In the Beginning: 1855
Each week The American Israelite will print an item from the first years.
In a season like the present when all things seem combined to work unfavorably for the poor and the needy, it is truly cheering to see the activity displayed by those whom fortune has favored, in their endeavors to alleviate the distresses which are so prominently visible among us. Charity, it is said, covers a multitude of sins, and if it indeed be so, many and many a transgression has been wiped out this year, by the open hand and the feeling heart. On all sides we hear of dire and deep distress, and we know that there are many among us almost starving, and wanting the means of keeping soul and body together. Our people have still behaved nobly, but yet much remains to be done; we have set an example that the proudest might emulate, and be yet prouder, for we have searched out where the lame, the halt and the blind, where the orphan and the widow, where the sick and the needy, have found a mere shelter for their limbs, and we have opened our hands to their grievous cries and have thanked G-d that he has given us the means to help our suffering brethren. But a bitter season is still with us, and we must not forget that “the poor are among us always;” we must not be blind to the fact that although we have done so much, still yet more remains to be done.
— February 16, 1855
150 Years ago
Neglected and Forsaken
The saddest sight to behold is to see fields, which were once under the highest state of cultivation, neglected and forsaken, their surface broken and washed away, and fertile tracts covered with thistles, which were before a velvet-like lawn bearing sweet fruits for animal and man. To cap the desolate sight, there is the broken down house rapidly falling into decay, and its ruins inhabited by vicious animals instead as it once was by loving hearts that gathered around its fireside to listen to the tender words of the dear darling mother or the sage-like stories of the kind father and protector of the house.
Sad as such a sight is, it is still more sad to behold the young in Israel who neglect to store their minds with the rich literature of their noble ancestors. To be an Israelite and not know the history of Israel and its glorious religious principles, is thrice as sad a sign as the view of the once cultivated farm and its surroundings, neglected and forsaken, which turns again into a wilderness and becomes the abode of reptiles and other vicious creatures, the natural enemies of man.
Cosmopolitan
The higher men advance in the scale of enlightenment and refinement, so much more cosmopolitan do they become in their excitement and action. Self-love, and the extreme love for their own family, and the passionate attachment to the place of their nativity, race and religious creed, is to a great extent superseded by the affectionate parent-like love for the whole human family, extending over the inhabitable globe. Such men harbor no prejudice and ill-feeling toward their fellow-man, because they are born in another country, believe in another creed and lead a different life from their own. They weigh well the circumstances under which their fellowmen were brought up, and make due allowance if they do not live up to the standard of true manhood. The men of cosmopolitan feelings are slow to condemn, but quick to exert their good offices to improve the conduct and happiness of their fellow-man, and all that surrounds him.
— February 18, 1876
125 Years ago
Jottings
– During the reign of Queen Victoria there were four Jewish Lord Mayors of London: Sirs David Solomons, Benjamin Phillips, Henry Isaacs and Faudel Phillips.
– It has not been very long, says the Indianapolis Press, since this country was in a state of violent indignation because of the outrage inflicted upon a Jew by French army officers and a sympathetic government. Now, what are we going to say of those medical students in Philadelphia who taunted and abused a Hebrew student for months, and finally, when he resented treatment that had become unendurable, assaulted him and inflicted injuries that rendered him unconscious and that will make him a cripple for many months?
A CAPUCHIN monk in Detroit is likely to lose one of his legs in consequence of a diseased knee, the cause of the trouble being attributed to prolonged and frequent kneeling in prayer. This must be put down to one of those mysterious dispensations of Providence, which are so easily explicable in the case of bad people, but cannot be accounted for when good ones are the objects of the visitation. Had It been a pagan who worships heathenish gods, the truly pious would have no difficulty in making a diagnosis of the cause.
— February 21, 1901
100 Years ago
Jottings
– For statements made in his Communist Newspaper, “Freedom,” Anthony Bimba was tried in Boston, charged with violating the blasphemy law enacted in 1697. Bimba claimed that the law was unconstitutional, but the decision was against him. The penalty inflicted has not been reported.
