JUNE 18 In History
1155: In Rome, the coronation of Frederick Barbarossa makes him the Holy Roman Emperor. Compared to other medieval monarchs, Frederick’s treatment of his Jewish subjects was comparatively benign. Frederick viewed the Jews as “his subjects” which meant he offered them special protection but at that same time they were a financial resource for his imperial use. The former did not sit well with Catholic leaders and the latter did not sit well with some nobles who wanted to tax the Jews for their own benefit. As can be seen by edict he issued concerning the Jews of Ratushon Frederick was willing to provide protection for his Jews as long as they filled his treasury.
1291: King Alfonso III of Aragon passed away. Alfonso was supposed to marry Princess Eleanor of England but he died before the marriage could take place. Eleanor was the daughter of Edward I, the King of England who had expelled the Jews from his realm. One can only wonder if the marriage had been consummated, would the son-in-law have followed the example of the father-in-law and expelled the Jews from his domain which would have meant Jews would have been expelled two centuries earlier than it actually happened.
1321 21 Sivan): In response to threats of expulsion from Rome instigated by Sangisa a sister of Pope John XXII, the Jews instituted a day of fasting a prayer. At a more practical level the Jews of Rome sent a messenger to Avignon to the papal court of King Robert of Naples, “the patron of the Jews” who interceded on their behalf. The twenty thousand ducats given to the King may have helped to sway his sympathy as well.
1492: A Sicilian version the Edict of Expulsion issued by the Spanish monarchs was published today in Palermo.
1541(13thof Sivan, 5301): Jacob Pollak, the Rabbi who popularized the used of “pilpul” in Polish Talmudic academies passed away today in Lublin. Pollak had begun his career in Prague but was forced to leave there when over a dispute about the laws of marriage. After a thirty year career in Cracow, he moved to Palestine where he lived for ten years before returning to Poland.
1768: The Haidamak Massacres (Ukraine) reached Uman. The peasant serfs and Cossacks rioted much in the same vein as Chemielnicki one hundred and twenty years earlier. At Uman the Poles and Jews defended the city together under the Polish commander Ivan Gonta. The next day, convinced by Zheleznyak the Polish revolutionary, that only the Jews would be attacked, Gonta allowed the fortified city to be entered without a fight. (This would not be the last time that the Poles sold out the Jews in an attempt to save their own skins. And it was not the last time that those who murdered the Jews would in turn slaughter them.) Approximately 8000 Jews were killed, many of them trying to defend themselves near the synagogue. As soon as the Jews were all massacred the Haidamaks (the paramilitary bands) began to kill the Poles. Although the Haidamaks began in the 1730's the main rioting was during the years 1734, 1750 and 1768 .It is estimated that during these years 20,000 Jews were killed. The Haidamaks became part of the Ukrainian national movement and are celebrated in folklore and literature.
1778: During the American Revolutionary War, today’s departure of British troops from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania must have been met with mixed emotions by the Jewish community. A minority, as represented by David Franks and his daughter Rebecca were Tories would miss their British patrons. The majority of the city’s Jews, including Colonel David Salisbury Franks, the nephew of David Franks, supported the Revolutionary cause and took heart at the departure of their British occupiers.
1812: Beginning of the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. This conflict is referred the Second War For American Independence, since the victory in the War of 1812 meant that the United States would survive. If England had prevailed, the country that has provided so much opportunity for its Jewish population would have ceased to exist. Despite their small number, Jews were active participants in the defense of the young Republic. The most colorful was a privateer named John Ordronaux. The French born Ordronaux captured several British prize ships during the war. His most famous action came when his ship, the Prince de Neufchatel captured the British frigate Endymion. In a scene that would do credit to a Russell Crowe naval epic, Ordronaux ordered his men to board the British fighting ship. When his men appeared to be losing heart and prepared to retreat, Ordronaux grab a lighted match and threatened to blow up the magazine if his men did not return to the fight. They took him at his word and turned the tide against the better armed and trained British seaman. Uriah P. Levy, who as Commodore Levy would end the use of the lash for punishing sailors and would save Monticello for posterity, saw his first fighting as a member of the U.S. Navy during this war. Last, but not least, Judah Turo fought in the Battle of New Orleans where he was wounded. Turo would live for the next forty years with Rezon Davis Shephered. He was the one who took the wounded Turo from the battlefield and saw to it that his wounds were treated. Turo became a successful businessman whose philanthropy included everything from the Bunker Hill Monument to several New Orleans Jewish organizations and institutions.
