December 25
0337(14th
of Tevet, 4098): Earliest possible date on which Christmas was reported to have
been celebrated on December 25th.
496:
Baptism of Clovis I, the Frankish ruler who united all the tribes of Gaul
(France) under one ruler. His adoption of Catholicism had little no impact on
his Jewish subjects who mingled freely with their Christian and pagan brethren
until King Dagobert tried to expel them in the 7th century.
800: Coronation of
Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
Charlemagne supported most of the policies and edicts Pope Gregory the
Great and Pope Stephen IV. However, he
ignored their edicts concerning Jews.
For the most part, Jews were allowed to participate in the economic and
social life of the Empire within the limits of Medieval Society. The Jews of Narbonne (France) supported
Charlemagne’s father Pepin in his war with the Moslems and Charlemagne
remembered this. Unfortunately, Charlemagne’s policies toward the Jews died
with him in 814.
1000: At the start of
the 11th century, Hungary was established as a Christian kingdom by
Stephen I of Hungary. In this case,
Christian means Roman Catholic.
Religious belief aside, Stephen used Catholicism as an instrument of
national unification as he established his rule over pagans and those of his
subjects who sought support from the Byzantine (Eastern Orthodox) Empire. Based on archeological evidence Jews had probably
been living in what was now Hungary since the third century. The first written mention of Jews living in
Hungary is found in a letter from the end of 10th century written by
the famous Sephard, Hasdai ibn Shaprut. There were enough Jews living in
Hungary by the end of the 11th century that at the council of
Szabolcs, the Church prohibited marriages between Jews and Christians, work on
Christian festivals, and the purchase of slaves. At the same time, the
Hungarian King Kolman took measures to protect Hungarian Jews from Crusaders
passing through the kingdom.
1066:
Coronation of William the Conqueror as king of England. There is no record of a Jewish community in
England before Norman conquests. A group
of Jews arrived from Rouen (France) in London at the start of William’s
reign. There is no record as to why
William allowed this and his immediate successors followed policies that were
inimical to Jewish interests.
1100:
Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned as the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of
the Nativity. This is one of those
events loaded with subtle irony. This
coronation was the culmination of the First Crusade, during which the Christian
warriors drove the Jews from the City of David. In other words, if Jesus had
been alive for Baldwin’s coronation, he wouldn’t have been able to attend the
event. Please note, Baldwin and his
successors were not laying claim to the throne of King David
1137:
Birthdate of Saladin, the Moslem leader who drove the Crusaders out of
Jerusalem and whose family physician was reported to be Maimonides. (As
reported by Austin Cline)
1193: King
Richard made Hubert Walter, who had gone on the Third Crusade with him where
they failed to liberate Jerusalem and who “also oversaw the establishment of a
new system that supervised, recorded and regulated moneylending by England's
Jews” Chief Justicar.
1194: In
Palermo, coronation of Henry VI as King of Sicily, during whose reign
anti-Semitic riots took place all along the Rhine but not in southern Italy.
1312:
Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Judenburg and Furstenfeld, Austria
1369: King
Frederick III of Sicily issued a decree requiring all Jews to wear a special
identification badge.
1406: In
Toledo 25-year-old Henry III, the King of Castile and Leon who employed a Moses
Zaral, a converso as a physician passed, away today.
1406: John
II, whose birth was commemorated by poem written by Moses Zaral his father’s
physician, began his reign as King of Castile and Leon today.
1480:
Miguel de Morillo and Juan de San Martin, both Dominican friars arrived in
Seville. Seville’s population included a significant number of New Christians,
who enjoyed the comparative quite of the city.
That ended with the arrival of the friars who brought the Inquisition
with them.
1564:
Birthdate of Johannes Buxtorf “a celebrated Hebraist, the Professor of Hebrew
for 39 years at Basel, known by the title “Master of Rabbis” and author of
Synagoga Judaica which docments “the customs and society of German Jewry.”
1565: “Pius IV who issued a bull that improved the conditions of the Jews
began his papacy today. The allowed them to stop wearing their yellow cap, buy
land up to the value of 1,500 ducats and to trade in things other than old
clothes. While they could speak with Christians, they could not have Christian
servants. He also allowed the Jews to publish the Talmud as long as they did
not use that word in the publication.
1559: Today, Giovanni Angelo Medici was elected Pius IV, the Pope “who
relaxed a variety of restrictions on Jewish life that had been imposed by his
predecessor, Paul IV, but were restored by Pius V.
1599:
Portuguese settlers establish the village of Natal in Brazil. At this time, the only Jews living in Brazil
were New Christians or Conversos. Dutch
forces would occupy Natal from1633 to 1654, a period during which Jewish
communities flourished under the religious toleration brought from
Holland.
1659:
Thomas Violet, a London goldsmith appealed to the Judges asking they overturn
the dispensation the late Oliver Cromwell had given the Jews to build a
“Portuguese synagogue” that had “opened in 1656.”
1711(26th
of Tevet, 5472): Eliau Abraham Azuby, the son of Lea and Abraham Azubi who
married Judith Azuby after the death of Ester Azuby passed away today in
Amsterdam.
1753(29th
of Kislev, 5514): Fifth Day of Chanukah
1763:
Birthdate of London native and temporary resident of Montreal Bernard Hart, the
“parnas of Shearith Israel Congregation in New York City” and one of the
founders of the NYSE whose second wife was Rebecca Siexas and who was the
grandfather, by his first marriage, to Bret Harte.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hart-bernard
1764(1st
of Tevet, 5525): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Seventh Day of Chanukah
1769(26th
of Kislev, 5530): Second Day of Chanukah
1772(29th
of Kislev, 5533): Erev Shabbat and the Fifth Day of Chanukah
1775(2nd
of Tevet, 5536): Eighth Day of Chanukah; last observance of the holiday in the
“13 Colonies” which in 1776 will become the United States of America.
1777(25th
of Kislev, 5538) First Day of Chanukah
1777: Isaac
and Esther Baze gave birth to Abraham Montel, the husband of Naumy
Vidal-Naquet.
1780(27th
of Kislev, 5541): Third Day of Chanukah
1780:
Rebecca Franks and Lucius Levy Solomons, who moved from England to Montreal,
gave birth to Rachel Solomons, the wife of Henry Joseph
1781:
Zipporah De Lyon of Savanah, GA and Lithuanian native Mordecai Moses Mordecai
gave birth to David Mordecai, the husband of South Carolinian Reinah Cohen with
whom he had seven children.
1781:
Birthdate of Bordeaux, France, native Rachel Mendez Hega who “came to New York
City in 1794” and who was the wife of Aaron Soria
1783(30th
of Kislev, 5544): Sixth Day of Chanukah; Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1788(26th
of Kislev, 5549): Second Day of Chanukah
1790: In
London, “The Times described” John “King, with heavy-handed sarcasm, as
“without any matter of doubt one of the most respectable characters in this
country, and until the later attack on him, the breath of infamy never blew on
his reputation. In all his dealings with mankind he has been the strict,
upright, honest man. He never took advantage of the distresses of a fellow
creature , in order to rob him of his property – he never extracted exorbitant
interest for discounting a bill – he was justly paid every debt he contracted
to the uttermost farthing; and in a domestic line of life has proved himself a
fond – faithful – loving husband – a tender affectionate and praiseworthy
parent, and a feeling steady and sincere friend. Chaste in all his actions –
virtuous in every sentiment – and unsullied in his reputation as a Man, a Money
Lender, a Jew, and a Christian.”
(Editor’s Note: John King was
born Jacob Rey who was the son of Moses Rey and was called by “Jew King” even
though he was never considered to be a leader of the Anglo-Jewish
Community. For more see “The Chequered
Career of ‘Jew’ King: a Study in Anglo-Jewish Social History” by Todd M.
Endelman.)
1791(29th
of Kislev, 5552): Fifth Day of Chanukah
1791: In
Stamford Hill, Jessy Salomons and Benjamin Goldsmid gave birth to James
Goldsmid
1791:
Birthdate of Esther Lamert, the daughter of Isaac Lamert and the wife of Joseph
Nathan with whom she had nine children.
1794: In
Rhode Island, Esther Mordecai and Philip Moses Russell gave birth to Rebecca
Russell, the husband of David Nathans and the mother of Moses and Sarah
Nathans.
1796(25th
of Kislev, 5557): Chanukah is celebrated for the last time during the
Presidency of George Washington.
1798: In
Holland, David Levy and his wife gave birth to Sarah Levy, the wife of Jacob I.
Workum with whom she had six children
1799(27th
of Kislev, 5560) Third Day of Chanukah
1799: Simon
Waley married Elizabeth Raphael at the Great Synagogue today.
1800:
Birthdate of Louis Levy, the husband of Hannah Hart whom he married in New York
City.
1802: In Kingston,
Jamica, of Abraham Quixano Henriques, Esq and Leah Rachel Henriques gave birth
to Jacob Henriqus.
1803(10th
of Tevet, 5564): Asarah be Teveth
1805(4th
of Tevet, 5566): Isaac Satanow, the Polish native who settled in Berlin where
he developed his intellectual and writing skills under Daniel Itzig and David
Friedlander passed away today.
1807(24th
of Kisvlev,5568): Kindle the first light of Chanukah
1808: In
the seemingly never-ending intrigue swirling around the German prince and his
Jewish financier, sixteen-year-old Jacob Rothschild, son of A.M. Rothschild
arrived in Prague with a chest full of papers belonging to Wilhelm, the exiled
Landgrave.
1810(28th
of Kislev, 5571): Fourth Day of Chanukah
1811:
Birthdate of Savannah native Emanuel Sheftall, the husband of Jane L. Theiss
Sheftall and father of William, Hannah, Josephine, Croline, Loisa, Jane, Edward
James, Mary and Sarah Sheftall.
1815: In Charleston,
SC, Isaac and Rachel Mordecai Harby gave birth to Julian Harby who settled in
San Francisco.
1816:
Joseph Crool married Rosetta Mosley at the Great Synagogue today.
1820:
Birthdate of Austrian chemist Theodor Wertheim, “the father of Dr. Ernst
Wertheim.”
1821(1st
of Tevet, 5582): Seventh Day of Chanukah; Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1821: In
North Oxford, MA, Sarah Stone Barton and Captain Stephen Barton gave birth to
Clarissa Harlowe Barton who gained fame as Clara Barton the founder of the Red
Cross who was supported by Sephardic Jewish businessman Adolphus Simeon
Solomons who served as vice president of the organization for its first 11
years.
https://jewishcurrents.org/may-21-clara-barton-and-adolphus-simeon-solomons
1822: In
England, Priscilla Marks and William Collins gave birth to Abraham Collins who
moved to Sydney before he died in 1884.
1822: Isaac
Bennett (Isaac ben Yom Tov), the native of Middlesex was circumcised today.
1824(1st
of Tevet, 5582): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1824(1st
of Tevet, 5582): Eighty-year-old Sir Sampson Gideon, 1st Baron of
Eardly whose father had been denied his rightful honors because he was a
practicing Jew, passed away today.
1825:
Birthdate of Jindřich Opper, the native of Blovice, Bohemia who gained fame a
French journalist Henri Blowitz who predicted the French defeat during the
Franco-Prussian War, turned a diplomatic post with the government of the Third
Republic and scored a journalist coup when “he obtained a copy of the Treaty of
Berlin” and published it ahead of his competitors.
1831:
Birthdate of Salomon Lefmann the native of Westphalia who became a leading
Jewish philologist.
1831:
Birthdate of Warsaw native Christian David Ginsburg the convert to Christianity
who settled in the United Kingdom where he became a leading Hebrew and Bible
scholar.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christian-David-Ginsburg
1832(3rd
of Tevet, 5593): Judith Hadassah Jacobs, the daughter of Raphael Jacobs and the
wife of Manuel Myers passed away today.
1834(23rd
of Kislev, 5595):
Eighty-four-year-old David Friedländer, a German
Jewish banker, writer and communal leader passed away.
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6372-friedlander-david
1835:
Birthdate of Ferdinand Stern, a native of Manheim, Germany, the husband of
Charlotte Stern and the father of Alfred and Helene Stern.
1836: In
Schleswig-Holstein, Salomon M. Salomon and Caroline Salomon gave birth to
Edward S. Salomon, the Chicago lawyer who married Sophie Greenhut who was an
officer in the 24th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War rising to
the rank of Brigadier General, appointed Governor of Washington Territory by
President Grant before becoming the District Attorney in San Francisco.
1836:
Birthdate of Schleswig-Holstein native and member of the Chicago City Council,
attorney Edward S. Salomon who along with his cousins – Charles, Edward and
Fredrick – was a general in the Union Army after which he served as Governor of
Washington Territory and as an assistant district attorney in California.
https://civilwar-history.fandom.com/wiki/Edward_S._Salomon
https://unionofficers.org/officers/lieutenant-colonel-edward-solomon/
1837(27th
of Kislev, 5598) Third Day of Chanukah
1839(23rd
of Kislev, 5595): Fifty-four-year-old Meyer Israel Bresselau “a founding member
and chairman of the Hamburg Temple” passed away today.
1839:
Solomon Joseph married Priscilla Samuel at Strand, London today.
1839(23rd
of Kislev, 5595): David Caro a devotee of Me’assefim who “under the pseudonym
"Amittai ben Abida Achitzedeq" he defended the Hamburg Reform Temple
in Berit Emit (Covenant of Truth)” passed away today.
1843(2nd
of Tevet, 5604): Eighth Day of Chanukah
1845(26th
of Kislev, 5606): Second Day of Chanukah
1845(26th
of Kislev, 5606): David Hart passed away today after which he was buried in the
Balls Pond Road Jewish Cemetery.
1849: In
London, Marks Kolsky, a tailor and his wife gave birth Morris Kolsky who gained
fame as cinematographer Richard Fryer.
1849: In
Minsk, Hodie Goldberg and Isaac Schaikewitz gave birth to Nahum Mayer
Schaikewitz, the editor and publisher of The
Jewish Puck who also wrote fifty plays in Yiddish some of which were
performed in Odessa and 205 novels in The Convict, Last Jewish King
and A Spark of Judaism.
1853(24th
of Kislev, 5614): In the evening, kindle the first light of Chanukah
1856(28th
of Kislev, 5617): Fourth Day of Chanukah
1856:
Evidence continued to be presented today in The Huntington Trial a case being
heard before Judge Capron which had recessed on the previous Saturday “because
one of the jurors was a Jew and had conscientious scruples about working on his
Sabbath…” despite the fact that the case has to be completed by December 31.
The eleven Christian jurors did not request a postponement because today is
Christmas.
1859(29th
of Kislev, 5620): Fifth Day of Chanukah
1860:
“Suicide of A Patient At The Jew’s Hospital” published today reported that
“Elias Kemp, an old man, who, for nearly a year past, has been an inmate of the
Jews' Hospital, No. 140 West Twenty-eighth-street, under treatment for spinal
disease, died today in consequence of a razor-wound in his throat, which he had
inflicted last Sunday with the object of taking his life. The fact that his
disease had recently assumed unfavorable symptoms, and the physician had
pronounced him incurable, led him to commit the act. Coroner O'Keefe held an
inquest upon the body. Deceased was a native of Poland.
1861: In
Krementshug, Poltava, Russia, Samuel David Spivakovsky and Deborah Adel Dorfman
gave birth to Hayem David Spivakovsky, who as Charles D. Spivak earned an M.D.
from Jefferson Medical College, married Jennie (Gittel) Charsky following which
he taught at several medical schools while teaching at the Hebrews Education
Society in Philadelphia and founding the Jewish Alliance of America in
Philadelphia.
1863: Birthdate of Regina Margareten. She came to the U.S. as a young bride in
1883. With her husband and her parents, she helped to open a grocery store on
New York's Lower East Side. The first year in New York, the family members
baked Passover matzo for themselves. The second year, they made enough to sell
in the store, and the matzo business soon became the family's sole occupation.
After Regina's husband died in 1923, she was formally named treasurer of
Horowitz Brothers & Margareten Company and became one of the company's
directors. She held these positions for the rest of her life. Margareten also
acted as the company's quality control department, tasting every batch of
matzo. By 1932, Horowitz Brothers & Margareten Company was using 45 thousand
barrels of flour and grossing over one million dollars per year.In addition to
her work at the business, Margareten was the matriarch of an extended family of
over 400 members. Her obituary, which described her as the "matriarch of
the kosher food industry," also reported that she was a member of over 100
charitable organizations. Throughout her life, she played an important role in
the family business, working in her office daily until two weeks before her
death in 1959 at age 96.
1863: In
Detroit, Amelia Sloman and Mark Sloman who came to Detroit from Berlin and engaged
in the leather, wool and fur business gave birth to Dr. Edward E. Sloman, the
first Jew born in Detroit, a graduate of the Michigan College of Medicine, the
brother of attorney Adolph Sloman and the husband of Fannie Mandelbaum who
moved his practice to Omaha, NB where he died in a tragic drowning accident.
1863:
Philadelphian Jacob Mayer, who rose to the rank of Sergeant by the end of the
Civil War, began his service today with Company F of the 82nd
Regiment.
1864(26th
of Kislev, 5625): Second Day of Chanukah
1864: James
William Wallack, Sr., the London born son of a “Jewish father” who gained fame
in the American theatre passed away today in NYC
1864:
Warsaw native Rabbi Falk Vidaver and Anna Vidaver gave birth Nathaniel “Nathan”
Vidaver in Boston today.
1865:
Corporal Moses Jacoby, who had enlisted in 1861 completed his service with
Company E of the 47th Regiment in the Union Army.
1866:
Birthdate of
Avraham Mordechai Alter also known as the Imrei Emes
after the works he authored. He was the third Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of
Ger, a position he held from 1905 until his death in 1948. He was one of the
founders of the Agudas Israel in Poland and was influential in establishing a
network of Jewish schools there. It is claimed that at one stage he led over
200,000 Hasidim.
1867:
Birthdate of Alfred Kempner, the native of Breslau who, as Alfred Kerr, became
an influential theatre critic.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0012_0_11056.html
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/alfred-kerr
1869: In
Chicago, Moses Maness Ritterband and Esther Amanda Ritterband gave birth to
Benvenida Solis Rittberand who became Benvenida Solis Firth when she married
Emil Firth.
1869: In
New Orleans, LA, Bertha Cohan and Hertz Bonart gave birth to businessman Sam
Bonart, the President of the Y.M.H.A, a Trustee of the Jewish Federation of Charities
and “Treasurer of the Orthodox Congregation Beth Israel, who, after his first
wife passed away, married the former Goldie Spingarn with whom he had three
daughters – Pauline, Anna and Bertha.
1870(1st of
Tevet, 5631): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1872(25th
of Kislev, 5633): As President Grant basks in the glow of his recent
re-election, the Jews observe Chanukah.
1873: It
was reported today that “strongest party” in the Reichstag is “that of the
National Liberals” which represents nearly all of the professions” including “Government
officials, barristers, solicitors, manufacturers, merchants and bankers” and “among
their most prominent leaders are Jews like Herr Bamberger who is an authority
on financial questions and Herr Lasker, who though young has already much
parliamentary experience.
1875(27th
of Kislev, 5636): Parshat Miketz; third day of Chanukah
1875: In
Budapest, Max and Katherine (Hoffman) Wasservogle gave birth to NY Law school
graduate and New York State Supreme Court Justice Isdiore Wasservogel, a member
of the Free Synagogue and the husband of Dorothy Maas whom he married in 1906.
https://history.nycourts.gov/biography/isidor-wasservogel/
1875:
Birthdate of Austrian native Solomon Lubash, the Hoboken, NJ merchant and
president of the Jewish Center who was the husband of Ada Lubash and the father
of Myron C. Lubash
1876: In
Krakai, Lithuania, Nechemiah and Judith Schlesinger gave birth to Benjamin
Schlesinger the husband of Rae Schenhause who served as the editor of the Daily Forward and President of the
International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.
1876: In
Odessa, Harvey and Edith Chalif gave birth to the “dean of the New York dance
teachers” Louis H. Chalif who was “ballet master of the Government Theatre in
Odessa” before coming to the U.S. in 1905 and founding the Chalif Normal of School
while raising six children – Edward, Selmer, Amos, Vitalis, Helen and Frances –
with his wife, former Sarah Katzhof of Odessa,
https://timenote.info/en/Louis-Harvy-Chalif
1878(29th
of Kislev, 5639): Fifth Day of Chanukah
1878:
Birthdate of Lithuanian native and Johns Hopkins trained Egyptologist Dr. Aaron
Ember who chaired the department at his alma mater and was credited “with
having discovered phonetic laws which demonstrate that Tut-ankah-Amen’s people
and the Israelites spoke languages of common origin.”
1878:
Birthdate of Joseph Michael Schenck, the native of Russia who came to the
United State in 1893 where he became a major figure in the American motion
picture industry
1879: It
was reported today that a group of Rabbis and prominent laymen have formed an
association to promote a stricter observance of the Sabbath, which for the Jews
falls on Saturday. It is predicted that
the association will not find much success among the eighty to ninety thousand
Jews living in New York since strict observance of the Sabbath would cost them
two days’ worth of business since they would still be bound by the general
populace’s Sunday observance. Failure
because of business considerations is not unique to Jews since attempts to have
Christians return to the observance of the Sabbath in the spirit of the
Puritans failed for this very reason.
1880: In
Romania, Paul and Clara Sieigelstein
gave birth to City
College graduate and NYU trained attorney Bennett Edward Siegelstein, the Democratic
party leader who served in the New York State Assembly and who “was also an
organizer and/or officer of the Jewish Center of East Side, the Federation of
Jewish Charities, the Jewish Publication Society, the Jewish Theatrical Guild,
the Grand Street Boys Association, and the Jewish Educational Organization.”
1880: The
Young Men’s Hebrew Union will be held this evening at 607 Fulton Street.
1880: It
was reported today that “many Jews residing in Berlin” are “avoiding appearing
in public…and many Jewish families are preparing to emigrate to Belgium, France
and England.
1881: At
today’s “annual meeting of the patrons and members of Mount Sinai
Hospital” “the following officers were
re-elected: President – Hyman Blum; Vice President – Isaac Wallach; Treasurer-
S.M. Schafer.”
1881:
Anti-Jewish riots began in Poland.
In Warsaw twelve Jews were killed, many others were wounded, and some women
were raped. Two million rubles worth of property was destroyed.
1881:
Emanuel and Leah Horowitz Abrahams gave birth to Max Abrahams, the husband of
Fannie Danovitch Abrahams and the father of Arthur, Elias, Jesse and Leon
Abrahams.
1881: It
was reported today by a recent visitor to North Africa that 25,000 Jews
dominate the coastal trade in Tunisia and Algeria.
1881:
Birthdate of Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill who was knighted in 1937
following his year of service as the General Officer Commanding British Forces
in Palestine.
1882:
“Jewish Antiquities” published today reviews Henrietta Lee Palmer’s Home Life
In The Bible “which provides extensive information respecting the domestic life
of the ancient Jews, the construction of their dwellings, their furniture,
dress and ornaments” and much, much more.
1882:
Today, “24 Russian Jewish families that had established the Jewish community of
Beersheba in Kansas” wrote to “Moritz Loth, the president of the Union of
American Hebrew Congregation” expressing their appreciation for the financial
and material support provided for them.
1882:
“Doing Good” published today decried the attempts of Salmi Morse, a Jewish
theatrical producer, to produce The Passion Play. According to the article only Jew bent on
making money would seek to produce a playing that insults “the decent part of
the community” and blasphemes “all that Christians hold sacred.
1883(26th
of Kislev, 5644): Second Day of Chanukah
1883:
Birthdate of Samuel Hugo Bergmann, the Austro-Hungarian native who was a “schoolmate
of Franz Kafka” and who made Aliyah in 1920 after which he founded the Brit
Shalom movement with Martin Buber.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/samuel-hugo-bergman
1883: In
Chicago, “cigar merchant Rueben Berger” and his wife Jeanette Sperling Berger
gave birth to Samuel “Sam” Berger, “the first Olympic heavyweight gold medalist
in boxing history.
1883: In
Russia, Sarah Achongarotzky and Ely Brodsky gave birth to NYU trained attorney
Louis Brodsky, the husband of Rebecca Nieberg and chairman of the of the Keren
Hayesod of Borough Park who began serving as Judge of the Magistrates Court in
New York.
1884:
Birthdate of Nathaniel Phillips, the native of Kalwaria, Poland and husband of
the former Ruth Simon who came to the United States in 1885 and after
graduating from CCNY worked as a lawyer and civic leader who served on the
Mayor’s Commission on Americanization and the National League for American
Citizenship.
1884(7th
of Tevet, 5645): Eighty-three-year-old Salomon Herxheimer the chief rabbi of
Anhalt-Bernberg and the husband of Lea Susskind passed away today.
1884: It
was reported today that while the Russian government battles against Nihilism
which “is more dangerous than ever, the persecution of the Jews is as fierce as
it was a few years ago when the European press boiled with indignation at the
anti-Semitic outrages which disgraced Russia.”
(In terms of cause and effect, this is an example of the cause whose
effect could be seen in the teeming masses of the Lower East Side)
1885: Alois
Feigelstock, a Jewish businessman who took his life in a fit of temporary
insanity brought on by his grief over the death of his daughter will be buried
in Cyprus Hills Cemetery.
1885: It
was reported today that the recently completed census in Germany contained some
“curious facts” in its responses as can be seen by one where the head of the
family described himself as a Jew, described his wife as a Catholic and
described his children as being “brought up in the evangelical faith.” (And you thought the American Jewish
community in the 21st century had strange familial arrangements)
1886:
Birthdate of Franz Rosenzweig. Born in
Germany, Rosenzweig was “an existential philosopher.” According to one description of The Star
of Redemption, his seminal philosophic work Rosenzweig “sees the world as
consisting of three elements – man , the universe and God, which enter a
relationship through revealing themselves to one another. The three points form a triangle, which
intersect with a second triangle of creation, revelation and redemption. Their relations become historical forces”
which in one case is Judaism – hence the star.
Revelation, which is a continuing process of good, leads to
redemption. Man helps to bring the
universe to redemption by converting his love for God into his love for his
fellow man. Rosenzweig pioneered the
construction of a Jewish-Christian relation without polemic, which became the
basis for postwar interfaith dialogue.”
In his personal life, Rosenzweig fought crippling paralysis with the
assistance of his wife. He passed away
in 1929. According to a poll conducted
by Commentary Magazine in 1965,
Rosenzweig was “the most influential modern Jewish thinker.” Quotes from Rosenzwewig: “Jewish prayer means
praying in Hebrew.” (This from a man who translated the entire Bible into
German) “We owe our survival to a book –
the only book of antiquity that is still in living use as a scroll.” “Asked, ‘What does Judaism think about
Jesus?” he answered, ‘It doesn’t.’”
1886(28th
of Kislev, 5647): Shabbat Shel Channukah; Parashat Miketz
1887(10th
of Tevet, 5648): Asara B’Tevet observed on the same day that “Glenfiddich
single malt Scotch whisky was first produced.” (L’Chaim).
1887: At
Temple Beth-El in New York City, Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler delivered a lecture
entitled “Charity – Religious not Sectarian.”
1887:
President Hyman Blum presided over Mount Sinai Hospital’s annual meeting which
held at the medical facility on the corner of Lexington and 65th
Street.
1887:
Birthdate of London native and American journalist Jack Larric who went from
the staff of The New York Herald to writing such Broadway plays as “Denial”
while being married to the former Ivy Sherman.
1887: It
was reported today that a trial is being held behind “closed doors” in St.
Petersburg where 8 Nihilists are facing charges that they tried to murder the
Czar during his recent visit to the Don Cossack Country. The group’s leader has
been identified as a Jew named Boris Orshis.
1887: Based
on information that first appeared in the Toronto Globe, it was reported today
that an Orthodox Jew living in Canada has warned his English co-religionists
against worshipping Reform which he described as “Organ; pews; Christian choir;
hats off; microscopic Prayer Book; abolition of the use of Hebrew; pork and
oysters; Chanukah Christmas; intermarriage; the Sunday Sabbath; no God; no
Judaism.”
1888: In
Vienna, 44 year old Dr. Arnold Heinrich Bodek (Aaron Chaim) married Malwine Malva
Bodek.
1888: In
Panimunik which was in the Lithuanian part of the Russian Empire Julius and
Fanny Opesken gave birth to Sara Opesken who gained famed Oscar winning
American screenwriter Sonya Levien.
https://wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-sonya-levien/
1888:
Birthdate of Philadelphia native and Princeton graduate David Lawrence, the
journalist and published who opposed the New Deal, co-founded what became the
conservative magazine U.S. News and World Report and was the husband of Ellanor
Lawrence with whom he had three children – David, Jr., Mark and Nancy.
1889(2nd
of Tevet. 5650): Eighth day of Chanukah
1889: The
Hebrew Free School Association held its annual meeting today at the
headquarters of the Young Men’s Hebrew Association on Lexington Avenue and 58th
Street.
1889:
Birthdate of Naftule Schüldkrau, the New York born musical child prodigy known
as Nat Shilkret whose musical family included pianist Lew Shilkret, Jack
Shilkret, Harry Shilkret who financed his medical school education by playing
the Trumpet and Nathaniel Finston, his violinist brother-in-law.
http://www.milkenarchive.org/people/view/all/640/Nathaniel+Shilkret
http://www.collateralworks.com/linernotes/natshilkret.html
1889(2nd
of Tevet, 5650): Eighty-nine-year-old Valentine Koon, the native of Stuttgart
who came to the United States in 1842 where he found success in manufacturing
shoes during the Civil War and in New York real estate, passed away today. In October
1843, Koon and 11 other Jews founded the Order of the B’nai B’rith.
1890(14th
of Tevet, 5651): Catherine Oppenheim the Charleston born daughter of Joseph and
Rachel Moses and the husband of Hert Wolf Oppenheim passed away today in
Montgomery, AL after she was buried in Charleston.
1890:
Birthdate of Kiev native and Russian trained psychiatrist Dr. Gregory Zilboorg,
the participant in the Russian Revolution and Minister of Labor in the
government of Alexander Kerensky who was forced to leave Russia for the United
States after the Bolsheviks came to power which led to a career as a clinician,
lecturer and author in his chosen field.
1891(24th
of Kislev, 5652): In the evening, kindle the first light of Chanukah
1891:
Birthdate of Saxon native, Ewald Andre Dupont who gained famed as director and
screenwriter E.A. Dupont, who became a U.S. citizen in 1935 after fleeing Nazi
Germany.
1892:
Samuel Marks, the friend and landlord for Hermann Stern, the German Jewish bank
clerk could supply no reason for his suicide unless it was done “in a sudden
fit of insanity” since he had no known financial problems or “love affair.”
1892:
Birthdate of Drubnin Poland native Lila Berlin Hassied violinist and professor
emeritus of biochemistry at the University of California and the wife of
Professor William Zen Hassid who was famous for her Yiddish language skills
1893:
“Trouble Over Master Workmen” published today described the Knights of Labor
losing three locals of clothing cutters and trimmers with a total membership of
2,400 to the American Federation of Labor.
Most of these workers were Jewish and Daniel de Leon, a Jewish socialist
had failed to keep them from leaving the Knights for the AF of L headed by
Samuel Gompers.
1893
“Caprivi Scores the Anti-Semites” published today relying upon information from
the London Daily News described
Chancellor Leo Von Caprivi’s response to the remarks by Herr Zimmerman, the
anti-Semitic leader in which he denounced “the agitation against the Jews” and
warned that anti-Semites attack on “Jewish capital” would lead to an “attack on
capital in general. The repeated attempts by the anti-Semites to interrupt his
speech, “were the best proof of that he was hitting the nail squarely on the
hand.
1893:
German anti-Semitism was described to as the persecution of “everybody whose
father or mother or any ancestor was Jewish.
This new anti-Semitism united racial anti-Semitism with religious
anti-Semitism.
1894(27th
of Kislev, 5655): Third Day of Chanukah
1894: As
part of a Chanukah celebration, 700 Jewish children who are “recent immigrants
from Russia and Romani” and “who are pupils at the Baron de Hirsch Schools
saluted the flag” today “with an ardor that awakened the patriotic feelings of
the men and women who had assembled to witness the ceremony at the Hebrew
Institute.”
1894:
The annual meeting of the Hebrew Free School Association was
held this morning in the schoolrooms of the Temple Emanuel at Fifth
Avenue and Forty-Third Street. Julia Richman was chosen to serve as a member of
the board of directors for the upcoming year. During the meeting Ms Richman
presented the report of the Discipline Committee. It showed that 3,283
children between the ages of eight and fourteen years were enrolled as of
November 30. Children are required to attend public schools as a
condition to participating in the afternoon classes devoted to religious
subjects and instruction in Hebrew. The Association offers a total of sixty-one
classes.
1894:
According to reports published today, the German Embassy in Paris “has issued a
note denying that anybody connected with it had direct or indirect relations
with Captain Dreyfus” which is seen as “the German government’s answer to the
sentencing of Dreyfus for the alleged betrayal of French plans to the embassy
in Paris and to the violent attacks made upon the embassy by the Paris press.
(Editor’s note – What Jews sometimes lose sight of is that part of the Dreyfus
affair was born of the deep animus the French had for the Germans following the
humiliating defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the loss of Alsace and
Lorraine.)
1894:
Birthdate of Yetta Zwerling, the sister of Bessie and Mamie Zwerling who sang
together in the Yiddish theatre before she became a film star.
http://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/yt/lex/Z/zwerling-yetta.htm
1895:
Birthdate of Abraham "Abe" Landau the chief henchman for New York
gangster Dutch Schultz. Landau was Schultz's most trusted employee, often given
tasks that required coolness and cunning rather than gunfire and brutality.
According to some sources, “It is very likely that he never actually killed
anyone during his gang years.”
1895:
The national convention of the Hebrew Anarchists began today “on the top floor
of the American Star Hotel” on 165 East Broadway in New York.
1895:
On this date, Herzl wrote in his diary “I was just lighting the Christmas tree
for my children when Rabbi Moritz
Güdemann arrived. He seemed upset by the "Christian" custom. Well, I
will not let myself be pressured! But I don't mind if they call it the Chanukah
tree - or the winter solstice.” Guidemann was the Chief Rabbi in Vienna who
believed in Jewish nationalism but considered the Jewish religion as an
integral part of Jewish identity. As far back as 1871, however, he had strongly
protested against the proposal of the Jewish community of Vienna to strike from
the prayer-book all passages referring to the return of the Jews to the Holy
Land and had even gone so far as to threaten to resign from the board of
trustees if his protest should remain unheeded. But in 1897, when Herzl’s
Zionist movement was in its infancy, he wrote against the tendencies of Zionism
to lay more stress on the national than on the religious character of Judaism,
for which he was severely attacked by the friends of the Zionist movement. When
you consider the complexity of his views, you can understand his consternation
at seeing Herzl lighting a Christmas tree.
1896:
In Kovno, Lithuania, Holocaust victim Avrom Chaim Gan, the son of Zalman and
his wife Chana Ann Rissel gave birth to Alta (Anna) Leie Gan, the wife of
Leizer Blimuas who was living in Argentina at the time of her death.
1896:
In New York, Hyman and Sarah Becker gave birth to Belle Becker who gained fame
as “Jewish torch singer Belle Baker, the husband of Maurice Abrahams.
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/baker-belle
1897(30th
of Kislev, 5658): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; 6th day of Chanukah; Parashat
Miketz is chanted for the first time during the Presidency of William McKinley.
1898: Herzl publishes his article "Französische
Zustände" - "French States of Affairs" about the Dreyfus Affair.
1898:
Birthdate of Russian native Abraham Barshofsky who changed his name to John
Barsha while in high school and went on to become an all-star football player
at the University of Syracuse before pursuing a legal education which financed
by money he earned playing “professional with the Syracuse All-Stars.”
1898:
Birthdate of Lena Goldman, the wife of David Wilentz, the Attorney General of
New Jersey who prosecuted Bruno Hauptmann and the mother of Robert Wilentz, the
Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1979 to 1996 and Norma Hess,
the “wife of Leon Hess, founder of Hess Corporation.”
1899: In
Boston Barnet “Bernard” Dalitz and Anna Cohen gave birth to the “gangster and
casino owner” Morris “Moe” Dalitz who
was known as “Mr. Las Vegas.
1899: In Borisoglebsk, Tambov, Hebrew teacher and
author Raphael Soyer and his wife Bella gave birth twin boys, Moses and Raphael
Soyer bother of whom became American painters.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Moses_Soyer.html
http://www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/soyer_m-bio.htm
1900:
Birthdate of Martin Konigsberg, the husband of Nettie Konigsberg who was a
bookkeeper at her family’s delicatessen and the father of Allan Stewart
Konigsberg who gained fame as Woody Allen.
1900: In
New York, Frederick Fred Margareten, the Hungarian born son “of Rabbi Yoel/Joel
Margareten and Julia Yetta Margareten,” and his wife Regina Margareten gave
birth to May Margaretten who became May Weiss when she married Morris Weiss,
the mother of Richard and Stanley Weiss.
1901: In
New York, Max and Jane Walcoff Udell gave birth to Daniel A. Udell, the thrice
married clothing merchant.
1901:
Birthdate Samuel H. “Sam” Pite the Yale basketball player who overcame the
coach’s anti-Semitism to be a star forward from 1922 – 1924.
http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=basketball&ID=123
1902(25th
of Kislev, 5663): Chanukah
1902: In
the U.K. Samuel B. Hamburger, the Latvian born son of Joseph and Kiva Hamburger
and his wife Annie H. Hamburger gave birth to Rachel Hamburger who became
Rachel Jinks when she married Curtis Jinks.
1903: In
Kiev, Haim and Sophia Lasker gave birth to Morris Lasker, the HUC trained rabbi
who served congregations in a wide variety of places including Dayton, OH and
Havana Cuba.
https://kipah.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Rabbi-Meir-Lasker-1.pdf
1903: In
what was then Temesvar, Austria-Hungary, Herman and Josephine Bromberg gave
birth to Joseph Edward Bromberg, the movie and stage actor whose career was
destroyed by the Hollywood blacklist.
http://web.archive.org/web/20070611201736/http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/the/pdf/thebromb.pdf
1903(6th
of Tevet, 5664): Sixty-year-old Julius Rosenheim, the son of Joseph and Nanny
Rosenheim and the husband of Ida Rosenheim passed away today in Bavaria.
1904: After
serving eight years of a life sentence in Sing Sing, Adolph Hershkopf became a
free man today after having been pardoned by the governor. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/12/26/100480720.html?pageNumber=3
1904: This
morning, at Temple Emanu-El on Fifth Avenue, Dr. Joseph Silverman delivered an
address entitled ‘The Christmas Message to the World’ which he said he was
giving to show that Jews should not celebrate Christmas, why it should be more
observed by Christians than it is today and what a consistent observance by
Christians would mean for the Jews and the whole world.”
1905(27th
of Kislev, 5666): Third Day of Chanukah
1905: In
Russia, Lena Roseman and Charles Turner gave birth tp DePaul Music School
trained violinist and concert master who was the husband of Evelyn Turner with whom he had
three children – Richard, Carole and Lynne
1905: It
was reported today that in Philadelphia, the police did not interfere with a
meeting being held “to protest against the massacres of Jews in Russia” despite
a complaint that had been lodged that at least one of the speakers denounced
President Roosevelt.
1905: It
was reported today that Professor Israel Friedlander said that the Russian
Massacres were another argument in favor Zionism and cited the need for a
Jewish Palestine as last refuge for the Jews in a time of persecution
especially now when “the Christian world is preaching the Gospel of peace and
good-will to man but the Christian world knows neither peace nor good-will in
dealing with Jews.”
1906: After
honing her language skills Lina Abarbarbanell , the Berlin born daughter Marie
and PauAbarbanell, the descendant of a prominent
Sephardic family “made her English-speaking debut at the Garden Theatre today,
as Lisa in the musical comedy The Student King,”
1906: In
Tokmak, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire to Isaak and Olga Winogradsky gave
birth to Lev (Louis) Winogradsky gained fame as Lew Grade the performer, turned
talent agent, turned television and movie mogul who created Baron Grade in
1976.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-lord-grade-1191347.html
1906:
Birthdate of Clark M Clifford. Clifford
is best known as the ultimate Washington lobbyist and Mr. Fix-it and as the US
Secretary of Defense who changed Lyndon Johnson’s Vietnam War policy. But Clifford said that his proudest moment
was the role he played in the United States recognition of Israel. In 1948, Clifford was a White House aide to
Harry Truman. He supported Truman in
this decision despite the advice from the “striped pants boys” at the State
Department that this was not a wise thing to do.
1906: In
Gilserberg, Isaac Plaut, Simon and Lina Plaut, and his wife Sophie, gave birth
to Meta Palut.
1906:
Birthdate of Austrian native, Theodore Cummings, the California grocery store
chain owner and political ally of Ronald Reagan who passed away while serving
as U.S. Ambassador to Austria.
https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/cummings-theodore-e
1907:
Birthdate of Sheindel Reznick, the wife of Hyman Reznick and mother of Naomi
Blumberg.
1908: In
New York City, Alex and Sarah Elison gave birth to Washington University
trained lawyer Sam Elson, the holder of JSD from Yale who taught at his alma
mater, was a member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and was
the husband of Getrude Clemens Palmer with whom he had four children.
1909(13th
of Tevet, 5670): Parashat Vayechi
1909: In
Brussels, Russian-born Jews; Yakov “Jacques” Arkus a mining engineer and Rachel Kogan, a medical student gave birth to
Zachary Arkus who gained gamed fame Zora Arkus-Duton “the American engineer
whose work on the Chevrolet Corvette earned him the nickname “father of the
Corvette.’”
1910(24th
of Kislev, 5671): In the evening light the first Chanukah candle
1910: In
Canada, Sarah and Moishe Grossman gave birth to their seventh child Allan
Grossman who served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada for 20
years.
1910:
Birthdate “Sam” Rotenberg, a member of the Portland Chapter of AZA and
University of Oregon halfback.
1911: After
its acceptance by The Theatrical Syndicate, the six-man organization whose
members included Charles Frohman, Al Hayman, A.L. Erlanger, Samuel F.
Nirdlinger and Frederick Zimmerman (all of whom were Jewish), “Kismet,” the
controversial English play, opened on Broadway today.
1912: Twenty-seven-year-old
Western Reserve graduate and Cleveland attorney Maurice Bernon, the son of
David J. and Augusta (Jacobs) Bernon married Minnie M. Reiss in Cleveland.
1912: In
Hesse, Isaac Plaut, son of Simon and Lina Plaut, and his wife Sophie, gave
birth to Lina Plaut who became Lina Hecht when she married Max Hecht.
1913(26th
of Kislev, 5674): Second Day of Chanukah
1913: Twenty-six-year-old
“theatrical producer Gustav Blum, the New York City born son of Marx and
Henrietta (Morris) Blum who attended Columbia and CCNY married Ethel Silver.
1913: In
San Francisco, CA, Hattie and Edward Morris gave birth to Alvin Morris, the
grandson of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who gained fame as Tony
Martin who was successful as a singer and film start.
1913: In
New York, D. Samuel Gottesman, “a pulp and paper magnate and financier who
helped the Central National Bank in New York and the former Jean Herskovits
gave birth to Celeste Ruth Gottesman who married Armand Phillip Bartos and
gained fame as philanthropist and patron of the arts Celeste Bartos. (As
reported by Margalit Fox)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/nyregion/celeste-bartos-philanthropist-dies-at-99.html
1913: Otto
Philip and Matilda (Davidson) Caplin gave birth to Elliot Caplin, the creator
of the comic strip “The Heart of Juliet Jones” and the younger brother of Al
Capp, creator of “Li’l Abner.”
1914:
Messrs. Brooks, Rotan, Jenkins, Williamson, Rowe and Nash of Waco, TX sent a
letter to the New York Times containing a copy of a petition signed by
approximately three hundred gentile citizens sent to the Governor of Georgia
listing the reasons why he should commute Leo Frank’s death sentence and pardon
him “if he is innocent.”
1914:
Birthdate of New York City native Oscar Lefkowitz, a rabbi’s son, who gained
fame as award winning anthropologist Oscar Lewis.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=9E06EFDF1E30E337A2575BC1A9649D946190D6CF
1914: Cornell
University trained pathologist Dr. Samuel Alexander Goldberg, the Russian born
son of Hannah Freidkes and Alexander Goldberg married Julia Stevens today in
Brooklyn.
1914: “Asks
Aid For Jews” published today described the desperate plight of the Jewish
refugees arriving in Alexandria from Jaffa and plans to ask Ambassador
Morgenthau to forward some of the funds sent to him by American Jews from
Constantinople to Egypt.
1914: “Asks
Report About Jaffa” published today described U.S. Secretary of State William
Jennings Bryan doubts about the credibility of reports of “the ill-treatment of
Jews in Jaffa.” (Editor’s note: Were
Bryan’s doubts based on the caution of a diplomat worried about war time
propaganda or were they based on the anti-Semitic views and behavior he had
demonstrated earlier in his career?)
1915(18th
of Tevet, 5676): Due to a quirk of the calendar Jews and Christians are both
celebrating today since Shabbat and Christmas coincide.
1915:
“Alluding with gratification to Bishop Greer’s recent utterance at Carnegie
Hall that the Church and civilization owed a debt to the Jew, Rabbi Ephraim
Frisch of the New Synagogue on West 86th Street spoke to his
congregation on “The Debt the World Owes to Christianity.”
1915:
Birthdate of Alfred M. Lilienthal “an American Jew, who was a prominent critic
of Zionism and the state of Israel.”
http://mondoweiss.net/2008/10/alfred-lilienthal-prophetic-anti-zionist-writer-is-dead/
http://www.realnews247.com/alfred_lilienthal.htm
1915: “The
Women of the Hour Committee of the American Jewish Relief Committee which is
raising $5,000,000 for the Jewish sufferers from the war was formally
organized” today.
1915: Among
those listed today as contributors to the Central Committee for the Relief of
Jews Suffering Through the war are $75 from the Ladies Aid of Devils Lake, ND;
$69 from Muscatine, Iowa; $47 from B’rith Shalom of Philipsburg, PA; and $26
from Fort Smith, AR.
1915: In
St. Louis, MO, the Jewish Chautauqua Society met for a second day.
1915: More
than 3000 people attend the opening session tonight of “the second annual
conference of Young Judeans, an organization formed to foster Zionism” in the
United States which was held “in the auditorium of the Young Women’s Hebrew
Session.”
1916(30th of Kislev, 5677): Rosh Chodesh Tevet, Sixth Day of
Chanukah
1916: In
New Orleans, the Jewish Chautauqua Society led by Chancellor Berkowitz of
Philadelphia met for a fourth day today in New Orleans.
1916: In New York, premier of “Joan the Woman” a silent film about
the famous French saint produced by Jesse Lasky.
1916: Birthdate of Allen Adler, the son of Yiddish theatre manager
Adolph J. Adler, the grandson of Yiddish theatre great Jacob Adler and Sonya
Adler and the nephew of Luther and Stella Adler. A veteran of World War II,
Adler co-authored the 1956 film “Forbidden Planet” and in 1957 “Mach One,” his
science-fiction novel was published. Adler fell victim to the infamous Red
Scare and was blacklisted. He passed
away in January of 1964.
1916: “A
Life for a Life” which is interpreted to mean “that prosperous, protected lives
in America shall save pauperized persecuted lives in Europe and Asia” was
adopted today as the slogan for the Women’s Proclamation Committee’s campaign
to assist in raising ten million dollars for the relief of Jews suffering from
the war by the end of 1917.
1917(10th
of Tevet, 5678) Asara B’Tevet
1917: University
of Pennsylvania graduate and University of Alabama trained attorney Chester
Gabriel Bandman, the Birmingham, AL born son of Emma Washer and Jacob Bandman
who became an instructor in mathematics at the University of Alabama and the
educational director for Congregation Rodef Shalom in Pittsburgh, PA married
Lottie Coplan today.
1917: Mass
celebration took place in Washington D.C. marking the British taking Jerusalem
from the Turks during World War I in which it was noted that Jewish units of
the British Army took part in the fighting.
1917: At
the Belasco Rabbi Abram Simon was among the clergymen who addressed an
interfaith meeting celebrating the British capture of Jerusalem and he to the
throng “that the basis of civilization was to be found in the worship of one
God and that upon that basis, Jew, Gentile and Moslem might stand together.”
1917: The observance of Christmas Mass by British forces in
Jerusalem and Bethlehem is punctuated by “desultory Turkish artillery fired
from the north and the east.”
1918: Hyman
Gerson Enelow, who had been in France since July representing the Overseas
Commission of the Jewish Welfare Board wrote today that it would not be
necessary for him to take charge of the newly created center established by the
Jewish War Board, “since more workers” are coming to Europe making it
unnecessary to fill the post and freeing him for other tasks.
1919:
“According to an announcement made” today “by the Joint Distribution Committee
for the American Funds for Jewish War Sufferers” “more than one million dollars
has been appropriated for Jewish relief work in Europe and Asia.”
1920(14th
of Tevet, 5681): Parashat Vayechi chanted for the last time during the
Presidency of Woodrow Wilson
1921(24th
of Kislev, 5682): In the evening, light the first Chanukah candle.
1921: Rose
Finkelstein married Hyman Norwood in a “wedding gown… made the Boston WTUL’s
dress shop. Rose Finkelstein Norwood was a leading labor organizer who among
other things was President of the Boston Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL)
1921: In
Szczercow, Poland, Samuel and Kreindel (Piotrkowska) Brajtbart gave birth to
Moryc Brajtbart (later Morris Breitbart) the brother of Rosa and Bronia
Brajtbart. He would survive the Holocuast, become a dentist and immigrate to
the United States in December 1949
1921: In an
interview with the New York Times,
Henry Ford said that in 1915 he abandoned “This Peace Ship” his attempt to end
WW I because “he learned that the Jews were behind the war and would continue
the war as long as it was profitable.”
1921:
Sixty-five year old Vladimir Korolenko, “one of the few Russian writers who
create apositive Jewish images in his work,”
“condemned the Kishinev pogrom” and wrote articles in defense of
Menachem Mendel Bellis passed away today.
1921: As of
today 25 year old Harry Moss who had joined Moss Bros. in 1909 and was the
nephew of Alfred Moss, was serving as the director of the company which he
would one day lead.
1921: “The
Little Minister” the movie version of the novel, produced by Adolph Zukor and
Jesse Lasky was released today in the United States.
1921: “Rose
Finkelstein married Hyman Norwood, the love of her life, in a wedding gown made
in the dress shop of the Boston Women’s Trade Union League.” (Jewish Women’s
Archives)
1922(5th
of Tevet, 5683): Russian born Isaac Alpert, the husband of Bessie Alpert and
father of Hyman, Samuel and Max Alpert passed away today after which he was
buried in the Beth Israel Cemetery in West Springfield, MA.
1923: “Sir
Herbert Samuel will leave for Amman, the capital of Transjordan” today to meet
with King Hussein with whom he “will discuss the details of the Anglo-Arab
treaty which “is about to be concluded.”
1924: Birthdate of Rod Serling, creator of the
Twilight Zone. Born Jewish, Serling
converted for the sake of domestic tranquility.
1925: “The
help of Irish American in establishing the Irish Free State and the aid of
American Jews in establishing a Jewish national homeland in Palestine were
likened to each other today by Miss Sulasmith Schwartz at the opening session
of the annual convention of Junior Hadassah” in Washington, DC which is being
attended by approximately “1,000 delegates and guests from more than forty
states.”
1925:
Birthdate of Geula Cohen, the Tel Aviv native who belonged to Irgun and Lehi
and who was elected to the Knesset for the first time in 1973.
1925:
Birthdate of Yaffa Abramaov, the Tel Aviv native who gained famed as Yaffa
Yarkonki, the Israeli singer whose first husband was killed while fighting with
the Jewish Brigade in WW II and whose most beloved song may have been “Bab el
Wad,” “an ode to the Israeli fighters who died in ambushes while driving
convoys to Jerusalem during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war” passed away today.(As
reported by Isabel Kershner)
1925(8th of
Tevet, 5686): Karl Abraham passed away. Born in 1877, Abraham was the German
psychoanalyst who studied the role of childhood sexual trauma in relation to
the symptoms of mental illness. He was initiated into psychoanalysis by Carl
Gustav Jung (1904). He first met Freud in 1907, and subsequently became one of
his most reliable collaborators. Covering a wide range, Abraham's papers
include work on depression, mania, autoerotism, repressed hate, as well as
others on applied psychoanalysis that include papers on the Day of Atonement
and a major one (1909) in which he connected myths with dreams and viewed both
as wish-fulfillment fantasies. Abraham founded the Berlin Psychoanalytic
Society (1910). He made pioneering efforts in the psychoanalytic treatment of
manic- depressive psychosis.
