December
30 In History
39: A black day on the Jewish calendar; birthdate of
Roman Emperor Titus the man who destroyed the Second Temple. The Arch of Titus
commemorates the exile of the Israelites.
1066((9 Tevet 4827): Joseph ibn Nagrela, son of
Samuel ibn Nagrela, was murdered in Granada during the Granada Massacre. He had
served as vizier to Badis, ruler of the Berbers. There had been constant
tension between the Berbers and the Arab population. Joseph attempted to ease
the conflict between the two camps and prevent excesses against the local
Arabs. His enemies included Abu Ishak, Berber advisor to the prince, who
accused him of trying to cede the city to a neighboring prince. Badis ordered
Joseph killed and crucified. In the ensuing massacre of the Jewish population,
1,500 families were killed, including Joseph's wife and son. A few years later,
Jews were readmitted to Granada
1576:
After spending four and one half years in prison, Fray Luis De Leon, a converso
descendant was released. As a scholar of Hebrew at the University of Salamanca
1596(9th
of Tevet, 5357): Menachem Rapoport (Menachem Abraham ben Jacob Ha-Kohen)
passed away. Known as Rappa, this Italian rabbi witnessed “the burning of the
Talmud pursuant to the papal bull of 1553” and was the author of several works
including “Zofnat Pa’neach.”
1665: Sabbetai
Zvi, the famous or infamous "False Messiah" departed
for Constantinople
1066(9th
of Tevet, 4827): In what is called the 1066 Granada Massacre an untold number
of Jews in this part of Muslim-ruled al-Andalus were murdered by a Islamist
mob.
1066(9th of Tevet, 4827): Joseph ibn Naghrela, the
eldest son of Rabbi Sh'muel ha-Nagid and vizier to the King of Granada, was
crucified by an Arab mob
1695:
Based
on the diploma on display at the Jewish National and University Library in
Jerusalem, today is the day on which Dr. Coppilia Pictor graduated from Medical
School in Padua. He was the first doctor in Bochum, Germany
1673: Birthdate
of Ahmed III, the Ottoman Sultan who signed the peace treaty of Passarowitz between
Austria and Turkey in 1718. According to the treaty, “Jews who were Turkish
subjects were permitted to live and trade freely in Austria. Their position was
thus more favorable than that of Jews who were Austrian subjects. In 1736,
Diego d'*Aguilar founded the "Turkish community" in Vienna.
1792(15th
of Tevet, 5553): Abraham Samuel Covo, the Chief Rabbi of Salonica passed away.
1851:
Horace
Greely delivered a lecture tonight at the Philomathean Society of Brooklyn on
"The World's Fair and Its Lessons"
based on his visit to the Crystal Palace where the display of
"Jerusalem, in her lonely humiliation, best typifies the Hebrew state and
race."
1857(13th
of Tevet, 5618): Fourth Yahrtzeit of Judah Touro.
1862:
Based on information supplied by the Associated Press several newspapers
carried stories about General Order11 including on that used the headline
“Expulsion of Jews from General Grant’s Department – The Circumstances Stated
and the Documents Quoted”
1864(1st
of Tevet, 5625): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1865: Birthdate of English writer, Rudyard Kipling. In an article
entitled “How not to be a stranger in a strange land” David Mamet wrote “My
favorite poet was a Jewish man from Krakow, Rudolph Klepsteen. He wrote under
the name of Rudyard Kipling, and his most famous poem is called “If.”It begins:
“If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs and blaming
it on you, if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you.”He was writing, as
he always did, about the Jewish experience.”
This runs contrary to the standard biography that says Kipling was born
in India. The death of his son in World
War I had a profound effect on Kipling who became a very active member the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The
man who wrote of “the white man’s burden” was particularly concerned that dead
Jewish soldiers, as well as other non-Christians including Hindus and Muslims
troops “were remembered in ways suitable and compatible with their religion and
culture.” He also wrote a poem entitled “The Burden of Jerusalem” that begins:
“In ancient days
and deserts wild
There rose a feud –
still unsubdued –
'Twixt Sarah's son
and Hagar's child
That centred round Jerusalem.”
1867: Birthdate of Simon Guggenheim. The famed
philanthropist would die in 1912 aboard the Titanic.
1869: Birthdate of Belgian political leader,
Adolphe Max.
1871: The annual
report on deaths in New York published today reported that only one person had
passed away at the Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
1871: George
Cruikshank, the illustrator who created
the Copper plate engraving “Fagin in his cell” “published a letter in The Times which claimed credit for much
of the plot of Oliver Twist” a work that helped create the image of Charles
Dickens as an anti-Semite.
1873: Birthdate of Al
Smith, 4-term Governor of New York and the first Catholic to run for President
of the United States. Smith enjoyed a
great of deal support among New York’s immigrant Jewish population. He served
on the commission that investigated the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and
championed laws to improve working conditions; a position that would have made
very popular with the thousands of Jewish workers employed in the garment
industry. Belle Moskowtiz was long-time political advisor to Smith and managed
his 1928 Presidential campaign. Smith
gave Robert Moses his big chance in New York State government allowing him to
reorganize the state’s government on a basis fitting the 20th
century. Smith’s 1928 campaign actually
created the coalition that would lead to major Democratic victories over the
next couple of years. Jews were a major
component of that coalition and it ultimately gave them political influence
that they had been sorely lacking.
1875(2nd
of Tevet, 5636): 8th and final day of Chanukah
1878: The New York
Times reported that last “Saturday was the anniversary of the feast of
dedication as commemorated by the Jewish race; that is to say, the anniversary
of the resuscitation of Jewish worship in the temple at Jerusalem, after the
long interruption of the Assyrian conquest and the renewed (but brief) autonomy
of the Jewish nationality, after one of the severest military struggles, waged
by the Maccabees, recounted in ancient history.” (The NYT would not be the
first, nor will it be the last, to confuse the Syrians with the Assyrians.)
1879: An article published today that traced the history of the hospitals of New York City, reported that when Mt. Sinai Hospital opened in 1852 with the support of the Jewish community, it was the third hospital founded by a religious group. During the 1840’s the Episcopalians had founded St. Luke’s and the Catholics had founded St, Vincent’s.
1880: Birthdate of Alfred Einstein. The German-born
American musicologist and critic was a nephew of Albert Einstein. He passed away in 1952.
1882:
“Help for the Hospitals” published today provided a description of various New
York City health institutions including Mt. Sinai Hospital which was originally
created for the use of the Jews of New York City, but now serves patients
regardless of “race, creed or nationality” and also maintains a system of “charity
beds” to serve the city’s needy.
1886: “A
Bar But No Barroom” published today included Charles Goldstein response to
complaints by members of St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church to his receiving a
license to sell liquor at Webster Hall which is a block away from the
church. Goldstein said that no
objections were raised before or after the foundation was laid for the building
last August. Webster Hall is a building designed to host various Jewish social
events including weddings. Liquor would
not be sold until 8:30 or nine in the evening.
(Considering the popular image connecting certain groups of Catholics
with the consumption of alcohol, one must wonder what the real motive for the
late-blooming objections was)
1886: It
was reported today that a ukase issued during the reign of Czar Nicholas
compelling “resident German Jews to hold certificates as merchants of the first
guild” has been revived in Poland. The
certificates cost seven rubles. Since
few of the Jewish merchants can afford the certificates, they will be forced to
leave.
1888:
Among the charitable institutions receiving money from city is the Hebrew
Benevolent Society of the City of New York was got a payment of $60,000.
1888: The
Seligman Solomon Society sponsored evening of entertainment at the Hebrew
Orphan Asylum.
1889:It was reported today the Jesse Seligman, Henry Rice and Julian Nathan were among the dignitaries who attended the recent evening of entertainment held in the chapel of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum
1889: It
was reported today that Philip J. Joachimsen, the Chairman of Hebrew Sheltering
Guardian Society Advisory is “confined to his home by illness” which made it
impossible for him to take part in the events honoring state Senator Jacob A.
Cantor and Assemblyman Joseph Blumenthal.
1889(7th
of Tevet, 5650): Thirty-three year old Myer Silberman, a jeweler from Poland,
apparently took his own life today while “alone in his room at 5 Orchard
Street.”
1893: Russia France France France Germany Germany Russia
1894:
Herzl published a long and detailed article in the Neue Freie Presse summing up the major events of the preceding year
in France
1897:
Oscar S. Straus, President of the American Jewish Historical Society presided
over the last session of its annual
meeting which was held today in the Assembly Room of New York’s Temple
Emanu-El. The secretary of the society,
Dr. Cyrus Adler, reported a proposed amendment to the constitution on behalf of
the Executive Council that would increase the number of Vice Presidents from 3
to 4 and suggesting that Herbert B. Adams fill the newly created position. The amendment and recommendation were
adopted.
1902: Herzl
considers the possibility of using the waters of the Nile
as a means of irrigating the wilderness lands of the Sinai
Peninsula .
