January 29, 2010
100 Years Ago in the forward
Fourteen-year-old Morris Ripkin of 170 Allen Street in New York City, a student at P.S. 35, was arrested and taken into custody after he pulled a revolver on the school’s principal, Emma Sylvester. The principal testified in court that Ripkin was frequently in trouble and hated Sylvester because she used to punish him. Ripkin walked into her office and pulled a revolver, telling her that he’d shoot her if she didn’t let him do what he wanted. Sylvester then called a policeman, who took away the 14-year-old’s gun but did not arrest him, because, according to Sylvester, he didn’t feel like it. Later on, authorities apprehended Ripkin.
75 Years Ago in the forward
It has become evident that as the Jewish presence in Palestine has grown, the Arab national movement has weakened. The Mandate is currently undergoing a period of prosperity, which has steadily undercut the extremist propaganda of the Arab movement. In October 1933, for example, certain Arab leaders called for demonstrations and a general strike against the British for permitting too many Jews to enter the country. These were successful, but in January 1934, when a second strike was called, businessmen opposed it, saying: “The economy is good. Enough with the strikes.”
50 Years Ago in the forward
Baghdad radio recently made a statement declaring that the Arabs — Gamal Abdel Nasser in particular — should give up on their plan to uproot Israel through war. Instead, Iraqi premier Abdul Karim Kassem said a Palestinian Arab Republic should be created in a part of Palestine currently occupied by Jordan. The republic would be under the leadership of the former mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin El Husseini, who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. The statement was also reported in the Sudanese newspaper Risala, which added: “The Arabs must understand once and for all that they cannot attack Israel, a member in good standing of the United Nations. Declaring war on Israel would be a slap in the face to the U.N.”
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