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1870 SWEDEN

Jews and Catholics were allowed to run for public office, although in order to become a minister one had to be a member of the Swedish state church. This regulation remained in effect until 1951.


1870 - 1940 ALFRED ADLER (Austria)

Psychologist, originally a member of Freud's group. He formulated his own theories on the individual and inferiority.


1870 - 1938 BENJAMIN CARDOZO - SUPREME COURT JUDGE (New York, USA)

Cardozo belonged to an old Sephardic family and served as Justice of the New York Supreme Court for many years. A tough liberal by nature, he was appointed to the Supreme Court by conservative Herbert Hoover in 1932. The Cardozo College of Law at Yeshiva University was named after him.


1870 - 1965 BERNARD BARUCH (USA)

A tough financier, he made a name and fortune for himself on Wall Street. Baruch became friendly with Woodrow Wilson, serving as his advisor. Later he served as an advisor on defense and economy to President Roosevelt. Baruch was also highly regarded by both Truman and Eisenhower and was frequently consulted for his opinions. During Truman's administration he served as liaison to the Jewish community. Baruch was not a Zionist and was against the establishment of a Jewish state.


1870 EDICT OF POPE NICHOLAS III

The forcing of Jews to hear conversion sermons was abolished by Pope Pius IX, after almost six hundred years(1278).


1870 - 1953 HILAIRE BELLOC (England)

French born British poet. Considered the most prolific spokesman for English Catholicism, he wrote 150 books. In his book The Jews (1922) he argued that the existence of the Jewish people "presents a permanent problem of the gravest character," and was a threat to the " white race". He generated the idea that Jews were only interested in money, yet he condemned Nazi anti-Semitism.


1870 NAPOLEON III (France)

Resigned his throne and Adolphe Cremieux, a great defender of individual liberty, helped start a provisional government.


1870 February 15, MIKVEH ISRAEL (Eretz Israel)

The first Israeli agricultural school was established by Charles Netter, head of the Alliance Israelites Universelle. He was supported by the Anglo-Jewish Association and Baron Edmond de Rothschild. Mikveh Israel later became an important education center for Youth Aliyah.


1870 March 1, DI YIDDSHE ZEITUNG (USA)

Published by J.K. Buchner, it became the first Yiddish weekly published in the United States. The language itself was more of a German-Yiddish and the paper was conservative rather than socialist in direction.


1870 April 14, LONDON (England)

The United Synagogue was set up by Nathan Adler and Lionel Cahn. It united the Ashkenazic synagogues of London for charity and civic affairs.


1870 July 19, NAPOLEON III (France)

Declared war on Prussia (Franco-Prussian War). A number of Jews, including Jules Moch and Leopold See, attained high rank in the French army. See later became Secretary general of the Ministry of the Interior. The war also marked the beginning of Rabbis serving as chaplains in the German army. After the War the region of Alsace and part of Lorraine became annexed to Germany. Many Jewish families preferred to emigrate rather than be under German rule.


1870 September 20, ROME (Italy)

After the defeat of Napoleon, Victor Emanuel seized the Capital, breaking the power of the Papal State. On October 13 the Jews were proclaimed free while the Roman ghetto, one of the oldest and cruelest ghettos in Europe, was torn down and soon abolished. This was the last ghetto system to fall. It had lasted three hundred and fifteen years.


1870 October 24, ALGIERS

Under the leadership of Adolphe Cremieux, France granted Algerian Jews French citizenship. Up to this date they could only be naturalized individually. Approximately 35,000 Jews took advantage of this right.


1870 October 24, CREMIEUX DECREE

Minister of Justice Adolphe Cremieux, granted full citizenship for the Jews in French-ruled Algeria.


1870 November 9, HORACE GUENZBURG AND HIS FATHER JOSEPH UZAL (Russia)

Were granted a baronetcy by the archduke of Hesse-Darmstadt. The title was later made hereditary by Czar Alexander II. The Guenzburgs were noted for their financial institutions in Russia which helped develop railroads and mines. The family was instrumental in trying to ease the plight of Jews in the Pale.


1871 AUGUST ROHLING (Austria)

Arch anti-Semite, he published his Talmud Jude in which he claimed Jews were encouraged to cheat and attack Christians. It was often quoted in the ritual murder trial in Tiza-Eszlar (1882). He was the author of other anti-Semitic literature and was largely responsible for the outbreak of blood libels at the end of the century. In 1883 Rohling lost a libel suit against a Viennese Rabbi who accused him of not having the ability to even read the Talmud. Though Rohling was dismissed from his position at the University, his book continued to gain widespread popularity.


1871 SAN DIEGO (California, USA)

Adath Jeshurun, the first synagogue in San Diego, was founded by Louis Rose. It is now called Beth Israel.


1871 MASSA EVEN SHEMU'EL

Was written by Aryeh Leib Frumkin (see 1845). This chronicle serves as an important resource describing the conditions existing in Eretz Israel at the time of the first pioneers.


1871 KING VICTOR EMANUEL (Italy)

Disregarded the Pope's objection to the razing of the ghetto.


1871 - 1922 MARCEL PROUST (France)

French writer. His mother was Jewish but he was raised in the Catholic faith. His most famous work was the seven part A la Recherche du Temps Perdu. Proust persuaded Anatole France to defend Dreyfus.


1871 - 1890 OTTO VON BISMARCK (Germany)

Served as chancellor of Germany. Although liberal support brought him to power, he joined the reactionaries. He tried to suppress democracy and stood in the way of Jews who opposed him.


1871 - 1962 RABBI BEN ZION YADLER (Jerusalem)

Aka 'The Maggid of Jerusalem', a well-known lecturer, educator and preacher. Due to a problem with his vision, he accustomed himself to memorize vast portions of the Talmud. Yadler was also known for his depth of knowledge of laws pertaining to the land of Israel. He visited agricultural settlements throughout the country on donkey. In 1918 after much effort he established the first ultra-orthodox girl's schools in the Land of Israel known as " Beit Ya'akov Hayashan".


1871 THE FIRST KOSHER COOKBOOK WAS PUBLISHED (USA)

By Esther Levy, called "Jewish Cookery Book".


1871 March 5, - 1919 ROSA LUXEMBURG (Poland - Germany)

Marxist revolutionary, socialist leader and economist. During WWI she was the leader of German pacifists and was arrested numerous times. After the war she helped found the Spartakusbund, which later became the Communist Party. During the uprising of 1919, she was arrested together with Karl Liebknecht and shot while being taken to prison.


1871 March 28, (Easter Sunday) FIRST MAJOR ORGANIZED POGROM WITHIN RUSSIA (Odessa)

Organized by local Greek merchants, the Jews were accused of stealing a cross. Thousands of local inhabitants joined in, supported by the police and the local governor.


1871 April 16, NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION (Germany)

Extended the constitution over the entire federation. This ostensibly removed all limitations on civic and citizens rights.


1871 June 11, HATZOFE B'ERETZ CHADASHA (The Observer in the New Land) (USA)

Edited by Henry Berenstein, it became the first Hebrew periodical to be published in the USA.


1871 July, ANGLO-JEWISH ASSOCIATION (England)

Was established in London. It was based on the principles of the Alliance Israelite Universelle. It was soon imitated in Germany in the form of the Lifaverein der Dutchen Juden.


1872 GERSHON "VON" BLEICHROEDER (Germany)

Scion to the banking firm and Bismarck's personal financier. He became the first professing Jew to be raised to the nobility. All of his children converted to Christianity.


1872 NEW YORK (USA)

Discrimination against Jews began in what is now City College of New York.


1872 - 1950 LEON BLUM (France)

Socialist, author, and critic. An activist in the socialist party, he led a coalition to win in 1936. The Vichy government arrested him in 1940 and he spent the rest of the war in an Austrian prison.


1872 REVOLUTIONARY CIRCLE (Vilna)

Was founded at the Yeshiva of Vilna. One of its organizers was by Aaron Leiberman.(1845-c.1880). They helped smuggle illegal literature into Russia, and served as a link between the Russian revolutionaries and their western supporters. In 1875 with the Russian government about to arrest them, the group broke up and Leiberman fled to London. He founded the newspaper Emet “ Truth” and is considered by some to be the first Jewish socialists.


1872 RUDOLF MOSSE (Germany)

Founded one of the great Berlin Dailies, the Berliner Tagblatt to which many Jews contributed their talents, i.e. Wolff and Bernard.


1872 April 22, BAVARIA (Germany)

Jews were granted civil rights as part of the constitution of the German Reich of 1871, though some of the special "Jewish taxes" were only abolished in 1880.


1872 May 6, SCHOOL FOR JEWISH LEARNING (Berlin, Germany)

A center for the scientific study of Judaism and a liberal rabbinical seminary was established. Also known as the Juedische Hochschule, it was formed by Ludwig Philipsson. He engaged such personalities as Abraham Geiger, David Cassel (history), and Israel Lewy (Talmud critic) as teachers.


1872 November 4, HAYYIM AMZALAK ( Eretz Israel)

Was appointed by British consul Noel Temple Moore, as British vice consul in Jaffa, where he served for 30 years. Amzalak (1828-1916), a businessman and community leader played a crucial role in the first aliyah, intervening with the Ottoman authorities whenever necessary. He was instrumental in the founding of Petach Tikva in 1878.


1873 EUROPEAN MARKET CRASH

Jews became the scapegoat for the over-speculation which occurred after the Franco-Prussian War.


1873 AKIVA YOSEF SCHLESINGER (Hungry – Jerusalem)

Published Sefer Hevrah Machzirei Atarah le-Yoshnah im Kollel Ivrim . (aka Sefer ha-Ma’aleh. Schlesinger (1837–1922) combined uncompromising orthodoxy and anti- acculturation with Jewish nationalism He advocated the establishing of agricultural settlements (helping raise funds for the purchase of Petach Tikva) and a militia a flag and Hebrew as the national language although he did not call for political sovereignty such he proposed an ideal "Religion should have nothing to do with governance. Jew and non-Jew should sit together in council" His other works include ofLev ha-Ivri (The heart of the Hebrew) and El ha-adarim (To the flocks).


1873 - 1956 LEO BAECK (Germany-England)

Leading theologian of the Reform movement. He believed in melding modern thought with Jewish ethics. Although the Nazis permitted him to leave in 1938, he chose to remain with his congregation and spent 5 years in Theresienstadt.


1873 - 1961 OTTO LOEWI (Germany-USA)

Biochemist and pharmacologist. Lowie's discoveries of the chemical messengers in the transmission of nerve impulses earned him the Nobel Prize (1936). Imprisoned by the Nazis in 1938 he managed to get to the USA before the war, where he was appointed Professor of Pharmacology at the College of Medicine of New York University.


1873 January 9, - 1934 CHAYIM NAHMAN BIALIK (Eretz Israel)

Poet laureate of the Jewish national movement from his debut in 1892 (El Ha-Tsippor - To the Bird) until his death. Bialik wrote both essays and poetry in which he voiced the hopes, joys, and woes of his people. He believed that unfortunately only persecution would move people to accept Zionist aspirations. After the 1903 massacre in Kishinev, Bilalik was asked to visit the site. Afterwards he wrote Beit Ha-hareigah (In the City of Slaughter) where he condemned the cowardice of the local Jews. This served as a catalyst for the organizing of local Jewish defense units. Two of his greatest poems are Metei Midbar (Dead of the Desert) and Megillat Ha'esh (Scroll of Fire). Bialik also translated Don Quixote and William Tell into Hebrew and was president of the Hebrew Language Council.


