October 1, 2010

100 Years Ago in the forward

At a Christian convention in Cincinnati, the head of New York’s Episcopalians, the Rev. Grosvenor, called for an end to proselytizing among Jews. In a speech given to the conference, the reverend said that “missionary work among the Jews should come to an end because hundreds of years of inquisitions, under which Jews have suffered greatly, have not planted among Jews any seeds of love for Christianity.” He added that the Jews should be permitted to go their own way and that Christians no longer should try to save their souls. The Jews, he said, “do everything they can to become part of American society and culture and do not need a new religion.”

75 Years Ago in the forward

The latest rumor running wild in the Yiddish theater world is that Yiddish theaters are now hiring orchestras made up entirely of female musicians. “Klezmorim in skirts?” people are going around asking. “What gives?” Truth is, it’s not a rumor: The Folks Theater is poised to put an all-female orchestra in the pit. The theater’s director, Joseph Rumshinsky, said, “I have always wanted to try out an all-female orchestra. In the meantime, male musicians are furious, saying that never in the history of Yiddish theater has such a thing occurred.” But Rumshinsky says it doesn’t matter. “Ay, can they play!” he said, claiming that the women take their music a lot more seriously than the men.

50 Years Ago in the forward

The Israeli government published a list of 23 Nazis who are thought to have escaped and to be living in a number of Arab countries. Many of them, the Israelis say, have taken Arabic names. Among those on the list is Dr. Hans Eisele, who conducted medical experiments on prisoners in the Buchenwald concentration camp. Eisele was sentenced to death in absentia by a Czechoslovakian court for the murder of 25 Czech citizens. He is thought to be working at a hospital in Cairo. Another is former SS propagandist Johannes von Leers, who is thought to be working with Gamal Abdel Nasser’s government, creating anti-Jewish propaganda. Yad Vashem, a huge archive of material from the Nazi period, compiled the list. One of its representatives suggested there is also evidence that these Nazis in hiding maintain contact with one another.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

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 the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO