In the Beginning: 1855
Each week The American Israelite will print an item from the first years.
Noah’s Ark. — Mount Ararat is 6000 feet higher than Etna, and 1528 feet higher than Mont Blanc; the latter the point of greatest elevation in Europe. It is detached from the other mountains of Armenia, and is divided into two conical peaks. Sir Robert Porter paints in glowing colors the magnificence of the spectacle when he first came in sight of Ararat majestically rising from a widely-extended green plain, fertilized by the clear waters of the Arts (the ancient Araxes), and covered with Armenian villages. In various points of view the summit has a striking resemblance to a ship, a fact which has been recorded by all travelers to the spot; and the whole country around is full of traditionary stories relative to Noah’s ark and the flood. It is a common belief amongst the Armenians and Persians, that the remains of the ark still exist on the summit.
— April 13, 1855
150 Years ago
Foreign Record
– Berlin. — There are in Berlin 136,000 voters and among them 7460 Jews, 7000 Catholics and only 200 Dissenters.
– The synagogue at Carlsruhu, which was burnt down some time ago, is being erected and promised to be a structure of a very a handsome and majestic nature.
– The Prussian Government has appointed a young archaeologist, Dr. Hirschfeld, to explore, at its cost, the districts of Asia Minor of which comparatively little is known, by reason of their lying off the ordinary track.
Cincinnati. — The temples were attended during the Passover Feast by large crowds. Divine service was exceedingly sublime, made so by classical music, eminent orations, and worshipping multitudes. Nearly six hundred Hebrew children frequent the Sabbath-schools to study Hebrew, Judaism, and Jewish history. This is a Kehilla — a Hebrew congregation — in the fullest sense of the term, where Judaism is fully at home again, and respected by Jew and Gentile, more so, than in the most prosperous time of Spanish Judaism.
— April 10, 1874
125 Years ago
Any child of a Jewish mother, irrespective of its father’s race or faith, according to Rabbinical legislation in the Talmud — the Bible contains no law covering this case — is lawfully a Jewish child, the heir of all the rights and claims of its mother — also of the duties and obligations — in the law and pale of Judaism. It must therefore have happened frequently, especially in the earlier days of the middle ages and after that for a long time on the Spanish peninsula, the line of demarcation being not very tightly drawn, that many children of Christian or Mohammedan fathers were tacitly amalgamated with the Jews. This, in part at least, accounts for the mixed physiognomies among the Jews in all European countries. A case of this kind is noticed in the Pentateuch, Leviticus 24:10.
— April 13, 1899
100 Years ago
Jottings
– Should another edition of the Jewish Encyclopedia ever be published, it should correct an error to be found there in regard to the date of Dr. Stephen Wise’s birth, which it makes March 17, 1862, as this would make him sixty-two years old.
– During patriotic demonstrations at Northwestern University at Chicago, a group of students attacked Isador Spector, a Russian Jew, and told him to get off the campus. They also manhandled him somewhat. The affair arose from an incident in the class of Professor Alfred Bays. The Professor later said: “It seems a grave injustice was done Spector, owing to his difficulty in making himself understood in English. He told the that hew anted to speak to the class on pacifism, but what he wanted to explain was that he was not a pacifist.” The students, however, misunderstood him, and in their zeal ejected him from the classroom.
– A formal protest has been sent by the American Jewish Congress to Senator Robert M. La Follette, in a reference to a petition sponsored by him and submitted by the Executive Committee of the National Convention of American Citizens of Hungarian Descent which, under the guise of a plea for justice for Hungary, is spreading the old-style Hungarian anti-Semitic propaganda in this country. The petition was presented by Senator La Follette, who has always been known as a liberal and a foe to all forms of anti-Semitism, and the formal protest by the American Jewish Congress was sent in order to call to his attention the anti-Semitism in the petition that he might take action accordingly.
– For and in consideration of $25.00 to him paid, the Rev. Alexander S. Van Dyck, pastor of the Wanaque, N.J. Reform Church, sanctioned a parade of three hooded Ku Klux Klan representatives in his church at a Sunday evening service, and afterwards preached a sermon eulogizing the Klan, a local branch of which it is proposed to organize. This was good advertising and cheap at the price. But, to be charitable to Mr. Van Dyck, perhaps it was the church’s poverty and not his will that consented.
– A fiery cross blazed midnight April 3, on the campus of Columbia University. It was set up and fired by a group of white-robed and hooded men opposite Furnald Hall, where Frederick W. Wells, a [Black] law student, has a room which fellow students have attempted to oust him. While the cross burned, Wells remained in his locked room, heedless to the calls and knocks of his neighbors. The cross was brought to the campus in an automobile by a group of men in civilian clothes. They left the car and scattered in every direction only to reappear a few minutes later shrouded in the regalia of the Ku Klux Klan.
