September 10 In History
134 CE: The great Talmudic sage, Rabbi Akiva, was taken captive by the Romans, and executed five days later in Caesarea, Israel. Rabbi Akiva had been a 40-year-old shepherd who could not even read the Aleph-Bet. One day, he came across a stone that had been holed out by a constant drip of water. He concluded: If something as soft as water can carve a hole in solid rock, how much more so can Torah -- which is fire -- make an indelible impression on my heart. Rabbi Akiva committed himself to Torah study, and went on to become the greatest sage of his generation, with 24,000 students learning under him at one time. The Roman authorities eventually arrested him for "illegally" teaching Torah. As he was being tortured, Rabbi Akiva rejoiced in fulfilling the biblical command to "love God with all your life." As he died, Rabbi Akiva uttered the words of Shema Yisrael. His self-sacrifice for Torah continues to inspire Jews till today.
http://www.aish.com/dijh/Tishrei_5.html
1191: During the Third Crusade, King Richard., the Lionhearted, captured Jaffa but throughout the remainder of 1191 and into the summer of 1192, he was unable to realize his ultimate goal of recapturing Jerusalem. Richard was facing Saladin, the Muslim leader who readmitted the Jews to Jerusalem in 1190. Richard would leave the Holy Land and end up in an Austrian dungeon. His brother Prince John would pillage the English people to raise the ransom; the Jewish people were a special target for the Richard’s avaricious brother who would one day become King of England.
1199(8th of Tishri): Maimonides wrote to Samuel Ibn-Tibbon, who as translating the "Guide to the Perplexed from Arabic into Hebrew. The letter included advice on how to do this as well as plea that Ibn-Tibbon not undertake his planned trip from France to Egypt to visit him. The distance was too great and he would be too busy since to see him for more than an hour since each day except Shabbat he must travel from Fostat to Cairo where he spends half a day ministering to the Sultan and his court. Then he travels back to Fostat where he is besieged by Jews, Moslems, et al all seeking his medical skill and advice.
1337: In
Deckendorf
,
Bavaria
, there was an alleged host desecration. This allegation brought wide spread violence to over fifty communities in
Bavaria
,
Bohemia
and
Austria
. Host desecration was right up there with blood libel accusations when it came to inciting Christians to violent attacks on Jews. Since the host was symbolic of the body of Jesus, the desecration of the host was treated like a repeat of the alleged betrayal of Jesus by the Jews that is at the core of the Good Friday/Easter celebration.
1349: Jews who survived a massacre in Constance Germany were burned to death.
1487: Birthdate of Pope Julius III. As far as Popes went Julius was not the worst of the lot. He did allow the burning of the Talmud and other “harmful books.” At the same time condemned the use of the “blood libel” and the forced Baptism of children without the consent of their parents.
1663: Letters of denization were issued to Jacob Lumbrozo, a Sephardic Jew who was the first of his faith to settle in Maryland. Denization was a level below full citizenship but included a several rights including the right to buy and own real estate.
1671: The Jewish community of
Berlin
was organized.
1718: The
Collegiate
School
at
New Haven
,
Conn.
, changed its name to Yale. Yale, of course is noted for the fact that Hebrew is used in its crest. This was not because of Jews attending the school but because Hebrew was one of the languages used in the Biblical studies at the college. Elihu Yale, for whom Yale is named, also had a slightly risqué relationship with the Jewish people. While serving in Madras, he had an affair with the wife of Jewish merchant who was a leading member of the community. The relationship apparently was open and ongoing and produced a son. [I’ll bet that’s something that the Eli don’t sit around talking about down a Mory’s.]
1768: In Newport, Rhode Island, Aaron Lopez does not open his businesses today because of Shabbat.
1798(29th of Elul, 5558): Erev Rosh Hashanah
1847(29th of Elul, 5607): Erev Rosh Hashanah
1852: The New York Times reported that Lionel de Rothschild, "that eminent Hebrew," is resigning from Parliament since he cannot take his seat. "The Jewish Colossus has, as it said, come to the conclusion that the post of 'dummy representative' confers no credit on him while it is a decided disadvantage to the city" of London.
