July 26 History
657: Caliph Muawiya defeated Caliph Ali at the Battle of Siffin. Muawiya was the founder of the Umayyad dynasty. Earlier, he had been instrumental in the founding of a synagogue in
Tripoli
(in modern day
Lebanon
). The Umayyads would take control of
Jerusalem
, allow the Jews to live openly in the city and build one of their most famous mosques. This battle may be “ancient history” to westerners but for some followers of Islam it resonates in the Sunni vs. Shiite conflict we see in the 21st century.
1139: Count Alfonso, who declared independence from Leon, proclaimed himself the first king of Portugal and entered history as King Alfonso I. King Afonso I of Portugal entrusted Yahia Ben Yahi III, a Sephardic Jew born in Cordoba with the post of supervisor of tax collection and nominated him the first Chief-Rabbi of Portugal.
1267:Clement IV issued “Turbato corde” a Papal Bull that forbids Christians from embracing Judaism.
1267: Pope Clement IV established the Inquisition at Rome.
1305:Today, Rashba, who “was opposed to the philosophic-rationalistic approach to Judaism often associated with Rambam, and” who “was part of the beit din (rabbinical court) in Barcelona that forbade men younger than 25 from studying secular philosophy or the natural sciences (although an exception was made for those who studied medicine) wrote: ‘In that city [Barcelona] are those who write iniquity about the Torah and if there would be a heretic writing books, they should be burnt as if they were the book of sorcerers.’” Rashba is the Hebrew acronym for the title and name of Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet, “a Medieval rabbi, halakhist, and Talmudist. The Rashba was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1235. He became a successful banker and leader of Spanish Jewry of his time. He served as rabbi of the Main Synagogue of Barcelona for 50 years. His teachers were the Ramban and Rabbeinu Yona. Among his numerous students were the Ritva, Rabbeinu Behaye, and the Ra'ah. The Rashba was considered an outstanding rabbinic authority, and more than 3,000 of his responsa are known to be extant. Questions were addressed to him from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, and even from Asia Minor. His responsa, which cover the entire gamut of Jewish life, are concise and widely quoted by halakhic authorities. The Rashba's responsa also illustrate his opposition to messianism and prophetic pretensions as a general phenomenon, with examples against Nissim ben Abraham and Abraham Abulafia. The Rashba defended Rambam (Maimonides) during contemporary debates over his works, and he authorized the translation of Rambam's commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic to Hebrew.” He passed away in 1310.
1309: Henry
VII
is recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V. Pope Clement V is first pope to threaten Jews with an economic boycott in an attempt to force them to stop charging Christians interest on loans.”
1534: After a papal commission had attested to atrocities committed by the Inquisition against pseudo-Christians, Pope Clement
VII
issued a brief to the nuncio of the Portuguese court to press for the release and absolution of 1200 imprisoned Marranos. The Pope would die before action could be taken on his order and the effort ended with his death.
1555: The Jews of Rome were forced into a ghetto by order of Pope Paul IV
1581: Adoption of the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (Act of Abjuration), the declaration of independence of the northern Low Countries from the Spanish king, Philip II. For Christians this is part of the battle between Protestants and Catholics; for Jews it is a conflict that will result in the independence of the Netherlands, a Protestant nation that would be a haven of tolerance for European Jews.
1605: A Jesuit Missionary traveling though
China
wrote a letter describing his meetings with Ai T'ien, a Chinese Jewish teacher. Most of what we know regarding the
Kaifeng
Jewish community is from this correspondence.
1645: Alexis Mikhailovich succeeded his father as the “second czar of the Roman of dynasty.” The czar employed a Jewish physician named Stephan von Gaden. Unlike many other Russian rulers who purused anti-Jewish policies, this Czar’s record is a mixed bag. “During his reign a considerable number of Jews lived in Moscow and the interior of Russia.” “From the edicts issued by Alexis Mikhailovich, it appears that the czar often granted the Jews passports with red seals (gosudarevy zhalovannyya gramoty), without which no foreigners could be admitted to the interior; and that they traveled without restriction to Moscow, dealing in cloth and jewelry, and even received from his court commissions to procure various articles of merchandise.” On the other hand he expelled Jews from various “newly acquired cities” in Poland and Lithuania.
1669:It was finally decided, today to expel a number of Jews from Vienna and Lower Austria; 1,346 persons were affected by this decree of banishment. In their dire need the Jews of Vienna once more sent a memorial to the emperor; but in vain, for the commission had attributed to them all kinds of crimes.
1670: The last Jews left Vienna, following expulsion orders. According to tradition, this took place on Tish'a b'Av.
1719 (10th of Av: Rabbi Samuel Filorintin, author of Olat Shemel passed away today.
1788: New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States. The fate of the Jewish people and the state of New York has been intertwined since the earliest days of settlement in what is now the United States. For example, Isaac Moses was a co-founder of the New York Chamber of Commerce in 1768. There were approximately 350 Jews living in
New York City
at the time of the American Revolution. Many of them fled during the British occupation and did not return until after the war. Jews were active in
New York
politics from the early days of the Republic as can be seen by Solomon Simpson’s role as a founder of the famed Tammany Society (the cornerstone of the Democratic Party) in 1794.
1788: British “colonists” settle in
Sydney
,
Australia
. These “colonists” were part of an English transport of convicts shipped to
New South Wales
.
Australia
was founded as penal colony. According to at least one source there were eight Jews among the first shipment of eight hundred prisoners including “sixteen year old Esther Abrahams of
London
sentenced for stealing a piece of lace.”
1806: Napoleon formed the Conference of Notables to deal with the relationship between the Jews and the
French
State
. It consisted of 112 deputies from all parts of the French Empire. At the assembly, led by the financier Abraham Furtado and Rabbi Joseph David Sinzheim, the delegates were confronted with a questionnaire on polygamy, usury, loyalty and intermarriage. Pleased with their answers, he decided to reenact the Sanhedrin, with representatives from all congregations under his careful direction. Even though the assembly was to be held on the Sabbath (some claim as a loyalty litmus test) it was decided to attend and not risk the wrath of the Emperor.
1816(1st of Av, 5576): Rosh Chodesh Av
1844:Today, during the last weeks of his life, Aron Chorin wrote from his sick-bed a declaration expressing his full accord with the Rabbinical Conference of Brunswick, and on August 11 he sent an address to the conference of Hungarian rabbis at Páks. He died at Arad, Hungary.
1847: The Republic of Liberia declares its independence. One hundred years later, in November of 1947, Liberia would be one of 33 nations to vote for partition which would lead to the creation of the state of Israel.
1850: Rabbi S. M. Isaacs, of New York, officiated at the dedication of the new Synagogue in Buffalo, NY. Those attending donated a sum of six hundred dollars following the ceremony. Rabbi Isaacs is the spiritual leader of Gates of Prayer in New York City.
1858: Sir Lionel Nathan Rothschild (the first Lord Rothschild), took his seat in the House of Commons after a long and bitter fight. The Christian oath was amended so that non-Christians could also serve in the House. He became the first Jew to sit in the House of Commons because a new oath of office was agreed upon that did not refer to Christianity.
1861: In Hamburg, Emmeline and Berman Bernays gave birth to Martha Bernays the wife of Sigmund Freud.
1861: At the start of the Civil War Elias Leon Hyneman, the son of Benjamin Hyneman, enlisted as a volunteer in Company C, Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry. He fought in the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, at Gettysburg in 1863 and in the Wilderness in 1864 before being taken prisoner. He died at the infamous Andersonville Prison.
1862: The following telegram was sent today:
To Brif.-Gen. J.T. Quimby, Columbus, Ky.:
GENERAL: Examine the baggage of all speculators coming South, and, when they have specie, turn them back. If medicine and other contraband articles, arrest them and confiscate the contraband article. Jews should receive special attention.
(Signed) U.S. Grant Major-General
1863(10th of Av, 5623): Tish'a B'Av; the 9th of Av fell on Shabbat.
1865: Birthdate of Philip Scheidemann, German political leader and first Chancellor of the Weimar Republic. Scheideman was not Jewish but his first government included four Jews which provided ammunition for the anti-Semites and opponents to this post-war attempt at democracy in Germany. He left Germany when the Nazis came to power and died in exile in Denmark.
