JUNE 25 In History
1218: Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, who expelled the Jews from Leicester, died.
1221 Although the Archbishop of Canterbury forbade anti-Jewish riots in Erfurt, Germany, they continued unabated. A group of religious 'pilgrims' on their way to the
Holy Land
attacked the Jewish quarter burning two synagogues. Some 26 Jews were killed and others threw themselves into the fire rather than be forcibly converted.
1240: In Paris, a commission that was making an inquiry into the nature of the Talmud with a specific interest in alleged derogatory comments about Jesus began its deliberation.
1240: “A public disputation” opened at the Court of Louis IX in the presence of Queen-Mother Blanche between Parisian Talmudist Rabbi Yechiel and Nicholas Donin, an apostate who wanted all copies of the Talmud to be burned. (He would get his way in 1244 when 24 cartloads of the sacred text were burned)
1477: At Ferrara, Italy, Abraham die Tintori completed printing Tur Yorch De’ah a work of halacha by Jacob ben Asher. Born in Cologne in 1269 he was known as the Ba’al ha-Turim, the Master of the Rows. His works were divided in four turim or rows. The term probably comes from the tur or row of Jewels on the breastplate of the High Priest described in the Torah. According to sketchy information he lived in Chios, Greece before arriving at Toledo where he reportedly passed away in 1343.
1539: Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg acceded to the request of Josel von Rosheim and allowed the Jews to “settle in Margraviate again.
1629: Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Heller set out for Vienna to face baseless accusations that he had abused his powers as Chief Rabbi of Prague when raising funds demanded by the government to help pay for fighting the Thirty Years War.
1644: Lope de Vera (
Judah
the Believer) was drawn to Judaism by the outrages of the Inquisition. He converted, and during his confinement in prison, he circumcised himself with a bone. He was then burned for refusing to yield to the Inquisition.
1656: Rabbi Menashe Ben Yisrael applied for official permission to practice Judaism in
England
. The Council of State granted permission. This took place during the period when Oliver Cromwell was in effect the ruler of
England
. Cromwell and his followers were devout Christians. The agreed to the readmission of the Jews to England because it was pointed out to them that the Second Coming could not take place until Jews populated all parts of the world.
1756: Provincial Governor Sir Charles Hardy confirms the last will and testament of Abraham Mendes Seixas. The will had been translated from Portuguese into English.
1784: The Jewish Benevolent Society of South Carolina, the oldest Jewish charitable organization in the United States, was founded today.
1788: Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution making it the tenth state to enter the Union.
Virginia
was of the states that had purged itself of religious qualifications prior to joining the new republic. In 1784 James Madison led the forces that defeated a move to make Christianity the official religion of
Virginia
. In 1786, Jefferson and Madison joined forces “to secure passage of a law which removed religious discrimination in
Virginia
.
1846(1stof Tammuz, 5605): Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
1851:Adolphus Simeon Solomons who “was a moving force in helping to establish the American Red Cross” “married Rachel Seixas Phillips, a descendant of colonial patriot families. They had eight daughters and a son.”
1856: An article entitled “The Way they treat the Jew in England” published today reports that “The statesman who undertakes in England to bring forward a measure for the admission of the Jews to the same rights and privileges enjoyed by other citizens of that country, simply dooms himself to the Sisyphean labor of rolling up each year to the House of Lords a measure which is quietly rolled hack again.”
1858: An article published today entitled “The Jew Bill in Parliament – Prospect of a Concession” spoke approvingly of a compromise proposed by Lord Lucan. His compromise would allow the Lords and the Commons to each adopt their own wording for the Oath of Office to be used by those members who, for religious or other reasons, could not use the current form of the oath. In effect, Lord Lucan’s compromise would permit either the two Houses of Parliament to admit Jews by resolution. Since the Commons favors the admission of Jews and the Lords opposes their right to sit in Parliament, Lucan’s compromise would get the supporters of the “Jew Bill” half way to their destination. The compromise was withdrawn because the members of the Commons objected to it. If they had not, it appears that sufficient numbers of the Lords would have voted for it even though they object to Jews serving in either house of the English legislature.
1870: Birthdate of Helena Rubinstein, one of the creators of the American cosmetics industry.
1871: The Jewish Messenger complained that while there were a number of wealthy Jews in America who were “good men and true” they seemed to be more interested in making money than they were in taking part in projects to promote the civic good. The Messenger compared the behavior of the Americans with that of their European counter-parts who were “prominent in all public matter – whether to relieve the poor or honor the rich; to rect a statue to the living or a monument to the dead.”
1875: In Gutenberg, Germany, Isidor Straus and Rosalie Ida Blun gave birth to Jesse Isidor Straus, scion of the famous Straus department store family who served as FDR’s first Ambassador to France in 1933.
1875: According to a report published today there are more Jews living in London today than living in Palestine.
1875: The Jewish Messenger lamented the lack of involvement by “Israelite” men in the affairs of the community, especially when it came to better of civic activity and attempts to improve the lot of the less fortunate. The paper feels that Jewish men are “good men and true” who are willing to contribute their money to worthy causes. But they are apparently are too busy amassing wealth to give of themselves and their time. This is the opposite of the case in Europe where wealthy Jews give both their time and money to causes that benefit both the Jewish community and the general society as well.
1876: The Home and Foreign Events column published today reported that "nine Jewish ministers of this City have united to call the attention of their people to the 'growing evil or extravagance and displays at funerals." They suggest a return 'the simplicity by which Jewish funerals were formerly characterized,' and that costly caskets and expensive floral displays be dispensed with.
1876: George Geiger, a Jewish Sergeant from Cincinnati fought with distinction at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. According to the commendation he received for the Medal of Honor. "With 3 comrades during the entire engagement courageously held a position that secured water for the command"
1876: The Home and Foreign Events column published today reported that "The Jews of Khiva, it is said, observe very strictly the feasts and ceremonies of the Jewish religion." [Khiva is a city in Uzbekistan.]
1882: During today’s session of the hearing investigating the sanity of Samuel Obrieght, his brother Dr. Max, L. Obreight described half dozen attempts by Samuel to commit suicide including taking strychnine, attempting to jump over Niagara Falls and trying to cut his throat. Obreight’s family did not move to commit him until he jilted his Jewish fiancée and married a young Christian girl whom he had just met.
1883: Mayor Nathan Barnet got into a scuffle with a Republican Alderman at tonight’s meeting of the Aldermanic License Committee in Paterson, NJ. Barnet, a Jew born in Pozen is a Democrat who won election in April of 1883.
1884: “Jew-Baiting in Russia” published today described an attack by Christians on the Jews of Nizhnee-Novogrod after reports that a Jew had kidnapped a Christian child and taken it to the local synagogue. An untold number of Jews were injured in this latest version of the blood libel and nine were murdered.
1886: The Sanitarium for Hebrew Children is collecting funds to provide poor children and their mothers with summer day trips out of New York City. Contributions can be sent to John J. Davis at the office of the Hebrew Journal on East 14th Street.
1888: “Jew and Catholic United” published today described the marriage of Joseph J. Herrmann (Catholic) and Bertha Cahn (Jewish) in New Orleans. Rabbi Emile Hirsch of Chicago performed the ceremony since the rabbis in the Crescent City refused to do so.
1888: It was reported today that Orphan Asylum of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society is caring for 575 youngsters, 400 of whom are boys and 175 are girls. The boys are housed at building on 11th Avenue while the girls are housed at a building on 87thStreet near the East River.
1891: “Wants To Fight Tammany” published today described the decision of New York attorney William A. Gans who had served as the President of the B’nai B’rith to ally himself with Julius Harburger in the fight against the Democratic machine.
1891: Point 14 of the platform of the Iowa Democratic Party published today included an expression for the support of Russian Jews. “We abhor the persecutions of Russia toward the Jewish people and we believe that all civilized nations should protest against such barbarism and inhumanity.
1892: The new sanitarium for Jewish children is scheduled to open today at Rockaway Park.
1892: The Jews of Paris send condolences to the family of Armand Meyer, the Jewish French military officer who was killed in a duel brought on by the Marquis de Mores, a noted anti-Semite. Authorities take extra precaution because they fear violence by the Jews. The reality is that the Jews have been the victims of attacks, something which does not bother these same officials.
1892: The Berlin Board of Alderman passed a resolution “calling upon the police to suppress the sale of indecent pamphlets assailing the Jews.”
1893: All the students at the Jewish Theological Seminary including the members of the senior, junior and preparatory classes underwent final exams today.
1893: “French Views of Russia” published today provided a detailed review of The Empire of the Tsars and The Russians by Anatole Leroy-Beauliue which warns that “Western readers cannot apply to Russia rules and notions which prevail in the West” because Russia belongs “to the Europe of three or four centuries ago.