1855 (27 Elul 5615) Rabbi Sholom Rokeach, also known as the Sar Sholom (“minister of peace”), the first Belzer Rebbe passed away. Born in 1779, Rokeach’s father was Rabbi Elazar, a member of the Brody Kloise sages. His grandfather was Rabbi Elazar Rabbi of Brody until 1736, then Rabbi of Amsterdam. Rabbi Sar Sholom grew up as an orphan, in his uncle's home in the polish town of Skohl. This uncle, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Ramraz, his mother's brother, was the head of the Jewish law courts in that town. The uncle raised him, taught him Jewish tradition, and married his daughter Malka to him. In the town of Skohl he was influenced by Rabbi Shlomo (Flam) the Rebbe of Skohl (also known as Reb Shlomo Lutzker). Rabbi Shlomo was the personal writer and second hand of Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch, the successor to the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Chasidus. Since his uncle (and father in law) was opposed to Hasidus, Rabbi Sholom would secretly be let down the window by his wife, to learn at Rabbi Shlomo Lutzker's Beis Midrash during the nights. He composed several songs - most still sung by the Belzer Chasidim, including one tune, to "Tzur Mishaelo", sung during the Shaleshudes third ritual meal on the Sabbath, which is still popular today. Many of his speeches, teachings, writings and ideas, have been saved in an onthology named "Midbar Kadesh". He reigned as rebbe from 1817 till 1855. He was a disciple of the Seer of Lublin.:
1857: Birthdate of Flora Langerman Spiegelberg, the "grand lady of the southwest frontier.” Spiegelberg was born in
New York City
. She met her husband while she was on a visit to German. Willi Spiegelberg also was visiting from the
United States
. The couple married in the
Reform
Temple
at
Nuremberg
in 1874 and then returned to
America
. Willi and his brothers were successful merchants in
Sante Fe
,
New Mexico
. Flora settled there and became one of the leaders of the frontier community, starting among other things, the first non-sectarian school. Although her husband with some other relatives had already established a prosperous mercantile business in Santa Fe, Spiegelberg, upon her arrival, found that she was only the eighth woman in town. Instead of giving into culture shock, Spiegelberg devoted herself to improving her new community. The success of her husband's store enabled Spiegelberg to put all her energy into community service. In 1879, she helped to establish the first non-sectarian school in
Santa Fe
, and the following year raised $1,000 from the
Santa Fe
business community to purchase an acre of land for a new three-room schoolhouse. In addition, she ran not one but two religious schools: a Hebrew school on Saturdays and a Catholic Sunday school. Spiegelberg also created the first children's playground and garden in
Santa Fe
. In addition to all of her efforts on behalf of
Santa Fe
's growing community, Spiegelberg was also a moderately successful children's writer, and some of her work was broadcast on the CBS radio network in the 1930s. In 1937, she published Reminiscences of a Jewish Bride of the Santa Fe Trail, a collection of stories from her own life.
1858: The City Items column published today reported that “Yesterday was kept strictly holy by those of our citizens who profess the Jewish faith. The day, until sunset, was observed with fasting and prayer. During the morning the Synagogues were all open and were thronged with worshippers.” “The day was not a mere nominal Day of Atonement since “all the Jews’ stores in the city were closed.”
1860: Birthdate of the great Jewish historian Simon Dubnow whom the world could not be bothered to save so he was murdered in the cemetery at Riga by the Nazis. Although he was talking to the Jews of the Riga Ghetto when he said Yidn, shraybt un farshraybt"' (Jews – write and record)” he was reminding us all of the age old admonish to Zachor –Remember, which is a good enough reason to try one’s hand at history, at any level.
1871: It was reported today that The New Era, “a Hebrew magazine” that the days are long gone when the Jews could be thought of as forming their own nation. Living for so long among other nations of the world, they have identified with the nations in which they live. Thus Jews living in England are Englishman; Jews living in Germany are Germans, etc. When nations go to war, Jews find themselves fighting each other which is in violation of what had been a core value – loyalty. As to the establishment of modern Jewish state, “the idea of a restoration of a Jewish kingdom is an exploded theory and is now rejected by the great majority of our people.”
1871: In an article entitled “Glories of the Temple at Jerusalem” published today, Reverend Buddington described the findings of the Excavations of Jerusalem project paid for by the Palestine Expedition Fund. The project began in 1868 and was completed in 1870 under the leadership of Charles Warren and Henry Brittles. Among other things, the British explorers found evidence of the burning of Jerusalem, “the seal of Haggai” and pavement dating from the time when Jesus was supposed to have been in the city.
1871: Miss Isabel Burton’s account of her recent visit to Hebron was published today. She described how the Moslems had co-opted the Cave Macpalah by building a mosque on the site and the limitations on placed on Jews trying to visit the site.
1874: It was reported today that Herr and Frau Heilbut had recently celebrated their Diamond (60th) Wedding Anniversary in Hamburg, Germany. The Municipal Council had closed the area where the festivities were taking place to all vehicular traffic. The celebration included services at the local synagogue, serenades by two choral societies and congratulatory visits from the Chief Burgomaster and the Director of Police. Among the gifts were a “a magnificently bound prayer-book with a large diamond set in the cover presented by the Empress of Germany” a long with a persona note from her Imperial Majesty. [The Jews of Hamburg had only recently won full civil rights as German citizens. This outpouring of official recognition gave a great deal of hope and comfort to the over 12,000 Jews living in a city whose Jewish citizens had included Moses Mendelsohn.]
1875: James Koppel Gutheim “was engaged as a guest rabbi to lead the inaugural services” for Temple Beth El’s new building in San Antonio, Texas.
1875(10th of Elul, 5635): Rebekah Gumpert Hyneman a noted authoress from Philadelphia, PA passed away today.“She was a regular contributor to The Masonic Mirror, published a volume of Tales for Children, and wrote essays descriptive of the women of the Bible and the Apocrypha. She also published a number of poems under the titles The Leper and Other Poems and The Muses.”
1876: “‘Becky Sharp’ On Stage” published today described a dramatization of Vanity Fair that had been performed in San Francisco, CA. (Thackeray’s novel contained several references to Jews, none of which were particularly faltering. Rhoda Swartz, a classmate of Becky’s is described as being the daughter of German Jew who was a slave owner. Of a group of Jews who are among the attendees at a bankruptcy auction she say “Look at them with their hooked beaks…They’re like vultures after a battle.” As described by Marcus Ballenger)
1877: An article published today entitled “The Jewish New Year” describes the differences in the way in which “Orthodox and Reformed” Jews observe the just completed holiday. It points out that “the Jewish Church has in latter years been somewhat divied on minor points, though” it is “thoroughly united in all material matters.” For example one group considers it proper to use an organ which the other prohibits its being played. One group observed the holiday for one day and blew the ram’s horn on Saturday, the other group only blew the ram’s horn on the second day of the holiday.
1877(3rd of Tishrei, 5638): Tzom Gedaliah
1878:Moses Ottinger and Amelia Gottlieb Ottinger gave birth to their son Albert Ottinger a lawyer who played a prominent role in New York politics. A Republican, Ottinger ran for Governor of New York in 1928. He lost to a Democratic Party Ticket on which Herbert Lehman, who was also Jewish, was running as Lieutenant Governor.
1880: Simon Rosenheim, a Polish Jew went on trial today charged with having set fire to the Hester Street tenement house in which he lives.
1881: Based on information that first appeared in the Jewish World it was reported today that “Russia is at last taking active steps to suppress any further outrages” aimed at the Jews.
1882:`The Congress for the Safeguarding of Non-Jewish Interests, which opened in
Dresden
,
Germany
, was the first international assembly to promote anti-Semitism. This meeting is considered to be a major milestone in the development of anti-Semitism. For the past two centuries, (see item above for an example) it appeared that
Europe
was slowly, if gradually, rejecting anti-Semitism and moving to admit Jews as full participants in legal, commercial and social affairs. This meeting represented a major move backwards and, being held in
Germany
, which was considered a center of European culture made the shift seem even more significant. Finally, the anti-Semitism that this Congress represented was more along "racial" lines - the pitting of the Aryans against the Semites. Over time, this mentality would find its ugliest manifestation in the Final Solution.
