FROM OUR ARCHIVES

50 YEARS AGO

April 10, 1968 Martin Luther King’s special affinity with the Jewish cause and his understanding for the numerous parallels between the Jewish people and blacks in America were stressed at a memorial held at the YMCA in Jerusalem. Rabbi Israel Dresner, one of the late leader’s close Jewish associates, recalled how Dr. King loved to quote from the Hebrew Bible and admired the way the Jewish people never forgot its time of slavery when reading the Haggada on Passover. Dresner also recalled that King was one of the eight American Christian leaders who signed a public petition condemning the closing of the Straits of Tiran and urging the removal of armed threats from Sinai for the sake of peace in the Middle East, during the days of tension preceding the Six Day War. A recording of one of King’s last sermons was played, in which he said, “If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice.”

15 YEARS AGO

April 10, 2003 Jubilant crowds swarmed Baghdad’s streets, dancing, cheering and looting as US commanders declared that president Saddam Hussein’s rule over the ancient capital had ended. In one symbolic gesture, Iraqis toppled a massive statue of Saddam with the help of an American tank. While Iraqis celebrated, the fate of Saddam and his sons remained unknown.

The Palestinian Authority issued a statement condemning the bombing of the PA embassy in Baghdad, declaring, “The US aggression on the embassy was premeditated, directly targeting the Palestinian Embassy which is located in the diplomatic neighborhood in the Iraqi capital.” According to the statement, the embassy was hit by air-to-surface missiles, which severely damaged the roof and destroyed the contents of the building.

There was shock and disbelief in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as Palestinians gathered around TV sets and watched the relatively quick takeover of Baghdad by coalition forces. “This can’t be true,” grumbled Abu Ghazalah. “Where are the suicide bombers? Where are the fedayeen of Saddam? Where are the heroic Republican Guards?” A Ramallah grocery-store owner said, “I invested a lot of money in buying a satellite dish and a new TV set because I wanted to watch the day the battle for Baghdad begins. I was so sure that this was going to be one of the great battles of the century.” Older Palestinians said the events in Iraq were reminiscent of the Six Day War, when Arab radio stations and leaders told their audiences that Israel was on the verge of defeat. They noted the TV appearances of the Iraqi information minister, ‘Baghdad Bob,’ who remained defiant till the last minute, insisting that everything was under control and that the enemy had been defeated.

Any haredim who had up to that point avoided using credit cards because they lacked the heter iska (rabbinical formula for permitting interest charges) could finally do so with a clear conscience by using the Postal Authorities “kosher” debit card. With halachic approval by the Bnei Brak Rabbinical Court, customers could use the debit card to pay for goods and services, but they did not get credit for which interest would be paid. – Daniel Kra