1815: Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. According to one account, fifty-two French Jews lost their lives in the battle. This defeat marked a return of the reactionaries to power in Europe. The laws of emancipation that had benefited the Jews of Europe were rolled back. It would take many decades for the Jews of Europe to win them back. On the other hand, Nathan Rothschild, head of the London branch if the famous family bank was, like all Englishman, pleased with the victory of his country. According to some sources, he had actually provided the funds for the army of the Iron Duke. There is an anti-Semitic legend that Nathan manipulated the Stock Exchange and by deception, made a fortune as a result of the victory.
1836: Birthdate of Bavarian born French jurist and author Frederick Reitlinger, who studied Talmud with Abraham Geiger and was named an Officer of the Legion of Honor.
1843: With Isaac Lesser serving as the Rabbi, Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia accepts the weekly sermon in English as part of its practices.
1852(1stof Tammuz, 5612): Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
1877: The friends of Joseph Seligman held an informal meeting to discuss recent events at Saratoga Springs, NY. The meeting was chaired by Edward Lauterbach, Mr. Seligman’s lawyer. Lauterbach provided a summary of the episode in which Mr. Seligman was informed that the Grand Union Hotel would no longer rent rooms to Jewish guest. The decision had been made by the hotel owner, Judge Henry Hilton. Lauterbach then read a letter that Seligman had written, but not sent, to Judge Hilton. In the letter, Seligman described the insult that had been done to the Jewish people and wondered if Hilton would be sending a circular to Jews telling them not to shop at his Broadway stores. Those in attendance applauded when Lauterbach finished reading the letter. Lauterbach said that the Jews of New York and the United States “could not afford to let the matter rest.” At a time when laws prohibiting Jewish involvement in society were being removed in many other countries it would be wrong to let this happen here. While there had been some anti-Jewish feeling expressed in the United States, it had been limited “to ignorant people –to the small vipers…but now the big snakes have attacked and it is time that” Jews “awaken and defend” themselves. The attendees debated on how best to respond. It was agreed that the letter should be released to the newspapers, if Seligman agreed. It was also agreed that a “mass meeting of the Jewish citizens” of New York should be held to protest Hilton’s ban. Furthermore, “leading citizens and clergyman should be invited to attend and express their support for the Jewish population.
1877: Judge Henry Hilton offered a reporter a series of seemingly contradictory explanations for the refusal of the management of the Grand Union to rent rooms to Joseph Seligman. At various points in the interview Judge Hilton said that Seligman was using the episode because he and other Jews were upset with the widow of the late Alexander Stewart because she had failed to make contributions to Jewish charities. At another point, he said that Seligman was not a Hebrew because he had joined the Reform Movement and was instead a Jew. Therefore Seligman had no right to complain about discrimination based on religion. Judge Hilton also said that it was staying at the Grand Union was very expensive and that only a limited number of people could afford to do so. Therefore he had to cater to their desires and it was these wealthy patrons who had complained about Jews staying at the hotel. Hilton predicted that other fancy hotels would follow his lead in banning Jews; a ban which he earlier denied existed.
1881: It was reported today that 60,000 Jews are expected to immigrate to Spain following a decision by the Madrid government to allow entrance by Jews expelled from Russia.
1881: It was reported that in light of decision by authorities to take a census of the Jews of Kiev, a large number of them have left the area.
1882(1st of Tammuz, 5642): Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
1882: In Tisza- Eszlar, Hungary, during a blood-libel frenzy, a gamekeeper recovers the body of a girl from the Nyiregyhaza River. Although the body was probably not the body of the girl for whom the authorities were looking, they would decide that this corpse was really part of a Jewish conspiracy and would use it as an excuse to arrest three more Jews from whom confessions would be obtained by force.
1886: The Times of London reported today that Flinders Petrie, the noted English Egyptologist, has discovered the ancient ruins the Biblical “Tahpanhes” described in Chapter 43 in the Book of Jeremiah as the site where Jews fleeing the Babylonians found refuge in 586 BCE. The Pharaoh welcomed them and distributed tracts of land for them to settle and develop. [This is another example of archeology supporting the stories in the Bible. The Pharaoh’s generosity stands in sharp contrast to the Egyptians to fight with the Judeans against the Babylonians as they had promised.]
1887: “The Hornthal Prize Contests” published today described the elocution competition funded by L.M. Hornthal. Miss Una Westing won the girl’s prize for a recitation entitled “How the Station Clock Saw and Heard It. She is a student at Grammar School No. 77 where Julia Richman, who is a leading secular and Jewish educator serves as principal.
1891: The Hebrew Technical Institute held its seventh annual commencement exercises this afternoon at Arlington Hall in St. Mark’s Place.
1891: Birthdate of Edward “Eddie” Jacobson, American businessman and friend of Harry Truman who interceded with him to help gain his support for the creation of the modern state of Israel.
1893(4thof Tammuz, 5653): After being treated by Dr. M.S. Kakeles this evening for the effects of nervous prostration, Samuel Adler, the proprietor of the Nineteenth Marble and Granite Works slipped away from the watchful eye of his son and took his own life this evening.
1893: As competition heats up between different unions representing Jewish printers, today the Hebrew Typographical Union No.317 joined the Central Labor Union and the Hebrew-American Typographical Union joined the Central Labor Federation
1893: “Passover Ceremonies” published today described the home observance of Pesach including the use of the Hagadah, “of which the first edition printed in London is dated 1709; the first edition with an English translation” is dated 1770.
1896: The Hebrew Technical Institute is scheduled to hold its commencement exercises at Cooper Union beginning at 8 pm.
1896: Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler delivered the opening prayer at the tenth annual commencement exercise of the Hebrew Technical Institute which took place this evening at Cooper Institute.
1898: It was reported today the nine people have been killed in Austrian Galicia during an outbreak of anti-Semitic violence which has required the dispatch of troops to the area to quell the peasant mobs.
1898: In Cincinnati, Ohio, actors Joseph and Bessie Jacobson gave birth to Irving Jacobson star of Yiddish and American theatre who played Sancho Panza in the original Broadway run of “Man of La Mancha.”
1899: “Firecrackers, eggs, watermelon rinds and stones were thrown” at Wilson W. Dunlap and his aids when “they attempted to hold services” on the lower east side designed to convert Jews to Christianity.
1899: “Recent German Events” published today described the speeches given by Count Walter Puckler “a prominent Jew baiter” in a Silesian village “in which he incited his audience to violence against the Jews.” Following attacks on the Jews, Puckler was prosecuted “for stirring up ‘hatred between the classes.’” The local tribunal dismissed the charges but the Public Prosecutor appealed the case to the Supreme Court which has yet to rule.
1899: It was reported today that fines have been levied on two Berlin anti-Semitic papers, the Stasstsburger Zeitung and the Deutsche General-Anzeiger for publishing the speeches of Count Puckler.
1899: During a six day meeting inParis. Herzl, Max Nordau and Alexander Marmorek meet Narcisse Leven who assures them that the Jewish Colonization Association will cooperate when it comes to practical colonization.
1899: A summary of the United Hebrew Charities report for May described the 2,021 applications for assistance that covered the needs of 6,737 individuals. The monthly cash receipts of $10, 816.08 went to cover the expenses that totaled $10,808.21. These included everything from $2,514.12 for local relief to $282.00 to cover the burials for the indigent
1901(1stof Tammuz, 5661): Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
1901, Gertrude Weil became the first North Carolina resident to graduate from Smith College,
1904: Birthdate of French composer Manuel Rosenthal
1911: Sarah Berhnhardt finishes a thirty-five week theatrical tour of the U.S. and Canada
1913: Birthdate of Sammy Cahn. Born Samuel Cohen, Cahn played both the violin and the piano. But his fame came as a musical composer. He passed away in 1993, one of a long of Jews who provided the tunes for Broadway and Hollywood.
