer Sir Joseph Duveen is engaged to
marry the son and heir of Sir William Garthwaite, William F.C. Garthwaite.
1931(19th of Sivan, 5691): Mortimer L.
Schiff “an American banker and notable early Boy Scouts of America (BSA) leader”
passed away. “Mortimer Leo Schiff was
the only son of the German-Jewish American banker and philanthropist Jacob
Schiff and his wife Therese. While he worked as a partner in the financial firm
of Kuhn, Loeb & Co. from 1900 until his death in 1931, he also devoted much
of his time to the development of scouting in America. He was a member of the
World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the
Theodore Roosevelt Council Executive Board. After a long tenure as
vice-president of the BSA beginning in 1910, during which he also appeared on
the cover of Time magazine on February 14, 1927, he was elected president of
the organization in 1931. However, his untimely death came only one month
later. He had also been serving as the BSA's International Commissioner for several
years.The property for the Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation was
subsequently purchased by his mother, named in his honor, and donated to the
BSA for their national training center. His son John Mortimer Schiff was also
involved with the BSA.” Schiff was awarded the Bronze Wolf, the only
distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, granted by the
World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting. Both Mortimer
and his son, John M. Schiff, received Silver Buffalo Awards from the BSA.”
1931: Birthdate of Sir Gustav Victor Joseph
Nossal, AC, CBE, FRS, FAA, an Australian
research biologist.
1936: In Poland, the
Prime Minister, F. Slawoj-Skladkowski, declared his support for the
"economic war" against the Jews.
1936: Leon Blum became the first Jew to be
elected premier of France. Blum, a socialist, instituted the 40-hour work week
and many important social reforms. His government fell over lack of
parliamentary support for his financial program, lasting only one year.
1937(25th of Sivan, 5697): Helmut Hirsch,a
German Jew who was executed by decapitation, for his part in a bombing plot
intended to destabilize the German Reich. There had been several efforts to
intervene to save his life including a 11th hour appeal to Hitler
who turned down the request. While details about the actual plan may be
sketchy, there is no reason to doubt his courage.
1937: The Palestine Post reported from London that the Colonial
Secretary, Mr. Ormsby-Gore, told the House of Commons that in view of the
changed financial and security situation in Palestine, and the uncertainty
regarding the country's future, pending the awaited recommendations of the
Royal (Peel) Commission, he could not encourage the initiation of any schemes
for immediate development in Palestine. He was leaving, however, open options
for urgent development projects approved by the Palestine High Commissioner,
Sir Arthur Wauchope.
1937: The Palestine Post reported that Kemal Bey, the well-known Arab
terrorist who led the attack against Tel Yosef in 1921, was killed in his
village in the Huleh area, as a result of a family dispute.
1939: The
SS St. Louis, a German passenger liner carrying 900 Jewish refugees was
denied permission to dock at any ports in Florida United States Miami St. Louis United
States Europe
where many perished in the Holocaust.
This episode became the basis for the film “Voyage of the Damned.”
1941: The republic of Croatia
1942(19th of Sivan, 5702): Mordechai Gebirtig,
Yiddish poet and songwriter was murdered by the Nazis in the Krakow Ghetto on
what was known as “Bloody Thursday.”
1942: Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reich Security Police and SD, dies of blood poisoning caused by injuries suffered in the May 27 attack by Czech partisans. Heydrich chaired the conference in January of 1942 when the plans for the last phase of the final solution were set in motion. The Czechs who killed him were working for the British and his killing really had nothing to do with his virulent anti-Semitic attitudes or plans.
1942:
The Battle of Midway begins and will last until June 6, 1942. The American victory over Japan U.S. U.S.
1943(1st of Sivan, 5703): Rosh Chodesh Sivan
1945: Lyndon Johnson visited Dachau
1945: Soldiers of
the Jewish Brigade had their first contact with Jews from central or Eastern
Europe when four young men who had traveled from Poland, Rumania, Hungary and
Czechoslovakia arrived at their camp at Tarvisio, Italy.
1948(26th of
Iyar, 5708); Samuel Krauss passed away today in Cambridge. Born in 1866, he served as professor at the
Jewish Teacher’s Seminary in Budapest from 1894 to 1906 and then moved on to
the Jewish Theological Seminary in Vienna where he stayed until the Anschluss
forced to take refuge in England in 1938.
He was the author of the pioneering work on archaeology, Talmudische
Archäologie
1950: In article entitled “Trouble-Shooter
Diplomat,” Gertrude Samuels provides a detailed portrait of Israeli Diplomat
Eliahu Elath who represented Israel at the San Francisco Conference in 1945,
served as Israel’s first Ambassador to the United States and was about to
assume a similar position at the Court of St. James.
1951(29th of Iyyar, 5711): Russian born
American symphony conductor Dr. Sergei
Aleksandrovich Koussevitzky passed away.
Born in 1874, Serge, as he was known, was music director of the Boston
Symphony for a quarter of a century.
1952: The Jerusalem Post reported from London
that West Germany had tentatively offered to negotiate with Israel a
reparations offer, totaling approximately $585 million, on the basis of 10
annual payments. The Times warned Germany Germany
1952: The Jerusalem Post reported that The
Knesset approved amendments to the Patents and Designs Ordinances, aimed at
fulfilling the requirements of the International Charter of 1934.
1952: The Jerusalem Post reported that
restrictions were announced on a gradual reduction of interurban and urban bus
services, ordered by the government in order to save fuel and foreign currency.
Plans were made, however, for a complete end to the rationing of all textiles.
1956: New York Mayor Robert Wagner and
Israeli Air Force General Shlomo Shamir addressed the annual donor luncheon of
the Mizrachi Women’s Organization of America at the Waldorf-Astoria. Mayor
Wagner told the 1,200 attendees that “the children in the State of Israel must
receive every opportunity to grow up to become leaders and defenders of their
country.”
1964: Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax threw
his third no-hitter beating the Phillies, 3-0.
1967: Meir Amit reported to the cabinet
meeting that U.S. Secretary Robert McNamara had said "I read you loud and
clear." in response to Amit’s request “All we want is three things: One,
that you refill our arsenal after the war. Two, that you will help us in the
UN. Three, that you will isolate the Russians from the arena." Amit told
the cabinet this was a green light from the United States if Israel launched a
pre-emptive strike against its Arab enemies.
1967:
For seven hours Israel’s National Unity Cabinet, chaired by Prime
Minister Levi Eshkol met to hear a review of the military options presented by
Moshe Dayan as well as an update by intelligence sources on the situation in
the Egyptian military command. Egyptian
generals were pressuring Nasser to let them
strike the first blow. The “Arab
streets” were demanding action. Delay
was Israel Israel
1970(29th of Iyar, 5730): Comedian Menasha
Skulni, known as Menasha the Magnificent, passed away at the age
of 78.
1972: Joseph Brodsky, Russian born Jewish poet and essayist who would go on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1987 and would serve as Poet Laureate of the United States in 1991 and 1992, was expelled from the Soviet Union.
1981: The
New York Times reported that George Balanchine, choreographer and artistic
director of the New York City Ballet, has received the Jewish National Fund's
first Tarbut Award, given to the choreographer in honor of his ''great
achievements in expanding the scope and dimension of dance in America and
throughout the world.''
1982: In attempt to dislodge the
PLO from its bases, Israel attacked targets in south Lebanon
1986: Jonathan Pollard, spy for Israel
1989: Wendy Wasserstein became the first
woman to win a Tony Award for Best Play, for The Heidi Chronicles,
1990(11th of Sivan, 5750): Jack Gilford
passed away at the age of 82, a victim of stomach cancer. He gained fame as
comedic actor whose "rubber face" was an acting trademark gained
additional fame playing a piece of fruit in the Fruit of the Loom commercials.
1995: Outfielder Brian Kowitz made his major
league debut with the Atlanta Braves.
2000:
The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors
and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including the recently released
paperback edition of The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas L. Friedman.
2006: The New York Times featured
reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers
including the recently released paperback editions of Perfectly Reasonable
Deviations From the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman, Edited
by Michelle Feynman, What We Owe Iraq: War and the Ethics of Nation Building
by Noah Feldman and Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a
New Era by Gary Pomerantz.
2006: In a show of the changing face of Jewish
involvement in all facets of life Haaretz reported that Israeli tennis
player Shahar Peer advanced to the last sixteen of the French Open, after a
resounding 6-4, 7-5 defeat of sixth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva. Peer,
ranked 26 in the world, has won three out of three tournaments this year -
Pattaya, Prague and Istanbul - but this is her first win against a top ten
player who has also competed in two Grand Slam finals.
2007: An article about Scholar and Rabbi
Jacob Neusner entitled “The Pope’s Favorite Rabbi” appears in Time Magazine. The brief article briefly
describes Neusner’s view of Christianity and their impact on Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope devotes 20 pages of his new book to A
Rabbi Talks with Jesus, a 161-page tome published in 1993. In that volume,
the professor (now at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.) and non-congregational
rabbi projected himself back into the Gospel of Matthew to quiz Jesus on the
Jewish law. He found the Nazarene's interpretation irredeemably faulty. In his
14-years-delayed response, Benedict not only compliments Neusner as a
"great Jewish scholar" but also recapitulates the thesis of A
Rabbi Talks and spends a third of one of his 10 chapters answering it.
2008: In Washington, D.C., the AIPAC Policy
Conference comes to an end.
