February 27 In History
272: Birthdate of Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor from 306 to 337.
Constantine
adopted Christianity as the state religion for the
Roman Empire
which marked a turning point (negative) for the Jews of Europe.[ There is plenty of agreement that Constantine was born on February 27 but there is not agreement on the year. It ranges from 272 to 289]
380: Theodosius I, Gratian, and Valentinian II jointly issued The Edict of Thessalonica which made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.
1562: Pius IV issued Dudum e felicis recordationis, a papal bull that confirmed the papal bulls of Paul IV including those that put restrictions on where Jews could live and how they could earn a living.
1670: Leopold I ordered the Jews expelled from
Austria
.
1755: Birthdate of Shalom Ullman, the Hungarian born rabbi and Talmudist whose son and grandson followed in his footsteps by serving as rabbis at Lackenbach.
1799: Birthdate of Frederick Catherwood the English artist architect. In 1833, he made a detailed survey of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. He probably was the first westerner since the days of the crusades to have access to this shrine which is located on the Temple Mount. Catherwood was one of a veritable army of English visitors to “the holy land” who helped to excavate and map the area in the 19th century.
1801: Pursuant to the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Washington, D.C. is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. “The first recorded Jewish resident of the city was Isaac Polock. He arrived in 1795. Polock, a grandson of a founder of the Newport, Rhode Island synagogue, was a small time real estate developer. He built a number of fine homes along present day Pennsylvania Ave. An early renter of one of Polock's houses and his neighbor was James Madison, a later President.” Major Alfred Mordecai was another of D.C.’s first Jewish residents. The North Carolina native entered West Point at the age of 15 and was in the first graduating class when he completed his studies in 1823. Mordecai came to Washington in 1828 where he served as the commander of the Washington Arsenal. Washington Hebrew Congregation founded in 1852 was the city’s first Jewish Congregation. Adas Israel, which was originally founded as an Orthodox synagogue in 1869 received a donation from President Grant for its building fund. The congregation later switched to the Conservative movement. Today the downtown location of Adas Israel is remembered as the Historic 6th& I Synagogue. For me, the synagogue at 6th & I was the place in the late 1940’s and 1950’s where I went for my first Simchat Torah Services, my first Megillah readings and a whole lot more. The synagogue at 5th& I was famous because Al Jolson’s father had been its cantor and Jolson sang their as a little boy. Adas Israel moved to its Connecticut and Porter where it remains today. During the 1950’s Ambassador Eban spoke from its pulpit on more than one occasion much to the congregation’s joy and delight. For more about the history of the Jewish community in Washington you might want to look at the website of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington.
1805(28th of Adar I, 5565): Naphtali Herz (Hartwig) Wessely passed away. Born in Hamburg in 1725, he “was a 18th-century German Jewish Hebraist and educationist born at Hamburg.”
1844: The
Dominican Republic
(then known as Santa Domingo) on the
island
of
Hispaniola
gained its independence from
Haiti
. During the 16th and 17thcentury Sephardic merchants settled on the island, many of them coming from Curaco. “The oldest Jewish grave (on the island) is dated 1826.” Jews of this period assimilated into the general population and lost their identity. In the 1930’s the Dominican Republic became a haven for Jews escaping Hitler’s Europe and most of today’s vibrant Jewish community traces its origins to this period.
1844: Birthdate of Moses Ha-Levi Horowitz, the Romanian born Yiddish actor and playwright who came to the United States in 1882 where he was known as the famous Morris Horowitz.
1847: Birthdate of English actress Ellen Terry, whose portrayal of Portia in the Merchant of Venice was one of her signature role. She performed with Sir Henry Irving whose greatest dramatic success came with his performances in “The Bells.”
1852: Benjamin Disraeli began serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer. It was the first of three times he would hold this office.
1855: A concert designed to raise funds for the Hebrew Benevolent Society is scheduled to be held today.
1859: Birthdate of Bertha Pappenheim “the founder of the Jüdischer Frauenbund (League of Jewish Women).”
1864(20th of Adar I, 5624): Chaia Basia, the daughter of Rabbi Yehoshua Usher Rabinowicz of Parysow passed away.
1865(1st of Adar, 5625): Rosh Chodesh Adar
1865: Birthdate of Armand Bloch, the native of Strasbourg who was the grandson of Rabbi Moses Bloch known as of 'Hokhom (the Wise) of Uttenheim, who served in a variety of rabbinic and communal roles in France and Algeria. In 1931, the French government named him as Chevialier of the Legion of Honor in recognition of his service to his co-religionists and his country.
1868: Benjamin Disraeli begins serving as Prime Minister for the first time.
1870: The Chicago Tribune reported that the Constitutional Convention will not be amending the Illinois State Convention mandating a day of the week for observing the Sabbath. The Jews and the Seventh Day Adventists had petitioned the convention include a provision making the 7th day of the week the Sabbath. Since this would be based on the 4th commandment of the Decalogue, the biblical source would make it more likely that the populace would enjoy a day of rest. Other groups wanted to disregard the literal biblical reading and follow the first day of rest practice. Rather than offend any group, the committee hearing the matter decided the convention should take no action.
1871: In Newark, NJ, the Ladies’ Temple Association opened a grand fair at Turn Hall. The fair is scheduled to be open for the next four nights and is a fund-raiser for the Temple on Washington Street.
1873: A national convention of those who want to amend the U.S. Constitution so that it will state that the United States is a Christian nation met today in Pittsburgh, PA. There were 500 people at the opening session and more than a thousand attending the evening session. Attendees claim that their move is part of a fight against atheism, something that Catholics and Jews of the time might have found difficult to believe.
1874: It was reported today that the annual Purim reception at the Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews in New York will be held on March 1st and 2nd.
1877(14th of Adar, 5637): Purim
1877: The Young Men’s Hebrew Association hosted a Purim Ball this evening at Cooper Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey.
1878: The parents of Lucy Shereck, a young Jewess, “wept bitterly” as they watched the baptism of their daughter at the Marcey Avenue Baptist Church.
1879: Constantine Fahlberg discovered the artificial sweetener saccharine which Ellen Glotz described in The Accidental Epicure.
1880(15th of Adar, 5640): Shushan Purim
1880: Over 4,000 people attended the fancy dress ball given by the Purim Association at the Academy of Music. This year’s annual event raised an estimated $18,000 for Mount Sinai Hospital.
1880: It was reported today that “the war which has for some time raged in Germany between the natives and the Jews, seems to increase rather than to diminish…The crime of the Jews appears to be…their financial prosperity.” “If the Jews in Germany were poor, they would not be attacked.” But many of them are very rich “and this is their offense.” [Editor’s note – this is fifty years before Hitler came to power]
1881: It was reported today that the second edition of the “History of Egypt Under the Pharaohs” by Dr. Henry Brugsch-Bey is now available. The description of the Exodus presented in this edition is one of the many improvements made in this edition. In a special preface to the new volume, Brugsh-Gey claims that he bases his description of the change in direction taken by the Jews on “contemporary records and the evidence of the Egyptian monuments” to establish “the veracity of the scriptural record.” He also co-authored “The True Story of the Exodus of Israel: Together with a Brief Review of the History of Monumental Egypt” with Francis Henry Underwood.
http://www.masseiana.org/brugsch1.htm
1881: It was reported today that over 500 costumed guests are expected to lead the opening procession at the Purim Masquerade Ball to be held on March 15 at the Academy of Music in New York City.
1882: A review of “The Electorate and the Legislature” by Spencer Walpole, one of a series of books on the rights and responsibilities of an English Citizen, published today notes that “The House of commons kept one of the members elected for the city of London out of his seat for 11 years because he was a Jew.” This was based on the “historic intolerance and prejudice” of the Commons and its members which has not been fully overcome.
1883: Oscar Hammerstein patented the 1st cigar-rolling machine
1888: Birthdate of Lotte Lehman German opera star who eventually moved to the
United States
and became known for the foundation in her name. Lehman was not Jewish. But her stepchildren (on their mother’s side) were Jewish. When Hitler marched into
Austria
, Lehman got the children out, moved them to
Paris
and eventually brought all of them to the
United States
.
1895: “Elsie Leslie’s Little Guests” published today described an afternoon at the theatre enjoyed by several hundred Jewish children who saw “The Prince and the Pauper” who were there as guest of the famous child actress. As a sign of their appreciation they gave her an a bag which was elegantly embroidered with her initials – “E.L.L.”
1891: Birthdate of David Sarnoff. Born in
Russia
, Sarnoff became the head of R.C.A. and N.B.C.
1891: It was reported today that the Purim Association raised $15,000 at its annual ball which it will donate to the United Hebrew Charities.
1895: A debate opened in the Reichstag today over a motion to restrict the immigration of Jews from Russia and Austria.
1895: “Great Hebrew Charity” published today included Jacob Schiff’s acknowledgement of the receipt $10,063.19 for the Montefiore Home that was raised by the recent charity ball as well as an additional $2,000 that came from payment of dues.
1895: It was reported today that the officers of the Young Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s League of the Montefiore Home are: Lucien Bonheur, President; Miss Gertrude Hess, Vice President; James Loeb, Treasurer; Amelia Simon, Secretary.
1897: A visit to “the Hebrew theatres” was included in the tour of the Lower East Side slums by a group of Yale University divinity students which was followed by a symposium on the methods of organized charities that included Nathaniel S. Rosenthal of the United Hebrew Charities.
1898: “Jews Defended In Reichstag” described the debate during which “deprecated the promotion of Jews to the rank of officers and surgeons, on the ground of their ‘un-soldier like spirit.’” Herr Eugene “Richter vigorously repudiate this” He said that during the war with France in 1870,83 Jewish soldiers received the Iron Cross and 36 of the 70 Jewish surgeons received the same decoration. General Heinrich von Gossler, the Minister of War, defended the Jews against the false accusation that they had sold defective rifles to the government.
1899: “A Bible Story Up To Date” published today described Abraham Gruber’s updated version of the Purim story which equated the behavior of Haman with anti-Dreyfus forces in France and the European bigots who falsely claim that Jews have their own laws which makes them disloyal of whatever country they are living in.
1899: In his on-going attempt to create a Jewish homeland, Herzl meets with Grossherzog Friedrich of
Baden
in
Karlsruhe
. He offers the Grossherzog the protectorate over the land company and requests another audience with the Kaiser. Herzl receives a recommendation to the Deutsche Bank in
Berlin
to act as a subscription agency for the Jewish Colonial Bank.
1902: In London, a group of Zionists formed the Anglo Palestine Company which became the Bank Leumi.
1908: Zionist leader Arthur Ruppin delivered an address to the Jewish Colonization of Vienna.
1913: Birthdate of author Irwin Shaw. Two of his most famous works were The Young Lions, a novel about World War II that became a popular movie and Rich Man, Poor Man, a saga about department store tycoon that provided the basis for a television mini-series of the same name.
1917: The Russian Revolution broke out in
Petrograd
. After three years of ruinous war the old regime collapsed. By March a provisional government under Kerensky was set up. During the ensuing revolution, the Jews were caught in the middle. Much of the conflict centered around the south and west where over 3 million Jews lived. It is estimated that over 2000 pogroms took place, especially in the
Ukraine
, leading to the death of 100,000-200,000 Jews within the next 3 years.
1919: The Versailles Peace Conference opened. The American Jewish Congress was represented by Louis Marshall (President of the American Jewish Committee), Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, and Judge Julian Mack, President of the Congress. In
France
, they joined with other world Jewish organizations to form the Comite des Delegation Juives, with Julian Mack and then Louis Marshal as chairmen. Dr. Leo Motzkin, Zionist and publicist, was appointed secretary. They succeeded in passing a plan ensuring the right for minorities to establish their own schools and speak their own languages, while retaining full citizenship.
1925: Birthdate of Sam Dash. The Georgetown Law Professor would gain fame as the Chief Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate Scandal.
1922: Psychoanalyst Ernest Jones and his wife gave birth to Mervyn Jones the British author whose works included Joseph, a fictional tale based on the life of Stalin.
1927: In Detroit, MI, Abraham and Ruth Jaroff gave birth to Leon Morton Jaroff, “a science writer and editor who persuaded Time Inc. to start Discover magazine in 1980, became its top editor and for many years wrote the popular Skeptical Eye column challenging pseudosciences…” (As reported by Dennis Hevesi)
1927: Birthdate of Ariel Sharon, Israeli soldier and political leader.
1932: Birthdate of Elizabeth Taylor, American actress who converted to Judaism in the 1950’s when she married producer Michael Todd.
1933: Germany’s parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, was set on fire. The Reichstag Fire was started by the Nazis who used the fire as an excuse to begin their subversion of the German legal and political system.
