This Day, December 15, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
DECEMBER 15
37: Birthdate of Nero Claudius
Augustus Germanicus 5th emperor of Rome. While
legend remembers him as the emperor who fiddled while Rome burned, Jews will
remember him as the ruler who was emperor when the Great Revolt began in…
DECEMBER 15
37: Birthdate of Nero Claudius
Augustus Germanicus 5th emperor of Rome. While
legend remembers him as the emperor who fiddled while Rome burned, Jews will
remember him as the ruler who was emperor when the Great Revolt began in
66. Nero had appointed several of the
incompetent governors who had helped create the conditions for the revolt. He also chose Vespasian as the general to put
down the rebellion. Nero died in 68
during the rebellion. His untimely death
bought the Jews some breathing space as Vespasian broke off the combat to take
part in a coup that would put him on the throne. It was his son, Titus who actually destroyed
the Temple when combat.
69: The
reign of Galba who was the first of four emperors to hold the position in the
year 69 and who reigned during the Jewish Revolt came to an end today.
130: In
Rome, Avidia and Lucius Aelius Caesar gave birth Emperor Lucius Versus
921(6th of
Tevet, 4682): Rav Saadiah Gaon cautioned today cautioned the Jews of Egypt to
reject the religious calendar adopted by Rabbi Aaron ben Meir, head of the
Palestinian yeshiva in Ramleh
1467:
Stephen III of Moldavia who “treated the Jews with consideration” and appointed
Isaac ben Benjamin to successively more responsible positions defeated Matthias
Corvinus of Hungary at the Battle of Baia.
1565:
Five years before he was Regius Professor of Hebrew of at Oxford, Thomas
Kingsmill, the son of Sir John Kingsmill “was appointed public orator and
“orated for the visit of Elizabeth I of England to Oxford in 1566, during which
he gave a very long historical speech.”
1583(30th
of Kislev, 5334: Fifty-year old Judah Abravanel, the grandson of Judah
Abravanal and the brother of Jacob Abravanel passed away at Ferrara. (He is one
of a long line of Sephardic Jews to have this name which is not unusual given
the naming customs used by the Jewish people)
1640: Coronation of King John IV of Portugal. Don
Fernando Mendes, a Marrano, was his court physician. He was also the
court physician to Catrina, King John's daughter who married King Charles II of
England. Don Fernando also served the English King making him one of the
few physicians to ever serve three reigning monarchs.
1647(18th
of Kislev, 5408): Isaac de Castro was put to death at an auto-de-fe
by the Inquisition for the crime of teaching Judaism to conversos. De Castro
had arrived in Bahia (then under Portuguese control) from Amsterdam through
Dutch Brazil. After being ‘recognized as a Jew he was arrested by the
Inquisition and sent to Lisbon.” On the
day of his death, he “was led, together with five fellow-sufferers, to the
stake. In the midst of the flames, he called out in startling tones,
"Shema' Yisrael! [Hear, O Israel!] The Lord our God is One!" With the
word "Echad" (One), he died.”
1679(22nd
of Tevet, 5440): Moses Raphael de Aguilar, the Portuguese born son of
Crypto-Jews Violante de Paz and Abraham de Aguilar, the husband Esther de
Castro Tartas and uncle of the martyr Isaac Aboab de Fonseca, who as a
Sephardic-Dutch rabbi and Hebrew Grammarian wrote twenty books and served
briefly as the leader of Jewish community in Recife, Brazil passed away today.
1705(9th
of Tevet, 5466): Jacob Fernandes Carvajal, the son Mary Nunes Rodrigues and
Anthony Fernandez Carvajal passed away today after which he was buried at the
Velho Sephardic Cemetery.
1734: Daniil Pavlovich Apostole who was the Hetman of the Cossacks on both sides of
the Dnieper River passed away. When Catherine I expelled the Jews
from the Ukraine in 1727, Apostol led a move to modify the law. He and the other Cossacks had learned the
hard way that they needed Jewish merchants if their economy was to grow. Thanks to his efforts, the edict was modified
so that the Jews could participate in the various fairs held in the area.
1751: Benedict XIV issued “Probe te memisse,” a papal bull
establishing the rules for baptizing Jews. In case there was any doubt about
this Pope’s attitude towards Jews, 4 years later he published “Beatus Andreas”
which beatified Andreas von Rinn a child who was the alleged victim of a ritual
murder committed by Jews in 1462. The allegation of ritual murder was the key
requirement for this beatification,
1762(29th
of Kislev, 5523): Fifth Day of Chanukah
1762: As
Jews prepare to kindle the sixth Chanukah, Benjamin Franklin wrote to James
Bowdoin today expressing his “great pleasure” with the College Poems that his
future comrade in the American Revolution had sent him.
1765(3rd
of Tevet, 5526): Eighth Day of Chanukah
1767(24th
of Kislev, 5528): In the evening, kindle the first light of Chanukah
1772 (19th
of Kislev, 5533): Reb Dov Ber, the
Maggid of Mezeritch second leader of the Chassidic movement,
successor to the Baal Shem Tov and spiritual mentor of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of
Liadi, known for his scholarship, piety, and asceticism passed away. There is
no way that we can do justice to the contribution of this stage and urge you to
spend time studying about him.
1773(1st
of Tevet, 5534): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Sixth Day of Chanukah observed as
Colonials in Boston decide what to do about the tea laden ship sitting in the
harbor.
1778(26th
of Kislev, 5539): Second Day of Chanukah observed for the third time during the
American Revoltuion.
1779: While
“serving as a volunteer in Captain Verdier's regiment under Count Pulaski
during the siege of Savannah” Benjamin Nones, the native of Bordeaux who had
moved to Philadelphia, “received a certificate for gallant conduct on the field
of battle” today.
1784(2nd
of Tevet, 5545): Eighth Day of Chanukah
1787(4th of
Tevet, 5584): Parashat Vayigash
1787: The Bristol
Journal reported that Lord George Gordon, the English noblemen who converted to
Judaism with the name of Yisrael bar Avraham Gordon, has been living in
Birmingham since 1786 where “unknown to every class of man but those of the
Jewish religion, among whom he has passed his time in the greatest cordiality
and friendship...he appears with a beard of extraordinary length, and the usual
raiment of a Jew... his observance of the culinary preparation is remarkable.”
Furthermore, “He was surrounded by a number of Jews, who affirmed that his
Lordship was Moses risen from the dead in order to instruct them and enlighten
the whole world...It appears that (he) has officiated as a chief of the
Levitical Order..."
1791: The
Bill of Rights, the first
1797: In
Germany, Eva Katz and Salomon Reiss gave birth to “Salomon Reiss” who died at
the age of three.
1800(28th
of Kislev, 5561): Fourth Day of Chanukah
1800: In
the Netherland, Levie Emanuel Goudsmit, the son of Emanuel Salomons and Esther
Levie, and his wife Magdalena Hartog Goudsmit gave birth to Kaatje Goudsmit.
1800(28th
of Kislev, 5561): Three-year-old Salomon Reiss passed away today.
1803(30th
of Kislev, 5564): Sixth Day of Chanukah; Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1806:
Rothschild wrote to the Landgrave pledging his support to the German prince and
offering to intercede on his behalf when Napoleon visits Frankfurt.
1808(26th
of Kislev, 5569): Second Day of Chanukah
1810(18th
of Kislev, 5571): Parashat Vayishlach
1810:
Birthdate of Philadelphia
publisher Abraham Hart who later went into the manufacture of “buttonhole”
machines after marrying Rebecca Cohen Isaacks and who was President of Congregation
Mikvah Israel,
1812: Dover Schneuri
began serving has the leader of Chabad Lubavith, following the in the footsteps
of his father Shenur Zalman of Liadi
1812: In
London, Helena Moses and Moses Levy gave birth to Joseph Moses Levy the editor
and publisher who turned the failed Daily Telegraph & Courier into the
famous and highly successful Daily Telegraph.
1814(1st
of Tevet, 5575): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Seventh Day of Chanukah
1819:
Twenty-year old Kitty Etting, the daughter of Rachel Gratz and Solomon Etting
married twenty-two year old Benjamin I Cohen today after which they had eleven
children.
1816(25th
of Kislev, 5577): Chanukah is celebrated in the United States for the last time
under President James Madison as the country enters into “the era of good
feelings.”
1819:
Birthdate of Daniel Abramovich Chwolson the native of Vilna who became a noted
Orientalist with a proficiency in Arabic. He also was a staunch defender of his
co-religionists especially when it came to Blood Libel accusations at Saratov
and Kutais which spurred several of his works including “On Several Medieval
Accusations Against The Jews.”
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4383-chwolson-daniel-abramovich
1820: In
London, Esther Daninos and Solomon Abecasis gave birth to Aaron Abecasis, the
husband of Esther Rodrigues Brandon.
1822(1st
of Tevet, 5583): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; 7th Day of Chanukah
1824(24th
of Kislev, 5585): Kindle the first Chanukah candle
1824: Lewis
Jacobs married Ranyer Simmons at the Great Synagogue today.
1826: Dr.
Daniel Moses Levy Maduro Peixotto, Amsterdam born son of Cantor Moses Levy
Maduro Peixotto, Cantor Judith van Samuel Peixotto and his wife Rachel Lopes
Menes Peixotto gave birth to Isabela
Peixotto who became Isaebella Seixas when she Benjamin Hyman Seixas.
1827(26th
of Kislev, 5588): Parashat Vayeshev; Second Day of Chanukah
1827:
Birthdate of Joseph Halévy, the native of Adrianople who gained famed as a
French Orientalist and traveler
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/41219385?uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21105449288733
1828: In
Newington, London, Amelia and Morris Harris gave birth to Louisa Harris
1831:
Seventy-six year old Hannah Adams, a Christina author who wrote History of
the Jews in 1812, passed away in Brookline Mass.
1831: Joel
ben Moses HaCohen married Shprintze bat Ashe HaLevi today at the Western
Synagogue.
1835(24th
of Kislev, 5596): In the evening, Kindle the first Chanukah Candle
1835: Two
days after she had passed away, Alice Abraham, the wife of Michael Abraham and
mother of Samuel Abrahams was buried today at the “Brompton (Fulham Road)
Jewish Cemetery.
1837:
Wilhelm Wolfsohn began the study of medicine in Leipzig today.
1842: In
Richmond, VA, Isaac Abraham Levy, the London born son of Abraham Levy, ben
Levie and Sarah Rachel Cornelia Levy and his wife Hannah Norris Levy gave birth
to Cornelius Levy who may have served in the Confederate Army before his death
in 1865.
1849: The
third lodge of the Free Sons of Israel was formed under the name Ruben Lodge
No. 3.
1854(24th
of Kislev, 5615): The first candle of Chanukah is Kindles as the Allies lay
siege to Sevastapool during the Crimean War.
1854: David
Jacob Felsenthal, the German born son of Leah Wolf and Jakob Isaak Felsentahl
who married Beier Gunebaum after the death of his first wife Johanna Grunebaum
passed away today.
1857(28th
of Kislev, 5618): Fourth Day of Chanukah
1857(28th
of Kislev, 5619): David Jacob Felsentah, the German born on of Leah Wolf and
Jakob Isaak Felsenthal who was the husband of Johana (bas) Abram Grunebaum with
whom he had six children and Beier Grunebaum with whom he had another six
children passed away today.
1857: The
opera “Travatore” was performed tonight in New York with proceeds for the
evening going to the Hebrew Benevolent Society.
1857: In
Spitafields, London, Jane Silver and Henry Woolf gave birth to Charles Woolf.
1858: In
Charleston, Charles Ferdinand Levy, the Charleston born son of Rachel and Elias
Levy and his wife Laura Louise Levy gave birth to Hetty Barrett Levy
1858:
Abraham Freedman married Maria Jacobs today at the Great Synagogue.
1858:
During “The Mortara Affair,” the New York Times published a letter U.S.
Secretary of State Cass had written to Mr. Hart in which he compared President
Buchanan’s decision not to join with the nations of Europe to bring pressure on
the Catholic Church to return the boy to his parents with the activisits
behavior of the United States during “the persecution of the Jews of Damascus”
in 1840.