2008(1st of Sivan, 5768): Rosh Chodesh Sivan
2008: A judge declared a mistrial in the case
of Navee Haq, the man who stormed into a Jewish center two years ago and shot
six women, killing one, as he ranted against Israel Iraq
2008: The
Historical Society of Jews from Egypt asked the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to intervene on its
behalf with government in Cairo since the Egyptians have
refused to release archives connected to the Jewish community. The historical
society's members consist of Jews worldwide whose families have been exiled
from Egypt since the 1950s. According to the society's president Desire Sakkal nearly
half a million Jews originally from Egypt and their descendants live outside
the country. In 1948, around 100,000 Jews lived in Egypt, but by 2007 that
number had dropped to between 20 and 100. Another organization, the World
Congress of the Jews from Egypt, has been working to recover the property of
Jews who were exiled in 1948. The Historical Society of Jews from Egypt had
requested ownership of or access to the books, birth certificates, "civil
paper" and 120 holy books belonging to the community, Sakkal said.
"It's our history, everything we own going back hundreds and hundreds of
years," he said. However, Egypt has refused to release the documents to
the historical society. Sakkal said this was a consequence of the Egyptians'
fear of restitution claims. "Very clearly Egypt is trying to deny our
existence. They are afraid that if we can claim that we are Egyptians, that we
were born there, then our grandchildren could come there one day and claim
everything that they confiscated from us," he said. The Egyptian Embassy
had no comment.
2009: Elinor Lipman, author of the bestselling
novels The Inn at Lake Devine and Isabel's Bed, reads from her
new novel, The Family Man, at Sixth and I Historic Synagogue (formerly
Adas Israel) in Washington, D.C.
2009: The Israeli government praised U.S. President
Barack Obama's speech to the Muslim world today, saying it shared his hopes for
Middle East peace, but stressed that Israel's security interests remained
paramount. "We share President Obama's hope that the American effort
heralds the opening of a new era that will bring an end to the conflict and to
general Arab recognition of Israel as the nation of the Jewish people that
lives in security and peace in the Middle East," an official statement
said after Obama's address in Cairo.
2010: The “Waiting Room,” the first New York
solo exhibition of Be’er Sheva native Maya Bloch is scheduled to open at Thierry
Goldberg Projects.
2010: At Temple Judah in Cedar Rapids, IA,
Friday night services feature the baby-naming ceremony for Nicole Charley
Hurwitz, the second granddaughter of Ivy and Bill Hurwitz.
2010: The Baltimore Zionist District is
scheduled to sponsor “A Rally to Stand in Solidarity with Israel” at the corner
of Pratt and Light Street in Baltimore, MD.
2010(22nd of Sivan, 5770):
Ninety-nine year old Himan Brown who created a series of classic radio dramas
including “The Adventures of the Thin Man”, “Dick Tracy,” and “Inner Sanctum”
passed away today. (As reported by Joseph Berger)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/arts/07brown.html
2011(2nd of Sivan, 5771): Eighty
three year old Felix Zandman, the Holocaust survivor who “founded Vishay
Intertechnology Inc., a $2 billion electronics firm traded on Wall Street that
supplies the computer, aerospace and other industries” passed away today.
2011: The great New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa is
scheduled to give a rare recital tonight at the Jerusalem International
Convention Center (Binyanei Hauma )
2011: “Sundaes on Saturday” will be the theme
of this month’s traditional Shabbat Minyan at Temple Judah featuring a Kiddush
where attendees will make their own ice cream concoctions as everybody gets in
the Shavuot Mood.
2011: Thousands visited Krakow's seven historic
synagogues in an unprecedented event aimed to foster Jewish identity among
Krakow's small Jewish community. The event was also designed to educate
non-Jewish Poles about contemporary Jewish culture. Called "Seven at
Night," today’s event was sponsored by the Krakow Jewish Community Center,
the Joint Distribution Committee and Krakow Jewish communal organization. It
started with a public Havdalah ceremony in the courtyard of the JCC, then the
seven synagogues in the city's historic Jewish district, Kazimierz, were open
from 10:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. Each synagogue hosted an exhibit, concert, panel
discussion or other activity highlighting Jewish life and culture as lived
today. All events were free. They ranged from talks on "the ABCs of
Judaism" by Krakow Rabbi Boas Pash to a concert by an Israeli rock band
and a panel discussion on Polish Jewish youth. Organizers estimated that more
than 5,000 people visited the synagogues, often waiting in long lines to gain
entry. "It far, far exceeded our expectations," JCC director Jonathan
Ornstein told JTA.
2011: Around 5,000 people took part in a march in
central Tel Aviv this evening supporting the establishment of a Palestinian state
based on the 1967 borders. The march ended with a rally at the Tel Aviv Museum.
MKs Dov Khenin (Hadash) and Zahava Galon (Meretz) and playwright Yehoshua Sobol
gave speeches.”
2012:
Melting away “the first feature film in the history of Israeli cinema dealing
with the parents' perspective on having a transgender child” is scheduled to be
shown in Washington, DC.
2012: The 92nd Street Y is
scheduled to offer “It’s Magic: Nine Decades of Songs from Warner Brothers”
which celebrates the role of music at the studio owned by four Jewish brother
starting with “The Jazz Singer.”
2012: In Jerusalem, the Israel Festival is
scheduled to host “Theatre ad Infinitum” at the Khan Theatre.
Copyright; June, 2012; Mitchell A. Levin melech3@mchsi.com
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