1914: Day school for adult Oriental Jews opened on the New York’s East Side.
1915(6thof Tammuz, 5675): Eighty-one year old Bernhard Bettmann passed away today. A native of Bavaria, he came to the United States in 1850 and settled in Cincinnati. He became a successful businessman, bank president and leading member of the local Republican party as well as a pillar of the Jewish community.
1916: The Turkish military governor, Djemal Pasha, bans Jews from praying at the Kotel. (In 1917, he reportedly offered to rescind the ban if he was paid 100,000 Francs)
1917: During World War I, reports from London state that Zionist activity in Turkey has been prohibited by the government.
1918: Birthdate of Jerome Karle, the Brooklyn native who shared the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (As reported by Kenneth Chang)
1918: Birthdate Franco Modigliani, Italian born American winner of the Nobel Prize for economics in 1985.
1919: The publication of Haaretz, a Hebrew daily newspaper, begins in Jerusalem. It will move to Tel Aviv in 1923. It is independent and liberal in orientation. Its literary supplement features the best Hebrew writers and scholars both from Palestine and the Diaspora.
1921: Winston Churchill “informed his officials at the Colonial Office that he believed it was impossible for Britain to grant any form of representation to the Arabs that would give them the power to halt Jewish immigration.”
1923: In Baltimore, a report read at tonight's session of the Zionist convention by Emanuel Newmann, General Secretary of the Palestine Foundation states that six million dollars has been raised In the past two years by Jewish organizations in the United States devoted to the rebuilding of Palestine, and of this sum $4,250,000, amounting to 70 per cent, of the total, has been raised by the Palestine Foundation Fund (Keren Hayesod).
1923: Checker Cab puts its first taxi on the streets. Originally a Checker Cab was a taxicab built by the Checker Cab Company. The Checker Cab Company had been formed by Morris Markin a Russian Jewish immigrant. Markin was so poor when he arrived in the United States that he had to borrow the $25 for the bond necessary for those entering the country from a porter working at Ellis Island. Beginning as a tailor, Markin amassed enough of a fortune to own his own garment business and to bring the rest of his family from Russia to Chicago. After starting the Checker Cab Company, he bought the Yellow Cab Company. He passed away in 1970.
1929: Jacob Goldman a former student at New York University living in Tel Aviv writes a letter on this date “telling of demonstrations by young Aras and the circulation of songs calling Moslems to ‘take up the sword’ against the foreign ruler and the Jews.’”
1929: Birthdate of Tibor "Ted" Rubin “a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States in 1948 and received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Korean War by President George W. Bush in 2005.”
1930: A discharged Arab policeman has been arrested in Jaffa as a suspect in the attempted murder of Police Captain F.M. Scott of Tel Aviv. “It is believed that the former policeman swore vengeance against Scott because he had dissmissed him from the force.
1933: Dr. Chaim Arlosoroff, the 34 year old Zionist leader gunned down by two unknown assassins was buried this afternoon. About 70,000 persons marched in the funeral procession, with delegations attending from all parts of the country. Beryl Katzenellenson, editor of Davar, Meir Dizengoff, Mayor of Tel Aviv and Menachem Ussishkin, head of the Jewish National Fund all delivered eulogies.
1933: Birthdate of Jerzy Kosiński, Polish-born American author. During the Holocaust, Kosinski was hidden by a Polish family using a false Baptismal certificate. After the war, he was reunited with his parents. He came to the United States in 1957. The Painted Bird and Being There are two of his most famous efforts. He passed away in 1991.
1936: The Palestine Post reported that a commission had been appointed by the government to replace the Haifa's Municipal Council which since the beginning of the Arab boycott was no longer able to discharge its duties. The government began to demolish the condemned buildings in the Old City of Jaffa. The quarter looked like a nightmare with furniture, bedding and odds and ends being dragged out of condemned houses.
1936: In New York City Sidney and Frances Wimmer gave birth to Richard Samuel Wimmer who would finally achieve his goal of being a published author with the appearance of Irish Wine in 1989. (As reported by Dennis Hevesi)
1936 (28th of Sivan, 5696): “Two more Jews died today as a result of Arab terrorism…Abraham Benyehuda died from wounds received in a recent ambush of a bus belonging to the Jewish colony of Ataroth, north of Jerusalem…Joseph Shefter, proprietor of the Leviathan tannery located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, died as a result of an attack this afternoon on a bus which he and nine of his employees were returning to Tel Aviv.
1938: Winston Churchill wrote to Sir Alexander Maxwell, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office asking him for assistance in making Vic Oliver’s wish to become a naturalized British subject a reality. Vic Oliver was an Austrian born Jewish actor, radio comedian and pianist who had married Churchill’s daughter Sarah. Churchill had opposed the marriage at first because Oliver was sixteen years old than his daughter and twice-divorced. Later, he came to “like and esteem him greatly.”
1940:Members of the Etzel command who were imprisoned in the summer 1of 939 are released.
1940: Charles De Gaulle issued L'Appel du 18 Juin (the Appeal of 18 June) over the BBC radio service in which he called upon the French to resist the Vichy regime and to fight on against the Nazis despite the signing of the armistice. This is considered to the start of the French Resistance. While many Frenchmen heeded his call, a large number actually supported Vichy and collaborated with the Nazis. The Myth of the Resistance grew in proportion to Allied successes following Normandy.
1944: Rabbi Philip Lipis, who was serving as a Chaplain in the United States Navy, spoke at the installation service at Congregation Beth El in Camden, NJ where Morris LIebman began his fourth term as President of the Congregation and Mrs. Max PIncus became Sisterhood President. Lipis had taken leave from his position as the congregation’s rabbi to serve during World War II.
1947: Ben-Gurion published a long memorandum addressed to the Haganah command. He outlined a three-fold structure for the organization: an excellent attack force for special purposes; a driving force in the form of a regular army; and a territorial defense force. The most urgent goal: training commanders up through the battalion level; establishing a high school for commanders to prepare battalion commanders and staff officers. This was necessary because up until this time, the Haganah’s platoon commander’s course was the highest level of training.
1947: John Henry Patterson, who attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Essex Yeomanry before retiring passed away today. Many know Patterson as the British officer portrayed by Val Kilmer in “The Ghost and the Darkness,” a film based on Patterson’s building of a bridge in Kenya before WW I. Jews remember him as the commander of the Zion Mule Corps and the 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers which was popularly known as the Jewish Legion of the British Army. Patterson sacrificed his own career to fight the anti-Semitism that was so rife among many British officers of that time. He wrote two books about his experiences – With the Zionists at Gallipoli and With the Judeans in Palestine. Patterson’s close relationship with Zionist leaders can be seen in the fact that he was the Godfather of Benzion Netanyahu’s oldest son, Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu, the hero of Entebbe and the brother of the current Prime Minister of Israel.
1947: Ben-Gurion appointed Yaakov Dori as the chief of staff and Yisrael Galili as the new national command head as part of his plan to revamp the Yishuv’s military forces.
1950: Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett asked Israeli newspaper editors today to go slow in attacking Eastern bloc Governments and particularly their representatives. His plea followed protests by diplomatic representatives to the Government against press attacks.
1951: The Jerusalem Post reported that the Negev rejoiced when water spurted several meters high in the yellow wilderness when Avraham Hartzfeld, the gray-haired patron of the settlers, turned the tap of the new pipeline and pumping station.
1951: The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel's first steel-pipe factory was opened south of Acre by the Middle East Tube Co. Ltd.
1951: The Jerusalem Post reported that the new freighter Eilat called at Haifa with a cargo of 9,000 tons of wheat and 2,000 tons of machinery.
1952: Eight days after the Israeli government imposed a forced loan of 10 percent on currency holdings and bank accounts, the deflationary effect has been so sharp “that Government officials are uncertain whether to be jubilant or worried. Newspapers have experience an unexpected decline in revenue due to a loss of circulation at time when they had just negotiated a new labor contract increasing wages of workers. A round trip ticket from Tel Aviv to Paris has jumped in the past year from 175 Israeli pounds to 500 Israeli pounds. Shops of all kind are doing less business and nightclubs report that their earnings on Saturday night (their busiest time) are less now than they were for an average week night a year ago.