1859:
Birthdate of Dr.Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof, the Russian born Jewish linguist who
created Esperanto.
http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/ludwigzamenhof.html
1860(2nd
of Tevet, 5621): Parashat Miketz; Seventh Day of Chanukah
1860: In
Manchester, England, Marcus and Rebecca (Vogel) Myers gave birth to Radcliffe
graduate Esther Myers who became Esther Myers Andrews when she married Julius
Andrews and who was active in the Council of Jewish Woman and Republican
politics in Boston, MA.
1861: President Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter to Arnold Fischel
of New York's Congregation Shearith Israel, saying “"I find there are
several particulars in which the present law in regard to chaplains is supposed
to be deficient, all which I now design presenting to the appropriate Committee
of Congress. I shall try to have a new law broad enough to cover what is
desired by you in behalf of the Israelites." Fischel had gone to
Washington to get Lincoln’s support to change the law so that Jews could serve as
Chaplains in the Union Army.
1862:
During the Civil War, Army of the Potomac commanded by Ambrose Burnside
suffered one of its worst defeats at the Battle of Fredericksburg which came to
an end today. Company C of the 82nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry
Regiment which had been formed by a group of Jewish volunteer soldiers under
the name of the Concordia Guards was one of the units engaged in the battle.
The regiment would be commanded by Colonel Edward S. Salomon, a Jewish immigrant
from Germany, who may have been Chicago’s first Jewish lawyer and was the
alderman for the Sixth Ward when the war broke out. Among other Jews serving
during the battle was Jacob Ezekiel Hyneman, a native of Richmond, who was a
solider with the Union Army and was wounded at Fredericksburg.
1863: In Poland, Joseph I and Zipporah Uttenberg gave birth to
Israel Unterberg, who came alone to the U.S. in 1910 to join his parents and
went on to become the “president of the National Butchers and Drovers Bank” and
the president of the Jewish Education Association” while raising two sons and
four daughters with his wife Bella Epstein,
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/05/02/94520698.pdf
1864: During the Civil War, the Battle of Nashville (TN)
begins. Among the Union units are the 79th
Indiana commanded by Colonel Frederick Knefler.
1865(27th of Kislev, 5626): Third Day of Chanukah observed
for the first time during the Presidency of Andrew Johnson.
1866: In Greensberg, PA, Charles and Sara Falk gave birth to
Maurice Falk the founder, with his brothers of Weirton Steel who married Selma
Wertheimer after his first wife Laura Klinordlinger passed away and who, with
his brother “established the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies at Pittsburg
in 1912
1867: Esther Hellman Wallenstein, the founding President of the
Hebrew Infant Asylum in New York and Solomon Wallenstein gave birth to Max
Wallenstein.
1867 Birthdate of New York resident Henry J. Hyman who was buried
at Ahawith Chesed Cemetery when he passed away in 1932.
1868(1st of Tevet, 5629): Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Seventh
Day of Chanukah
1869:
Esther Hellman Wallenstein, the founding President of the Hebrew Infant Asylum
in New York and Solomon Wallenstein gave birth to Joseph Solomon Wallenstein
1870: Sir
Saul Samuel completed his first term as Treasurer of New South Wales.
1871(3rd of
Tevet, 5632): 8th day of Chanukah
1871:
Middle Temple student Henry Emanuel Cohen, the 31-year-old New South Wales born
son of Abraham Cohen as admitted to the New South Wales Bar today.
1872: Eighty-year-old
Mary Anne Disraeli, 1st Viscountess Beaconsfield, the wife of Prime
Minister Benjamin Disraeli, the Earl of Beaconsfield passed away today.
http://www.goodreads.com/characters/39155-mary-anne-disraeli
1873: It
was reported today that The Jewish Chronicle has expressed support for
conferring peerages on Sir Moses Montefiore and Baron Lionel Rothschild
1874:
Birthdate of Russian native Michael Sherbrook, the actor known as Michael
Shewzik who came to England at the age of 12 and “made his debut as an actor in
productions of the Elizabethan Stage Society in 1898” before marrying Alice
Isaac the second daughter of H.P. Isaac in 1903.
1875:
Birthdate of Salt Lake City native William G. Watters, the owner of the
Hospital Supply Company and the Watters Laboratories who was married to Lucille
Watters with whom he had two daughters – Margaret and Ann.
1875:
Birthdate of Kiev native Samuel Paley, the founder and long-time president of
the Congress Cigar Company and the father of William S. Paley, the chairman of
the board of C.B.S.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=9A00EFDA143CEF3BBC4953DFB2668388679EDE
1876(29th
of Kislev, 5637): Fifth Day of Chanukah
1876: It
was reported today that a translation of the Greek New Testament into Hebrew is
about to be published at Leipzig “for the use of the Orthodox Jews of Eastern
Germany and Poland.” [No mention is made of why an Orthodox Jew would want a
copy of the New Testament.]
1877:
Birthdate of Bernhard Maissner, the Russian born ancestor of Cantor Benjamin
Maissner and his nephew Israel Alter who
was also a Cantor.
1879(30th
of Kislev, 5640): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1879: In
Galicia, Mollie and Nathaniel David Goldfarb gave birth to Columbia graduate
and JTS ordained rabbi and trained musician Israel Goldfarb, the husband of
Frieda Kessler who began his career as Rabbi and Cantor of congregation B’nai
Jeshurun on Staten Island and while serving various congregations served as the
instructor of Hazannuth at JTS and the organizer of the Cantors Association of
America.
1879: It was reported today that the Young Men’s Hebrew Association
will celebrate Chanukah with a reception at the Academy of Music.
1880: It was reported today that “the third reception” hosted by “the
Young Men’s Hebrew Union will be held on Christmas evening.”
1880: Justice Kilbreth ordered Mrs. Lizzie Wenke to post a $200 bond to
guarantee her good behavior or more specifically, that she would not attack
Isaac Stern again.
1880: Birthdate of Rumanian native Mois H. Avram, the NYU trained
engineer who in 1899 came to the United Sates where, as President of Fox
Brothers International Corporation “took part in planning the reconstruction of
the Port of Versailles” wrote several books including Patenting and Promoting
Inventions while raising a son and two daughters with his wife Ernestine.
https://www.amazon.com/Launching-Enterprise-Avram-Mois-Herban/dp/1313273597
1881: In St. Louis, Ella Lewellen and Horris H. Smit gave birth to
Chicago College of Medicine Surgery and University of Vienna trained
otolaryngologist William Maurice Smit, the husband of Sylvia Lucille Goldberg
who specialized in “diseases of the ear nose of throat” while practicing
medicine in St Louis where he was a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth.
1881: “A very large assemblage of ladies and gentlemen, representing the
best class of the Hebrew population” of New York “gathered in the Academy of
Music” this “evening at the annual ball commemorating the celebration of
Chanukah” sponsored by the Young Men’s Hebrew Association who raised over $6,000
for their building fund.
1881: Jacques Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffman” was performed for the
one hundredth time today at the Salle Favart.
1881: The Young Men’s Hebrew Association hosted its annual Chanukah Ball
this evening at the Academy of Music. (The celebration was held today, a
Thursday, because Chanukah in 1881 began on Friday night and you could not have
a ball on Shabbat)
1882: Birthdate of Helena Rubinstein famed American cosmetic
manufacturer.
1883:
Birthdate of David Abel, the native of Amsterdam who was the husband of Eva
“Chava” Rayevskyand who served as cinematographer for over 110 films for RKO
Pictures.
1883: Rabbi
Isaac Mayer Wise, the President of the Hebrew Union College delivered a lecture
tonight on the subject of intermarriage in which he said, “such marriages are
not forbidden Mosaic law.”
1883: In
Rochester, NY, Sabbath morning services at Berith Kodesh will be conducted in
English for the first time.
1883: In a
note published today, Ignatz Fishcel, a 23-year-old unemployed German Jewish
immigrant blames his decision to commit suicide on his sister and her husband
1883: In
Paris, French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero and his wife gave birth to Henri Paul
Gaston Maspero the sinologist who died in Buchenwald.
1884: In
the Netherlands, Simon Jacobs, the son of Diena and Ravel Beer Jacobs and his
wife Marianna Jacobs gave birth to Benjamin Jacobs/
1884: It
was reported today that the Hebrew Free School Association is now serving 1,959
children as compared to the 520 that it served when it began in 1876.
1884: It
was reported today that newly elected officers of the Hebrew Free School
Association included President M.S. Isaacs, Vice President Uriah Herrmann and
Secretary Henry S. May.
1884: It
was reported today that while speaking at event marking the 16th
anniversary of the Presbyterian Hospital in New York, Reverend John Paxton
said, “We are indebted to the Jews for many things, for human law and their
teaching of the sacredness of life but not for hospitals. These are the sole creation of Christianity.”
And then, in what can only be considered a bit of genteel anti-Semitism, he
said that the “first hospital was founded…by the good Samaritan.”
1884: It
was reported today that the officers of the newly formed Tenth Ward Society
include: Joseph Blumenthal – President; Isaac Bernheimer and E.R.A. Seligman –
Vice Presidents; Frederick Nathan – Treasurer; Lee Kohns – Secretary. The society will be conducting an audit of
conditions of tenements in an area surrounded by Houston Street, Division
Street, Norfolk Street and the Bowery. A
report of the needed improvements and/or the failure to make them will be sent
to the Board of Health and the Grand Jury.
(This was part of an over-all attempt to improve conditions for
immigrants. This particular ward had a large Jewish population which may have
accounted for the makeup of the officers.)
1884: It was reported today that Ludovic Halevy, the son
of Leon Halevy, has been elected as a member of the French Academy.
1885: Birthdate of Lithuanian native Rebecca Kushner
Paiewonsky, the wife of Isaac Paiewonsky and the mother of Ralph and Isidor
Paiewonsky who was buried at the Altona Jewish Cemetery in the U.S. Virgin
Islands when she passed away in 1963.
1885: In New York, Barnett and Dora Kriss Feinberg gave
birth to Celia Feinberg who became Celia Rosenthal when she married Harry
Rosenthal in 1913.
1885: The Ladies’ Fair, a fund-raiser designed to raise
money for the Kindergarten and Industrial Schools of the Hebrew Free School
Association opened this evening at the Metropolitan Opera House.
1886: “Hattie Kahn,” a “young and pretty French Jewess
disappeared mysteriously from her employer’s residence at No. 46 West One
Hundred and Twenty-sixth street” today.
1885: Thirty-one-year-old Carbondale, PA born lawyer and
Phi Beta Kappa member Emanuel Cohen who is currently practicing in Minneapolis
married Nina Morais today.
1887(29th of Kislev, 5648): Fifth Day of
Chanukah
1887: Birthdate of Lithuanian native and educator Saul
Galinsky who in 1941 was brought to the United States by the Jewish Labor
Committee after which “he became a teacher in the Workmen’s Circle School
system” and the executive director the Jewish Encyclopedia while raising his
son Victor with his wife Luba.
1887: Morris L. Kramer and Rcahel Elka Stikan gave birth
to Sadie Kramer.
1887: It was reported today that in London a barber named
Serne who is a Flemish Jew is on trial having been charged with setting fire to
his shop on the Strand to collect on the insurance. Unfortunately, both of his sons died in the
fire as well.
1888: “The model of the Nicaragua Interoceanic Canal
which had been built by Vauix Carter, a Professor of Mechanics at the Hebrew
Technological Institute” in Brooklyn has
proven to be one of the most popular items on display at the annual fair sponsored by the American
Institute.
1888: In “Kovno, Poland,” “Abraham Gershon and Rose
(Glizer) Menacker gave birth “educator, author and Zionist Jacob Judah Ackerman
the husband of Channa Emma Ginsberg who worked taught Hebrew School in
Portland, ME and New Bedford before becoming the principal the Hebrew Institute
in Wilkes-Barre, PA while “authoring a book of Biblical poems” and writing a
“dramatic version of the Book of Esther.”
1889: “Musical Notes” described the upcoming performance
of Halevy’s “La Juive” in New York as being “novelty of the week.”
1890: “Literary Notes” today described the upcoming
publication of Memoirs of My Mayoralty, an illustrated work complete
with photographs by Sir Henry Isaacs, the former Lord Mayor of London.
1890: Louis “Brandeis defined modern notions of the
individual right to privacy in a path-breaking article he published with his
partner, today in the Harvard Law Review on "The Right to Privacy."
1890: “Stringent orders have been sent to Russian
Government officials in the Caucasus for the expulsion of all Jews who are not
authorized to reside there.”
