This Day, January 13, In Jewish History by Mitchell A.

Levin
519 BCE: Darius had a crown made for Zerubbabel out of gold sent by Jews in Babylon. 915:
Birthdate of Al-Hakam II, the second Caliph of Cordoba from 961 to 976 whose subjects included
Hasdai ibn Shaprut and Enoch Ben Moses both of whom were leaders of the Jewish community in
Andalusia. 1151: Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis who in 1122 was granted five houses belonging to Jews
in Tours by King Louis VI, passed away today. 1334: Birthdate of King Henry II of Castile who was
arguably the first ruler since the Visigothic King Ergica to utilize opposition to Jewish activities in
Iberian Peninsula as part of his policy. 1435: Pope Eugene IV, who would issue an edict prohibiting:
building of synagogues, money-lending for interest, holding public office, testifying against
Christians, issued Sicut Dubum, a bull banning the enslavement of inhabitants of the Canary Islands
who had converted to Christianity. Both measures had the same purpose the growth of Christianity
at all costs. 1505: Birthdate of Joachim II Hector the Elector of Brandenburg who allowed the Jews
to return to his realm after he was told that the charges of host desecration that had led to their
expulsion were false. 1546(10th of Shevat): The responsa of Rabbi Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi were
printed for the first time in Rome 1625: John Milton, author of Paradise Lost is admitted to Christ's
College, Cambridge at the age of 16. During Miltons lifetime, Jews were still officially not allowed to
settle in the British Isles. Like many Puritans living in the England of Oliver Cromwell, Milton saw a
connection between his brand of Christianity and the Israelites. Until his eyes weakened, he read the
Hebrew Bible on a daily basis and expressed a positive view of Mosaic Law. Milton was a politician
as well as a poet. He served as a secretary to Oliver Cromwell and, according to one of his
biographers, was part of the group who negotiated for the return of the Jewish community to
England. 1635: Birthdate of German Protestant theologian Philipp Jakob Spencer who differed with
Lutherans on two major points one of which their belief that the conversion of the Jews was a
required prelude to the triumph of the church. 1691: George Fox, the founder of the Religious
Society of Friends (Quakers) who probably never met a Jew but who believed that the Jews were
descendants of the Pharisees and caused the death of Jews passed away today. 1733: James
Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrive in Charleston, South Carolina on their way to found the colony
of Georgia. The first Jews would arrive in Georgia with the second boatload of colonists who will
arrive in July of 1733. 1754(19thof Tevet, 5514): Jacob ayyim de Fonseca, the Hamburg born son of
Joseph de Fonseca, who earned a medical degree from Leyden University passed away today. 1773:
In Mackinac, Marie Elizabeth Louise Dubois and Ezekiel Solomons gave birth to Sophie Solomons
1777: During the American Revolution, Lewis Bush, a Jew from Philadelphia, was transferred from
the 6th Pennsylvania Battalion to Colonel Thomas Hartleys Additional Continental Regiment. 1778:
Birthdate of Sir Isaac Goldsmid. A Sephardic Jew, Goldsmid was a prominent London banker who
was a founder of the University of London. He passed away in 1859. 1797: Birthdate of Emanuel
Schwab the native of Roedelheim, Germany who married Sophie Hirsch in 1862 and served as a
rabbi for congregations in Schenectady, New York and Bridgeport, CT. 1803: Birthdate of Dr.
Nathan Marcus Adler, Chief Rabbi of the British Empire and one of the most prominent Jewish
clerics of the 19th century. 1807 (4th of Shevat, 5567): Reb Moshe Leib of Sassov passed away. Born
in 1745, Rav Moshe Leib was a disciple of Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg, who was in turn a disciple
of the Maggid of Mezeritch. As the many stories about his life demonstrate, Rav Moshe was
committed to all three forms of love as enumerated by the Baal Shem Tov: love of God, love of Torah
and love of Israel. 1810: Birthdate of Ernestine Louise Polowsky, the daughter of a wealthy Polish
rabbi who gained fame as Ernestine Louise Rose, the American feminist and abolitionist. 1814:
Birthdate of Michael H. Godefroi, the native of Amsterdam and Dutch minister of justice who was
the first of his people to fill a cabinet position in Holland. 1818: Birthdate of Abraham Stein, the
Prussian born rabbi who became the leader of the Meisel Synagogue at Prague when in 1864 it was
changed to a modern temple with choir, organ and sermon. 1821: In London, an unnamed visitor

came to the Exchange and reported to Mr. Rothschild that he was the intended victim of an
assassination plot, one possibly being hatched in Austria. Rothschild gave no credence to the threat
and was prepared to let the man depart. Others insisted that he be held. He was taken into custody,
questioned by authorities and then released. The name of the informant has not been made public.
1825: Prior to his death Czar Alexander I expelled all the Jews from Mohilev and Vitebsk. 1830:
When the Great Fire began in New Orleans today, the Jewish community numbered little more than
thirty members but had already formed a congregation, Shaarai Chesed (Gates of Mercy), under the
direction of Jacob Solis. 1847: Birthdate of Morris Rich, founder of Atlantas Richs Department Store.
