February 27, 2009
100 Years Ago In the Forward
A man walked into the offices of the Forward and told us the following:
“My name is Sam Engelman, and I come from Toronto, Canada. Every Sunday for the past two weeks, my picture has appeared in your Gallery of Disappeared Men. I felt very bad upon seeing my photograph in the Forward. I couldn’t sleep. So I decided I would have to travel to New York, show up in the offices of your paper and let you decide what should be done. I want to support my wife; that is the purpose of my trip.”
We asked him, “Are you willing to go back and live with your wife?” He replied: “It’s not possible. She is beautiful, and I loved her, but she is very nervous and there was no peace between us. We can’t live together, but I’m here to do my duty, to support her.”
75 Years Ago In the Forward
Since the advent of the industrialization of labor and the creation of the sweatshop industry, unions and other organizations have tried to protect workers’ rights and to defend these workers against exploitative bosses. Perhaps less well known is the fact that the bosses, often together with politicians, have also created a number of organizations in order to protect their “right” to exploit their workers. Possibly the worst of these organizations, The Home Work Protective League, was created just a few weeks ago by “cockroach bosses and Tammany politicians,” the purpose of which — as they themselves admit — is to prevent any attempts to make home work, which is the type of sweatshop labor in which clothing is finished in homes by women and children, illegal. This is the kind of work that keeps the children of impoverished families stuck in their dingy tenements at work, and away from school. This medieval practice and its supporters must be stopped.
50 Years Ago In the Forward
At a press conference, Israeli Premier David Ben-Gurion declared that Egypt will be the first Arab state to be at peace with Israel. He said that he hoped that Egypt’s leaders would have the foresight to see that peace with Israel is not only possible, but also in their own interests. Ben-Gurion added that certain conditions had to be created for peace with the Arab world, including the creation of truly democratic governments in the region, and Arab acceptance of the fact that they cannot dismantle the State of Israel.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
