2012-07-27

July 27 In History

1214: French King Phillip II defeats the forces headed by Otto IV, the Holy Roman Emperor and King John of England at the Battle of Bouvines.  For the Jews, this is a lose-lose proposition.  King John and King Phillip were both notorious for the mistreatment of their Jewish subjects. Four years before the battle, King John had locked a group of Jews at Bristol Castle and said he would only free them if a 66,000-mark ransom were paid.  King Phillip began exploiting and expelling Jews from the start of his reign in 1180.  At the time of the battle, the king had actually allowed Jews back in his realm so he could take further financial advantage of them.  Otto gets a pass because his relations with Jews are a “blank slate.”

1245: At the First Council of Lyons Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor is deposed by Pope Innocent IV, the pope who will condemn the Blood Libel in 1249 but who will authorize the use of torture against Jews by Spanish inquisitors in 1252. The First Council of Lyons would follow in the footsteps of the Fourth Lateran Council and adopt decrees compelling Jewish creditors to renounce all claims to interest on debts or similar ordinances which supposedly would encourage men to “take up the Cross” and become Crusaders.

1290: Following his edict expelling the Jews from England, King Edward issued the following concerning how they were to be treated as they left the country. “The King to all his wardens, officers and sailors of the Cirque ports, greeting…You should ensure that their passage is safe and speedy…free from danger.”   According to Elliot Rosenberg, “the king meant what he said.  When a ship’s captain took passage money from a group of Jews, then left them stranded on asandbank to drown at high tide, Edward ordered him hanged.” 

1400: King Ladislas offered the Jews of Naples a charter which would give them economic equality.

1655: Jews in New Amsterdam request a place to bury their dead. "Abraham de Lucena,

Salvador

d'Andrade and Jacob Cohen, Jews in the name of the others, petition the Honorable Director General this day to be permitted to purchase a burying place for their nation…." Less than a year after arriving, the Jews of New Amsterdam requested permission to open a cemetery in 1655. Permission was initially denied and was finally granted a year later. Very often, the formation of a burial society and the start of a cemetery preceded the organization of the Synagogue or

Temple

. In fact these community organizations were often the progenitors of the house of worship which would follow as the community grew.

1656: Spinoza was excommunicated in

Amsterdam

. . Spinoza had been accused together with Juan de Prado of denying the being of Angels, the immortality of the soul and that the Torah was given by God. De Prado apologized but Spinoza refused. The council forbade anyone to communicate with him in any fashion nor to read any of his books.

1782(16th of Av): Rabbi Jacob Raphael Hezekiah Hazak (Forti) author of Meginnei Erez passed away

1789: The United States Congress creates the Department of Foreign Affairs which later be renamed the United States Department of State.  A Jew would not get the top job at State until 1973 when Richard Nixon appointed Henry Kissinger to position of Secretary of State.

1836 (13th of Av): Rabbi Abele Poswoler a leading Lithuanian Talmudist passed away

1849: Birthdate of Herman Naphtali Hyneman, the Philadelphia born painter whose works included “It Might Have Been” and “Marguerite in Prison."

1851: In Great Britain, Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana, née Cohen gave birth to their only child, Hannah de Rothschild who would marry the 5thEarl of Rosebery and become Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery.

1855: Today’s issue of The Israelite was published by Edward Bloch.  Bloch replaced Charles F. Schmidt who had been publishing The Israelite since it was founded by Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise in 1854.  Bloch would also publish another publication founded by Rabbi Wise, Die Deborah.

1855:On the day before the death of Solomon Rothschild, the French poet Joseph Mery "said in his weekly article: If I owned the Hotel of the Rue Lafitte (Rothschild's) where ennui and lassitude reign undisputedly, I would do so and so and it would the first time in which a million was ever of benefit to mankind."

1857: The “Foreign Correspondence” column reported today on the status of the “Jewish Oaths Bill” now before Parliament, specifically, the House of Lords.

1860:An article entitled Remarkable Archaeological Discovery in Ohio reported that “several New-York Archaeologists have, within the past week, received various communications concerning the discovery of a very curious stone relic, covered with Hebrew inscriptions, said to have been found by Mr. Wyrick of Newark, Ohio, in one of those artificial earthworks so numerous in that vicinity.” The inscription on the stone, which may easily be rendered by any Hebrew scholar, reads as follows

1. Kedosh Kedoskim -- The Holy of Holies.

2. Torath, Jehovah -- The Law of God.

3. Melec Erets -- The King of the Earth.

4. Devar Jehovah -- The Word of the Lord.

“Some have suggested that the stone might be a Masonic emblem -- the keystone which Master Masons anciently deposited in the corner-stone of their temples. (But, unfortunately for this hypothesis, the shape is not the same.) Others have supposed it furnished evidence of the presence of the lost tribes of Israel. Copies of the inscription have been submitted to some of our learned Rabbis, who generally agree that the above is a fair rendering of the text. But a difference of opinion has been expressed with regard to the antiquity of the characters, some carrying them back to the rime of Ezra, whilst others think them more modern.” To date, there has been no agreement on the antiquity or sources of the stone.

1860: An article entitled “A Jewish Republican Candidate” reported that “an expression having been made in a Republican meeting, at St. Louis, that ‘even the Jews’ were represented on the Republican legislative ticket of Missouri, Mr. Isidor V. Bush takes the remark as the text of a communication to the Democrat. Mr. Bush is a Jew and a Republican candidate for the Legislature. He contends that neither he nor his people have any personal or selfish ends to serve in politics, but that the Jews unite their interests with those of the State. He adds the following suggestive observations: ‘At the same time you will find the Jews, with few exceptions, in favor of our party, and naturally so -- first, from the impression's received in early youth by the teachings of the Bible, (Exodus xxi., Deuteronomy xv., Leviticus xxv.) "And ye shall proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof;" secondly, from his own historic recollections. His daily prayers remind him that his forefathers were slaves in the land of Egypt, freed and brought forth by the Lord; and almost like slaves, worse than free negroes here, burdened with exceptional laws, disfranchised, were our fathers -- are to this very day millions of Jews in some other countries. From sympathy, therefore, the Jew cannot and will not vote for those who enact such cruel, inhuman laws as the selling of free Negroes into Slavery again.’"

1862: The Richmond Enquirer printed in full what it terms "an eloquent invocation for the success of the Confederate Army," which was pronounced in the synagogue on Mayo-street ( Bayeth Ahabah)  by Rabbi J.M. Michelbacher.

"We give Thee thanks, O God of Israel for Thou hast brought the vaunting and insulting army of our enemy to naught -- they boasted of strength and valiant deeds, and Thou hast made them weak and caused them to flee. Their wisdom and their cunning arts of war they exalted and enthroned as the minor of might, to be reflected upon the numerous hosts that believed their standards to anticipated triumphs; but Thou, O Eternal God of Israel; hast debased their proud exaltation, and brought it down in its pride, its vanity and its foolishness. Their vain and forward words were like the sound of threatening thunder from an approaching and lowering cloud -- as to meet David, Thy servant, so they come forth to the army of people who trust in Thee; and Thou hast caused their threatenings and their vain is to be heard me more! For all these manifestations of Thy divine care and goodness we desire, with  of hearts, to other the cure of our worship of thanks to Thee with dispositions of joy and gladness in the presence of the country unity shining light of Thy visible and emitting protection."

The following is its conclusion:

"O, God, continue Thy protecting care of our army -- and our soldiers to deeds of self-sacrifice and value in the battles for the liberty and independence of our country. Be with them, O Lord! in the lights and push them with Thy right hand against the enemy, and give them a firm foot-hold upon the trend, and let them think of Thee, and call upon Thy name, that they may be always led to victory -- let one of them be as ten thousand in the sight of the toe; and giant that in all engagements our soldiers may win the victory by the presence of Thy countenance. O, God! the perpetuity of a patriotic and just government, with counsellors and refers of wisdom, is a great blessing from Thee to the people; therefore, we pray Thee, that the Government of the Confederate States of America may be firmly established, and that Thou be unto it the rock upon which it shall be founded. Let the nations of the earth respect and revere it, and [???] its just resentment; let the dispensation of its laws be equal and just, and let its exaltation consist in the righteousness of the people. Protect and defend it from enemies abroad and foes within; and grant that the hearts of the people may be ever turned toward Thee, both in the public and private affairs of life. Grant that the Ministers of Government may have a constant fear of Thee, and a continual desire to subserve the best interests of the common welfare. We earnestly pray Thee to inspire the President of the Confederate States of America with true piety, courage, wisdom, prudence and foresight. Give unto him a just fear of disobeying Thy divine laws, and let his heart do reverence at the mention of Thy great and glorious name, that our people may be blessed in the Chief of their choice. Keep him in the path of patriotism and rectitude, that he may be a model the people of an upright citizen that [???] the Lord. Endow our Governor with all the attributes meet and proper for his station; and let his private and official conduct redound to the honor had best interests of the State of Virginia, and the happiness and prosperity of the people.

1862:The Knoxville Registerreported that it has been informed that certain parties in Huntsville, who were unpatriotic enough to sell their cotton to the Jews who swarmed there from the North, were paid by them in bogus gold. “The galvanized coating has worn off the pewter, and these gentlemen have lost their cotton as effectually as if they had burned it like other true Southerners.”

1863: As the United States implemented a draft during the Civil War that resulted in a major riot in July of 1863, today a man, said to be a “Jew broker, made his appearance in Westchester, Penn., accompanied by a dozen others, whom he represented as anxious to serve as substitutes, for a consideration. Although some of the men, it is said, boasted of having taken part in the New-York riots, yet they were eagerly caught up by drafted men, and engaged at various prices as substitutes. Two of the number were sharp enough to get their money before being mustered in, and they immediately skedaddled. Four others were accepted by the Enrollment Board, and sent to the barracks, but three out of the number turned up missing the next morning. They were pursued by the Deputy Provost-Marshall and by dint of threats, and the more powerful argument of a loaded revolver, were induced to return, when they were lodged in jail for safe keeping. Three others escaped, and have not yet been caught.

1874(13th of Av, 5634):  Baron Anselm Salomon von Rothschild, the second generation leader of the Austrian branch of the House of Rothschild passed away. Born in 1803 in Frankfurt am Main he was the son of Baron Salomon Mayer von Rothschild and his wife Caroline. In 1826 he married his cousin Charlotte Nathan Rothschild, daughter of Nathan Mayer Rothschild from the London branch of the family; they had eight children.

1879: In the wake of Austin Corbin’s announcement banning Jews from Manhattan Beach, it was reported that “they are not prohibited on account of their religious principles from buying Humphrey’s Parisian Diamonds” which are on sale at Humphrey’s Jewelry Store at the corner of Broadway and 12th Street.

1880: Theodore Herzl passes his first legal exam.

1881: Forty-eight year old Michael Meyer, a Jewish immigrant from Germany, lies in a hospital bed in Jersey City fighting for his life.  Meyer, a popular cattle driver, was attacked by bull this morning leaving him with crushed ribs and a mangled right leg.  Meyer, who lives in Brooklyn with his wife, had begun working in the cattle business in Germany before coming to the United States.

1881: “The Affairs of Russia” published today described the outbreak of new violence aimed at the Jews of Pultava in the Ukraine.

1882: In San Francisco, CA, nobody has seen Samuel L. Sachs since he shot his wife yesterday.  Sachs is the son of Louis Sachs and a partner in Sachs, Heller & Co, a firm that specializes in importing dry goods. 

1885: “The Russian Idea of Cowboys” published today described the offer of a Polish born Jew living in Dallas, TX to supply to supply the Czar with 106 cowboys if he should go to war with England. (Considering the oppressive treatment of Jews in Russia, this is a bizarre offer to say the least.)

1887: It was reported today in New York that Joseph Levy will act as business agent for Booth-Barrett.