1905: Birthdate of
philosopher Emmanuel Levinas.
1909: Jacob Rogovin
and the former Dora Shainhouse, who operated a dry goods business, in the Bay
Ridge section of Brooklyn, gave birth to Milton Rogovin, an optometrist and
persecuted leftist who took up photography as a way to champion the
underprivileged and went on to become one of America’s most dedicated social
documentarians. (As reported by Benjamin Genocchio)
1912: In a two-column
letter to The Times, Dr. Max Nordau, President of the Tenth Zionist
Congress “points out the opportunity presented by the impending partition of
the Turkish Empire for the earnest consideration by European diplomacy of the
Zionist scheme for the resettlement of the Jews in Palestine.”
1915: The Treasurer’s
Report of the American Jewish Relief Committee released tonight showed that the
total contributions had reached $965.886.25; $755,000 of which was in cash and
$210,886.25 in pledges. Today’s largest
contribution in the amount of $5,000 came from Henry P. Goldschmidt. Felix Warburg is the committee’s treasurer.
1915: Oscar S.
Straus, Chairman of the Clothing Appeal Committee of the Commission for Relief
in Belgium, issued a New Year’s appeal today for clothing and shoes for the
destitute” people living in war-torn Belgium and Northern France. [Straus, a leading member of the Jewish
community, also played a prominent role in the civic and charitable endeavors
of the general community.]
1928: The National
Labor Committee hosted a reception in honor of Mayor David Block of Tel Aviv
and the other members of the Palestine Labor Delegation including Miss Goldie
Meyerson (who as Golda Meir would become Prime Minister of Israel) this evening
at the Manhattan Opera House. Violinist Max Rosen and Metropolitan Opera
soprano Nanette Guilford make their first joint appearance as part of the
evening’s entertainment.
1928: A debate is
held at Yeshiva College where teams from the Hebrew Theological College of
Chicago and the Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary take opposing sides on
“Resolved: The Cultural Restoration of Judaism depends upon the Restoration of
Palestine.”
1930(10th of Tevet,
5691): Asara B'Tevet
1935:
Birthdate of Dodger southpaw Sandy Koufax.
1935: Birthdate
of Isaiah Sheffer, the native New Yorker who created “Symphony Space, a
vibrant, eclectic institution known for its broadcasts of actors reading short
stories…” (As reported by Douglas Martin)
1936:
Birthdate of Benjamin “Ben” Sonnenberg, Jr. whose whims and myriad enthusiasms
made Grand Street, the quarterly he founded in 1981, one of the most revered
literary magazines of the postwar era. (As reported by William Grimes)
1936: The
newly-organized Palestine Symphony Orchestra is heard on the air for the first
time today when a concert under the direction of Arturo Toscanini is broadcast
over WJZ’s network from 2:50 to 3:40 pm.
The seventy piece orchestra is broadcasting from Exhibition Hall in Tel
Aviv.
1936: At
today’s session of the Peel Commission Jewish leaders including Beryl
Katznenellenson, editor of the Jewish labor daily Davar and Miss Goldie
Myerson, “denounced the government as ‘unfriendly, begrudging Jewish efforts,
unmindful of the mandate and its purpose and negligent eve in fulfilling plain
civic functions.”
1936: The
Peel Commission interviewed Dov Hos a Russian born senior member of the General
Federation of Jewish Labour who had been sentenced to death by the Turks for
defending the Jews of Galilee and who had fought with the British during World
War I. During his testimony Hos told the
commissioners that where the Jews established hospitals and schools, the
British government is being relieved of the responsibility and expense of
creating and operating them.
Commissioner Rumbold responded to these comments by angrily defending
the Mandate government and referring to the Jews as “an alien race.” Hos
responded that Jews were not an “alien race but a children returning to their
country, to the country where they lived or to a country where they are going
to have their home.”
1936:
Members of the Peel Commission “attended a concert which attested to the new
Jewish life in Jerusalem.” In what was described as the most important musical
experience in its history, “ancient Jerusalem came alive musically.”
1937: The Palestine Post reported from London
1937: The Palestine Post reported that the
Jewish settlement of Atarot and police patrols at Tulkarm and on the
Nablus-Jenin road came under heavy Arab fire, but there were no reports of
casualties.
1937: Birthdate of Paul Stookey. Stookey is “Paul” in the folk trio, Peter,
Paul & Mary. He is the non-Jewish member of the famous trio.
1939: The
riverboat Uranus reached the Iron Gates gorge in Romania, on the
Yugoslavian border, with 1210 fugitive Jews from Vienna, Austria, and Prague,
Czechoslovakia. The boat's journey was halted after Great Britain, holder of the
Mandate on Palestine, protested to the Yugoslavian government.
1940:
Birthdate of James Burrows, son of Abe Burrows and director of television hits including’
Taxi,'' ''Cheers,'' and ''Will and Grace.'' “He also presided over one of the
most Jewish moments in television. In a medium in which Jewish characters
rarely do anything Jewish, let alone marry within the faith (Valerie Harper as
Rhoda Morgenstern in Rhoda and Paul Reiser as Paul Buchman in “Mad About You”
are just two examples — and don’t even mention Seinfeld), Grace Adler (Debra
Messing) of “Will & Grace,” not only was married by a rabbi under a chupah,
but got hitched to a Jewish doctor. That was Leo Markus played by Harry Connick
Jr. Certainly, Jewishness has increasingly factored into Burrows’ life. Both
his parents were Jewish but not observant. But his first wife was a
Conservative Jew and “made him get back on the bus.” He had a bar mitzvah at
47, prompting one of his producing partners, Les Charles, to say: “You’re the
first Jew I know who was a bar mitzvah at 47 and bald at 13.”He is what he
calls a once-a-year Jew, attending shul for Yom Kippur. But he still gathers
with his daughters every Friday evening “to light the candles, have a challah
and say a bracha.”
1941(10th
of Tevet, 5702):Asara B'Tevet
1941(10th
of Tevet, 5702):: Lazar Markovich Lissitzky, the Soviet artist, designer,
photographer, teacher, typographer, and architect, better known as El
Lissitzky, passed away. For examples of his art see:
1942: Pope
Pius XII told an American representative that he regarded the atrocity stories
about Jews as exaggerations "for the purposes of propaganda."
1943: The keel for
the SS. Sigman, a U.S. Navy liberty ship, was laid today. A Russian immigrant,
Sigman who was active in the labor movement, Sigman was president of the
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
1945: Mrs. William
Prince President of the Women’s League for Palestine announced today that work
has been started on an addition to the League’s home for immigrant girls in Tel
Aviv
1945: Birthdate of
director and actor Lloyd Kaufman.
1945: The New York
Times reported that in their hunt for the Jews thought to be responsible
for Thursday night’s violence in Palestine airborne troops surrounded the town
of Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv and took more than 800 men into custody for
questioning.
1947: Forty Jewish workers were killed by Arabs at
the Haifa
1947: A
bus carrying hospital workers to Mount
Scopus Hadassah Hospital
1947:
Arab gun men attacked a group of Jews as they began to bury ten of their
murdered co-religionists at the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives. British
policemen accompanying the burial party carried on a gun fight with the
attackers. One policeman and one Jew
from the Burial Society were killed. The
ten people who were to have been buried and the two new fatalities were put
back on a bus and returned to Jerusalem
1948:
Israeli armor and infantry captured the airfield south of El Arish and moved to
capture the town itself.
1948:
During Operation Horev, the Harel brigade moved further west into the Sinai
Peninsula.
1948: The
British government took an active role on the side of the Arabs in the Israel
War for Independence Israel
1949(10th
of Tevet, 5710): Asara B’Tevet
1952: The Jerusalem Post reported that the US Israel Britain March 25, 19 50Middle
East . The Women's Labor Bill, which banned women from dangerous
employment and offered special maternity privileges, passed the first reading
in the Knesset.
1957: The Israeli
government of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion resigned.
1960: A group of
Israeli university professors signed and published a public letter denouncing
Prime Minister David Ben Gurion.
1965:
Birthdate of Heidi Fleiss convicted prostitute and Madame. Her doctor father is an opponent of
circumcision, a rather strange position for a Jew to take.
1968:
Trygve Lie passed away. Born in Norway
in 1896, Trygve Lie was the first United Nations Secretary General. In that position he headed the U.N. at the
time of creation of state of Israel. His
support was critical in the birth of the Jewish state and the successful
conclusion of the War for Independence.
1969:
While
living in Stretford, Greater Manchester, Karen Kay gave birth to twin boys,
Jason and David, a few weeks after birth David died. Jason (Jason Kay) was born
Jason Cheetham.
1969:
Birthdate of Jason Kay, best known by his stage name Jay Kay. He “is Grammy
Award winning English musician from the band Jamiroquai.”
1973: The
New York Times featured a review of Selected Poems a collection of
the poems of Jewish poet Joseph Brodsky.
