This Day, December 23, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
December 23
800: Today, Leo III, the Pope
whose aggressive plan to crown Charlemagne gave the Jews of the Rhineland a
comparatively benign ruler “took an oath of purgation concerning the charges of
adultery and perjury brought against h…
December 23
800: Today, Leo III, the Pope
whose aggressive plan to crown Charlemagne gave the Jews of the Rhineland a
comparatively benign ruler “took an oath of purgation concerning the charges of
adultery and perjury brought against him, and his opponents were exiled.”
962: Byzantine troops
led by Nicephorus Phocas defeated Moslem forces and seized Aleppo. This temporary turn of events could not have
been good for the Jews who had been living there since Biblical times because
it was the Moslem conquest of the city in 636 that removed the disabilities
placed on the Jews by the Byzantines
1312: Jacques Duèze,
who as Pope John XXII would give into the wishes of his sister and ban the Jews
from Rome, was named as a Cardinal today by Pope Clement V.
1420: The Pope banned conversion of Jewish
children done without consent of their parents
1605: The
Council of Worms issued further “ordinances regulating Jewish Affairs.
1767(2nd
of Tevet, 5528): Eighth and final day of Chanukah
1736: In Peru,
the last inquisition took place. Dona Ana de Castro, a former lover of the
viceroy (among others) was accused of Judaizing and burned at the stake. It is
probably that her execution had more to do with official embarrassment than
with any religious devotion on her part.
1764(29th
of Kislev, 5525): Fifth Day of Chanukah
1764: Birthdate
of Josiah Tattnall, Sr. the Governor of Georgia who succeeded David Emanuel,
reportedly the first person of “Jewish heritage” to hold such an office in the
United States.
1767(2nd
of Tevet, 5528): Eighth Day of Chanukah
1769(24th
of Kislev, 5530): Parsahat Vayeshev; In the evening, kindle the first Chanukah
light.
1771: In
Montreal, Mr. and Mrs. Lucius Levy Solomons gave birth to Levy Solomons, the
husband of Catherine Manuel and the father of Lucius, Adolphus, Samuel and
Abraham Solomons, each of whom was a native of Albany, NY.
1772(27th
of Kislev, 5533): Third Day of Chanukah
1772: Birthdate
of “Polish Hebraist” Shalom ben Jacob Cohen
1775(30th
of Kislev, 5536): Parsahat Miketz; Rosh Chodesh Tevet; Sixth Day of Chanukah
1775: As the
Jews prepared to kindle the Seventh light of Chanukah, during the American
Revolution, “King George III issued a royal proclamation closing the American
colonies to all commerce and trade…”
1777: Birthdate
of the anti-Semitic Tsar Alexander I who promulgated a decree drafting Jewish
12-year-olds into the Russian Army
1778:
“Catherine” Bush, the Philadelphia born daughter of Tabitha Mears and Mathias
Bush married Myer S. Solomon the London born son of Bilah Myers-Cohen and
Joseph Solomon with whom she had seven children.
1780(25th
of Kislev, 5541): Parashat Vayeshev; First Day of Chanukah
1780: As Jews
prepare to kindle the second light of Chanukah, John Laurens, a friend Frances
Salvador, the South Carolina Sephardic Jew and fellow supporter of the American
Revolution, wrote to George Washington that Congress has decided to send him
and not Alexander Hamilton who had his own murky Jewish routes, on diplomatic
mission to France.
1783(28th
of Kislev, 5544): Fourth day of Chanukah
1784(10th
of Tevet, 5545): Asara B’Tevet
1788(24th
of Kislev, 5549): Kindle the first Chanukah Candle
1789: According
to today’s edition of the Daily Gazette Reverend Gershom Siexas, was the was
one of the first American ministers to preach a Thanksgiving Day Sermon.
https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13396-seixas
1791(27th
of Kislev, 5552): Third Day of Chanukah
1791: Catherine II created the Pale of Settlement.
Jews were squeezed out of the major cities and ports into the area known as
White Russia. Even within the Pale, Jews were excluded from certain cities and
Crown Lands. The driving force behind the creation of the pale was the
merchants in Moscow who demanded protection against Jewish
competition. The Russian government followed the path of bigotry to the
detriment of the nation. Creating the Pale meant that the Jews would not
be available to help create a vigorous middle class which was so critical to
the success of other modern nation-states including the U.S., Britain and
Germany. The Pale of Settlement was Russia's response to having acquired a
large Jewish population as a result of the partition of Poland. This
upset what had been the Russian policy of trying to create a Russia without
Jews. The Pale was on Russia's western frontier. In event of an
invasion by Prussia, Russia would have this buffer zone that would absorb the
first shock and devastation while the Russian Army was being fully
mobilized. In one sense, the Jews of the Pale were the human shields of
the Russian Empire. What is the “Pale” in the Pale of Settlement? “Pale”
is the term for the fence boards.
1791: Birthdate of Anton von Rosas, the Austrian
ophthalmologist, who was one of the many who “were dismayed that the Jews were
‘taking over’ and ‘jewifying’ their culture” and who helped create an
“anti-Semitic literature” that “had no equal…either for quantity or virulence.”
1792: In Bavaria, Asser Lion and Gitlé Loëw gave
birth to Charlotte Aron, the wife of Alexandre Aron.
1799(25th of Kislev, 5560):
Chanukah is observed for the last time in the 18th century.
1799: As Jews prepare to kindle the second
Chanukah light, today, President Adams wrote to the members of Congress
expressing his grief and sense of loss over the death of George Washington
which had occurred on December 14th.
1812: Jephtas Gelübde ('The vow of Jephtha') the
first opera composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer, the German Jewish composer, had its
first performance at the Hoftheater in Munich
1814(10th of Tevet, 5575): Asara B’Tevet
1814: Esther Benjamin Soloms and Stephen Hart gave
birth to Emma Hart in England
1818(25th of Kislev, 5579): Chanukah
1820:
Birthdate of Solomon Marcus
Schiller-Szinessy “a Hungarian rabbi and academic who became the first Jewish
Reader in Talmudic and Rabbinic Literature at the University of Cambridge.
1822(9th of Tevet, 5583): Rabbi
Isaac Adler passed today depriving thirteen-year-old Samuel Adler of both is
father and teacher.
1823: Jacob Pinhas was instrumental in drawing up
the law today, on the organization of the Jews, and in establishing the normal
school of Cassel
1824(2nd of Tevet, 5585): Eighth Day of
Chanukah
1825(13th of Tevet, 5586): Simon Seixas,
the son of Isaac Mendez Seixas and Rachel Levy who was born in 1748 passed away
today.
1826(23rd of Kislev, 5587): Parashat
Vayeshev
1826(23rd of Kislev, 5587):
Forty-year-old Arbella Phillips, the Baltimore born daughter of Myer and Hyah
(Catherine) Solomon and the wife of Zalegman Phillips with whom she had twelve
children passed away today in Philadelphia.
1827: In Horsens, Denmark, Jette Hertz and Isak
Salomon Dessau gave birth to Mariane Dessau, the wife of fellow Dane, Moses
Abraham Cohn.
1831(19th of Tevet, 5592): Leonora Marks,
the daughter of Alexander and Esther Hart Marks passed away today after which
he was buried at the Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery, Columbia, SC.
1837(25th of Kislev, 5598):
Chanukah
1837: Birthdate of Isaac Seldner who served
with the 6th Virginia Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.
1844(13th of Tevet, 5605): Seventy-seven-year-old
Salomon Heine, the Hamburg merchant and banker who was known as the “Rothschild
of Hamburg” passed away today. He was
the uncle of Heinrich Heine.
1849: In Germany, Abraham Einstein and his wife, the
former Helene Moos gave birth to August Ignaz Einstein.
1850: In
Bavaria, Lazarus Straus and his wife gave birth to Oscar Straus, the holder of
degrees from Columbia, Brown, University of Pennsylvania and Washington and Lee
University and the husband of Sarah Lavenberg, who was one the Straus brothers,
the noted merchants, public servants, philanthropists and leaders of the Jewish
community from the second half of the 19th century through the
Roaring Twenties. Straus was ambassador
to Turkey and the first American Jew to hold a cabinet post. He was appointed Secretary of Commerce and
Labor by Teddy Roosevelt. He was active
in the reform wing of the Republican Party and became an advisor to President
Woodrow Wilson. Straus was the found of
the Young Men’s Hebrew Association and the American Jewish Committee. Among the books he authored was his
autobiography Under Four Administrations.
He passed away in 1926.
1851: The Young Men’s Hebrew Benevolent Association
is hosting a benefit at the Broadway Theatre tonight. The entertainment includes a violin solo by
Frederick Griebel and a performance of comedy, “All That Glitters Is Not Gold.”
1852: In Louisville, KY, Agatha Schwab and Maier
Ochs gave birth to Nannie Ochs, the wife of Simon Burger and the mother of
Cora, Maude and Victor Burger.
1852(12th of Tevet, 5613):
Eighty-six-year-old Philadelphia “Phila” Phillips Peosa, the Philadelphia born
daughter of Jonas and Rebecca Mendes Machado Phillips and wife of Isaac Peosa
who was buried in the Mikveh Israel Cemetery.
1852: In Spitafields, London, Jane Silver and Henry
Woolf gave birth to Hannah Woolf.
1854(2nd of Tevet): Eighth Day of
Chanukah
1854; Sarah Moor Paixotto and Abraham Hart Cardozo,
gave birth to Rachel Cardozo, the sister of Michael, Abraham and Algernon
Cardozo.
1854: Birthdate of Hanover, Germany native Albert
Steinfeld who came to New York City with his family at the age of eight where
he was educated and worked in “a large dry-goods firm for two years” before
moving to Denver where he went to work in a store owned by his uncle after which
he found fame and fortune in Arizona.
1856(26th of Kislev, 5617): Second
day of Chanukah celebrated for the last time during the presidency of Franklin
Pierce.
1858: In London, fourteen-year-old Buena David
Belasco and sixteen-year old Eleazer Ventura give birth to Deborah Eliezer
Ventura.
1859(27th of Kislev, 5620): Third
day of Chanukah
1860(10th of Tevet, 5621): Asara
B’Tevet
1860: Birthdate of Chicago native Harriet
Monroe, the editor of Poetry magazine
who supported numerous then unknown American poets including the Lithuanian
born Max Michelson.
1862(1st of Tevet, 5623): Rosh
Chodesh Tevet; on the same that Jews celebrated the seventh day of Chanukah,
President Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter of consolation to Mary Frances “Fanny”
McCullough whose father William McCullough, a Lt. Col in the 4th
Illinois Cavalry had been killed earlier in the month.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_to_Fanny_McCullough#/media/File:Fanny_McCullough_Letter.jpg
1864(24th of Kislev, 5625): As
night falls, the Jewish troops with
General Sherman kindle the first light of Chanukah in Savannah, GA.
1865: In New York, “Lehman Israels, the brother of
Dutch painter Josef Israels” and Florence Zilla Lazarus gave birth to Irving
Institute trained architect Charles Henry Israels the husband of Belle Linder
whose firm worked on several buildings including the Hudson Theatre, Arlington
Hotel and Warrington Hotel in New York and who as a member of the American
Institute of Architects and the Municipal Art Society wrote for the New York
Herald and other papers about “architectural topics.”
1866: Birthdate of Boris Schatz, the native of
Lithuania who “founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem.”
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/boris-schatz
1867: Emancipation of the Jews of Hungary
took place today when upper house of the legislature passed legislation
supported by the Hungarian Prime Minister.
After the Prussians defeated the Austrians, the Austrians reformed
certain aspects of their imperial system.
They created the dual monarchy so that the Austrian Empire became the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Hapsburgs
tried this and other cosmetic reforms in an attempt to maintain control over
their polyglot empire.
1868(9th of Tevet, 5629): Jacob Disraeli, the
son of Isaac D’Israeli and Mary Basevi, passed away today.