– According to a recent article in the New York Times, Dr. Ales Hrdlicka, claims as a result of very extended observations, environment is much more effective in creating change of type than heredity. This is a claim that has often been made in THE ISRAELITE and Dr. Hrdlicka is not the only scientist that gives it his adherence.
More Romaninan Persecution
Bucharest, (JTA)—The economic existence of 20,000 Jewish families in Romania is threatened by a new bill which will be introduced in parliament by the Minister of Finance. The bill deals with the redistribution of concessions for the sale of beverages. The text of the bill contains the provision that concessions are to be given to “sound Romanians” instead of using the expression Romanian citizens. It is feared that this expression might be interpreted by the authorities as meaning native Romanians and might jeopardize the rights of Romanian Jewish citizens and many wounded war veterans who now hold concessions.
— February 18, 1926
75 Years ago
$327,000 Pledged Toward Home for The Chronic Ill
With more than 72% of the goal already pledged in the $450,000 campaign for a Home for the Jewish Chronic Ill, the Board of Governors of the Federation of Jewish Agencies has authorized the architect, Bernard Pepinsky, to prepare complete working drawings of the structure. Herbert R. Bloch, Sr., president of the Federation and chairman of the campaign committee, announced.
When the plans are completed, sealed bids will be asked, Mr. Bloch said. Mr. Pepinsky estimated that it will take 10 to 12 weeks to complete the drawings and another two or three weeks before the contractors can submit their bids.
Council Of Jewish Women To Present UN Observer Soon
Mrs. Adolph Robison, accredited observer to the United Nations for the National Council of Jewish Women, will talk of the UN to the Cincinnati section Wednesday, Feb. 28. The meeting, sponsored by the Social Action Committee, will be a luncheon-discussion program at Wise Center at 12:45 p.m.
Bar Mitzvah
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Price, of 345 Forest Avenue, announce the forthcoming bar mitzvah of their son, Stanley Howard, Saturday, March 3, at the Louis Feinberg Synagogue.
They will be at home in his honor Sunday, March 4, from 2 to 5 p.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited. No cards.
— February 22, 1951
50 years ago
Captor of Nazi War Criminals To Speak in City
Simon Wiesenthal, survivor of the Nazi death camps, who has devoted his life to locating Nazi war criminals, will be speaking at the Plum Street Temple at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16. The public is invited.
Mr. Wiesenthal’s visit is being sponsored by the Cincinnati Join Reform Temple Brotherhoods, consisting of the Brotherhoods from Rockdale Temple, Temple Sholom and Isaac M. Wise Temple.
Bar Mitzvah
My son, Robert David, will read from the Torah and chant the Haftorah in honor of his Bar Mitzvah, Saturday, February 28, 1976, at 9:00 in the morning at the Northern Hills Synagogue, 715 Fleming Road.
Robert is the son of the late Dr. Jules I. Weiss. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. John Weiss of Hollywood, Florida and Mr. and Mrs. Barney Wilker of Freehold, New Jersey. He is the great grandson of Mrs. Fannie Breger of Miami Beach, Florida.
Sue Weiss
— February 19, 1976
10 Years ago
The American Israelite website and social media continues to expand
The American Israelite is the oldest Jewish weekly newspaper in America. Since 1854, people have been looking to The American Israelite to provide them with their Jewish news, and that continues today.
— February 18, 2016
5 Years ago
“Cincinnati is my home”: Israeli Native helps Jewish Cincinnati Flourish
“I feel like I’m giving a part of myself by educating students in Cincinnati about our shared heritage,” said Idit Moses.
She is a bundle of happy energy; one can’t be in her presence without having a smile on your face. Even connecting via video-chat for this recent interview, one could feel the energy and passion she has for Cincinnati and the Jewish community.
She moved to Cincinnati for a one-year job as an au pair after she left the Israeli Defense Force. That was nearly thirty years ago.
—February 18, 2021