1977: A
frustrated Moshe Dayan told Israeli television that if Sadat insisted on an
Israeli agreement to “return” all Arab lands and recognize Palestinian
sovereignty as pre-conditions to peace negotiations than the peace process is
finished. For the next six months there
is virtually no progress in talks between Egypt and Israel.
1977: The Jerusalem Post reported that
President Anwar Sadat of Egypt US
1977: The Jerusalem Post reported that two
persons were killed and another two injured by a bomb explosion in Rehov Shoham
in Netanya.
1977: The Jerusalem Post reported Ephraim
Katzir, Israel¹s fourth president, declined a second term of office.
1978: Roger and
Hammerstein’s “King & I" closed after 719 performances at the Uris
Theater in New
York City
1979(10th
of Tevet, 5740): Asara B'Tevet
1979(10th
of Tevet, 5740): Composer Richard Rodgers passed away at the age of 77.
1983: In
“Three Decades of Chaim Soutine Paintings” published today Grace Glueck provides a brief
history of the late French expressionist painter and a description of his works
now appearing at the Galleri Bellman.
1988(22nd of Tevet, 5749): Yuli Markovich Daniel Soviet
dissident writer, poet, translator, political prisoner and gulag survivor
passed away.
1989: In
“Pursue Peace, Not Just Elections,” Abba Eban, the former Foreign Minister of
Israel, described what he sees as the next steps to be taken on the road to a
Middle East settlement:
In January, the U.S. Secretary of State and the Israeli and Egyptian
foreign ministers will meet in Washington to discuss how to form a Palestinian
delegation to meet with Israel. If all goes well, these ministers, along with
the Palestinians agreed upon in Washington, will all meet in Cairo to discuss
procedures for holding West Bank and Gaza elections to choose representatives
to negotiate with Israel for interim self-government.Since Israel refuses to
deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization, the U.S. will probably tell
Israel that the Palestinian delegation in Cairo is dissociated from the P.L.O.
But this tactic would not convince others, who would regard them as
well-defined P.L.O. partisans. It is still not certain that West Bank and Gaza
elections will be held. The reason is that the U.S. and Egypt disagree with
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's view that the P.L.O. cannot have any role,
direct or indirect, in the peace process. But Mr. Shamir, after all, initiated
the idea of the elections, so it is urgent to hold them and to break out of
procedural debates. Free, democratic elections would enable the Palestinians to
say what they like, display their emblems, celebrate their leaders and assemble
peacefully. This would be a positive change in the present situation in the
territories. Elections, however important, are not the basic peace issues.
Those issues are the status of the West Bank and Gaza, the distribution of
sovereignty or control in those territories, the location of Israel's secure
boundaries and the structural relationship among Israelis, Jordanians and
Palestinians in a permanent settlement. None of these issues is even remotely
addressed in ''the only game in town,'' as the U.S. has described the
elections. In preoccupying itself exclusively with elections, the U.S. is
sidetracking the considerable Israeli and Arab opinion that is ready to think
about central peace problems. U.S. officials tell us there has been no ''ripening''
of conditions for discussing peace, security, boundaries and constitutional
structure. Contrary to conventional wisdom, our region has never been as ripe
as it is today for large visions and hard facts. Israel's political parties,
media and think-tanks are reflecting deeply on new possibilities, including
confederative and community structures that could accommodate Palestinian
freedom without risk to Israeli security. The leading Israeli institute of
strategic studies (at Tel Aviv University), headed by mainsteam defense
experts, has formulated the far-reaching principle that ''Israeli security can
be maintained through continued military deployment but without physical
control over all the territories and all of the Palestinian inhabitants.''
Israeli polls report majorities for territorial compromise and the principle of
dialogue with whomever the Palestinians appoint. This is a promising prospect,
because there is now a pragmatic school in Palestinian mainstream thinking.
Eastern Europe's uprising strengthens the principle that every people is
entitled to representatives of its own choice. Acceptance of this doctrine
could bring the Middle East out of anachronism into the spirit of the age.
Besides, the Soviet Union has never been more ready than now to oppose
extremism and to cooperate in stabilizing the Middle East. The case for
discussing the major problems now is strengthened by international experience,
which instructs us that it is just as difficult to get agreements on small
steps as it would be on central issues. Nothing is gained by procrastination.
