March 12 In History
515
BCE
: On the secular calendar the construction of the Second Temple was completed. (Book of Ezra, 6:15 “And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.” Darius began his reign in 522
BCE
.)
604: Pope Gregory I passed away. Born in 540, Gregory was Pope from 590 until 604. The great prelate was a vigorous foe of Judaism, a religion he believed was based on depravity. In his eyes, “the Jewish understanding of scripture was perverse.” He sought to keep Jews and Christians apart. He forbade Christians from using Jewish doctors and would not let the clergy employee Jews as clerks. Jews were not to hold public office, build new synagogues, marry non-Jews or convert Christians to Judaism. But Gregory was not an unmitigated anti-Semite. On several occasions he protected the private property and synagogue of European Jews. One of his writings summed up the view, “ Just as it is not befitting to permit Jews in their communities to go beyond the boundaries of what is permissible by law, so also the rights they already have should not be diminished.”
1421: In
Vienna
, under the auspices of Archduke Albert of
Austria
, a combination of murder, libel and host-desecration charges brought about the destruction of the entire Jewish community. This was partly due to the revival of the crusader spirit of the Hussite Wars. Many Jews were forcibly baptized, others took their own lives. The rest were forced to leave. Later this became known as the Wiener Gezairah (The Vienna edict).
1496: Maximilian I expelled the Jews from Styria, Austria.
1664: New Jersey becomes a colony of England. A year later, New Jersey granted religious toleration to those living in the colony. While there were undoubtedly Jewish merchants operating in the colony in the 17th century, the honor of being the first Jews to live in the colony may go to “Aaron and Jacob Lozada, who owned a grocery and hardware store in Bound Brook as early as 1718.”
1682: Anti-Jewish riots beak out in
Krakow
.
1715: Elector Max Emanuel ordered the expulsion of the few Jews still living in
Bavaria
,
Germany
.
1777: During the American Revolution, Captain Lewis Bush who had transferred from the Sixth Pennsylvania Battalion to Harley’s Additional Continental Regiment was promoted to the rank of Major.
1822: L'esule di Granata (The exile of Granada) a melodrama (opera seria) in two acts by German Jewish composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, had its world premier at the famed at La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy.
1846(14th of Adar, 5606): Purim
1852: The New York Times publishes an evaluation of the British government headed by Lord Derby which included Benjamin Disraeli as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Disraeli’s appointment to this particular post came as a surprise and, given what the Times reporter considered his lack of aptitude for the job “his triumph will astonish the public and lead to his greater glory.”
1856: The New York Times reported that the Greene Street Synagogue has replaced Anselm Leo with a new leader from Germany who has musical skills which he has used to introduce a choir to the congregation. No musical instruments are allowed, but a pitch pipe is used to set the tone for the choir.
1858: Birthdate of Adolph S. Ochs, publisher of the New York Times. Ochs was the engine behind the Times rise to being the "paper of record" in the
United States
. Ochs is one of many American Jews who have been involved in the media giving rise to the anti-Semites' false claim that Jews control the media. Ochs was the son of German Jews whom immigrated to the
United States
before the Civil War. His life story is a classic example of that groups rise to prominence from the end of the Civil War through the start of World War II. It is obvious from reading Ochs' obituary in the New York Times that he was active in the Jewish community and quite proud of his heritage. He was a Classical Reform Jew. He was a trustee of Temple Emanu-El. He donated a building to the
Temple
in
Chattanooga
named for his parents. And he raised $4,000,000 (quite a sum in 1926) for the
Hebrew
Union
College
, which had been founded by his father-in-law. In responding to an inquiry about the keys to his success, Ochs wrote, in part, "My Jewish home life and religion gave me a spiritual uplift and a sense of responsibility to my subconscious better self --which I think is the God within me, the Unknowable and the Inexplicable.”
1862: According to an articled published today entitled “The Line of the Mississippi” described the fortifications on both the North and South sides of the city of New Orleans. According to travelers who have recently arrived in St. Louis from the Crescent City, the Jews are the only people in the city not “regularly enlisted” in its defense.
1862(10th of Adar II, 5622: The U.S. Congress allowed Rabbis to serve as army chaplains.
1865(14th of Adar, 5625): Purim
1873(13th of Adar, 5633): Fast of Esther
1873: “The Palestine Lodge of the I.O. of F.S.I. will host a masque ball at the Germania Assembly Rooms” tonight in New York as part of the celebration of Purim.
1873: A Purim masquerade will be held in Brooklyn tonight at the Assembly Rooms above the Post Office.
1876: The annual Purim reception held at the Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews located at Lexington and 63rdStreet began at 11 in the morning and lasted until seven in the evening.
1876(16th of Adar, 5636): Shushan Purim observed since Shabbat was on the 15th day of Adar.
1881: Birthdate of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding father of the modern secular state of Turkey who served as its first President. In 1923, during the early days of the newly created Turkish Republic Ataturk declared, “Our country has some elements who gave the proof of their fidelity to the motherland. Among them I have to quote the Jewish element; up to now the Jews have lived in happiness and from now they will rejoice and will be happy.” Ataturk came to the aid of the Jews in the early days of Hitler’s rise to power. “In 1933 Ataturk invited to
Turkey
many University Professors of Jewish origin that were threatened by Nazi cruelty. The list of names is long; approximately 600 distinguished scholars took refuge in
Turkey
.”
1884(15thof Adar, 5644): Shushan Purim
1889: Birthdate of Philip Guedalla, the Anglo-Jewish barrister and author whose quips include this one that frightens all historians or would-be historians - "History repeats itself. Historians repeat each other."
1890: The Passover Relief Association held its 18th annual Purim Masquerade Ball this evening at the Lexington Avenue Opera House.
1891: Jesse Seligman received a draft for twelve million francs from Baron Hirsch today.
1891: Birthdate of Hungarian born American scientist turned philosopher, Michael Polanyi.
1893: Rabbi Adloph Radin of Shaari Tikvah was one of the speakers who addressed the crowd gathered at the hall of the Hebrew Institute where citizens were protesting the closing of the annex to Grammar School #7 on Hester Street.
1894(4th of Adar II, 5654): Ludwig August Ritter von Frankl-Hochwart passed away after leading a multi-faceted life. Born in Boehmia in 1810, he studied Hebrew with Zecharias Frankel, earned an M.D. from the University of Pauda before moving to Vienna. There he served as secretary and archivist of the Vienna Jewish congregation and became active in the Revolution of 1848. He was a prolific author and philanthropist whose literary works include “Nach Jeruslem” which describe his travels to Asia, Greece and Jerusalem where he help founded a school. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. (As reported by Singer and Mannheimer)
1894: Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time. Coca-Cola was actually first introduced in 1886 at Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta. Ga. Jacob’s Pharmacy was owned by Dr. Joe Jacobs who is buried in the same section of Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery as other prominent Atlanta Jews including Morris Rich, founder of Rich’s Department Store. Coke was not certified as Kosher and Kosher for Passover until 1935 thanks to the efforts of an Atlanta orthodox rabbi named Tobias Geffen. http://www.ajhs.org/publications/chapters/chapter.cfm?documentID=270
1895: Dreyfus arrives in French Guyana.
1895: “The Rights of Clubmen” published today described the struggle between saloon owners and members of private clubs in New York. Among the clubs that could be affected by a change in status would be the Adelphi Club, which is the leading private Jewish club in Albany. Its members include “some of the wealthiest Jews” living in the state capital.
1896: Judge Charles P. Daly will deliver an address entitled “Songs and Song Writing” at tonight’s meeting of the Young Men’s Hebrew Association.
1896: Today’s special performance of “The Heart of Maryland” which was intended to raise funds for the Hebrew Infants’ Asylum has been postponed until the end of the month.
1896: It was reported today that “Charles Frohman has purchased a new melodrama” which he will not name but says will be produced in Boston before being brought to Broadway.
1897: About 200 cloakmakers who are employed in the shops of contractors who work for Julius Stein & Co in Manhattan went out on strike today.
1897: The will of Elias Joseph which was filed with the Surrogate today left three bequests of $1,000 each to the Montefiore Home, Mount Sinai Hospital and the Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
1898: Sir George Henry Lewis, the well-known Jewish lawyer testified before a committee of the House of Commons that was investigating “the evils of money lending.”
1898: “Boston Announcements” published today included a description of a book of Yiddish poetry with an English translation written by Marice Rosenfeld which will be published Messrs. Copeland & Day. The translation is being prepared by Professor Wiener of Harvard. Jewish author Israel Zangwill and Abraham Cahan, editor of the Forwards have expressed their approval of the work.
1899(1st of Nisan, 5659): Rosh Chodesh Nisan
1899(1st of Nisan, 5659): Sir Julius Vogel, the first Jewish Premier of New Zealand passed away.
1902: Sophia Karp, Jacob Fischel and Joseph Lateiner founder the Grand Theatre in New York. It was the first theatre in New York built to serve as venue for performing Yiddish theatricals.
1904: Herzl authorizes Dr, Leopold Kahn to enter into negotiations with the
Ottoman Empire
for renting the administrative revenues of the Sanjak of Acre and for a loan to be obtained for the Imperial treasury.
1908: Birthdate of David Saul Marshall. Born in
Singapore
to an Orthodox family that had come from
Iraq
,
Marshall
was trained as a lawyer. After World War II he became leader of the Labour Front political party and in 1955 became the first Chief Minister of
Singapore
.
1909: In Sophia, Bulgaria, The Medical Congress decided to print brochures in Ladino. The decision was in response to a request from a Christian Delegate who asked that this be done for the benefit of Jews unfamiliar with the Bulgarian language.
1910: At the first meeting of the sub-committee on laws of the Civic Federation’s Committee on Compensation for Industrial Accidents “letters were received from Louis Brandeis of
Boston
giving suggestions the establishment of an accident insurance system” designed to provide relief for workers injured on the job.
1911: Vera Cheberiak, leader of a group of thieves in
Kiev
, makes plans to have Andrei Yustschinski murdered. His murder will touch off the infamous Mendel Bellis Case.
1916: The National Union for Jewish Rights held its first meeting this afternoon in London. The Anglo-Jewish community formed the organization to secure the rights of the Jews at the end of the World War. Lucien Wolf and Israel Zangwill addressed the group. Zangwill said that “if England got Palestine” he “hoped a Jewish governor would be appointed.
1916: Today The Day, the Jewish daily newspaper edited by Herman Bernstein published the following cablegram from a special correspondent in Berne. “I have learned from an absolutely reliable source that the Pope has prepared an important document of great interest to the Jewish people. It is understood that this document will prove of the same importance and significance as the bull issued by Pope Innocent IV denouncing the ritual murder accusations against the Jews as false and based upon a cruel legend. The present statement by the Pope, who has interested himself so deeply in peace is devoted to the sorrows of the Jews in the belligerent lands and contains a plea for justice and fairness to the Jews.” [The article referred to Pope Benedict XV.]
1917: During the Russian Revolution, the Duma elected a “provisional committee” which was effectively a new executive branch for the Russian government that would replace the Czar. The apparent triumph of these social democrats offered hope (ultimately false hope) for the Jews of Russia that revolution would lead to liberation.
1921: The Histadrut (General Federation of Labor) passed a resolution to establish the Haganah. Haganah, (literally "defense") was established for the purpose stated in its name. It was organized to protect the Jewish settlements from Arab attacks - something the British could not or would not do.
1921: The Cairo Conference began during which Winston Churchill sought to examine the workings of the British Mandates for governing
Iraq
and
Palestine
.
1922(12th of Adar, 5682): Eighty year old Minnie Dessau Louis passed away.
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/louis-minnie-dessau
1922: According to reports published today Samuel Untermeyer and his son Irwin are among the members of a New York committee that has pledged to raise $100,000 for the Woodrow Wilson Foundation fund.
1922: In Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA, Max and Jennie Gold gave birth to Sydney Gold who gained famed body-builder Joe Gold, founder of Gold’s Gym – one of the most ubiquitous fitness centers found in most major and not so major cities in the United States.
1928: Birthdate of Mordechai Eliyahu, the Jerusalem native who would become a prominent rabbi, posek and who would serve as the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993.
1929: One of the first “talkie
Hollywood
Biblical epics, “Noah’s
Ark
,” the Warner Brothers film written by Darryl Zanuck premiered to critical and popular acclaim in
New York City
.
1937: The Palestine Post reported that the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Ormsby-Gore, told the House of Commons that from 1922 to 1935 the population of
Jerusalem
rose from 63,000 to 110,000; of Tel Aviv from 15,000 to 110,000; of
Jaffa
from 33,000 to 74,000 and of
Haifa
from 25,000 to 85,000. He added that a committee had been set up by the High Commissioner in 1932 to consider compulsory health insurance, but it had decided that the introduction of such system in
Palestine
was premature, especially for the Arab section of the population.
1938: Hitler entered
Austria
to the greetings of the Church and Cardinal Innitzer. Seys-Inquert, who later achieved infamy as a mass murderer of Jews, was appointed Chancellor. The following day, Austria was annexed to Germany. Just a month before Hitler’s arrival, J.D. Salinger left Vienna to return to the United States. He had been in the country since 1937 where he was learning about the meat-importing business.
1938: As part of its drive to raise $4,500,000, The United Palestine Appeal issued a report today focusing on the growth in Palestine over the last twenty years. Among highlights of the report are figures showing that from 1931 to 1936, exports increased from eight million dollars to eighteen million dollars. At the same time, bank deposits more than doubled in the last five years and the numbers of factories and workshops more than doubled in period starting in 1921 and ending in 1937.
1939: Pope Pius XII was crowned Pope in
Vatican
ceremonies. While the Catholic Church may be considering Pious XII for canonization, the Jewish view of him is one who is “impious.”
1941: Churchill met with Weizmann and reiterated his support for the eventual establishment of Jewish military units and a Jewish state in
Palestine
.
1941: A sentry shot and killed a 13 year old in the
Lodz
ghetto.
1942: The Nazis ordered 8,000 Jews from southern Polish town of Mielec to be at the train station. The next morning, as they gathered, 2,000 children and elderly were shot dead at the train station.
1943: In Chicago, Illinois, Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Finkel and his wife, Sara Rosenblum gave birth to Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Haredi Rabbi who became Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem
1943: Aaron Copland's ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' was performed for the first time, by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
1943: Tonight is the night when Oskar Schindler changed his life, the life of his workers and history. Addressing his workers, he told them not to go home tonight. The
Krakow
ghetto, he said, would be liquidated the next day. Schindler had witnessed the killings and decided he must protect his laborers. He would build his own concentration camp as a satellite to Kraków-Plaszów, and his staff would compile the now famous list of workers he wanted transferred to his camp.
1945(27th of Adar, 5705): Bernard Drachman, who served as rabbi at the Park East Synagogue for 55 years starting in 1890, passed away today.
1945: According to some sources, this is the day Anne Frank died at Bergen Belsen two months before the liberation by British forces.
1947: Speaking as leader of the Loyal Opposition, Churchill attacks the Labor Party’s policy in Palestine attacking what he called “a senseless, squalid war with the Jews, in order to give Palestine to the Arab or God knows who.”
1947: A British corvette warned British troops that a large number of Jewish refugees on board the SS Susanna, were attempting to land on the southern coast of Palestine. British troops assisted by the local Arab population worked to intercept and arrest the refugees. The British reported that they had captured almost 900 people but 240 may have been Jewish citizens of Palestine.
1947: The Truman Doctrine was proclaimed today. It was a policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S Truman stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere. Greece was in the throes of a civil war where one side was supported by the Soviets. In February of 1947, the British government informed Washington, that it was too broke to continue its traditional role of protecting Greece which had been part of its “sphere of influence.” While Britain did not have the money to halt Soviet imperial expansion, she apparently had enough funds to patrol the Mediterranean to stop Jews from getting to Palestine. And she had enough money to support what had become an army of occupation aimed at thwarting the creation of a Jewish homeland. It should be remembered that when President Truman was being pressured to deal with the problems of the displaced Jews of Europe and the issue of Palestine, he was also dealing with an explosion of other problems including the Soviet drive to control Europe. His decisions vis a vis the Jews must also be viewed against the backdrop of a much larger world stage which the United States was only reluctantly entering on to.
1947: During a session of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine, Auni Bey Abdulhadi described the “wartime associations of the Mufti of Jerusalem…with Hitler and Mussolini.”
1949: Birthdate of producer, director and writer Rob Cohen. It may not be fair to include Cohen on this page given his view of being Jewish. When asked about his feelings about being Jewish Cohen has said, “I'm totally in reaction to it. I've never been comfortable with the Jewish identity. It's been one of those crosses to bear that I had the surname 'Cohen' which is a label. You can't hide even if you wanted to, so I don't practice. It's not anything of interest to me. I don't want to rediscover it. I'm not interested.”
1950: The Foreign Ministry of Israel is scheduled to host a reception for members of the Istanbul Fenerache soccer team who played their first game in Tel Aviv yesterday. The reception is in response to the fact that Turkey announced its decision earlier this week to recognize the state of Israel.
1950: As a reminder of the fact that the Jewish state is surrounded by enemies committed to its destruction “the Israeli Defense Ministry today ordered the registration for the Army Reserve of all physicians between the ages of 29 and 49.” Reportedly the government will soon require all civilians between the ages of 18 and 49 who have not served in the military to register with the Ministry of Defense.
1950: The New York Times reported that the Israel Ministry of Education and Culture has appointed Mr. Frank Pelleg to serve as head of its music department.