1894: Governor Flower appointed Edward Jacobs, a New York lawyer who was the brother of the Joseph Jacobs both of whom were active in the Jewish community, to serve as the new Quarantine Commissioner.
1894: “Last of Great Jewish Generals” published today provided a detailed reviews of Judas Maccabaeus and the Jewish War of Independence by Calude Reignier Conder. This edition is an improvement over the first one published by Major Condor fifteen years ago because the author has been to Moab and Gilead in his role as the head of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
1894:Annie Cohen Kopchovsky’s, known as Annie Londonderry, adventure began with a bet. In 1894, a gentleman in
Boston
bet another gentleman, $20,000 against $10,000, that no woman could travel around the world by bicycle, a feat that had been completed for the first time by a man in 1885. Although it is not clear why she was chosen, Annie Cohen Kopchovsky set out from
Boston
, to attempt the journey. Married and a mother of three children under age six; she was an unlikely choice but a good example of the ways that the bicycle was transforming women's lives. Besides providing women with a respectable form of independent transportation, the popularity of the bicycle led to changes in women's dress, for example, as bloomers replaced unwieldy and inconvenient full skirts.
1896: A summary of the United Hebrew Charities activity report the month of May published today showed that 3,355 had applied for aid and that over $12,000 had been spent in meeting their needs and the needs of previous applicants. The organization found work for 538 people and provided transportation for an additional 157 people to travel to other parts of the United States.
1897: Rabbi Isaac Ruff wrote Declaration versus Declaration which appeared in today’s issue of Die Welt. This wasa defense of Herzl who had been attacked by the anti-Zionist “Protest Rabbis.”
1897: In an example of Jew supporting Jew it was reported today that the Hebrew Orphan Asylum Band had provided the musical program at the recent graduating exercises for the students of the Hebrew Technical Institute.
1897: “Jacob Scholle’s Bequests” published today contained a list of the charities that were to receive $2, 500 according to the late bankers will including the Montefiore Home, Mount Sinai Hospital, Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews and the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of San Francisco.
1899: It was reported today that officers of the newly formed Orthodox Hebrew Society are President - Dr. Bernard Drachman, the Rabbi of Congregation Zichron Ephraim and Vice President Max Cohen, a New York attorney. The Society was formed to promote traditional Jewish observance in the face of the growing popularity of the Reform Movement.
1899: In
London
, Herzl takes part in the Conference of the English Zionist Federation. Herzl says that he wants to obtain a Charter from the Turkish government, in order to colonize
Palestine
under the sovereignty of the Sultan. The conference ends on July 1st.
1899: “The Jews of Germany” published today described the “continuing Jew-baiting crusade” being conducted by Count Puckler. During his lectures in Berlin he “invited his audience to wage a merciless was on ‘godless, lying, thievish Jews.’”
1900: Birthdate of Moses Hadas, an American teacher, one of the leading classical scholars of the twentieth century, and a translator of numerous works. Raised in Atlanta in a Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jewish household, his early studies included rabbinical training; he graduated from Jewish Theological Seminary of America (1926) and took his doctorate in classics in 1930. He was fluent in Yiddish, German, ancient Hebrew, ancient Greek, Latin, French, and Italian, and well-versed in other languages. His most productive years were spent at Columbia University, where he was a colleague of Jacques Barzun and Lionel Trilling. There, he took his talent for languages, combined it with a popularizing impulse, to buck the prevailing classical methods of the day—textual criticism and grammar—presenting classics, even in translation, as worthy of study as literary works in their own right. This approach may be compared to the New Criticism school: even as the New Critics emphasized close reading, eschewing outside sources and cumbersome apparatus, Hadas, in presenting classical works in translation to an influx of post-war G.I. Bill students, brought forth an appreciation of his domain for those without the specialized training of classicists. His popularizing impulse led him to embrace television as a tool for education, becoming a telelecturer and a pundit on broadcast television. He also recorded classical works on phonograph and tape. His daughter Rachel Hadas is a poet, teacher, essayist, and translator. He passed away in 1966.
1901: Eighty-seven year old Charles Kensington Salaman who passed away two days ago, we described today as “the oldest living English composer” who, in the last years of his life was best “known as the man who alone of living men, knew many of the great masters of composition of the early part of the nineteenth century.” This meant that that the late Jewish composer knew Mendelssohn, Listz, Schumann, Mayerbeer and Wagner (and a whole lote more)
1903: Birthdate of English author and social commentator George Orwell. Orwell is best known for such works as “1984” and “Animal Farm.” A lesser known work is his essay entitled “Anti-Semitism in
Britain
.” First published in 1945, this short article examines the conditions of the Jewish population in
Britain
and calls for an examination of the causes of anti-Semitism now that World War II was coming to an end.
1903(30thof Sivan, 5663): Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
1904(12thof Tammuz, 5664): In Greenville, MS, sixty year old Edward Storm passed away. Born in Berlin he moved to Mississippi and served in two Confederate cavalry units during the Civil War.
1909: Hebert Louis Samuel, the 1st Viscount Samuel began his term as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the government of Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith.
1911: Birthdate of biochemist William Stein. Stein won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1972. Jews have won 18% of the Nobel Prizes for Chemistry. Stein died at the age of 68 in 1980.
1912: Birthdate of “Arnold Forster, an American Jewish leader, lawyer and writer who was a longtime executive of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.”
1913: In Cincinnati, Ohio, officers are elected at the American Zionists’ convention including Harry Friedenwald of Baltimore who is chosen to serve as Honorary President and Louis Lipsky who is chosen to serve as Chairman of the Executive Committee.
1914(1stof Tammuz, 5674): Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
1914: It was reported today that the late Isidor Wormser, a retired banker and automobile racing enthusiast was a member of the New York Stock Exchange up to the day of his death having kept is seat on the NYSE even after he had liquidated his business holdings.
1915(13th of Tammuz, 5675): Hungarian born American pianist and composer Rafael Joseffy passed away.
1915: “In a long statement seeking to justify the use of asphyxiating gases in war-fare, the semi-official Wolff Telegraph Bureau assert in German newspaper…that the Allies first used such gases against the German.” According to Wolff, the French had authorized use gas in February of 1915. [Like so many other agencies of this type, its ownership had Jewish origins.]
1915: Authorities believe that yesterday’s attack on Benny Snyder at the Tombs just before he was to appear in court was brought on by those who thought that he was going to provide the D.A. with information about criminal activities he had acquired while in jail.
1917: The Italian government publishes a decree assuring that all 10,000 Lire ($2,000) of a bequest from Emilio Treves will be awarded as a prize upon publication of an Italian language manuscript to combat anti-Semitism.
1919: The first national conference of the Religious Zionist Organization, Mizrachi, opens.
1920: The Jewish Chronicle reported on a meeting of the Board of Deputies where they discussed the disposition of the Cemetery at St. Heliers.
1920: Birthdate of William H. Prusoff, a pharmacologist at the Yale School of Medicine who, with a colleague, developed an effective component in the first generation of drug cocktails used to treat AIDS,
1921: Authorities in
Syria
do not issue passes to Jews who wish to leave the country.
1921: In Newport News, VA, Mr. and Mrs. Elias Cohen gave birth to Sherman Cohen “a one-time auto dealer who, with his two brothers, built a real estate empire of more than 20 residential and commercial buildings across Manhattan…” (As reported by Charles V. Bagli)
1924: In Philadelphia, PA, Polish born actor Baruch Lumet and Mrs. Lumet gave birth to Director Sidney Lumet best known for the film Dog Day Afternoon
1928: Birthdate of Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian born physicist who now also holds American citizenship. He was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2003.
1929: Birthdate of Thomas Eisner, “a groundbreaking authority on insects whose research revealed the complex chemistry that they use to repel predators, attract mates and protect their young,Thomas Eisner, a groundbreaking authority on insects whose research revealed the complex chemistry that they use to repel predators, attract mates and protect their young,”
1930: Birthdate of Hugo Gabriel Gryn, the Czech born survivor of Auschwitz who served as the Rabbi at West London Synagogue.
1932(21st of Sivan, 5692): Herbert Bentwich passed away in Jerusalem. Born in 1856, at Whitechapel, he was a British Zionist leader and lawyer. “He was an authority on copyright law, and owner/editor of the Law Journal for many years. He was a leading member of the English Hovevei Zion and one of the first followers of Theodor Herzl in England. In 1897 Bentwich he led a group of 21, including the writer Israel Zangwill, on a tour of holy sites and new settlements in Palestine on behalf of the Maccabaeans, and in 1911 he acquired land for settlement at Gezer, near Ramleh on behalf of the Maccabean Land Company. He later succeeded his brother-in-law Solomon J. Solomon as president of the Maccabaeans. Bentwich was a founder of the British Zionist Federation in 1899 and for some time served as its vice-chairman. He was a legal adviser for the Jewish Colonial Trust. From 1916 to 1918 he served on the Zionist political advisory committee under Chaim Weizmann. Bentwich was a regular visitor to Palestine after 1921 and settled in Jerusalem in late 1929. Susannah Bentwich died in London in 1915. He was survived by ten of his eleven children, eight of whom eventually settled permanently in Palestine. His eldest son, Norman Bentwich, a leading barrister, also spent much of his professional life there, and another son, Joseph Bentwich, was awarded the Israel Prize, for education, in 1962.”
1933: Outfielder Milt Galatzer made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians.
1935: Joe Louis defeats Primo Carnera at Yankee Stadium. Neither of the fighters were Jewish. But Joe Louis’ manager Mike Jacobs was Jewish. It was under his guidance that Louis broke the “color barrier” and got his shot at being Heavy Weight Champion of the World.
1936: The Palestine Post reported that Haim Golowitzky, one of the founders of Atarot who was on his way to milk cows, was shot dead by Arab snipers, just outside his cowshed. Passengers in a Jewish bus in
Haifa
had a remarkable escape from death when they succeeded in extinguishing burning fuses in a suitcase left by an Arab passenger who jumped off their bus. British troops continued their searches and confiscated arms in Arab villages throughout the country. It was estimated that no fewer than 100,000 trees had been destroyed and another 12,000 damaged by Arabs since
April 19, 19
36
.
1938: As Arab violence flared, “a gain of terrorist entered a hospital in Haifa seeking a wounded Arab ‘traitor’ who was a patient there.” When they could not find him, “they killed another Arab patient. “A manifesto issued today by the Tel Aviv municipality called on Jews to remain calm and not resort to violence.
1938: Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the U.S. adopts a minimum wage which is set at $.40 an hour. Sidney Hillman, head of the “Amalgamated” and advisor to FDR played a key role in drafting and gaining support for this landmark legislation.
1938: German-Jewish doctors are allowed to treat only Jewish patients.
1940: France formally surrenders to Nazi Germany.
1940: As Churchill works to transfer the eleven battalions of Regular British troops from
Palestine
back to
England
so that they help defend the
British Isles
against the pending Nazi invasion, he writes to the Secretary of State for Colonies, Lord Lloyd, asking “what weapons and organization the Jews have for self-defense.” Churchill wants to arm the Jews so they can protect themselves against Arab attackers. Lloyd opposes the arming of the Jews and would rather have the British troops remain.
1941: “President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802 prohibiting government contractors from engaging in employment discrimination based on race, color or national origin. This order is the first presidential action ever taken to prevent employment discrimination by private employers holding government contracts. The Executive Order applies to all defense contractors, but contains no enforcement authority. President Roosevelt signs the Executive Order primarily to ensure that there are no strikes or demonstrations disrupting the manufacture of military supplies as the country prepares for War.” By the standards of the 21stcentury, this action might seem “weak.” But it gives us an idea of the level of bigotry which was sanctioned in the society. At the time
Roosevelt
signed this order it was considered a major step in the fight against prejudice.
1941: When 47-year-old Dr. Benjamin From, a Jewish surgeon, refuses to break off an operation on a Christian woman at
Lutsk
,
Ukraine
, Germans drag him from the hospital to his home, where he and his family are murdered.
1941: Many Jews were killed in a pogrom at
Jassy
,
Romania
. The following appears in The Tragedy of Romanian Jewry by
Randolph
L. Braham. "At the outbreak of the war, Jassy had a population of slightly over 100,000 inhabitants, approximately 50,000 of whom were Jews. The city was very close to the frontier with the
Soviet Union
, and even before launching the anti-Soviet war on
June 22, 1941
, a number of secret anti-Semitic measures had been initiated in
Romania
. Between June 20 and 26 the Jews of Jassy were forced to dig two large mass graves in the Pacurari Jewish cemetery. About the same time, the Soviet air force bombed Jassy twice, the second time inflicting serious damage. The rumor spread that Soviet paratroopers were active throughout the city and that these paratroopers were being given shelter by the Jews. On the morning of
29 June, 1941
, Jews were formed into columns and marched from Tatarasi, Pacurari, Sararie, and Nicolina Streets to police headquarters. Most of the prisoners were men but among them were also some women with children. Some were dressed, others were in their night clothes many had been beaten and had bruises and open wounds. Civilian onlookers as well as soldiers and gendarmes, Romanian and German spat at them and hit them with stones, broken bottles, clubs, crowbars and rifle butts. Civilians joined the police and the military in dragging Jews out of their homes. All told, thousands of Jews were herded into the courtyard of the Jassy police headquarters. In another report, addressed to the Minister of the Interior, Lieutenant-Colonel Chirlovici, reported 1,000 Jewish prisoners at
9:00 a.m.