1870: It was reported today that many of the
women who had worked to make the Hebrew Fair such a success are now helping out
at the fair being held to raise funds to support the orphans of soldiers and
sailors.
1871: In Breslau, Nathan Oscar Flesiher and his wife
gave birth to Charles Fleischer, the American Reform Rabbi who in 1894
“succeeded Rabbi Solomon Shindler at Temple Israel in Boston” before founding
“an independent religious institution, known as the “Sunday Commons” of Boston.
1871(14th of Tevet, 5578):
Seventy-four-year-old Austrian banker Jonas Freiherr von Königswarter passed
away in Vienna.
1872(23rd of Kislev, 5633):
Eighty-three-year-old Esther B. Seixas, the New York born daughter of Zipporah
Levy and Benjamin Mendes Seixas, the wife of Naphtali Phillips and mother of
Reuben, Rachel, Sara and Zipporah Phillips passed away today in Washington, D.C.
1873: In London Samuel and Ellen Cohen Montague gave
birth to Lilian Helen Montague the social reformer and active member of
Britain’s Liberal Jewish Community.
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/montagu-lily
1873: In Hamburg, Israel and Dore Loose Bass
gave birth to Herman Simon Bass, the husband of Rosalia Rothschild Bass with
whom he had seven children – Max, Bertha, Ema Frieda, Max, Julius and Alice.
1875: It was reported today that the Hebrew
Charity Fair which was held at Gilmore’s Garden has come to a close. On the last evening the remaining items on
hand were auctioned off for $542. The
fair raised almost $135,000.
1875(25th of Kislev, 5636): First
Day of Chanukah
1875: Birthdate of Margarethe (Oppenheim) Thoman who
in 1942 was transported from Berlin to Terezin where she was murdered.
1875: Near Kiev Elijah and Bas-Sheva (Polsky)
Werlinnsky gave birth to “accountant and author Jacob Baer Werlin, the husband
of Sarah Chassky who settled in Houston, TX where he was an active leader in
the Zionist movement.
https://txarchives.org/utcah/finding_aids/02596.xml
1876: In Lithuania, Sophie Raitz and Charles Meyer
Berman gave birth to Oscar Berman, the husband of Cora Frank who from being a
stock clerk in Cincinnati to serving as President of the Stonewall Cotton Mills
Company, President of the Stonewall Bank and the director of the Citizens
National Bank and Trust in Cincinnati while serving as member of the board of
governors of Hebrew Union College and the board of trustees of the Reading Road
Temple.
1876: In Zbąszyń, Poland, Jacobi and Thelka
Bornstein gave birth to Siegfried Bornstein
1876: A fair that is designed to raise funds
for Hebrew Charities is scheduled to take place tonight at the Masonic Hall in
New York City.
1877: The Independent Order Sons of Benjamin whose members included Ferdinand
Levy, Louis Lindeman, Richard Cohn, Julius Gumpert and Jacob Hyman was founded
today in New York City.
1877(17th of Tevet, 5638): Yehuda Abraham
Covo passed away. Born in 1832, he was a
Rabbinical Judge and head of the Asher Covo Yeshiva.
1878(27th of Kislev, 5639): Third Day of Chanukah
1878: It was reported today that the Board of
Directors of the Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews did not hold its monthly
meeting. While no official announcement
was made about the reason for this, it was assumed that board did not meet
because of disagreement over whether or not to accept the donation from Mrs.
Stewart that would necessitate the Jews accepting the money from Judge Hilton.
1878: A fair for the benefit of Shaare
Rachmim which opened in Tammany Hall on December 9 is scheduled to come to an
end this evening.
1879: An association of rabbis and prominent
Jewish laymen was formed today with the goal of promoting a stricter observance
of the Sabbath as proscribed by the Torah and other Jewish laws.
1880: Three days after she had
passed away, Rebecca Henriques, the daughter of Rosetta and Edward Micholls,
the wife of David Quixano Henriques and the mother of Arthur and Edward
Henriques was buried today in the “Balls Pond Road Jewish Cemetery.”
1881: Birthdate of Berlin native and the University
of Freiburg and Humboldt University trained attorney Ernst Levy, the WW I
veteran of the German Army who became a professor at the University of
Washington after having been forced to leave his native land by the Nazis.
1882: In Ulm
Rabbi Dr. Morit Salzberger, the son of Jacob Salzberger and his wife Anna
Salzberger gave birth to Rabbi George Salzberger, the holder of a PhD from
Heidelberg University and an Iron Cross for his service as Feldrabbiner during
WWI who was imprisoned at Dachau and in 1939 came to England where he served as
“the rabbi of the Blsize Square Synagogue until his retirement in 1956.
1882: Nineteen year old Annie Littlestein, a Jewish
immigrant from Poland was rescued by James McCready after she jumped into the
East River today.
1882: As New Yorkers wrestled with the Sunday
Closing Laws, Superior Court Justice Arnoux rendered a decision “that the Penal
Code prevents all persons including Hebrews who observe Saturday as ‘holy time’
from carrying on business on Sunday excepting for the sale of meats, fish,
milk, drugs and food to be eaten on the premises where sold.”
1883: The first school of the Hebrew
Technical Institute opened today at 206 East Broadway.
1883: Reverend R. Heber Newton preached a
sermon on “The Traditions of Jacob” “the Hebrew Hercules who wrestled all night
with an angel…and won a victory from his supernatural opponent.”
1883: The first school of the Hebrew
Technical Institute opened today at 206 East Broadway in New York.
1884: In Philadelphia, PA,Simon and Florence
Liveright gave birth to Rebekah
Liveright who became Rebekah Kohn when she married Irving Kohn.
1884: Twenty-six-year-old Moses E. Greenbaum, the
Chicago born son of Elias and Rosine Greenbaum, who has been working in his
father’s banking business since 1877 married Julia Friedman today.
1885: Rebecca Lyons was buried today at the “Balls
Pond Road Jewish Cemetery.”
1885(15th of Tevet, 5646): Alois Feigelstock,
a well-known New York Jewish businessman appears to have taken his own life at
New-Lots, a town on Long Island.
1886(26th of Kislev, 5647): Second Day of
Chanukah
1886: Birthdate of Russia native and Columbia
trained dentist Dr. Sol Boris Kahan who also pursed a forty year career in
sculpture during which his works were shown at the Whitney and Brooklyn Museum
and who was the husband of “the former Dr. Rose Coloms” and the father of Dr.
Boris Kahn
1888: “Very Little of a Christian” published
today described the decision of a French Jew to convert so that he could obtain
a government position.
1888; Laurence Oliphant, a British author
diplomat and proto-Zionist passed away. Born in 1829, following a number of
twists and turns, by 1879, Oliphant began working on a project to help Jews
settle in Palestine. He raised money, vainly sought to obtain a lease on a
portion of Palestine from authorities in the Ottoman capital and helped to
settle one group of Jews in the Galilee.
He hired Naftali Herz Imber, the author of Hatikvah, as his secretary.
1888: “A Jewish Freethinker” published today
provides a detailed review of Salomon Maimon: An Autobiography which provides
the life story of Rabbi Salomon Maimon and a picture of 19th century
life for the Jews of Poland.
1888: It was reported today that a recitation
by Louis Aldrich will be part of the upcoming theatrical and musical benefit
program sponsored by the Young Men’s Hebrew Association.
1889(30th of Kislev, 5650): Rosh Chodesh
Tevet; Sixth Day of Candles
1889: It was reported today that “the
Imperial Academy of Arts has decided to exclude Jews from membership.”
1889: The Hebrew Orphan Asylum Band led a
procession of a thousand school children who were taking part in the
cornerstone laying ceremony for the new public school located at the corner of
St. Nicholas Avenue and 156th Street in New York City.
1889: Birthdate of Benjamin Marcus Pritcea,
the Scottish born American architect who designed the Alhadeff Sanctuary of
Seattle’s Temple De Hirsch Sinai.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seattle-Alhadeff-Sanctuary-3604.jpg
1889: It was reported today that the officers
of the newly formed Montefiore and Lady Judith Hebrew Association are: Julius
Harburger – President; Moses Mehrbach – First Vice President; Isaac Marx –
Second Vice President; M.G. Landsberg – Secretary; H.C. Rosenzweig –
Treasurer. The Association was formed to
protect and aid the tide of arriving Jewish immigrants from Czarist Russia.
1890: Three days after he had passed away,
Salomon Henry Godefron, the husband of Emma Micholls with whom he had had four
children, was buried today at the “Balls Pond Road Jewish Cemetery.”
1890: Birthdate of Minsk native Jacob Shieren
Ben-Ami who enjoyed success in the United States in both the Yiddish and
English-speaking theatrical world.
1891: In Brooklyn, Henry and Jennie (Berkman)
Berkson gave birth “educator Isaac B. Berkson,” the hold of a Ph.D. from
Columbia Teachers Collee and the husband of LIbbie Suchoff who was the Director
of the Jewish Institute, a member of the National Council for Jewish Educations
and “author of “Theories of Americanization with special to the Jewish group.”
1891: In following up on series of bizarre
robberies, police entered the apartment of John Weih where they found “three
pulpits where were furnished according to the custom of Hebrew, Catholic and
Protestant churches respectively with all the trappings and silverware which to
belonged to each.” Police cannot explain
this interdenominational criminal activity.
1891: Among the articles published in The New
York Weekly Times that appeared today was “An Indictment of Russia – The
Massing of the Jews in the towns of the Pale.”
1892: One day after he had passed away “in his 104th
year,” Joseph Levy, the husband of Blumah Jacobs with whom he had had four
children, was buried today at the “West Ham Jewish Cemetery” on Buckingham
Road.
1892: Seventy-one-year-old Paulus Stephanua Cassel,
a Jewish convert to Christianity who major work was a history of the Jews from
the destruction of the Jerusalem to 1847 passed away today.
1892: Hermann Stern, a thirty three year Jew from
German employed as a foreign exchange clerk in the banking house of Ladenburg,
Thalmann & Co (and who would later commit suicide) wrote a note today
addressed to the coroner stating that “ My last wish is that everything I leave
is left to the care and disposition of my beloved friend Carl Gutmman…who is
now on his way from Europe.”
1893: The local assemblies of “Hebrew tailors” that
had been organized by David De Leon voted leave the Knights of Labor and under
the name of the newly formed Amalgamated Association of Clothing Cutters and
Trimmers join the American Federation of Labor.
1893: “To Aid The Unemployed” published today
described efforts by various New York charity organizations including the
United Hebrew Charities to deal with “the general increase at the present time
in this city of destitute men drawn hither by the hope of finding either
employment or relief…”
1894(25th of Kislev, 5655): First
Day of Chanukah
1894: “Hebrew, Israelite and Jew” published
today relying on information that first appeared in the Rochester Tidings says
that the “Jew refers to the religion which the Jews profess. Hebrew refers to a language which they no
longer speak and has no meaning at the present time. The Jews do call
themselves Hebrews” except for “a few who do not know any better.” “Israelite refers to a nation which they at
one time formed” and only has significance “when reference is made to the
ancient nation.”
1895: In “Mutual Respect the Common Ground
for Christian and Jew” published today Dr. Joseph Silverman said that “No
greater insult can be offered to the modern Jew than to convert him.” He called
for the creation of “a non-sectarian commission consisting of Jews, Protestants
and Catholics to be known as the Commission for Peace and Brotherhood who
purpose should be to destroy religious prejudice and intolerance.”
1895: Today JTS ordained rabbi Bernard Michael
Kaplan, the Lithuanian born son of Michael Sheftel and Feigel Mayor Kaplan who
began his career at the McGill Avenue Synagogue in Montreal after which he
served several congregations including the Bush Street Temple in San
Francisco, B’nai Jershurun and Temple
Israel in Waterbury, CT while author “the Strange Melody and others plays which
were performed in the David Belasco Theatre in San Francisco." married his
first wife Lena Hales who died in 1916,
1895: Wolf Avener and Isaac Falpe are
scheduled to be examined for their role in a blackmail attempt targeted at Aris
Lichtenstein, a Jew who converted and became a Minister.
1895: In a speech deriding “the Puritan
Sabbath” which has led to a series of Blue Laws, Reverend Henry Van Dyke said
that he did not know where the Puritans came up with this concept since the
Jews, the first observers of the Sabbath, keep “the Seventh Day with feasting
and social cheer.”
1896: Birthdate of Leeds, England native Jack White
who earned the Victoria while serving with the 6th Battalion of the
King’s Own Regiment in Mesopotamia in 1917.
1896: Birthdate of Vilna native M.G. Glembroski who
in 1914 came to the United States where he graduated from Columbia in 1927 and
earned a Ph.D from Dropsie and gained gamed as Yiddish writer Menahem G. Glenn.
http://yleksikon.blogspot.com/2015/09/menakhem-gershon-glen-menahem-g-glenn.html
1897(28th of Kislev, 5658): Fourth Day of
Chanukah
1897: Mrs. J.H. Hecht, prominent in local Hebrew
women societies who has just returned from Europe announced that Baroness
Hirsch gave her 40,000 francs to be devoted to charitable works among the
Hebrews here” in Boston.
1897: It was reported from Prague, that “at a
gathering of a ‘Czech Jewish Political Union’” held at Prague, may of the
speakers said that “the leaders of ‘Young Czechs’ were” responsible for “the
recent anti-Jewish disturbances” and they have decided to “leave the ‘Young
Czech’ political party.”
1897: Birthdate of Herbert Parzen, the native of
Poland who came to the United States in 1907 where hear a bachelors and masters
at Columbia while being ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary. (I have
used the dates supplied by the American Jewish Archives which are at odds with
another source)
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_15448.html
1898: Birthdate of Grodno Gubernia native
Irving Projansky, the three years forward on the City College of New York
basketball whose stellar career was marred when “he scored a basket on the
wrong basket against Cornell, a game which saw CCNY lost by a score of 21-20.”
1898: In England, gave birth to Max H. Haft,
the born son of Eva and Levi and Isaac Haft and his wife Jennie Haft gave birth
to Jules Gerard Haft.
1900(1st of Tevet, 5661): Rosh Chodesh
Tevet; Seventh Day of Chanukah
1900: Viscount Herbert Samuel and Beatrice Miriam
Samuel gave birth to Philip Ellis Herbert Samuel
1900: Dr. Samuel Schulman, the associate
rabbi of Temple Beth-El delivered a sermon this morning on the subject of
“Judaism’s Message of Peace and Good-Will.”
1900: Twenty-seven-year-old David Hartmann, the
Hungarian born grandson of revolutionary David Sugar, who in 1889 came to the
United States where went from operating a small furniture store in Brooklyn
before turning to auctioneering and sell ladies garments, married Jennie
Berkowitz with whom he had two daughters, Stella and Beatrice.
1901: Today’s dispatch to The Times of London “from
Kieff says the existence of a dangerous subversive movement among the Jews and
laboring classes of Odessa has been discovered” and “that the general condition
of South Russia causes alarm…”
1901: Birthdate of Louisville, KY native and
University of Louisville graduate Samuel Edward Hyman who pursed a career in
advertising and public relations
1902: In Russia, Anna Shapiro and Jacob S. Lookstein
gave birth to CCNY graduate and Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
ordained Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein, the husband of Gertrude Schlang and
Chairman of the English-Speaking Rabbis of the Mizrachi Organization of America
who began his career as the leader of the Jewish Center of Kings Highway.
1902: It was reported today that Herman Brandstein
has purchased a five-story triple flat at 969 Columbus Avenue and a five-story
triple flat on 116th Street.
1903: University of Michigan graduate and steel
company executive Julius Kahn, the German born son of Joseph and Rosalie Kahn
and the brother of Albert Kahn with whom “he designed the ‘Kahn bar’” married
Margaret K. Kohut, daughter of rabbi Alexander Kohut today.
1904: It was reported today that Samuel Untermeyer
is the counsel for the creditors of the suspended brokerage firm of Munroe and
Munroe.
1904: Birthdate of Sir Charles Clore, the native of
Mile End, London who “owned, through Sears Holdings, the British Shoe
Corporation and Lewis's department stores (which included Selfridges)” and who
“established Karen Clore (now the Clore Israel Foundation) to give grants to
Israeli causes.”
http://www.jta.org/1979/07/30/archive/sir-charies-clore-dead-at-74
1905(25th of Kislev, 5666): First
Day of Chanukah
1905: It was reported today that “the fund for
the relief of the persecuted Jews in Russia has reach a grand total of
$1,200,311.66
1905: Today marked the final period of “strict
mourning” that had been proclaimed by the Odessa Zionist Central Committee
following “the four nights of slaughter” in Odessa during which “no help
arrived from non-Jews.”
1906(6th of Tevet, 5667):
Sixty-one-year-old German born Rabbi Emanuel Hess who had led congregations in
Kansas City and Shreveport passed away today in St. Paul, MN.
1906: “Christmas Boycott Urged” published today
described a call by “rabbis and prominent Jews who have been trying to have”
Christmas exercises in published schools abolished” for Jewish parents “to keep
their children out of school” on December 24 which is ‘’when the children have
been asked to come to school in their best clothes to take part in the
Christmas festivities.”
1907: Birthdate of Avraham Stern, the leader
of Lehi, also known as the Stern Gang a group of Zionist who lost their moral
compass, to put it mildly. Others would
say, that Zionists or not, the Stern Gang was a group of murderous thugs.
http://www.etzel.org.il/english/people/stern.htm
http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/1018/features/terror-out-of-zion/
1907(18th of Tevet, 5668):
Fifty-eighty-year-old award winning painter Herman Naphtali Hyneman, the
Philadelphia born son of Adeline and Isaac Hyneman passed away today.
1907(18th of Tevet, 5668):
Thirty-six-year-old John Paley, a native of Minsk who came to the United States
in 1888 to pursue a career as a Yiddish newspaper editor and novelist passed
away today in New York City.
1908: “Die geschiedene Frau (The Divorcée), an
operetta in three acts by Leo Fall with a libretto by Victor Léon” opened today
at the Carltheater in Vienna.
1909: Sir Mathew Nathan completed his service
as Governor of Natal
1909: Birthdate of Herman Barron, the Port
Chester, NY native who became the first Jewish golfer to win a tournament on
the PGA Tour when he won the Western Open at Phoenix, AZ in 1942.
1909:
Birthdate of boxer Barney Ross.
Born Barnet Rasofsky in
Chicago, this son of Rabbi turned away from his Jewish studies at the age of
14. His father was killed in the family
grocery store by robbers. Ross moved
into the shadowy underworld of the street before emerging as welterweight boxer
at the age of 18. Ross would become
World Welterweight Champion of the Word during the 1930’s. After retiring he became a successful
restauranteur. Although in his thirties
at the outbreak of World War II, Ross enlisted in the Marines and earned the
Silver Star during the campaign to take Guadalcanal. Ross’ successful battle
with drug addiction provided the storyline for the film Monkey on My Back. He passed
away in 1967.
1910(22nd of Kislev,
5671): Fifty-three year old patron of the Jewish arts and “authority on Arabic
Poetry” Baron David Gunzburg, “a son of Horace Ossipovitch Gunzber, the
President of the Central Committee of the Jewish Colonization Association who
had died in 1909, who was a member of the same organization as well as a member
of the Committee for the Promotion of Culture Among the Jews of Russia, passed
away today.
1911(2nd of Tevet,
5672): Parashat Miketz; Eighth Day of Chanukah.
1911: Debut of Edmund Eyslter’s
operetta Der Frauenfresser (The
Woman-Eater).
1911: The London Outlook printed an
“anti-Jewish editorial” today.
1911: “La mujer divorciada” the
Spanish language version of “Die geschiedene Frau (The Divorcée), an operetta
in three acts by Leo Fall with a libretto by Victor Léon” opened today in
Madrid.
1912: Mrs. Leo Heller is scheduled
to deliver a “report from the Annual Meeting of the Illinois Federation of
Women’s Clubs” at the regular meeting of the K.A.M. Auxiliary.
1913(24th of Kislev,
5674): For the last time the first light of Chanukah is kindled before the
start of the deluge that began with WW I and continued through WW II.
1913: The Federal Reserve, which a
cadre of right-wing anti-Semites decry as part of Jewish cabal, was created
today when President Wilson signed The Federal Reserve Act today.
1914: Based on information from
Berlin, it was reported that “Russian court-martials in Poland have hanged
numerous Jews.”
1914: The list of those
contributing to the American Jewish Relief Committee published today included
F.A. Rosenbloom, Austin, TX; I.C. Long, Greensboro, NC; the Hebrew Benevolent
Society of Columbia, SC; J. Hecht, Charles City, IA; “Jews of Ft. Worth, TX”
and “Jews of Natchez, Mississippi.”
1914: It was announced today at a meeting of
the Board of Jewish Ministers at Temple Emanu-El that Governor-elect Whitman
has stated that “he will appoint at least one Jew to each Board of Managers of
the State hospitals.”
1915: Birthdate of Sidney Shapiro, “an American
author and translator who has lived in China since 1947.”
1915: Memorial services marking the
38th anniversary of the death of Mrs. Clara Schiff, the mother of
Jacob H. Schiff were held this afternoon in the Straus Auditorium of the
Educational Alliance and “as it has been his annual custom ever since the
alliance was established, Mr. Schiff addressed the girl members of the School
of Religious Work and awarded a prize, named for his mother, for the best essay
on a selected topic.”
1915: “The original Broadway
production” of the Jerome Kern musical “Very Good Eddie” “opened at the
Princess Theatre.
1916: The 26th Annual
Assembly of the Jewish Chautauqua Society continued to meet for a second day in
New Orleans.
1916: During World War I, British Imperial forces
(mostly ANZACs) captured the Turkish garrison during the Battle of Magdhaba on
the Sinai Peninsula. This victory was
part of the British plan to move west and eventually take Palestine from the
Turks. Jewish forces would play a role in the final battles to liberate
Palestine from Turkish rule.
1916: “The Women’s Proclamation
Committee, a national organization for Jewish relief announced” today “that in
1917 it would conduct a ‘Life for a Life’ campaign for the collection of funds
for Jews left destitute in the war areas of Europe.”
1916: The list of contributions
made to the Central Committee for the Relief of Jews Suffering Through the War
published today including $153 from Mt. Zion Congregation of Jersey City, NJ,
$40 from Chevra Adas Volovisk of Brooklyn, $200 from the Committee in Calgary,
Canada, and $28 from Dubuque, Iowa.
1917(8th of Tevet, 5678):
Sixty-nine-year-old New Haven, CT native Toby Edward Rosenthal the award
winning artist who spent most of his career in Europe, passed away today in
Munich.
http://www.jmaw.org/toby-rosenthal-jewish-artist-of-early-san-francisco/
1917: At Temple Beth-El, Rabbi
Samuel Schulman is scheduled to deliver a sermon entitled “The Jewish Soul On
Trial.”
1917: At Temple Emanu-El Rabbi
Joseph Silverman is scheduled to deliver a sermon on “Egoism and Altruism.”
1917: At Carnegie Hall, which is
home to the Free Synagogue, Henry Morgenthau is scheduled to preside over a
tribute to Rabbi Wise during which speeches will be given by Abram I. Elkus and
Rabbi Louis Grossman.
1917: At the Mount Morris Theatre,
which is home to the Institutional Synagogue, F.C. Hicks, “who returned from
Europe last week” is scheduled to speak on “The War Conditions at Europe’s
Front.”
1917: In Pittsburgh, PA, Jennie and
Louis Friedman gave birth to Sophie Friedman who gained fame as Sophie Masloff,
the first woman and the first Jew to serve as Mayor of Pittsburgh.
1917: Having successfully crossed
the Auju River outside of Jaffa, “the 52nd (Lowland) and 54th (East Anglian)
Divisions moved up the coast a further 5 miles (8.0 km), while the left of the
advance reached Arsuf 8 miles (13 km) north of Jaffa, capturing key Ottoman
defensive positions.”
1917: Having already met with the
Mufti of Jerusalem, Colonel Storrs, the newly appointed British governor of
Jerusalem, attended a gathering of Orthodox Ashkenazi rabbis. The rabbis hoped to enlist Storrs’ support in
their conflict with local Zionists.
1917: In Philadelphia, “Resolutions
in favor of making Palestine a Jewish State to be populated by Jews from all
parts of the earth were adopted today at a conference of Jewish labor
organizations held under the auspices of the workmen’s wing of the Zionist
movement.”
1917: “Thousands of New York
Zionists packed Carnegies Hall” tonight and thousands more who could not get in
“crowded the streets around building” where they sang songs in Hebrew and heard
speakers including Dr. Schmarya Levin as part of a “celebration of the British
promise to restore Jerusalem and the Holy Land to the Jewish people…”
1917: At a reception in the home of
Henry Morgenthau attended by “100 members of the Joint Distribution Committee,
the Central Jewish Relief Committee, the Jewish People’s Relief Committee, the
Provisional Zionist Executive Committee and the Jewish Women’s Proclamation
Committee” a silver tea service was presented to Dr. Otis A. Glazebrook, the
former American Consul in Jerusalem and Mrs. Glazebrook “in recognition of
their self-sacrifice and devotion in distributing the funds sent from America
for the relief of the Jews in Palestine.”
1918: It was reported today that “Louis
Marshall, Chairman of the American Jewish Committee said that Jews in America
were doing little for Judaism or their synagogues” and “the Jews” in the United
States “must be aroused.”
1918: Today award-winning sculptor Arturo Levi,
the Triest born son of Adele Horn and Alessandro Levi who was the winner of a
scholarship from the “Comunita Israelitica of Tirest (Fondizone Montefiore)”
whose works including “The Soul of the Book” and who was a member of the
Sculptors and Modelers of America married Ena Romito.
1918: Isaac Gans, the Amsterdam born son of
Mozes and Sientje Gans and his wife Rachel Roet gave birth to Benjamin Gans,
the husband of Debora Kleinkramer who was murdered at Sobibor at the age of 24.
1919(1st of Tevet, 5680): Rosh
Chodesh Tevet; Seventh Day of Chanukah
1919: The New Palestine, an “organ of the Zionist
Organization of America” was established today.
1920: As British support for the
Balfour Declaration waned, the 17th Earl of Derby, a prominent
Conservative politician wrote Winston Churchill expressing his opposition to
the Palestine Mandate in general and the Zionist cause in particular.
1922: Four members of the Salonica Jewish community
were elected to the Greek Assembly: Isaac Alhanati, Jonas Jamnelides, Joshua
Laias and M. Levy.
1922:
Birthdate of Leonard Stern the successful television writer and
producer, two of his better known shows were comedies – The Phil Silvers Show
and Get Smart.
1922: In Braddock, PA, Polish-Jewish immigrants Anna
Stopnitsky and Lazear “Leonard” Landau gave birth to St. John’s Colle graduate
and director Jack Landau, who as the associate director the American
Shakespeare Theatre was responsible for the a performance of Shakespearian in
1961 which was the first time that had been done since William Howard Taft was
Pesident.
1923: In New York City “Gertrude Himmelfarb,
a scholar of Victorian era literature and “Irving Kristol, an editor and
publisher who served as the managing editor of Commentary magazine, founded the magazine The Public Interest and has been described as the "godfather
of neo-conservatism" gave birth to neo-conservative pundit, commentator
and editor, Bill Kristol whose support of Republican candidates knew no bounds
until he joined “the never Trump movement.
1923: In Madison, WI, economist Selig Perlman and
Eva Perlman gave birth to economist Mark Perlman, the husband of Naomi Perlman
http://www.utimes.pitt.edu/?p=3169
1923: In Brooklyn, William Okun and the former Leah
Seligman gave birth to Milton Theodore Okun, “a producer and arranger who
helped turn acts as diverse as Peter, Paul and Mary, John Denver and Plácido
Domingo into pop sensations, and who founded Cherry Lane Music Publishing, one
of the world’s largest independent music publishers.” (As reported by Daniel E
Slotnik)
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/arts/music/milt-okun-dead-cherry-lane-publishing.html?hpw&rref=obituaries&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0
1923: Birthdate of Meshulam Riklis, the
Turkish born Israeli-American businessman
1924: Premiere of “The Last Laugh,” a German silent
picture filmed by cinematographer Karl Fruend with a script by Carl Mayer.
1925: The text of an agreement between Great Britain
and Ibn Saud which included articles aimed to ensure the safety of the
frontiers of Transjordan and Palestine” was published today in Jerusalem.
1926: Two
days before his 50th
anniversary, a banquet in honor of playwright Max Gabel was held today at the
Hotel Pennsylvania.
1926: “Phone in 11 Languages” published today
reported that “telephone users in Jersusalem can ask for their numbers in
eleven languages and that the exchanges will put them through.”
1927: “Tell It To The Marines” a silent film that
was a box-office success featuring Carmel Myers as “Zaya” was released today in
the United States.
1927: A statement was issued today announcing
the sale of the Daily Telegraph by
Lord Burnham the grandson of J.M. Levy.
1927(29th of Kislev, 5688): On the fifth day
of Chanukah, 89-year-old Nathan Barnet, a native of Posen, who was a successful
businessman and Mayor of Paterson, NJ, passed away today. He is scheduled to be
buried at Mt. Neboh Cemetery in Paterson, NJ.
1928(10th of Tevet, 5689): Asara B'Tevet
1928: At Temple Emanu-El, Rabbi Nathan Krass
delivered a sermon on “Judaism and Christianity, Contrasts and Conciliations.”
1928: At Carnegie Hall, author James Waterman Wise,
the son of Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, told the congregation of the Free Synagogue
that “we live in a Jewish world today, and the civilization of the world is a
Jewish civilization.”
1929: “The Night Belongs to Us” starring Otto
Wallburg as “Vater Bang” was released in Germany today.
1930: During his speech tonight at dinner given by
the American Jewish Congress, “novelist and magazine writer” said that “unless
a world protest is raised,” the “extermination of the one million Jews in
Rumania by the present and successive governments” is certain to happen and
that the Jews were being blamed for “every political, social economic mishap”
that takes place in that country.
1931: At Temple Rodeph Sholom Dr. Hans delivered a
lecture to the Rudolph Grossman chapter of the American Friends of the Hebrew
University during which “he said the Orient was throwing off the shackles of an
intense religious mysticism, an acceptance of miracles and of things as they
are and was substituting a greatly liberalized sense of religion and ‘conscious
wish to alter things.’”
1931: The body of the late Nissim Behar, who was
the representative of the Alliance Israelite Universelle in New York and the
founder of the Alliance Schools in the Orient, who died in New York on January
1st., almost a year ago, in his 83rd. year, arrived in Palestine to-day, having
been placed on board the s.s. “Providence” in New York on December 4th., for
removal to Palestine to be re-interred here, according to his wish expressed in
his last testament. JTA)
1931: “Camille” featuring Jacob Ben-Ami as “Arthur
Kober” opened on Broadway at the Civic Repertory
1932(24th of Kislev, 5693): Kindle the
first Chanukah Candle
1932: “Rasputin and the Empress” a biopic produced
by Bernard H. Hyman and Irving Thalberg was released in the United States
today.
1933(5th of Tevet, 5694): Parashat
Vayigash
1933(5th
of Tevet, 5694): Sixty-five year old Bavaria native Louis A. Behr who in 1890
settled in Pittsburgh where he became president of the Rosenbaum Company, Chairman
of the Board of the National Department Stores and a leader of the Jewish
community as can be seen by his service as “a director of the Jewish Federation
of Philanthropies, the Jewish Home for the Aged and the Hebrew Instate while
being married to the former Elsie Rosenbaum, the daughter of Max Rosenbaum,
passed away today.
1933(5th of Tevet, 5694):
Seventy-six-year-old San Francisco native Henry Max Seligman, the son of Jesse
and Henriette Seligman and the husband of Adelaide Seligman passed away today
in New York City.
1933: Governor Herbert H. Lehman spoke at the
annual Maccabean Festival at Madison Square Garden where he denounced the
treatment of the Jews of Germany “whose loyalty an love for their country has
been betrayed. Dr. Albert Einstein was
the guest of honor at the event which he described as a “demonstration of
Jewish solidarity. Governor Lehman’s neice, Mrs. Benjamin J. Buttenweiser, was
chairman of the event’s hostess committee.
The evening’s entertainment included “a dramatic and musical panorama of
modern Jewish life in Palestine entitled ‘Reunion in Tel Aviv.’”
1934: According to reports published today,
“athletes throughout the country are training for the elimination finals which
will be held here during February to choose the American Jewish team to
complete in the second Maccabiah at Tel Aviv in April 1935. The National Sports Board, whose membership
includes Irving Jaffee, Nat Holman Abel Kiviat, Joseph Alexander and Pincus
Sober, is headed by Benny Leonard.
1934: “The Scarlet Pimpernel” produced by Alexander
Korda, starring Leslie Howard and with music by Arthur Benjamin was released
today in the United Kingdom today
1935(27th of Kislev, 5696): Rabbi Joshua
Joffe who had retired in 1917 from JTS after 24 years of teaching and then
returned to Germany passed away in Freiburg, Germany. After his death, his wife and daughter returned
to the United States.
1936: Birthdate of Los Angeles native and “an
American former World Class Tennis player Myron Franks” the husband of Gloria
Delson Cahn and “a Senior VP at RBC Wealth Management.”
1936: It was reported today that former
Representative W.W. Cohen, head of the American Committee for the Settlement of
Jews in Birobidjan said that sufficient funds were available to pay for the
settlement of a contingent Jews from Poland in that part of the Soviet Union
based the fact that when the American contingent settled there in February of
1934 it had cost “$350 per family to cover transportation, admission and a
beginning clothing allowance.”
1936: Patrolman Isidore Astel, was seriously wounded
when he shot and killed a robber in upper Manhattan down which led to his being
promoted to the rank of Detective and receiving the Gold Police Combat Cross
from the Mayor and the Police Commissioner while still in the hospital in June
of 1937.
1936: Tonight, “more than 800 persons attended a
farewell dinner at the Manhattan Opera House honoring a delegation of six union
leaders that includes Joseph Schlossberg, secretary-treasurer of the Amalgamated
Clothing Workers’ Union; Max Zarlitzky, president of the United Hatters’, Cap
and Millinery Works’ International Union; Isadore Nagler, general manager of
the joint board of the Cloak, Suit and Reefer Makers’ Union; Reuben Guskin,
president of the United Hebrew Trades’ and Samuel Perlmutter and Joseph
Brislaw, vice presidents of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union,
who are sailing to Europe where they “will confer with experts in France,
England and Poland on the Jewish labor movement in Palestine.”
1937: The Palestine Post
reported that the British government denied that it was deliberately postponing
the establishment of a new Palestine Commission which was to submit a plan for
the partitioning of the country, as authorized by the League of Nations.
Another Arab leader, Isouk Ayash, was shot in cold
blood by an Arab gang in the village of Beit Immar, near Hebron.
1937: The British
army begam a three day effort to suppress Arab bands in the Galilee.