In the meantime, the U.S. should publicly clarify its own conclusions on the
crucial issue of Palestinian representation in the peace process. Does the U.S.
truly believe it is feasible to produce an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue in
total dissociation from the P.L.O.? If so, it should give its evidence for that
belief.Or does it conclude, together with all the rest of the world, that this
is not feasible? In that case, it should state its finding openly. This would
galvanize Israel and the other parties to seek pragmatic decisions on their
home grounds. The death of illusion is a necessary prelude to the birth of
realism.
1993: Israel Vatican
1993(16th of Tevet,
5754): “Superagent” [Irving Paul] "Swifty" Lazar passed away at the
age of 86.
1993:
Israel's
Foreign Minister said today that Israel and the P.L.O. had concluded their
latest round of talks with a "meeting of the minds," but there was no
breakthrough and significant differences remained. The two sides, still trying
to work out the details of the accord that they signed in Washington in
September and that was supposed to have gone into effect two weeks ago, reached
what an Israeli official described as "a set of understandings" on
how to carry out the first phase -- an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied
Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho.
1993:
Roni Milo resigned from the Knesset so he can concentrate on his role as mayor
of Tel Aviv.
1995: In
reviewing the events that flickered across our television screen, Walter
Goodman described 1995 as being a year of “Emotional Overload and Emotional
Lift.” As an example of this he wrote
that “The shock at the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, Israel's Prime Minister
was to some extent alleviated by the immediate surge of revulsion, expressed on
television both in the United States and in Israel, over violent political
language as well as acts of violence. At the widely covered funeral, the
tributes of so many heads of state were heartening, with the pictures of an
obviously moved King Hussein of Jordan carrying special force. Even amid the
anxiety over the future, it was a historic and consoling moment: an Arab leader
showing personal sorrow for the death of an Israeli leader.”
1996: Proposed
budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut
down services across Israel.
1997(2nd
of Tevet, 5758): 8th & final day of Chanukah
2000(4th of Tevet, 5761): Ninety one
year old screenwriter Julius J. Epstein passed away today.(As reported by
Richard Natale)
2000: In an article entitled “Humble Bagel, Highly Priced But Worth It,” Clyde Haberman lamented the increasing cost of what was once the quintessential New York Jewish Food.
“The holidays required a stop at H &
H, the bagel emporium on the Upper West Side. This produced a discovery that,
since the last visit a few weeks earlier, the price of a bagel had gone up a
dime. It now cost 95 cents. Nearly a buck for a bagel! A bagel! You could
understand it, maybe, if you were able to read your fortune in the poppy seeds.
But what is humbler than an unadorned, untoasted, unshmeared bagel? Ninety-five
cents? At Zabar's, across the street, bagels sell for only 39 cents each.
They're 60 cents at Barney Greengrass, nearby, and at Columbia Bagels, half a
mile farther north on Broadway, and 50 cents at Kossar's, the bialy mavens on
the Lower East Side. One bagel purveyor in Manhattan -- please, he said, no
names -- was not aware of the new H & H price until a phone caller mentioned
it. He had to share the news with a colleague. ''Hey,'' he called out, ''H
& H gets 95 cents.'' Then he returned to the phone. ''You should see his
grimace,'' he reported. ''That,'' he agreed, ''is a lot of money for a bagel.''
Indeed. At the H & H store, a counterman could muster little more than an
embarrassed smile when asked why. ''Ask the boss,'' he replied. But the boss,
Helmer Toro, was not to be found at the H & H headquarters in Midtown. A
woman who picked up the phone did allow, however, that ''our bagels are
great.'' No argument, even if there are those who insist that Columbia's or
Kossar's are tastier. And the long lines at H &; H this week suggested that
95 cents (with a discount price of $11 for a dozen, and an extra thrown in
free) is hardly enough to deter committed New York shoppers.”
2001: The New York Times featured reviews of
books by Jewish authors and/or about subjects of Jewish interest including Wittgenstein’s Poker: The Story of a
10-Minute Argument Between Two Great Philosophers by David Edmonds
and John Eidinow and Making The List: A Cultural History of the American Bestseller,
1900-1999 by Michael Korda.
2001(16th of Tevet, 5762): Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth
passed away shortly before midnight, aged 82, after suffering from an illness.
Born at Wojnicz, Poland in 1918, the son of Rabbi Avrohom Yosef Schermann and
Perla Kreiswirth, he was an Orthodox
rabbi who served as the longtime Chief Rabbi of Congregation Machzikei Hadass
Antwerp, Belgium. He was the founder and rosh yeshiva of the Mercaz HaTorah
yeshiva in Jerusalem, and was a highly regarded Torah scholar.