1854(13th of Tevet, 5614): Judah Touro passed away. A native of Newport, Rhode, Island born in the
same year as Lexington & Concord, Touro spent most of his adult life in New Orleans where he was
a successful businessman and real estate investor. Touro also took part in the citys signature event
serving as a volunteer with Andrew Jacksons forces that defeated the British in 1815. Touro was one
of the great philanthropists of his time. Beneficiaries of his generosity included Touro Infirmary in
New Orleans, The Bunker Hill (MA) Monument Fund and a residential settlement and almshouse in
Jerusalem 1858: In Charleston, SC, Rabbi Henry Jacobs officiated at the marriage of Joseph Heilbrun
of Baltimore to Lizzie L. Sommers. 1873: It was reported today that the London Jewish Chronicle has
published a story about the murder of a Russian Jewish family. Two laborers ordered brandy from
Jewish innkeeper and then refused to pay for their drinks. They became abusive and eventually were
forced to leave the tavern. Later that night, he innkeeper, his wife, his children and his brother were
awakened by cries of fire. When they ran outside they were attacked by a mob of eight people
including the two laborers. The mob ransacked the inn, set fire to the building and then threw the
Jews in. They all burned to death except for a 12 year old boy who escaped into the woods. 1873: It
was reported today that President Grant has instructed all United States ministers to inform the
governments to which they are accredited that the U.S. has taken a deep interest in the Jews of
Romania and would expect these governments to do what they can to intervene on behalf of this
persecuted minority. Benjamin Franklin Peixotto, the American-Jew who is the U.S. Consul at
Bucharest expressed his pleasure with the American governments intervention. [This would be
another example of the bogus charge that President Grant was an anti-Semite.] 1876(16th of Tevet,
5636): ayyim Lb ben Hirsch Katzenellenbogen who followed in his fathers footsteps as the head of
the rabbinical school in Vilna which closed in 1873 leaving him destitute passed away today. 1877:
Rustic Wedding Symphony, Op. 26 (Lndliche Hochzeit) a symphony in E flat major by Karl Goldmark
was performed for the first time in the United States at a New York Philharmonic Society concert.
1877: It was reported today that Lord Beaconsfield who celebrated his 71stbirthday on December 27
is now utterly enfeebled and exhausted and reduced to a condition of intellectual decrepitude by the
strains of office. 1878: The Young Mens Hebrew Association of Newark, NJ, held its first meeting
this afternoon. The 172 members elected the following officers: President Frank Marx; Vice
President Leopold Harzfeld; Recording Secretary Oscar Wiener; Financial Secretary Edward
Hirschler; Treasurer Joseph Goetz. The members voted to raise $2,000 by issuing 400 shares of
stock at $5 a share. 1878: It was reported today that David Rosenberg of Columbus, Ohio whom it is
assumed is a Jew has issued a call for a national convention of all Israelites who are now willing to
accept Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah of the world. The Jews promptly repudiated the man
and his scheme. 1878: It was reported today that The Jewish Messenger sees the present tendency
to break down the barriers of synagognism and replace it with a brotherhood of synagogues as one
of the most promising features of the Jewish-American landscape. 1879: In Kiev, Herman Panken
and Feiga Berman Panken, who after moving to New York in 1890 eventually became an organizer
of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, a member of the Socialist Party and a municipal
judge. 1879: It was reported today that Thomas D. Conygham, the forger who swindled the people of
Wilkes-Barre, PA out of $250,000 before fleeing the country was in turn the victim of a swindle
perpetrated by Lazarus, a Sephardic Jew who conned him out of $70,000 in Haiti. 1882: The second
of two articles by Joseph Jacobs which provided an account of the persecution of the Jews in Russia
appeared in The Times of London. 1882: In Paris, Adolphe and Nomie Bloch gave birth to Darius

Paul Bloch dit Dassault. 1882: The Louisville Courier published an account of the final disposition of
the Confederate bullion in which Captain M.H. Clark that before reaching Washington, Georgia, he
was halted by Major Raphael J. Moses, the member of an old Southern Jewish family to whom he
turned over all of the wagons filled with silver bullion as order by President Davis so that it might be
used to feed the paroled soldiers to keep them from stripping the area of supplies. 1883: De Witt J.