1951: As of this date the Iraqis allowed planes filled with Jewish refugees to fly straight to Israel instead of having to go to Cyprus first.
1952: The Jerusalem Post reported that Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett met Sir Anthony Eden, the British foreign secretary, in London and told him that Israel was eager to reach a settlement with its neighbors and to stop to "perpetuate its loneliness" in the area.
1953: Birthdate of Ron Jeremy, pornographic film actor
1954: The first performance of Arnold Schönberg's "Moses und Aaron.” This was not the only Jewish themed work by this great Jewish composer.
1954: Birthdate of British sculptor Anish Kapoor who was born in Bombay (Mumbai) to Jewish mother whose family immigrated from Baghdad and whose grandfather was the cantor in the Synagogue in Pune. Kapoor lived on a Kibbutz and after discovering that Engineering was not his forte decided to gain the skills that have made him a famous artist.
1954: Birthdate of Chicago native Larry Rothschild who was the first manager of the newly minted Tampa Bay Devil Rays as well as a successful pitching coach for numerous teams including the New York Yankees.
1957: Birthdate of actor Jerry Levine.
1963: Bob Dylan cancels "Ed Sullivan Show" television appearance.
1964: S[amuel] N[athaniel] Behrman's "But for Whom Charlie" premieres in
New York
.
1965: Birthdate of American sports journalist, Steve Levy.
1968: Mauritius achieves independence from Great Britain. Mauritius is located in the Indian Ocean. In 1940, the British created a prison there to hold Jews who had escaped from Hitler’s Europe and were trying to enter Palestine. The Jewish cemetery on the island attests to the cost of the British policy. Since gaining its independence, Mauritius has sent many of its citizens to Israel for professional training in several fields of study including that of agronomy.
1977:
Egypt
's Anwar Sadat pledged to regain Arab territory from
Israel
. Sadat would reach his goal, but with the pen of the peace treaty not the sword of war.
1985(19th of Adar, 5745): Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian born conductor, passed away. Born in 1899, he came to United States in 1921. He was the permanent conductor and music director for the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1938 until 1980.
1990(15th of Adar, 5750: Sixty-nine year old businessman and sport’s team owner, Gene Klein passed away today.
http://articles.latimes.com/1990-03-13/sports/sp-260_1_san-diego-chargers
1990 (15th of Adar, 5750): Rabbi Stuart E. Rosenberg, a spiritual leader of Canada's Jews and an author, died of cancer today in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he had a winter home. He was 67 years old and also lived in
Toronto
. For nine years, until he retired last August, Rabbi Rosenberg led the Beth Torah synagogue in
Toronto
. Earlier, he was senior rabbi for 17 years at BethTzedec in
Toronto
, the largest Conservative congregation in
Canada
. Rabbi Rosenberg was one of the first Western religious leaders to focus on the plight of Soviet Jews, traveling to
Moscow
in 1961 and writing a series of newspaper articles on their problems. He was also a pioneer in Christian-Jewish dialogue in
Canada
. He wrote 20 books, including ''Christians and Jews: The Eternal Bond,'' published in 1985, and a two-volume study, ''The Jewish Community in
Canada
'' (1971). His last book, ''Secrets of the Jews,'' is scheduled to appear in the fall. He also worked as an editor for the Encyclopedia Judaica with responsibility for Canadian matters. Born in
Manhattan
, Rabbi Rosenberg was a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary and received a Ph.D. from
Columbia
University
.
1993(19th of Adar, 5753): Yehoshua Freidberg, a 24 year old immigrant from Canada was shot dead on the Tel Aviv to Jerusalem highway.
1998(14th of Adar, 5758): Purim
1999: The Times of London features a review of From Catastrophe to Power: Holocaust survivors and the emergence of
Israel
by Idith Zertal.
1999(24th of Adar, 5759): Sir Yehudi Menuhin famed violinist passed away at the age of 82. Born in New York in 1916, Menuhin was raised in San Francisco. He was a child prodigy who debuted at the age of eight.
2000: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or special interest to Jewish readers including In America by Susan Sontag, How We Got Here. The 70's: The Decade That Brought You Modern Life (For Better or Worse) by David Frum and The Nazis by Piotr Uklanski.
2000: Pope John Paul II asked God's forgiveness for the sins of Roman Catholics through the ages, including wrongs inflicted on Jews, women and minorities. What a difference in the events from 61 years before on this date.
2003: At the Library of Congress opening of an exhibition entitled Herblock’s Gift: Selections from the Herb Block Foundation Collection
2003: In an article entitled “A New Glasnost on War’s Looted Art,” Sophia Kishkovsky describes the efforts of
Russia
’s Ministry of Culture to return thousands of paintings, archives and rare books looted by Soviet forces in
Germany
and
Eastern Europe
during and after World War II and taken to
Russia
as so-called trophy art. Hitler's forces had previously pillaged many of the works from Jewish owners and other Nazi victims
2003(8th of Adar II, 5763): Howard Fast passed away. Born in 1914, some of the controversial authors more famous works include Spartacus, Citizen Tom Paine and The Crossing. The Crossingwas adapted for a PBS mini-series depicting the battles surrounding Washington’s Crossing the Delaware which were critical to the colonists ultimate victory over the British.
2005: “Roman Allegories” a solo exhibition of the works of Eleanor Antin came to a close at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in New York, NY
2006: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Lipshitz Six or Two Angry by T Cooper and the recently released paperback edition of Rebels on the Backlot: Six Maverick Directors and How They Conquered the Hollywood Studio System by Sharon Waxman
2006: A two-hour event - "Jewish Unity Live 2006" - is held at a hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
2007: The Jerusalem Post reported that “the first Israeli Druse physician to become a professor is Dr. Jamal Zidan, head of the oncology department at
Ziv
Medical
Center
in Safed. He received his title from the Medical Faculty of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in
Haifa
, and he has worked at Ziv since 1979, when he was an intern.”
2008: In
Washington
,
D.C.
, Joseph Horowitz, a former New York Times music critic and executive director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, discusses and signs Artists in Exile: How Refugees from Twentieth-Century War and Revolution Transformed the American Performing Arts.
2008: The New Republic featured reviews of The Jewish King Lear: A Comedy in Americaby Jacob Gordin, translated by Ruth Gay and Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia by Christopher Clark in which the author attributes the rise of Prussia during the 17th century to the “legendary religious tolerance of the Hohenzollerns” which enabled them to strengthen the state’s economy by opening its borders to Jews. The same magazine also profiled the Jews of Sefwi Wiawso a community of about 150 Ghanaians who claim to be descendants of the lost tribes of
Israel
2008: The Australian parliament commemorated
Israel
's 60 years of independence as its leaders pledged their commitment to the country's security and stated their "respect for the Israeli cause,"
Australia
's The Age reported. The motion was put forward by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and seconded by Opposition leader Brendan Nelson.
2008:
Israel
's Holocaust memorial posthumously recognized a prominent Spanish diplomat, who was the grandfather of the Oscar-nominated actress Helena Bonham Carter, for his role in saving hundreds of Jews during World War II. Yad Vashem named Eduardo Propper de Callejon a "Righteous Among the Nations," the highest honor granted to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. More than 22,000 have been honored since the designation was originated in 1963, including Oskar Schindler, whose efforts to save more than 1,000 Jews was documented in the Oscar-winning film "Schindler's List," and Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who is credited for having saved at least 20,000 lives from Nazi death camps. Only four Spaniards have been granted the award. About six million European Jews were killed by German Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. As German troops marched into
France
in the summer of 1940, Propper de Callejon, then first secretary in the Spanish embassy in
Paris
, stamped and signed passports for four days nearly nonstop to allow refugees to escape to
Spain
, and from there to the relative safety of
Portugal
. Propper de Callejon, a Franco loyalist, defied Spanish foreign ministry instructions not to issue such visas. In 1941, he was demoted and never promoted to be an ambassador. He retired in 1965 and died in 1972. The exact number of visas Propper de Callejon issued remains unknown, but Yad Vashem Director Avner Shalev - who called Propper de Callejon the "Spanish Raoul Wallenberg" - said it was believed to be at least 1,500, both Jewish and non-Jewish. "He was signing papers with both his hands. He signed so many that his hands hurt so much, my mother had to bandage them at the end of the day," said Elena Bonham Carter, his daughter. "It was extraordinary. Bonham Carter attended Wednesday's ceremony at the memorial's Garden of the Righteous along with her brother, Felipe Propper de Callejon. "Today, justice has been done to my father," He said. Bonham Carter said her famous daughter wished she could have been at the ceremony as well, but she is currently on location for the latest film in the Harry Potter series - "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
2009:
New York
University
’s Taub Center of Isreal Studies presents “Negotiating Peace With Syria,” a public dialogue subtitled “Lessons from the Past, Promises from the Future,” featuring Martin Indyk, former
US
Ambassador to
Israel
, and Itamar Rabinovich, former Israeli Ambassador to the
US
.
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