Looking Back: December 28, 2012

100 Years Ago

1912 Each Friday evening in Manhattan, Nathan Friedman preaches against the “sinful Jews.” Formerly a Jew himself, Friedman is a missionary who invites Jews into his little storefront church and attempts to get them to convert to Christianity. When 17-year-old Paulina Rothberg stood outside Friedman’s church on a recent Friday night, she told passersby not to go in and listen to Friedman’s foolishness. When Friedman saw that he was losing customers, he called the police, who arrested Rothberg and put her in prison. During the trial, Friedman told the judge that it was a free country and that he had the right to try to convert people. The judge responded that if it is indeed a free country, then Rothberg should have the right to dissuade people from converting. And with that, he threw out the case.

75 Years Ago

1937 The British administration in Palestine has determined that 90% of Arab terrorists in Palestine are not indigenous, have entered the country through Syria and are on a secret payroll. Exactly who is paying their wages has not yet been determined. What is clear is that the current outbreaks of violence are part of a well-organized campaign of provocation run by agents of Benito Mussolini. Not only do the British believe that the Italian fascists have created a campaign of violence in Palestine, but they also believe that they are agitating among the Arabs to convince them to turn against Britain. The British army has encircled the entire Galilee in order to root out the terrorists. Thousands of Arab villagers caught between the British and the bands of terrorists have left their homes. More than 50,000 of them have appeared in Tzfat.

50 Years Ago

1962 According to reports from Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of the United Arab Republic, has declared victory over Yemen and again threatened the State of Israel. “The liberation of Yemen,” Nasser said, “is another step toward the destruction of Zionism. We will liberate occupied Palestine just as we organized our home front and just as we dealt with the Arab reactionaries.” He added that “Israel is in a state of fear, thanks to the revolution in Yemen,” and that “Israel is the defender of both King Saud of Saudi Arabia and King Hussein of Jordan.”

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