1886: Birthdate of Paul Burlin, a noted modern and abstract expressionist painter.
1886: Lawrence Barrett played the role of Shylock in tonight’s performance of “The Merchant of Venice” at the Star Theatre. Barrett’s portrayal stands out because unlike others he does not portray the Jew as loathsome caricature and portrays “the dignity of the representative of a shamefully abused race.”
1887: It was reported today that the term “That beats the Jews” when used in New York City is a “complimentary exclamation” that is used when a person accomplishes something that is particularly clever. As can be seen from the large number of businesses bearing German-Jewish names, Jews are increasingly successful in the world of commerce. In the public schools, Jewish children are almost half of the graduates and they excel in the field of mathematics. “The Jews are the great patrons of classical music and the dramatic arts” and their absence is felt when performances fall on their holidays. (Editors note – This complimentary description of New York Jews stands in stark contrast to the exclusionary movement that began in Saratoga Springs and the fearful response to the wave of eastern European Jewish immigrants which was beginning to swell the city’s population.)
1889(14thof Elul, 5649): Twenty-seven year old British poet and novelist whose friends included Eleanor Marx, the daughter of Karl Marx and Oscar Wilde passed away today.
1890: Birthdate of author and playwright, Franz Werfel. Born in the old Austro-Hungarian, Werfel was a Jewish Czech who wrote in German. He was a contemporary of such famed intellectuals as Franz Kafka and Martin Buber. Werfel was one of the intellectuals brought to the
United States
by American diplomat and righteous gentile, Adrian Frey. Werfel died in
California
in 1945. Two of his most famous American efforts were The Song of Bernadette and Jacobowsky and the Colonel, the film version of which featured Danny Kaye and Kurt Jurgens.
1891: The New York Times publishes an editorial calling for strict enforcement of laws designed to keep Russian Jews out of the
United States
. After quoting statements by Lord Rothschild and Mr. Seligman that none of the funds of the late Baron Hirsch were used to settle Russian Jews in the United States, New York’s “paper of record” stated that “unlike their co-religionist from other countries they (Russian Jews) fail altogether to assimilate with our people or in any sense to become Americanized, but remain a class apart.”
1895: Birthdate of Melville J. Herskovits, “inventor of African-American Studies.”
1897:(13 Elul 5657): At the age of seventeen Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn married a distant cousin, Rebbetzin Nechama Dina Schneersohn, daughter of Rabbi Avraham Schneerson of Chişinău, son of Rabbi Yisroel Noach of Nizhyn, son of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
1904(1stof Tishrei, 5665): Rosh Hashanah
1904: Birthdate of Max Shachtman Polish-born American leftist who began as an associate of Lenin and evolved into anti-Soviet Socialist. A spokesperson of the downtrodden, he espoused the cause of rights for African-Americans in the 1930’s when the issue was barely a blip on most advocates of social change. He passed away in 1972.
1910: Birthdate of Chicago native Harris Krakow who gained famed as heavyweight boxer King Levinsky.
1911: In
Russia
, Minister of Justice Shcheglovitov rushed from
St Petersburg
to
Kiev
to provide additional false evidence to ensure the conviction of Mendel Bellis.
1911: Delegates of the Mizrachi Party meeting in
Berlin
decided to secede from the main Zionist organization.
1919: Foreign Minister Eduard Benex signed
Czechoslovakia
’s own version of the Minorities Treaty which Czech President Jan Masaryk immediately incorporated in to the Czech Constitution. “Henceforth, in common with others of
Czechoslovakia
’s ethnic communities, Jews were entitled to a full panoply of linguistic, communal and educational rights.”
1922: Memorial services are held at the Young Men’s Hebrew Association in the
Bronx
, NY for the late Colonel Harry Cutler, a leader of the
America
’s Jewish community whose positions included serving as executive director of the Jewish Welfare Board,
1923: Birthdate of Israeli sociologist Shmuel Eisenstadt.
1923: Birthdate of Uri Avneri, Israeli author and politician who has traveled the political spectrum from membership in the Irgun to left-wing peace activist.
1923(29th of Elul, 5683): Erev Rosh Hashanah
1924: Leopold and Loeb were found guilty of murder. The sons of two wealthy
Chicago
Jewish families killed the son of a third Jewish family. Clarence Darrow, the famed defense attorney saved them from the hangman. They were each sentenced to life in prison. The story became the source for the novel (and a movie of the same name) called "Compulsion."
1926(2nd of Tishrei, 5687):Rosh Hashanah Second Day
1926: Jewish policeman and firemen in Newark, NJ are to be excused from active duty because of Rosh Hashanah as ordered by the Director of Public Safety.
1935: Kurt Weil and his wife moved from Nichols, Connecticut to the St. Moritz Hotel in New York City.
1937: The Palestine Post reported from
Warsaw
that a large number of Polish Jews were brutally attacked and beaten during the Jewish New Year period. According to the Post' special correspondent, the Polish government was to be blamed for being cognizant of, if not officially sympathetic to, the present wave of the anti-Jewish persecution. Yes, anti-Semitism was part of the Polish landscape before the German invasion of 1939. And it lasted after the defeat of the Germans in 1945.
1937: The Palestine Post reported that the
Palestine
question figured fourth on the agenda of the League of Nations Council's meeting in
Geneva
. Discussions, however, of the problems involved were expected to take most of the council's time and attention.
1937: The Palestine Post reported that Arab leaders from
Egypt
,
Palestine
,
Syria
and
Iraq
, met at
Bludan
,
Syria
, to discuss Arab-British relations. All of them were highly critical of the Royal (Peel) Commission's findings and the suggested partition of
Palestine
.
1938: Conservative Rabbi Israel H. Leventhal of the Brooklyn Jewish Center and Reform Rabbi Louis I. Newman of Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Manhattan issued a joint statement urging American Jews to help raise funds for the Jews of Poland by contributing to the American Committee Appeal. Orthodox rabbis had already issued a similar appeal.
1938: The Third Betar Congress opens in Warsaw, Poland. “Betar is the Zionist revisionist youth movement established 1923, by Ze’ev Jabotinsky. Betar is an acronym for ‘Brit Trumpeldor,’ and is also the name of Bar Kochba’s ancient fortress.
1939: Today, Sydney Simon Shulemson enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He graduated from flight school in 1942. He joined RCAF 404 Squadron in Wick in Scotland, flying a Bristol Beaufighter. Shulemson downed a German flying boat on his first sortie. He pioneered techniques for rocket attacks on Axis ships in the North Atlantic. After the war, Shulemson located aircraft and recruited pilots for Israel's growing Israeli Air Force.
1939: After ordering 50 Jews to repair a bridge, General Halder shot them all in their synagogue. For some Halder is some kind of "hero." An anti-Nazi, he was part of an aborted attempt at a coup against Hitler prior to the war. Despite his high rank in the German Army, he was imprisoned because he was alleged to have been part of the plot to kill Hitler in July, 1944. But as this event during the early days of the Nazi invasion of
Poland
shows, the supposed anti-Nazi hero could serve Hitler and be a major player in the extermination of the Jews. This episode also raises questions about the lack of involvement of the German Army in the Holocaust.
1941: Birthdate of American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and historian of science Stephen Jay Gould
1941: Pitcher Harry Feldman made his major league debut with the New York Giants.
1942: The Allies carry out an amphibious landing at Majunga, north-west
Madagascar
, to re-launch Allied offensive operations in the Madagascar Campaign. Madagascar played an odd role in the history of The Final Solution. Prior to the war, anti-Semitic elements in the Polish government investigated the possibility of deporting Jews to the island. The plan was revived by some of Nazi leaders after the defeat of France. The infamous Stern Gang actually bought into this as a temporary solution for the survival of the Jews of Europe. Of course, in reality, only extermination of the Jews fit the Nazi plan for victory in its “War Against the Jews.”
1942: In
Belgium
, foreign Jews are seized in
Antwerp
. They are sent to a camp in
Mechelen
,
Belgium
, and then to forced labor in northern
France
.