1873 July 8, UNION OF AMERICAN HEBREW CONGREGATIONS (USA)

Of the Reform Movement was launched in Cincinnati under the leadership of Dr. Isaac Meyer Wise.


1873 July 12, PERSIA

Shah Nasr-ed-Din and Adolphe Cremieux met to discuss the problems of oppressive social and economic discrimination against the Jews. The Shah agreed to encourage Jewish schools, and work to improve the Jewish condition. Unfortunately, despite his intentions, the government did little to prevent attacks against the Jewish population or to rescind many of the anti-Jewish regulations.


1874 - 1853 1853 ZVI HIRSH LEHREN ( Holland)

Merchant, community leader, and philanthropist. Lehren was entrusted with overseeing the collection of funds for Eretz Israel raised by various communities known as the Halukah (Chalukah). He was also active in organizing protests during the Damascus trials of 1840. Lehren was traditionally conservative in his approach, and was against the teaching of secular studies in any school in Jerusalem.


1874 - 1926 ERIC WEISS (1874-1926) (USA)

Better known as Harry Houdini, the master escape artist. Born in an Orthodox home and a rabbinical family, he performed publicly for 43 years. His reputation was greatest when it came to freeing himself from a wide range of chains and locks, even while under water. Houdini spent much of his time decrying and challenging super-naturalists and mediums.


1874 - 1943 GERSHON SIROTA (Ukraine - Poland)

Hazzan. Born in Podolia, Sirota served as the cantor in the Great Synagogue, ("Tlomackie Shul") in Warsaw. Sirota was considered one of the most accomplished tenors of his day with an outstanding range. Aside from the thousands who used to come hear him in the synagogue, he made numerous concert tours in Europe and the United States. In 1903, he was invited to make 12 records, the earliest of all liturgical music. He was the only one of the great hazzanim not to leave Europe before WWII. He and his family died in the Warsaw ghetto.


1874 - 1951 SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY (Russia)

Eminent composer and conductor. He organized his own symphony orchestra in Moscow. He left for Paris and finally Boston where he was appointed director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.


1874 - 1949 STEPHEN SAMUEL WISE (USA)

Rabbi, Zionist leader, and champion of liberal causes. Wise, who was ordained at age 19, became a leading advocate for the Zionist cause. Wise served as president of the American Zionist Organization and chairman of the United Palestine Appeal. As one of the founders of the World Jewish Congress he was among the first to warn about the dangers of Nazism. Wise promoted the freedom of Rabbis to deliver sermons of their choice - "free pulpit" - and not be dependent on the approval of the board of trustees. In 1907 he founded the Free Synagogue in New York and later the Jewish Institute of Religion (see 1922).


1874 September 13, - 1951 ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (Austria-USA)

Composer and developer of the Atonal System, which was badly received at first. His works include Guirrelieder and Five Orchestral Pieces. Though born into an Orthodox family in Vienna, he was influenced by Mahler and converted to Christianity in 1898. In response to the anti-Semitic atmosphere in Germany he returned to Judaism in 1933 in a formal religious ceremony and soon after left for the United States. While in the States, he was active in helping German Jewish refugees. Schoenberg also became a staunch Zionist and, if not for his health, would have taken the position of Director of the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem.


1874 November 27, - 1952 CHAIM WEIZMANN (Belarus-England-Eretz Israel)

Statesman and scientist. Herzl inspired him, but their many clashes led him to pursue his scientific career with Zionism as a sideline. In 1905 he moved to England where he made many useful contacts. These enabled him to take part in negotiations for the Balfour Declaration. Weizmann later became the head of the World Zionist Organization and was appointed the first president of Israel in 1948. Towards the end of his career he was no longer trusted and was considered to be too pro-British. He was sent on the eve of Independence to negotiate with Truman on the subject of partition. His autobiography is entitled Trial and Error.


1875 SIEGFRIED MARCUS (Germany)

Invented the first benzene driven vehicle.


1875 CAPTAIN CHARLES WARREN (BRITAIN)

Published a book titled ‘The Land of Promise’. Warren (later general) He called for the necessity of the development of Palestine by the "East India Company", aiming at bringing Jews into the country in order to occupy and rule its land.


1875 - 1942 (11 Tamuz 5702) ELCHANAN WASSERMAN (Poland)

Jewish leader and talmudic scholar. An outstanding teacher, Wasserman joined the Kollel of the Chafetz Hayim (see 1838) and was considered his spiritual heir. His Yeshiva at Baranovitch was considered one of the most famous in Eastern Europe. Wasserman was one of the main leaders of Agudat Israel in Europe. A brilliant organizer and instructor, he established a grade system for rabbinical studies. He supported and contributed works to the Mussar movement. He was caught with a number of other rabbis while visiting Kovno by the Nazis and executed. His last words were: "The fire which consumes our bodies...will be that which the people of Israel will arise to a new life. His works include Ikvita D'mashicha, Ohel Torah, and Shiurei Rav Elchanan. He was a frequent contributor to the journal Sharei Tzion.


1875 GEORG CANTOR CANTOR (1845-1918) (Russia-Germany

Mathematician, published his New Theory of the Meaning of Infinity. In it he postulates his concept of different kinds of infinity. He is known as the creator of set theory ( the collection of objects) in math.


1875 HEBREW UNION COLLEGE (Cincinnati, USA)

Was opened with the goal of training rabbis to serve in Reform temples. Founded by Isaac Meir Wise, it is the third oldest modern rabbinical college in the world.


1875 - 1937 MAURICE RAVEL (France)

Considered the greatest composer since Debussy. He wrote operas, ballets, orchestral and chamber music, and piano pieces. His works include the famous Bolero and Rapsodie Espagnole.


1875 - 1943 SAUL TCHERNICHOWSKY (Russia-Eretz Israel)

Hebrew Zionist poet and considered one of the fathers of modern Hebrew poetry. He was noted for his secular humanistic tendencies in modern Jewish nationalism. Tchernichowsky, who studied medicine, served as an army surgeon during World War I and later as a medical inspector of schools in Eretz Israel. He added much to the Hebrew terminology in botany and anatomy. He also edited a dictionary of Hebrew medical terms (1931) Sefer ha-Munnahim L'Refu'ah U'Le-Madda'ei ha-Teva (The Book of Medical and Scientific Terms) and settled in Erez Israel. He was fluent in many languages including Latin and Greek and he translated into Hebrew Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey as well as Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare's Twelfth night and Macbeth.


1876 NEW YORK (USA)

Abraham Goldfaden established the Yiddish theater.


1876 PANAMA

Although there had been minor Jewish immigrations since 1821, it was only in 1876 that the first Jewish congregation, Kol Shearith Israel, was founded.


1876 - 1943 ARTHUR RUPPIN (Eretz Israel)

Zionist, sociologist and father of modern Jewish demography. He founded what was later known as the Israel Land Development Authority (ILDC) which was dedicated to expanding settlement and agriculture. He also helped design new urban quarters in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Kfar Ruppin in the Beit Shean Valley was named after him.


1876 - 1962 BRUNO WALTER (SCHLESINGER) (Germany-USA)

German conductor, he was forced to leave when the Nazis took power. Walter served as conductor of the New York Philharmonic and was considered one of the greatest interpreters of Mozart and Mahler.


1876 ETHICAL CULTURE MOVEMENT (USA)

Was founded by Felix Adler, a former rabbinical student. Throughout most of his life he kept himself apart from all Jewish interests. He expounded his theories through his writings, i.e. Creed and Deed, An Ethical Philosophy of Life, etc.


1876 GEORGE ELIOT (England)

Published Daniel Deronda. As a Christian, she envisioned her protagonist finding his Jewishness, which led him to establish a Jewish Eretz Israel. The novel had a profound influence both in England and the United States, portraying a real possibility of Jews returning to a viable homeland.


1876 - 1909 SULTAN ABDUL HAMID II (Ottoman Empire)

Considered to be a benefactor to Turkish Jews, including Jewish refugees from Romanian persecutions. On the other hand, he disregarded his own constitution and was considered a tyrant when it came to anything which he felt would weaken his authority and rule, which also included Zionism.


1877 - 1959 WANDA LANDOWSKA (Poland-USA)

Internationally renowned harpsichordist and music authority.


1877 JOSEPH SELIGMAN (USA)

Was refused admission to the Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs because he was Jewish. Seligman was a renowned philanthropist and helped the Union cause during the Civil War for which in recognition, President Grant had offered him the post of Secretary of the Treasury. Judge Henry Hilton ruled that it was bad for business to allow Jews to enter the resort. Though the Grand Union Hotel was not the first incident in the USA, it received a great amount of publicity.


1877 - 1948 JUDAH MAGNES (USA-Eretz Israel)

Rabbi and Jewish leader. Though ordained as a Reform rabbi, Magnes was a traditionalist and became close to Solomon Schechter. He was instrumental in helping establish the American Jewish Committee together with his brother-in-law Louis Marshall. Magnes was a strong Zionist who believed in Jewish defense while accepting the unique role of Zionism as proposed by Ahad Ha'am. In 1922 he immigrated to Eretz Israel and helped establish the Hebrew University where he served as chancellor from 1925-35 and first president (1935-48) until his death.


1877 July 24, HENRY WARD BEECHER (USA)

A friend of Joseph Seligman's, he preached a sermon against anti-Semitism. Despite this appeal to reason, the policy of social discrimination soon became widespread.


1878 NAPHTALI HERZ IMBER (1856-1909)(Jassy, Romania)

Wrote a poem Tikvatenu ("Our Hope"). That same year Samuel Cohen, set it to the music of a Moldavian-Rumanian folk song, Carul cu Boi ("Cart and Oxen"). By 1905 it had become the unofficial anthem of the Zionist congress. Hatikvah became the official anthem at the 18th Zionist Congress in Prague in 1933.


1878 - 1953 (15 Cheshvan 5714) AVRAHAM YESHAYAHU KARELITZ (Chazon Ish) (Vilna, Eretz Israel)

Talmudist, halachist, and author of more than 40 books. Most of his works deal with the application of Halacha (Jewish Law) to modern life in a Jewish state. Despite the fact that he never held an official position, his influence on Halacha in modern society is well-nigh incalculable. After immigrating to Israel he devoted himself to the establishment of yeshivot, and was also instrumental in the founding of a city dedicated to strict Orthodoxy - Bnei Brak.


1878 - 1967 CLAUDE BLOCH (USA)

Admiral and commander-in-chief of the United States Fleet(1938-1940. Bloch was a graduate of the Naval Academy and fought in both the Spanish-American War where he was decorated and in the Chinese expedition to suppress the Boxer rebellion. Bloch became a Rear Admiral in 1923 and in 1927 he commanded the battleship California. In 1938 Bloch was made commander-in-chief of the United States Fleet and served as the Commander of the Shore Installation at Pearl Harbor. Bloch retired a year later (he was 64). He continued to serve on the Naval Board until 1946.


1878 - 1960 (14 Nissan 5720) HAYYIM HELLER (Poland-Germany-USA)

Scholar and Rabbinical leader. He established a new type of yeshiva in Berlin which combined traditional studies with Biblical and talmudic research (Bet ha-Midrash ha-Elyon) see 1922. Heller combined vast talmudic knowledge with modern methods of textual research. In 1929 he joined the faculty of the Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.