1869: Birthdate of anarchist Emma Goldman.
1881: It was reported today that Young Men’s Hebrew Association of Harlem plan on taking an excursion to Staten Island next month.
1874: Birthdate of Dr. Sergei Aleksandrovich Koussevitzky the Russian born conductor best known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a position he held from 1924 to 1949.
1882: As the Freight Handler’s strike continued things became so violent that a group of Russian Jews working at the Red Star dock in Jersey City began fighting among themselves.
1883: In New York, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment disbursed over $32,000 to a variety of charities including $1,870.57 to the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society.
1886: “Life at Saratoga” published today reported that the section of Broadway that separates the Grand Union from Congress Hall is referred to as “the Red Sea” because it separates Jew from Gentile. Ever since Judge Hilton announced his policy of banning all Jews from the Grand Union, New York Jewish Gentry led by the Seligman family, has been staying at the Congress. According to Colonel Texas Ochiltree only two suspected Jews have stayed at the Grand Union – Jacob Hess and Abraham Hummel. The latter is considered to be a Bulgarian so he does not pose a threat.
1886: Several New York rabbis and a representative of the Hebrew Immigration Society met with Immigration Superintendent Jackson at Castle Garden. They asked him not send the Russian Jews currently staying at Ward’s Island back to Europe. They offered to post bonds so that the immigrants would not be treated as paupers. Jackson said he would refer the request to the Committee of Commissioners of Emigration.
1887: L. L. Zamenhof publishes Dr. Esperanto's International Language. The father of Esperanto was a physician, the son of Lithuanian Jews. Before his work with Esperanto, Zamenhof had published a Yiddish grammar book.
1891: France annexed Tahiti. The first Jew probably arrived in 1769 with Capt. James Cook. According to Virtual Jewish History, Alexander Salmon, a Jew, moved to Tahiti, and later entered the Tahitian royal family when he married Arrioehau, a Polynesian princess. Today there are approximately 200 Jews living in Tahiti.
1899: Dr. J.H. Hertz addressed a meeting of “Uitlander” on the issue of excluding Russian and Romanian born Jews from the right to vote in South Africa. Hertz would later be expelled from the country for this and other similar addresses on this subject.
1909(8th of Av, 5669): Erev Tish'a B'Av
1911(1st of Av, 5671): Rosh Chodesh Av
1919: Famed painter and President of the Royal Academy Sir Edward John Poynter passed away. Poynter was noted for his large canvases many of which drew on Biblical themes – “Visit of the Queen of Sheba,” “King Solomon” and “Israel in Egypt.” The latter was his first great artistic and commercial success.
1928(9thof Av, 5688): Tish’a B’Av
1928: Birthdate of director Stanley Kubrick.
1929: Birthdate of Netiva Ben Yehuda “an Israeli author, editor, and former soldier of the Palmach” whose “writings, including a dictionary of Hebrew slang (written with Dan Ben Amotz) and several books on pre-state Israeli music, made her one of the aforementioned fighting force's most famous members.”
1929: Birthdate of Bulgarian born pianist Alexis Weissenberg. (As reported by Margalit Fox)
1934: In Jersey City, NJ, Michael and Esther Novick gave birth to Dr. Peter Novick, the University of Chicago history professor who challenged the seemingly overbearing centrality of the Holocaust among American Jewry.
1934: The Palestine Post reports that on July 14, 1934 a Jewish delegation from Adrianople spoke with the Turkish government, to ensure they do not remove all the police from the Adrianople towns in order to prevent the looting of abandoned homes.
1936; The Palestine Post reported that a serious catastrophe, which might have involved a serious loss of life, was avoided only by chance when rails were loosened only a few minutes before a passenger train from Haifa was due to reach Lydda. A goods train, however, was derailed near Ras el-Ain. The Jerusalem water-pipeline pumping station was also sabotaged there.
1938:As Arab violence continued to grow, a group of 80 American tourists who had arrived in Jerusalem yesterday are scheduled to leave for Jaffa today where their ship is waiting for them. The group arrived from Egypt at the same time that an explosion rocked Haifa. Ensuring concerns about their safety forced cancelation of part of their tour.