1926(20th
of Tevet, 5687): Parashat Shemot
1926: U.S.
premiere of “Flesh and the Devil, a “romantic drama silent film” produced by
Irving Thalberg with a script by Benjamin Glazer.
1927: “The
difficulties experienced by Israel when it tries to reconcile itself to the
teachings of Jesus were outlined” this “morning by Rabbi Nathan Krass while
speaking at Congregation Emanu-El where “said the Jews cannot accept the
divinity of Jesus because they refuse to confound the personality of any man, however noble,
with the everlasting God.”
1928(12th
of Tevet, 5869): Seventy-six-year-old David Solis Ritterband, the youngest
child of Benvenida Solis and Leon Ritterband passed away today.
1928(12th
of Tevet, 5689): Fifty-year-old Alfred W. Fleischer passed away today after
which he was interred at Philadelphia’s Mount Sinai Cemetery.
1929: “The
United Jewish campaign, which has collected upward of $15,000,000 in cash, will
close on Dec. 31 its drive for funds to be applied to the reconstructive relief
of the Jews of Eastern Europe, it was announced today by National Chairman
David A. Brown.”
1929: “The
Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies announced today
that for the first time in its thirteen-year history it had entered upon the
final week of its calendar and fiscal year without the budgetary requirements
of its ninety-one constituent agencies having been met.”
1930: “An
order prohibiting the White-Russian Jewish Theatre to play in Riga was issued
today by the Ministry of the Interior.”
1930(5th of
Tevet, 5691): Eugene Goldstein passed away. Born in 1850, Goldstein was the
German physicist who discovered and named canal rays (1886) which emerge
through holes in the anodes of low-pressure electrical discharge tubes (later
shown to be positively charged particles). Earlier, he coined the term
"cathode ray" (1876) emitted from a cathode. He was the first to see
that they could cast a shadow and were emitted at right angles to the
surface. He also investigated the wavelengths of light emitted by metals and
oxides when canal rays impinge on them. When the Berlin Urania opened in 1889
it had five scientific departments and a "science theatre", it was
Goldstein who had recommended the "hall of physics in which the visitor
could experiment on his own". Students of his that continued his work
included Wien and Stark.
1931: It
was reported today that Dr. William F. Rosenblum, the rabbi of Temple Israel
had issued a Christmas eve message “decrying bigotry, in which he said that
“those who teach Christian youth now can present a picture of the founder
Christianity which will not cause Christian children to hate their Jewish
playmates.”
1931: In
the Ukraine, Klara and Jakob Mendel Fischel gave birth to Lazar
Fischel/Tischler the older brother of Manek Fischel/Tischler.
1932(26th
of Kislev, 5693): Second Day of Chanukah
1932: “Distress
among Jews in Poland, Rumania, Latvia and Sub-Carpathia in Czechoslovakia is
intensified, and crisis conditions have spread to the Jews of Lithuania
according to Bernhard Kahn, European director of the American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee whose report of a survey of conditions was made public
today by Joseph C. Hyman, the secretary of the committee…”
1932: “The
Jews ought not to regret but rather be filled with joy and pride at the birth
of Jesus, since He "has done more than any other human in history to
change the face of the earth," Rabbi Stephen S. Wise said in his sermon this
morning at Carnegie Hall”.
1933:
“Roman Scandals” a film based on a story by George Kaufman, produced by Samuel
Goldwyn, starring Eddie Cantor and with music by Alfred Newman during the
filming of which Arthur Sheekman met his future wife, was released today in the
United States.
1934: Twenty-five-year-old
year old
Stanley Irving Posner, the Massachusetts born “son of Benjamin and Fanny
(Libby) Posner, the Harvard trained attorney holding degrees from Amherst and
the University of Chicago married Lillian Kahn, the mother of James, Elizabeth
and Lawrence Posner.
1934: By
today, as right-wingers try to strangle Jewish businesses, “Zoltan Mesko, a
leader of a pro-Nazi party had posted placard in Budapest which stated
‘Christian brothers! Only such gifts are fit for your Christmas tree which give
bread to another Christian family. Brothers! By from Christian industry and
business!”
1935:
Birthdate Anne Roth who gained fame as author and feminine activist Anne Roiphe
who is best known for writing Up the Sandbox.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anne-Roiphe
http://jwa.org/thisweek/dec/25/1935/anne-roiphe
1936: A
month after premiering in the U.K. “Rembrandt” a biopic directed and produced
by Alexander Korda was released in the United States today.
1937(21st
of Tevet, 5698): Parashat Shemot
1937: In
New York, at B’nai Jershurun, Rabbi Israel Goldstein delivered a sermon in
which he said “the courage opposition of religious forces to the onslaught of
totalitarianism and militarism is the one bright note in an otherwise
pessimistic world.”
1938:
Harold Goldblatt presided over today’s opening session Avukah’s three-day
conference being held at the Hotel Claridge.
1939:
“Professor Benjamin Joseph Lazan” the New York born son of “Samuel and Pauline
(Brenson) Lazan” who had served for 12 years as “the chairman of the University
of Minnesota departments of aeronautics and engineering mechanics” married
Jeanette Wexler today.
1939: “Four
Wives,” the movie version of Fannie Hurst’s “Sister Act,” directed by Michael
Curtiz, produced by Hal Wallis, with a script by Julius and Philip G. Epstein
and music by Max Steiner was released today in the United Sttes.
1940(25th
of Kislev, 5701): Chanukah
1940: After
premiering in the United States, “The Thief of Bagdad” a fantasy produced by
Sir Alexander Korda, with contributions by Vincent and Zotlan Korda, the other
two siblings of this fascinating trio of Hungarian born Jews was released in
the United Kingdom today.
1940:
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's "Pal Joey" premiered in New York at
the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
1940: The British government; suspended the quota
for legal immigration to Palestine for three months. The Zionists saw this as punishment for
illegal immigration activities in general and specifically, the events
surrounding the Patria. There is a positive correlation between the British
attitude towards Jewish immigration during and after World War II and the
violent activity of the Irgun.
1941:
George Beurling, the Canadian born pilot who died in 1948 while on training
flight with the infant Israeli air force, flew his Spitfire on his first combat
today.
1941:
“Banjo Eyes,” a musical adaptation of “Three Men on a Horse” with a cast that
included Eddie Cantor and Lionel Stander, opened at the Hollywood Theatre on
Broadway.
1941:
During World War II, the Battle of Hong Kong ends as the forces of British
Empire were defeated by those from the Empire of the Rising Sun thus beginning
the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong. Jews had begun settling in Hong Kong when
the British took control in 1842.
However most Jewish merchants preferred mainland communities such as
Shanghai. During the 1930’s as the
Japanese forces took control of more of mainland China, these same Jewish
businessmen and many Jews who had found fled the Nazis, moved to Hong Kong. No
matter how distasteful Japanese rule might have been, for the Jews, it was
better than having fallen into the hands of the Nazis. Of course, this does not
in any way provide expatiation for the treatment of the Chinese population at the
hands of their harsh Japanese occupiers.
1942 (17th
of Tevet, 5703): Nazi forces in Cracow capture and murder Aharon Liebeskind
leader along with Heshek Bauminger, of the Jewish Fighting Organization
(JFO). Bauminger will be captured and
killed in March of 1943.
1942: U.S.
premiere of “Reunion in France” directed by Jules Dassin, produced by Joseph L.
Mankiewicz with music by Franz Waxman.
1942:
Birthdate of Barry Joseph Goldberg, the Chicago native who became a songwriter
and record producer.
1943: Trucks carrying naked Jewish women make regular trips to the
gas chamber at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Any woman who leaps from a truck is
immediately shot down.
1943(28th
of Kislev, 5704): Shabbat Shel Chanukah
1943: The
U.S. government sent a telegram informing Adina Werfel that, while returning
from conducting a Hanukah service for American soldiers in Casablanca, the
small plane carrying her husband, Rabbi Louis Werfel (the “flying rabbi”) had
crashed into the Algerian mountains due to limited visibility caused by bad
weather. Werfel was an Orthodox Rabbi serving as Chaplain with the United
States Army Air Force.
1943:
Birthdate of Israeli historian Moshe Zimmermann.
1944: In an Upper Silesia Labor Camp, the Nazis selected 60 Jews to be
shot because they no longer were able to work.
1945 Today, Sergeant Benjamin Ferencz “was honorably discharged from the
Army” in what would be only a temporary leave of absence from government
service a few weeks later he was recruited to serve as prosecutor under Telford
Taylor the chief of the team dealing with the “Subsequent Nuremberg Trials.
1945: Birthdate of Evelyn "Eve" Pollard (Evelyn, Lady Lloyd),
OBE an English author, journalist and a former editor of several tabloids.
1945: U.S. premiere of “Road to Rio” with a script co-authored by Jack
Rose
1946(2nd of Tevet, 5707): 8th & final day of
Chanukah
1947: For the last time, Christmas is celebrated by the British as the
ruling power in Jerusalem.
1947: “A Double Life” directed by George Cukor, featuring Shelley Winters
and Philip Loeb was released today in the United States.
1947: “The Voice of the Turtle”
directed by Irving Rapper was released in the United States today by Warner
Bros.
1947: “Daisy Kenyon” the movie version of the novel of the same name
produced and directed by Otto Preminger was released today in the United
States.
1947: “Captain from Castile” a costume drama featuring Lee J. Cobb and
Marc Lawrence with music by Alfred Newman was released today in the United
States.
1947:
Two British soldiers were
killed and at least three more were wounded tonight when gunmen from the Stern
Gang \fired on a group of Tommies who were celebrating Christmas in a Tel Aviv
cafe.
1947: In Brooklyn, NY, Loa Schleifer and Morris W.
Wasserstein gave birth to Bruce Wasserstein, the Wall Street investment banker
who helped pioneer the hostile takeover in the 1980s and reshaped the mergers
and acquisitions business into a high art…” (As reported by Sorkin and de la
Merced
1948: After passing through Jewish and Arab checkpoints, Christian
pilgrims are allowed to enter Bethlehem.
1948: Birthdate of Philadelphia born Kay S. Hymowitz, the Brandeis and
Tufts University graduate who pursued a career in teaching and journalism.
https://www.manhattan-institute.org/expert/kay-s-hymowitz
1948: The Pan York which had been renamed the Wooster Victory set sail
from Shanghai with 852 passengers bound for Israel making it the first ship to
sail from the Chinese port to the newly created Jewish state.
1948: U.S. premiere of Abraham Polonsky’s “Force of Evil” starring John
Garfield with music by David Raskin.
1949: “Real estate mogul Abraham Hirschfeld” and Zipora Teicher
Hirschfeld gave birth real estate developer, producer and art collector Elie
Hirschfeld, the husband of “Sarah J.
Schlesinger, a physician, researcher and associate professor of clinical
investigation at Rockefeller University.”
1949: “My Foolish Heart” a movie based on a short story by J.D. Salinger
produced by Samuel Goldwyn and with a script by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G.
Epstein premiered today in Los Angeles.
1949:
Israel and Jordan ease
armistice restrictions so pilgrims can attend Christmas services in Bethlehem.
Most people in Holy Land are UN personnel and diplomats, because Jordan
prohibits other pilgrims from returning directly to Israel.
1950: Birthdate of Yehuda Poliker “an Israeli singer, songwriter,
musician, and painter. Poliker's father, Jacko, tells the story of his escape
from Auschwitz in the 1988 film "Because of That War" (Biglal
Hamilhamah Hahi), which features music by his son. The film includes interviews
with Yehuda Poliker and Ya'akov Gilad, whose Polish Jewish parents also
survived Auschwitz.”
1950: “Vendetta” from which Max Ophuls was fired as the director was
released today in the United States.
1952: The
Jerusalem Post reported that Hapoel Hamizrahi and Mizrahi finally resolved
to join the Mapai-General Zionists-Progressives government coalition.
1952: The
town of Hatzor is founded in Galilee, developing from the Ma'abarah located
there. The immigrants came from the camp in Rosh Pinah where the living
conditions were described as “poor.”
1952: The
French press was highly critical of Lebanon, which had turned down the Israeli
offer to enter the Lebanese territorial waters in order to save the French
liner S.S. Champollion, which sank in a heavy storm, having split on reefs off
Sidon on the Lebanese coast. All but 26 of the 328 passengers and crew lost
their lives, mostly while trying to swim the 200 meters separating them from
the shore. According to the French press all passengers, crew and the ship
could have been saved, had Lebanon accepted the prompt Israeli assistance
offer.