1878 - 1942 (21 Av 5712) JANUS KORCZAK (Henryk Goldschmidt) (Poland)

Doctor, educator, and director of the Jewish Orphanage of Warsaw. Korczak was a pioneer in modern education and child care. He instituted a children's court run by children in his orphanage, insisting that children have rights and must be treated with respect. During the war he refused to wear the yellow star or "accept" the Nazi invasion. Despite the offer of his Polish friends to help him flee the ghetto, he refused to leave "his orphans", preferring to share their fate in Treblinka.


1878 NIAGARA BIBLE CONFERENCE (Ontario, Canada)

A conference of evangelical Christians published the Niagara creed, which included the belief that the Jews must first be returned to the land of Israel before there could be a second coming.


1878 February 8, - 1965 MARTIN BUBER (Galicia-Eretz Israel)

Considered by many to be the most prominent philosopher of the twentieth century. As a child, he lived with his grandfather and came into contact with Hasidism, which was later reflected in his work. Most of his philosophies revolve around the I-It and I-Thou relationships of people to G-d and objects. Buber was also concerned with the "Historic" soul of the Jew. He fled in 1938 from Germany to Eretz Israel where he served as a professor in the Hebrew University. His numerous books cover many aspects of Judaism, philosophy, and existentialism.


1878 March 12, RABBI ELIJAH ABRAHAM ROSENBLIT (San Francisco, USA)

In a letter to the chief rabbi of the ottoman Empire Moses Halevi, he offered to sell the Sultan a miraculous gun ”at the lowest possible price”. The gun (according to Rosenblit) could shoot 3000 rounds per minute could be used to defeat the “evil” Russians. Although it did reach its destination, it is unknown if the sultan ever received the letter. In any case the war had ended with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire before the letter was even written.


1878 March 28, - 1963 HERBERT HENRY LEHMAN (USA)

Politician, banker, philanthropist. Lehman began his career in the War Department under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was then assistant secretary of the Navy. He won the Distinguished Service Medal in World War I as an advisor to the Secretary of War. He continued with Roosevelt acting as lieutenant governor of New York in 1928, and then as governor for 5 terms starting in 1932. Lehman headed the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), and later served one term as senator. He was active in the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and although not a Zionist, supported the establishment of a Jewish state after the Second World War.


1878 June 13, BERLIN CONGRESS (Romania)

At a summit of European powers discussing the Balkan region, civil rights were "guaranteed" for Romanian Jews. The Romanian populace and government soon ignored this order.


1878 August 8, PETAH TIKVAH (Gate of Hope) (Eretz Israel)

A colony was established in Eretz Israel that was founded by a group of Orthodox Jews who wished to "work the land". It was abandoned in 1881 after Arab attacks and re-established a year later by people of the first Aliyah.


1879 KUTAIS (Georgia)

Jews were accused of murdering a Christian girl for ritual purposes. In this, one of the last ritual murder cases, the defense council tried to prove that local Monks were behind the accusations and presented a social analysis of ritual murder cases.


1879 - 1923 VLADIMIR MEDEM (Russia)

A Russian Bundist. He advocated the treatment of the Jews as a nationality (like the Poles) based on socialism. Though he was baptized in infancy, he returned to Judaism and was one of the founders of the Bund.


1879 WILLIAM MARR (Germany)

First used the term anti-Semitism in his slanderous book The Victories of Judaism over Germanism.


1879 ALBERT NEISSER (Germany)

Discovered the bacillus of gonorrhea. Although he was baptized, he employed many Jews and encouraged them in their work.


1879 BIRTH OF MODERN ANTI-SEMITISM (Germany)

Adolph Stoecker, a German theologian and anti-Semitic leader, founded the "Christian Social Workers Party" (later known as the CSP). Orginaly designed to fight against Social Democracy, it soon became synonymous with anti- Jewish demagogy. His Christian Socialist Workingmen's Union was a front for boycotting and/or bypassing Jewish businesses in favor of those belonging to the Teutonic race. Thus, a Jew became qualified to be a Jew not by his religion (which left him the option of conversion) but by his race, which not even the baptismal waters could cure. Stoecker can also be "accredited" with making anti-Semitism a national issue.


