February 26, 2010
100 Years Ago in the Forward
Chandelier-maker Jacob Greenthal, known in the saloons of the Manhattan’s West Side as “Mike the Jew,” is in critical condition after being stabbed multiple times by a group of unknown assailants. The lone witness, a taxi driver who was threatened by the gang of attackers, told police that he drove the group of five men along 14th Street until they found Greenthal in Sara Gilmartin’s Saloon. They went in and had a few drinks with Greenthal and then they all walked out together. Upon exiting, one of the group members held Greenthal as the others stabbed him. One of them cut off part of his tongue. The gang then hopped back into the taxi, leaving Greenthal grievously wounded on the sidewalk. The victim was found carrying $800 and a gold watch, so robbery was not a motive, but the police currently have no leads.
75 Years Ago in the Forward
On the heels of a successful hunger strike undertaken by 80 illegal immigrants being held in a facility in Akko, Palestine, another group of illegal immigrants being held in a jail in Jerusalem have begun their own hunger strike. The group in Jerusalem comprises Turkish Jews and Druze. While the Akko hunger strikers succeeded in securing their freedom, what will happen with those in Jerusalem is not known. Moreover, hundreds of illegal immigrants — men and women — who did not participate in the hunger strike are still being held at the Akko facility. As of yet, their fates are unknown. In a related matter, a number of young Palestinian Jews who married illegal immigrants from Poland who were subsequently deported have demanded that the British authorities return their spouses to Palestine.
50 Years Ago in the Forward
Analysts are saying that the Middle East stands on the brink of a crisis as word of a partial Egyptian mobilization in the Sinai Peninsula has been announced. In addition to the suspicion that the activity is a provocation done at Soviet behest, diplomatic circles are buzzing with the suggestion that Gamal Abdel Nasser is doing this in order to promote his position against Iraqi Premier Kassem and to create positive propaganda at home and throughout the Arab world. It is not thought that the mobilization is in any way a threat to Israel, although Nasser’s excuse for it was that Israel is mobilizing its forces.
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