(David) Seligman and Addie Seligman gave birth to Alma Seligman who became Alma Hochstadter
when she married Walter Hoschstadter. 1884: Birthdate of Sophie Tucker, last of the Red Hot
Momma. The daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Tucker exploited her size and loud voice to
fashion a successful career in vaudeville, burlesque and night clubs. She used part of her fortune to
endow a chair at Brandeis University. She passed away in 1966. 1884: The Hebrew Technical
Institute elected the following as its first slate of officers: President- James Hoffman; Vice President
Leo Schlesinger; Treasurer David L. Einhorn; Secretary M.A. Kursheedt. 1886: In a small village
near Minsk, Brokhe Tsharni (ne Hurwitz) and Zev Volf, a fervent Lubavitcher gave birth to Baruch
Charney Vladeck who gained famed as Baruch Nachman Charney, an American Jewish Labor Leader
and manger of the Jewish Daily Forward 1890: It was reported today that the Hebrew Technical
Institute is currently 120 pupils who are supported by the efforts of 557 patrons and members. 1890:
It was reported today that Harmony Club, a Jewish social club, suffered 3,000 in damages as a result
of the cyclone that recently struck St. Louis, MO. 1891(4th of Shevat, 5651): Ninety year old Anton
Ree the son of a Jewish banker who served as director at the Jewish Free School who was elected to
the Hamburg Constituent Assembly where he worked as an advocate for Jewish Emancipation
passed away today. 1891: A ship carrying five hundred Jewish men, women and children who were
all from Russia, arrived at Dover, UK 1891: It was reported today that the Hebrew Benevolent
Society and the Sanitarium for Hebrew Children were among the charities named to receive
bequests in the will of the late Emma Abbot Wetherwall who was not Jewish. 1891: Objects To
Working Saturday described the objections that Judge Joseph E. Newberger, an Orthodox Jew has
raised to hearing matters on Saturday morning. While at least one of his colleagues has agreed to
cover for him, Chief Justice Ehrlich responded by saying that Newberger should have considered
this before running for election. 1892: Second day of a three day celebration marking opening of the
Jewish Maternity Association's facility in Philadelphia, PA 1892: Charles Spurgeon, a leading British
Baptist minister was quoted today as expressing his displeasure with the Russian treatment of her
Jewish citizens. If I had all the health and strength that could fall to the lot of man, I should be quite
unable to express my feelings on reading of Russia intolerance of the JewsThe Czar is greatly
injuring his own country by driving out Gods ancient people. No country can trample upon Israel
with impunity 1892: It was reported today that the annual expenses for the Hebrew Sheltering
Guardian Society for the fiscal year ending October 1, 1891 were in excess of $92,000,000. The
expenditures included part of the payment for the societys new building. (More 2014) 1893:
Birthdate of Chaim Sutin, the native of Belarus who gained fame as French painter Cahim Soutine.
He owed part of his success to the support of Paul Guilluam, the French art dealer who championed
the works of another Jewish artist, Amedeo Modigliani. 1893(25thof Tevet, 5653): Russian
biographer Israel Tobiah Eisenstadt a descendant of Tobiah Bacharach and Israel ben Shalom, who
were executed in 1659 on charges of ritual murder passed away today in St. Petersburg. 1894: Sixtyseven year old William Waddington who as French Foreign minister in 1879 supported Laurence
Oliphants plan for large scale Jewish settlement in Palestine passed away today. 1894: Adolph L.
Sanger lost in his bid to be elected President of the Board of Education in New York City. 1895:
English author and historian Sir John Robert Seely, author of Ecce Homo and Natural Religion
passed away. He believed that the Hebrew Scriptures express in poetic forthe spirit of modern
science 1896: It was reported that a course in Hebrew will be offered by New York University as one
of its summer school offerings starting this July. 1896(27thof Tevet, 5656): Sixty-seven year old
businessman, philanthropist and patron of the arts Seilg Meier Goldschmidt passed away today in
Frankfurt, Germany. *When his children urged Selig Goldschmidt to retire from business, he replied
"This is impossible for me. There may well be enough to live on, both for you and myself, but I must

certainly continue to work for my poor people, because for them I need a great deal of Maaser."
1896: Dr. Cohen On Judaism A Force: published today includes Dr. Cohens message that the wealthy
Jewish merchants of Philadelphiabuilt large temples, patronized the arts and sciences and were
charitablebut was there one among them who paid his employees liberally? In Philadelphia, as in
other cities he knew of clothing fortunes that had been built from the blood of the poor Russian Jews
1898: Emile Zola published "J'Accuse." This famous letter appeared in Clemenceau's paper L'Aurore.
Zola was a supporter of Alfred Dreyfus and the letter condemned the French establishment for
wrongly convicting Dreyfus. (The Clemenceau mentioned above is the same Clemenceau who led
France to victory in World War I.) 1898: Auguste Scheurer-Kestner failed to convince his colleagues
in the Senate to join with him in the battle for rehabilitation of Captain Dreyfus 1898(19th of Tevet,
5658): Eighty-one year old Talmudist and Biblical commentator Yehoshua Yehudah Leib Diskin also
known as the Maharil Diskin, who established the Diskin Orphanage in Jerusalem and the Ohel
Moshe (Tent of Moses) Yeishiva passed away today. 1899: Magistrate Sims is scheduled to hear a
case in which Mrs. Esther Wallenstein, President of the Hebrew Infant Asylum, has brought charges
of trespass against the builders working on the asylums building. She is represented by Maurice
Untermyer. 1899: It was reported today that Liebler & Company are committed to producing a
dramatization of Israel Zangwills Children of the Ghetto which will be produced at the Herald
Square Theatre starting in October. The theatrical company has accepted the scenario he presented
and the Jewish author is now working on a multi-act treatment. 1902: In Chicago, wealthy shoe
manufacturer Emmanual Rosenbaum and his wife gave birth to bronze medal winning shot putter
Maud Rosenbaum who married Baron Giacomo Giorgio Levi in 1927 and after getting a divorce
married H. Walter Blumenthal in 1935. 1903: Herzl begins the preparations for the meetings with
the Foreign Ministry and with Lord Rothschild. 1904(25th of Tevet, 5664): Leo Napoleon Levi, a
lawyer and one of the first Jews from Texas to gain national recognition, died of a heart attack. He
was born in 1856 in Victoria, TX. At age sixteen he enrolled at the University of Virginia in
Charlottesville, where he received the medal for being the best university debater and at age twenty
received his law degree. He married Ray Bachrach, and they had six children. He settled in
Galveston and became associated with the law firm Flournoy and Scott in 1876; later he became a
partner in Scott, Levi, and Smith. Levi was a well-known orator, and officials at the University of
Texas invited him to give the commencement address in June 1899. The Independent Order of B'nai
B'rith published this speech and others by Levi in a book in 1905. In 1887 Levi was elected president
of Temple B'nai Israel, and the next year he brought Rabbi Henry Cohen to Texas. Levi retained the
presidency for twelve years. In Galveston he joined the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, a Jewish
fraternal organization, and was elected president of District Seven, which comprised seven Southern
states. In 1900 Levi was elected national president of the IOBB. That same year he moved to New
York City to pursue his work with B'nai B'rith. As president of B'nai B'rith, Levi he sent a petition to
Czar Nicholas II, after the massacre at Kishinev, that demanded Russians stop abusing Jews.
