On this day in 1894, French Army Captain Alfred Dreyfus was arrested for espionage. After a closed trial, in which no material evidence against the captain surfaced, he was found guilty of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island. Throughout the next three years, Dreyfus’ family struggled to publicize and reverse the unfair verdict, aided by the efforts of French Army Major Georges Picquart, who discovered the true culprit, and journalist Emile Zola, who believed in Dreyfus’ innocence. In 1899, Dreyfus was pardoned, but not exonerated, and the five-year process to regain his freedom brought the undercurrents of ultra-nationalism and antisemitism bubbling beneath the exterior of French society to the fore. To many, including Austrian journalist Theodor Herzl, the Dreyfus Affair heralded the end of Jewish life in Europe. In order to survive and thrive, Jews would need to leave Europe behind. For Herzl, this meant that Jews [...]

On this day in 1965, on two days’ rest, Sandy Koufax pitched a 2-0 shutout to bring a World Series title to Los Angeles. Koufax had made history eight days earlier when he refused to pitch the first game of the Series so that he could observe Yom Kippur. On October 14, he made history again, recording his second shutout in the Series and capping off an incredible year that included a new strikeout record, a perfect game (on September 9), the Cy Young Award, the Triple Crown, and, now, the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. To this day Koufax remains a legend, not just for his pitching prowess, or even his status as the preeminent American Jewish athlete, but also for his demeanor. Though fiercely competitive, he was known for being gracious and respectful. In an age when iconic pitchers, including his teammate, Don Drysdale, routinely employed brushback [...]

On October 13, 1843, at Sinsheimer’s Café on New York City’s Lower East Side, Henry Jones and 11 fellow German Jewish immigrants met to create B’nai Brith, an organization dedicated to assisting new Jewish immigrants to America. One of the first Jewish communal organizations, B’nai Brith served as a forerunner to the countless Jewish organizations and philanthropic ventures that permeate the 21st Century American Jewish landscape. Ultimately, B’nai Brith blossomed into an international organization, extending its reach across the globe, but continued to innovate throughout many spheres of American Jewish life—equipping Jewish soldiers, advocating for fair treatment of Jews in the United States and abroad, raising funds for humanitarian aid and disaster relief, combating antisemitism (through the Anti-Defamation League), sponsoring Jewish summer camps, organizing affordable senior housing facilities, and working with students on college campuses (through Hillel). The legacy of B’nai Brith is one closely associated with k’lal yisrael, serving the [...]

On this day in 1958, at 3:30 in the morning, neighbors of Atlanta’s Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple, also known as the Temple, awoke to a loud explosion. Fifty sticks of dynamite placed at the Temple’s northern entrance caused nearly $100,000 in damage to the building. Thirty minutes later, a group of white supremacists calling themselves the Confederate Underground claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to the United Press. Members of the Temple suspected that the attack was in retaliation for the activism of its senior rabbi, Jacob Rothschild, an outspoken proponent of racial equality. Fortunately, civic leaders, reporters, and religious leaders alike flocked to support the Jewish community of Atlanta following the bombing. Even President Eisenhower released a statement denouncing the attack. Few, however, spoke as eloquently about the bombing as Ralph McGill, the editor of the Atlanta Constitution, who wrote, “When the wounds of hate are loosed [...]