1933: As a result of the Reichstag Fire which he saw as the confirmation of the Nazis rise to power, Walter Benjamin left Germany.
1935: In the Bronx, Jeanette Efron and Sol Fineman gave birth to Eleanor Fineman, an “American photographer, author, and artist” whose works included “Vilna Nights” with dealt with lost Jewish culture.
1935: Harry Hoffman, who works at the Curb Exchange, is scheduled to compete in the 400-meter run at tryouts for the American Maccabi Team being held at the 102ndEngineers Armory today. The “Jewish Olympics” are scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv starting on April 2 and finishing on April 7.
1935: Birthdate of Uri Shulevitz American author and illustrator. Born in Poland, he survied the bombing of Warsaw in 1939 and moved with his family first to Paris and finally to Israel, in 1949. During the Sinai War in 1956, Mr. Shulevitz joined the Israeli Army. Later, he joined the Ein Gedi kibbutz. He moved to New York City in 1959, studying painting at Brooklyn Museum Art School and working as an illustrator for a Hebrew children's book publisher. In 1962, an editor at Harper & Row saw his freelance portfolio and suggested he write children's book. He won the Caldecott Medal in 1969 for his illustration of The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship. He created his first picture book, The Moon in My Room, in 1963.
1938: The Palestine Post reported that during his last day in Palestine, the departing High Commissioner, Sir Arthur Wauchope, laid the foundation stone of the Andrews Memorial Hospital in Netanya, and visited Pardess Hana, Hadera and Haifa.
1938: The Palestine Post reported that In New York the Joint Distribution Committee announced that the Soviet government's firm opposition to the immigration of Jews from outside of the Soviet Union to Birobidjan ended the practical prospect of the development, if not of the entire existence, of what was expected to become an autonomous Soviet Jewish republic. The report mentioned that out of some 27,000 foreign Jews who immigrated to Birobijan, 20,000 had later left the area.
1939: Birthdate American Formula One driver Peter Revson, who won the 1973 British and Canadian Grand Prix events and was runner-up at the 1971 Indianapolis 500. He was killed during a practice run in 1974.
1939: As the multi-year Arab wave of violence continues, 32 people were killed today and another fifty persons were wounded in a series of explosions and shootings throughout Palestine today.
1940: Jewish scientists Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discovered carbon-14, the critical material for the method known as “carbon dating.”
1940: The Land Transfer Regulations aimed at ending Jewish property acquisition in
Palestine
were put into effect by the British government.
1941: In retaliation for an innocent incident in Amsterdam, the Germans arrested 425 Jewish men, beat them and deported 389 of them to Buchenwald concentration camp. Two months later 364 of them were transferred to Mauthausen concentration camp. Ten of them committed suicide. By autumn, none of the men were alive.
1942: The first transport of French Jews was sent to Nazi-Germany
1942: A group of Aryan women staged a protest in Berlin against the arrest of their Jewish husbands whom the government was planning to ship off to concentration camps.
1943: Work orders were increased in the Lodz Ghetto increased, easing tensions within the ghetto since more Jews would be needed to work and less would be exposed to deportation.
1943 (22nd of Adar I, 5703): On Shabbat, Rabbi Avraham Duber Shapiro, Chief Rabbi of Kovno, died in the Kovno Ghetto. Shapiro was a famous Talmudic scholar. He had been Chief Rabbi of Kovno since before World War I. At the outbreak of World War II he was in
Switzerland
under a doctor’s care. He insisted on returning to Kovno in
Lithuania
and revisited one of his son’s efforts to join in him in the
United States
. Shapiro stayed with his fellow Jews. When he died, the Nazis forbade any public demonstrations. Thousands of Jews defied the decree and showed their affection by attending his funeral on the next day.
1944: This morning, there were reports of explosions at the income tax office in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. There were no reports of casualties. The Irgun Zvai Leumi is thought to have set off the devices that caused the explosions.
1945(14thof Adar, 5705): Final Purim celebrated during World War II.
1953: The Jerusalem Post reported that an Israeli soldier was killed when Jordanians opened fire on an Israeli patrol in the frequently infiltrated Beit Guvrin area.
1953: The Jerusalem Post reported that A Nahal group established a settlement at Ein Gedi, on the shores of the Dead Sea.
1953: The Jerusalem Post reported that A festive meeting celebrated the establishment of the first local council of Ashkelon, the Afridar housing suburb near Migdal Ashkelon.
1958(6th of Adar, 5718): Harry Cohn,
CEO
of Columbia Pictures passed away after suffering a heart attack. Cohn was one of several Jewish movie moguls who shaped
Hollywood
and the entertainment business.
http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=89
1964: Budd Schulberg’s “What Makes Sammy Run?" opened at
84th St
Theater in
New York City
for the first of 540 performances.
1970: Birthdate of science fiction writer Michael A. Burstein. According to some, Burstein is not unique because he is a Jewish science fiction writer. He is unique because he is a practicing Jew who writes science fiction. “Burstein appears at a number of science fiction conventions throughout the year, which can be a problem because they are inevitably held on weekends. “It can be difficult, but it is manageable," he said. He and his wife Nomi either bring kosher meals or arrange to have them delivered to the hotel. Other issues are more complicated. "One of the biggest problems is that a lot of hotels use electronic key cards," he explained. Burstein arranges with a non-Jewish friend to handle unlocking his room during Shabbat, when such usage might not be deemed appropriate. There are a number of Shabbat-observant fans at local science fiction conventions, and they often congregate in Burstein's room for a festive Friday night meal, complete with wine and challah. As for his science fiction, Burstein said there's been nothing particularly Jewish about it... so far. Although there are many Jews who have made it big in science fiction, including Robert Silverberg, Harlan Ellison, and Asimov himself, Burstein is one of the few who has succeeded in the genre who takes his religious obligations as seriously as his scientific ones.”
1976: The World Sephardi Federation headed by Nessim Gaon met with King Juan Carlos of
Spain
. The WSF goal of helping to normalize relations with
Israel
and
Spain
did not come to fruition immediately, but over time a relationship developed and eventually the two countries recognized each other.
1978: The Jerusalem Post reported that the cabinet had agreed on a new settlement policy which apparently implied a virtual moratorium on new settlements in the administered territories. The cabinet, however, actually failed to make this statement official. At the same time the cabinet rejected any phrasing of the
Palestine
question in the declaration of principles, now being discussed with
Egypt
, which would go significantly further than the
West Bank
and
Gaza
autonomy scheme, already proposed to
Egypt
and the
US
by
Israel
.
1980:
Egypt
and
Israel
exchanged ambassadors for the first time.
1980(9th of Adar, 5740): Actor George Tobias passed away. Many Americans will remember him as Abner Kravitz, the husband of the busybody neighbor Alice Kravitz on the television sitcom “Bewitched.”
1981 (22nd of Adar I, 5741): Former New York Congressman Jacob Gilbert passed away at the age of 60. Gilbert served in Congress from 1960 to 1971.
1983(14th of Adar, 5743): Purim
1987: Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, announced today that he had agreed with Egyptian officials that there should be an international conference on Middle East peace this year. The agreement, reached after two meetings here with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, reaffirmed in writing a call the two men made in Alexandria last fall, when Mr. Peres was the Israeli Prime Minister. Mr. Peres's commitment, announced at the end of a three-day visit here, was expected to provoke strong reaction from the current Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir, who vehemently opposes such a conference.
1990 (1st of Adar, 5750): Nahum N. Glatzer passed away. Born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and educated in
Germany
, Glatzer moved to the
United States
in 1938 where he furthered his reputation as a literary scholar, theologian, and editor. A list of his works includes The Schocken Passover Haggadah, The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka and Franz Rosenzweig: His Life and Thought
1991: President George H.W. Bush announced the end of the first Gulf War. During the war, the Israelis agreed not to join the coalition and not to retaliate against the Iraqi’s when they began firing Scuds into their country. It was the first time that the Israelis had entrusted their security to another country.
1995: Uzi Baram replaced Yithak Rabin as Minister of the Interior
2000: The opening ceremony of the temporary exhibition of photographs and artifacts, “The Jewish Community of Volos” took place, at the Jewish Museum of Greece.
2000: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Stroheim by Arthur Lennig.
2003(25th of Adar I, 5763): Eighty-nine year old Rabbi Noah Golinkin, the former spiritual leader of a Columbia synagogue who earned a national reputation for programs that taught Hebrew literacy to more than 150,000 Jewish adults, passed away today at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center & Hospital of complications after surgery.
http://www.wymaninstitute.org/articles/2003-02-golinkin.php
2005: The New York Times included reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life by Tom Reiss
2006: The Harlem Globetrotters, the creation of Abe Saperstein, extended their overall record to 22,000 wins.