Secretary of State John Hay signed the Kishinev petition, and President Theodore Roosevelt
endorsed it. 1904(N.S): Birthdate of Nathan Mironovich Milstein) a Russian-born American virtuoso
violinist. 1907: A new building, which resulted from the remodeling of two townhouses opened today
for the use of Congregation Orach Chaim. 1908: The Times of London published the obituary for
Major General Sir Frederic John Goldsmid who passed away yesterday without mentioning the fact
that his family was Jewish. 1912:Centenary celebration of the birth of Dr. Liebman Adler. Adler
began his career in Germany as a public school teacher and cantor at a local synagogue. He moved
to Detroit Michigan in 1854 where he served as rabbi and cantor at Congregation Bethel. Adler was
the father of famed architect Dankmar Adler. The younger Adlers mother died in childbirth so the
father named him Dank (thanks), Mar (bitter). Liebman Adler moved to Chicago in 1861 when he
was named rabbi of Kehilath Anshe Ma'ariv Synagogue. Dankmar would build a new synagogue
before his father passed away in 1891. 1915: Winston Churchill presented plans for an assault on the
Dardanelles. This plan would come to be known as the ill-fated Gallipoli Campaign. If the campaign
had succeeded, Turkey would have been knocked out World War I. Russia would have been re-

supplied meaning no Russian Revolution. The stalemate on the Western Front would have ended and
World War I would have ended without the United States joining the fray. But the campaign failed
which ironically had a positive effect on one small aspect of Jewish history. Gallipoli consumed a
great deal of Allied manpower. In desperation, the British were even willing to use an-all Jewish unit
called the Zion Mule Corps. The corps acquitted itself with valor and honor, making it possible for
the British to create an all Jewish combat unit that saw service under Allenby in the fight against the
Turks in Palestine. 1915: The London Chronicle editorially suggested today that America may
eventually be called upon to exercise a sort of suzerainty over Palestine. 1915: Hyman G. Enelow,
Louis Marshall, the Chairman of the American Jewish Relief Committee and Meyer London, the only
Socialist elected to Congress last November are scheduled to address a mass meeting this evening a
Temple Emanu-El where they will tell the consequences of the war upon 7,000,000 Jews of Europe
and Palestine. 1915: Louis Marshall, the Chairman of the American Jewish Relief Committee today
deplored what he termed the failure of the Jews of America, particularly in New York, t realize the
terrible calamity that has overtaken the millions of Jews whose home are in the eastern theatre of
the European war. 1916: Birthdate of Bella Lewitzky, founder of the internationally acclaimed Bella
Lewitzky Dance Company. When she appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee,
Lewitzky declined to testify saying, I am a dancer, not a singer. 1916: The note that accompanied
violinist Mischa Elmans check in the amount of $5,869.94 for the Jews of Europe which was
published today read Inclosed please find check for the receipts from the benefit concert which I had
the pleasure of giving for the Jewish war sufferers. I cannot tell you what pleasure it gives me to
able to donate this amount to this cause. 1916: It was reported today that President Wilsons
proclamation concerning a day set aside for raising funds for the Jews of Europe included the
announcement that Contributions for that purpose may be addressed to the American Red Cross in
Washington, D.C. which will take care of their proper distribution. 1917: An early step towards the
founding of UFA, the German film production company whose original owners included Hermann
Frenkel, was taken today with the creation of the Bild- und Filmamt (Bufa) by Germany's Supreme
Army Command. 1917: The midwinter dance of the junior workers of the New York Guild for the
Jewish Blind is scheduled to be held at the Plaza Hotel this evening. 1917: In Manhattan, The First
Hungarian Congregation Ohab`Zedak offered prayers of special thanksgiving for the life and works
of Jacob Schiff who had just turned seventy. 1917: During services at Temple Israel in Harlem, Rabbi
M.H. Harris paid tribute to Jacob Schiff. 1922: Today, Nahum Sokolow, President of the Executive
Committee of the World Zionist organization, who is visiting the United States as the head of a
European delegation of Zionist leaders, met with U.S. President Warren G. Harding. 1924: In
Philadelphia, Sol and Rae Breslow gave birth to Lillian Breslow who gained fame as Lillian B. Rubin,
a sociologist and psychotherapist who wrote a series of popular books about the crippling effects of
gender and class norms on human potential. (As reported by Paul Vitello) 1926: Birthdate of author
and feminist Carolyn Gold Heilbrun. 1927: Birthdate of British born biologist Sydney Brenner. He
shared the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with H. Robert Horvitz and John Sulston.
1929: Wyatt Earp, Western legend, passed away. Earp was not Jewish. But his wife was and she
conspired to have him buried in a Jewish cemetery. This gave rise to erroneous rumor that Earp had
converted before his death. 1931: Allie Schukman scored eight points and Max Posnack scored
another seven as St. Johns beat L.I.U. for the fourth year in a row. (As reported by Wechsler) 1935:
Germany regains control of a valuable resource as the Saar rejoins the Reich following a plebiscite
conducted by the League of Nations. 1936(18th of Tevet, 5696): Samuel Lionel "Roxy" Rothafel
passed away. Born in 1882 at Stillwater, Minnesota was a showman of the 1920s silent film era and
the impresario for many of the great New York movie palaces that he managed such as the Strand,
Rialto, Rivoli, Capitol, and his eponymous Roxy Theatre in New York City He also opened Radio City
Music Hall in 1932, which featured the precision dance troupe, the "Roxyettes", later renamed the
Rockettes. Roxy also made a name for himself on radio, where he began broadcasting in midNovember 1922, and throughout the 1920s, his live broadcasts from the Capitol Theatre became
increasingly popular. One estimate from 1924 placed his typical radio audience at about five million

listeners, and he was said to receive thousands of pieces of fan mail weekly. (His weekly variety
show, "Roxy and His Gang," was later heard on the NBC Blue network, by that time broadcasting
from the Roxy Theatre. Rothafel has been credited with many movie presentation innovations,
including synchronizing orchestral music to movies (in the silent film era) and having multiple
projectors to effect seamless reel changes. The book The Best Remaining Seats by Ben Hall (1961),
gives a good overview of the movie palaces of the 1920s and, specifically, of Roxy himself. Rothafel
is buried in Linden Hill Jewish Cemetery in Queens, New York. 1936: It was announced today that
the annual donor luncheon of the Womens League will be held at the Waldorf Astoria on January 15,
1936. Proceeds from the event will be used to pay for the completion of a facility being built in Tel
Aviv for female refugees fleeing Hitlers Germany. 1938: The Palestine Post reported on the opening
of the Rockefeller archeological museum in Jerusalem, founded by John Rockefeller and named in his
honor. The museum's permanent exhibition revealed the history of mankind as recorded in local
archeological finds. No festive opening ceremony took place, due to the tragic murder of
archeologist John Starkey. 1938: The Palestine Post reported that Jewish buses were shot at in Haifa
and there were various shooting incidents in Jerusalem. 1938: An article in The Palestine Postquoted
extensively from the London's Financial Times, which reviewed the hopeless position of over five
million Jews in Central and Eastern Europe, denied the means of existence or possible emigration.
The report concluded that "it seemed too much to hope in the present state of the world that a
political and economic effort will be made to stop this tragedy." 1938(11th of Shevat, 5698): Albert
Ottinger, the former New York State Attorney General who was the Republican candidate for
governor defeated by FDR in 1928 passed away today at the age of 59. He used his governmental
positions to fight corruption and prosecuted those responsible for perpetrating frauds in the
financial services industry. He was responsible for the introduction of voting machines. Ottinger was
also active in Jewish communal affairs. [Many younger readers may be surprised to find out that the
Republican Party in New York had a history of using government to protect the citizens from abuses
by rapacious and/or crooked capitalists.] 1941: James Joyce passed away. His most famous novel,
Ulysses, featured a Jewish protagonist, Leopold Bloom. 1941: Governor Herbert H. Lehman
appointed Philip M. Kleinfeld to the New York Supreme Court. 1942: The deportation of 10,000 Jews
from Lodz began at the rate of 700 a day. They are all sent to Chelmno to be gassed. Nine transports
of about 90 people each were buried in Chelmno. Five of the nine men unloading the corpses were
shot when the day was done. 1943: The German Foreign Minister, Ribbentrop, warned Italians that
they would permit Jews to live in areas under German rule until March 31. After that time, "the
Government won't be able to make any exceptions." In other words, Italian Jews would now become
candidates for the Final Solution. 1943: Fifteen hundred Jews are deported from Radom, Poland, to
Treblinka. 1944:Two United States Treasury Department officials--Josiah DuBois and Randolph Paul-threaten to resign and make public the report on their investigation into the State Department's
scandalous activities in regard to the Jews. The report is originally entitled "Report to the Secretary
[of the Treasury] on the Acquiescence of This Government in the Murder of the Jews." The report
indicts officials of the State Department for their "willful attempts to prevent action from being
taken to rescue Jews from Hitler." "They have not only failed to use the governmental machinery at
their disposal to rescue Jews from Hitler, but have even gone so far as to use this governmental
machinery to prevent rescue of the Jews. 1944: The Sosnowiec labor camp, which had been
established on the site of the Srodula ghetto was liquidated today and its prisoners sent to
Auschwitz. 1948 (2nd of Shevat, 5708): Solomon Mikhoels was killed by the secret police under
Stalin's orders, as part of a campaign to eradicate Jewish intellectualism and culture. Born in 1890,
Mikhoels was a leading Russian and Yiddish actor famed for his roles as Tevye and King Lear.
During the war he had tried to win support for the Russian war effort by touring England and the
United States. 1948: In attempt to secure the road to Mt. Scopus, site of Hadassah Hospital, the
Haganah launched an attack on Sheikh Jarrah. Having dislodged the Arab gunmen from the area,
the Jews were forced to hand it over to the British who promised not to permit armed Arabs into the
area. Within forty eight hours, the British gave it back to the Arabs. 1949: Birthdate of television

executive,Brandon Tartikoff. 1949: Boris Abramovich Shimelivoich the Russian poet and
revolutionary who was part of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee was arrested during one of Stalins
purges which would lead to his execution in 1952. 1950: Los Angeles premiere of Samson and Deliah
with a script co-authored by Jesse Lasky, Jr. based on a work by Vladimir Jabotinsky starring Hedy
Lamar as the Biblical temptress. 1953: An article published today in Pravdatouched off a wave of
virulent anti-Semitism throughout Russia. 1953: The Jerusalem Post reported that the losses due to
drought in the Negev topped $3 million. The heavy rain came too late, and not a drop fell in the
Migdal-Ashkelon-Safieh region, where the loss was over IL 10m. 1954: In Johannesburg, Joy and
Godfrey Rabinowitz gave birth to Trevor Rabinowitz, the South African native best known as a writer
and guitarist for the band Yes. who changed his name from Rabinowitz to Rabin and was raised in a
Reform household. He grew up observing Shabbat and singing in his synagogue choir, and despite
the name change, he has never really left Judaism. In 2004, he told the San Diego Jewish journal that
it helps to be a Jew in the world of rock and roll, because so many other musicians are also MOT.
Indeed, Rabin wasn't the only Jew affiliated with Yes--their manager, Brian Lane, was born Harvey
Freed. 1958: Shlomo-Yisrael Ben-Meir began serving Deputy Minister of Welfare. 1961: William
Louis-Dreyfus and Julia Bowles gave birth to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the actress who played Elaine on
the television hit Seinfeld. 1962: After 400 performances, the curtain came down on the original
Broadway production of Jule Stynes musical Do Re Mi starring Phil Silvers and featuring Al Lewis.
1966 In Tel Aviv, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and his wife gave birth to Rabbi David Baruch Lau. 1966:
Abba Eban becomes the third Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel. 1967: Birthdate of Maria
Alexandrovna Gessen the Russian born journalist who gained game as Masha Gessen. 1968: At the
Martin Beck Theatre after 293 performances and 22 previews the curtain came down on the original
Broadway production of Hallelujah, Baby!, a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Adolph
Green and Betty Comden, and a book by Arthur Laurents 1972: The Cowboys directed and produced
by Mark Rydell with a screenplay co-authored by Irving Ravetch was released today in the United
States by Warner Bros. (Editors Note: Based on decades of experience, in my humble opinion, this is
one of the best western movies ever made a must see film.) 1974(19th of Tevet, 5734): Sholom
Secunda passed away. Born in 1894 at Oleksandriia, he was a Jewish composer, born in Ukraine and
educated in the United States. He wrote the melody for the popular song "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" in
1932. Together with Aaron Zeitlin he wrote the famous Yiddish song "Dos kelbl (The Calf)" (also
known as "Donna Donna") which was covered by many musicians, including Donovan and Joan Baez.
Along with Abraham Ellstein, Joseph Rumshinsky, and Alexander Olshanetsky, he was one of the "big
four" composers of his era in New York City's Second Avenue Yiddish theatre scene 1974: A Gallup
poll on religious worship showed that fewer Protestants and Roman Catholics were attending weekly
services than ten years earlier, but that attendance at Jewish worship services had increased over
the same period. 1978: The Jerusalem Post published an exclusive interview with President Anwar
Sadat of Egypt, who agreed that Israel needed security, but could not keep Arab land. Sadat
proposed mutual security measures for the West Bank and Sinai. He promised to build a "triple
shrine" a mosque, a synagogue and a church at the top of Jebel Musa, Mount Sinai, where according
to tradition Moses received the Ten Commandments. 1978: Former Vice President Hubert H.
Humphrey passed away in Waverly, Minnesota, at age 66. As mayor of Minneapolis and Senator
from Minnesota was champion of the underdog and fighter for civil rights. These policies made him
popular with Jewish voters. During the 1950s visitors to Humphreys office in the Senate Office
Building were greeted by the sight of a prominently displayed JNF Tree Certificate. 1980: "King of
Schnorrers" closes at the Playhouse Theater in New York City after 63 performances. King of
Schnorrers was a musical based on work of the same name by Israel Zangwill. 1981: Yigal Hurvitz,
who had been serving as the Minister of Finance, left the cabinet. 1989: Unsettled Land an Israeli
drama directed by Uri Barbash was released in the United States today. 1994(1stof Shevat, 5754):
Rosh Chodesh Shevat 1994: Edward P. Djerejian, a Clinton appointee, presented his credentials as
U.S. Ambassador to Israel. 1998: Daniel Charles Kurtzer presented his credentials as U.S.
Ambassador to Egypt. (Yes an American Jew represented the United States in Cairo. Jewish

diplomats representing the United States in Moslem countries is nothing new. It dates back to the
days of the Ottoman Empire.] 2002(29th of Tevet, 5762): Canadian born comedian Frank Shuster,
who gained fame as part of the comedy duo of Wayne and Shuster passed away. 2002: The New York
Times featured reviews of books by Jewish author and/or of special interest to Jewish readers
including Public Intellectuals: A Study of Decline by Richard A. Posner, Henry Ford and the Jews:
The Mass Production of Hate by Neil Baldwin, two books of Al Hirschfields drawings - Hirschfeld's
New York and 'Hirschfeld's Hollywood and Be My Knife by David Grossman an Israeli, widely known
not just for his four previous novels but for two seminal books about the Israeli occupation of the
Palestinian territories and for his -- as the Israelis say -- dovish'' articles and editorials in major
newspapers around the world. With the exception of his first novel, however, the horrific political life
of Israel -- the real world of intifada and reprisal -- plays virtually no role in the universe of
Grossman's fiction. Fifty eight year old 2003(10thof Shevat, 5763): Fifty eight year old Rabbi Steven
Dworken, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America, a professional body serving
over 1,100 Orthodox rabbis, died suddenly at his home in Teaneck, N.J., of a heart attack 2006:
Jeffrey Pollack was appointed Commissioner of the World Series of Poker. 2006: An exhibit of works
by ceramicist Daisy Brand sponsored by the University of Minnesota Center for Holocaust and
Genocide Studies and the Northern Clay Center opened today. 2007: Mathew Freud, the greatgrandson of Sigmund Freud and Elisabeth Murdoch gave birth to their second child Samson
Murdoch Freud. 2007: Senior archaeologists have come out in harsh criticism against the Israel
Antiquities Authority (IAA) for authorizing plans for a bridge to connect the Dung Gate in
Jerusalem's Old City to the Mugrabi Gate, located next to the Western Wall and leading to the
Temple Mount. The archaeologists say that the bridge's pylons will damage one of the most
significant archaeological parks in Israel and the world, located outside the southwestern corner of
the Temple Mount. 2008: The Sunday New York Times book section featured a review of Bleeding
Kansas by Sara Paretsky who grew up in a small eastern Kansas town, where she and her brothers
were the only Jewish kids in school and is best known as the creator of the fictional female detective
V. I. Warshawski, Vienna Blood by Dr. Frank Tallis in which the author returns to his previous
literary landscape - fin de sicle Vienna complete with Sigmund Freud and Austrian anti- Semitism
and Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons by Jacob Heilbrunn. As can be seen from one
typical review, the book emphasizes the Jewish nature of the Neo-Con movement. The story of the
neocons is a saga of immigrant assimilation, whose seeds lie in the Jewish intellectual circles of the
1930s, when communists loyal to Stalin clashed with Trotskyites over communist theory and its
applications in the real world. In tracing the evolution of neo-conservatism (including a look at the
influence of the mysterious Leo Strauss), Heilbrunn shows how generations of Jews moved from the
margins of political and intellectual life to replace the old WASP elite and now play a central role in
determining U.S. policy in the Middle East. 2008: The Washington Post book section featured a
review of Bleeding Kansasby Sara Paretsky and a biography about Mstislav Rostropovich the
renowned Baku born Jewish musician entitled Rostropovich: The Musical Life of the Great Cellist,
Teacher, and Legend by Elizabeth Wilson 2008: An exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, "Annie
Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005 " comes to a close in Washington, D.C. 2008: The UK's
Mail on Sunday issued a free DVDof The Jazz Singer. 2008:New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of
Baruch De Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam July 27, 1656, a new play by David
Ives about the clash between religion and modernity focuses on the interrogation of the philosopher
Baruch de Spinoza opens at the Classic Stage Company in New York 2008: Leonard Cohen
announced today that he would make his first concert tour in 15 years starting in May of 2008 at
New Brunswick. 2008: They Called Me Mayer July, the first major exhibition of Mayer Kirshenblatts
work in the United States has its final showing at the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkley,
California. The exhibition 65 paintings is a tribute to the 91 year old Mayer Kirshenblatts distinctive
imagination and sharp recollection of his Polish Jewish home town before World War II, with images
such as: the pregnant hunchback, who stood under the wedding canopy just hours before giving
birth; the khayder teacher caught in bed with the drummer's wife; the corpse that was shaved; and

the "black wedding" in the cemetery during a cholera epidemic. 2009: The 92nd St Y presents an
evening with newly minted Nobel Laureate, economist and New York Times columnist Paul
Krugman. 2009: The Governor of New York nominated Jonathan Lippman to serve as the Chief Judge
of the New York Court of Appeals. 2009:U.S. Senator Bill Nelson revealed during Hillary Clinton's
confirmation hearing that he believes Robert Levinson is being held in a secret prison in Iran. "The
door has been closed at every turn", Nelson said during Clinton's confirmation hearing. "We think he
is being held by the government of Iran in a secret prison. (Levinson is the only Jew in this item)
2009: Hadassah began instituting a massive reduction in force today when it laid off 80 employees
across the country, roughly a quarter of its national staff. The cuts are coming at all levels of the
organization. Hadassah recently announced that it had in total $40 million invested in Bernard
Madoff's Ponzi scam, as well as another $50 million the organization thought it had made in the
scam. It was a significant hit to its endowment, which now stands at $412 million. 2010: Miriam
Levinson, an expert on Jewish Cuban History is scheduled to present a lecture entitled The Jews of
Cuba: The Road to Paradise and the Land We Called Home at the JCC of Northern Virginia. 2010:
The 19thannual New York Jewish Film Festival opens with a showing of Saviors in the Night. 2010:
In For Some, Kosher; Equals Pure, Kim Severson reported that this year, for the first time, glatt
kosher food will be sold at the Super Bowl. She then explained why kosher has become so popular
among the food-eating public.. 2010: The 10thannual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival opens with a
showing of Berlin 36. Inspired by the true story of Jewish high jumper Gretel Bergmann. 2010:
Israels deputy foreign minister issued a formal apology to the Turkish ambassador today after
ostentatiously humiliating him earlier in the week and aggravating strains in a complex and
increasingly troubled relationship between Israel and Turkey, its closest Muslim ally. 2010:
According to a report entitled "Searching for the Study of Israel" that was released today, "the past
three years have seen a huge jump in the number and variety of courses about Israel taught in
America's top universities." 2011: Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness is scheduled to have
its world premier at the New York Jewish Film Festival. 2011: The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground is
scheduled to have its New York premier at the New York Jewish Film Festival. 2011: Andrea Meislin
Gallery is scheduled to host a reception in honor Naomi Leshem to mark the opening of Between
Zones, an exhibition of the work of this acclaimed Israeli photographer.
2011: A group of national religious youth, known as Ra'ananim [waking up], plans to launch a
campaign today against buying fruits, especially figs, from Turkey for the upcoming Tu B'Shvat
holiday.
2011: In an unprecedented step, some twenty senior Israeli ambassadors sent a letter to Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, asking him to intervene in the Foreign Ministry workers' strike
"in order to save Israel's foreign service."
2012: The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground a documentary about one of the premier klezmer music
groups is scheduled to be shown at The Boston Jewish Film Festival.
2012: Avram Grant was named the new manager of Partizan Belgrade
2012: The Last Jews of Libya is scheduled to be shown at Temple Sinai in Springfield, MA
2012: Israel's Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned Israeli citizens today to stay away from Thailand's
capital, following the arrest of a Hezbollah militant suspected of planning a terrorist attack in the
city. 2013: Gary Gilson is scheduled to perform You Dont Have To Be JewishBut It Couldnt Hurt at
the Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival
2013: Jonathan-Simon Sellem gave a speech at the National Convention of the CRIF on from anti-

Zionism to anti-Semitism.
2013: The New York Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to present An Evening with the Safdie
Brothers featuring an in person appearance by directors Josh and Benny Safdei.
2013: The New York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to
Jewish readers including Zoo Time by Howard Jacobson, The World Until Yesterday by Jared
Diamond and She Matters: A Life in Friendships by Susanna Sonnenberg.
2013: The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington is scheduled to co-sponsor the
presentation of Life in Stills and Hava Nagila as part of the Washington Film Festival
2013: Israeli forces evacuated a Palestinian outpost built on a controversial strip of land in the West
Bank early this morning, less than a day after the High Court stayed the demolition of the small tent
village.
2013: Cabinet ministers voted in favor of approving an upgrade in status for the Jerusalem-based
Shalem Center, making it a recognized institute of higher education, and allowing it to open a
program that has been widely touted as Israels first liberal arts college.
2014: Following a formal mourning ceremony which is scheduled to be held at the Knesset and
attended by national leaders, Ariel Sharon is scheduled to be laid to rest at Shikmim Farm in the
Negev next to his second wife Lily. (As reported by Times of Israel)
2014: The Man with the Golden Arm and Bethlehem are scheduled to be shown at the New York
Jewish Film Festival
2014: Professor Joel Dimsdale is scheduled to deliver a lecture Anatomy of Malice: Rorschach
Records of the Nuremberg War Criminals at the Lawrence Family JCC.
2014: Just after the funeral services for Ariel Sharon were completed Palestinians fired rockets from
Gaza into the area near Sycamore Ranch where the service had taken place. A third rocket blew up
on its launcher. (As reported by Yaakov Lappin)
2014: Top Israeli tennis player Dudi Sela was eliminated from the Australian Open by Finlands
Jarkko Nieminen today.
2014: The Cedar Rapids Gazette Homer feature highlighting things that have gone right in the last
week includes WERE WITH YOU: University of Iowa President Sally Mason is among academic
leaders who oppose the boycott of Israeli academic institutions, of which the American Studies
Association is part. Cheers to Mason. This is a misguided initiative that suppresses academic
freedom and the exchange of information and ideas. - See more at:
http://thegazette.com/2014/01/13/homers-whats-going-right-215/#sthash.nEmiRreq.dpuf
2015: Per the request of their families, the victims of the terrorist attack at the Kosher supermarket
in Paris -- Yoav Hattab, 22; Yohan Cohen, 22; Philippe Braham, 45; and Franois-Michel Saada, 55 --are scheduled to be buried in Israel today. (JTA) 2015: The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for
Holocaust Education is scheduled to host a lunch to mark the upcoming opening of the exhibition
Anne Frank: A History for Today. 2015: Publication of France Without Jews Is Not France 2015:
Stephanie Pollack was appointed Secretary of Transportation for the State of Massachusetts today.
2016: The American Sephardi Federation is scheduled to present a preview matinee of The

Merchant of Venice. 2016: The New York Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to begin today.