1954: Pierre Mendes-France became Premier of France. Born in 1907 in Paris, Mendes-France’s came from a family of Sephardic Jews. He was trained as a lawyer and fought with the Free French during World War II. After the war, Mendes-France served in numerous governments in the revolving door of the Fourth Republic. Mendes-France was an anti-colonialist. He served as Premier after the fall of Dien Bien Phu, and negotiated the end to the French Indo-China War. Several Catholic political leaders attacked him for this and the attack quickly became anti-Semitic. Mendes-France also began the negotiations that would lead to independence for the French colonies in North Africa. Mendes-France political signature was a glass of milk. After the war, some French leaders were concerned that French people were drinking too much wine and starting to drink at too early an age. When Mendes-France would appear in public, there invariably was a glass of milk on the lectern, which he made a point of sipping some time during the presentation. Mendes-France passed away in 1982.
1956: Golda Meir replaced Moshe Sharett as Foreign Minister. Sharett had held the position since the creation of the state, even when he was serving as Prime Minister. Meir’s colorful career had already included clandestine negotiations with the King of Jordan and a stint as the first Ambassador to the Soviet Union. Eventually she would rise to the position of Prime Minister.
1959: A federal court overturned Arkansas state laws that allowed schools faced with integration to be closed. Harry Ehrenberg, Sr., of blessed memory, was one of those unsung heroes who literally risked his as he carried a petition seeking support to keep the Little Rock schools open despite the race baiting efforts of Governor Faubus to defy school integration.
1966(30th of Sivan, 5726): Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
1976: The Jerusalem Post reported that the Treasury and the Histadrut had jointly decided that Value Added Tax would be levied at 8 percent, as of July 1.
1976: The Jerusalem Post reported that two Israeli missile boats sailed for the US to take part in the July 4 Bicentennial salute on the Hudson River.
1984(18th of Sivan, 5744): Murder of Alan Berg, Denver-based radio talk show host. Berg was shot by Christian White Supremacists.
1987:Daniel Barenboim began 9 days of conducting the IPO in a series of partially staged operas - ''Don Giovanni,'' ''The Marriage of Figaro'' and ''Cosi Fan Tutte'' – that included performers from the Paris Opera.
1992(17th of Sivan, 5752): Famed Israeli painter, Mordecai Ardon, passed away His works included an effort from 1944 entitled “Ein Karem.” In English Ein Karem means “Spring of the Vineyard.” It is located on the southwest edge of Jerusalem.
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/a/ardon/ardon_ein_karem.jpg
1993: In Colorado, the District Court award title to Leadville’s Hebrew Cemetery to The Temple Israel Foundation.
1996(1stof Tammuz, 5756): Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
1996(1stof Tammuz, 5756): Kesari Yisrael passed away. Born in Yemen in 1933, he came to Palestine at the age of two. After studying at Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University he became a leader of Histadrut before being elected to the Knesset and serving as a cabinet minister.
1996: Limor Livnat succeeds Shulamit Aloni as Minister of Communications
1996: Benny Begin begins serving as The Science and Technology Minister of Israel
1996: Eli Suissa succeeds Haim Ramon as Internal Affairs Minister
1996: Israel Kessar completes his term as Minister of Transport, National Infrastructure and Road Safety.
1996: David Levy succeeds Ehud Barak as foreign minister.
1996: Binyamin Ben-Eliezer completes his term as Minister of Housing and Construction
1996:Binyamin Netanyahu succeeds Shimon Sheetrit as Minister of Religious Services
1996: Gonen Segev completed his service as Minister of Energy and Water Resources.
1996: Avigdor Kahalani replaced Moshe Shahal as Minister of Public Security
1997(13th of Sivan, 5757): Lev Kopelev passed away. The Russian born Kopelev was an idealist and a committed Bolshevik. Over time, he would become a dissident and ended up having to live out his days in Cologne, Germany.
1999: The Times of London reviewed “Israel and the Bomb” by Avner Cohen.