1943: American born expatriate poet Ezra Pound was indicted for treason today for his pro-Fascist, anti-American (and anti-Semitic) radio broadcasts that he made after Italy declared war on the United States.
1944: The Soviet army enters Lvov, a major city of western Ukraine, liberating it from the Nazis. Only 300 Jewish survivors left, out of 160.000 Jews in Lvov prior to Nazi occupation.
1944: The first German V-2 hits Great Britain. The V-2 was vast “improvement” over the V-1. Unlike the V-1 which was essentially a flying bomb, the V-2 was a true Guided Missile, posing a much greater threat to the British and the Allied forces already in Europe. Anglo-American military leaders were forced to alter their strategy to deal with this immediate threat. This diverted forces from driving into the German heartland which prolonged the war and the agony of the Holocaust.
1945: The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom General Election, removing Winston Churchill from power. Labor’s Prime Minister Atlee betrayed the hopes of Jewish leaders by continuing to enforce the White Paper. The new Foreign Minister would demonstrate a streak of anti-Semitism when he declared that the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust were “pushing their way to the head of the cue” demonstrating the pushiness which is a Jewish trait.
1946: The Czech government, through the influence of its foreign Minister Jan Masaryk, opened its borders to Jews wishing to flee
Poland
. Within 3 months over 70,000 Jews using transportation paid by the Czechs would use this route on the way to Eretz-Israel.
1948” Operation Shoter" came to a successful conclusion as the three villages south of Haifa in an area called the “Little Triangle” surrendered to Israeli forces.
1951: The Jerusalem Post reported that the former Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin el-Husseini, called in
Cairo
on heads of all Arab states to check the "brutal campaign of terror," carried out by the Jordanian authorities against Palestine Arabs, accused of carrying out the assassination of King Abdullah of
Jordan
. The new Jordanian Cabinet included only four Palestinians, out of 11.
1951: David Ben-Gurion visited
Jerusalem
as part of his successful campaign for re-election as Prime Minister. Included in the trip were visits with evacuees from the Jewish Quarter of the
Old
City
.
1952: King Farouk I of
Egypt
abdicated in the wake of a coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Nasser
was the power behind the throne and did not immediately take power.
1955: There was an 82.8% voter turnout as Israelis went to the polls to choose the members of the 3rd Knesset.
1956: Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the
Suez Canal
. This action would lead to the Suez Crisis in the fall of 1956 that would include a lightning strike by Israeli troops across the Sinai that would take all of one hundred hours.
1960(2nd of Av, 5720): Rogers Adolphe Pinner “senior partner of the Mutual Electric Company” passed away. He was the son of Moritz and Melissa Pinner; the husband of Effie Woodruff; and the father of Karl Pinner.
1963: Pitcher Alan Koch made his major league debut with the Detroit Tigers.
1969(11th of Av, 5729: Composer Frank Loesser passed away at the age of 59. His Broadway hits include Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella, and How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.
1971(4thof Av, 5731): Forty-eight year old Diane Arbus the photographer who used the camera to create a unique form of black and white art, passed away today.
http://www.biography.com/people/diane-arbus-9187461
1976: In “6 Film Studios Vie Over Entebbe Raid,” Robert McFadden describes the intense interest to be the first motion picture studio to make hey at the box office by telling the story of the Israeli rescue mission that took place less than three weeks ago.
1976: In “Book About Raid Says 50 Israeli Agents Paved Way in Kenya,” Robert Tomasson reviewed 90 Minutes at Entebbe in author William Stevenson reveals the key role that intelligence gathering played in the successful rescues of the Jewish hostages. The book takes on an added authoritative tone since Stevenson is the author of A Man Called Intrepid.
1981: New York Mayor Ed Koch is given Heimlich maneuver in a Chinese restaurant.
1982: Yuval Ne’eman began serving as the first Minister of Science and Development
1987: ''East End Synagogues: From the Shtiebel to Duke's Place,'' an exhibit at the Heritage Center in London is scheduled to come a close.
1998: The New York Times featured books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including The International Encyclopedia of Dance, edited by dance historian Selma Jeanne Cohen and the recently released paperback edition of The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick
2000: A federal judge in New York approved a $1.25 billion settlement between Swiss banks and more than a half million plaintiffs who alleged the banks had hoarded money deposited by Holocaust victims
2006: Hezbollah fired an additional 130 rockets into northern
Israel
wounding at least five Israelis.
2006(1st of Av, 5766): Rosh Chodesh Av
2006(1st of Av, 5766): In an act of unbelievable self-less courage, Major Roi Klie threw himself on a live grenade, sacrificing his life so that his comrades would live. The action took place on the second day of the Battle of Bint Jbeil.
2006(1st of Av, 5766): The following were among a total of 43 Israeli civilians (including four who died of heart attacks during rocket barrages) and 116 IDF soldiers were killed in the Israel-Hezbollah war: Maj. Ro'i Klein, 31, of Eli; Lt. Amihai Merhavia, 24, of Eli; Cpl. Ohad Klausner, 20, of Beit Horon; Lt. Alex Schwarzman, 23, of Acre; St.-Sgt. Shimon Dahan, 20, of Ashdod; Cpl. Asaf Namer, 27, of Kiryat Yam; St.-Sgt. Idan Cohen, 21, of Jaffa; Sgt. Shimon Adega, 20, of Kiryat Gat; Lt. Yiftach Shrier, 21, of Haifa.
2007: The Vilna Shul / Boston Center for Jewish Heritage presents a screening of “Shalom Y’All,” a documentary that examines life of Jews living the South.
2008: In Jerusalem, Beit Avi Chai's Saturday night concert series continues with a performance by Rona Keinan, daughter of the famous Israeli author Amos Keinan and singer of “Through Foreign Eyes” – her 2006 hit single - fame. Keinan, who began singing at a young age and quickly rose to prominence through her collaboration with noted Israeli artists including Dana Berger and Eran Zur, is also an icon of
Israel
's gay and lesbian community.
2009: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including A Safe Haven:Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel by Allis Radosh and Ronald Radosh and Is real is for Real:An Obsessive Quest to Understand the Jewish Nation and Its History by Rich Cohen
2009: The Washington Post featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including The Essays of Leonard Michaels. “Leonard Michaels writes in perfectly shaped sentences. This would be cause for admiration and celebration in any writer, but surely it is far more so for one who did not begin to speak English until he was 5 years old. His parents immigrated from Poland to Manhattan's Lower East Side only steps ahead of the Holocaust – ‘When the Nazis seized Brest Litovsk, my grandfather, grandmother, and their youngest daughter, my mother's sister, were buried in a pit with others’ -- and in their tiny apartment the language spoken was Yiddish. That, and Jewishness, permeate his writing, as no one knew more keenly than he did;”
2009: The Cedar Rapids Gazette published an article entitled “Morocco challenges Mideast mind-set on Holocaust” which described the North African Kingdom’s attempt to deal with the Shaoh.
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — From the western edge of the Muslim world, the King of Morocco has dared to tackle one of the most inflammatory issues in the Middle East conflict — the Holocaust.
At a time when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s dismissal of the Holocaust has made the biggest headlines, King Mohammed VI has called the Nazi destruction of the Jews “one of the most tragic chapters of modern history,” and has endorsed a Parisbased program aimed at spreading the word among fellow Muslims. Many in the Islamic world still ignore or know little about the Nazi attempt to annihilate the Jews during World War II. Some disbelieve it outright. Others argue it was a European crime and imagine it to be the reason Israel exists and the Palestinians are stateless. Like other moderate Arab leaders, King Mohammed VI must tread carefully. Islamic fervor is rising in his kingdom, highlighted in 2003 by al-Qaida-inspired attacks in Casablanca on targets that included Jewish sites. Forty-five people died. The king’s acknowledgment of the Holocaust, in a speech read out in his name at a ceremony in Paris in March, appears to further illustrate the radically different paths that countries like Morocco and Iran are taking. Though Moroccan officials say the timing is coincidental, the Holocaust speech came at around the same time that Morocco severed diplomatic relations with Iran, claiming it was infiltrating Shiite Muslim troublemakers into this Sunni nation. The speech was read out at a ceremony launching the Aladdin Project, an initiative of the Parisbased Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah (Holocaust) that aims to spread awareness of the genocide among Muslims. The Holocaust, the king said, is “the universal heritage of mankind.” It was “a very important political act,” said Anne-Marie Revcolevschi, director of the Shoah foundation. “This is the first time an Arab head of state takes such a clear stand on the Shoah,” she said in a telephone interview. While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often aggravates Arab sentiment toward Israel, Morocco has a long history of coexistence between Muslims and Jews. Jews have lived in Morocco for 2,000 years. Today they number just 3,000, most having emigrated to France, North America or Israel. Simon Levy heads the Jewish Museum in Casablanca, a treasure trove of old Torah scrolls, garments and jewelry illustrating the rich culture of Moroccan Jewry. “That I still run the only Jewish museum in the Arab world is telling,” he said. Andre Azoulay, a top adviser to the current king, is Jewish and one of six members of the king’s council in a monarchy that oversees all major decisions. Considered one of Morocco’s most powerful men, he views his country as “a unique case” for the intensity of its Jewish-Muslim relations. “We don’t mix up Judaism and the tragedy of the Middle East,” he told the Associated Press in an interview.
2010(15th of Av, 5770): Tu B’Av
2010: Rabbi Zerach Greenfield, an expert scribe, is scheduled to be at Tifereth Israel in Columbus to check your Tefillin and discuss repairs and for questions about any other ritual objects that people need reviewed.
2010: A screening of Hungry Hearts is scheduled to take place at the Castro Theatre during the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
2010: The parents of missing Druze soldier Majli Halabi demanded today that authorities investigate convicted murderer Yichya Farhan regarding the case of their son, according to Israel Defense Forces Radio. Farhan told the Ma'ariv news service over the weekend that he has information that could lead to solution of the Halabi case. Halabi's father Nazbi told reporters at a news conference in family's Daliat-Al-Carmel home, "Although there's a chance that he's lying, it's the state's obligation to check the matter thoroughly."
2010: After three years of renovation, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem reopened to the public firmly reestablishing itself as Israel’s national museum and the most important repository of Jewish culture in the world.
2010: The head rabbi of a prominent yeshiva in the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar was arrested today for writing a book that allegedly encourages the killing of non-Jews. Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira is the alleged author of the book "The King's Torah," which deems as legal, according to "Jewish law," the killing of non-Jews. Police began investigating Shapira after an advertisement for the book in a Hebrew newspaper created a public uproar. Deputy Attorney General Shai Nitzan encouraged the investigation as he believed the book contained an incitement to violence. This morning, police detectives arrived at the settlement of Yitzhar, arrested Shapira and confiscated 30 copies of his book. Shapira is head of a yeshiva (a type of center for Jewish study) which supports replacing the government with a religious monarchy. Shapira was arrested this past January for his alleged involvement in the torching of a Palestinian mosque in the village of Yasuf, but was later released.
2010: The Israel Air Force demolished a weapons plant in northern Gaza early on Monday morning. The operation came in response to recent attacks by Gaza terrorists on Israelis in the western Negev. Planes also took out two smuggling tunnel along the border between Gaza and Egypt. Pilots reported direct hits, and all planes returned safely back to base.
2010(15th of Av, 5770): Six members of the IDF - Lt. Col (Res.) Avner Goldman, 48, from Modi'in; Lt. Col. Daniel Shipenbauer, 43, from Moshav Kidron; Maj. Yahel Keshet, 33, from Hatzerim; Maj. Lior Shai, 28, from Tel-Nof; Lt. Nir Lakrif, 25, from Tel- Nof; and Staff Sergeant Oren Cohen, 24, from Rehovot – were killed when their helicopter crashed in Roumania.
2011: The International Master Course for Violinists is scheduled to begin at Kibbutz Eilon “amid the scenic mountains of the western Galilee.”
2011: Avi Issacharoff, the Palestinian and Arab Affairs Correspondent, Haaretz, is scheduled to deliver an address entitled “Shifting Sands: The Mainstreaming of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood” in Waukee, IA.
2011: The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip hanged a father and son at dawn today for collaborating with Israel, a government spokesman said. The two were found guilty of helping Israel target a top Hamas leader and identify other militants who were later killed by Israeli forces, said Ihab Ghussein, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Gaza.They were arrested in 2003 and charged a year later, and had exhausted all legal means to appeal the sentence, he said. The family of the two men burned tires and tried to shut down a Gaza City road in response to the deaths. Family members were quickly pushed back into their homes by Hamas police who also shooed away journalists and told them not to take photos. Israel killed Rantisi in 2004. The two men executed Tuesday were already jailed by then.
2011: Protesters in Tel Aviv's impromptu "tent city" housing protest dismissed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest plan today, saying that he was trying to create divisions within the protesters, by offering discounts only to students. to other cities across Israel, with similar tent areas popping up from Kiryat Shmona in the north to Be'er Sheva in the south. One of the organizers of the demonstration said that the protesters were united and vowed Netanyahu would not be able to split them.
2011:An Israeli orchestra broke a taboo today as it played the music of Adolf Hitler's favorite composer, Richard Wagner, in Germany. Some 700 spectators in Wagner's hometown of Bayreuth loudly applauded the Israel Chamber Orchestra as its 34 musicians concluded their concert with the Siegfried Idyll, becoming the first Israeli ensemble to perform a Wagner piece in Germany. Since its founding in 1948, Israel has observed an informal ban on Wagner's music because of its use in Nazi propaganda before and during World War II. The Wagner family also had close connections to the German fascists and their ideology, and performances of the 19th-century composer are kept off Israeli stages and airwaves out of respect to the country's 220,000 Holocaust survivors. Some 6 million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators in Europe during the war. "Some of us were crying, it was a very historical moment," the orchestra's Chief Executive Eran Hershkovitz said. "60 years ago they killed us Jews here, 60 years ago this was a brown city and now you have our flag in the streets," he told The Associated Press over the phone from Bayreuth. The orchestra, led by Roberto Paternostro, started the concert with Israel's national anthem, "Hatikva," and played works by composers banned by the Third Reich, including Gustav Mahler and Felix Mendelssohn, Hershkovitz said. "It was like a mission to be here: Playing Jewish music by Jewish musicians from the Jewish state," he added, saying the performance in Germany amounted to a "victory concert." The musicians, many of whom are children of Holocaust survivors, had only started rehearsing the roughly 15-minute Wagner piece upon their arrival in Bayreuth on Sunday due to sensitivities in Israel. "We didn't want to harm any of the survivors," Hershkovitz said. The American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, however, sharply criticized the concert as a "particularly hurtful betrayal." "The Israel Chamber Orchestra has shown itself to be tone deaf to the anguish of victims who lived through the instrumentalization of Wagner's music in the service of spreading hate," the group's deputy head Elan Steinberg said today. Hershkovitz rejected the allegation, saying the performance demonstrates to the world the Nazis failed in their attempt to exterminate the Jews and their culture. "Every one of us has some relatives who were killed in the Holocaust. But to be here in Bayreuth is a victory for us. To play here the music of Mendelssohn, the Jewish composer, it's a victory," he said. Moreover, the concert wasn't the first Wagner performance by an Israeli orchestra. In 2001, world-renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim angered many Israelis when he played some of Wagner's music in Israel. The concert took place alongside the annual Bayreuth festival, Germany's most important festival for classical music. That event was founded by Wagner himself in 1876. Israel and West Germany established diplomatic ties in 1965, two decades after the end of World War II. Since then, Germany has become Israel's second-largest trading partner and has paid some $40
2011:The Anti-Defamation League is organizing a free "community briefing" tonight on First Amendment religious freedoms which will explain why it is concerned about Texas Governor Rick Perry's Christian-only day of prayer in Houston next month
2011: “Olive and the Bitter Herbs” is scheduled to have its first preview performance at 59E59 Theaters
2012: University of Pennsylvania Law School Professor Harry Reicher is scheduled to deliver a lecture entitled “The Future of International Justice” at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
2012: “Harbor of Hope” is scheduled to have its West Coast Premiere at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival while “Sharqiya” is slated to have its California Premiere at the same venue.
2012: The 12th Annual Summer Institute for Synagogue Musicians, Mifgash Musicale is scheduled to come to an end today at the HUC-JIR campus in Cincinnati, OH.
