October 27, 2006
100 Years Agoin the Forward
The Russian government suddenly has decided to strictly enforce the law that restricts all Jews to live within the limits of the Pale of Settlement. Oddly enough, this enforcement comes after discussion in the government to abolish the Pale. It also follows an announcement that peasants no longer will be forced to live on the land of their nobles as of next year. As a result, Jews who live in areas outside the Pale are being evicted from their homes and forced to return to the confines of the area limited to Jews. According to the new enforcement, Jews living outside the Pale have two days to sell their homes and belongings and return to it. If there are no buyers for their homes and goods, they must abandon them. It is said that this will affect about 1 million Jews.
75 Years Agoin the Forward
A Yiddish comedy at New York City’s Second Avenue Theatre was transformed into a tragedy this week as actor David Baratz collapsed and died onstage from a heart attack. Baratz was in the middle of the fiery monologue from Yankev Gordin’s “Hunchback” when he suddenly keeled over. The audience was so impressed with his acting that they gave him a stand ovation, shouting, “Bravo, Baratz, bravo!” Sadly, the audience had no idea that the actor who lay onstage before them was dead, having played his final act.
Y A court in the city of Nuremberg, Germany, concluded that the Talmud permits Jews to murder Christians. The court made the decision during a trial of Julius Streicher, editor of the notorious antisemitic newspaper Der Sturmer, which recently contained an article alleging that a Jewish doctor allowed his patients to die because it is permissible according to the Shulhan aruch.” Although the Jewish community provided a Talmud expert, the court refused to hear him and instead took the testimony of a local bishop as an expert on Jewish law.
50 Years Agoin the Forward
President Eisenhower said this week that Arabs and Jews are constantly finding new ways to express their hatred of one another. He said, “The Arabs think that Israel is a country that was created by violence, and they are always seeking new ways to express their hatred. The same goes for the other side.” The president also noted that the Middle East has historically been a center of unrest and unhappiness, especially between Arabs and Jews. The matter becomes even more confused when Christians look to Jerusalem as their Holy City, he said.
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