May 13 In History
1333: Birthdate of Reginald III of Guelders, a duchy in the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1349 the Duke of Guelders, was authorized by the Emperor Louis IV of the Holy Roman Empire of Germany to allow Jews to live in his duchy. This may have been considered somewhat unusual because Jews were being expelled from other parts of the realm in response to the Black Death.
1497: Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Alexander VI was one of the Renaissance popes whose religious qualities might best be summed up by stating that he was the father of Cesare and Lucretzia Borgia. His lack of concern with Church matters benefited the Jews especially the Jews and Marranos fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. He admitted so many refugees to Rome, that Ferdinand and Isabella registered major protests to his policy. Savonarola was a Dominican monk who opposed Alexander on grounds of morality of ethics which is what led to his excommunication. Savonarola’s enmity for the Pope had led him to “expel the Pope” from the Florentine region under his control. At the same time, Savonarola banned Jews from this area as well. So, from a Jewish point of view Alexander trumps Savonarola regardless of the moral stance of the two men.
1610: Coronation of Marie de Medicis, as Queen consort of France and Navarre. Despite the ban on Jews living in the realm, she employed Elijah Montalto as her personal physician. He was a Marrano, who had been raised as a Christian in Portugal before settling in Venice after publicly returning to “the faith of his fathers. Born in 1567, he passed away in 1616 and was buried at Amsterdam in Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands.
1665: A statute was enacted in Rhode Island, offering “freemanship” with no specifically Christian requirements, thus effectively enfranchising Jews
1728: Hayyim and Joshua Reizes of Lvov (heads of the Rabbinical court and the yeshiva respectively) were arrested when a Jesuit priest, Zoltowskiki, discovered that Jan Filipowicz (soon tortured and killed), a convert, had reconverted to Judaism. They were accused of complicity. Condemned to death, Joshua committed suicide by cutting his own throat. For three days his brother Hayyim refused to convert to Christianity. His tongue was then torn out, his body quartered and he was finally burnt. Their property was then confiscated.
1781: Joseph II, the son and successor of Maria Theresa let Chancellor Count Franz Esterhazy know that he intended to improve the condition of his Hungarian Jewish subjects.
1787: Captain Arthur Phillip of the Royal Navy and his eleven convict laden ships set sail for Botany Bay Australia. There are reportedly 17 Jews among the 1500 convicts.
1792: Birthdate of Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti who would become Pope Pius IX. “Pius IX's relations to the Jews remain ambiguous. He repealed laws that forbade Jews to practice certain professions, and that required them to listen to sermons four times per year aimed at their conversion. Judaism and Catholicism were the only religions allowed by law (Protestant worship was allowed to visiting foreigners, but strictly forbidden to Italians). But the testimony of a Jew against a Christian remained inadmissible in courts of law, a tax levied only on Jews supported schools for converts from Judaism to Catholicism, and Jews continued in various other respects to be discriminated against by law. At the beginning of his pontificate, Pius IX opened the Jewish ghetto in Rome, but after his return from exile in 1850 re-instituted it again. In 1858, in a highly publicized case, a six-year-old Jewish boy, Edgardo Mortara, was taken from his parents by the police of the Papal States. It had been reported that he had been baptized by a Christian servant girl of the family while he was ill because she feared he would die and go to Hell, otherwise. At this time, the law did not permit Christians to be raised by Jews, even their own parents. Pius IX steadfastly refused calls from numerous heads of state including Emperor Franz Josef (1848–1916) of Austria-Hungary and Emperor Napoleon III of France (1852–70) to return the child to his parents.
1799(8th of Iyar, 5559): Isaiah Berlin an 18th century German Talmudist passed away.
1804: Birthdate Daniele Fonseca, who gained fame as Daniele Manin, the Italian patriot. Manin was born a Jew, but converted as a child at which time he changed his name out of respect for his patron.