and 5,000 by nightfall. He stated that at
noon
there were 3,500 Jews in the courtyard. At about
1:30 PM
German soldiers and Romanian gendarmes and soldiers surrounded police headquarters and an area close by. At about
2:00 p.m.
, the German and Romanian soldiers began to fire directly into the crowds; they were joined by some civilians. They used machine-guns, automatic weapons, or rifles. Crazed with terror some Jews tore down the fence of the courtyard and tried to take refuge near the Sidoli cinema ... They too were mowed down without mercy. The massacre continued intermittently until
6:00 p.m.
It is difficult to establish the number of victims of the massacre at police headquarters. Four trucks and 24 carts transported the corpses; it took two whole days to move them. Approximately 2,500 Jews survived the massacre in the police headquarters courtyard. At about
8:00 p.m.
the process of getting them to the railroad station began. Two thousand five hundred Jews were herded were herded into freight cars. The train left Jassy on
June 30, 1941
between
3:30
and
4:15 a.m.
At about
4:00 a.m.
the same morning, a second group of approximately 1,900 Jews to be evacuated were rounded up at police headquarters. Two death trains left Jassy between
3:30
and
4:15 a.m.
on
Monday, June 30, 1941
. The first one ... consisted of from 33 to 38 sealed freight cars and contained between 2,430 and 2,530 Jews. When the train was emptied there were 1,076 survivors.]The history of the second car is ... equally horrifying. On
June 30, 1941
at about
6:00 A.M.
, 1,902 Jews were loaded onto a second train comprising 18 cars. Of the 1,902 Jews put on the train, 1,194 died and were buried in the Podul Iloaei cemetery. The total number of victims of the Jassy pogrom cannot be established with certainty. While the number of victims on the trains is known and relatively accurate, it is not known how many Jews in Jassy were buried in communal graves, how many such graves there were, and how many corpses were simply thrown onto garbage heaps or into the Bahlui River. German diplomats estimated at least 4,000 victims... The most reliable source seems to be documents from the archives of the Romanian Ministry of the Interior which ... place the number at over 8,000."
1941 (30th of Sivan, 5701): Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
1941 (30th of Sivan, 5701): In the town of Luck, Poland, Dr. Benjamin From aged forty-seven refused to stop his operation, so he was dragged out of operating room, taken to his home and killed with his entire family.
1941 (30th of Sivan, 5701): In Jedwabne, Poland, local Polish citizenry begin a pogrom aimed at the Jews living in the town.
1942: An article in the London Daily Telegraph reports, "More than 700,000 Polish Jews have been slaughtered by the Germans in the greatest massacres in the world's history."
1943: Crematorium
III
at
Auschwitz
begins operation. Also, Otto Ben, from the Foreign Ministry reports that the “100,000th Jews has been removed from Dutch Society.”
1943: The Germans began the final destruction of the people living in the Czestochowa Ghetto. The Jews put up armed resistance in a series of bunkers.
Czestochowa
is located in
Poland
and is famous as the home of the "Black Madonna."
1945: Birthdate of singer and songwriter Carley Simon who recorded “You’re So Vain” among other hits
1947: The Diary of Anne Frankis published.
1948: Birthdate of Brooklyn-born actor and television director Michael Lembeck
1948: Warner Bros. released “Romance on the High Seas” a musical comedy written by Julius and Philip G. Epstein with additional dialogue proved by I.A.L. Diamond today.
1950: Birthdate of Israeli actress Nitza Saul.
1950: The beginning of the Korean War, with the invasion of the South by the North. Jews fought in the Korean War just as they had in every war since the call to arms went out in 1775. See http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/sugar10.html for a partial list of those who served. In an article entitled “Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in North Korea, 1951, Remembered,” Warren Zundell, MD (Captain, 11th Evacuation Hospital SMBL, 10th Corp. 8th Army, Korea) provides us with a glimpse of what it was like during what some derisively called a “police action.”
These evenings occurred years ago, but every Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, they return as vividly as if they happened last year.In May, 1951, my hospital unit was transported from Sasebo, Japan to Pusan, Korea. I was on the Orthopedic Surgery Team. Five months later, on the day before Rosh Hashanah, our hospital Chaplain (a Catholic priest), asked me if I was planning to attend services the next day, being conducted some 40 or 50 miles north of our location, just over the 36th parallel, in North Korea. We were in Wonju, South Korea. I knew the Rabbi who was to conduct the services, as he would visit our hospital from time to time. Knowing this would be a 40 or 50 mile trek through sniper-infested mountains, I answered negatively, even though I knew that the Rabbi might be disappointed. The following conversation then ensued:
Chaplain: You have to go.
Me: Why do I have to go?
Chaplain: There are about 30 Jewish boys around here who want to go.
Me: So let them go.
Chaplain: An Officer has to go to be in charge of the convoy.
Me: Why me? I am a Doctor.
Chaplain: You are the only Jewish Officer in this hospital, so you go. He was a Major, I was a Captain. I think he was giving me a direct order. He then informed me that he would lend me his jeep in which to head the convoy of trucks. It had a big white cross on the front hood, which he implied would protect us from sniper fire. He didn’t say anything about land mines. That afternoon we assembled the convoy and headed North. It may have been the first all-Jewish convoy in the history of Korea. As Jews, we were not fully convinced that the white cross would totally protect us from sniper fire. We were therefore well-armed. A few uneventful hours later we crossed the 38th parallel into North Korea. We were making Jewish history. Soon we checked into 10th Corp. HW. The Rabbi (Major Meir Engle) seemed happy to see us. The next day was Rosh Hashanah. We had a big tent in which to hold services. There were about 300 Jewish boys attending, including my 30. I was proud to be there. After services we reassembled our convoy and returned to our hospital, without incident. When Yom Kippur came, I was called upon by the Chaplain again. I didn’t want to push my luck, with a baby daughter back home whom I had never seen. Nevertheless, I soon found myself in the same Jewish convoy. But between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, there had been heavy fighting on the 10th Corp. Front. Instead of 300 Jewish boys attending Yom Kippur services, there were less than 150. Korea is now referred to as the "Forgotten War". What it really means is that this country has literally forgotten the more than 34,000 Americans who died there, including those Jewish boys who died between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the year 1951."
Korea also presented the newly independent state of Israel with one of its first great foreign policy challenges not directly related to the Middle East or its own immediate survival. Israel’s shifting policy, as described below, demonstrated how quickly conflict in the Middle East and conflict in the Far East were joined together because of the Cold War. The shift also resulted, in part, from the Soviet Union’s change of policy towards Israel. Stalin’s smile quickly turned sour, while Harry Truman’s never did. “Israel's foreign policy underwent a change during the Korean War. In the first two years after its establishment, Israel maintained a stance of nonalignment. However, it became clear from the anti-Jewish attitude of the Communist bloc and especially Joseph Stalin that strengthening relations with the United States was the only way to safeguard Israel's continued existence and long-term interests. Both Israel's foreign and domestic policy during the Korean War reflected a growing U.S. influence, which has only deepened with time. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion went one step further during the Korean War when he suggested that an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit be sent to join the UN forces fighting North Korea and the Chinese volunteers. A debate broke out in Israel over whether it should provide support to U.S. and UN policies given that Washington had made no such request. The leading opponent of sending an IDF unit was the political party Mapam, which was part of the governing coalition and openly favored North Korea. With the Achdut Ha'Avoda party, another member of the coalition, also against the measure, the government decided to limit its assistance to medical aid and food shipments. In addition, Israel lent political support during the UN deliberations on whether its troops should cross the 38th parallel northward. In February 1951, the UN General Assembly condemned China as the aggressor and placed a boycott on certain strategic supplies to China. Here, too, Israel continued to side with the United States, the United Nations, and South Korea, though formal diplomatic ties with the latter were still more than a decade away. From the 1951 ideological debate between the Israeli parties until 1960, there were no initiatives on the question of relations with South Korea.”
1950: Israeli airline El Al began service. Anybody who has ever flown El Al to
Israel
knows there is flying and then there is flying El Al. As an early target of terrorist, El Al adopted policies that have made it the safest airline in the world. Its anti-terrorist practices have served as a model for other air