Jewish History

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The rags-to-riches story of Arthur Miller, Pulitzer-winning son of Jewish immigrants

A new biography by John Lahr in Yale's Jewish Lives Series tracks the successes (and many failures) of a beloved American writer whose tragic characters were inspired by his life

www.timesofisrael.com

 

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Fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg: Holocaust survivor mother is my main inspiration

Ahead of new exhibit, designer says Greek-Jewish mother was imprisoned in Auschwitz, Ravensbruck; upon liberation she weighed just 25 kgs: 'She was a skeleton amongst ashes'

www.timesofisrael.com

 

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Israeli-Argentine conductor Barenboim made Berlin citizen of honor

Mayor pays tribute to 80-year-old's musical talent, commitment to Israeli and Palestinian communication; he recently ended 3-decade tenure as musical director of Berlin State Opera

www.timesofisrael.com

 

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Jews in Comic Books | My Jewish Learning

Comic Books. Mainstream Jewish Literature. Mainstream Jewish Writers. Jewish American Literature. Jewish Literature.

www.myjewishlearning.com

 

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Today in Jewish History​

• Maimonides Saved (1165)
The 4th of Iyar was observed by Maimonides (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, 1135-1204) as a personal day of fasting and prayer. Maimonides recounts that when he and his family were fleeing Islamic persecution from Fez, Morocco to the Holy Land, their ship was caught in a fierce storm at sea. He cried out to G-d in prayer and vowed to fast each year on this date.

 

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Napoleon Fails to Conquer Acre (1799)

The attempted conquest of Acre was a vital part of Napoleon’s Mediterranean campaign against the Ottoman Empire. However, the local troops, supervised by the Pasha’s Jewish advisor Chaim Parchi, valiantly withstood the two-month-long siege. After a final attempt to conquer the city on May 10 (corresponding to 5 Iyar), Napoleon gave up his plans and the siege was lifted.

 

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• State of Israel Proclaimed (1948)

The British mandate to govern the Holy Land expired on Friday, May 14, 1948. A United Nations resolution passed six months earlier endorsed the establishment of a Jewish state in the biblical homeland of the Jewish people. That afternoon, the state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv. Four neighboring Arab countries launched a brutal war on Israel's Jewish inhabitants, but were unable to realize their full bloodthirsty intent in circumstances describable only as miraculous. The date--Iyar 5 on the Jewish calendar--is celebrated in Israel as the Israeli "Independence Day."

 

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Yom Ha'atzmaut: Israel Independence Day | My Jewish Learning

Yom Haatzmaut is Israel's Independence Day, commemorating events in recent Jewish history.

www.myjewishlearning.com

 

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R' Soloveitchik on Yom HaAtzmaut, 1968

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

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Harry Belafonte, singer and civil rights activist who popularized ‘Hava Nagila’ in the US, dies at 96

The New York native, who was close friends with Martin Luther King Jr., had many Jewish connections.

forward.com

 

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The Haifa Mural

The history of a remarkable artwork celebrating the creation of the State of Israel, born in Hawaii and Berlin, and recovered from the basement of a youth services center in Connecticut

www.tabletmag.com

 

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Today in Jewish History​

• Anti-Jewish Riots in Russia (1881)
Following the assassination a month earlier of Tzar Alexander II of Russia, and the subsequent rumors that the Jews were behind the assassination, anti-Jewish riots broke out on the 6th of Iyar. The riots and pogroms lasted for four years, during which time thousands of Jewish homes and synagogues were destroyed, and countless Jews were injured and impoverished. The unrest started out in Southern Russia, and quickly spread throughout the entire country.

Tzar Alexander III actually blamed the riots on the Jews(!) and punished them by enacting new laws which further restricted their freedoms. Among these devastating laws were legislation which restricted Jews from residing in towns with fewer than 10,000 citizens, and limiting their professional employment and education opportunities.

These oppressive laws, known as the "May Laws," compelled many Jews to emigrate. They are said to have caused more than two million Jews to leave Russia, many of them opting to move to the United States of America, and the freedoms it offered

 

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Belafonte, whose parents were Jamaican and whose paternal grandfather was a Dutch Sephardic Jew, rose to fame with the success of his 1956 album “Calypso,” the first by a solo artist to sell more than 1 million copies. He also starred in films beginning in the 1950s and continued through 2018.

Harry Belafonte, Grandson of Dutch Sephardic Jew, Dies at Age 96

The president called the Calypso singer, actor and activist “legendary.”

www.jewishpress.com

 

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Today in Jewish History​

• First Crusade Massacres Begin (1096)
In the early 1070s, the Muslim Turks commenced an offensive against the Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem. Pope Gregory VII offered his help to defend the Greek Christians, but the army he promised never materialized.