1891(14th of Kislev, 5652): Thirty-six-year-old
accountant and author Jacob Judelsohn, a native of Marionpol, Russia and a
resident of the United States since 1879 who served as Secretary of the Jewish
Immigrant Protective Society and became a leader in the Jewish community taking
an active role in meeting the needs of the newly arrived immigrants from Russia
and Poland, passed away today in New York City.
1891: In Louisville, KY, Erna and Hilmar “Hillel” Ehrmann
gave birth to Herbert Ehrmann, “the husband of Sara R. Ehrmann” who was the
Harvard educated lawyer responsible for defending Sacco and Vanzetti which was
the subject of his book The Untried Case.
https://www.amazon.com/Herbert-Brutus-Ehrmann/e/B0034QAP0M
1891: In Lithuania, Debora Klausink and Hillel Spitz gave
birth to Trinity College and Columbia University graduate Leon Spit, the award
winning JTS trained rabbi and husband of Yetta Rome who in 1921 became the
leader of Congregation B’nai Jacob in New Haven, CT where he also served as director
of the United Jewish Charities of New Haven and President of the Connecticut
Zionist Regional Union.
1891: James
Naismith introduces the first version of basketball, with thirteen rules, a
peach basket nailed to either end of his school's gymnasium, and two teams of
nine players. While Basketball may have had quintessential gentile origins it
quickly became a part of Jewish life.
According to Peter Levine, “Jewish involvement in basketball, especially
between 1900 and 1950 was greater than in any other sport.” “By the late 1930’s...sportswriter identified
it as the ‘Jewish’ game. According “Paul
Gallico, the longtime sports editor the New York Daily News ... ‘Jews flock to
basketball by the thousands’ because it placed ‘a premium on an alert, scheming
mind… flashy trickiness, artful dodging and general smart alikeness’’ traits
naturally appealing to the ‘Hebrew with his Oriental background.’”
1892(26th
of Kislev, 5653): Second Day of Chanukah
1892(26th
of Kislev, 5653): Sixty-one-year-old Boston clothing store owner Leopold Morse
and Democratic Party leader who represented Massachusetts in the House of
Representatives passed away today.
1892: A
petition is being circulated to gain the endorsement of prominent businessmen
and professionals for the candidacy of Jacob P. Solomon, editor of the Hebrew
Standard, to fill “the vacancy left on the police bench by Police Justice
Daniel O’Reilly.
1892: The
American Jewish Historical Society is scheduled to meet in Philadelphia at
which papers will be read by Professor Charles Gross of Harvard, Professor
Cyrus Adler of the National Museum and Henrietta Szold from Baltimore.
1892: The
Monetary Conference at Brussels which has considered a plan put forth by
Austrian banker Albert de Rothschild is scheduled to come to an end without
resolving any of the issue surrounding bimetallism.
1893: Plans
for the upcoming meeting of the American Jewish Historical Society at Columbia
University were published today.
1893(6th
of Tevet, 5654): Thirty-three-year-old Gottlieb Adler who earned a Ph.D. from
the University of Vienna in 1882 and who served as a professor there while
working on matters related to electricity and magnetism, passed away today.
1894: In
Jerusalem, Moshe Peretz and his wife gave birth to Haym Peretz, who fled to the
United States in 1917 when the Turks discovered he was an Allied intelligence
agent and after graduating from Johns Hopkins pursed a career in Jewish social
work and education that included serving as the UJA director for the Bronx
while raising his son Don with his wife Josephine.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1956/12/06/87278334.pdf
1894:
Register Ferdinand Levy, Justice Alfred Steckler and Emanuel Friend were among
those who attended the 20th “annual reception and ball of the New
York Hebrew Mutual Benefit Association at the Central Opera House on East 67th
Street.
1894: Sir
Julian Goldsmid a member of the House of Commons for the South Division of St.
Pancras presided at a meeting of the Russo-Jewish Committee today where
“private communications with relation to the condition of the Jews in Russia
were presented.”
1894: A
revival of “Quite an Adventure,” a one-act comic opera by Edward Solomon opened
at the Savoy Theatre.
1894:
Birthdate of Minsk born American feminist Fania Esiah Mindell, a pioneer in the
movement to give women control over their own reproductive organs.
https://jwa.org/thisweek/oct/26/1916/fania-mindell-arrested-for-distributing-birth-control-material
1895: “The
Hebrew Mechanics Association” is reported to be the sponsor of tonight’s
concert at the Thalia Theatre in the Bowery.
1895: “A
crowd of indignant men and women lined the sidewalk and the street in front of
the Thalia Theatre tonight” upset by the additional charges being added for the
tickets they were holding to see “a grand popular concert” given by the Hebrew
Mechanics Association under the management of Max Hirsch.
1895: Among
those performing tonight at “the second of the season’s concerts of the Arion”
was Louis Blumenberg “who played for his first solo Max Bruch’s transcription
of ‘Kol Nidre’” which with “his breadth of tone and smooth legato brought out
the full sentiment of this sacred composition.”
1895: Those
working at the booths of Educational Charity Fair sponsored by leading members
of the Jewish community will have the day off today because Madison Square
Garden, the venue where the fair is taking place, will be closed for the day.
1895:
Excise Commissioner Julius Harburger of New York and Colonel W. L. Strong spoke
at the dedication of the newly erected Temple Ahavath Sholom Beth Aaron in
Brooklyn
1895: Plans
were published today for a fund raiser to be held later this week for the
benefit of the Hebrew Technical Institute.
1895:
Birthdate of Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho
http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/128555/oscar-niemeyer-israel-and-two-jews-named-jacob/
1895:
“Herter’s Heine Fountain” published today described the decision of the
citizens of Dusseldorf and Mayence to reject a fountain in honor of the poet
“because he was a Jew.”
1895: “Herr
Ahlwardt Denounced” published today described the meeting at Allen Memorial
Church where speakers including Methodist minister George Van Alystayne and
Episcopal minister Frank M. North spoke out against the visiting German
anti-Semite and defending the role of Jews as American citizens.
1896(10th
Tevet, 5657): Asara B’Tevet
1896: In
Latvia, Marcus Mordechai Brachman and Chaya Mindel Brachman gave birth to
Solomon Brachman, the husband of of Etta Brachman and ather of Malcolm Keys
Brachman and Marilyn Hoffman who in 1905 came to the United States where he
earned a degree from Marietta College and became a success businessman in Fort
Worth, TX where he served as president of the Jewish Federation.
1897:
Birthdate of Vilnius native William Wolf Weinston,, the husband of Gertrude
Hassler who “served as Executive Secretary of the unified Communist Party of
America, the forerunner of today's Communist Party USA” and who was an
unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senator from New York
1897: The Federation of American Zionist Societies of New York,
(FAZ) was formed today with Richard Gottheil as President and Herman Rosenthal
and Rabbi Joseph T. Bluestone as vice presidents. Most remarkable and fortunate
for the nescient American Zionist movement was the choice of secretary for the
FAZ. Gottheil had been advisor, sponsor and friend to a young Columbia student
who energetically and dynamically became the first Zionist secretary. His name
was Rabbi Stephen Wise. For the next 45 years, Wise would become one of the
enshrined, respected leaders of the American Zionist and World Zionist
movements.
1899: Birthdate of Harold Abrahams, English athlete
and Olympic gold medalist. Abrahams
passed away in 1978. Abrahams gained
posthumous fame when his Olympic exploits were portrayed in the film hit
“Chariots of Fire.”
1899:
Lieutenant General Sir Louis Jean Bols, the “Chief Administrator of Palestine”
for the first six months of 1920 served today at the Battle of Colensco during
the Boer War.
1900(23rd
of Kislev, 5661): Parashat Vayeshev
1900: In
Lomza, Ida Siegel and Morris Cohen gave birth to Rabbi Jerimiah Cohen, the
leader of Mount Sinai Congregation in Jersey City, NJ and Chairman of the board
of Education of the Talmud Torah of Jersey City Heights who was President of
the Jersey City Zionist Dstirct.
1900:
Birthdate of Paris native and CCNY graduate and teacher Percy Max Apfledbaum,
the holder of Ph.D. from Columbia who was professor of organic chemistry and
“found president of City College’s teaches union.
1900: In
Hungary, following yesterday’s preliminary vote, members of the lower chamber
of the parliament cast the “definitive vote” denying Lazăr Șăineanu's
naturalization even though he had converted to facilitate his bid for
citizenship.
1901: “PROF.
ADLER CONVERTED TO SUNDAY OPENING” published today described an address
delivered by Prof. Felix Adler before the Society of Ethical Culture at
Carnegie Hall in which he stated that he had gone form “being a believer in
keeping the saloons closed on Sunday” to taking the opposite view.
1902:
Birthdate of Kiev native Nuta Kotlyarenko who gained fame as American fashion
designer Nudie Cohn
http://www.nudiesrodeotailor.com/
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/nudie-19690628
.
1902:
Robert Georg Alexander von Mendelssohn and Giulietta von Mendelssohn gave birth
to Angelica von Mendelssohn
1902(30th
of Kislev, 5678): Parashat Miketz; Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Sixth Day of Chanukah
1902(30th
of Kislev, 5678): Sixty-three year old Solomon Hirsh, “one of the founders of
Fleischner, Mayer and Co., the largest wholesale dry goods company on the West
Coast,” president of the Oregon State Senate and Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary to the Ottoman Empire who along with his wife
Josephine were early leaders of the early Portland, Oregon Jewish community
passed away today.
1903: Mayor
Charles F. Murphy is scheduled to formally open the fair sponsored by the Order
of the Daughters of Jacob in the Grand Central Palace.
1903:
Funeral services for Solomon Loeb who passed away on December 12th
are scheduled to be held at his residence in New York at 9:30 this morning.
1904: In
Brooklyn, Zemad and Annie Groden Bloomgarden gave birth to Kermit Bloomgarden,
the CPA who became a successful producer.
1904:
Birthdate of Pearl (Penina) Cohen the wife Rabbi Selig Starr, “the instructor
of the highest-level shiur at Skokie, Illinois's Hebrew Theological College”
whom she married in 1924 and who passed away in 1970.
1905: It
was reported today that in Lodz, Cossacks dispersed the rioters who attacking
Jewish shops and residences.
1905(17th
of Kislev, 5666): Seventy-nine-year-old Georgiana Cohen, the unmarried daughter
of Kitty Etting and Benjamin I. Cohen passed away today on what was the 86th
anniversary of her parents marriage.
1905: The
Jewish Chronicle reported today that “John Burns charged the Jews with oxlike
submission to authority.
1905: As
the violence against the Jews continues to escalate, a bomb was thrown at the
postal telegraph offices at Radom, Poland.
1906(28th
of Kislev, 5667): Parashat Miketz; Fourth Day of Chanukah
1906:
Today, the National Geographic Society of the United States, which
was primarily known for publishing a popular magazine, certified Peary's 1905-6
expedition” the crew of which included the surgeon Dr. Louis J. Wolff of
Silverton, Oregon who had given up his work at the Cornell Dispensary and the
Bellevue Dispensary to serve as the medical officer “with its highest honor,
the Hubbard Gold Medal.”
1906:
During the strike aimed at breaking the Beef Trust the butchers in Brownsville
who have been on strike will continue to keep their shops closed today if the
Williamsburg Retail Kosher Butchers and the New York and Harlem Retail Kosher
Butchers have joined in the strike.
1907(10th
of Tevet, 5668): Asara B'Tevet
1907: It
was reported today that “The Jewish Historical Society is considering the
question of a publish a commemorative volume containing a complete history
Jewish emancipation in England” as part of the upcoming celebration of the 50th
anniversary of the admission of Jews to Parliament.
1907: In
Helsinki, Finland, future Russian Foreign Minister Nikolai Avksentev and his
wife gave birth the artist Alexandra Pragel the wife of Alexander Pregel, an
international dealer in radium and uranium and the sister-in-law of Boris
Pregel.
http://www.bnphoto.org/pregel/Bio.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/28/us/alexander-pregel-uranium-dealer-dies-at-91.html
1909:
In New York City "Miss Julia Richman, Superintendent of Schools
on the Lower East Side has sent out an appeal for clothing for school
children." Miss Richman is concerned that children lack warm
clothing which is contributing to poor health.