1942: Yehuda Joakob “Edi” Weinstein escaped from Treblinka and returned to his home town of
Losice
,
Poland
where he tried to warn the surviving Jews of the fate that awaited him. Weinstein would survive the war and chronicle his life story in Quenched Steel: The Story of an Escape from Treblinka. The
November 8, 2007
edition of the Jerusalem Post would describe the 83 old Weinstein as being the last known survivor of Treblinka II.
1943: Jewish youths attack German troops at
Miedzyrzec
,
Poland
, killing two. Five Jews are shot.
1944: Fifty-two Jews hiding from the prior two days of SS reprisals at
Topolcany
,
Slovakia
, were discovered. They were brought to an open field, forced to dig deep ditches and then shot. Among the dead were six young children
1945(3rd of Tishrei, 5706): For the first time since 1939, Jews of the world observe Tzom Gedaliah without having to fear the ovens of the Shoah.
1947: Third baseman Al Rosen made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians.
1950: According to reports published today, the government of Israel will be issuing a stamp at harvest time picturing Stahveet, a cow which has produced 100,000 liters of milk, which may be a world’s record.
1951:The executive body of the World Jewish Congress will begin its annual meeting at Geneva today. Described by its members as the most representative body of world Jewry, they will discuss and try to formulate a policy on a number of matters of pressing interest to Jewish groups throughout the world. “The resurgence of Germany as a leading independent power” is one of the major issues on the mind of many of the attendees. The attendees hope to prepare a position paper to be circulated among the leading Western nations expressing Jewish concerns which include the failure of Germany to accept responsibility for War Crimes, failure to build in self-guards against a resurgence of anti-Semitism and any attempt to pay reparations to those who suffered at the hands of the Germans. Rabbi Israel Goldstein is leading the U.S. delegation. Dr. Nahum Goldman is serving as presiding officer, a position he had filled at the recently completed Zionist Congress that had met in Jerusalem.
1951: JTA reported that the Jewish organizations of Argentina have brought to the attention of the Federal Ministry of Interior the wounding of a Jew in the nearby city of Avellaneda in what they describe as a serious outbreak of anti-Semitism. A 23-year-old Jew, Jacob Chermenitzky, was on his way to work early yesterday morning when he was accosted by three men waving pistols. First they made the young Jew shout "Viva Hitler" and "Death to the Jews" then they shot him at close range. Cherminitzky was seriously wounded
1952: The Jerusalem Post reported that Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett told reporters, while leaving for Luxembourg to sign the Israeli-German Reparation Agreement, "that without complacency I can say that this journey gives expression to the change which came about in the Jewish people with the establishment of the State of Israel, and the achievements which the state means for the Jewish people."
1952: After six months of negotiations, the Claims Conference and the German federal government signed an agreement embodied in two protocols. Protocol No. 1 called for the enactment of laws that would compensate Nazi victims directly for indemnification and restitution claims arising from Nazi persecution. Under Protocol No. 2, the German government provided the Claims Conference with DM 450 million for the relief, rehabilitation and resettlement of Jewish victims of Nazi persecution, according to the urgency of their need as determined by the Conference. Agreements were also signed with the State of Israel.
1953: Birthdate of actress Amy Irving. Irving is the sister of director David Irving and the wife of Steven Spielberg.
1956: Birthdate of Israel archaeologist Eilat Mazar, the third in her line which began with her grandfather Benjamin Mazar.
1957: Pitcher Barry Latman made his major league debut with the Chicago White Sox.
1969: Designated hitter Ron Blomberg made his major league debut with the New York Yankees.
1970: Birthdate of Jeff Marx, the Florida native whose musical talents gave us the Tony Award winning “Avenue Q.”
1972(2nd of Tishrei, 5733): Rosh Hashanah Second Day
1983(3rd of Tishrei, 5744): Shabbat Shuvah
1983(3rd of Tishrei, 5744): Physicist Felix Bloch passed away. Born in
Switzerland
in 1905, Block won the Nobel Prize in 1952.
