Tracing the Tribe: New Blog: This Day in Jewish History

Interested in what happened in Jewish history on a particular day?

If so, then This Day in Jewish History blog is for you.

The daily round-up lists interesting global tidbits names families and communities that can lead researchers to additional sources on events impacting Jewish history.

March 8's entry includes some 30 items. The first reads:

1688: On this night a large group of secret Jews planned to escape the island of Majorca by booking passage on an English ship. They were looking for religious freedom. A storm delayed their departure, and their plan was betrayed. All those planning to leave were put in prison. In the spring of 1691 these prisoners were sentenced at an auto-de-fe, where 37 were burned at the stake.

What I'd like to do is find the list of those passengers. They are likely in Inquisition court documents. All I need is time to dig for them.

This list of events ranges from 1688-2008, and places named are global.

A few other listings:

1912: The Greek town of Zante was devastated by an earthquake. The Jewish quarter was destroyed, and more than 100 Jewish families are homeless.

1912: Marco Besso of Trieste and Errea Cavalieri of Ferrara were both elected as Senators in Italy.

1918: Ukrainian mobs massacred the Jews of Seredino Buda.

1918: Jews of Gloucher were massacred by Ukrainians. At this point in Russian history, the empire was in chaos. ...
Listings include news items, birthdays, political events and more.

The blog is compiled by Mitchell A. Levin as part of the Jewish History Study Group program at Temple Judah, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

The disclaimer reminds readers that Levin makes no claim to originality or scholarship and that "The sources, including texts and websites are too many and too varied to provide academic citations for each entry or part thereof."

Levin, who has a lifelong interest in history and Judaica, holds a BA in history from Tulane University and an MA in Human Resources from Webster University. His Jewish experiences have run the gamut from Reform to Orthodox, including teaching mitzvah and high school age students.

For five years, he has led the Temple Judah weekly adult education class. For two years, they studied weekly Torah and Haftarah readings, moving on to the History of Jewish Civilization starting with Joshua.

My only complaint is the color scheme. White lettering on a black background is extremely difficult to read and induced severe eyestrain after five minutes. So if compiler Levin is reading this, maybe he'll have some rachmunes (Yiddish for "pity") on us and tweak the look.

Only selected Tracing the Tribe postings are here at Blog Central . For all posts (covering events, books, personalities and much more), visit Tracing the Tribe - The Jewish Genealogy Blog at http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.com. Send questions for Schelly to tribeblog@jta.org.