1911:
Today, in Philadelphia, despite a challenge by insurgents who supported Julia
of Felstenthal of Chicago, “Sadie American, was re-elected Executive Secretary
of the Council of Jewish Women” while Mrs. Caesar Misch of Providence, R.I>
was re-elected President.
1911:
“In recognition of his scientific research and services in advancement of
medical sciences,” the Directorate of International Hygiene Exhibition in
Dresden” awarded Dr. Myer Coplans, the Demonstrator in Public Health and
Bacteriology at the University of Leeds” with an honorary diploma today.
1911:
In Commemoration of his coronation, the King conferred “baronetcy on Sir Jacob
Sassoon and appointed Robert Nathan, C.I.E., companion of the Order of the Star
of India.
1912: In Philadelphia, founding of Shaari Shamayim Synagogue.
1912: Birthdate of “Monuments Man” Wolfgang Maehler.
https://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/maehler-sgt-wolfgang
1912: Jacob P. Adler is scheduled to appear for the final time
this evening at the Haymarket Theatre where he and his fellow Yiddish actors
have be performing such works as “The Wild Man,” “Men and Women,” “The
Stranger” and “God’s Punishment.”
1913: Two days after he had passed away, 54 year old Solomon
Michaelson, the husband of Leah Michaelson whom he had wed in Russia and with
whom he had had four children was buried today at the “Plashet Jewish Cemetery”
in London.
1913: The Georgia Supreme Court heard Leo Frank’s appeal for a new
trial.
1913:
Birthdate of Muriel Rukeyser a challenging poet whose
work mixed together radical politics and a spiritual quest. Rukeyser grew up in
a middle-class home in New York City that for her was marked by silences and
the absence of books. Rukeyser sought to experience the richness and messiness
of life and to depict that richness and mess in her poetry. Her father's
bankruptcy during the Great Depression cut short her college education, but in
1935, at the age of 21, she won the Yale Younger Poets Award for her first
book, Theory of Flight.
Her poetry brought her much success and much criticism. Embracing left-wing
politics, she covered the second Scottsboro Boys trial and the Spanish Civil
War. She traveled to North Vietnam and Korea and was jailed for protesting the
war in Vietnam. She confronted the red-baiting of the McCarthy era and the
strictures of conventional sexuality. Her poem "Letter to the Front"
(1944) presented the challenge of modern Jewish identity with these words:
To be a Jew
in the twentieth century
Is to be
offered a gift. If you refuse,
Wishing to
be invisible, you choose
Death of
the spirit, the stone insanity.
Accepting,
take full life.
1914(27th
of Kislev, 5675): Third Day of Chanukah
1914: It
was reported today that “the Jewish Relief Committee’s Executive Committee has
appropriated $100,000 for immediate transmission for war relief as follows:
$50,000 for Russia, $25,000 for Galicia and $25,000 for Palestine.
1914: When
a Russian cruiser appeared outside the port of Jaffa today all “non-Moslems
were ordered” by the Turkish government “to stay in their dwellings under the
pain of death.” (This order really
applied to the Jews many of whom were of Russian origins and whom the Turks did
not trust because they feared the Jews were a “fifth column” that would help
their Czarist enemies.)
1914:
Birthdate of Anatole Abragam, the Latvian born French-physicist who wrote The
Principles of Nuclear Magneism and 1982 winner of the Lorentz Medal.
1914:
“Entire Nation Behind Frank” published today quotes an opinion from the Houston
Chronical that “there is in the heart of the American people an inherent love
of justice and fair play, and they are stirred with indignation if they believe
any citizen has not received a square deal in the courts” and “the case of Leo
M. Frank strikingly illustrates the truth of this statement” since “it is
essential to recognize the right of any man to a fair trial -- which Leo Frank assuredly did not get.”
1914:
“Frank Can Appeal Again, Says Lawyer” published today provided the opinion of
Hooper Alexander the United States District and “an authority on constitutional
law” that “Leo M. Frank can take his case before the United States Supreme
Court on a writ of error from the first decision” by the Georgia Supreme Court.
1915: A
fund raising campaign headed by Jacob Schiff is scheduled to come to an end.
1915:
Allied forces began a full retreat from the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula
in Turkey, ending a disastrous invasion of the Ottoman Empire during which the
Zion Mule Corps served with distinction along with individual Jewish soldiers
including Sir John Monash of Australia.
1915:
Birthdate of New York native Gilbert Kanter, an attorney who was an active
member of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.
1916:
Greeks call up all Jews ranging from age19 to 30 for military service. The
response was overwhelming.
1916: The
Senate passed an immigration bill today that did not contain the exemption for
the victims of religious discrimination – Armenians and Jews from Russia and
Rumania – which had been part of the bill passed by the House of
Representatives.
1916: French troops defeated the Germans at the Battle of Verdun
during World War I. In the 1930’s monuments were erected to Jewish and
Christian soldiers who were killed at Verdun. In May of 2004 the memorial to Jewish soldiers who died in the Battle of Verdun was
vandalized. Nazi slogans and symbols were scrawled on the memorial. In November
2004, a 22-year-old man was sentenced to a year in prison for perpetrating the
attack. In June of 2006, a concert by the Ensemble Musique Oblique was held at
the Verdun synagogue in memory of the Jewish soldiers of Verdun. French forces
were commanded by General Petain. The
victory at Verdun cemented his position in the pantheon of French military
prowess. Petain would use this
reputation to make peace with the Germans in World War II and to lead the
government at Vichy which actively collaborated with the Nazis in bringing the
Holocaust to France.
1916: Following a meeting of the Joint
Distribution Committee it was reported today that all synagogues and temples
would hear sermons on Shabbat calling for contributions for the fund to aid
Jews suffering from the war.
1917(30th of Kislev, 5678):
Parashat Miketz; Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Sixth Day of Chanukah
1917: In New York City, Pauline “Paula”
Munwies and David Ben Gurion “went before the clerk at City Hall… and were
married in a brief, civil ceremony” which was not attended by any of their
family or friends.
1917: Thanks to the half million dollars
raised today which included a contribution of $41,421 from Jacob Schiff, “the
campaign to raise $5,000,000 in New York for Jewish war relief and welfare work
in the army and navy came to a triumphant close” today “when at the end of two
weeks of labor, the five million was in hand with a slight margin over and more
to come.”
1917: “According to a cablegram
received” today in New York “by the Jewish Daily Forward from its Petrograd
correspondent” that “Sholem Jacob Abramowitch, known to Jews all over the word
as the ‘grandfather’ of modern Jewish literature, a title given to him by the
late Sholem Aleichem” and who wrote under the the pen name of Mendele Moikher
Seforim died last week in Odessa at the age of 81.
1917: Russia concluded an armistice with the Central Powers. Over 350,000 Jews
served in the Russian army and an estimated 70,000 were killed during World War
I. This armistice would take the new
Communist Russian government out of the war.
It would help ensure the Communist rule over Russia and all that that
meant for Russian Jewry. At the same time, it enabled the Germans to move their
troops to the Western Front where they made one last push to defeat the
Allies. This effort failed which led to
the defeat of Germany, the Versailles Treaty, the rise of Hitler and the Final
Solution.
1917: “The
successful close” today “of New York’s campaign for $5,000,000 for Jewish war
relief and welfare work in the army and navy also bring to a successful
conclusion the national campaign for $10,000,000 for war relief, to which total
fourth of fifths of the money in New York is to be devoted.”
1917: John
L. Bernstein, the President of the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society
of America said today that in almost every case that the people seeking news
about family and friends living on the Eastern front and those they are seeking
are, all “in dire distress.”
1917:
Congregation Temple Rodeph Sholom is scheduled to continue the celebration of
its 75th anniversary for a second day.
1917: “In the village
of Komorow, near Lublin, Poland, Irving and Rachel Edelstein, gave birth Harry
Edelstein, the husband of “the former Frances Trost” with whom he had two
children and shared the ownership of the Polish Tea Room. (As reported by Dennis
Hevesi) https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/nyregion/15edelstein.html
1917: In Bromberg, the
Province of Posen which was part of Germany at this time, Elizabeth
(Freundlich) and Alex Zadek gave birth to opera star Hilde Zadek.
1918: In Brooklyn, Anna
(née Herman) and Phillip Grossel gave birth to their only child Ira Gossel who
gained fame as Jeff Chandler the classically handsome
matinee idol played everything from the Indian chief Cochise Broken Arrow to
the workaholic skipper in the World War II thriller Away All Boats. To paraphrase one critic, goyisha face on a
yiddisha kup.
1918: First meeting of the American Jewish
Congress. An advocacy group, the
American Jewish Congress supports a variety of causes including civil rights
for all minorities and women as well as causes one might normally associate
with a Jewish organization.
1918: Efforts to break
the monolithic opposition to Zionism of Jerusalem’s Orthodox community met with
success at the founding meeting of a group of senior rabbis, who in defiance of
the ultra-Orthodox rabbis set up a Joint Sephardic - Ashkenazi Council which
was the first breach in the Orthodox community’s strong and united opposition
to Zionist institutions.
1918(12th of
Tevet, 5679): After 21 years of marriage, Clara Engels the wife of German
classical scholar Friedrich Münzer passed away during the Influenza Epidemic.
1918: Addressing the
campaign workers for the $5,000,000 Jewish War Relief drive at the Hotel
Biltmore, Felix M. Warburg, Chairman of the Campaign Committee, advocated that
campaigns of a sectarian character be hereafter abolished and announced that
the drive would be extended for two days.
1919: Birthdate of Max
B. Yasgur, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants whose farm was the site of the
famous Woodstock Happening in 1969.
1919: “Felix M.
Warburg, Chairman of the Joint Distribution Committee for American Funds for
Jewish War Sufferers announced that a commission of three Americans will leave
shortly for the Ukraine to investigate conditions of the Jews there and to take
steps toward carrying out relief.”
1920: Today, Bishop
Bonaventure F. Broderick wrote a letter expressing his “abhorrence of the
anti-Jewish campaign now being conducted in this country” which is surely an
“attempt to stir up race and religious prejudices.
1921: In Providence,
Rhode Island, Jack and Sadie Davis gave birth to Maurice Davis, the Reform
Rabbi active in the Civil Rights movement and combating the impact of cults who
was the husband of Marion Cronbach, the son-in-law of Rose Hentil and Abraham Cronbach.
1921(14th of
Kislev, 5682): Just 19 days before his 39th birthday, Edward Isaac
Ezra, “a wealthy Jewish businessman who was the first Chinese-born member of
the Shanghai Municipal Council” passed away in Shanghai.
1922(25th of
Kislev, 5683): Chanukah
1922(25th of
Kislev, 5683): Seventy-nine-year-old Michael Umstadter. one of the pioneering
businessmen in Norfolk, VA and the first president of that city’s Retail
Merchants Association who was the inventor of “a new and valuable improvement
in Jacquard Attachments for the Embroidering Machine” which he assigned to the
Old Dominion Manufacturing Company and the husband of Essie M. Umstadter passed
away today.
1922: Birthdate of DJ Alan Freed, the man who claimed to have coined the
term “rock-n-roll” and who lost out in the payola scandal of the 1950’s.
1922: Birthdate of
Professor Phillip Rieff, author of Freud: The Mind of the Moralist and
the father of author David Rieff.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/us/04rieff.html
http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/ead/detail.html?id=EAD_upenn_rbml_PUSpMsColl1006
1922:
Birthdate of Buffalo, NY native and Indiana University graduate Elliot Joseph
Cohen who gained fame as novelist and screenwriter Elliot Baker, author of A
Fine Madness.
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/obituaries/21baker.html?searchResultPosition=2
1923: In Bavaria,
Rachel Hellman, the daughter of Rabbi Isaac Seckel Bamberger and Julie Judith
Bamberger and Mortiz Hellmann, gave birth to Norbert Hellman
1923:
Birthdate of Gotthard Glass who
would gain famed as Uziel “Uzi” Gal. The German-born Israeli gun
designer best remembered as the designer and namesake of the Uzi submachine
gun. Gal was born in Weimar, Germany. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, he
moved first to England and later, in 1936, to Kibbutz Yagur in the British
Mandate of Palestine. In 1943 he was arrested for illegally carrying a gun and
sentenced to six years in prison. However, he was pardoned and released in
1946, serving less than half of his sentence. Gal began designing the Uzi
submachine gun in 1948, shortly after the Israel War of Independence. In 1951
it was officially adopted by the Israeli Defense Force and was called the Uzi
after its creator. Gal did not want the weapon to be named after him but his
request was ignored. In 1955 he was decorated with Tzalash HaRamatkal and in
1958, Gal was the first person to receive the Israel Security Award, presented
to him by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion for his work on the Uzi. In 1975 Gal
retired from the IDF, and the next year he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
so that his daughter Tamar, who had serious brain damage, could receive special
medical attention. Gal continued his work as a firearms designer until his
death from cancer in 2002.
1924: Birthdate of Polish-born British violinist Ida Haendel.
1924: In Saarlouis,
Germany Rudolf Loewy who “was a teacher and a cantor” and his wife Margarethe
gave to Esther Loewy who gained famed as Esther Bejaranao, the 18-year-old
accordion player in the women’s orchestra at Auschwitz who used music and words
to speak out against fascism and racism. (As reported by Richard Sandomir)
1925: “The Plastic Age”
a silent film produced by B.P. Schulberg was released in the United States
today.
1926: Sixty-seven-year-old
Paul Haupt, the German born Professor of Semitic languages at Johns Hopkins
University who “projected and edited the Polychrome Bible, a critical edition
of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, and a new English translation with
notes. A unique feature of this edition is the use of different colors to
distinguish the various sources and component parts in the Old Testament books”
passed away today in Baltimore, MD
1927: In Pottstown, PA,
Max Strom, “a foreman at a bakery” and his wife Bessie gave birth Earl “Yogi”
Strom the Coast Guard Veteran who in 1957 began his career as an NBA referee –
a role in which he was considered to be one of the best of all times.
http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/earl-strom/
1927: The struggle for
work turned violent during the citrus harvest in Petah Tikvah. Jewish workers,
seeking employment, protest against the hiring of Arab labor by the farmers.
Demonstrations and an attack on the Agricultural Committee lead to the intervention
of the British police. Workers are beaten and injured. Some are arrested and
sentenced to several weeks’ imprisonment.
1928(2nd of
Tevet, 5689): Parashat Miketz; 8th Day of Chanukah
1928: Birthdate of Ida
Haendel, the native of Chelm who became a world-class violinist in Great
Britain where she played for factory workers and military personnel
http://www.thirteen.org/publicarts/violin/haendel.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGXArQJA3Po
1928: In New York City,
Anna and Irving Rosenthal gave birth to Stanley Herbert Ross, the
producer-engineer who co-founded Hollywood's Gold Star Recording Studio, which
has a storied place in rock history as the home of Phil Spector's innovative
"Wall of Sound" technique.
1929: In Manhattan,
Bernard K. Marcus, the President of Bank of the United States, a lower East
Side financial institution and the former Libby Phillips gave birth to James S.
Marcus the future chairman of the board of the Metropolitan Opera.
1930(25th of
Kislev, 5691): As the Great Depression worsens, the first day of Chanukah
1930: Seventy-five-year-old
Meier Dizengoff sought re-election as Mayor of Tel Aviv in contest that pits
him against Laborite Joseph Aronwitz.
Dizengoff was one of the original founders of the city in 1909 and is
noted for donating his salary to municipal projects not funded by the city.
1931: One day after he
had passed away, funeral services are schedule to be held this afternoon for 49-year-old
University of Moscow trained internal medicine specialist Dr. Nathan Alpert the
Minsk born son of Rabbi Moses Leo and Martha Perelman (Disraeli) Alpert and
husband of Fannie Coleman followed by internment at the Ohel Yakov Beth Israel
Cemetery in Baltimore, MD.
1932: Birthdate of Bronx native Elain Radoff, who
gained fame as composer and music educator Elain Barkin, the wife of George J.
Barekin with whom she had three sons – Victor, Jesse and Gabriel
1932: It was reported
today Dr. Israel H. Levinthal of the Brooklyn Jewish Center, Rabb Israel
Goldfarb of Beth Israel Anshe Emeth and Rabbi Joseph Miller of Congregation
Shaare Torah of Flatbush have issued “a call for a conference of Brooklyn
rabbis, presidents and representative of Brooklyn congregations” “which will
have as its purposed the organization of Brooklyn congregations for united
activity in dealing with some of the more difficult problems facing Jewish
religious life in the borough.”
1933(27th of
Kislev, 5694): Third Day of Chanukah
1933(27th of
Kislev, 5694): Fifty-one-year-old Louis Seigman Ehrich, the son of Cornelia C.
Sampson Ehrich and Louis Seigman Ehrich, the husband of Florence Loeb Ehrich
and the father of Louis and Benjamin Ehrich passed away today after which he
was buried in the Beth Elohim Cemetery in Georgetown, SC.
1933:”The Tunnel” a
“French-German science fiction film directed by Curtis Bernhardt” was released
in Germany and France today.
1933: After having
already been released in the United Kingdom, “I Was a Spy,” a “British
thriller” produced by Michael Balcon with music by Louis Levy was released
today in the United States
1933: Five hundred
people including Rabbi Joshua Trachtenberg of Easton, PA and Rabbi Harry Caplan
of Allentown, PA attended the ceremonies marking the installation of Rabbi
Samuel Perlman as the new spiritual leader of the Brith Sholom Community Center
of Bethlehem, PA.”
1933: After premiering
in the UK in September, “I was a Spy” a British thriller produced by Michael
Balcon was released in the United States today.
1934: Birthdate of
Maquoketa, IA native Henry George von Mauer, a member of the family that
founded the department store chain that bore the family name.
1934: “Murder in the
Clouds” which “was notable as the screenplay and original story was written by
Dore Schary” the future head of production at MGM and produced by Samuel
Bischoff was released in the United States today by Warner Brothers.
1935: Portrait painter
Harry Solon, the San Francisco born son of Bertha and Meyer Solon, sailed from
Argentina today to resume his work in the United States after a four year stay
in Buenos Aires where he enjoyed great success.
1935: “Disorder Spread
in Poland” published today predicted that “anti-Jewish riots in the Fall may
become a tradition in Warsaw colleges” since “new students just out of his
school still drunk with their newly won freedom are easy prey to nationalist anti-Semitic
propaganda.
1936(1st of Tevet,
5697): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1936: “A conference of
Christian leaders interested in finding a refuge in Palestine for Jews
suffering persecution abroad” is scheduled to “take place in the Hotel Astor
from 1:30 to 5 P.M. under the auspices of the Pro-Palestine Federation of
America.”
1936: “The
Pro-Palestine Federation of America, a Christian organization, criticized
British policy” in Palestine “in a resolution adopted” today “at a luncheon
conference on ‘the Jewish problem’ at the Hotel Astor.”
1936: “Zionist worries
over one of the two dangers confronting the future development of the Jewish
national home -- the proposed law restricting Jewish land purchases, a danger
equal only to the suggested curtailment of Jewish immigration in Palestine --
loomed large at today's session of the British Royal Commission. Dr. Bernard
Joseph…testified that he believed there was no justification for restricting
the sale of land by small holders…He that in fifty years Jews had bought about
5 per cent of the total area of Palestine. At that rate…it will take 150 years
to buy half the land in the country if Beersheba is excluded.”
1937:
The Palestine Post reported that 13
Jews were wounded when Arab terrorists ambushed a bus between Haifa and
Nahalal. Another bus was fired on near Castel. Arab terrorists tried to kill
the mayor of Nablus, Suleiman Tukan.
1937: A Jewish guard,
Haim Berger, was wounded in Tiberias, and Eliahu Gadi was shot and wounded near
Kibbutz Ramat Rahel. Two Arabs were sentenced to death for the murder of Mendel
Mintz on
1938 David Robert
Altman, the Milwaukee born son of Robert and Jeanette Altman who in 1937 “had
entered the International Brigade where he “served with the XV BDE,
Mackenzie-Papineau BN” “returned to the US today aboard the Paris.”
1938: The Dutch
government closed its border to refugees which had an especially detrimental
effect on Jews seeking to escape from Hitler’s Germany, its next-door neighbor.
1939: Gauleiter Hans
Frank launched an action aimed at shipping rural Jews to large Polish cities
where they would be the tight control of the SS. Tens of thousands of Jews would be rounded
up, transported or force-marched into specially designated urban ghettos.
1939: World
premiere of "Gone with the Wind" in Atlanta, Georgia. This is
another example of Jews creating a pop culture icon. Consider the
following: David O. Selznick was he Producer. Leslie Howard played Ashley
Wilkes. Ben Hecht helped to write the screenplay. And Max Steiner
wrote the music. There may be more, but this is all that I could find for
sure. Leslie Howard was an English Jew born Leslie Howard Steiner who was
reportedly involved in anti-Nazi activities including clandestine work for
British intelligence that may have been the cause for his civilian aircraft
being shot down by the Nazis over the Bay of Biscay. Hecht was a Zionist whose
work to aid the suffering Jews of Europe included two notable efforts “We Will
Never Die” and “A Flag is Born.” Such were his efforts that one of the
ships smuggling supplies to pre-state Israel was the S.S. Ben Hecht.
1939: In
his continued challenge of the White Paper, Churchill, who is now a member of
the British War Cabinet, wrote to Malcolm MacDonald seeking to limit the
“draconian restrictions on future Jewish land purchases” contained in the new
Land Ordinance.
1939: The
Jews are required to pay “an additional installment of 200,000,000 marks” to
the Reich which will probably be paid, in part, in shares of stock.
1940: “Led
by Inky Lautmean who scored 10 points, the Philadelphia Sphas defeated the New
York Jews in American Basketball League game at the St. Nicholas Palace
tonight.
1940:
Birthdate of Gabriel Oliver Koppell the Bronx native and the son of refugees
from Nazi Germany who served on the New York City Council and as New York State
Attorney General.
1941(25th
of Kislev, 5702): First Day of Chanukah; in the evening kindle the second
candle
1941: Bill
of Rights Day Proclamation which read “Now, Therefore, I, Franklin D.
Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate
December 15, 1941, as Bill of Rights Day.
And I call upon the officials of the Government, and upon the people of
the United States, to observe the day by displaying the flag of the United
States on public buildings and by meeting together for such prayers and such
ceremonies as may seem to them appropriate” was issued today.
1941: After
Germans and “local Ukrainian nationalists” had killed 1,000 intellectuals and
professionals in August, and “10,000 more on the night of October 12,” the
Germans established a ghetto today at Stanislawow which would lead to the
extermination of a Jewish population that had lived “in the town since 1662.”
1941:
Members of a Latvian SD guard platoon, units of the 21st Latvian police
battalion, and members of the Schutzpolizei-Dienstabteilung (German security
police) under the command of the local SS and Police Leader Fritz Dietrich
began a two day killing spree during which they murdered almost 3,000 Jews at
Skede, Latvia. (As recorded at Yad Vashem)
http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/this_month/december/06.asp
1941: In
Latvia, “the largest of the Liepāja massacres” began today.
1941: On this first day of Chanukah, 15 Jews are shot to death in the
courtyard of the Warsaw Ghetto prison.
1941: Forty Polish Jews were shot by the Nazis on Chanukah in Paris.
1942: Faked, upbeat postcard messages arrive at Jewish homes in
Holland from friends and relatives interned at Auschwitz and the
Theresienstadt, Czechoslovakia, camp/ghetto.
1943:
Ninety-three-year-old Dutch born Mary Ann Magnin, the wife of Isaac Magnin with
whom she had eight children and who was the co-founder of I Magnin Department
Store passed away today.
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/magnin-mary-ann-cohen
1943: It
was reported today that “Rabbi Barnett R. Brickner, the administrative chairman
of the Committee on Army and Navy Religious Activities of the National Jewish
Welfare Board” has said that the “morale among troops he has visited is
surprisingly good’ and that although “they have their gripes, none of them are serious.”
1944: The
Keys of the Kingdom, the movie version of the novel by the same name directed
by John Stahl and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz who also co-authored the
script and with music by Alfred Newman was released today in New York.
1944: In a speech given on the floor of the United States Senate,
Guy M. Gillette of Iowa urged that all possible steps be taken to rescue the
approximately 1,500,000 Jews whom he said were still living in territory held
by the Axis. Senator Gillette also urged
that the Allies adopt a resolution making crimes against Jews in Europe
punishable as war crimes.