1937: In Mount Vernon, NY, Clara and Sol Trager gave birth to
David Gershon Tagera, the federal judge in Brooklyn whose rulings were pivotal
in a racially charged case in Crown Heights and in the first civil suit to
challenge the Bush administration’s practice of sending terrorism suspects to
countries that employ torture. (As reported by Robert D. McFadden)
1938: Birthdate of
Robert Elliot “Bob” Kahn, an American computer scientist who
co-created the packet-switching protocols that enable computers to exchange
information on the Internet. In the late 1960s Kahn realized that a
packet-switching network could effectively transmit large amounts of data between
computers. Along with fellow computer scientists Vinton Cerf, Lawrence Roberts,
Paul Baran, and Leonard Kleinrock, Kahn built the ARPANET, the first network to
successfully link computers around the country. Kahn and Cerf also developed
the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), which
together enable communication between different types of computers and
networks; TCP/IP is the standard still in use today.
1938: According to an announcement by Joseph H. Biben, the editor
and publisher of The American Hebrew,
“the 1938 American Hebrew Medal has been awarded to President Roosevelt for
outstanding serving in promoting better understanding between Christians and
Jews.”
1939:
Thirty-five German refugees, victims first of German
anti-Semitism and then of the war, arrived here this afternoon on the Italian
liner Conte di Savoia, ending a voyage that began at Italian ports more than
two months ago
1940:
It was reported today that “the fall of France” has boosted the popularity of
“The Last Time I Saw Paris” the first Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II song
“whose words were written before the music.”
1940: Martha Sharp met 6 adults and 27 children including
14-year-old Eva Rosemary Feigl, all of whom were refugees from the Nazis, at
the port of New York.
1941:
It was announced today at British Army headquarters in Jerusalem that
Palestine, “alone among the territories of the Near East is to have a Women’s
Auxiliary Territorial Service.”
1942: “The Thin Man,” a radio serial adaptation of Dashiell
Hammet’s 1934 novel, produced by Himan Brown was broadcast for the last time
with Woodbury Soap as the sponsor. (Brown was Jewish, Hammet was not)
1943: The Jewish community at Pinsk, Poland, is
liquidated.
1943: U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry
Morgenthau is informed by his staff that, "when you get through with it,
the [State Department's] attitude to date is no different from Hitler's
attitude."
1943:
Birthdate of actor Harry Shearer whose credits include work with
“Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons.”
1944: Agnes Steiner moved together with her mother
and grandfather to the building where the
Neolog "Hevra Kadisha" of which her grandfather had been
President, had been located.
http://digitalassets.ushmm.org/photoarchives/detail.aspx?id=1170311
1944: Birthdate of General Wesley Clark, NATO chief
and unsuccessful Presidential candidate.
Late in life Clark learned the truth about his lineage. His father was a Jewish lawyer living in
Chicago. He died when Clark was
four. His mother moved to Little Rock
where she married Viktor Clark. Clark
adopted young Wesley and changed his name.
Clark’s Methodist mother hid Clark’s Jewish heritage from him because
she was concerned about the KKK which was active in Arkansas.
1945: Birthdate of Bernie Fine the long-term
associate head basketball coach for Syracuse University who terminated
following charges of sexual abuse.
1945:
Sumner Welles, chairman of American Christian Palestine Committee,
advises that UN Trusteeship Council should establish Jewish commonwealth in
Palestine with armed force to give security.
1946(30th of Kislev, 5707): Rosh Chodesh
Tevet, Sixth Day of Chanukah
1946: In Berlin, Holocaust survivor Helen
Ciesla and Harold Kempner, a US Army officer gave birth to filmmaker Aviva
Kempner, the founder of the Washington Jewish Film Festival and The Ciesla
Foundation
http://cieslafoundation.org/product-tag/aviva-kempner/
1946: It was reported today that “a group of
Jewish children in the displaced-persons’ center in the French sector”
celebrated Chanukah “with a couple of doughnuts, a few pieces of candy and a
cup of hot chocolate.”
1947(10th of Tevet, 5708): Asara B'Tevet
1947: Seventy-two-year-old Pinsk native and
University of Baltimore trained physician Nathan Ratnoff, the medical director
of Beth Israel Hospital and the “head of the American Jewish Physicians
Committee which raised one -third of the funds for the Rothchild-Hadassah –
University Hospital and Medical School on Mt. Scopus, passed away today.
1947: The
transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories. The first three patents
for the field-effect transistor principle were registered in Germany in 1928 by
the Jewish physicist Julius Edgar Lilienfeld. At the time,
they attracted little attention. It
would take two more decades of work in Germany and the United States before the
giant step in miniaturization could take place.
1947(10th of Tevet, 5708): Frances Stern, social worker, nutritionist, educator, and
pioneering dietician passed away.
1948: Efforts of UN Truce Committee to arrange Israel-Egypt
armistice conference break down.
1948: Israel attacks Egyptian troops near Gaza,
Nirim, Rafah, and Khan Yunis.
1948: Yiddish actor Benjamin Zuskin who was a
colleague of Solomon Mikhoels and a member the Jewish Ant-Fascist Committee
during WW II was arrested tonight while staying at hospital where was being
treated for a “nervous condition.”
https://www.alazuskinperelman.com/english/about/about-zuskin/
1949(3rd of Tevet, 5710): 8th day of
Chanukah
1949: Birthdate of Shimon Dotan,
the native of Romania who moved to Israel in 1959 and became “an award-winning
Israeli film director, screenwriter, and producer.”
1949(3rd of Tevet, 5710): Arthur Eichengrün, the
German Jewish chemist who claimed that he invented aspirin passed away. Fifty years after his death, Walter Sneader
of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Strathclyde
in Glasgow re-examined the case and came to the conclusion that indeed
Eichengrün's account was convincing and correct and that Eichengrün deserved
credit for the invention of Aspirin. Bayer continued to reject his claim. Born in 1867, Eichengrün was one of the few
Jews to survive the war even though he lived in Berlin until 1944 when he was
shipped to Theresienstadt.
1950(14th of Tevet,
5711): Parashat Veyhechi
1950: Joseph Schlossberg, the chairman of the
Israel Histadrut campaign in the United States found out today that “Mordecai
Namir, the former Israelis ambassador to Moscow has been named
secretary-general of Histadrut, the Israeli Federation of Labor.”
1951: “Flood Eases at Tel Aviv” published today
reported that many people had returned to their homes in Tel Aviv and schools
would be re-opening in Israel’s largest city despite the fact that rain was
still falling for the 8th straight day, but the situation was still
critical in the northern part of the country “where water in coastal waddies
continued to rise as torrents poured down from the Galilean hills/
1952: The Jerusalem Post reported that David
Ben-Gurion introduced a new Mapai-General Zionists-Progressive government
coalition to the Knesset. Hapoel Hamizrahi was still considering an option
whether to join the coalition. During a heated debate, Ben-Gurion complained
that the absurd fragmentation of political factions was the root of all Israeli
parliamentary troubles.
1952: In New York City, “Irving Kristol, an editor
and publisher who served as the managing editor of Commentary magazine, founded the magazine The Public Interest and has been described as the "godfather
of neo-conservatism" and Gertrude Himmelfarb,.a scholar of Victorian era
literature gave birth to Harvard educated journalist, author and “political
intellectual” William “Bill” Kristol who while serving as Chief of Staff to the
Vice President was known as “Dan Quayle’s Brain” but who in the second decade of
the 21st century has found himself on the fringes of his political
world and reduced to being the “house-conservative” on CNN.
1952: In Brooklyn, Dvora and Abraham Schneider gave
birth to “singer and actress” Helen Leslie Schneider.
1953: Today The New York Times “reported that the New York State Catholic
Welfare Committee had issued a public statement opposing the recommendations
made by several agencies, including the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith,
that the New York State Commission Against Discrimination bar hotel and resort
advertising which included the phrase "churches nearby" or variants
thereof.”
1953: Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who had
directed the Manhattan Project that produced the atomic bombs used during WW II
was notified that his security clearance had been suspended.
1954: The State of Israel Bond Drive sponsored the 3rd
annual Chanukah festival which was held at Madison Square Garden tonight.
1954: U.S. Premiere of “20,000
Leagues Under the Sea” the Disney version of the Jules Verne novel directed by
Richard Fleisher and co-starring Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas and Peter Lorre.
1956: The French Jewish Community honored David
Feuerwerker on the 20th anniversary of his service as a Rabbi.
1957(30th of Kislev,
5718): Sixth Day of Chanukah; Rosh Chodesh Tevet
1957(30th of Kislev,
5718): Eighty-three-year-old NYU trained attorney Michael Schaap, the husband
of the former Stella Hammsersloguh who was the former president and chairman of
the board of Bloomingdale Brothers, Inc., and a leader in Jewish philanthropies,
fell to his death today from his twelfth-floor suite at the Hotel Chatham.”
1958: U.S. premiere of “The Geisha
Boy” produced by the film’s star, Jerry Lewis, with music by Walter Scharf.
1959: One day after he passed away,
funeral services are scheduled to be held in Manhattan for seventy-six year old
Harry P. Fierst , the Kovno born clothing manufacturer and husband of Miriam
Fierst with he raised a son and a daughter and whose many activities in the
Jewish community including serving as a President of the Mount Vernon Young
Men’s Hebrew Association and a director of Congregation Emanuel in Mt. Vernon,
NY while helping to “organize the Mount Vernon District of the Zionist
Organization of America in 1920” and helping to found the American Zionist
Youth Commission.
1960: In Queens, NY, homemaker
Thelma (Farber) Lilienfeld and radiologist Ralph Lilienfeld gave birth to
Cornell undergrad Scott Owen Lilienfeld, the holder of a Ph.D. from the
University of Minnesota and professor at Emory University who “sought to deepen
the understanding of so-called psychopathic behavior” while exposing “the many
faces of pseudoscience in psychology.” (As reported by Benedict Carey)
1960(4th of Tevet, 5721):
Sixty-eight-year-old H.U.C. trained Rabbi Jacob Tarshish, the son of Ida and
Perez Tarshish, and the husband of Golda Tarshish who headed congregations “in
Columbus, Allentown and Miami while develop a persona as “The Lamplighter”
during his radio broadcast that went from 1930 to 1943.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/12/24/99832338.html?pageNumber=15
http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm/ref/collection/tc/id/54808
1961(16th of Tevet, 5722):
Parashat Vayechi
1961: Rabbi Julius Mark officiated at
the wedding this evening of Lora Mae Klein and Columbia trained attorney
Michael Edward Schultz which was held in his study at Temple Emanu-El.
1961(16th of Tevet, 5722):
Seventy-two year old WWI combat veteran, Oxford graduate and early supporter of
Winston Churchill, Leonard Nathaniel Goldsmid-Montefiore, the London-born son
of Claude Montefiore and his first wife Therese Alice who “succeeded his father
as a leader of Jewish philanthropic organizations in the UK including the
Anglo-Jewish Association, the Central British Fund for German Jewry, and the
Jewish Board of Guardians” while founding “the Wiener Library for the Study of
the Holocaust and Genocide” and raising two sons – David and Alan – with his
Muriel Jeanetta Tuck.
1962(26th of Kislev, 5723): On the second
day of Chanukah Leivick Halpern, who used the pen name “H.Leivick” passed away
today. One of the best known works of
the Yiddish author was “The Golem,” a “dramatic poem in eight scenes”
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/igumen/igumen_leyvik.htm
1963:In New York, the Park Avenue Synagogue is
scheduled to host its “Institute of Adult Studies which is free to the public.
1964(18th of Tevet,
5725): Sixty-two-year-old novelist Nathan Asch, the Warsaw born son of Yiddish
author Sholem Asch passed away today in San Francisco.
1965(29th of Kislev,
5726): Fifth Day of Chanukah
1965: “The Slender Thread” the
first film directed by Sydney Pollack, written by Shana Alexander and starring
Steven Hill and Ed Asner and featuring Jason Wingreen was released in the
United States today.
1966(4th of Tevet,
5721): Sixty-eight-year-old Jacob Tarshish, the HUC educated Rabbi known as
“Lamplighter” who was the “son of Yechiel Sharaga Feivish Tarshish and Chaya
Sarah Ida Tarshish” and the husband of Golda Tarshish with whom he raised one
son and two daughters, passed away today.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/12/24/99832338.pdf
http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm/ref/collection/tc/id/54808
https://www.amazon.com/Prelude-happiness-Jacob-Tarshish/dp/B00086OQVK
https://www.amazon.com/Little-journeys-Lamplighter-Jacob-Tarshish/dp/B000895MQK
1967: Final broadcast of “Twice a
Fortnight,” a British comedy series co-starring Jonathan Lynn, a nephew of Abba
Eban
1967: In Los Angeles, the curtain
came down on “The Happy Time,” with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb
and a book by N. Richard Nash (yes a trio of Jewish creators) which had opened
on November 19.
1968: Pinchas Rosen resigned from the Knesset and
retired from politics.
1968(2nd of Tevet, 5729): 8th day of
Chanukah which marks the end of the final celebration of the holiday during the
1969: “Master of Shadow” published
today examines the career of Josef von Sternberg, the director “The Blue Angel”
who passed away yesterday.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/12/23/103476243.pdf
1969: As part of the Cherbourg
Project retired Israeli Admiral Mordecai Limon, Martin Siemm and Amiot met
again to secretly sign contracts undoing everything they had signed the day
before.
1969: “Three” a film version Then
We Were Three by Irwin Shaw directed by James Salter was released today in
the United States.
1969: Paratroopers airlifted an entire Soviet
radar station out of Egypt and transported it back to Israel
1970(25th of Kislev, 5731): Chanukah
1970: “A Memorandum of
Understanding” was published at the initial meeting of the “International
Catholic – Jewish Liaison Committee.”
https://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/documents-and-statements/interreligious/ilc/ilc1970
1970: “Little Young Man” starring Dustin Hoffman,
whose ancestors were Jews from the Ukraine and Romania and Marin Balsam was
released in the United States today.
1971: The 22nd national
convention of the Farband opened in New York City.
1971: U.S. premiere of “Dirty
Harry” directed and produced by Don Siegel with music by Lalo Schifrin
1971: In Toronto, Judy Haim, a Sabra and
Bernie Haim gave birth to actor Corey Haim
1973(28th of Kislev, 5734): Fourth Day of
Chanukah
1973(28th of Kislev, 5734):
Seventy-two-year-old Irna Phillips whose skill at creating and writing daytime
soap operas earned her the title “Queen of the Soaps” passed away today.
http://www.oldradioshows.org/2011/02/irna-phillips-mother-of-the-soap-opera/
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/phillips-irna
1974: Howard Metzenbaum completed a one year
term as a U.S. Senator from Ohio to which he had been appointed by the Governor
when the elected incumbent had resigned to become U.S. Attorney-General.
1974: “Although he failed to win a seat,”
Yigal Cohen “entered the Knesset as a replace for Ariel Sharon.”
1977: The Jerusalem Post reported that the
cabinet approved the peace plan as prepared by Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
This scheme, which was to be presented to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in
Ismailia, was prematurely leaked to the press. It reportedly contained, among
other suggestions, a proposal for municipal autonomy for the Arab part of
Jerusalem.
1976(2nd of Tevet, 5737): The 8th
candle of Chanukah is kindled for the last time during the short-live
Presidency of Gerald Fordl
1977: The Jerusalem Post reported that
in Cairo Egyptian officials described the Israeli security proposals, presented
by Defense Minister Ezer Weizmann, as "extremely disappointing." The
Egyptian view was that only very minor changes of the pre-1967 borders could
ever be considered.
1977: It was reported today that the Chanukah
holidays have spurred contributions from Jewish citizens to the New York Times
Neediest Cases Fund. Among other donations, the fund has received a gift of
$100 from the Henry and Nell Feder Foundation Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish
Communal Fund. A note accompanying the
donation said that the “Jewish Communal Fund is dedicated to the support of the
voluntary system of philanthropy and is happy to be of help to you in achieving
your goals.”
1979(3rd of Tevet, 5740): Art collector Peggy
Guggenheim passed away.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/the-priceless-peggy-guggenheim-1806124.html
1979(3rd of Tevet, 5740): Chaim Leib
Shmuelevitz passed away. Born in 1902, “he was a member of the faculty of the
Mirrer Yeshiva for more than 40 years, in Poland, Shanghai and Jerusalem,
serving as Rosh yeshiva during its sojourn in Shanghai from 1941 to 1947, and
again in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem from 1965 to 1979.”
1980: Seventy-six-year-old Berlin native Hans
Wilhelm, a screenwriter who was forced to leave Germany after the Nazis came to
power because of his “Jewish heritage” passed away today in Santa Monica, CA.
1981(27th of Kislev, 5742): Third Day of
Chanukah observed for the first time during the presidency of Ronald Regan.
1982: In Sydney, the Israeli Consulate and a
Jewish social club were bombed today.
1983(17th of Tevet, 5744): Ninety-four-year-old
Emma Diamond passed away today in a Cleveland Heights nursing home
1984(29th of Kislev, 5745): Fifth
Day of Chanukah
1985: It was reported today that Biederman &
Company has become the first ad agency for Tower Air, which flies its 747
aircraft primarily out of Kennedy International Airport and has regular service
to Brussels and Tel Aviv.
1985:
Time magazine describes the recently concluded UNESCO
Conference held in Paris to honor the memory of the Rambam. “Maimonides was one
of the few Jewish thinkers whose teachings also influenced the non-Jewish
world; much of his philosophical writings in the Guide were about God and other
theological issues of general, not exclusively Jewish, interest. Thomas Aquinas
refers in his writings to “Rabbi Moses,” and shows considerable familiarity
with the Guide. In 1985, on the 850th anniversary of Maimonides's birth,
Pakistan and Cuba — which do not recognize Israel — were among the cosponsors
of a UNESCO conference in Paris on Maimonides. Vitali Naumkin, a Soviet
scholar, observed on this occasion: “;Maimonides is perhaps the only
philosopher in the Middle Ages, perhaps even now, who symbolizes a confluence
of four cultures: Greco-Roman, Arab, Jewish, and Western.” More remarkably,
Abderrahmane Badawi, a Muslim professor from Kuwait University, declared: “I
regard him first and foremost as an Arab thinker.” This sentiment was echoed by
Saudi Arabian professor Huseyin Atay, who claimed that “if you didn't know he
was Jewish, you might easily make the mistake of saying that a Muslim was
writing.” That is, if you didn't read any of his Jewish writings. Maimonides
scholar Shlomo Pines delivered perhaps the most accurate assessment at the
conference: “Maimonides is the most influential Jewish thinker of the Middle
Ages, and quite possibly of all time” As a popular Jewish expression of the
Middle Ages declares: “From Moses [of the Torah] to Moses [Maimonides] there
was none like Moses.”
1986: In what marked the beginning of
perestroika which improved conditions for “refuseniks” Andrei Sakharov and his
wife Elena Bonner returned to Moscow from internal exile.
1987(2nd of Tevet, 5748): 8th
and final day of Chanukah
1987(2nd of Tevet, 5748):
Seventy-two year old broadcast executive Aaron Rubin passed away.
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/31/obituaries/aaron-rubin-former-nbc-executive-72.html
1987: “Good Morning Vietnam” directed by
Barry Levinson began a limited released today in the United States.
1988: Shimon Peres completed his service as the
Foreign Affairs Minister.
1988: Moshe Arens began serving as the
Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel.
1988: “Dominick and Eugene” produced by Marvin
Minoff and co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of Tony Curtis was
released in the United States today.
1988: “The Accidental Tourist” directed by Lawrence
Kasdan who also co-authored the script was released today in the United States.
1989(25th of Kislev, 5750): First
Day of Chanukah and Shabbat
1989(25th of Kislev, 5750): Eighy-three-year-old
Richard Rado the British mathematician who had been forced to leave his
homeland by the Nazis and who was awarded the Senior Berwick Prize after having
discovered the Rado graph, passed away today in Reading, UK
1992: U.S. premiere of “Scent of a Woman”
directed and produced by Martin Brest with a script by Bo Goldman.
1993(9th of Tevet, 5754): Two Israeli men were killed in the West Bank
by Palestinian gunmen today in a drive-by shooting that ended a 10-day lull in
attacks by opponents of the peace talks between Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organization. The two Israelis, Meir Mendelevitch and Eliyahu
Levine, both rigorously Orthodox men in their 20's, were said to have been
driving home to Bnei Brak, outside Tel Aviv, when they were overtaken by a car
of Palestinians and riddled with bullets. They had reportedly visited the West
Bank settlement of Ofra, and were killed as they drove through Beituniya, an
Arab village. Two Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for the attack --
the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, based in Syria, and the
Islamic Resistance Movement, known by its acronym Hamas. Israeli officials said
they presumed that it was a Hamas assault, a suspicion reinforced by a
telephone call to a foreign news agency saying it was in retaliation for the
killing of a Hamas commander by Israeli soldiers last month.
1993(9th of Tevet, 5754): Anatoly Kolisnikov,
an Ashdod resident employed as a relief watchman at a construction site there,
was stabbed to death by terrorists while on duty.
1994: “Legends of the Fall” a movie version of the
book by the same name directed by Edward Zwick who also served as producer
along with Marshall Herskovitz was released today in the United States.
1994: It was reported today that Lucy Kroll
an agent for writers, playwrights and performers for more than 50 years, has
given the Library of Congress a big gift: 110 boxes full of letters,
manuscripts, albums, contracts and other memorabilia. Her clients have included
Carl Sandburg, Ben Hecht, William Schuman, Martha Graham, Elisabeth
Kubler-Ross, James Earl Jones, Jerry Garcia and Barney Clark, the first person
to receive a permanent artificial heart. Ms. Kroll, an octogenarian who sold
her New York agency in October to Barbara Hogenson, who had worked for her,
said: "For Christmas, I am divesting myself. Possessions are heavy, so
instead of buying gifts, I am giving things that belong to me -- jewelry,
books, clothes. I am also donating my 1940's couturier clothes to a university
in Tel Aviv to train students how to design."
1994: “Death and the Maiden” the Roman Polanski adaption of the book by Ariel
Dorfrman who wrote the screenplay along Rafael Yglesias was released today in
several countries simultaneously.
1995(30th of Kislev, 5756): Parasha Miketz; Rosh
Chodesh Tevet; Sixth Day of Chanukah
1995:
Prime Minister Shimon Peres said
today that Israel would be prepared to close its nuclear program if there was a
regional peace in the Middle East, though he stopped short of confirming that
Israel possesses nuclear weapons. Mr. Peres made his comments at a lunch with
Israeli journalists in Tel Aviv, after one of them asked whether his new
priorities include a change in nuclear policy. Yes," he said. "Give
me peace and we'll give up the nuclear program. That's the whole story."
1996 James Steinberg completed his service as
Director of Policy Planning and began serving as Deputy National Security under
President Clinton.
1997(24th
of Kislev, 5758): Kindle the first light of Chanukah in the evening.
1997: “As Good As It Gets” an
off-beat comedy directed and produced by James L. Brooks who also co-authored
the script was released today in the United States.
1997: Woody Allen aged 62 married Soon-Yi
Previn aged 27. The bride was the adopted daughter of Woody Allen’s long-time
paramour, Mia Farrow. For all of those
who point to Woody as a Jewish man of letters, they must assume that he skipped
that day in Sunday School when they talked about forbidden marriages.
1997: Andrew Tobias publishes the “Jewish
Parrot” Joke:
Meyer, a lonely widower, was walking home one
night when he passed a pet store and heard a squawking voice shouting out in
Yiddish, "Quawwwwk ... vus machst du ... yeah, du ...
outside, standing like a schlemiel ... eh?"
