100 Years Ago In the Forward

New York City police detectives are working overtime on the Lower East Side to catch a gang of horse poisoners that has been plaguing the Jewish quarter for some time. During the past year, for example, more than 250 horses were poisoned on the Lower East Side alone, and the gang’s nefarious handiwork has affected many Jews. The way this group operates is as follows: Owners of horses or of stables receive a letter stating that the gang wants a certain amount of money (depending upon how many horses are owned) and if the owners don’t fork it over, they’ll regret it. Recipients are visited a few days later by a group of toughs who demand the money. If the owners refuse to give them the money, they find a few of their horses dead within the next few days, usually by way of poisonous apples.

75 Years Ago In the Forward

To the dismay of practically the entire Jewish quarter of New York, local rabbis have placed a ban on kosher chicken in markets throughout the city. The rabbis have also announced that they will officially boycott any shoykhet that slaughters chickens. The reason for the ban is that the rabbis have been attempting to reorganize kashrut certification and want all chickens to bear their — and only their — seal of approval. Slaughterers, for their part, really don’t care who certifies their chickens, and those from Local 440 have already announced that they cannot afford to stop working just because the rabbis aren’t organized.

50 Years Ago In the Forward

New details have come to light about recent anti-Jewish activities occurring in Romania. It is believed that these activities are taking place in order to discourage Jews from immigrating to Israel. According to a recent report, Jews who are suspected of, or who have taken steps toward, immigration to Israel are being arrested and charged with espionage and treason. Among them are Yisroel Hart, a Romanian janitor working at the Israeli Consulate who was arrested and charged with espionage; Kalmen Bernshteyn, 60, and his two sons, both engineers, who were arrested after the authorities found photographs of Jewish religious ceremonies, sent by Israeli relatives, and Ephraim Zinger, a journalist who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for mailing poems he had written to a brother in Israel. Dozens of others were also arrested and are waiting to learn their fates.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

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.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount