Looking Back: May 18, 2012
100 Years Ago in the Forward
The criminal trial of one Joseph Toblinsky opened in the courtroom of Judge Siebury. Tablinsky is renowned as one of the most fearsome gang leaders on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. In fact, his gangs allegedly extort money from thousands of local businessmen. No stranger to New York City courtrooms, Toblinsky is currently under suspicion of extortion and horse poisoning. Complaints were brought by ice dealer Max Levine and stable owner Samuel Berman, both of whom allegedly both received calls from him, demanding they bring $700 payment to a saloon on Ludlow Street. Berman had already paid the chief goon’s men $50 to leave his horses alone. He didn’t want to pay any more, so he informed the police of the situation.
75 Years Ago in the Forward
Both the Brits and the Jews of Palestine celebrated the coronation of England’s new king. The ceremonies were boycotted by the Arabs, who are furious that the British have not agreed to their insistence on putting a complete halt to Jewish immigration. In a manifesto published during the week of the coronation, the Arab High Committee swore that it would not permit one single new Jewish immigrant to set foot in Palestine. Meanwhile, Palestinian Jews are in a quandary over what to do about a new British government report that suggests splitting Palestine into two cantons, an Arab side and a Jewish side, but with Haifa and Jerusalem remaining under British rule. Many Zionists are terribly upset about the plan, which offers only one-third of Palestine to the Jews.
50 Years Ago in the Forward
The Krakover Altshul, or the Old Synagogue, of Krakow, Poland, is to be turned into a Jewish museum. Boleslaw Drubner, the oldest member of the Polish Parliament, arrived in Krakow recently in order to meet with former residents who could offer details about Jewish life in the city before the population was decimated by the Holocaust. Drubner, together with a commission of interested parties, including the director of Krakow’s Historical Museum, had traveled to Israel to meet with representatives of Yad Vashem in order to discuss museum-related issues. There are two other large synagogues in Krakow that do not have any congregants. They are expected to be turned into art schools.
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