1988:Elazar Shach, a leading Haredi Rabbi who seemed to have quarreled with or disapproved of most Jewish leaders including the Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson wrote a letter today forbidding debate with Rav Adin Steinsaltz because he is a heretic.
2000: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or about topics of Jewish interest including A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You: Stories by Amy Bloom, The Head Game: Baseball Seen From the Pitcher's Mound by Roger Kahn, Mirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide, and Modern Identity by Israeli historian Omer Bartov, The Guilt of Nations: Restitution and Negotiating Historical Injustices by Elazar Barkan, Dreams of Being Eaten Alive: The Literary Core of the Kabbalah by David Rosenberg and Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress by Debra Ginsberg.
2000: Radio personality and commentator Scott Simon married Caroline Richard. They are raising their two daughters as part of what “they consider to be a Jewish family.”
2003: In Saskatchewan, Canada, the Rural Municipality of Willow Creek designed Beth Israel Synagogue and its cemetery as a municipal heritage site. The synagogue had been built by Jewish immigrants who came to Canada from Lithuania via South Africa and established the Edenbridge Hebrew Colony. The colony was part of the attempts to settle eastern European Jews in areas outside of the major municipal centers.
2005: The Jerusalem Post reported that replicas of the Sarajevo Haggadah - a 600-year-old Jewish manuscript - are to be sold to the public. Jakob Finci, the head of the Jewish community in
Bosnia
, said that a total of 613 replicas of the document are to be printed and made available by next Passover. It was decided to start with 613 replicas because there are 613 mitzvoth.
2006: The Sunday New York Times featured a review of Jennifer Gilmore’s debut novel, Golden Country that details the complex history of two intertwined families: the Blooms and the Brodskys. Both are Jewish, both touched with genius and dishonesty, as they strive toward the twin goals of material success and social acceptance in
America
. Haaretz featured a review of Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution by Laurence Rees which the British Book Awards named "History Book of the Year" for 2006.
2006: “For Your Consideration,” a film about the fictional filming of a 1940’s movie entiteld “Home for Purim,” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
2007: A lawyer representing Neta Shoshani, a student at the Bezalel Art School in Jerusalem, sent one last letter to the Ministry of Defense requesting all documents related to the event that took place in Deir Yassin.
2007: In a moment of great irony, Haaretzreported that at a time when a German television network had fired a popular news woman who had praised Nazi values in a book she had published, Jewish residents of Petah Tikvah were enduring a two year long reign of terror by neo-Nazi, skinhead gangs whose membership comes from teenage immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
2007: In an article entitled “Little Trends, Big Impacts” U.S. New & World Reports, an American magazine,summarizes some of the findings found in Microtrends by Mark Penn including a heading styled “Pro Semites” which reports that “when Americans were asked how they feel about religious groups in the United States, Jews rated the highest of any, with a net positive of 54 percent…As love for Jews spreads, so do Jewish customs. Non-Jews are having bar mitzvahs. Americans consume over 8 million pounds of matzo per year – a sickening amount if divided only among the nation’s 6 million Jews.
2007: The New Republic features a review of The Years of Extermination: Nazi
Germany
and the Jews, 1939-1945 by Saul Friedlander.
2008:Neal Karlen, noted journalist and author, discusses his book, The Story of Yiddish: How a Mish-Mosh of Languages Saved the Jews at the U of Minnesota Bookstore in Coffman Memorial Union.
2008: The American Sephardi Federation presents the screening and discussion of “The Law Aliyah from
Yemen
” and “About the Jews of Yemen: A Vanishing Culture” - two films about the Yemenite Jewish Community.
2008: The inaugural Library of Congress Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Writing of Fiction will be conferred upon bestselling author Herman Wouk, author of The Winds of War and the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Caine Mutiny, at the library's Thomas Jefferson Bldg., Special guests William Safire, Martha Raddatz and Jimmy Buffet are among those who will read from Wouk's work, while Wouk himself will read from his unpublished literary diaries.
2009:Rich Cohen discusses and signs Israel Is Real: An Obsessive Quest to Understand the Jewish Nation and Its History at Politics and Prose Bookstore
2009: At Tulane University, the Jewish Studie