1945(11th
of Tevet, 5706): Parashat Vayigash
1945:
Birthdate of Fiamma Nirenstein, Italian born journalist who, although a
resident of Gilo would be elected to the Italian Parliament in 2008.
1945:
Robert Merrill (born Moishe Miller) made his Metropolitan Opera debut as
Germont” today.
1945: At approximately
1946(22nd
of Kislev, 5707): Eighty-four-year-old Maud Nathan passed away. Born in 1862,
she was an American social worker, labor activist and suffragist for women's
right to vote. “She came from a prominent New York family, descended from
Gershom Mendes Seixas, minister of New York's Congregation Sherith Israel
during the Revolutionary War. Her sister was the author and education activist
Annie Nathan Meyer and her cousins the poet Emma Lazarus and Supreme Court
Justice Benjamin Cardozo. Her nephew was the author and poet Robert Nathan.”
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/12/16/88394153.pdf
1946: Pearl and Samuel Cohen celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary in Brooklyn today.
1946:
Today, Shirley Wasserman, the daughter of Samuel Wasserman married Robert A.
Yohai.
1946:
The World Zionist Congress suspends six members of Zionist Revisionist Union of
America for unauthorized request to UN for discussion of Palestinian problem.
1946:
Six weeks after premiering in London, “A Matter of Life and Death,”
co-directed, co-produced and co-written by Emeric Pressburger was released
today in the United States.
1947(2nd
of Tevet, 5708): Eighth Day of Chanukah
1947: Nearly 25,000 children, the number brought to Palestine
through the Hadassah Youth Aliyah immigration movement since its inception
thirteen years ago, will enter Palestine in the coming year, Dr. Vera Weizmann,
wife of Dr. Chaim Weizmann, scientist and Zionist leader, said today
1948: A
flight of Spitfires took off from Czechoslovakia as part of a clandestine
operation to bring modern aircraft to Israel.
1948: Israel breaks off negotiation for local truce agreements
and demands future peace talks for all of Palestine.
1949: The UN Trusteeship Council proposes to censure Israel
for moving its government. It also asks Israel to help UN draft charter for
city.
1950:
Birthdate of Jeffrey Katzenberg, former Disney executive who help found
DreamWorks.
1951: “Faithfully
Yours,” for which Karl Bernstein served as Press Representative was performed
for the last time on Broadway at the Coronet Theatre.
1952: The Jerusalem Post reported that the
Israeli army headquarters compiled a list of all US citizens serving in the IDF
who would lose their US citizenship on
1952: The Jerusalem Post reported that Dov
Shilansky was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment for trying to bomb the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jerusalem in protest against the
acceptance of German reparations.
1952: “Two’s Company” a
revue “directed by Jules Dassin and choreographed by Jerome Robbins” opened at
the Alvin Theatre where it ran for 90 performances.
1953(9th of
Tevet, 5714): Fifty-two-year-old Everett, MA native Abraham Theodore Alpert who
earned was awarded an A.B. from Harvard in 1922 passed away today.
1954: “The Country
Girl” the movie version of Clifford Odets play produced by William Pearlberg
had its world premiere tonight at the Criterion Theatre in New York City.
1955: A torch
commemorating the victory of the Maccabees over their Syrian oppressors was
kindled at a special Hanukkah festival at Madison Square Garden.
1955: The annual to
raise $250,000 for the Federation of the Handicapped of which Milton Cohen is
executive director is scheduled to come to an end today.
1955: “The Man with the
Golden Arm” the movie version of the Nelson Algren’s award novel of the same
name directed and produced by Otto Preminger, with music by Elmer Bernstein and
co-starring Arnold Stang was released in the United States today.
1958(4th of Tevet,
5719): Wolfgang Pauli passed away. Born
in 1900, Pauli was an Austrian-born American winner of the Nobel Prize for
Physics in 1945 for his discovery in 1925 of the Pauli Exclusion Principle,
which states that in an atom no two electrons can occupy the same quantum state
simultaneously. This principle clearly relates the quantum theory to the
observed properties of atoms.
1959: NBC
broadcast “Cindy’s Fella” the eleventh episode in the Startime series for which
Music Corporation of America under the leadership of Lew Wasserman got
performers who did not usually do television to perform on the small screen.
1960: Release date for the film “Exodus.”
1960: In a testament to the popularity the products
produced by Isaac Heller and his company Remco, it was reported today that
‘while the snow fell this morning paralyzing New York City, a little boy
climbed in Santa’s lap and piped ‘I wanted Fighting Lady battleship by Remco.’”
1961: United Artists released “One, Two, Three” a comedy
written by I.A.L. Diamond and Billy Wilder and directed and produced by Wilder.
1961:
Former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death by an Israeli
court. Eichmann had been convicted of
crimes against humanity and would be the only person sentenced to by Israel to
date.
1962: Final
production of “Harold” directed by Larry Blyden.
1963:
Birthdate of actress Helen Slater. Born
Helen Schlacter she is best known for her work in Supergirl.
1964: U.S.
premiere of “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte” the successful horror film with a
script co-authored by Lukas Heller.
1964: “I
Had a Ball” a Jack Lawrence and Jerome Chodorov musical starring Buddy Hackett
“opened on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre.”
1965(21st
of Kislev, 5726): Manufacturer and philanthropist Isaac Aaronoff who was an
ardent supporter of Israel passed away today.
1965(21st
of Kislev, 5726): Sixty-one-year-old Dallas native Evelyn Asinoff, who moved to
New York where she participated in numerous volunteer projects including
serving as Secretary of the Women’s Auxiliary Board of Mt. Sinai Hospital
passed away today.
1965: “The
Flight of the Phoenix” a movie version of the novel of the same name with a
screenplay by Lukas Heller was released in the United States today by 20th
Century Fox.
1966(2nd
of Tevet, 5727): Eighth Day of Chanukah
1966(2nd
of Tevet, 5727): Sixty-two-year-old City College graduate and Yeshiva
University trained rabbi, Dr. Solomon Wind, the husband of the former Lillian Silber,
the father of Rachel and Rabbi Israel Wind who served “several congregations in
the Bronx including the Nathan Straus Jewish Center and Young Israel of
University Heights” and who taught at the Hebrew Teachers Training School and
Stern College for Women passed away today at “hospital in Raanana, Israel.”
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1966/12/17/121596600.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1967: An
anonymous donation was made today to the New York Times Neediest Cases Fund in
memory of Felix Warburg.
1968(25th
of Kislev, 5729): As the country awaits the transition from Lyndon Johnson to
the newly elected Richard Nixon, first day of Chanukah,
1969: NBC
broadcast the 15th episode of “My World and Welcome to It” a sitcom
created by Melville Shavelson.
1969:
Shlomo Hillel replaced Eliyahu as Minster of Public Security.
1969: Ze'ev Sherf succeeded Mordechai Bentov and Minster of
Housing and Construction.
1969: Yosef
Goldschmidt became an MK as a replacement for Yosef Burg.
1970:
Joseph B. Levin represented the petitioner National Assn. of Securities
Dealers, Inc before the Supreme Court today.
1970:
“There’s a Girl in My Soup” co-starring Goldie Hawn and Peter Sellers, a
descendant of Daniel Mendoza was released in the United States today.
1970: Sylva Zalmanson and Eduard Kuznetzov were among those who
went on trial today in the Soviet Union because they wanted to hijack a plane
so they could fly to Israel and live “freely as Jews.”
1971(27th
of Kislev, 5732): Paul
Pierre Lévy passed away. Born in 1886, he was a French mining engineer and
mathematician. He contributed to probability, functional analysis, partial
differential equations and series. He also studied geometry. In 1926 he
extended Laplace transforms to broader function classes. He undertook a
large-scale work on generalized differential equations in functional
derivatives.
1972(10th of
Tevet, 5733): Asara B’Tevet
1972: One day after he
had passed, funeral services are scheduled to be held at Temple Sinai in
Summit, NJ for seventy-two-year-old cellist Maurice Eisenberg who had suffered
a mortal heart attack at the Juilliard School.
https://academic.oup.com/ml/article-abstract/XXXIX/2/185/1072033?redirectedFrom=PDF
http://www.cello.org/heaven/bios/eisenap.htm
1973: Under the
leadership of newly elected president Dr. Alfred M. Freedman, the board of
trustees the American Psychiatric Association voted 13 to 0, with two
abstentions, in favor of the resolution, which stated that “by itself,
homosexuality does not meet the criteria for being a psychiatric disorder.”
This was a landmark step on the path to declaring that homosexuality was not a
mental illness.
1974(1st of Tevet,
5735): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1974(1st
of Tevet, 5735): Seventy-two-year-old Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian-born, American
filmmaker passed away. “Anastasias” – a film based on the myth that one of the
Czar’s daughter survived starring Yul Brynner, Ingrid Bergman and Helen Hayes –
was one of his more lasting cinematic efforts.
1974(1st of Tevet,
5735): Cartoonist Harry
Hershfield, the native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa who was called “the Jewish Will
Rogers” passed away at the age of 89.
http://www.lambiek.net/artists/h/herschfield_h.htm
1974: U.S.
premiere of “Young Frankenstein” directed by Mel Brooks, written by Gene Wilder
and Mel Brooks, and starring Gene Wilder, Mary Feldman and Madeline Kahn.
1974(1st of Tevet,
5735): Erich Walter Sternberg German-born Israeli
composer passed away in Tel Aviv at the age of 83. The Berlin native was one of the early
contributors to what would become the Israeli musical world having begun his
work in the pre-state days of the 1930’s and 1940’s.
1975: Dr.
Immanuel Jakobovitz, the Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth, began a nine-day
visit to the Soviet Union.
1975: Today Fred
“Freiberger was confirmed as both script editor and producer for the second
series of the British science-fiction TV series Space: 1999, recruited in part
to make the series more appealing to the American market.”
1977: Today, the
Detroit Pistons fired Herb Brown, the brother of legendary coach Larry Crown,
“after a 9-15 start to the 1977-1978 NBA season
1978: After having premiered five days ago in Washington, DC, “Superman”
the movie that brought to the big screen the comic hero created by writer Jerry
Siegel and artist Joe Shuster and directed by Richard Donner (born Richard
Donald Schwartzberg) was released throughout the United States today.
1979(25th
of Kislev, 5740): Parashat Vayeshev
First day of Chanukah
1979: Two
Palestinians connected to the Munich Olympics Massacre, Ali Salem Ahmed and
Ibrahim Abdul Aziz, were killed in Cyprus
1979:
Birthdate of actor Adam Bordy whose film credits include “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”
and “American Pie 2.”
1980: In Moscow, premier of the documentary “Zionism Street.”
1980: Through a Warranty Deed, James A. and Betty J. McClellen conveyed
the Temple Israel property in Leadville, CO to Harvey/Martin Construction.
1983: In Tiberias, Israel, Brigadier General Richard Heaslip who was
serving with UNIFL and his wife gave birth to Irish rugby player Jamie Heaslip.
1983(9th of Tevet, 5744): Sixty-one-year-old “Nat Shapiro, a
writer, record producer and artist manager who was active in numerous aspects
of the music and recording fields, died” of an apparent heart attack today. (As
reported by John S. Wilson)
1983: “Gorky Park” film version of the book by the same name co-produced
by Hawk Koch and Uri Harkham was released in the United States today.
1983: Wendy Wasserstein's "Isn't It Romantic" premiered in New
York.
1983:
Refusnik Vladimir Albert went on trial today.
1983: After
being released more than eight weeks ago in the United States “Never Say
Never,” one of the films in the James Bond series, directed by Irvin Kershner
and produced by Jack Schwartzman was released in the United Kingdom today.
1984(21st
of Kislev, 5745): Sixty-five-year-old Bernard Lebovitz, the Toledo, OH, born
son of “Adolph and Charlotte ‘Sadie’ Lebovitz” passed away today in Los
Angeles.
1984(21st
of Kislev, 5745): Eighty-year-old cantor turned operatic tenor Jan Peerce
passed away today. (As reported by Harold C. Schonberg)
1987(24th
of Kislev, 5748): In the evening, kindle the first light of Chanukah.
1987: It
was reported today that “Manhattan's most troubled families often wind up in
Family Court before Judge Judith B. Sheindlin” who would gain fame as
television’s Judge Judy
1989:
“We’re No Angels” a comedy with a script written by David Mamet was released in
the United States today.
