Fact-A-Day

POLITICS from page 119

I Lumbrozo immigrated to the United
States and became a physician,
farmer and businessman in the
colony of Maryland.
One day, he began discussing his
views on religion, stating specifically
that he did not believe that Jesus
was the son of God, with a mission-
ary named Josiah Coale. Coale
reported Lumbrozo's "blasphemous"
23. A Jewish president? Some
views
to officials. Following direc-
thought Democrat Isidor Rayner
tives in the 1656 Maryland Act
(1850-1912) was just the man. Born
Concerning Religion, which sanc-
in Baltimore, Md., in 1850, Rayner
tioned the death penalty for all those
attended law school, then was elect-
who
"curse him (God), or deny our
ed to the Maryland General Assem-
Savior Jesus Christ," authorities tried
bly in 1878. He served three terms
and convicted Lumbrozo.
Apparently, however, not everyone
— including Maryland Gov. Josias
Fendall (who had attended the trial)
— was sympathetic with the court's
decision. Soon after Lumbrozo was
sentenced to death, Oliver

22. Former Israeli Prime Minister
i David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973)
said, "We shall take care of our-
: selves," when a United Nations
Special Committee on Palestine
member asked him, in 1947, how
Jews would be defended against
Arab attackers.

18. Henry Spalding was the man
who came up with the popular "I Like
I Ike" slogan for former President
Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was used in
both of his presidential campaigns.
Spalding wasn't a politician or an
advertising mogul — he was editor
1 of the Hollywood Talent News.

19. One of the few Independent
candidates elected to office in the
United States was Julius Meier
(1874-1937) of Portland, Ore.
Meier very unexpectedly won the
1930 race for governor of Oregon.

who had been sentenced to death for
religious "crimes."

25. In addition to founding the St.
Louis Star newspaper, Nathan Frank
(1852-1931) was a congressman in
Missouri, from 1889-1931.

26. Before serving as premier of
France, Pierre Mendes-France was a
navigator-observer with the French
Air Force during World War II.
Mendes-France was wounded fight-
ing the Germans. While recuperat-
ing, the Vichy government, which
collaborated with the Nazis,
declared him a deserter.
Mendes-France was sent to prison
but escaped, then went to London
where he flew with the Royal Air
Force's French Flying Unit. He was
honored with the prestigious Croix
de Guerre.

27. The firstiew to serve on the
Supreme Court was Louis Brandeis
(1856-1941). President Woodrow
Wilson appointed Brandeis, a well-
known liberal and longtime labor sup-
porter, in 1916.

28. Moritz Pinner (1828-1909) was
a leading spokesman against slavery,
then went on to help found the U.S.
Republican Party.

David Ben-Gurion

20. Italy's first Jewish prime minister
I was Luigi Luzzatti, who held the post
from 1910-1911. A longtime Zionist,
but non-practicing Jew, he was
admired by many.
Can you guess who said of Luz-
zatti, "He was a wise and good
man, closely bound up with Italian
history of the last half century, hav-
ing been the most striking represen-
I tative figure of that period. Italy's
high place among the nations in
social legislation is due to Luzzatti's
work."? (Answer: Fascist leader
Benito Mussolini)

in Congress, then became the state's
attorney general and a Maryland
senator.
An outspoken advocate of states'
rights and a strong supporter of the
Jews in Russia, Rayner heard his
name proposed twice as a candi-
date for vice president (he refused
both times). In 1912, the Democratic
National Convention faced a dead-
lock on its nomination for president
and spokesman William Jennings
Bryan recommended that Rayner be
named instead.

2L Ariel Sharon is one of the few

24. In 1658, Jacob Lumbrozo, a

senior Israeli politicians actually born
(in 1928) in Palestine. Most of the
others came from Eastern Europe.

Jewish citizen of Maryland, was
sentenced to death because he was
not a Christian. A native of Lisbon,

29. Nairobi, Kenya, had a Jewish
mayor from 1955-1957. His name
was Israel Somen.

Golda Meir.

Cromwell was named Lord Protector
of England, which, of course, still
controlled the colonies. Cromwell
was well known for his tolerance of
all faiths; his enemies even asserted
that Jews labeled him "messiah."
When Cromwell was named to his
post, Fendall announced that the
British leader's magnanimous policies
would be carried on in Maryland, as
well, and he promptly granted
amnesty to all residents of the colony

30. Golda Meir (1898-1978),
Israel's fourth prime minister, was a
Zionist from early childhood. While
still a schoolgirl, she was a member
of Poale Zion, the Zionist socialist
movement.
Yet she married Morris Myerson,
who had little interest in Zionism
and in fact only reluctantly moved to
pre-State Israel because his wife
was so adamant. So what did
young Golda see in Morris? She
said she was impressed by his love
of music and books. ❑

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