March 9, 2007
100 Years Ago in the Forward
Police arrested Leon Schwartz and Louis Green, the owners of a shirt-and-pants factory in Philadelphia, after fire marshals charged them with intentionally igniting their factory in order to get an $8,000 claim from their insurance company. Because one worker died after jumping from the fourth floor, there is a chance that the duo will be charged with murder, as well. In their defense, Schwartz and Green said that the fire was a result of a gas pipe explosion on the second floor and that they are innocent.
75 Years Ago in the Forward
More than 400 Jewish delicatessen owners packed Little Oriental Hall in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn to protest the “Kashruth Bill” currently before the New York State Legislature. The deli owners, who likened the bill to the korobka, the tsarist tax on kosher meat, say that the bill will turn over kashruth certification to a small group of politicians and rabbis, who will use their powers to exploit small-store and restaurant owners. The deli owners’ union president, Sam Cesar, spoke rousingly, saying, “We Jewish delicatessen owners were all once shop workers. We are radical people with progressive ideals. Ninety percent of us belong to the Workmen’s Circle. How can we permit the passage of a law that will give a small group of rabbis the right to force Orthodox Judaism on us?”
The New York Yiddish theater world is in chaos. As a result of the current Depression, three Yiddish theaters have been shuttered, including the famed Second Avenue Theatre. Though production costs have basically stayed the same, the economic situations of the regular Yiddish theater audiences no longer enable them to pay for tickets. Hundreds of Jewish families, including those of managers, actors, writers and stagehands, are now out of work with no way to pay for their basic necessities.
50 Years Ago in the Forward
Tens of thousands of Arabs took to Gaza’s streets protesting the possible occupation of the area by United Nations troops. They demanded that Egypt retake Gaza. Carrying banners bearing Egyptian strongman Gamal Abdel Nasser’s image, the protesters, who comprise both residents and refugees, marched passed the U.N. chief’s offices. E.L.M. Burns, Canada’s major general and the U.N.’s point man in Gaza, stood by, surrounded by a phalanx of guards, and calmly watched as the marchers passed. Some of the banners carried by the protesters welcomed the U.N. forces as “guests” but not as “occupiers.”
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to a Jewish society at Yale exposed deep rifts between US Jews
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Fast Forward Survivors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 embrace at Auschwitz, marking annual March of the Living
-
Fast Forward Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking.
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.