1879 ETZ HAYYIM CONTROVERSY (Jerusalem)

With the approval of chief Rabbi Samuel Salant. Moses Montefiore made a donation to help school children study Arabic. This aroused the ire of some religious extremists, who backed by the Austrian consul, demanded that the studies cease. The British consul, Noel More (1833-1903) who was well respected, tried to intervene but was unsuccessful. The money was returned.


1879 - 1940 LEON TROTSKY (BRONSTEIN) (Russia)

Trotsky was the son of a Jewish Odessian farmer. Believing there was no future for the Jewish people as a people, he became a contemporary of Lenin, helping him with his publication of Iskra (Spark). He was exiled and arrested many times before the Revolution. Trotsky played an important role in the Communist government and only after Lenin's death did Stalin expel him from the party. He was exiled in 1928 first to Turkey then Norway and finally to Mexico. Trotsky was assassinated on August 21, 1940 by a friend, presumably on Stalin's orders. Trotzky did not accept the concept of Jewish identity and was violently opposed to Zionism.


1879 - 1942 PINHAS RUTENBERG (Russia-Eretz Israel)

Engineer, revolutionary, and founder of the Israel electric company. He took an active part in the Russian revolution before was forced to flee by the Bolsheviks. Rutenberg was one of the forces behind the creation of the Jewish legion in 1917 and the Haganah. In January 1926, he became the first citizen of "Mandatory Palestine". In 1930, he completed the building of the hydroelectric power station at Naharayim on the Jordan River and in 1937, founded the short-lived Palestine Airways.


1879 - 1933 ROSE PASTOR STOKES (Wieslander) ( Poland-USA)

Socialist writer and co-founder of the Communist Party in the USA. Rose Stokes was active in various strikes including the shirtwaist workers' strike. She was also one of the early leaders of the birth control movement.


1879 March 14, - 1955 ALBERT EINSTEIN (Ulm, Germany-USA)

Discovered the Theory of Relativity and a theory of photo-effect, which helped pave the way for television. He was a leading anti-war activist during World War I and again after World War II. Together with his rise to fame came his awareness of anti-Semitism, and he emigrated to the United States in 1933 after Hitler's rise to power. Einstein was an outspoken advocate of Zionism and visited Eretz Israel in 1922. His theories helped other physicists to develop the atomic bomb. A pacifist by nature, his comment upon hearing the news of Hiroshima was "Oi Vey." In 1952 he was offered the presidency of Israel as successor to Weizmann, but he declined.


1879 August 17, - 1974 SAMUEL GOLDWYN (Goldfish) (Poland-USA)

Film producer began by working in a glove factory. Forming a filmmaking partnership in 1913 with brother-in-law Jesse L. Lasky and Cecil B. de Mille, their first venture was The Squaw Man. He eventually formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and produced films which included Porgy and Bess, Guys and Dolls, and The Best Years Of Our Lives. He was also famous for his fractured use of the English language which became known as Goldwynisms with such gems as "Include me out", "We are dealing with facts and not realities", and I'll give you a definite maybe."


1879 November 15, i>BERLINER ANTISEMITISMUSSTREIT
: The Berlin Anti-Semitism Dispute

was begun by Heinrich Gotthard von Treitschke’s essay Our Outlook. Von Treitschke (1834 – 1896),was a German historian Reichstag member, and virulent anti-Semite. He coined the phrase “Die Juden sind unser Unglück!" ("The Jews are our misfortune!"), which was became the motto of Der Stürmer the Nazi newspaper. He was strongly opposed by Theodor Mommsen ( 1817 – 1903) a liberal nationalist and classical scholar who denounced von Treitschke.




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