Meyer rubbed his eyes and ears. He couldn’t
believe it. The proprietor sprang out of the door and grabbed Meyer by the
sleeve. "Come in here, fella, and check out this parrot."
Meyer stood in front of an African Grey that
cocked his little head and said, "Vus? Ir kent reddin Yiddish?"
Meyer turned excitedly to the store owner.
"He speaks Yiddish?"
In a matter of moments, Meyer had placed five
hundred dollars down on the counter and carried the parrot in his cage away
with him. All night he talked with the parrot in Yiddish. He told the parrot
about his father’s adventures coming to America, about how beautiful his mother
was when she was a young bride, about his family, about his years of working in
the garment center, about Florida. The parrot listened and commented. They
shared some walnuts. The parrot told him of living in the pet store, how he
hated the weekends. Finally, they both went to sleep.
Next morning, Meyer began to put on his tefillin,
all the while saying his prayers. The parrot demanded to know what he was
doing, and when Meyer explained, the parrot wanted to do it too. Meyer went out
and handmade a miniature set of tefillin for the parrot. The parrot wanted to
learn to daven, so Meyer taught him how read Hebrew, and taught him every
prayer in the Siddur with the appropriate nussach for the daily services. Meyer
spent weeks and months sitting and teaching the parrot the Torah, Mishnah and
Gemara. In time, Meyer came to love and count on the parrot as a friend and a Jew.
On the morning of Rosh Hashanah, Meyer rose, got
dressed and was about to leave when the parrot demanded to go with him. Meyer
explained that Shul was not a place for a bird, but the parrot made a terrific
argument and was carried to Shul on Meyer’s shoulder. Needless to say, they
made quite a sight when they arrived at the Shul, and Meyer was questioned by
everyone, including the Rabbi and Cantor, who refused to allow a bird into the
building on the High Holy Days. However, Meyer convinced them to let him in
this one time, swearing that the parrot could daven.
Wagers were made with Meyer. Thousands of dollars
were bet (even money) that the parrot could NOT daven, could not speak Yiddish
or Hebrew, etc. All eyes were on the African Grey during services. The parrot
perched on Meyer’s shoulder as one prayer and song passed - Meyer heard not a
peep from the bird. He began to become annoyed, slapping at his shoulder and
mumbling under his breath, "Daven!"
Nothing.
"Daven ... feigelleh, please! You can
daven, so daven ... come on, everybody’s looking at you!"
Nothing.
After Rosh Hashanah services were concluded, Meyer
found that he owed his Shul buddies and the Rabbi over four thousand dollars.
He marched home quite upset, saying nothing. Finally several blocks from the
Shul, the bird, happy as a lark, began to sing an old Yiddish song. Meyer
stopped and looked at him. "You
miserable bird, you cost me over four thousand dollars. Why? After I made your
tefillin, taught you the morning prayers, and taught you to read Hebrew and the
Torah. And after you begged me to bring you to Shul on Rosh Hashanah, why? Why
did you do this to me?" "Don’t be a schlemiel," the parrot
replied. "You know what odds we’ll get at Yom Kippur?!"
1998: Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron
Mandelson completed his service as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
1999(14th of Tevet, 5760): Eighty-three-year-old
author and satirist Felicia Lamport, the daughter of Samuel C. Lamport and
Miriam (Dworsky) Lamport and the wife of Judge Benjamin Kaplan with whom she
had two children – James Kaplan and Nancy Mansbach – passed away today. (As
reported by William H. Honan)
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/25/arts/felicia-lamport-83-a-satirist-devoted-to-rhyme.html
2000(26th of Kislev, 5761): 2nd
Day of Chanukah
2000(26th of Kislev, 5761): Fifty-five-year-old
Susan Berman, “the daughter of Davie Berman, a Las Vegas mob figure” was
murdered today, reportedly by her friend Robert Durst.
2000(26th of Kislev, 5761): Ninety one year old
Victor Borge, the Danish born film actor and comedic pianist passed away. (As
reported by Stephen Holden)
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/24/nyregion/victor-borge-91-comic-piano-virtuoso-dies.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
2001: The New
York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or about
subjects of Jewish interest including The Healing Wound: Experiences and
Reflections on Germany, 1938-2001 by Gitta
Sereny and Indelible by Rachel Hadas
2002: In case of any excuse will
do, it was reported today that the elections in which Yassar Arafat is running
for another terms as Palestinian president have been postponed because “Israeli
troops were occupying the West Bank and restricting in the Gaza strip.
2003: New York Gov. George Pataki pardoned the late comedian Lenny Bruce for
his 1964 obscenity conviction.
2004: It was reported today that
British Prime Minister Tony Blair who is visiting the Middle East has released
“detailed plans for an international conference on Palestinian reform that
would be a first step in “reviving Middle East peace efforts” but who also “warned
that nothing would be accomplished if the Palestinians failed to act against
terrorism.”
2005: “The Ringer,” a “sports comedy” directed
by Barry Blaustein was released in the United States today.
2005: Jewish leaders in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria have
called for tougher laws against incitement and racial hatred following the
riots that swept Australia about 10 days ago.
2005(22nd of Kislev, 5766): Eighty-five year
old Selma Jeanne Cohen, publisher of the six volume International Encyclopedia
of Dance passed away today (As reported by Jack Anderson)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/26/arts/26cohen.html
2005: Release date for “Munich” the Steven Spielberg
film about the Israeli program to hunt down the terrorists responsible for the
Munich Massacre at the 1972 Olympics.
2006(2nd of Tevet, 5767): Eighth Day of Chanukah.
2006: The
Jerusalem Post reported on the preparation for Christmas Eve pilgrims
coming to Bethlehem. Israel plans to ease security restrictions to make it
easier for the expected 20,000 pilgrims to enter the city. These pilgrims include residents of Gaza.
Lt.-Col. Aviv Feigel, head of the District Coordination Liaison (DCL) office,
acknowledged the risk but expressed confidence that the Palestinians will
cooperate since Bethlehem is the biggest tourist attraction and hence source of
tourist revenue they have.
2007: In Jerusalem, a screening of
“Tehillim.” Set in present-day Jerusalem, in a religious neighborhood bordering
a Haredi zone and a non-religious area it tells the story of sixteen-year-old
Menahem Frenkel who would like to pave his future independently. His father,
Eli, wishes to shape his son into a serious and faithful young man. When Eli
disappears, Menachem discovers his true identity. “Tehillim” is a film of
personal journeys, portraying the search for oneself and one’s roots.
2007(14th of Tevet,
5768): Ninety-three-year-old Rhoda Pritzker, the Manchester born daughter of
Morris and Cissie Goldberg and the widow of wealthy lawyer, businessman and
philanthropist Jack Pritzker whose family “founded the Hyatt hotel chain”
passed away today.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20071230/philanthropist-helped-education-and-arts
2007: The Sunday New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish
authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Henry James:
The Mature Master by Sheldon M. Novick.
2008: Closing
session of the AJS (Association for Jewish Studies) 40th Annual Conference in
Washington, D.C.
2008: “Judge Judy Sheindlin shared juicy
revealing secrets about her life on Shatner's Raw Nerve, in which she was
presumptuously interviewed by William Shatner.”
2008: Adam Goldstein, a
celebrity disc jockey known as DJ AM, who survived a fiery Learjet crash
in South Carolina has sued several companies and the estates of the plane’s
pilots.
2008: President Bush pardoned
Charles Winters.
(As reported by Eric Lichtblau)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/washington/24pardons.html
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2008/12/bush-pardons-in.html
2008 (26 Kislev 5769): Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf, a nationally prominent Reform
rabbi known for his progressive, sometimes provocative public stances,
including opposition to the Vietnam War, a speech at Yale accusing the
university of a history of anti-Semitism and early political support for his
neighbor Barack Obama, passed away in Chicago at the age of 84.
2008: NYU “filed a lawsuit to
recover $24 million lost in the Ariel Fund, Ltd and the Gabriel Corp claiming
that the university was unaware that Ezra Merkin, who was the manager of the
Ariel Fund “was actually turning NYU’s money to Bernie Maddoff.
2009(6th
of Tevet, 5770): Eighty-six-year-old “Yitzhak Ahronovitch, the captain of the
refugee ship Exodus, whose violent interception by the British Navy as it tried
to take thousands of Jewish refugees to Palestine in 1947 helped rally support
for the creation of the state of Israel the next year” passed away today. (As
reported by Margalit Fox)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/world/middleeast/24ahronovitch.html
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/dec/27/ike-aronowitz-obituary
2009: “Heroes” featuring the work
of sculptor Ann Forman sponsored by The International Raoul Wallenberg
Foundation and Casa Argentina en Israel - Tierra Santa comes to a close at the
IRWF in New York.
2009: The Wednesday
evening lecture series at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem presents a Guest
Lecture: "Women and the book of Psalms," by Prof. Marc Z. Brettler of
Brandeis University.
2009: Mishkenot Sha'ananim presents
the first in a seven-part lecture series entitled "My Jerusalem." The
series includes seven encounters in which key Jerusalemite personalities from
various fields talk about Jerusalem from a personal angle. The first lecture,
entitled “Stones Weep in Jerusalem” presented is a collection of experience and
memories presented by author Dan Benaya.
2009: According to
today’s Cedar Rapids Gazette “Tootsie Rolls are officially kosher.”
The Orthodox Union has added
Chicago made Tootsie Rolls to the compendium of kosher confections that
children can consume. “For years, consumers have been banging down the doors of
the Orthodox Union asking when will Tootsie Rolls become certified,” says Rabbi
Eliyahu Safran of the Orthodox Union, the world’s largest kosher certification
agency.The certification covers Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Fruit Rolls, Frooties
and DOTS. Ellen Gordon, president of Tootsie Roll Industries, said the only
thing that changes is the packaging, which will carry the stamp of approval in
2010. No announcement has been made about the status of Gatorade, which is
always purportedly attempting to gain the Hechsher.
2009: As of today, Temple Sinai in Oakland, CA, had raised
almost $12 million for its new building. Officially known as the First Hebrew
Congregation of Oakland, this Reform temple was found in 1875 and “is the
oldest Jewish congregation in the East San Francisco Bay region.”
2010: David Broza a
musician who “personifies Israel at its finest,” is scheduled to perform at the
92nd Street Y.
2010: A planned Seattle bus advertising campaign that accused
Israel of committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip was rejected by King County
Executive Dow Constantine.
A planned Seattle bus advertising campaign that accused Israel of
committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip was rejected by King County Executive
Dow Constantine today.
2010: A memorial service was held today for Kristine Luken, the
American stabbed to death by a terrorist, at Christ Church in Jerusalem.
2011(27th of Kislev, 5772): Seventy-eight-year-old
“Evelyn Handler, a cell biologist who, as the first woman to serve as president
of Brandeis University, set off an acrimonious debate over the university’s
Jewish identity when she secularized some campus traditions in hopes of
attracting more non-Jewish students, died today in a pedestrian accident in
Bedford, N.H (As reported by Paul Vitello)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/us/evelyn-handler-biologist-and-educator-dies-at-78.html
2011: The Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to come to
an end.
2011: Jazz For All, featuring Eyal Sela &The Orel Oshrat Trio,
is scheduled to take place the Eden-Tamir Music Center.
2011:
Today, right-wing lawmakers lashed at a statement
attributed to Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat and reported by Haaretz earlier
in the day, according to which Israel should relinquish Jerusalem's Palestinian
neighborhoods beyond the separation barrier.
2011:
President Obama signed a bill today to expand U.S.
military assistance to Israel.
2012:
Naftali Bennett, Head of HaBayit HaYehudi Party, is
scheduled to speak at Federation Hall in Tel Aviv
2012: “Once I Entered a Garden” is scheduled to be shown at the
Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.