1953(19th
of Tevet, 5714): Eighty-two-year-old Levi “Lee” Shubert “the eldest of seven
siblings of the theatrical Shubert family passed away today
http://www.shubertfoundation.org/about/brothers.asp
1955(10th
of Tevet, 5716): Asara B'Tevet
1955(10th
of Tevet, 5716): Psychoanalyst Barbara Low, “the sister of Sir Maurice and Sir
Stanley Low and aunt of Ivy Litvinov,” a founding member in 1919 of the British
Psychoanalytical Society, prolific author and lecturer who “attracted wide
attention when she spoke on the “Psychoanalysis of Nazism” passed away today.
1955: “I’ll
Cry Tomorrow” a biopic about actress Lillian Roth who converted to Catholicism
from Judaism directed by Daniel Mann and produced by Lawrence Weingarten was
released in the United States today.
1956(21st of Tevet, 5717): Fifty-six year old San Francisco native
and Columbia educated University of Chicago professor and expert on the Dead
Sea Scrolls Ralph Marcus passed away today.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/542757?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/marcus-ralph
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1956/12/27/87174901.html?pageNumber=25
1957: “The
Enemy Below” a WW II war movie in which Theodore Bikel, whose family escaped
Austria, played the second command of the Nazi submarine was released in the
United States today.
1957: U.S.
premiere of Stanley Kubrick’s subtly anti-war film “Paths of Glory” starring
Kirk Douglas.
1959(24th
of Kislev, 5720): Erev Shabbat; kindle the first Chanukah light in the evening.
1960(6th
of Tevet, 5721): Sixty-nine-year-old “Dallas banker and civic leader,” Fred F.
Florence , the husband of Helen
Lefkowitz the New York born son of Celia Freedman and Moses Fromowitz and WW I
veteran who in 1929 came to Dallas where
he eventually became chairman of the executive committee of the Republic of the
National Bank of Dallas and president of both the Texas Bankers Association and
the American Bankers Association passed away today.
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/florence-fred-farrel
1961(18th
of Tevet, 5722): Otto Loewi passed away. Born in 1873, Loewi was the
German-born American physician and pharmacologist who shared the 1936 Nobel
Prize for Physiology or Medicine (with Sir Henry Dale) "for their
discoveries relating to the chemical transmission of nerve impulses."
Sadly, just two years later he was a victim of Nazi persecution, imprisoned for
being Jewish. As ransom for his life, he was forced to hand over his
possessions, including his Nobel Prize money, and Loewi escaped to England.
From there he moved to America in 1940. His research showed that it was the
release of a certain chemical (the transmitter) acetylcholine that enabled the
transmission of nerve impulses. Loewi also investigated action of drugs able to
blockade or assist nerve impulse transmission.
1961: After
a year on Broadway at the St. James Theatre, “Do Re Mi” a musical with music by
Jule Styne and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, transferee to the 54th
Street Theatre today.
1962:
“Who’s Got the Action,” a comedy directed by Daniel Mann, filmed by
cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg and co-starring Walter Matthau was releaed
today in the United States.
1962: “Taras Bulba,”
produced by Harold Hecht and co-starring Tony Curtis was released today in New
York City.
1963: “Love
with the Proper Stranger” a delightful off-beat comedy written by Arnold
Schulman, featuring Herschel Bernardi and with music by Elmer Bernstein was
released today in the United States.
1964: U.S.
premiere of “The Pleasure Seekers” with music by Lionel Newman
1964: “Six
and the Single Girl” with a script by Joseph Heller and starring Tony Curtis
and Lauren Bacall was released in the United States today.
1965(2nd
of Tevet, 5726): Parshat Miketz; Seventh Day of Chanukah
1969: The
French discover that the berths that had been holding five embargoed Israeli
missile boats are empty. The absence of any announcement about the embargo's
termination prompted media inquiries, which failed to elicit convincing
explanations. "Where are they?" asked a banner headline in a local
newspaper. “The boats were indeed on the run. Battered by towering waves as
they crossed the Bay of Biscay, they dropped anchor in a Portuguese cove
alongside an Israeli freighter fitted out as a refueling ship, one of several
support vessels deployed along the 5,150-km. escape route. When the boats
entered the Mediterranean, British maritime monitors on Gibraltar signaled
"What ship?" A Lloyd's helicopter circled the silent vessels but saw
no identity numbers or flags. The British monitors, guessing the boats'
destination from the media reports, flashed "bon voyage" in salute to
Nelsonian flair. Stung by Israel's audacity, French defense minister Michel
Debre called for the air force to interdict the vessels which had been spotted
off the North African coast racing east. Prime minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas
refused. Near Crete, IAF Phantoms roared low overhead protectively and waggled
their wings. The boats would sail into Haifa harbor on New Year's Eve, 1970, to
cheers for a bravado display of high-stakes hutzpa. For Israel's navy, however,
the flight from Cherbourg was no lighthearted caper but a matter of life or
death - its own. These missile boats were part of decade long development
project designed to give Israel a naval capability that would help the Jewish
state meet the nautical threat posed by its Arab neighbors who were being
supplied by their Soviet and East Bloc
patrons.
1970: After ten days, “The First Leningrad Trial ends with Jewish and non-Jewish
defendants --Mendel Bodnya, Israel Zalmanson, Silva Zalmanson, Anatolii Altman,
Leib Khnokh, Boris Penson, Wulf Zalmanson, Iosif Mendelevich, Alexey Murzhenko,
Yurii Fedorov-- accused of “hijacking” an airplane to escape the Soviet Union
and reach Israel, sentenced 4 to 15 years while Mark Dymshitz and Eduard
Kuznetsov received the death sentence, which was eventually commuted to 15
years.
1972:
“Homage Paid to Rabbi Heschel by 500 at a Traditional Service” published today
described the funeral of the man who when he marched at Selma said he was
praying with his feet.
1973(30th
of Kislev, 5734): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Sixth Day of Chanukah
1973(30th
of Kislev, 5734): Seventy-nine-year Columbia trained pediatrician and WW I Army
Medical Corps veteran Dr. Harry Bakwin the husband of Dr. Ruth Morris who
joined together to become major art collectors.
http://research.frick.org/directoryweb/browserecord.php?-action=browse&-recid=11848
1973: “The
Sting” the Oscar award winning film starring Paul Newman, featuring Harold
Gould and with a marvelous score by Marvin Hamlisch was released in the United
States today.
1974: U.S.
premiere of “The Sting” starring Paul Newman with an amazingly memorable
musical score created by Marvin Hamlisch.
1974(11th
of Tevet, 5735): Seventy-four-year-old Irish painter Harry Aaron Kernoff passed
away today.
1975: “The
Hindenburg” an epic about the airship’s disaster with music by David Shire and
featuring Alan Oppenheimer, a cousin of J. Robert Oppenheimer was released in
the United States today.
1975:
“Lucky Lady’ a comedy directed by Stanley Donen, produced by Michael Gruskoff
and written by Gloria Katz was released in the United States today.
1977:
Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat met in Ismailia, Egypt. During negotiations,
Sadat tells Begin that there can be no separate peace between Israel and
Egypt. To gain peace with Egypt, Israel
must agree to the pre-1967 boundaries and recognize the right to Palestinian
self-determination. Rather than lose
momentum or stop the negotiations, Begin and Sadat established several working
committees to examine different aspects of the peace process.
1977: U.S.
premiere of “High Anxiety” directed and produced by Mel Brooks who co-authored
the script along with Barry Levinson and co-starred in it along with Madeline
Kahn.
1977(15th
of Tevet, 5738): Comedian Charlie Chaplin died at age 88.
1978(25th
of Kislev, 5739): Chanukah
1978:
Republication of “The Menorah” by Theodor Herzl
http://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/25/archives/the-menorah.html
1980:
Today, over 1,200 people “representing members of Orthodox, Conservative,
Reconstructionist, and Reform, synagogues” attended the founding conference of
the New Jewish Agenda
1980: U.S.
premiere of “Altered State, a sci-fi thriller adapted from a novel of the same
name written by playwright Paddy Chayefsky who used the pen-name “Sidney Aaron”
when he wrote the script and co-starring Bob Balaban as “Arthur Rosenburg” and
produced by Daniel Melnick.
1980: U.S.
premiere of “First Family” written and directed by Buck Henry (Henry Zuckerman)
1981(29th
of Kislev, 5742): Fifth day of Chanukah
1981:
“Modern Problems,” a comedy directed and written by Ken Shapiro was released
today in the United States.
1983: On
their 43rd wedding anniversary millionaire real estate mogul Sol
Goldman sent his estranged wife Lillian flowers and “asked her to organize a
birthday dinner for their daughter Amy” as part of an attempted reconciliation.
1983: In
“Israel’s Founding Father,” published today James Feron reviewed Ben-Gurion:
Prophet of Fire by Dan Kurzman.
http://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/25/books/israel-s-founding-father.html
1984(1st
of Tevet, 5745): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1985: U.S.
Premiere of “Murphy’s Romance” a charming comedy co-starring Corey Haim with
music by Carole King.
1985: A small bomb concealed in a loaf of bread was found at a
bus stop near Tel Aviv University today, the police said. A passer-by
discovered the suspicious-looking loaf and informed explosives experts, a
police spokesman said. The device was safely dismantled. No arrests were
reported.
1987: Three Palestinian guerrillas infiltrated a short distance
into Israel from Jordan tonight and were captured alive by Israeli troops after
a shootout.
1987:
“Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night,an American animated fantasy adventure
film featuring the voice of Edward Asner as “Scalawag the Raccoon” was released
in the United States today.
1988: In an
interview with a Kuwaiti newspaper published, Egyptian President Mubarak was
quoted as saying he would go to Israel if the visit would help achieve peace.
Prime Minister Shamir has said he would welcome a visit by Mr. Mubarak.
1989(27th
of Kislev, 5750): Third Day of Chanukah
1989:
Skokie native and Penn alum Brent Howard Novoselky caught a fourth quarter
touchdown pass which sealed the victory for his Minnesota Vikings over the
Green Bay Packers and garnered them a place in the NFL playoffs.
1989: During the American invasion of Panama the United States
Embassy in Panama recanted its previous report that Mike Harari, a 62-year-old
retired agent of the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad was an American
''prisoner of war.''
1990: After
premiering in Beverly Hills five days ago, “Godfather III” co-starring Eli
Wallach was released in theatres throughout the United States.
1990:
Birthdate of Elmont, NY native and “member of the Ethiopian Jewish Community
Jordan Isaac Aldon Dangerfield who played college ball at Hofstra and Towson
and then went to play as a Safety in the NFL.
1990:
Hadash lost one of its four seats in the Knesset when Charlie Biton broke away
to establish Black Panthers as an independent faction
1991: In
the United States, limited release of “Grand Canyon” directed and co-produced
by Lawrence Kasdan with a script by Lawrence Kasdan and Meg Kasdan.
1993(11th
of Tevet, 5754): Parashat Vayechi
1993(11th
of Tevet, 5754): Eight year old Brooklyn born art collector and holder of PH.D
from NYU Eric Estroick, and husband of Salome Dessau English textile designer
and inventor of stretch lace who endowed the Estorick Collection of Modern
Italian Art in Canonbury, north London” passed away today in London.
1993:
“Shadowlands” in which Debra Winger portrays the life of Joy Davidman, the
Jewish poet who converted to Christianity was released in the United States
today.
1993:
Eleven people were injured when a bomb went off in an Israeli ship at Eilat.
1994: In
the United States, general release of “Little Women” starring Winona Ryder as
“Jo”
1994(22nd
of Tevet, 5755): Near the Binyanei Hauma (Jerusalem International Convention
Center) thirteen Israeli soldiers and civilians were wounded when a Hamas
sponsored suicide bomber tried to board their bus at the entrance to the city
but was foiled when they managed to close the door. The terrorist succeeded in blowing himself
up.
1994: A
Palestinian suicide bomber carrying a pack of explosives blew himself up here
near a bus full of Israeli soldiers today, wounding 13 people and killing
himself. The blast ripped through a bus stop, throwing bystanders into the air
and showering a main road with twisted metal and shattered glass. Two of the 13
were seriously wounded in the explosion, near Jerusalem's convention center and
central bus station, but most escaped serious injury when the bomb apparently
went off prematurely. "I heard a horrific explosion, and when I looked out
the window, I saw fire and things flying through the air," said Cpl.
Sigalit Dori, a soldier on the bus. "People were screaming, and everyone
got off. I saw an older man on the ground, full of blood. I was in shock."
The militant Islamic group Hamas claimed responsibility for the explosion,
which came at dawn on Christmas Day, shutting streets and snarling rush-hour
traffic on what was a normal workday in Israel. It identified the bomber as
Ayman Radi, 21, of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. The suicide attack was the
latest of several to occur this year despite restrictions on the entry of
Palestinians into Israel. The bombing seems likely to reinforce Israeli
concerns about the security implications of extending Palestinian self-rule
throughout the West Bank, taking it beyond the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
town of Jericho. For many Israelis, the attack was a chilling reminder of the
suicide bombing in October that killed 22 passengers and the Hamas attacker
aboard a bus in Tel Aviv. Many felt that they simply were lucky this time, and
that with circumstances only slightly altered, the casualty toll could have
been much worse. Though it coincided with Christmas, the attack seemed timed to
strike at soldiers returning to their bases today from weekend leaves. The
target was an area used as a pickup point for soldiers near the Jerusalem
convention center and central bus station. The bomb tore apart a passenger
shelter at the bus stop and an adjacent refreshment stand and phone booth and
shattered the rear window of the bus chartered by the army. The bus had begun
moving away from the shelter just before the blast, and the driver had shut the
rear door, sparing the soldiers serious injury. The two men who were seriously
wounded, one of them a Palestinian, had been standing nearby. Police commanders
said the bomber had carried powerful explosives, which apparently went off
early, averting far more serious casualties. "He apparently had a
malfunction, and luckily for us, he blew up when there were no civilians right
next to him," said Assaf Hefetz, the chief of the Israeli police. "We
were very lucky."