1837: The Jews of Leipzig were given permission to organize as a religious community and establish a synagogue
1839(24th of Iyar, 5699): Rabbi Israel Ashkenazi of Shklov, leader of the Aliya of the followers of the Gaon of Vilna to Eretz Yisrael passed away. The dynamic force of early Hasidism clashed head-on with the dynamic force of Ashkenazic traditionalism generated by the GR"A. The momentum of both movements created the two major aliyot of the pre-Zionist times. Rabbi
Israel
of Shklov arrived in Eretz Yisrael in 1808. In 1815 he moved to
Jerusalem
, where he founded the modern Ashkenazic community. The location of his grave was unknown for a long time. It was discovered in 1964, 125 years after his death, in Tiberias.
1843(13th of Iyar, 5603): Dr. Daniel Levy Maduro Peixotto passed away. He was the eldest of son of Moses Levi Maduro Peixotto, a native of Curaco who had brought his family to New York from Amsterdamn. The elder Peixotto was a successful businessman who served as Chazan at Shearith Israel. Daniel who was born in Amsterdam in 1800 graduated from Columbia at the age of sixteen and earned his medical degree in 1819 at the age of 19. After a few years of travel he returned to New York in 1823, where he pursued his profession with success, and gained a place among the foremost practitioners of his day. He was one of the physicians of the city dispensary in 1827, and president of the New York county medical society in 1830-'1832, and took an active part in public charitable work as well as in Jewish educational movements. One of his eight children, Benjamin Franklin, went on to become a prominent newspaper man and politician who served in several diplomatic posts during the post-Civil War period. Dr. Daniel was quite proud of his Jewish heritage as can be seen from a speech he delivered while he was vice president of the Medical Society of the City and County of New York. “The writings of the Hebrews are generally acknowledged to be unequaled for the simplicity and dignity - the strength, conciseness and boldness of their style; the perfect truth to nature of their imagery; their animated eloquence and sublime figures. The conceits and puerile vanities which disgrace much of classical literature are altogether banished from their pages. It may, however, be suggested that these writings were inspired. This assertion is more imposing by its speciousness than forcible by its application. The great truths and sublime doctrines which were inculcated by Moses and the Prophet were undoubtedly derived from immediate communication with the Almighty.” [Moses and Daniel Peixotto by Dr. Yitzchok Levine]
1846: The
United States
declares war on
Mexico
officially marking the start of the Mexican-American War. As has been true in all other wars, Jews were active participants in this fight with
Mexico
. Like their gentile neighbors, Jews from
Texas
were active combatants. These included Adolphus Stern, David Kaufman and Leon Dyer each of whom would be prominent office holders in the early days of the
Lone
Star
State
. Baltimore Jews formed a company of volunteers whose three commanding officers were Jewish. David Camden de Leon of
South Carolina
was the most famous and colorful Jew to serve in the fight with
Mexico
. A surgeon by trade, de Leon literally swapped his scalpel for a sword at the Battle of Chapultepec where he led a successfully led a cavalry charge after the other officers had been killed or wounded and could not lead the troops. Fifteen years later, de Leon would be named Surgeon General of the Confederate Army.
1853: An article entitled “The Jewish Disabilities Bill” published today described efforts in the British Parliament to make it possible for Jews to sit in the House of Commons. “The British House of Commons has again decided in favor of striking out the words ‘on the true faith of a Christian’ from the oath administered to Members of Parliament.” According to the author, the House of Lords will surely reject the attempt to change the in the oath as part of the continued to keep Jews from sitting in Parliament. While “notorious non-believers” take the oath “without a scruple” the only way a Jew could take the oath would be to convert from the faith of his fathers.
1860: Birthdate of Henry Samuel Morais the son of Rabbi Sabato Morais, a well-known national Jewish leader, Rabbi of Congregation Mikveh Israel of Philadelphia, and founder of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
1864: The jury was unable to reach a decision in the case of Solomon Ullman vs. The Congregation B'Nai Israel. The unusual case revolved a claim by Ullman, a former congregant, that the synagogue had illegally removed his father’s tombstone from their cemetery.
1866: The Pennsylvania Legislature passed an act today that allowed the children who were attending a school operated under the auspices of the Hebrew Education Society of Philadelphia to attend the Boys' and Girls' High School, Philadelphia.
1872: Secretary of State Hamilton Fish wrote to Benjamin Franklin Peixotto, the U.S. Counsel in Bucharest, that while it is usually the policy of the government not to interfere in the internal affairs of other country’s an exception is to be made in this case since all else has failed. The State Department will support whatever measure Peixotto may take in joining with other diplomats “to avert or mitigate further harshness” shown toward the Jews living in Romania. (Peixotto was Jewish and he was purposely chosen by President Grant in an attempt to ameliorate the suffering of the Jews in Romania. This is yet another proof that Grant was not an anti-Semite)
1877: An article subtitled “Jute” published today describes the origins and modern uses of this plant. The author claims that jute has been used since ancient times citing the story of Samson and Delilah as one of his proofs. “The seen green withes that had never been dried” which the Philistines had given to Delilah so that she might bind the Israelite prophet were “jute withes. “The basis for this supposition is the fact that the word translated ‘withes’ is in the Hebrew reading jeter – that means cordage or roping stuff of any kind.” In the 17th century the Jewish connection was so strong that a form of jute called or Tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius), was popularly referred to as ‘Jews mallow.’ [Editor’s note – Apparently the term Jews mallow is one known to many cooks as can be seen from the recipe for a dish called Jews Mallow Soup http://www.food.com/recipe/molukhia-jews-mallow-soup-151132 ]
1878: The New York Times featured a review of "Religion of China" by Dr. Richard Edkins. During Edkins visit to China he found that "the Jewish colony had dwindled to a few hundred members none of whom can read Hebrew." In what must be a reference to Simchat Torah, Edkins reported that until their synagogue was destroyed by fire the Jews "had an Autumn festival when they walked in procession around the hall taking the scrolls of the law with them." Until recently, they had twelve copies of the Pentateuch, some of which are now in England. According to some, the first Jews arrived during the Han Dynasty - 200 BCE to 200 CE while others came later from Persia
1884(18th of Iyar, 5644): Lag B'Omer
1886: Birthdate of violinist and composer Joseph Achron. Born in
Warsaw
, Achron was a child prodigy from a musical family. He moved to
St. Petersburg
in 1899 and joined the Society for Jewish Folk Music in 1911. His first Jewish work called "Hebrew Melody" became famous thanks to the interpretation by Jascha Heifetz. Achron lived in
Berlin
and
Palestine
before settling in the
United States
in the 1920's where he continued performing and composing. One of his most compositions was "Golem." When he passed away in 1943, one obituary called him "one of the most underrated modern composers.
1888: Birthdate of Zelig Harry Lefkowitz who gained fame as "Big" Jack Zelig a New York City thug who was one of the last leaders of the Monk Eastman Gang.
1890: The Amusements column published today provided a detailed review of “The Shatchen” a play written by Henry Doblin and Charles Doblin starring M.B. Curtis in the title role of this comedy about a Jewish marriage broker
1891: Two Jews were killed today and several more were injured when new violence broke out today in Corfu.
1892: “Jews Ordered From Russia” published today reported that “ten thousand foreign Jews in Odessa have been order to leave” the Czar’s kingdom immediately.
1892: Rector Alhwardt, the notorious anti-Semite went on trial today on charges that he libeled the firm of Loewe & Company when he charged that the company had furnished defective rifles to the army.
1893: “Germany’s Political Crisis” published today described the surprise that has resulted from “the fact that the anti-Semitic electors of Arnswalde have again nominated Rector Ahlwardt, the notorious Jewish Baiter” despite the fact that he is serving a term in prions for having libeled the Jewish firm of Lowe & Company
1893: “A press association dispatch sent from Berlin” today “asserts, in contradiction of the recent dispatches from” the New York Times correspondent in London “that there is no movement for the expulsion of Jews from Poland.”
1893: Relying on information that first appeared in the Jewish Messenger, “The Expulsion of the Jews from Poland” published today decried the fact that Russia is allowed to treat her Jewish inhabitants in a manner that is both brutal and laced with bigotry while the Great Powers remain passive in the face of this menace to civilization that smacks of medieval barbarism.
1893: The examination of another 200 of the 1,000 Russian Jews who arrived yesterday at Ellis Island aboard the steamship Dania will resume today. Immigration officials said that many of those already examined “were absolutely destitute” and that a number of them will be returned to the ship.
1894: It was reported today that “there appears to have been a series of savage popular” attacks on the Jews in a number of towns in Southern Russia at Easter time. The bloodiest took place at Ekaterinoslav.
1894: It was reported today that in response to new outbreaks of violence a renewed exodus of Jews has begun from Odessa. In the last week 2,200 have left the port, 800 bound for Argentina; the rest bound for England and the United States.
1894: It was reported today that the official returns from the by-election in Schlochan (Germany) will require a run-off between the Conservative candidate and the first runner-up because the anti-Semitic candidate made “deep inroads in the traditional Conservative majority.
1894(7thof Iyar, 5654): Twenty year old Edwin Bach, the son of Sigmund J. and Rosalie Bach passed away today.
1895: A dramatized version of “Oliver Twist” opened at the Star Theatre with H.G. Carleton playing the part of Fagan, “the awful Jew.”
1896: Solomon Schechter discovered a fragment of the original Hebrew text of “Ecclesiasticus” that had come from the Cairo Genizah.
1897: Theodor Herzl wrote, "Über Nacht fiel mir der Titel des Blattes ein: Die Welt. Mit dem Mog'n Dovid, in der der Globus hineinzuzeichnen wäre, mit Palästina als Mittelpunkt." -"Overnight the name for the paper occurred to me: Die Welt. [The masthead comes] with a Mogen Dovid [Star of David], inside which a globe should be drawn, with
Palestine
as the central point."
1898: In Harlem, Temple Israel began celebrating its 25th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of the dedication of its current facility today.
1898: “Hebrew Charities Building” published today described the plans of Solomon Loeb of Kuhn, Loeb & Co to build a new four-story structure at 21stStreet and Second Avenue which will be called The Hebrew Charities Building. De Lemos & Cordes have been retained for the project that will cost $150,000 on top of the $60,000 that has been paid for the land.
1899: Memorial services for Baroness de Hirsch were held this afternoon in the auditorium of the Educational Alliance at East Broadway and Jefferson Street.
1899: It was reported today that Doubleday & McClure will soon be issuing an abridged version of The Future of War by Jean de Bloch the Polish Jew who began as a peddler in Warsaw and rose to become a financier with a wide variety of interests in railways, banking and science.
1900: Herzl made a Zionist speech at the "Israelitische Allianz".
1900: In responding to Jacob Schiff’s criticism of the work of the Baron and Baroness de Hirsch Monument Association, Isador Straus agreed that these two great philanthropists required no monument since their good works spoke for themselves. Building the monument was an act of gratitude and hopefully, those who would view it would be moved to emulate the generosity of the Baron and Baroness.
1904:Herzl writes to Wenzel von Plehve asking for an audience for Katzenelson.
1905: Birthdate of Israeli graphic designer Franz Kraus. Born in St. Pölten, Austria he passed away in 1998 in Tel Aviv.
1906: The Bezalel Art School opened in Jerusalem
1912: Birthdate of Rabbi
Judah
Nadich. As a Lt. Colonel and Army chaplain, Nadich would play a key role in the treatment for the Jews of Europe after W.W. II. As President of the Rabbinical Assembly, he would play a key role in gaining equality for women in Conservative Judaism.
1916 (10th of Iyar, 5676): Sholem Aleichem passed away. Born Shalom Rabinowitz in the Ukraine, he grew up in the town of Vornokov which served as the model for the fictitious town of Kasrilevke that appears in his writings. Shalom Aleichem began writing in Hebrew. In 1883, he began writing in Yiddish which is when he adopted the pen name of Shalom Aleichem. He used a pen name because he did not want to offend friends and family (including his father) who thought Jews should be writing in Hebrew. Following the pogroms of 1905, he now famous author moved to the
United States
. He died while living in the
Bronx
at the age of 59. Shalom Aleichem employed humor and pathos to create a picture of the Shtetl. He was called the Jewish Mark Twain. His most famous character was Tevye who became a worldwide favorite in the hit show and movie, “Fiddler on the Roof.” [Ed. Note: There is no way this brief guide can do justice to this man or his work. The best way to “say Kaddish” for him is to read one of his stories]
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/nyregion/18nyc.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print
http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Sholem_Aleichem
1918: Birthdate of Edwin S. Shneidman, “a psychologist who gave new direction to the study of suicide and was a founder of the nation’s first comprehensive suicide prevention center..” (As reported by William Dicke)
1919: During the Russian Civil War the Jews of Boguslav, a city in the Kiev district of the Ukraine were attacked by gangs of marauding peasants that killed 20 Jews,
1921: The Palestinians have expressed their dissatisfaction with the reply made by Winston Churchill to the petition of the Moslem-Christian Association, which consisted of thirty-two typewritten pages and contained all their grievances “against the colonization of their country by the Zionist immigrants, who are arriving at the rate of 1,000 a month.”
