Looking Back: March 9, 2012
100 Years Ago in the Forward
When Celia Kuperstein saw smoke and flames pouring out of the windows of her Brooklyn apartment, she dashed inside to rescue her three children. Sadly, she never made it out. Her charred corpse was eventually found by firefighters. In a twist of fate, a neighbor who saw the fire and climbed up the back fire escape, saved Kuperstein’s children. In the rear of Kuperstein’s apartment, the neighbor found the three children and led them to safety.
75 Years Ago in the Forward
It may come as a surprise to some, but Jews are considered among of the best farmers in America. According to the Jewish Agricultural Aid Society, an organization that was founded in 1900 and helps Jews settle in rural areas, there are more than 100,000 Jewish farmers in the United States. Over the past 10 years, the organization has given out millions of dollars in loans to Jewish agriculturalists and says that this past year, the financial situation of Jewish farmers has improved dramatically. The organization provides agricultural education to Jews, in the form of lectures and literature in order for them to learn how to function as farmers. In the past few years, it has helped a large number of refugees from Hitler’s Germany to settle and to learn to work the land.
50 Years Ago in the Forward
Massive demonstrations demanding that Egypt’s forces return to Gaza took place in connection to Israel’s military pullout. Carrying flags that bear the face of Egyptian strongman Gamal Abdel Nasser, demonstrators marched past the headquarters of the United Nations Police with signs greeting the U.N. forces as “guests” but not as “occupiers,” and proclaimed that Nasser was their leader. The Israeli forces, which left quietly from both Gaza and the Sinai, turned over their posts to U.N. forces without incident. Potentially compounding the problem, however, the Israeli chief army rabbi claimed that Sharm el-Sheikh is part of the area promised to Abraham. As for the Israeli army, some soldiers claimed that they’ll eventually have to retake the same areas.
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