1994: Shimshon Moshe’s kiosk was torn apart by a blast from a
suicide bomber standing at a bus stop, across from Jerusalem International
Convention Center. The bomb exploded prematurely, wounding 13 and killing the
suicide bomber. Moshe survived the
attack and rebuilt his kiosk, which did a brisk business selling sandwiches,
drinks, and snacks to travelers heading out of the city. Tipping his hat to
fate, he ironically renamed his kiosk “Pitzutz Shel Kiosk” or “Blast of a
Kiosk.” Seventeen years later, Moshe’s kiosk would again be the center of a bus
bombing in Jerusalem.
1995(2nd of
Tevet, 5756): 8th Day of Chanukah
1995(2nd of
Tevet, 5756): Ninety-year-old Emmanuel Levinas a Talmudic scholar who was one
of the major philosophic minds of the twentieth century and whose work was
greatly influenced by Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig passed away today.
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/27/world/emmanuel-levinas-90-french-ethical-philosopher.html
1995: The Israeli
Government approved sweeping changes today requiring the country's powerful
banks to sell substantial parts of their assets, a Treasury spokesman said..
1996:
Premiere of “Mother” directed and written by Albert Brooks who also starred in
the comedy, produced by Scott Rudin with music by Marc Shaiman.
1996(15th
of Tevet, 5757): Sixty-four-year-old economist Michael Bruno, the former head
of Israel’s central bank passed away today in Jerusalem. (As reported by Peter
Passell)
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/31/world/michael-bruno-64-economist-and-israel-s-banking-chief.html
1997: Jerry
Seinfeld announced that this is the final season of his TV show.
1997(26th
of Kislev, 5758): Second Day of Chanukah
1997: Eight
days after premiering at Century City, “Wag the Dog” directed and produced by
Barry Levinson, with a script by David Mamet, starring Dustin Hoffman and
featuring Hope Garber “as the Albanian grandmother” was released today in the
United States
1997: U.S.
premiere of “Kundun” including a score create by Philip Glass.
1998: “The
Thin Red Line” the movie version of the WW II novel with music by Hans Zimmer
and edited by Israeli Saar Klein was released in the United States today.
1998: U.S.
premiere of “Patch Adams” co-produced by Marvin Minoff with music by Marc
Shaiman.
1999(16th
of Tevet, 5760): Parashat Vayechi
1999:
“Israeli troops and Lebanese guerrillas fighting in southern Lebanon observed a
rare and unannounced three-day cease-fire that ended today, allowing the
recovery of the bodies of five guerrillas killed in the area in recent months.”
2000: BBC
Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of “The Man Who Came To Dinner” the dramatic
creation of Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman (Yes, the Jews provided the
entertainment for Englishmen on Christmas)
2001(10th
of Tevet, 5762): Asara B'Tevet
2001: “Ali”
a sports biography directed and co-produced by Michael Mann who also
co-authored the screenplay along with Eric Roth co-starring Ron Silver and
filmed by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and edited by Stephen Rivkin was
released in the United States today
2001(10th
of Tevet, 5762): Fifty-year old “Mari Kajiwara, an American modern dancer of
stunning quality who mesmerized audiences as a leading member of the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater, the Ohad Naharin Dance Company and the Batsheva
Dance Company of Israel, passed away in Tel Aviv (As reported by Anna
Kisselgoff)
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/12/arts/mari-kajiwara-50-dancer-known-for-pure-modern-style.html
2002:
Today, in an effort to help with the celebration of Christmas in Bethlehem of
the Israeli soldiers who had “re-entered the city last month after a suicide
bombing attack had killed 11 people in Jerusalem.”
2003(30th
of Kislev, 5764): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Sixth Day of Chanukah
2003(30th
of Kislev, 5764):
Adva Tzippora Fisher, 19, of Kfar Saba; Cpl. Rotem
Weinberger, 19, of Kfar Saba; Staff Sergeant Noam Leibowitz, 22, of Elkana and
Cpl. Angelina Shcherov, 19, of Kfar Saba were murdered today and 16 others were
wounded when suicide bomber from the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine “detonated an explosive device near a bus stop at the Geha
Interchange.”
2004:
According to reports published in today’s The
Cedar Rapids Gazette the Israel Museum has announced that "an ivory
pomegranate long touted by scholars as the only relic from Solomon's Temple is
a forgery..." The collector alleged
to have been involved in this forgery was the same person who claimed to have
found a burial chest containing the bones of James the brother of Jesus. The pomegranate is actually about 3,500 years
old and comes from the Bronze Age that pre-dated the time of the Temple. But the inscription tying it to the Temple
was of more recent origins.
2004: “The
Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” a comedy produced by Scott Rudin, with a script
co-authored by Noah Baumbach and co-starring Jeff Goldblum was released in the
United States a month after opening in Los Angeles.
2004: For the first time since the latest wave of
Arab violence, a Palestinian leader attended Christmas observances in
Bethlehem.
2005: At
Eilat, fourth and final day of the Red Sea Classical Festival.
2005: “The
New World” a historic drama filmed by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and
edited by Saar Klein was released today in the United States.
2005:
Bensiyon Morisbhai Songavkar an Indian professional cricketer represented
Saurashtra when it played Goa today.
2006: Haaretz reported that Journalist Uri
Dan, 71, died yesterday from cancer. Dan, who wrote for Ma’ariv, the
Israel Defense Forces magazine Bamahaneh and the New York Post, was a close
friend of former prime minister Ariel Sharon.
2006: In
“The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs” published today, Nate Bloom provides the
following Jewish connections to the ASCAP’s list of the 25 most popular
Christmas songs:
“Winter
Wonderland” was co-authored by Felix Bernard, a Brooklyn born Jew
“The
Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"was written in 1945 by
Mel Tormé (1925-1999) and Robert "Bob" Wells (born 1922)--both of
whom are Jewish. Tormé, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, is most famous as
a jazz vocalist, but he did write about 250 songs, mostly with Wells. Tormé
wrote the music for "The Christmas Song" and Wells penned the lyrics.
“Sleigh
Ride” was the product of lyricist Mitchell Parish(1900-1993), who was a
Lithuanian born Jew named Michael Hyman Pashelinsky whose family took him to
Shreveport, LA when he was an infant.
"Let
It Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!" was written in 1945 by the Jewish
songwriting team of lyricist Sammy Cahn (1913-1993) and composer Jule Styne
(1905-1994).
“White
Christmas” by Irving Berlin, the non-religious Jew who was the son of a rabbi.
"Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" and “Its Beginning To
Look A Lot Like Christmas” are both products of Jewish song writer Johnny Marks
"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" co-authored
by George Wyle (1917-2003), born Bernard Weissman in New York City, who got his
start playing piano in the Catskills
"Silver Bells" co-authored by Livingston and Evans. Jay Livingston, who wrote the music, and Ray Evans
(1915-2007), who wrote the lyrics, were a famous Jewish songwriting team with
many big hits to their credit. Livingston (1915-2001) was born Jacob Levinson
in a small industrial suburb of Pittsburgh. Evans was born in 1915 in
Salamanca, a small city not that far from Buffalo, N.Y. He went to the
University of Pennsylvania, as did Livingston, and the two met when they joined
the university dance band. They formed their songwriting partnership in 1937
and it endured until Livingston's death. (By all accounts, these two guys were
like brothers and Evans was absolutely devastated by Livingston's death.)
According to ASCAP the most popular version of "Silver Bells" is the
one by saxophonist Kenny G, who is Jewish.
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” co-authored by Walter Kent, Buck Ram
(who were Jewish) and Kim Gannon (who was not Jewish) Kent (1911-1994) was born
Walter Kauffman in New York. He was a practicing architect, an orchestra
leader, and a composer. Most of his composing was for films. His other big hits
were "The White Cliffs of Dover" and "I'm Gonna Live Till I
Die." He is buried in a Los Angeles area Jewish cemetery. Ram (1907-1991)
was also born in New York. His real fame came as a rock n' roll music writer and
producer in the '50s, most notably with the Platters, a group he created. He is
credited as the writer of such hits as "The Great Pretender,"
"Only You," "The Magic Touch" and "Twilight
Time."
2006: Shas MK OferHugi was convicted of various charges related to
forgery and fraud and was later sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to
pay a 12,000 shekel fine.
2006: On the anniversary of his birth BBC Radio 2 transmitted the
second of two special one tribute programs celebrating the life of Lew Grade.
2006: “Notes on a Scandal” the movie version of the novel by Zoe
Heller whose father was Jewish with a soundtrack by Philip Glass and produced
by Scott Rudin was released in the United Kingdom today.
2007: At the Friedman Center in
Santa Rosa, CA, a screening of “The Impossible Spy.” This riveting film tells
the incredible but true story of Elie Cohen, an Egyptian-born Jew and top
Israeli intelligence recruit whose obsession with his mission as a double agent
drove him to his death. Cohen, an accountant with a photographic memory, left
his pregnant wife to join the Mossad’s Syrian section in 1959 and quickly
infiltrated the highest ranks of the ruling Syrian Baath party. On the eve of
his nomination as Syria’s Deputy Minister of Defense, Cohen was uncovered and
executed in Damascus in 1965. Two years later, Israel achieved victory in the
Six Day War, defeating the Syrian Army as a direct result of the information
Cohen provided.
2007: A group of 40 new immigrants
from Iran touched down at Ben-Gurion International Airport , the largest since
the fall of the Shah and Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979. A total of 200
Iranian Jews have immigrated to Israel in 2007, compared to only 65 in 2006.
2008: In Downtown
Manhattan’s East Village Simon Jacobson facilitates the Chanukah Drum Circle and Menorah Lighting featuring special Holiday
Melodies
2008: MK
Uri Ariel of Tkuma left The Jewish Home, a right-wing party formed by the
merger of Moledet, Tkuma and the National Religious Party.
2008:
U.S. premiere of Marley & Me directed by David Frankel and co-starring Alan
Arkin.
2008:
Tkuma MK Ariel left Jewish Home and joined the Union
2008:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” a film that received thirteen Oscar
nominations with a script by Eric Roth was released in the United States today.
2008: The Maltz Museum sponsors the Third Annual Chinese Food and a Movie.
From noon to 4 p.m. visitors to the Museum can experience “Maccabees: The
Original Superheroes” — dress up and have photos taken, watch short movies and
vintage superhero films, make Hanukkah candles and join in candle lighting and
songs, as well as enjoy egg rolls, latkes, donuts and holiday songs.
2008: In Washington, D.C. closing
session of USY International Convention. This marks the forty-seventh
anniversary (December, 1961) of the USY convention where Danny Siegel launched
his career on a national stage and taught at least one attendee how to smoke
cigars.
2008: Opening session of the Hazon
Jewish food conference in Pacific Grove, California.
2009: From 11am to
3pm those in New York City can enjoy “A Special Day of Free Events”” at Yeshiva
University Museum.
2009: The
Rosenbloom Owings Mills (MD) JCC holds a day of Relaxation, Creation and
ReJEWvenation where, among other things, families can make their own challah;
children can make their own Shabbat kits, complete with centerpieces, tzedakah
boxes, Kiddush cups and Havdalah kits and everybody can enjoy an appearance by
ShinShinim, a teen Klezmer band from Ashkelon, Israel.
2009(8th of Tevet, 5770): Morris E. Lasker, a federal judge in New York and
Massachusetts for four decades who struck down squalid, often brutal conditions
in New York City jails and upheld prisoners’ rights perhaps more than any other
jurist of his era, died today in Cambridge, Mass at the age of 92. (As reported
by Robert D. McFadden)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/nyregion/29lasker.html?pagewanted=all
2010(18th of Tevet,
5771): Yahrzeit of Huna Mori bar Mor Zutra, The Exilarch ("Resh
Galuta") of Babylonian Jewry who “, was executed in Pumpeditha by order of
the Persian emperor.”
2010(18th of Tevet,
5771): Yahrzeit of Rav Mesharshia bar Pekod
2010(18th of Tevet, 5771): Yahrzeit
B'nei Yissachar, Rabbi Zvi Elimelech Shapiro of Dynov (1783?-1841), author of
the Chassidic work B'nei Yissacha who passed away in 5602 (1841).
2010: The 3 day-long Gateways
Winter Retreat with Rabbi Mordechai Becher, Mrs. Debbie Greenblatt, Dr. Chaim
Presby, Rabbi Jonathan Rietti, Mrs. Chaya Reich, Rabbi Mordechai Suchard and
Rabbi Yonason Shippel is scheduled to enter into its second day at the Hanover
Marriot in New Jersey.
2010: On Shabbat, Jews all over the
world begin reading the Book of Shemot or Exodus.
2010: The Master Classes taught by American director Michael Mayer
at the Stage-Center International Theatre Workshop in Tel Aviv come to an end.