2000: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx by Stefan Kanfer, Monkey Business: The Lives and Legends of the Marx Brothers: Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo With Added Gummo by Simon Louvish, The Essential Groucho: Writings by, for, and About Groucho Marx Edited by Stefan Kanfer, How to Read and Why by Harold Bloom, King David: A Biography by Steven L. McKenzie and The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul by Yoram Hazony
2002: In “Edelman Savors Nearly 50 Years of Independence,” Jim Kirk provides a snapshot of the career of Daniel Edelman the PR man who came to Chicago from New York and founded the agency that bears his name.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-06-18/business/0206180039_1_pr-firms-pr-campaign-daniel-j-edelman
2003(18th of Sivan, 5763): A Palestinian terrorist killed 19 passengers when he detonated a bomb on a bus in Jerusalem.
2004: Bernard J. Wohl, Executive Director of the Goddard Riverside Community Center addresses the 20th annual conference of the “International Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers” in Toronto. "You can’t just focus on your own agency. You need to work with other agencies to affect change because all the agencies are experiencing the same problems to different extents. When agencies get together, the city listens much more to them. Community is about doing things together."
2006: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Betraying Spinozaby Rebecca Goldstein and recently released paperback editions of 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos by Jennet Coant, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimerby Kai Bird and Martin Sherman and The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman
2006: Student groups at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee rallied today calling for the prosecution of a local man who claims to be a former Waffen-SS officer and announced last week that he planned to set up a public shrine in his backyard to commemorate the life of Adolf Hitler.
2006: Ronald S. Lauder purchased the painting Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt for $135 million from Maria Altman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gustav_Klimt_046.jpg
2007: Funeral services were held at Am Shalom, in Glencoe, Illinois for Shirlee Mages, of blessed memory.
2007: Newsweek magazine features an article by Robert W. Morgenthau and Frank Tuerkheimer entitled “From Midway to the Mideast: How a victory in the Pacific 65 years ago helped defeat Hitler and found Israel.” The article includes the information that “just after the fall of Tobruk, an SS killing squad…was created to operate behind Rommel’s front line…for the express purpose of killing Jews in occupied territory.” Had Rommel been successful that occupied territory would have included Palestine and the Jews of the Yishuv.
2007: In the “Verbatim” section Time magazinefeatured the following quote by Rutka Laskier, “'If only I could say, It's over, you only die once ... but I can't, because despite all these atrocities, I want to live, and wait for the following day.'” Rutka Laskier has been described as the Polish Anne Frank. Like Frank, she wrote a Holocaust-era diary, at the age of 14. Like Frank, Laskier perished during the Holocaust. Apparently, the Nazis killed her at Auschwitz.
2007: Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz squares off in a friendly dispute with Michael Steinhardt at the annual dinner of the Aleph Society in New York City.
2007: On the secular calendar, the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Mordecai Ardon. It happens to fall on the 2ndof Tammuz which is appropriate since one of his works was called “Tammuz.”
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/a/ardon/ardon_tammuz.jpg
2008: As the waters recede from the 500 Year Flood of 2008, The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported that Smulekoff's, one of the oldest businesses in downtown Cedar Rapids, said it will be opening in temporary quarters and plans to rebuild its landmark store at 97 Third Ave. SE. Ann Lipsky, president of Smulekoff's Home Store, told managers that the 119-year-old business will be reopening in the near term at its warehouse, 411 Sixth Ave. SE. The warehouse received a small amount of water in the basement where no merchandise was stored. Smulekoff's has been in downtown Cedar Rapids since 1889 when it was established by Henry Smulekoff on May's Island. The store moved to the current location of Wells Fargo Bank on Third Avenue SW during the flood of 1929 and was located at 97 Third Ave. SE during the flood of 1993."In all that time, the devastation has never been as bad as the current situation," Lipsky said. "We will come back and continue to provide the area with fine home furnishings, floor coverings and more."
2008: UNICEF met with officials of Adalah, a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups to inform them that the agency would no longer have any relationship with Lev Leviev, an Orthodox Jewish diamond mogul who has financed construction projects in the West Bank.
</