1989(15th
of Kislev, 5750): Seventy-nine-year-old scriptwriter and victim of the
“blacklist” Ben Barzman passed away today.
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/21/obituaries/ben-barzman-dead-scriptwriter-was-79.html
http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/culture/tender_comrades.htm
1990(28th
of Kislev, 5751): Parashat Miketz; Fourth Day of Chanukah
1990: In
“Candles In Saudi Arabia” Ari L. Goodman described the observance of Chanukah
in the desert oil kingdom.
Tonight is
the fifth night of Hanukkah and, in a few select spots in Saudi Arabia,
American soldiers who are Jewish will be discreetly lighting candles on their
menorahs to celebrate the holiday, as they have since Hanukkah began Tuesday
night. In accordance with military policy, celebrations of Hanukah as well as
Christmas will be muted in deference to the Muslim nation's beliefs. There are
from 500 to 800 Jewish soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen in the American
force in Saudi Arabia, according to Rabbi David Lapp, director of the JWB
Jewish Chaplains Council. He said there are currently two Jewish chaplains on
the land and two at sea in the Persian Gulf area. Hundreds of menorahs, candles
and Hanukkah gifts were sent by Jewish organizations, schools and individuals
in advance of the holiday, although, again out of deference to the Saudis, some
were careful not to ship products made in Israel. The Saudis have allowed the
shipments. Margery Wise, the owner of the Jewish Quarter, a Judaica shop in
White Plains, N.Y., that shipped 300 menorahs to members of the armed forces,
said she got the idea after watching a news program about Christmas gift
packages being prepared for shipment. "People don't think there are many
Jews in the military, but there are a lot more than we think," she said.
"And because the whole celebration is low key, we wanted to be sure they
wouldn't get lost in the shuffle."
1990: Three
Israelis were stabbed and killed in an aluminum factory in Jaffa today, the
police said, and widespread anti-Arab rioting followed. The police set up
roadblocks and closed off an area surrounding the factory in this city adjacent
to Tel Aviv, saying they were looking for two Palestinian assailants from the
occupied Gaza strip whom they refused to identify.
1991: In
“The Man in The Glass Closet,” published today, Andrew Sarris reviewed a
biography of the Hungarian born Jewish director George Cukor – George Cukor:
A Double Life by Patrick McGilligan.
1992(20th
of Kislev, 5753): Hamas terrorists kidnapped Nissim Toledano, an Israeli Army
Sergeant.
1992(20th
of Kislev, 5753):
Ninety-six-year-old “Simon M. Jaglom, a New York
businessman and financier, died today at New York University Medical Center. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/19/obituaries/simon-m-jaglom-financier-96.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm
1993: Rena
Sofer appeared for the first time on “General Hospital” in the role of Lois
Cerullo, a part she would play for almost three years.
1993: After
having premiered in Washington, DC in November, “Schindler’s List” was released
in the United States.
1994: As
part of free phone lines set up for the holidays by the Teleport Communications
Group, 91 year old Ann Kaufmann was able to call friends in Israel today. Through her call, Olga Reichman learned that she had become
a great aunt, her niece in Tel Aviv having given birth three weeks ago to a
daughter, Noa.
1994: In
Ireland, Mervyn Taylor began serving Minister for Equality and Law Reform.
1995:
“Heat” a crime film directed, produced and written by Michael Mann was released
in the United States by Warner Bros.
1996(5th
of Tevet, 5757): Eighty-eight-year-old mystery writer Harry Kemelman creator
“Rabbi David Small” passed away today. (As reported by Eric Pace)
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/18/books/harry-kemelman-88-mystery-novelist-dies.html
1996(5th of
Tevet, 5757): Ninety-five-year-old “Joseph Ades, a self-made businessman and
investor who was a leading supporter of Sephardic Jewish life and philanthropy
in Israel and the New York City area, passed away today at his home in Kings
Point, L.I. (As reported by Wolfgang Saxon)
1997: Janet
Rosenberg Jagan, the widow of Cheddi Jagan and the daughter of middle class
Jewish parents from Chicago was elected President of Guyana
https://jwa.org/thisweek/dec/15/1997/janet-jagan
1998(26th
of Kislev, 5759): Second Day of Chanukah
1998: “The
Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better” “singer-songwriter Carly
Simon's 23rd album” was released today.
1999: In a
press release issued today, Eden Springs said that the agreement to sell up to
25 percent of the company to Aqua International Partners, a $300 million
investment fund in San Francisco, happened to be made public on the day peace
talks between Syria and Israel began in Washington was “a mere coincidence.”
Eden Springs Israel's biggest water-bottling plant last and is located on the
Golan Heights.
2000(18th
of Kislev, 5761): W. (Bill) Birnbaum, Professor Emeritus of mathematics and
statistics at the University of Washington passed away at his home at the age of 97.
2000:
“What Women Want” a romantic comedy directed and co-produced by Nancy Meyers
and featuring Bette Midler, Mark Feuerstein, Lisa Edelstein, Logan Lerman and
Eric Balfour was released in the United States today.
2000:
“Quills” a biopic based on the life of the Marquis de Sade directed and
co-produced by Philip Kaufman
2001:
“In a new form of Israeli counterterrorism, stealthy troops swept through
Salfit before dawn today in a lightning raid, overwhelmed astonished
Palestinian security forces, killing six, and then went door to door arresting
several suspected militants.”
2002: The New York Times book section featured
books by Jewish authors and/or about subjects of Jewish interest including Girl
Meets God: On the Path to a Spiritual
Life by Lauren F. Winner and Jew In America: My Life and a People's Struggle for Identity by Arthur
Hertzberg.
2003:
Hamodia revolutionized the American community with its introduction of a daily
edition.
2003: New
York-based Bank Leumi USA, a
subsidiary of Israel's Bank Leumi
le-Israel, announced it opened an office in Los Angeles as part of its
expansion..
2004(3rd
of Tevet, 5765): 8th and final day of Chanukah
2004: “Calling
the death of the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat "an opportunity we should
not miss," the Israeli foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, called today for
both the Palestinians and the Syrians to show they are ready for peace with
Israel.”
2005: Today
Jeff “Zucker was promoted by NBC to Chief Executive Officer of NBC Universal
Television Group.”
2006(24th of Kislev, 5767): In the evening, Jews all of the
world light the first candle marking the start of Chanukah.
2006: The owners of Bens De Luxe Delicatessen and Restaurant
agreed to sell to SIDEV Realty Corporation and officially announced the
closure, bringing the restaurant's long history to an end. Ben and Fanny
Kravitz had opened what would become a Montreal landmark famous for its smoked
meat sandwich in 1908.
2007: In
Jerusalem, a screening of a documentary entitled “Sendler’s List” that tells
the story Irina Sendler a compassionate Polish nurse who endangered her life to
save 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII and the three American
high school students who heard about Ms. Sandler’s heroic acts decide to travel
to Poland in order to meet her.
2007: In Brooklyn, NY, at Congregation
B'nai Avraham, a screening of “Yippee: A Journey to Jewish Joy.”
2007:
In his Shabbat morning sermon at the San Diego Biennial Convention of
the Reform Movement, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie calls for a return to more
traditional observances in general while calling for a renewed commitment to
attending Shabbat Moring Services.
2008 (18 Kislev): On the Hebrew
Calendar, Yahrzeit of Rabbi Abraham Maimuni HaNagid who passed away on the 18th
of Kislev of the Hebrew year, 4998, which corresponds to the secular year 1237.
2008: Time magazine reports that Linda Lingle, the first Jewish governor
of Hawaii has endorsed plans for California based battery maker Better Place to
build more than 70,000 recharging stations for electric vehicles by 2012.
2008:
President Bush recalled Harry Truman's legacy at a reception marking Hanukkah.
2008:
The Washington Post featured a review of Bones by Jonathan
Kellerman (the latest in the Alex Delaware series)
2008:
The IPO and counter tenor David De’or perform a special concert dedicated to
the 70th anniversary celebration of Reuth a non-profit organization
located in Tel Aviv that coordinates the activities of various medical centers
2009:
The 1935 production of prominent Yiddish playwright Jacob Gordin’s 1892 play
“The Yiddish King Lear” will be screened in Manhattan at CUNY’s Martin E. Segal
Theatre Center today.
2009:
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
would receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award in March 2010.
2009: Opening of
“Letters of Conscience: Raphael Lemkin and the Quest to End Genocide” an
exhibition organized jointly with the American Jewish Historical Society and
the Center for Jewish History that “focuses on the activities and legacy of
Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-American Jewish lawyer who coined the term genocide,
working relentlessly and inventively to protect the rights and survival of
specific groups targeted for destruction.”
2009: A King County
jury this morning found Naveed Haq guilty of eight counts, including aggravated
first-degree murder, in the 2006 shootings at the Jewish Federation of Greater
Seattle.
2009: The Google logo
was draped in a green flag today to mark the 150th anniversary of
the birth of L.L. Zamenoff.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/books-and-arts/ll-zamenhof-and-the-shadow-people
2009(28th of Kislev,
5770): Ninety-five-year-old “Dr. Herbert Spiegel, a New York psychiatrist who
treated pain, anxiety and addictions by putting people into a trance,” passed
away today. (As reported by Benedict
Carey)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/health/10spiegel.html
2010:
A memorial garden in honor of William Cooper of the Yorta tribe is scheduled to
be unveiled at the national Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem today. Cooper was an Aboriginal elder who protested
the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis.
Cooper was 77 years old when he led a small march to deliver a petition
to the German consul general in Melbourne just weeks after Kristallnacht.
Although Cooper and his Australian Aborigines League were denied entry to the
consulate their protest did not go unnoticed, even though they were half a
world away from Europe. He died in 1941 at the age of 80. He will become the
first indigenous Australian to be honored by Yad Vashem.
2010: Israeli classical
pianist, Ran Dank is scheduled to perform at the Morgan Museum and Library in
New York City.
2010: The Women’s
League Convention is scheduled to come to an end.
2010: Center for Jewish
History, Yeshiva University Museum and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research are
scheduled to present: “Living Record: Prewar Poland Preserved on Film”
2010:
It was reported today that Time magazine had named Facebook founder and
CEO Mark Zuckerberg Person
of the Year for 2010.
2010: According to reports published today, "The
stormy weather that hit Israel this week had an unexpected consequence when an
ancient Roman statue was unearthed on an Ashkelon beach
2011(19th
of Kislev, 5772): “Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism.” The 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev is
celebrated as the "the New Year of Chassidus (Hasidism)."
2011(19th
of Kislev, 5772): Yahrtzeit of Rebbe Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch, the
successor to the Baal Shem Tov
2011:
The third weekend of Hamshoushalayim is scheduled to begin today.
2011:
Second day of the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial is scheduled to take place
in suburban Maryland
2011:
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice denounced the treatment Israel
receives in the United Nations today, adding that American support of Israel's
security was an "essential
2011:
The Israel Defense Forces is forming a command to supervise "depth"
operations, actions undertaken by the military far from Israel's borders, the
army announced today.
2011: Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu vowed that Jewish extremists would not be allowed to spark a
religious war, after a West Bank Mosque was vandalized at dawn today. “We won’t
let them [Jewish extremists] attack our soldiers, start a religious war, set
fire to mosques [and] attack Jews or non-Jews,” the prime minister told a Likud
central committee meeting in Tel Aviv tonight.
2012: “Not in Tel Aviv” is scheduled to be shown at the
Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.
2012: The Daniel Zamir Band led by Daniel Zamir “Israeli
Jazz superstar and virtuoso saxophonist” is scheduled to perform in New York
City.
2012: In New York, the New Shul is scheduled to sponsor
“Let There Be Light!” a flashmob Chanukah celebration that will gather at “8
Points of Light” to bring the menorah glow to the Village.
2013:
The New York Times features reviews
of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers
including The Leonard Bernstein Letters edited by Nigel Simeone, My
Mistake: A Memoir by Daniel Menaker and America’s Great Game: The CIA’s
Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East by Hugh Wilford.
2013:
YIVO is scheduled to sponsor “Music Treasures of the American Yiddish Theatre”
part of the Sidney Young Artist Concert Series featuring the works of big four
of Second Avenue:” Abraham Ellstein, Alexander Olshanetsky, Sholom Secunda and
Joseph Rumshinsky
2013: The
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is scheduled to show the Emmy
Award winning film “Skokie: Invaded, But Not Conquered.”