1887: It was reported today that John Howson has been chosen to play the part of “the Jew” in “Pawn Ticket No. 1,525) a play by Clay M. Green which is an adaptation of the novel Court Royal

1887(6th of Av, 5647): Long-time Brooklyn resident, Hirsch Harris who was known as “Rabbi Hirsch” passed away today at the age of 109. A native of a small town near Warsaw, Harris made his fortune making and selling kimmel a liqueur made from cumin, fennel and caraway seeds. He came to the United States in 1850 where he continued to enjoy success manufacturing kimmel. His nickname came from his scrupulous observance of Jewish laws and customs.

1888: The managers of the Sanitarium for Hebrew Children have collected $179 to pay for next week’s excursion.  Since the children are poor and the excursions are free, the public can send additional donations to Nathan Lewis, Hezekiah Kohn and Joseph Davis.

1889: The general public is invited to attend the upcoming lecture by Cyrus Adler of Johns Hopkins University that will be delivered at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City.

1889: It was reported today that the 5th free excursion sponsored by the Sanitarium For Hebrew Children will take place next week.  The cruise will be limited to children six years and younger.

1892: The New York Times reported that Washington Nathan had died in France.  Nathan was the son of Benjamin Nathan, the prominent New Yorker who was murdered in 1870.  The murder has never been solved.  There are those who think that the son was involved in his father’s murder.

1895: Herzl leaves Paris and will never return as a resident. He will become an editor for the Neue Freie Presse at a reduced salary.

1895(6th of Av, 5655): Austrian physician Karl Bettelheim passed away.

1904: Birthdate of author Isaac Bashevis Singer. Singer won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1978. He passed away in 1991.

1905: The seventh annual Zionist Congress opened today in Basle, Switzerland.  Dr. Max Nordau was elected President at the afternoon session and Rabbi Judah L. Magnes was elected as Secretary of the English-speaking section.

1909: Turkish Parliament passed a law allowing Jewish societies to have the privilege of purchasing land in their own names.

1909(9th of Av, 5669): Tish'a B'Av

1915: During WW I, in

Berlin

, Albert Einstein was among a group of 91 prominent German intellectuals who signed a declaration opposing all territorial annexations and calling for a compromise peace

1916: It was announced today that many of the philanthropic organizations working in New York City had come together to form The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.  The new organization should increase efficiency both in the soliciting and distribution of funds.  Based on the experience of other cities, there should be a 30% increase in the amount of money raised.  Abram I. Elkus, whom President Wilson recently named to serve as Ambassador to Turkey is the Chairman of the new federation.  Alfred M. Heinsheimer kicked off the donation process with a contribution of $25,000.

1918: Birthdate of cellist Leonard Rose. Born in

Washington

DC

, Rose was the concert cellist with the New York Philharmonic from 1943 to 1951.

1920: Keren Hayesod (Eretz-Israel Foundation Fund) was created in

London

at the London Zionist Conference. It was intended for education, absorption and the development of rural settlements in Eretz-Israel.

1922: Birthdate of television producer Norman Lear. Yes, the man who made Archie Bunker a national institution, who created the “Jeffersons” which provided a acting vehicle for numerous Afro-American performers and who got Americans to look at their own prejudices, is Jewish.

1920: Chaim Weizmann was elected president of the World Zionist Organization.

1924:  The Eighth Olympic Games close in

Paris

.  The 1924 Olympics were the focal point of the movie hit “Chariots of Fire” which featured the struggle of Harold Abraham to gain social acceptance and athletic success.  The real Abraham had lost in his attempt to win a medal in the 1920 Olympics. In 1924, he surprised everybody by winning the Gold Medal in the 100 meter race, making him the first European to win in one of the sprint competitions. 

1925: Birthdate of Marion “Meg” Dulin.  Dulin, a native of Vinton, Iowa, served with the 423rd Medical Collecting Company during World War II and “was among the young Americans who entered Buchenwald Concentration Camp to free prisoners” an event that must have been of some significance in his life since it was specifically mentioned in his obituary when he passed away in July, 2009 at the age of 83.  While there are those who have been quick to criticize America for its lack of effort to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust, Dulin is an example of the American G.I.’s who literally liberated the remnant of our co-religioinst from “the Night.”

1926: Birthdate of Bernard Harper Friedman, known as Bob to his friends, “a real estate executive who gave up his business career to write well-received novels and art criticism and whose books include an early biography of Jackson Pollock.”

1929: Birthdate of Alan Lloyd Haberman, the native of Worcester, MA, who led the industry committee that chose the bar code over other contenders in 1973.and then spent years afterward cajoling manufacturers, retailers and the public to accept the strange new symbol, which resembles a highly if irregularly compacted zebra. (As reported by Margalit Fox)

1930: Birthdate of Anthony Janoff Weiner, the New Jersey native who became a noted futurist after he co-authored The Year 2000: A Framework for Speculation on the Next Thirty-three Years (As reported by Douglas Martin)

1934:A dispatch to The Times from Palestine calls the attention of the British Government and people to the fact that the Jewish national home is turning out to be something very different from what they expected and even from what the first Zionists expected. The Anti-Jewish Campaign in Germany has sent a flood of immigrants to Palestine. In the mean time the Revisionists appear to be gaining recruits and support.

1935: As the condition of German Jews continues to deteriorate an “article entitled ‘Finish Up with the Jews’ urges German girls to wake up and not go with Jews any longer.”  Equating social interaction with economic activity, the article continues, ‘Gewrman woman, if you buy froms, and German girl if you carry on with Jews, then both of your betray your German Volk and its Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, and commit a sin against your German volk and its future.’”

1936: The Palestine Post reported that 12 Arabs were known to have been killed in a battle with British troops in the hills, off the Jerusalem-Jaffa highway. Barbed-wire barricades and other police precautions were evident in

Jaffa

as Arabs observed the 100th day of their national strike and uprising. The Iraq Petroleum Co. pipeline and railway lines were damaged and the government imposed heavy collective fines on villages suspected of sabotage. Arabs attacked Ramat Hakovesh and other settlements near Kfar Saba but were beaten off.

1937 A ritual-murder trial of five Jews opens in

Bamberg
,
Germany

1940: With Mel Blanc providing the voice Bugs Bunny makes his official debut in the animated cartoon A Wild Hare. The Bunny had the voice of the Jew without a Yiddish accent.

1941: German and Rumanian troops entered

Kishinev

,
Soviet Union
. Five thousand Kishinev Jews would be executed within a week.

1941(3rd of Av, 5701): In retaliation for Jewish resistance, 1,200 Jews were taken from Belgrade to the labor camp at Tasmajdan. One hundred twenty of them were taken to Jajinci and shot. In other words, one out of every ten captives is shot. The reality is that they would all have been killed at some point in time as part of the Final Solution.

1941: A second pogrom known as the "Petliura Days",which had been  named for Symon Petliura came to an end.  “For three straight days, Ukrainian militants went on a murderous rampage through the Jewish districts of Lwów. Groups of Jews were herded out to the Jewish cemetery and to the prison on Łąckiego street where they were shot. More than 2,000 Jews were killed and thousands more were injured.”

1941: The clothing of Jews murdered in Ponas, Ukraine, is sold by the Ukrainian and Nazi killers

1941: In

Holland

, a collaborationist military force with ties to the SS, Freiwillingen Legion Niederlander (Dutch Volunteer Legion), is established.

1942: The Germans distributed a proclamation stating that any Pole or Ukrainian who tried to help a Jew would be shot.

1942: The first Belgian Jews arrived at Mechelen. The ancient fortress in this small town between

Brussels

and

Antwerp

was actually the first stop for the Jews being transported to
Auschwitz
. The Jews thought they were going to work in factories in the East. Mechelen would serve as the collection point. Each time a thousand Jews were brought together, a train would leave for the death camp in

Poland

.

1943: While combing the ruin of the Warsaw Ghetto for loot, the Germans uncovered hidden Jews, most of who are shot on the spot.

1943:  The Leon Group escaped from the ghetto in Vilna.  The Leon Group was made up of 21 Jewish partisans under the command of Joseph Glassman.  Michael Kovner, brother of Abba Kovner was a member of the group.  The Leon Group was the first group of what were intended to be many groups of partisans that Abba Kovner would send into the woods beyond Vilna to take part in guerilla warfare against the Nazis and their allies.  As the group of 21 made the fifty mile trek to the forests they were ambushed.  Nine of the Jews died in the brief, uneven fight.  A search of the corpses produced the names and addresses of the victims.

1944: 

Siauliai
,
Lithuania

, is liberated by the Red Army, 12 days after German deportations of 7000 local Jews and the murder of 100 left behind.

1944: 

Dvinsk
,
Latvia

, is liberated by the
Soviet Union
two years too late to save the Jewish community. When the Germans occupied Dvinsk at the end of June 1941, the Nazis organized a Pogrom. Synagogues were burned down or taken over by the army. A ghetto was set up in July 1941 including Jews from the surrounding localities. In October, 1941, most of the Jews in the Ghetto were murdered and the Ghetto was liquidated in May, 1942

1944: The Wehrmachtretreats from

Lvov
,
Ukraine

. Only a few of the city's Jews, many of them hiding in sewers, have lived through the German occupation

1946(28th of Tammuz, 5706):  Gertrude Stein passed away.

1946: Theodore Levin received his commission to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan He served as chief judge of that court from 1959 to 1967, and thereafter served until his death.

1949: In Brooklyn, Irving and Clarice Chaykin gave birth to Maury Alan Chaykin, Canadian character best known to many for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe. (As reported by Bruce Weber)

1950: New Zealand recognized Israel.

1951: The Jerusalem Post reported that

Israel

had asked the UN Security Council to instruct

Egypt

to open the
Suez Canal
for Israeli cargoes and shipping "permanently and unconditionally." Final plans were made for the new

Hadassah-Hebrew

University

Medical

Center

in

Jerusalem

, including a 430-bed hospital, a nursing training school and nurses' home and a medical school.

1953: King Hussein of

Jordan

declared that east

Jerusalem

was the ‘alternative capital of the

Hashemite

Kingdom

.’  In fact, the Jordanians would do all they could to discourage development of the portion of

Jerusalem

they had occupied since 1948.

1955: A plane bound for

Israel

was shot down by

Bulgaria

. Fifty one passengers and seven crew members were killed. This episode took place at the height of the Cold War when such incidents were not that uncommon. The plane was flying from

Vienna

to Tel Aviv when Bulgarian fighters forced the El Al plane to land at

Sofia
,
Bulgaria

’s capital. As the plane was circling to land, it was shot out of the sky by the Bulgarians. The Israeli government claimed the bodies and buried them in

Israel

. The episode provided opponents of El Al with an argument for doing away with a national airline as a luxury the infant state could not afford. But the government stuck to its guns. There were no other such incidents and El Al continued to fly.

1956: Birthdate of Carol Leifer, an American comedian, writer, producer and actress who describes herself as a Jewish lesbian vegan.

1976: The Jerusalem Post reported that the US State Department sought to downplay the significance of its contacts with the PLO, stressing that they were only "technical" and designed to assure a safe departure of American citizens from Lebanon. The management of the Koor Industries decided to close the

Steel

City

until further notice, after one of the workers, unhappy with his job, locked the gates and accompanied by his wife stopped 900 workers from entering the factory.

1980(14th of Av, 5740):  A Jewish boy from France was killed and others were injured when terrorists threw grenades at a group of children in Antwerp, Belgium.

1981(25th of Tammuz, 5741): Award winning movie director William Wyler passed away. There is no way that this blog can do justice to his career.

https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/alt.obituaries/Wx2KzqNjebo

1991: TV Guide publishes its 2000th edition. This icon of American culture was created by Jewish millionaire publishing magnate Walter Annenberg. 

1997: The Sunday New York Times features a review of Bloomberg by Bloomberg by Michael Bloomberg

2003: The New York Times features reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including History of Britain by Simon Schama, Support Any Friend by Warren Bass and My Anecdotal Life: A Memoir by Carl Reiner.

2004(9th of Av, 5746): Tish’a B’Av

2006: Police interrogated Haim Ramon for seven hours today, the same day on which, in an unrelated matter he said "Everyone in southern Lebanon is a terrorist and is connected to Hezbollah”

2006: During the first round of what would become his 15th tour title, Jewish golfer Corey Pavin broke the record for the fewest number of strokes needed to complete nine holes at a PGA Tour event, with an 8-under par score of 26.

2007: Toby Press publishes the thirtieth anniversary edition of Brothers by Chayym Zeldish.

2007: In

Jerusalem

, Zubin Mehta leads the Israel Philharmonic in a concert to celebrate the birthday of philanthropist Edmund Safra and the 40th anniversary of united

Jerusalem

.

2007: Ralph A. Alpher awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest such honor in the

United States

, which was presented to his son Dr. Victor S. Alpher because he could not travel to receive the award due to failing health.

2007, the U.S. Post Office released a full-sheet pane of Marvel Super Heroes. Ten of the stamps are portraits of individual Marvel characters and the other 10 stamps depict individual Marvel Comic book covers. According to the credits printed on the back of the pane, Jack Kirby's artwork is featured on: Captain America, The Thing, Silver Surfer, Amazing Spider-Man #1, The Incredible Hulk #1, Captain America #100, X-Men #1, and Fantastic Four #3

2008: The Saul Steinberg: Illuminations travelling exhibition, which displays original Steinberg works at various museum and galleries around the world has its final showing the  Fondation Cartier-Bresson, in Paris.

2008: The Sunday New York Times book section featured a review of Moral Clarity A Guide for Grown-Up Idealistsby Jewish author Susan Neiman.

2008: The Washington Post book section featured reviews of a children’s book entitled Little Brother by Canadian born Jewish author Cory Doctorow and The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State by Noah Feldman. “In an apparent role reversal that may surprise readers, Noah Feldman, a Jewish professor at

Harvard

Law

School

attests to the virtues of sharia…Feldman condemns the autocracies in many Muslim countries but argues that sharia is not to blame. On the contrary, he says, in the ‘traditional Sunni constitutional order,’ sharia was interpreted by an independent class of scholars who served as a check on tyranny, preventing rulers from exploiting religion to justify their political positions…Feldman advocates for sharia as a potential way to help democratize Muslim societies, but he stops short of explaining exactly how this might be possible…”

2008: In The Washington Post, “The Poet’s Choice” column features reviews of the work of Jewish poet Allen Grossman including "A Pastoral," "The Piano Player Explains Himself" and"The Work"  from The Ether Dome and Other Poems: New and Selected

2009: In Jerusalem, it is Open Mic Night In English at the Off the Wall Comedy Basement on Ben Yehuda Street.

2009: In Jerusalem, Agite Drive plays Balkan music at the Biblical Zoo aka, The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens (Biblical Zoo)

2009: Newsweek magazine reads like a copy of the Forwards with a spate of articles about Jews and/or of special interest to Jews including “Israel Fights Wire With Wire,” “Hit Squad vs. Mossad,”  “The Israel Trail,” about a 600-mile footpath “that ambles from the country’s…border with Egypt…to the edge of Lebanon”,  a profile on the views of economist Joseph Stiglitz and the semi-positive quote from “the normally pessimistic economist Nouriel Roubini” that “the light at the of the tunnel, for once, is not an incoming train.”

2010: Random House is scheduled to publish Gary Shteyngart’s third novel, Super Sad True Love Story

2010: As part of WJFF Year-Round, a creening of Eli & Ben is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C.