Editor’s note: Frederic W. Wells was not only persecuted and harassed by the KKK while at Columbia, but by his fellow students as well. Many Columbia students tried to get him to leave the campus housing. Those students were also connected to the KKK and were instrumental in organizing the cross burning mentioned above. He was the only Black student at Columbia at the time. Wells would go on to become an attorney. He worked as Industrial Secretary for the Urban League in California, where he focused his energy on housing for marginalized communities. He then moved to New York City, where he formed a real estate firm. The New York Public Library houses a collection of letters and other material related to the aforementioned incident. Many of the items in the collection are letters of support for Wells from all over the country. Columbia University did not address the campus discrimination nor did it punish any of the student organizers involved in the cross burning and other discrimination against Wells.
— April 10, 1924
75 Years ago
Social Notes
A composition by Dr. James G. Heller, rabbi of Wise temple, will be included on the program sonatas for violin and piano, to be presented by Reuben Segal, of the violin section of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and May Estel Forbes, of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music artist piano faculty, Sunday, April 17, at 8:15 p.m. in the Conservatory Concert Hall. The public is invited.
– Ms. Lillian Feldman Schwartz who, with her young son, Jeffrey Hugh, has been visiting for eight months with her mother, Mrs. Jacob Feldman, of 2510 Senator Place, has left for Japan to join her husband, Lieut. Jack James Schwartz.
– Mrs. A. B. Cohen has accepted appointment to the Speaker’s Bureau of the United Fine Arts campaign, on behalf of the Symphony Orchestra, Taft Museum, Art Museum, and Summer Opera.
— April 14, 1949
50 years ago
Bar Mitzvah
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Feldman (Rhoda) are happy to announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Michael Jay, Saturday, April 20, at 9 a.m. at Adath Israel Synagogue. We will be delighted to have you worship with us and join us for the Kiddish following service.
Michael is the grandson of Mrs. Mollie Schwartz of Cincinnati and Mrs. Lena Feldman and the late Mr. Isadore Feldman of New York.
– Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Mayerson (Gail Steinberg), 2467 Zephyr Drive, Dayton, 45141 announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Marc Steve, on April 20th at 11 a.m. at Temple Israel, Salem and Emerson Avenue, Dayton.
Marc is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Steinberg of Cincinnati.
Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend the services and Kiddish.
Bas Mitzvah
Our daughter, Nanette Lynne, will be Bas Mitzvah Saturday, April 20, 1974, at 9:45 a.m. at Temple Sholom, 3100 Longmeadow Lane. It will be our pleasure to have your worship with us on this occasion and to be our guests at the Kiddush following the services, and at the open house that evening at 8 p.m. at our home, 5433 Autumnwood Dr.
Nanette is the granddaughter of Rochelle Rosen and the late Ike Rosen of Cincinnati, and the late Toubie Berlin, of Chicago and Jack Berlin of Florida.
Myrna and David Rosen
— April 11, 1974
25 Years ago
Jewish community responds to tornado crisis
By Brian L. Meyers
Managing Editor
Last week’s tornado storm left a swath of devastation through northwest Cincinnati, severe enough to force Ohio Governor, Bob Taft, to declare three local counties disaster areas.
In the aftermath of the destruction, several Jewish organizations have found themselves on the front line of the recovery effort — some literally.
The Ohav Shalom Synagogue, which was completed just last year, stands no more than yards away from where a line of trees used to stand, and just beyond that, is a community now digging itself out.
— April 15, 1999
10 Years ago
Story of a “Child Star”: Dr. Henry Fenichel recounts his Holocaust experience
Dr. Henry Fenichel, Holocaust survivor and Professor Emeritus of physics at the University of Cincinnati, will recount his story as a preschooler forced by Nazis to wear a yellow star signifying his religion on May 1, 2014. This event is free of charge and will be held at the Center for Holocaust and Humanity at Rockwern Academy. There is also free admission to the CHHE exhibit from 6:00-7:00pm before the event.
Fenichel, who did not speak openly about his experiences until the early 1990’s, is now sharing his life story with hundreds of people—including young school children. What prompted Dr. Fenichel to break his silence on his past was the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Museum dedicated in Washington, D.C in 1993. Each community looked for a local survivor, and Dr. Fenichel was interviewed by the Cincinnati Enquirer to represent survivors living in Cincinnati at the opening of the museum.
— April 10, 2014