2003: U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recued
himself and his office from investigating The Plame Affair. Palme is Valerie
Plame the Jewish CIA operative
whose identity was exposed in column by Robert Novak.
2004(18th
of Tevet, 5765): Artie Shaw passed away.
Born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky, Shaw gained fame for as a clarinet player and Big
Band Leader. He received a Grammy Life
Time Achievement Award and is member of the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
2005(29th
of Kislev, 5766: Rona Jaffe author of The
Best of Everything passed away at the age of 74.
2005:
Pepe Eliaschev, the grandson of Russian Jewish immigrants, a fixture of
Argentine media, and host of the daily radio show, “Esto Que Pasa” or “This is
what’s happening” was fired in what he saw as a form of media self-censorship.
2005: The
first kosher restaurant, Kineret Aruba Glatt Kosher Deli opened at the Playa
Linda Beach Resort in Aruba .
2006:
The
second edition of Encyclopedia Judaica, a 22-volume work, was published
which is to be released in January, was published today.
2006: The
Cedar Rapids Gazette reports about
the growth of religiously orientated games in an article entitled “How about a
game of Kosherland?” The story begins “The crazy Jewish fun of Kosherland looks
la lot like the board game Candy Land, except gefilte fishing substitutes for
he visits to the Ice
Cream Sea
2007: The Sunday New York Times features
reviews of the books by Jewish authors and/or about matters of special interest
to Jewish readers including Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg and The
Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner.
2007: In
what would seem to be a reminder of the common origins of mankind, the Chicago Tribune reported that the a
genetic mutation known to increase the odds of breast cancer in some Jewish
women has been found in significant numbers of Hispanic and African-American
breast cancer patients underscoring the need for genetic testing across ethnic
lines to determine who is at risk.
2008: At 1:33 A.M. , Israeli time, Haaretz reported that two Israelis had
been killed Monday evening as Gaza Israel Israel Negev base,
and another was seriously wounded. Four others were lightly hurt in the attack.
The other fatality occurred when a woman got out of her vehicle when she heard
the early warning siren in the city of Ashdod
2008 (3
Tevet, 5769): Seventy
eight year old “Harvey Ginsberg, a New York book editor who served long tenures at
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Harper & Row and William Morrow & Company, and
whose most loyal writers included John Irving and Saul Bellow, passed away
today in Manhattan.” (As reported Bruce Weber) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/books/11ginsberg.html?_r=0
2009:
New
York’s classical music radio station, WQXR, 105.9 fm presented a broadcast of
selections from the Keshet Eilon 2009 Violin Mastercourse, performed at its
gala final concert at Kibbutz Eilon by participants in the course.
2009:
The
Gerard Bechar Center presented The Jerusalem Cantors Choir, in a concert
entitled "Mizmor Le-toda:" a festive show combining Israeli and
Cantorial classics. The evening is a tribute to Cantor Binyamin Glickman on the
occasion of his 75th birthday and celebrating 55 years of his career as a
conductor.
2009:
The
Psik Theater presented "The Jerusalem Comedy:" a comedy about Ultra
Orthodox, Secular, and those stuck somewhere in the middle. The play tells the
story of the struggle between the secular theatre "Le'Mehadrin" and
the adjacent orthodox yeshiva in the same neighborhood. The juxtaposition of
the two creates extreme comical situations.
2009: Closing session of the International
Conference on Conservative Judaism: Halakhah, Culture and Sociology at The Van
Leer Jerusalem Institute.
2009:
Final session of The USY International Convention was held in Chicago, IL.
2009:
Israel's
population stands at 7.5 million, according to figures released today by the
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Published ahead of the Gregorian New Year
2010, Israel's population has continued to grow at a steady rate of 1.8 percent
over the past seven years, with 160,000 new babies born since last January 1
and some 14,500 new immigrants arriving over the past year. In terms of ethnic
divisions, Israel's Jews now make up 75.4% of the population, or 5,664,000
people; Arabs consist of 20.3%, or 1,526,000 citizens; and the remaining 4.3%
(319,000) are those registered as "others" by the Interior Ministry.