1922: Birthdate of actress Bea Arthur. Born Bernice Frankel, gained fame as Maude Findlay, a character first created for the hit series All In the Family, and then spun off for Maude, a hit show in which she was the lead. She gained further success as Dorthoy Zbornak, one of the lead characters in the television hit, “The Golden Girls.”
1923: President Judge Jacob Caplan of New Haven, First Vice President, Louis Fabrican of New York; Second Vice-President, Bertram M. Aufsesser or Albany; Treasurer, Herman Asher of New York, Secretary, Max Levy were elected as officers of District #1 of the B’nai Brith Lodge today.
1923:Mayor David E. Fitzgerald addressed a meeting of the B’nai Brith lodges in the Eastern United States.
1924: Birthdate of Harry Heinz Schwartz, a South African lawyer, opponent of apartheid and South African ambassador to the United States. He served as defense lawyer for James Kantor, who was the defense attorney for Nelson Mandela during the infamous Rivonia Trial.
1923: During a meeting held at the Hotel Astor, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, President of the World Zionist Organization addressed members of four congregations located on New York’s West Side. Mr. H. Leonard Simmons announced that the $100,000 quota for the West Side would be forthcoming shortly. Captain Gloster Armstrong, British Consul General in New York assured the attendees that Great Britain intends to fulfill its commitments in Palestine under the terms of League of Nations’ mandate. (As reported by JTA)
1926(29th of Iyar, 5686): Sixty-nine year old Sir Stuart Montagu Samuel, the elder brother of Herbert Samuel, 1sr Viscount Samuel passed away today. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1900 replacing his uncle Samuel Montagu, 1stBaron Swaything. He served until 1916.
1926: It was reported today that David M. Bressler, announced that contributions to the United Jewish Campaign in New York reached the sum of $4,835,867. (JTA)
1926: The New York Times reported that during his recent visit to Palestine, Yasha Heifetz performed a concert in the Valley of Jezreel near the site of the “legendary battle of Armageddon.” During the five day tour, Heifetz took part in seven concerts including one attended by 10,000 workers in Tel Aviv.
1927: Forty members of the National Socialist Party, responsible for the recent anti-Semitic riots on Kurfuerstendamm, were arrested by the police today. In a statement issued by the chief of police, he declared that the police will combat terrorism in the streets of Germany's capital. (As reported by JTA)
1928: Officials of the Hebrew National Orphans Home, led by its President, State Supreme Court Justice Aaron J. Levy, launched a drive today for an additional 10,000 members.
1929: In Palestine, The Mandatory Government announces an immigration quota of 2.400 permits for a half-year period, beginning in April.
1930: Talks between the heads of the Colonial Office and the Palestinian Arab delegation are concluded. Demands to end the growth of the Yishuv, immigration and land settlement remain unfulfilled.
1935: Birthdate of composer Yizhak Sadai. Born in
Bulgaria
, Sadai moved to
Israel
in 1949. Prof. Yizhak Sadai is one of the most regarded and influential music teachers in
Israel
.
1936(21st of Iyyar, 5696): Two Jews are killed in the Old City of Jerusalem during the Arab Uprising.
1938: The Palestine Postreported that an Arab police constable who was expected to offer his testimony in the District Court was shot and killed by an Arab terrorist in a Haifa's market cafe. An Arab woman who came into the line of fire was also severely injured and later died from her wounds.
1938: The Palestine Postreported that at the League of Nations Britain requested "for the sake of peace" that all nations recognize the Italian conquest of Ethiopia.
1938: The Palestine Postreported that Poles became suddenly aware of the rapid Nazification of the local German community.