2012: The New York Times
featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to
Jewish readers including Love, In Theory: Ten Stories by E.J. Levy.
2012(10th of Tevet): Asarah BeTevet
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/102698/jewish/10-Tevet.htm
2012(10th 0f Tevet): Yarhrzeit of Judith Sharon
Rosenstein (nee Levin). Known to one and all as Judy, she truly was an Ashit
Chayil, “A Woman of Valor.” A devoted wife, loving mother, doting grandmother,
faithful friend as well as daughter and sister extraordinaire, Judy is a gift
to all who are fortunate enough to be part of her life. “And her children
called her ‘Blessed’.” May her name always be remembered!
2012:
Gaza Arab terrorists fired a rocket at Israel this
evening, the first one since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense in
November.
2012:
Almost half of the Israeli population supports a
unilateral withdrawal from large sections of the Palestinian territories based
on the pre-1967 lines, according to a poll conducted by Rafi Smith for the Blue
White Future movement. The poll was released ahead of an election debate
between the “Zionist parties” hosted by the movement today at Tel Aviv
University.
2012: December 2012 continued to break precipitation records over
the weekend, as heavy rainfall across central and northern Israel filled the
Sea of Galilee, swelled rivers and streams and brought 60-70 centimeters of
snow to the summit of Mount Hermon. The Sea of Galilee has now seen the largest
December increase in the last 20 years, rising 18 centimeters over the weekend.
The Israel Water Authority estimated that the level would rise a further 7
centimeters today from runoff, bringing the total level to 212 meters below sea
level.
2012: Today, human rights activist Maikel Nabil, the pro-Israeli
dissident who was the first political prisoner in post-revolution Egypt, made
his first public appearance in Jerusalem where he tried to draw attention to
Arab peace activists across the region and called for an Arab-Israeli
reconciliation.
2012: Ninety-six-year-old author Klemens von Klemperer passed
away. (As reported by Dennis Hevesi)
2013:
“Kidon” and “Apollonian Story” are scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem
Jewish Film Festival.
2013:
Early this morning police sappers collected the shards of a Kassam rocket that
Palestinians earlier fired from the Gaza Strip at the Hof Ashkelon area which
landed near a bus stop used by schoolchildren.
2013:
In the spirit of “The Big Lie” President Mahmoud Abbas released a Christmas greeting
Monday, calling Jesus a “Palestinian messenger” and implying that Israel
persecutes Christians. Abbas ignored the fact that there was no Palestine in
the time of Jesus who was a Jew and that on the day he made the charges about
persecution of Christians the JNF was completing its annual distribution of
Christmas trees.
2013:
Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, the Loyola Marymout University trained attorney
and the son of Jewish refugees from Cuba began serving as he 6th
United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.
2013:
An Arab terrorist stabbed an Israeli police officer this afternoon at the “Adam
checkpoint north of Jerusalem.” (As reported by David Lev)
2013:
Kenyon College and Indiana University officially withdrew their memberships
from the American Studies Association today, joining the growing list of
institutions pushing back against the academic body for its recently announced
boycott of Israel.
2014:
“Mr. Kaplan” and a Chanukah treat for the kids “Lady and the Tramp” are
scheduled to be shown at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival.
2014:
A memorial service for Louise Goldblatt, the wife of the late Leroy “Larry”
Goldblatt and the mother of Laurie (Dr. Robert) Silber and Dr. Fred Goldblatt
is scheduled to take place at Temple Judah in Cedar Rapids, IA
2014(1st
of Tevet, 5775): Rosh Chodesh Tevet
2024:
In the evening, kindle the 8th Chanukah light.
2014:
Heads of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria together with IDF
representatives lit the eighth and final candle of Hanukkah tonight at the
grave of Yehoshua Ben Nun (Joshua) - the disciple of Moshe (Moses) from the
Torah - located in the village Kifl Hares just north of Ariel in Samaria.
2014:
“The
Antitrust Authority decided today to break up a deal allowing a consortium of
two energy companies to develop Israel’s largest gas fields, in a dramatic move
reversing an arrangement that had come under fire.” (As reported by Lazar
Berman)
2014:
French police arrested a suspect who is connected with the firing a gun into
one of the windows of the David Ben Ichay Synagouge in Belleville.
2015(11th
of Tevet, 5776): Seventy-four-year-old Alfred Goodman Gilman who “shared the
1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of
G-proteins and the role of these proteins in signal transduction in cells”
passed away today. (As reported by William Grimes)
2015:
Israeli singer and songwriter Yonatan Gefen is scheduled to perform at the JCC
in Manhattan.
2016:
The final screening of “On the Map” which “tells the against-all-odds of
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s 1977 European Championship” is scheduled to take place at
the Cinema Village.
2016:
The Temple Israel Family Tour is scheduled to arrive at Ben Gurion
International Airport on EL AL Flight #208 on a trip that will last until
January 1, 2017.
2016:
In the wake of the U.S. presidential elections, the 92nd Street Y is
scheduled to host Dick Simpson, professor of political science at the
University of Illinois in Chicago speaking on “Winning Elections in the 21st
Century.”
2016:
“The Trump transition team announced today that Jason Greenblatt will leave his
current job as executive vice president and chief legal officer of The Trump
Organization to serve as the president’s special representative for
international negotiations” which means “he is expected to manage the
administration’s work on Israeli-Palestinian talks and on trade agreements,
among other negotiations.”
2016:
“Defying extraordinary pressure from President-elect Donald J. Trump and
furious lobbying by Israel, the Obama administration today allowed the United
Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution that condemned Israeli
settlement construction.” (As reported by Somini Sengupta and Rick Gladstone)
2016:
“The U.N. Security Council today passed a resolution demanding that Israel
cease Jewish settlement activity on Palestinian territory in a unanimous vote
that passed when the United States abstained rather than using its veto as it
has reliably done in the past.” (As reported by Carol Morello and Ruth Eglash)
2017:
The nation’s largest workshop/festival of Yiddish culture is scheduled to open
today at the 14th St Y in Manhattan
2017(5th
of Tevet, 5778): Parashat Vayigash;
2018(15th
of Tevet, 5779): Eighty-seven year old Belgian born and University of Chicago
mathematician, Elias Stein who was the husband of Elly Stein passed away
today.(As reported by Kenneth Chang)
2018:
The New York Times features reviews
of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers
including the recently released paperback edition of Stephen Kotkin’s Stalin:
Waiting For Hitler, 1929-1941, “the second installment of a three-part
biography explores Stalin the ideologue and the opportunist, and concludes with
the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.”
2018:
In the NFL when the Patriots take the field against the Buffalo Bills today,
fans will be looking to see if Pat’s Wide Receiver Julian Edelman again “wears cleats bearing the words “The Tree of Life” written in
Hebrew, the logo of the Tree of Life Or L’Simcha Congregation — the synagogue
targeted in the mass shooting in October — and an Israeli flag, with the
hashtag #strongerthanhate.”
2018: The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is scheduled to
present “a special concert featuring NEA National Heritage Fellow Michael
Alpert and special guests” in a “A Night of Yiddish Song” as well as “an
evening of singing, stories and reminiscences by the family, friends,
colleagues and student of scholar and vocalist Ruth Rubin.
2018: In Amherst, MA, the Yiddish Book Center is scheduled to
host a screening of “offbeat, irreverent musical documentary ‘Dreaming of a
Jewish Christmas.’”
2018: Yiddish New York includes workshops and/or lectures on
“Klezmer for Beginners,” “Contemporary Yiddish Culture” and “Yiddish
Cartooning.”
2018: The USY International Convention is scheduled to open in
Orlando, FL.
2019(25th of Kislev, 5780): First Day of Chanukah
https://jeopardylabs.com/play/chanukah10
2019: Yiddish New York is scheduled to host a performance of “Reflections of a Lost Poet (A Rendezvous Mit
Gott): The Life & Works of Itzik Manger” by Miriam Hoffman and starring her son Avi
Hoffman as well as as a “Mickey Katz dance party with Marty Ehrlich and Michael
Winograd.”
2019: YIVO is scheduled to present Itzik Gottesman as he
lectures on “A Very Jewish Christmas: Old World Jewish Christmas Traditions”
followed by “Chanukah candle lighting ceremony and a kosher Chinese dinner.”
2019: In Palo Alto, Zack Tobin is scheduled to host “Ha Ha
Hanukkuah” in an evening that combines Jewish Bay Area comedians, Latkes and
Maccabee Mules.
2020: Base BSTN is scheduled to present online “Praise, Request
and Gratitude: A Look at Jewish Prayer.”
2020: Grammy-nominated songwriter, piano sensation and Shaker Heights
native Jim Brickman who is Jewish is scheduled to continue his annual Christmas
tradition this holiday season with the Comfort & Joy at Home 2020 Virtual
Tour” which is, in apart, a fund raiser for the Columbus’ historic Southern
Theatre
2020: Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza, his Cuban band and
others are scheduled t0 livestream a concert “Not Exactly Christmas Show.”
2020: the Yiddish New York Film Festival is scheduled to begin
today.
2020: • Rabbi Moshe Druin,
from Sofer on Site, is in Cedar Rapids this week to repair the Temple Judah
Torah scrolls and since we can’t meet him in person this year, due to our
coronavirus restrictions, Temple Judah is scheduled to offering a Zoom session
with him today at 7:00 pm” during which he will “discuss what goes into making
and keeping a Torah kosher, tell a few stories, and take questions.”
2020: As part of the “Coffee with a Survivor” program, the
Illinois Holocaust Museum is scheduled to present Second Generation Speaker
Kitty Loewy who “will share the story of how her father, Karl, immigrated to
the Dominican Republic as a refugee.”
2020: Mosaic is scheduled to co-host a presentation of “My
Quarrel with Hersh Raysseyner” which will feature “an introduction and Q&A
with Ruth Wisse.”
2020: Following yesterday’s collapse of the “unity” government,
Israelis awaken to an even more unsettled world thanks to the on-going threat
of Arab terrorism, the Pandemic and an election campaign that will last until
March.
2021: Temple Emanuel of Newton is scheduled to present online
“Hanukkah Happens wit the Zamir Chorale of Boston.”
2021: The Osher Marin JCC is scheduled to present online,
“Exploring Broadway: Fabulous Fiddler” during which attending will “learn
interest facts and trivia and eexplore the cultural significance of “Fiddler on
the Roof.”
2021: The Women’s Archive is scheduled to present online Dr.
Samira Mehta lecturing on the “History of Jews and Reproductive Rights in
America.”
2022: Based on previously published information, FTX founder Sam
Bankman-Fried is at home with his parents after having been released on $250
million bond whilePresident Volodymyr Zelensky has returned to Ukraine to
continue leading his nation in the valiant fight against Russian aggression.
2022: A live broadcast is scheduled to take place om Kan Kol
Hamusika of a concert feather the “Winners of the Kan Voice Music Young Artists
Competition.”
2022: In San Francisco, Congregation Sherith Israel is scheduled
to present the 30th anniversary performance of “Kung Pao Kosher
Comedy,” a show that features Mark Schiff, Cathy Ladman, Orion Levine and Lisa
Geduldig. In-person event includes Chinese food and Yiddish proverb fortune
cookies.
2022: Temple Israel of Boston is scheduled to present onsite or
online a festive Chanukah Qabbalat Shabbat.
2022: The Gateways Chanukah is scheduled to being this evening
in Stamford, CT.
2022(29th of Kislev, 5783): Fourth Day of Chanukah
2023: Yiddish New York is scheduled to begin.
2023: The Eden Tamir Center is scheduled to host “The Best of
Chamber Music” with violinist Camit Zori, cellist Hillel Zori and pianist Shai
Wosner.
2023(11th
of Tevet, 5783): Parashat Vayigash for more https://downhomedavartorah.blogspot.com/
2023:
As December 23 begins in Israel, the Hamas held
hostages begin day 78 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)
