February 17
100 YEARS AGO IN THE FORWARD
New York City’s Grand Street Post office has been besieged by Jews asking about the money orders they’ve sent to their relatives in Russia who are currently suffering a wave of pogroms. Dozens of Jews came to the Forward’s offices this week complaining that the money they’ve sent to Russia hasn’t reached its destination. Some, like Yosef Luria of Eldridge Street, brought letters from their parents inquiring as to the whereabouts of the money they promised. The letters describe the terrible hunger and poverty the empire’s Jews are experiencing. What happened to the money is unknown, but it is assumed that the Russian government has confiscated much of it.
75 YEARS AGO IN THE FORWARD
Baleboostehs, mothers, children — the entire Jewish community of New York City — everyone who has been buying so-called “Jewish” butter from grocery stores is a victim of a huge scandal that now involves the city’s health commissioner. Apparently, a number of large companies that sell dairy products have been taking old butter, whipping it up and selling it, particularly to stores in Jewish neighborhoods. In addition to not being fresh, this butter is being mixed with up to 50% water. Therefore, those who purchase it are being swindled twice.
One of the interesting facts about Jewish life in America is that native-born children end up teaching their parents a great deal about their new country. What immigrant mother hasn’t learned from her children about Gene Tunney and Babe Ruth? Until her children became old enough to become interested, she knew nothing about the Yankees, the Giants or the Red Sox, names that are now part of her lexicon. And in homes that have children who have gone to college, mothers know famous professors’ names, the subjects on which these professors lecture and the subjects of the big intellectual debates. They might talk about this in a raw and even comic manner, but they still usually have the basic facts right — things they never knew about previously.
50 YEARS AGO IN THE FORWARD
Lord Russell of Liverpool, lead prosecutor of the Nuremburg trials, said in an interview in London’s Sunday newspaper that the Arabs are preparing to slaughter the Jews of the State of Israel in a manner similar to that of the Nazis. “Anyone who does not believe that the Arabs want to drive the Jews out of Israel should read the Arab press and listen to their radio broadcasts. ” Lord Russell said. He said that the West should take steps to protect Israel, and added that the United States and the Western World should not remain silent in the face of this aggression.
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