1939: SS St Louis departs Hamburg for Cuba with 937 Jews on board. This tragic episode was portrayed in the book and the film, Voyage of the Damned. Having been denied entrance to
Cuba
, the ship was turned away from the
United States
. Steaming off the
shore
of
Florida
, the refugees could see the lights of
Miami
. Coast Guard vessels tracked the ship to make sure nobody escaped and to keep the captain from running his ship aground in American waters. In the end, the ship returned to
Europe
. About half of the passengers survived the war.
1939: Birthdate of actor Harvey Keitel
1940: Hans Rey, who is best known for creating Curious George, wrote in his diary today, “Songs English very slowly because of the events.” “Songs English” refers to a book of French and English rhymes on which he was working. “The events” refers to the German blitz driving across France.
1941: The Nazis interned 3,600 naturalized Jews of Russian origin.
1942(26th of Iyyar, 5702): Hyam Greenbaum, British violinist, composer and conductor passed away. He died one day after his 41st birthday.
1943: Hans Frank sent Hitler a list of the "Jewish concealed and stolen goods," that were recovered including 94,000 men's watches, 33,000 women's watches, 25,000 pens and 14,000 scissors. Many of the watches were melted down for their gold or platinum content.
1944: Dr. Samuel Levy, chairman of the board of directors announced that Dr. Samuel Belkin, Talmudist and scholar, will be inducted as second president of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, which includes Yeshiva College on May 23. The 33 year old Belkin is assuming a position left vacant by the death of Dr. Bernard Revel, the founder and first President of Yeshiva College.
1944: Throughout the Nazi camp system, inmate tattoo numbers gain a new series, prefaced with the letter "A." The intention is to conceal the number of prisoners at
Auschwitz
.
1945: During Winston Churchill's famous broadcast speech "Five years of War", Britain’s wartime Prime Minister remembers the valor of Lance-Corporal John Patrick Kenneally who won the Victoria Cross for his exploits in Tunisia in 1943.
1946: Birthdate of Marv Wolfman former Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics
1947: The U.N. General Assembly established the United Nations Special committee on Palestine, also known as UNSCOP.
1948: As the British began their withdrawal from the Old City, the Haganah awaits the attack by 20,000 Arab soldiers who are determined to capture Jerusalem.
1948: Chaim Weizmann calls Abba Eban out of a meeting at the United Nations seeking reassurance that the proposal to create a trusteeship for all of Palestine (a proposal that would kill the creation of the Jewish state) would not succeed. Eban assures Weizmann that U.N. Secretary General has said that trusteeship is a non-issue.
1948: The Arab Emergency committee and the Haganah High Command signed the terms for the Arab surrender of the town of Jaffa. Despite Jews pleas to stay, 67,000 of the city’s 70,000 inhabitants of the city left, many by boat for
Lebanon
.
1948: In a daring nighttime firefight, Jewish forces seized the fort at the ancient town of Gezer at the southern end of the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem road. This is the same
Gezer
that the Pharaoh gave to King Solomon as a wedding gift.
1948: On the day before Israel declares her independence, Arab irregulars perpetrate The Kfar Etzion massacre. Armored cars of the Arab Legion broke through the final defense line of Kfar Etzion. In the last message sent by the defenders to
Jerusalem
, the defenders described “a
Masada
–like battle.” The handful of Jewish defenders came out under a white flag and surrendered. Fifteen of the defenders stacked their weapons, and then, lined up to be photographed. Instead of the click of the camera, the Jews were treated to a burst of machinegun fire that killed all of them. Was this planned or a freak accident? To this day, the question has never been answered. The victorious Arab Legion did kill an Arab family that had remained in Kfar Etzion with their Jewish friends.
1948: A motorbike courier delivers an envelope the Tel Aviv apartment of 32 year old Arieh Handler. The envelope contained an invitation to the ceremonies marking the Israeli Declaration of Independence. The envelope also contained a request that the arrangements be kept secret because of a fear that the British might stop the ceremony or the Arabs might use the ceremony as pretext to attack.
1948:Maury Atkin was offered a job as executive officer and agriculture attaché of the first Israeli embassy. The embassy actually would not exist for another 24 hours.