2010: After a 29-year hiatus, the Annual National Bible Quiz for Adults is once again underway. 2,078 contestants are taking part in the first round in Jerusalem today. Identical written questionnaires of 60 questions each were distributed to the contestants today. The tests are being taken in six regions – north, center, south, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa – as well as in the IDF. The quiz is meant for men and women alike from around the country, from age 18 and up. Each district, including the IDF, will choose its top 16 or 18 contestants, who will take part in regional Bible contests in October. The quizzes will be held before public audiences. Two winners from each district will then be chosen, and the 14 finalists will take part in the National Bible Quiz in Jerusalem on the Chanukah holiday in December. It will take place in Binyanei HaUmah (Jerusalem Convention Center), in the presence of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Gideon Saar. The first Bible Quiz for Adults was held in 1958, in the framework of Israel’s 10th anniversary celebrations. The contest was the talk of the day, broadcast on live radio, and the winner, the nearly-sightless Amos Hakham, became an instant celebrity and icon of Bible proficiency. Hakham then won the International Bible Quiz, held in Jerusalem two weeks later with the participation of non-Jews as well as Jews. When he took the lead in the early stages, the daily Yediot Acharonot newspaper came out with a special second edition, headlined, “Hakham is Winning.” The live spirit behind the contests was Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, a lover of the Bible who held weekly Bible classes in his office. Renewing the Bible Quiz tradition is meant to encourage public interest and study of the Book of Books as the cultural basis of the Nation of Israel. In addition, it seeks to strengthen national identification and solidarity with the Bible’s values, and to deepen the link between the nation and the Land and Tradition of Israel. Yet another goal is to enrich spoken and written Hebrew with phrases and imagery from the Bible, and to serve as a common education framework for citizens of all sectors in the country. The renewal of the Bible Quiz tradition is attributed to a joint Netanyahu/Saar initiative. Netanyahu’s son Avner won the National Bible Quiz for Youth this past spring, and finished third in the International Bible Quiz for Youth; three of his maternal uncles have won or nearly won Bible contests in the past. The last Bible Quiz for Adults, won by Rabbi Aharon Ben-Shushan, was held in 1981

2010: “Junk food junkies” were saddened today at the passing of 90 year old Morrie Yohai, the “developer of Cheez Doodles. (As reported by Dennis Hevesi)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/business/03yohai.html

2010(16th of Av, 5770): Sixty-one year old character actor Maury Chaykin, passed away today in Toronto. (As reported by Bruce Weber)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/arts/29chaykin.html

2011: Rabbi Mordechai Becher is scheduled to deliver a lecture entitled “Two Great Jewish Mystics – The Ramcal and the Maharal of Prague at the Philadelphia Ethical Society on Rittenhouse Square.

2011: YJAM-Young Jewish Adults of Milwaukee is scheduled to provide a free nosh for those attending the Battle of the Bands at River Rhythms.

2011: Planet Moneyreporters Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson are scheduled to offer a practical and humorous field guide to America's economic future at Washington’s Sixth and I Historic Synagogue.

2011: Today, the French Foreign Ministry circulated comments made by its minister Alain Juppe last week saying that any solution to the Middle East will need to recognize Israel as the nation-state for the Jewish people. Israeli Diplomatic officials reacted very positively to Juppe's statement, saying it was an indication that the Europeans were moving in the direction of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's position that recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people must be part of parameters for future negotiations with the Palestinians, especially if the these parameters include the 1967 lines, with mutual agreed upon swaps. At a press conference last week in Madrid alongside Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez, Juppe was asked whether France supported the PA's move to seek statehood recognition at the UN in September."France has a very clear position that joins the one of Spain and all of our European partners: it is that there will be no solution to the conflict in the Middle East without recognition of two nation-states for two peoples. The nation state of Israel for the Jewish people, and the nation state of Palestine for the Palestinian people. There is no getting away from this," he said.

2011: Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini pledged support today for demonstrators protesting across the country for affordable housing, saying the Histadrut would join protests "at all levels" if the government did not invite the labor organization to discuss real solutions to the issues facing the middle and lower classes, Israel Radio reported.

2012: Donald Sanford, the 400 meter runner, is scheduled to be part of the Israeli team representing the Jewish state at the Olympics which open today in London.

2012: The Tel Aviv International Children’s Festival which features 30 films for children between the ages of 3 and 13 is scheduled to come to an end today.

2012: The public is scheduled to join Leket Israel’s gleaning initiative where participants can pick vegetables for distribution to Israel’s needy at Moshav Nahal. (For more pre-Shabbat fun see www.janglo.net )

2012: Since the IOC has sided with the killers and decided against “a moment of silence” to honor the memory of those slaughtered at 40 years ago at Munich  the following prayer composed by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is scheduled to be offered by many Jews throughout the world

http://www.chiefrabbi.org/2012/07/17/prayer-to-commemorate-the-40th-anniversary-of-the-massacre-at-the-1972-olympic-games-in-munich/

<img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/61061853551836038

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