2010(18th of Tevet, 5771): Bud Greenspan, award-winning filmmaker, writer, character
and, arguably, the world's No. 1 fan of the Olympics, passed away today at the
age of 84. (As reported by Mike Kupper)
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/26/local/la-me-bud-greenspan-20101227
2011: The 61st USY International Convention is
scheduled to begin in Philadelphia, PA
2011: The Gateways Chanukah Retreat is scheduled to come to an end
in Somerset, NJ.
2011: “Minus 16,” a work by Ohad Naharin, Israel’s most famous
choreographer is scheduled to have its final performance by the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theater at New York City Center.
2011: Community Mitzvah Day sponsored by the Jewish Federation of
Greater New Orleans is scheduled to take place today.
2011: The New York Times featured reviews of books by
Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including ‘Man
Seeks God: My Flirtations With the Divine’ by Eric Weiner, ‘Democratic
Enlightenment: Philosophy, Revolution, and Human Rights 1750-1790’ by Jonathan
I. Israel and the recently released of paperback edition of ‘In The Valley of
the Shadow:
On the Foundations of Religious Belief’ by James
Kugel.
2011:
Today the Ministerial Committee for Legislation
delayed a vote on bills aimed at combating discrimination against women. The
two pieces of legislation, one proposed by Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely, and the
other by Kadima MK
2011: Residents of an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Beit Shemesh
called Israel police officers “Nazis” today, after they removed a sign ordering
the separation of men and women in a street in that neighborhood.
2011(29th of Kislev, 5772): Eighty-seven-year-old
“Andrew Geller, an architect who embodied postwar ingenuity and optimism in a
series of inexpensive beach houses in whimsical shapes, many of them in the
Hamptons, and who helped bring modernism to the masses with prefabricated
cottages sold at Macy’s” passed away today. (As reported by Fred A. Bernstein)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/arts/design/andrew-geller-modernist-architect-is-dead-at-87.html
2011(29th of Kislev, 5772): Sixty-five-year-old
“Adrienne Cooper, an American-born singer, teacher and curator of Yiddish music
who was a pioneer in the effort to keep the embers of that language smoldering
for newer generations” passed away today. (As reported by Joseph Berger)
2012: The Maccabeats are scheduled to
perform this evening at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
2012: The JCC of Northern Virginia is
schuedled to sponsor the “Fiddler on the Roof Sing-Along.”
2012: In New York, the Aish Center is
scheduled to host Discovery 2012 a Jewish educational program that boasts
having a quarter of a million attendees worldwide.
2012: “The Smoking Room” is scheduled to
shown at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.
2012: Today Turkish police arrested four
men in the coastal city of Adana on suspicion that they tried to sell a
purportedly 1,900-year-old Torah scroll.
2012: Sources close to both Hatnua chairwoman Tzipi
Livni and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that the two parties are
investigating the possibility of working together in the next government.
2012: Israel to Review Curbs on Women’s
Prayer at Western Wall
2013: The JCC of Northern Virginia is scheduled to host JFest, a Family
Fun Day featuring Israeli Dancing and a screening of “Hava Nagila”
2013: The American film classic
“Casablanca” which has a “raft” of Jews before and behind the camera is
scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.
2013: Eleanor “Bron appeared on BBC One
in an adaption of The Tractate Middoth.”
2013: Today, the IDF deployed an Iron
Dome missile interception battery to the area near the southern town of Sderot,
amid heightened tensions between Israel and the Palestinians following a string
of attacks against Israeli civilians, police officers and soldiers. (As
reported by Ilan Ben Zion)
2013: Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said today that the "terror attacks
in Judea and Samaria are the result of incite, instigated by the Palestinian
Authority, which teaches hatred of the State of Israel. We will know how to
handle it." (As reported by Yoav Zitun)
2014: On this day, reading “Real
American Jews write Christmas Music” should provide a Jewish connection with
events being celebrate each year on December 25th.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/real-american-jews-write-christmas-music/
2014: The Jewish Community Center of
Northern Virginia is scheduled to host J Fest including a screening of “The
Frisco Kid.”
2014: “Bottle Shock” and “Winter Sleep”
are scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival
2014: “Archaeologists conducting
excavations in the town of Magdala, situated on the shore of the Sea of
Galilee, exposed a public structure from the Roman period, it was reported
today. The structure's grandeur led researchers to conclude that the site contained
the ruins of an ancient synagogue. "We're still at an early stage of
unearthing the structure," they said. "We found parts of the
structure, fragments of columns, parts of benches, the threshold of a door and
pottery fragments." (As reported by Itay Blumenthal)
2014: Eleven-year-old Ayala Shapira was
seriously injured in a firebomb attack this evening while riding with her
father Avner.
2014:
“The High Court of Justice has ruled that Israel must evacuate and dismantle
the of Amona, the largest illegal outpost in the West Bank's Binyamin Region
Council, within two years and work to find alternative housing for the settlers
currently living there.” (As reported by Aviel Magnezi)
2015:
In Fairfax, VA, the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia is scheduled
to host J Fest including a free screening of Barbra Streisand in “Yentl.”
2015(13th
of Tevet, 5776): Ninety-five-year old character actpr Jason Wingreen passed
away
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jason-wingreen-dead-all-family-851697
2016(25th
of Kislev, 5777): First Day of Chanukah; in the evening, kindle the second
light
2016:
The UK Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to host a screening of “The
Innocents.”
2016:
The 5th Annual Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Memorial Concert which this
year “will honor Yiddish poet Irena Klepfisz” is scheduled to place at the
Museum of Jewish Heritage.
2016(25th
of Kislev, 5777): Eighty-eight-year-old Vera Rubin the groundbreaking
astronomer passed away today. (As
reported by Dennis Overbye)
http://home.dtm.ciw.edu/users/rubin/
2016:
The New York Times features reviews
of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers
including the recently release paperback edition of Good on Paper by
Rachel Cantor.
2017:
In London, JW3 is scheduled to host a screening of “director Maysaloun Hamoud’s
groundbreaking film In Between” that tells the story of “three young
Arab-Israeli women sharing a flat in Tel Aviv.”
2017:
Brooklyn based “Tsibele” and “Overnight Kugel” are scheduled to perform on the
fourth night of Yiddish New York.
2017:
“A Magical Trip to Jewish Morocco” sponsored by Temple Emanu-El is scheduled to
begin today.
2017:
One hundredth anniversary of the first Christmas under which Jerusalem was
ruled by the British.
2017:
Seventieth anniversary of the last Christmas under which Jerusalem was ruled by
the British.
2018:
“Israel said tonight it had deployed its air defenses against a missile shot
from Syria as Damascus attempted to repel an alleged Israeli airstrike against
Hezbollah or Iranian targets near the capital.”
2018:
After having premiered at the American Film Insitute Fest in November, “On the
Basis of Sex,” a bi-opic based on the life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
directed by Mimi Leder was released in the United States today.
2018:
“Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85,
was released from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York today and
is recuperating at home
2018:
In Albany, NY, the Congregation Ohav Shalom is scheduled to host an evening of
“theater with the Noodle Pudding Players performing Jeffrey Sweet’s “The Value
of Names” which “describes the impact of the 1950’s-60’s Hollywood blacklisting
of many actors, producers and directors whose lives were forever changed.”
2018:
Today, President Trump expressed his confidence in Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin who he said was a “very talented guy, very smart person.”
2018:
During its third Yiddish New York is scheduled to host a lecture by
“thnomusciologist Walter Zev Feldma styled “Nign/Zemer/Lid: Religious Yiddish
Vocal Folk Music Traditions”
2018:
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is scheduled to host Mitzvah Day
today.
2018:
“The book launch of Rabbi Itamar Verhephtig’s Aleicha Zarach in which author
and editor Rabbi Itamat Verhephtig describes the life and work of Dr. Zerach
Verhephtig who headed a huge rescue project during the Holocaust, signed the
Declaration of Independence, was awarded the Israel Prize and was a member of
the Knesset and Deputy Minister of Religions” is scheduled to take place today
in Jerusalem.
2018:
While still digesting the ramifications of the United States immediate
withdrawal from Syria, Israelis awoke this morning to deal with increased
political turmoil resulting from yesterday’s announcement that elections will
be held in April of 2018 instead of November of 2019 as originally planned.
2019:
In London, JW3 is scheduled to host a screening of “Fiddler: A Miracle of
Miracles.”
2019(27th
of Kislev, 5780): Third Day of Chanukah
2019:
YNY is scheduled to host the “8th Annual Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish
Memorial Concert and Award.”
2019:
In a uniquely San Francisco twist on celebrating Chanukah, the Make-Out Room is
scheduled to host “It’s a Jewish Christmas, San Francisco” complete with “the
strip dreidel game, burlesque performance, Chinese food buffet, movies, comedy,
DJs and schmoozing.”
2020:
“From the Bible to Christmas with the Ankor Choir” which is the fifth and last
concert of “The Vocal Series” is scheduled to be broadcast live on Kan Kol
Hamusika.
2020:
The Museum of Jewish Heritage is scheduled to host a screening of “Crossing
Delaney which “will be accompanied by a discussion with the star of the film,
actor Peter Riegert, the screenwriter, Susan Sandler, and Sirius XM radio host
Jessica Shaw, plus a pickle-making demonstration with David Teyf, Executive
Chef at the Museum’s LOX at Café Bergson.”
2020(10th
of Tevet, 5781): Yahrzeit of Judy
Rosenstein (nee Levin) the wife of Larry Rosenstein of blessed memory, the
mother of Danny, David Asher and Joel Rosenstein and the sister of Davjd
Mitchell Levin all of whom miss her and remember her with love and affection
2020(10th
of Tevet, 5781): The Fast of the 10th of Tevet; Asarah b’Tevet, is a
minor fast day that commemorates the date “when, according to the Tanach (II
Kings 25:1-4), the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem.”
2020:
The National Museum of American Jewish History, of which Mitchell Levin is an
official content provider, is scheduled to host a livestream “concert from Alex
Mitnick of the Emmy Award-winning (and returning favorite) Alex & the
Kaleidoscope.”
2020:
The UK Jewish Film Festival On Demand page is scheduled to host the first two
episodes for fee of “The New Black (Shababniks) for the last time.
2020:
The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County, NJ is scheduled to host the
final screening of the documentary film, “Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of
the Indian Cinema.”
2021:
Based on previously published reports, after Shabbat in Israel, “entry to
stores with an area larger than 100 square meters (1,000 square feet) will be
contingent upon presenting a Green Pass, both in open complexes and in malls
and closed shopping complexes” and “the Green Pass mandate will also apply to
the employees in these stores.”
2021:
The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History is scheduled to host
“Being…At Christmas 2021.”
https://www.nmajh.org/events/being___at-christmas-2021/
2021(21st
of Tevet, 5782)Parashat Shemot (1:1-6:1)
2022:
The Museum at Eldridge Street is scheduled to celebrate Chanukay with “Music at
the Museum” featuring the Klezmer band led by Zisl Slepovitch.
2022:
The annual festival in the northern city of Haifa that combines the festivities
of Christmas and Hanukah is scheduled to come to an end today.
2022:
Yiddish New York, which is presented in partnership with the Museum of Jewish
Heritage is scheduled to continue for a second day.
2022:
In Stamford, CT, The Chanukah Retreat sponsored by Gateways is scheduled to
come to an and.
2022:
In New York, City Winery is scheduled to celebrate the holiday season today
with a program featuring Israeli David Broza.
2022(1st
of Tevet, 5783): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Seventh Day of Chanukah
2023:
In Metairie, LA, Shir Chadash is scheduled to host a Chinese Food Event
complete with a kosher Chinese dinner followed by a screening of the romantic
comedy “Crossing Delancey.”
2023:
Yiddish New York is scheduled to continue for a third day.
2023:
In Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood the Museum at Eldridge Center is
scheduled to host a holiday concert with Margot Leverett’s New Klezmer Trio and
a trio from Music from China in a debut collaboration that is sure to engage
the whole family. Sing and dance along to lively Jewish and Chinese folk music,
reimagined for a modern audience.
2023:
“Occupied City, “a Holocaust-themed documentary based on Atlas of an Occupied
City (Amsterdam 1940-1945) which premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival
is scheduled be shown in theatres starting today.
2023:
In Washington, DC, the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum is
scheduled to be open so that visitors can “explore the stories of Jewish life
in the national capital region through our collections and two ongoing
exhibitions — What is Jewish Washington? and Connect. Reflect. Act.”
2023:
Agudas Achim is scheduled to continue the tradition of staffing the information
desk at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City so that the regular volunteers can enjoy Christmas
with friends and family.
2023:
As Christmas, a holiday centered around the world’s most “famous Jewish family”
is celebrated Rabbi Joshua E. Plaut provides thoughts on “Jews and Christmas,” “what
attitudes toward Christmas tell us about modern Jewish identity.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jews-christmas/
2023:
As December 25 begins in Israel, tensions continue to rise in the north,
following yesterday large-scale rocket attacks by Hezbollah, the Israeli
government is considering an Egyptian proposal that would call for another
truce in return for more hostages and all decent people mourn the deaths of
fourteen more members of the IDF the Hamas held
hostages begin day 80 in captivity.
(Editor’s note: this situation is too fluid for this blog to cover so we
are just providing a snapshot as of the posting at midnight Israeli time)
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