2013:
Rabbi Alexis Berk is scheduled to officiate at the graveside services at Hebrew
Rest Ceremony for Attorney Milton Cohen, a lifelong resident of New Orleans and
Tulane alum. (As reported by Crescent City Jewish News)
2013:
The Union for Reform Judaism Biennial is scheduled to come to an end today in
San Diego, CA.
2013:
Police finally fully reopened the main roads to and from Jerusalem this
afternoon, after more than two-and-a-half days of closures because of heavy
snow in one of Israel’s worst-ever storms.
2013(12th
of Tevet, 5774): “A Lebanese army sniper killed an Israeli soldier at the
border fence near Rosh Hanikra tonight.” (As reported by Yaakov Lappin)
2013:
A new production of “Stars of David” which transforms interviews with Jewish
figures like Gloria Steinem, Aaron Sorkin and Joan Rivers into songs” is
scheduled to come to an end after opening on November 13.
2014:
The Berman Jewish DataBank is scheduled to co-sponsor the first of two sessions
on Jews and urbanism at the annual conference of the Association for Jewish
Studies in collaboration with the Association for the Social Scientific Study
of Jewry.
2014:
Funeral services Rabbi Yitzchok Meyer Abramson are scheduled to take place this
at the Berger Memorial Chapel followed by burial at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery
in Chesterfield, MO.
2014(22nd
of Kislev. 5775): Eighty-four-year-old political pitchman and consultant David
Garth passed away today.
http://nypost.com/2014/12/15/political-guru-david-garth-dies/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/15/david-garth-dead-dies_n_6329498.html
2014:
“Itamar Zorman, winner of the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition and the 2010
Freiburg Violin Competition,” is scheduled to perform this evening at the Good
Shepherd Church in New York.
2014:
Shin Bet reported foiling a suicide bomber’s plot in Tel Aviv based on
disguising the suicide bomber as a pregnant woman in need of medical help.
2014:
“The Israel Antiquities Authority announced today that archaeologist have
uncovered a farmhouse that is 2,800 years old consisting of 23 rooms “in the
area of modern day Rosh Ha’ayin. (As reported by Lazar Berman)
2015(3rd of Tevet, 5775): On the
Jewish calendar, Yahrzeit of HaRav Avraham Brandwein of Stretyn who had
succeeded his father as the rabbi of Stretyn, after his father’s death in 1854,
2015: A 39-year-old Palestinian construction
worker stabbed a foreman and another worker at a construction site in the
Israeli city of Modi'in today, marking the first attack of its kind in the city
since the start of the Palestinian wave of terror.
2015(3rd
of Tevet, 5775): On the Jewish calendar Yahrzeit of Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz ,
dean of the Mir Yeshiva for more than 40 years.
2015:
“More than 300 Jewish activists in Boston marched for the Black Lives Matter
movement, including members of Jewish Voice for Peace.”
2015:
The Association for Jewish Studies’ 47th Annual Conference is
scheduled to come an end today in Boston, MA.
2016:
On tonight’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, “Gad Elmaleh
appeared as the show's stand-up act
2016: In New Orleans, the Jewish Children’s
Regional Service is scheduled to hold its “Latkes with a Twist” a
“community-wide celebration” that will include a silent auction designed to
raise funds for an organization that really does the good that it promises.
2016:
Today, President-elect Donald Trump is nominated “a top Jewish surrogate, David
Friedman, to be ambassador to Israel, with a statement saying Friedman will
serve from Jerusalem and describing the city as “Israel’s eternal capital.”
2016:
The Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute at the Center for Jewish
History is scheduled to host a “presentation that will walk attendees through
the history and legal basics of FOI laws, and will teach researchers how to
file their own state FOI requests for any genealogical or archival records they
may want to see returned to the public domain.”
2017(27th
of Kislev, 5778): Third Day of Chanukah; in the evening, kindle the fourth
light and erev Shabbat
2017:
Seventy-five-year-old Canadian businessman and philanthropist Bernard Charles
“Barry” Sherman and his wife were “murdered today” by person or persons unknown.
2017:
In Omaha, Yachad is scheduled to “at Temple Israel for their services and
party.”
2017:
“Omaha Yachad & KC Kollel's Ahoovim are scheduled to present: A Winter
Shabbaton hosted by Chabad of Omaha
2017:
The Maccabeats are scheduled to perform this evening at Congregation Ahavas
Achim in Highland Park, NJ.
2017:
In Atlanta, The Breman Museum, the Center for Puppetry Arts and High Museum of
Art are a scheduled to present a program featuring a talk with puppet builders
about they create art used for performance.”
2017:
“The Worlds of Arthur Szyk” is scheduled to close today at the University of
California, Berkley.
http://magnes.berkeley.edu/exhibitions/worlds-arthur-szyk
2018(7th
of Tevet, 5779): Parashat Vayigash;
2018:
Israeli “visual artist Keren
Anavy” “in collaboration with Valerie Green/Dance Entropy” is scheduled to
explore “the idea of Utopia through dance and visual art” this evening as part
of the Dancespace Project.
2018: In Chevy Chase, MD, Ohr Kodesh
is scheduled to host the “Sixth Annual Lewis Rushefsky Yiddish Film Series,”
featuring films of the Yiddish theatre this evening
2018: As of today, exactly one year to
the day on which the bodies of “billionaire couple and philanthropic
powerhouses” Barry and Honey Sherman were found, the police have no viable
suspect or motive for the crime but their four children – Jonathon, Lauren,
Alexandra and Kaelen – have continued their parent’s good works and charity
through the “Honey and Barry Foundation of Giving” they created to honor their
memory.
2018: Kaddish is recited today for
Sgt. Yoseph Cohen and Staff Sgt. Yovel Moyosef who were buried yesterday after
having been murdered by Palestinian terrorists two days ago, December 13.
2019: The New York Times features reviews of books by Jewish authors
and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including The Man Who Solved
The Market by Gregory Zuckerman, Battling Bella: The Protest Politics of
Bella Abzug by Leandra Ruth
Zarnow and Return to the Reich: A Holocaust Refugee’s Secret Mission to
Defeat the Nazis by Eric Lichtblau.
2019: In Chicago, The URJ Biennial is
scheduled to come to a close today.
2019: In Atlanta, the Breman is
scheduled to host a walking tour of “The Temple,” the city’s oldest Jewish
house of worship.
2019: The Illinois Holocaust Museum is
schedule to host “Lodz Ghetto Through the Eyes of a Survivor” which is an
exhibition of the work of photographer Henryk Ross.
2019: The Straus Historical Society’s
Silent Auction is scheduled to come to an end today.
2019: The American Sephardi Federation
with the Jewish Community of Urmia, Iran and participants from Iraq, Iran,
Azerbaijan, and Turkey are scheduled to present: International Nash-Didan
(Judeo-Aramaic) Day.
2019: It was reported today that “the
price tag for the next election is NIS 3.8 billion and the cumulative cost for
all three national ballots is an estimated NIS 10 billion - enough to raise
old-age stipends for one million pensioners in need.” (YNET)
2020(29th of Kislev, 5781):
Fifth Day of Chanukah
2020: In Little Rock, AR, Governor
Hustchinson is scheduled to take part in the Chabad Public Menorah Ligthing.
2020:
On Bill of Rights Day, Temple Emanu-El is scheduled to host via Zoom “’legal
analyst and law professor Jared Klebanow, a now-generation lawyer with
experience in the classroom and courtroom, “ as he discusses “The American
Constitution in the Post-Election Era.”
2020:
“Celebrating 100 years since the founding of the Free Jewish Lehrhaus in
Germany, HaMaqom | The Place (formerly Lehrhaus Judaica) in Berkeley is
scheduled to present a talk by historian Fred Rosenbaum and Rabbi Darren
Kleinberg about the school’s roots and legacy.
2020:
Temple Emanuel of Newton is scheduled to present online “Hanukah in Space”
during which there will be a screening of “Space Torah” followed by a question-and-answer
session with executive producer Rachel Raz.
2020:
As part of its “8 Digital Nights of Hanukah, the Jewish Museum in London is
scheduled to host a presentation by Rabbi Major Reuben Livingstone, Senior
Jewish Chaplain.
2020:
The Illinois Holocaust Museum is scheduled to present “essayist, novelist, law
professor, and child of Holocaust Survivors, Thane Rosenbaum, the author of the
recently published, Saving Free Speech ... from Itself, as he takes on
the cultural lighting rod of free speech and confronts the confusions and
contradictions around free speech, examining what is at the heart of this
pressing 21st century debate.
2021:
The Museum on Eldridge Street is scheduled to host a Cinema Chat during which
movie critic Michael Sragow takes part in a discussion of 2017’s award winning
Hungarian drama ‘1945’ that follows two Orthodox men whose presence stirs drama
in a small Hungarian town.”
2021:
The Braid in partnership with the Capital Jewish Museum is scheduled to host an
“Evening of Storytelling” with performance by Nadege August, Vicki Juditz, A.J.
Meijer, Joshua Silverstein and Kate Zentall that “will highlight the
intersection of Jewish values and activism.”
2021:
As part of the Global Connections series, The American Friends of Rabin Medical
Center is scheduled to present online “Combating Antisemitism’s Resurgence”
during which Robert Siegel (former senior host of NPR’s “All Things Considered”
for 31 years) interviews Kenneth Stern (director of the Bard Center for the
Study of Hate and author of “The Conflict over The Conflict: The
Israel/Palestine Campus Debate”); Dr. Sharon Nazarian (senior vice president of
international affairs at the Anti-Defamation League); professor Ira Forman
(adjunct professor on antisemitism at Georgetown’s Center for Jewish
Civilization); and James Carroll (National Book Award-winning author of
“Constantine’s Sword: The Church & the Jews”).”
2021:
“For the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Israel is
scheduled expand its Green Pass mandate to include shopping malls, restricting
access to citizens who are not fully protected against the disease as fears of
the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant mount.” (As reported by Nina Fox,and
Itamar Eichner
2021”
The Osher Marin JCC is scheduled to present online “A Tribute to George
Gershwin” featuring singer Gilda Solve performing “An American in Paris, “Lady
Be Good” and “Shall We Dance?”
2021:
Boston Jewish Film is scheduled to present online a screening of “The Chef,”
“the binge worthy award winning Israeli television series.
2022:
In Columbus, OH, Congregation Tifereth Israel is scheduled to host via zoom a
discussion of the classic commentary of Rashi with Rabbi Berman.
2022:
The Iowa City Public Library is scheduled to host “Hanukkah Story Time with
Rabbi Esther.”
2022:
The JWA Book Talks series is scheduled to host a conversation with Elana
Sztokman, author of In When Rabbis Abuse, which offers a groundbreaking
analysis of the dynamics of sexual abuse in Jewish culture and what the
community can do about it.
2022: The CJN Hanukkah 2022 magazine launch party is scheduled
to take place in Toronto.
2022: The Alliance for Jewish Theatre is scheduled to host its
“Playwrights and Makers Group!”
2022:
The American Jewish Historical Society is scheduled to present an on-line
conversation between Julie Salamon (Wall Street Journal & NY Times) and her
nephew, Chef and Owner of NYC restaurant Agi’s Counter, Jeremy Salamon.
2022:
Based on previously published information the Knesset is considering “legislation
being advanced by the incoming government to broaden the powers of the police
minister at the expense of the police commissioner” which Police Commissioner
Kobi Shabtai has “indicated was unnecessary and would damage public trust in
the force.” (As reported by Jeremy Sharon)
Desert
cave, announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority earlier this year, has been
named the most exciting archaeological find of 2023 by National Geographic.”
2023(3rd
of Tevet, 5784): Eighth Day of Chanukah
2023:
Rabbi Kushner is scheduled to lead Shabbat Services at Sons of Jacob in
Waterloo, IA
2023:
The URJ 150th anniversary gathering is scheduled to being in
Washington, DC.
2023:
As December 15 begins in Israel, Hamas has expanded its activities as can be
seen yesterday’s arrest by Danish police of four of its “suspected operatives
who planning to carry out attacks on Jewish or Israeli targets” at the same
time that President Biden is urging Israel to be “more careful of civilians” while
going after Hamas while the Hamas held hostages
begin day 70 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)
