Feb. 14, 1896:
The book Der Judenstaat was published in Vienna by Theodor Herzl, in which he envisaged a Jewish state combining humanitarian principles and technological achievements. Subsequently, 80 editions were printed in 18 languages.
“We are a people, one people… In vain do we exert ourselves to increase the glory of our fatherlands by achievements in the arts and sciences and their wealth by our contributions to commerce… We are denounced as strangers… If only they would leave us in peace…But I do not think they will,” he wrote.
Feb. 15, 1905:
Birthday of Harold Arlen (Hyman Arluck), Broadway/Hollywood composer whose songs include “Stormy Weather,” “Get Happy,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road”), and the Oscar-winning “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Feb. 16, 1987:
The first televised trial in Israeli history began, in which John Demjanjuk was convicted of being Ivan the Terrible, a notoriously cruel guard at the Treblinka extermination camp, and sentenced to death. The verdict was overturned in 1993 by the Israeli Supreme Court due to “reasonable doubt” over his identity.
Shortly before his death, he was tried and convicted in Germany as an accessory to 28,060 murders at the Sobibor camp.
Feb. 17, 1949:
Chaim Weizmann, chemist, Zionist leader, and founder of the Weizmann Institute, was elected as the first president of Israel. He had played a decisive role in securing the Balfour Declaration through his international reputation earned by inventions in the field of explosives.
Feb. 18, 1963:
Theodore von Kármán was presented with America’s first National Medal of Science by president John F. Kennedy. Kármán was a founder of aeronautical science and a pioneering leader of America’s aerospace industry.
Considered “the father of supersonic flight,” he designed prototypes of today’s solid-propellant rocket engines for long-range missiles. “Scientists study the world as it is; engineers create the world that never has been,” he said.
Feb. 19, 629:
After being assisted by the Jews in the Land of Israel to overcome the Persians in return for a promise of amnesty, Byzantine emperor Heraclius reneged. Hundreds of Jews were massacred, and thousands fled to Egypt, thus ending the rich Jewish life in the Galilee and Judea.
Shvat 22, 5619 (1859):
Yahrzeit (anniversary of death) of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, renowned hassidic leader, and forerunner of the Ger Hassidic dynasty.
Mendel was said to be completely uncompromising in his quest for faith, honesty, and truth. He abhorred rote piety, taught his followers that they must renew their dedication to self-knowledge and truth on a daily basis, and was known for his sharp wit.
The above is a highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars. For the complete daily newsletter with events and Jews who have changed the world: dustandstars.substack.com/subscribe