2006: The Jerusalem Post reported that a new Israeli tourism campaign will take center stage at Emirates Stadium, the London home of English soccer giants Arsenal, starting in August.
2007: Holocaust survivors from around the world gather in Warsaw to urge the Polish government to compensate them for property confiscated by the former communist regime.
2007:
Israel
got its first Arab President. Acting President Dalia Itzik left for a week long trip to the
United States
. During that time, Jajallie Whbee, a Druse who had attained the rank of Lt. Colonel before retiring from the IDF, served in the largely ceremonial post.
2007: Commander Mark Polansky visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to meet Sophie Turner-Zaretsky. He presented the replica of the bear called Refugee that had comforted Sophie during the Holocaust and a photo of an orphan from war-torn Dafur -- along with NASA space travel certificates -- to U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum chief of staff Bill Parsons, who said the Museum wanted to provide something that would be a timely reminder of history’s relevance. "Although we can send people into space, we still can’t seem to stop them from hating and killing one another. A child’s stuffed toy from the Holocaust and a photograph of a refugee from the genocide today in
Darfur
remind us the lessons of the Holocaust have yet to be learned."
2007: David Bromberg released “Try Me One More Time,” the first new studio album he had recorded since 1990.
2008: The Finalist Grand Prize portion of The Second Annual Simply Manischewitz Cook-Off takes place in
New York City
.
2008 (21 Adar I 5768): Anthony Bernard Blond passed away. The British publisher and author’s mother was a Sephardic Jew from Manchester and he was the cousin of Harold Laski, the noted British socialist and Laborite.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1580358/Anthony-Blond.html
2008(21 Adar I): Myron Cope, "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers" passed away.
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/uncategorized/obituary-myron-copes-career-spanned-newspapers-magazines-radio-and-tv-382354/
2008 (21 Adar I 5768): Approximately 50 Palestinian rockets hit the western Negev today, with one of them slamming into Sapir College near Sderot
,
killing a 47-year-old student. Another exploded on the helipad of
Barzilai
Hospital
in
Ashkelon
, while the hospital was treating casualties from Sderot. The deceased, Roni Yechiah from the town of
Btecha
in the western
Negev
, was inside his car in Sapir's parking lot. He died of shrapnel wounds to the chest. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. Yechiah is survived by his wife, Esther, and four children: Niv, who is currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces, Lital, a 17-year-old high school pupil, her 14-year-old sister Coral and 8-year-old brother Idan.
2009: Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip continued their attacks on Israeli civilian areas early this morning when they fired a Kassam that hit an open area in the Sdot Negev region.
2009: Rick Recht returns to Temple Judah in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for another incomparable Musical Shabbat. Rick is joined by the talented Abbe Silber, daughter of Dr. Bob & Laurie Silber, pillars of the Jewish community.
2009: Robert M. Morgenthau, the long-serving Manhattan district attorney and an institution in New York City politics, will not run for re-election this year, a person told of his decision said today. Mr. Morgenthau and his family, with German-Jewish roots, had political ties to some of the more storied names in American history. His father, Henry Morgenthau Jr., was secretary of the treasury under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and one of the most tenacious advocates of the American rescue of Jews during World War II. The Morgenthaus were also family friends with the Kennedys. As boys, Robert Morgenthau and John Kennedy raced sailboats off Cape Cod. His grandfather, Henry Morgenthau Sr., served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire under President Woodrow Wilson.
2010: An Egyptian court overturned a lower court ruling today that called for a halt to natural gas exports to Israel, saying the deliveries should continue unhindered.
2010: An Israeli Arab rights committee sent a petition to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) today opposing the addition of Israel to the organization. After two years of official talks, the OECD will vote in May on whether to admit Israel.
2010: Shabbat Zachor!
2010: In the evening, Purim and the reading of the Megillah.
2010: Glass falling from the atrium roof of the Sony Building in New York interrupted a Purim party. Ice reportedly broke through the glass roof of the midtown Manhattan building after 11 p.m. this evening, injuring at least 10 of the 300 guests, according to reports.The party,