According to the CBS's population report published ahead of the Jewish New Year
in September, Israel is still a fairly young nation with nearly 30% of its
population under the age of 14, compared to 17% in most other Western
countries. Only 9.7% of the population is over the age of 65 in Israel, whereas
in other Western countries the average is closer to 15%. The report also showed
that the average Jewish family size increased since 2008 from 2.8 children per
household to 2.96. In the Muslim community, the average number of children per
mother was 3.84, a drop from the previous two years where it had previously
reached 3.97 children per household. Among Christian families the average
number of children was down to 2.11 in 2008. The ratio of men to women
continues to be consistent too, with the number of women in the country still
slightly outweighing the number of men, especially in the more advanced years
of life. According to the statistics, there is 979 men for every 1000 women,
however in the under 37 set there are more men but it is the imbalance in the
over 75 age group that off-sets this with some 673 men for every 1000 women.
2009:
One
or more mortars were fired from Gaza into southern Israel.
2009:
Today, the Shin Bet, Israel's security service, released a report which showed
that 566 rockets were fired on Israel from Gaza in 2009; most were fired in
January, during Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. By comparison, 2,048 rockets
were fired at Israel from Gaza in 2008.
2010: In
Orlando, FL, the USY International Convention is scheduled to come to an end.
2010: The
30th Limmud Conference is scheduled to come to an end today.
2010: The Rt. Hon. Sir Martin Gilbert, CBE is scheduled to deliver a
lecture entitled "Britain and Palestine, 1917-1947: Researching the
Relationship" at Beit Avi Chai. Attendees will enjoy an evening with Sir
Martin, the official biographer of Winston Churchill, who is one of the most
knowledgeable, literate and prolific historians in the 20th and 21st
century. His eighty-two books include Israel,
Jerusalem in the Twentieth Century, Churchill and the Jews, Holocaust
Journey and his latest offering, In Ishmael’s House
2010: The Shin Ben (Israel Security Agency) reported today that
there was a decrease in the number of terrorist attacks targeting Israelis in
2010. There were 798 recorded terrorist attacks in 2010 at the time the report
was written, compared to 1,354 in 2009.
2010: This evening, a group of Arab men attacked a soldier at the
entrance to Kiryat Arba. The soldier suffered head injuries in the attack. His
assailants were arrested.
2010: An exhibition on the Jews of Iran showcasing the community’s
2,700-year-old history and rich heritage opens today at Beit Hatefutsoth in Tel
Aviv. The exhibition includes archeological and cultural artifacts, including
ancient manuscripts, talismans, carpets and both secular and religious music.
The exhibition also includes contemporary artworks by Iranian Jewish artists
now living in Israel, Europe and the United States.
2010: Former president Moshe Katsav was found guilty of raping
former Tourism Ministry worker "Aleph," in the Tel Aviv District
Court. "The event happened in the accused's
office," the judges said. "Aleph said no - she expressed dissent.
This is not sexual harassment, this is rape."The judges said that just
because Aleph complained years after the event, does not mean that she is
lying.
2010: The Limmud Conference, British Jewry’s answer to the
Edinburgh Festival which has been celebrating its 30th anniversary
came to an end today. Limmud, which began with 70 Jewish educators getting
together Christmas week 30 years ago, is today a global movement, with over
35,000 participants at Limmud events around the Jewish world in any one of 55
Limmud International communities, from Amsterdam to Atlanta, Cambridge to Cape
Town, Modi’in to Moscow, Paris to Philadelphia, and Istanbul to Toronto.
2011(4th of Tevet, 5772): Ninety four year old Bernard Bellush,
Professor
Emeritus of History at the City College of New York (CCNY), who was part of
“Alcove Number One” – “a group of student radicals at CCNY during the 1930’s –
passed away today.
2011: The Jaffa Rd
Walking Tour, an exploration of Jerusalem’s main artery to the coast for
centuries which was also an Ottoman road with British influences, is scheduled
to begin this morning. at Tzahal Square, Kikar Safra #10, across from Jaffa
Gate Plaza, at 9:00am.
2011: The Israel Air Force struck a group of
terrorists attempting to fire rockets into Israel this morning.
2011: Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, the rabbi of the
Har Bracha settlement and the dean of the Har Bracha yeshiva, strongly
criticized gender segregation on buses in a column to be published in the
B’Sheva weekly today.
2012: Choreographer Ssmulik Gov-Are and
Hadassah Badoch-Kruger Yemenite dance expert & former soloist with the
Inbal and Batsheva dance companies are scheduled to attend the Israeli Folk
Dance End-of-Year Party
2012: Celebration of the birthday of
University of Iowa Hillel Director Jerry Sorkin
2012: “DADB – A Story of an Israeli Icon” is
scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival
2012: The
New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of
special interest to Jewish readers including The Middlesteins by Jami
Attenberg and Hallucinations by
Oliver Sacks
No comments:
Post a Comment