In 1095, his successor, Urban II, began to call for a holy war to liberate the Christians in Jerusalem. By the next year, more than 100,000 men had rallied to his call, forming the First Crusade. Urban and the local clergymen in Europe felt that the Crusade had another purpose as well--to annihilate all non-Christians in Europe who refused to convert to Christianity.

On their way to the Holy Land, the mobs of crusaders attacked many Jewish communities. On Shabbat, the 8th of Iyar, the Jews of Speyer (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany were massacred. Many of the Jews of Worms, Germany were also massacred on this day; some of them took refuge in a local castle for a week before being slaughtered as they recited their morning prayers (see "Today in Jewish History" for Sivan 1).

Link: The First Crusade

 

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Today in Jewish History​

• Jerusalem Walls Dedicated (335 BCE)
The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem was celebrated with great jubilation nearly 88 years after they were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia.

• Venetian Ghetto (1516)
On the 7th of Iyar, 1516, the Venetian City Council decreed that all Jews be segregated to a specific area of the city.

Venice's ghetto was surrounded by water, with a canal leading to its gates. At night the "Christian guards" patrolled the waters around the ghetto to ensure that the night curfew wasn't violated. At the same time of the establishment of this ghetto, numerous other degrading laws were enacted, including the requirement that all Jews wear yellow stars as identification.

Despite all these restrictions, the Jewish community blossomed and functioned normally. In 1797, the ghetto was abolished by Napoleonduring the course of the French Revolution.

The site chosen to accommodate the Jews had once housed the city's foundries, gettos in Italian -- and thus the eventual popularization throughout Europe of the word "ghetto" to describe the city sections where Jews were forced to reside.

• Rindfleisch Massacres Begin (1298)
Taking advantage of the state of anarchy in Germany, the result of a civil war between two contenders to the throne, a mob led by a nobleman named Rindfleisch murdered the Jews of Rottingen on April 20, 1298 (7 Iyar, 5058). Over the next few years, hundreds of Jewish communities in Germany and Austria were destroyed. Among the tens of thousands of martyrs were R. Mordechai ben Hillel and his wife and five children.

Link: 10 Anti-Semitic Myths

 

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Newly identified Roman army camps indicate unknown ancient campaign in Arabia

Google Earth imagery shows outlines of three sites in Jordan that have classic design of temporary bases built by Rome; believed tied to conquest of Nabatean kingdom

www.timesofisrael.com

 

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Today in Jewish History​

• Passing of Eli (891 BCE)
Eli the High Priest died upon learning that the Holy Ark containing the Tablets was captured by the Philistines, and that his two sons were killed in battle. Eli was the 13th in the line of the "Shoftim" ("judges") who led the People of Israel during the four centuries between the passing of Joshua in 1245 BCE and the crowning of King Saul in 879 BCE.

Link: The High Priest Eli

• Passing of Rif (1103)
Rabbi Isaac Al-Fasi (1013-1103), known by the acronym "Rif," was one of the earliest codifiers of the Talmud. In 1088 he was forced to flee his hometown of Fez, Morocco, to Spain, where he assumed the position of rabbi in Alusina (Lucene).

 

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Where the Word 'Anti-Semitism' Comes From | My Jewish Learning

Hatred of Jews has been a feature of world history for centuries. But only in the late 19th century did ...

www.myjewishlearning.com

 

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Adam Brody to star as 'charming rabbi' in upcoming Netflix comedy alongside Kristen Bell - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

"In the series, Bell plays an outspoken, agnostic woman who falls in love with a charming rabbi, played by Brody, totally upending his safe life plan," the streamer wrote in a brief statement.

www.jta.org

 

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Today in Jewish History​

• Jewish Books Confiscated (1510)
1,500 Jewish books were confiscated in Frankfurt am Main, Germany at the instigation of an apostate (Meshumad) on the 11th of Iyar.

• Riots in Wasilkow and Konotop (1881)
Anti Jewish riots (pogroms) continue to escalate in Russia and break out on the 11th of Iyar in Waslikow and Konotop. The Jews were blamed for the assassination of Czar Alexander II, who was assassinated by revolutionaries. The riots continued for three years across the entire Russia.

• The Battle at Deganya (1948)
The Israeli Army defeated the advancing Syrian Army, following the shelling at the entrance of Deganya, which began at sunrise and lasted nine hours. It is considered the first Israeli victory following the start of the War of Independence.