September 7 In History
70: On the secular calendar the date on which a Roman army under Titus occupied and plundered Jerusalem.
1191: The Crusader army led by King Richard the Lionhearted defeated the army of Saladin at the Battle of Arsuf, north of Jaffa. The victory proved to be a tactical one, since Richard was not able to wrest control of Jerusalem from Saladin. From a Jewish point of view this was a definite plus since the Crusaders had butchered the Jews of Jerusalem while Saladin had permitted them to return to the City of David.
1307: Alexander Susskind passed away. Susskind gave his whole fortune as ransom for the body of Rabbi Meir of Rottenberg. Rabbi Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg was a Tosaphist (codifier and commentator on the Talmud), as well as a liturgical poet. He was imprisoned in the town of Ensisheim, which was located in Alsace in 1286. When he died in 1293, the authorities refused to release the body. Fourteen years later the authorities succumbed to their greed and allowed Susskind to buy it back. The remains were given a proper burial at the town of Worms.
1312: King Ferdinand IV of Castile passed away. During his reign the monarch employed a Jew named Samuel as his treasurer. Ferdinand followed his advice in political as well as financial matters. This earned him the enmity of the dowager Queen, Maria de Molina who had ruled before Ferdinand reached his majority. She, or her sympathizers, may have been responsible for the near fatal beating suffered by Samuel
1434: The Council of Basle instituted new measures against the Jews. The council, aside from adopting many of the old measures preventing interaction between Jews and Christians, prohibited Jews from entering Universities, and were forced to listen to conversion sermons. The council encouraged Christian study of Hebrew in order to "combat Jewish Heresy."
1533: Birthdate of Queen Elizabeth I. There were no practicing Jews living in England during her reign but that did not keep anti-Semitism from being a part of the Elizabethan cultural environment as can be seen from Shakespeare’s merchants of Venice. There was a handful of secret Jews and/or Marranos living in England during her reign. One of them was Dr. Hector Nunes who provided valuable intelligence to English leaders on the movement of the Spanish Armada. On the other hand Dr. Roderigo Lopez who had served as the Queen’s physician, ended up being executed at Tyburn for his part (real or imagined) in a plot to poison the queen. The fate of Lopez was the “led to new productions of The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe.
1628: During the Eighty Years War, start of the Battle in the Bay of Matanzas in which a Sephardic Jew turned Dutch pirate played a critical role.
1654: A group of 23 Jews from Recife, Brazil arrived in New Amsterdam, 1654. They became the pioneers of the American Jewish community. They arrived on a French frigate called the St. Catherine. Their unofficial leader was Asser Levy. Governor Peter Stuyvesant did want the Jews to remain. Eventually they were allowed to stay with the stipulations that "The poor among them shall not become a burden to the community, but be supported by their own nation." This statement would find fulfillment in a variety of Jewish immigrant aid societies and other such philanthropic endeavors.
1654: A petition by Jacques de la Motthe, the French master of the ship St. Charles requested payment for Jews and their freight which he brought to New Amsterdam from Cape St. Anthony. He said there were "23 souls, big and little, who must pay equally." After a week passed, the Jews belongings were put up for auction, and it was said many Christians bought the Jews belongings, only to give them back to the Jews.
1654: Rabbi Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller passed away. He served as chief Rabbi of Prague and of Vienna. His most famous work was a commentary on the Mishnah entitled Tosafot Yom Tov. The word Tosafot is translated as “additions.” There are those who contend that the Tosafot are not actually “additions” or commentaries on the Talmud but commentaries on Rashi’s commentary. Regardless Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller was a great scholar, sage and communal leader.
1628: Opening day of the Battle in the Bay of Matanzas, a naval battle during the Eighty Year’s War fought off the coast of Cuba in which the Dutch captured the Spanish treasure fleet. Moses Cohen Henrqiues, a Sephardic Dutch pirate helped Piet Pieterszoon, the Dutch commander win the victory
1787:Jonas Phillips, a member of a prominent Philadelphia Jewish family sent a petition to the delegates of what became known as the Constitutional Convention ( the body that wrote the U.S. Constitution) asking that they not adopt a religious test for Federal office holders.
1812(1st of Tishrei, 5573): Jews on both sides of the Atlantic were joined together by the observance of Rosh Hashanah but American and English Jews were separated by the conflict known as The War of 1812.
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1822: Brazil declared its independence from Portugal. Brazil’s declaration of independence triggered an influx of Jewish settlers primarily from Morocco who “set up a synagogue in Belem (northern Brazil) called Porta do Ceu (Gate of Heaven) in 1824 and later one in Manaus (on the Amazon River).”
1827: The Russian government decreed that the draft of Jewish boys would begin at the age of 12. This was part of the Russian government's plan to deal with the Jewish problem. This early draft was intended to separate the youngsters from their homes and families and force them to eventually adopt the Christian religion.
1845: St. Louis, Missouri, became the site of the first synagogue to be built in the Mississippi Valley. For more information about the history of the Jewish community in St. Louis, consult the two-volume Zion in the Valley by Walter Ehrlich is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
1850(1st of Tishrei, 5611): As Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Americans breathe a sigh of relief with the passage this month of the legislation known as the Compromise of 1850 which avoided the outbreak of Civil War. Unfortunately, the compromise did not hold and ten years later, America would cross the abyss.
1860: Giuseppe Garibaldi captured Naples today and set up a provisional government. Because of the family's close political connections with Austria and France, this put Adolf von Rothschild in a delicate position. He chose to take temporary sanctuary in Gaeta with the Bourbon king Francis II of the Two Sicilies but the Rothschild houses in London, Paris, and Vienna were not prepared to financially support the deposed king. With the ensuing unification of Italy, and the mounting tension between Adolf and the rest of the family, after forty-two years in business the Naples house closed in 1863.
1862: In New York Gustavus Speyer and Sophia Speyer (née Rubino) gave birth to Sir Edgar Speyer the American born financier and philanthropist who became a British subject whose loyalty to his adopted home led him to be created a baronet.
1863: During the Civil War, Alfred Mordecai, Jr. was promoted from Captain to Major in the Union Army. He would eventually become a Brigadier General.
1871: The German Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha conferred a barony on Julius Reuter, the German-born English pioneer of the newswire service which is known as Reuters. This meant that Israel Beer Josafat, the son of a rabbi who had become a Lutheran would now be known as Baron de Reuter.
1871: “The Bed of the Tiber” published today described various attempts to retrieve relics from the Roman river and/or to divert it in attempts to clean its fetid waters. According to Addison’s His Remarks on Several Parts of Italy in 1701, the Jews had approached the Holy See with a proposal that they would clean the bed of the stream in exchanged for the right to keep whatever they might find among the debris.
1872: Birthdate of Samuel S. Koenig the Hungarian born American attorney and leader of the New York Republican Party.
1877(29th of Elul, 5637): Erev of Rosh Hashanah
1877: An article published today “The Jewish New Year” reported that “this evening the Israelites throughout the world will commence the celebration of Rosh Hashanah or the New Year.” After describing the differences in the observance of those “who still adhere to the Rabbinical ritual” and those “who have enlisted under the banner of reform” the article points out that “the celebration of the festival is considered as a preparation for the solemn fast of Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement.”
1879: Rabbi Isaac Noot officiated at this afternoon’s dedication service for the new synagogue housing B’Nai Israel. Located on 4th street, the building is simple edifice lacking the expected Moorish columns and stained glass windows. The congregation’s leaders include its President, Meyer Rosenthal and its Vice President, Lewis I. Schilt.
1879: The Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society facility was officially opened to the public today in New York City. The society is committed to provide for the needs of destitute and vagrant Jewish children. Currently the society is provided shelter, food and education for 33 children ranging in age from 1 to 10 years.
1879: Rabbi E. M. Myers officiated at the rededication of Baith Israel which had reconfigured its pews to allow for mixed seating.
1880: It was reported today that “George Solomon, a Jewish writer” has published a new work – The Jews of History and the Jesus of Tradition Identified.
1881: Henry Lezinskey, a Jewish wholesale liquor dealer from New York was arrested in Long Branch, NJ on charges of stealing $775 from John J. Wheeler, the owner of the Germania Hotel.
1883: The Indianapolis News reported that “a tag on a pair of boots in front” of a store “on South Illinois Street” owned by a Jewish merchant reads “$1.25, not each.” The reason for the strange wording is that a competitor advertises boots at a $1.25 and then charges the customer $2.50 because the each boot costs $1.25.
1884: “To Fight the Machine” published today described the battle for the First Congressional District in New Orleans between the regular Democratic organization and the self-style “reform Democrats” who are backing Carleton Hunt against General Adolph Mayer, “a millionaire Jew with an ace for social distinction.
1885: A delegation of “Hebrew working girls” will march in today’s “working men’s parade under the leadership of Paul Mayer.
1888: “The Beaches at Rockaway” described economic and social conditions at various New York beaches during the just ended summer season. Among other things, the clientele at the Far Rockaway Beach has shifted from being “a fashionable resort” that attracted notables like Horace Greely, to being so heavily visited by those of Irish origins that it was called the “Irish Long Branch.” However during the past three years there has been such a growth in the number of Jewish families that fewer and fewer old time families from Troy and Albany have been coming to the beach.
1891(4th of Elul, 5651): Heinrich Graetz, one of the intellectual giants of the 19th century and the author of multi-volume History of the Jews a seminal work in more ways than one, passed away. (This blog cannot do justice to his accomplishments and impact )
1893: "Women elbowed, trod on each other’s toes, and did everything else they could without violating the proprieties" to find a place in the overcrowded hall to hear women speak at the first-ever Jewish Women's Congress.
1893: Birthdate of (Isaac) Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha (of Devonport), statesman and inventor of belisha beacons. Born in London, he was British secretary of state for war (1937-40) who instituted military conscription in the spring of 1939, a few months before the outbreak of World War II.
1899: The second court martial of Colonel Dreyfus comes to an end.
1899: The Beth Moshav Z'keinim (Orthodox Home for Aged Jews), was organized today in Chicago., Illinois.
1904: Dr. Rudolph J. Coffee conducted today’s funeral service for Dr. Herman Baar, the former Superintendent of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum in New York. Among the attendees, were the children from the orphanage which currently serves almost 1,000 youngsters
1906: A Pogrom took place in Shedlitz, Russia. This was part of the pattern of unrest that preceded and followed the defeat of the Czar's army in the Russo-Japanese War.
1906: A 20 year old Russian Jew, David Gruen, landed at Jaffa. History would come to know him as David Ben Gurion. Ben Gurion is Hebrew for Son of Gruen
1913: “Jews of Today” provided a full-scale review of The Jews of Today by Arthur Ruppin with an introduction by Joseph Jacobs.
1915: Outfield Sam Mayer made his major league debut with the Washington Senators.
1918(1st of Tishrei, 5679): Unbeknownst to any of the warring parties, this is last Rosh Hashanah of WW I.
1918: In San Sebastian, Spain, Jewish New Year services are held for the first time in 400 years. The services were attended by 30 worshipers.
1921: The first Miss America Pageant was held in Atlantic City, NJ. Bess Myerson was the first Jew to win the contest in 1945.
1922: Birthdate of pianist Art Ferrante. This non-Jew gained fame as part of the duo Ferrante and Tachere which recorded the theme from “Exodus.”
1923: JTA reported today that “Anti-Jewish disturbances broke out simultaneously in two places in Roumania this week. In Bacau student disciples of the anti-Semitic agitator, Professor Cuza, invaded en masse a hall in which a Jewish students' dance was being held and attacked the guests. The police, according to eye-witnesses' reports, received here, worked in cahoots with the mob, arresting Jews who attempted to fight back their assailants. Among those taken into custody are two officials, Solomon Pascal and Carl Meyerowici. Deputy Christo Vianu, liberal, who witnessed the attack issued a statement following the disturbance demanding the release of the officials. He confirms that the police favored the assailants. A thorough investigation of the attack and drastic punishment for the offenders is promised by the Minister of Justice, who hurried to Bacau on receiving reports of the disturbance.”With the beginning of the new semester at the University of Klausenberg, the rector Jacobovicci has promised police protection to the Jewish students who were routed from the campus. The Minister of instruction, in view of the disturbances, has announced he will facilitate the issuance of passports to Jewish students who desire to study in foreign countries.The government is still timerous about opening all of the universities on account of the fear of more trouble. The league of Non-partisan Students has issued a memorandum appealing to the authorities to open "the universities before we become gray".
1923: The JTA reported today that Lord Rothschild had presided at Leeds at a meeting called to reestablish the local branch of the Anglo-Jewish Association. Those spreading anti-Semitism contend. Rothschild said, that the Jew is incapable of becoming a good citizen. "We must prove to the world that this is a gross libel. We must prove that the Jew cannot only be a good citizen but can be a better citizen than anyone" he insisted. D'Avigdor Goldsmid who also spoke said that the Anglo Jewish Association has existed for 52 years and in all of that time had played an active part in Jewish affairs of the British Empire.The Association, he said, takes a great interest in Palestine, having pledged to support the British Government in the execution of the mandate and to do all possible to assist in the development of the Jewish Home land.
1923: The JTA reported that negotiations are now under way between representatives of the Vaad Ha-Ir, or Jewish Council of the city with the Municipality of Montreal over the issue of establishing schools for the Jewish children of Canada’s largest municipality.
1923: JTA reported that The American Keren Hayesod has made a second payment of $57,000 towards its 50,000 pounds subscription to the Rutenberg Electric Company, sponsoring the electrification project in Palestine.
1924: Birthdate of composer Leonard Rosenman. Born in Brooklyn, Rosenman composed the theme for the television hit "Marcus Welby, MD.”
1926: JTA published figures portraying the employment picture in Palestine. Unemployment has increased since the cessation of the building activity in the country. In July 1925, the number of unemployed was 300, in August 950, September 975. October 1,750, November 2,000. December 2,700, in January 1926, 4,729, February 4,741, March 4,902, April 5,657, May 6,113 and June 6,400. Most of the unemployed are in Tel Aviv where they number 3,500; in Haifa there are 1,500 unemployed and in Jerusalem 300. About 2,000 of the unemployed in Tel-Aviv belong to the building tradesIn the period from January to June 1926, over 5,000 immigrants are reported to have entered Palestine, about 1,400 of them being absorbed in the colonies.
1927: JTA reported that The largest bequest ever received by the National Jewish Hospital here wamade by Louis Heineman of Jamestown, N. Y. A gift of $100,000 will be paid in 18 months by the Union Trust Co., of Jamestown, N. Y. from the estate of Louis Heinemann, who was a patient at the hospital 12 years ago.A sum of $100,000 was made in gifts to friends and relatives, and the remainder of the estate of $300,000 will go to the local Jewish Hospital and the Hebrew Union College of Cincinnati.
1927: JTA reported that Louis Marshall, president of the American Jewish Relief Committee, has expressed his astonishment at the sensational charges made by Max D. Steuer on his arrival from Europe concerning the alleged existence of fraud in the administration of unnamed Jewish relief funds prior to 1925.Mr. Marshall invited Mr. Steuer to communicate to the Joint Distribution Committee any facts bearing upon the subject to which he has referred. Mr. Marshall is ready, he stated, to call a meeting of the Executive Committee at the convenience of Mr. Steuer for the presentation by him of any evidence that he may have.The statement also urged that judgment be suspended until trustworthy, first-hand evidence is produced to justify such charges.
Mr. Marshall's statement read: "I am astounded at the statement purporting to have been made by Mr. Max D. Steuer on his return from his trip abroad, with regard to the expenditure of funds collected in the United States by Jewish agencies for the relief of suffering Jews in Europe. He is credited with saying that the moneys collected since June, 1925, have reached the proper destination, have done much good and have been economically administrated but that the moneys contributed prior to that time have been uneconomically administrated and a substantial part of them have never reached those for whom they were collected and intened. He goes so far as to say a part of the money was actually stolen by American representatives.
"The principal collecting and distributing agency during the past thirteen years has been the Joint Distribution Committee and its constituent organizations. The moneys collected and distributed prior to June, 1925, for the relief of Jews in Europe have been received and disbursed under identically the same auspices as those which functioned since June, 1925.
"Apparently Mr. Steuer is not speaking from personal knowledge. It does not appear that he has actually been government. The committee on immigration determined yesterday on a budget of £17,000 which will be used for extending aid to the new arrivals and for maintaining a staff in Palestine and in European centers. The program provides for the admission of a minimum of 1,500 Chaluzim during the coming year.
The determination of the American delegates to carry through their plan was handicapped by the fact that they were unable to name an American to the triumvirate as was demanded by Dr. Weizmann. The carrying out of the American efficiency program without naming an American to put it into effect would be "Brandeisism without Brandeis," Dr. Weizmann is reported as having told the American delegation. He appreciated the Americans' attitude but he would expect them to delegate their own man to carry through the program. The labor groups and the Mizrachi have declared that they are opposed to the American plan but advocate a coalition Executive which would assume responsibility for the political and economic work. At this moment the Americans were induced to abandon their original triumvirate proposal and agree to an executive of four, it being understood that the fourth member is to be Dr. Arthur Ruppin, the Zionist colonization expert. Dr. Ruppin, however, has declined to accept nomination on the Executive.
The Committee on Committee has extended an invitation to Messrs. Sacher, Kisch and Friesland to appear before it and present their program. It was stated that Dr. Weizmann was persuaded to agree to an Executive of five in Jerusalem and it is understood that he will submit his list to the Committee on Committees today. In the meantime, many of the delegates are leaving Basle, including several Americans.
1927: JTA reported that Alfred M. Cohen. international President of the Independent Order B'nai Brith returned on the steamer Hamburg from an extended tour in Europe. He was met at the pier by Dr. Boris D. Bogen. Exective Secretary of the Order and by numerous friends. When interviewed by the representative of the Jewish Daily Bulletin. Mr. Cobes spoke of his observations during his tour, when he came in contact with numerous Jewish communities and branches of the Order, He was satisfied with the increasing activities of the I. O. B. B. lodges in Europe which are a power for the good be said. "in their welfare and educational work. The Jewish situation in Europe is improving." he stated. "Anti-Semitism is decidedly on the decline declared Mr. Coben."There are still serveral dark spots. far as anti-Semitism goes, in Europe notably in Germany and in America." he said. On the same steamer. Dr. Louis L. Mann. Rabbi of Temple Sinai in Chicago and Professor of Oriental Leaguages at the University of Chicago, returned. He accompanied Mr. Coben on his tour.
1927: JTA reported that A gift of $250,000 to the University of Chicago from Louis B. Kuppenheimer was announced by Vice President Frederick C. Woodward. The money will be used to establish an endowment fund to be known as the Louis B. and Emma M. Kuppenheimer Foundation. The income is to be used for a study of the structure, functions and diseases of the eye, and for the support of teaching and research in the department of opthamology. The department has already been organized under the leadership of Dr. E. V. L. Brown. Mr. Kuppenheimer's gift endows the first of the special fields of surgery in the new medical school as distinct from the department of general surgery. Among other gifts announced were those of General Abel Davis, who gave $1,500 and that of Mrs. Joseph Schaf## who gave $100 to be used for student aid in the memory of Jane Morgenthans, a former student of the university, who died a year ago [Louis Kuppenheimer was the son of Jonas Kuppenheimer and the brother of Albert Kuppenheimer, the trio who over fifty years ago came to Chicago and stared what has become one of the world’s largest clothing concerns in the world.]
1929: Based reports published today there are now 9,200 refugees scattered throughout Palestine as a result of Arab terror and violence. Of this number 2,500 are gathered in Jerusalem, 1,500 at Tel Aviv, 2,700 at Haifa and 2,500 at Safed.
1932: Representative Emanuel Celler of New York, who returned today on the Europa, accompanied by Mrs. Celler, predicted that beer and light wines would be legalized at the next session of Congress. In anticipation of this he said that he went abroad as a member of the Judiciary Committee to study the licensing systems of various European countries.
1934: The New York Times reviewed Those Who Perish, Edward Dahlberg’s novel about “the psychological repercussions of Hitlerism on the people who worked for a Jewish community house in the town of New Republic, NJ.
1936: A 25-percent tax is imposed on all Jewish assets in Germany.
1939: During World War II, the Polish air force was now completely destroyed after less than a week of combat. Germany began plans to move troops to the West (French Border.) Despite being sworn to support Poland, France declined to attack or militarily engage Germany. This inaction was a prelude to France's feeble resistance to the German attack in the Spring of 1940 and the willingness with which many Frenchmen would collaborate with the Nazis
1940: In a speech to a special SS Squad, Himmler said that there was only one goal, ". . . To create an order that will spread a consciousness of Nordic blood until we draw to us all the Nordic blood in the world."
1941: British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden notes that "if we must have preferences, let me murmur in your ear that I prefer Arabs to Jews." This strain of anti-Semitism was acceptable at certain levels of British society and certainly was part and parcel of the British Foreign Office. Eden was Churchill’s protégé. Supposedly he was responsible for the policies that kept the British for doing more to rescue the Jews of Europe and to admit them to Palestine. Eden finally became Prime Minister in the 1950’s. His government fell as a result of the Suez crisis when Eden clumsily tried to remove Nasser from power; a ploy that included covert support for an Israeli strike across the Sinai Peninsula.
1942: At least 5000 Jews from Kolomyia, Ukraine, are deported to Belzec; 1000 are killed in the Kolomyia Ghetto itself.
1942: Third baseman Cy Block made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs.
1942: The main article on the foreign page of The Time of London was headed "Vichy's Jewish victims, children deported to Germany." Where they were deported was not stated. There was plenty of information floating around that England's "newspaper of record" could have at least speculated as their fate.
1943: A transport left Westerbork for Auschwitz. Among those on board were Etty Hillesum and her family.
1944: Hungarian authorities permit Ottó Komoly, a Jew, to rent buildings in Budapest to be used for the protection of Jewish children. Komoly will ultimately protect 5000 children in 35 buildings.
1948: “Sundown Beach” by Bessie Breuer opened on Broadway in NYC.
1949: The USS Benjamin Peixotto, a decommissioned “liberty ship” that had been sold to China “went aground in Tola harbor at Hong Kong during a typhoon.
1950: Birthdate of Emmy award winning actress Julie Kavner. Kavner is best known for her role as Brenda Morgenstern in “Rhoda” and the voice of Marge on “The Simpsons.”
1951: “Spurred by the current food crisis, Israel has signed a contract with a private Ethiopian group for the purchase within the next year of 10,000 tons of meat equal to six months' rations for the entire Israeli population. Shipments from Eritrea through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba to the Israeli port of Elath are expected to begin in a few months.”
1953: Following the death of Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev becomes head of the Soviet Central Committee. During the post World War II period, Nikita Khrushchev had governed the Ukraine, an area of intense suffering for the Jews during the war and an area where the local population had worked with the Nazis to murder their Jewish neighbors. “Ukrainian Jews who fled to Soviet Asia during the occupation slowly returned to reclaim their homes, possessions and jobs. The Ukrainians who remained in the communities were hostile to the returning Jews. “The Khrushchev led government refused to interfere in the conflicts between the Russians and the Jews. As a result, anti-Semitic sentiments surfaced everywhere — in the nation’s literature and art, and through political propaganda.” In his new position, Khrushchev was the fist among equals. He did not replicate Stalin’s paranoid anti-Semitism and Jews actually benefited from Khrushchev’s program of de-Stalinization that began in earnest in 1956. Khrushchev would use his new position to support the Arabs in the Middle East. He would proivde the arms and support for the Egyptians and the Syrians which made them a threat to Israel’s very existence in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.
1955: Birthdate of mathematician Efim Isaakovich Zelmanov. Born in the Soviet Union, Zelmanov has taught in a number of American universities as he did the academic work that led to him winning the Fields Medal in 1994.
1956: Birthdate of pianist Michael J Feinstein.
1964(1st of Tishrei, 5725): As Jews observed Rosh Hashanah, they now enjoyed a new sense of inclusion thanks to the efforts passage two months ago of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed discrimination based on religion. Jews would repay the efforts of Lyndon Johnson, the man who made this possible by voting for him in overwhelming numbers in the November elections.
1997: The New York Times book section includes reviews of Uncrowned King:The Life of Prince Albert by Jewish author Stanley Weintraub and A Mad, Mad, Mad,Mad World: A Life in Hollywood by Stanley Kramer
1998: Google was co-founded by Larry Page and Russian born Sergey Brin and while they were students at Stanford Umiversity. Sergey Brin was born to a Jewish family in Moscow. He moved to the United States at the age of six when his father took a teaching position at the University of Maryland.
2002(1st of Tishrei, 5763): Rosh Hashanah
2002(1st of Tishrei,5763): Uziel "Uzi" Gal the German-born- Israeli gun designer best remembered as the designer and namesake of the Uzi submachine gun passed away.
2003(10th of Elul, 5763): Rock musician and songwriter Warren Zevon passed away at the age of 56. His father was Jewish and his mother was Mormon.
2003: The New York Timesfeatured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or about topics of Jewish interest including Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle and Woody Allen: A Life in Filmby Richard Schickel
2005: Haaretzreported that The Jewish Agency has invited university students in New Orleans - Jews and non-Jews alike - to study in Israel. According to the Jewish Agency, some 20 college students have taken an interest in the offer. Tens of thousands of students are enrolled in universities in New Orleans, 2,000 of them Jewish. The Agency's initiative was welcomed by universities in Israel, and will be funded by the United Jewish Communities of North America and the Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. The Jewish Agency put forth the initiative after it was discovered that Tulane University, in central New Orleans, was flooded and closed.
The Jewish Agency has committed to partially funding the students' flights to Israel, and is also considering covering some of the tuition fees, although the amount of funding has yet to be determined.
2006: According to an article in Haaretz, “Britain’s Jewish community faces an unprecedented level of anti-Semitism and feels more threatened than ever, according to the report of the all-party parliamentary inquiry into anti-Semitism, which is to be released Thursday.
2007: On the first day of his three day trip to Austria, Pope Benedict XVI “paid solemn tribute to Holocaust victims, extending his ‘sadness, repentance and friendship’ to the Jewish People.”
2007: As part of his “private” visit to Israel Prince Edward, who is seventh in line for succession to the British throne attends a Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem with Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, as well as prominent members of the British community in Israel. During his visit, Prince Edward went to Yad Vashem where a tree has been planted in honor of his grandmother Princess Alice of Greece, who was recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" for sheltering a Jewish family in her Athens home during the Holocaust.
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