Gertrude Himmelfarb, scholar of Victorian Britain, dies at 97
Historian and author wrote widely about attitudes toward Jews, Judaism and Zionism in English history
Gertrude Himmelfarb, a historian and author, as well as an influential conservative writer, has died at 97.
She focused much of her work on Victorian Britain, but also dedicated two books – “The Jewish Odyssey of George Eliot” and “The People of the Book” – to discussing attitudes toward Jews, Judaism and Zionism in English history, The JC of London wrote in an obituary.
She was professor emerita of history at the City University of New York.
Himmelfarb was married to the late Irving Kristol, an American journalist and “Godfather of Modern Conservativism.” Kristol, who died in 2009, was an influential architect of the neoconservative movement in the United States in the 1960s and ’70s.
Her son Bill is a leading voice of American conservatives and a frequent commentator on several networks. Kristol, a chief of staff for former vice president Dan Quayle, is a frequent critic of President Donald Trump.
Himmelfarb, who died in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 30, was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Russian Jewish family.
The Encyclopaedia of Jewish Women describes her as “the most eloquent advocate” for “the reintroduction of traditional values … such as shame, responsibility, chastity, and self-reliance, into American political life and policy-making.”
Kristol wrote of his mother on Facebook: “She was blessed with a long and happy life, and maintained a lively interest in ideas, people, and politics until the end. We will miss her.” He said his mother died of congestive heart failure.
Suspect in alleged antisemitic attack in Brooklyn held on £7640 ($10,000) bond
A suspect in an alleged antisemitic attack in New York City pleaded not guilty and was being held on £7640 ($10,000) bond.
Jasmine Lucas, 24, was charged Thursday in Brooklyn criminal court with second-degree robbery as a hate crime and second-degree assault, among other counts, for allegedly assaulting a 22-year-old Jewish man the previous afternoon in the Williamsburg neighbourhood.
During the alleged assault — one of multiple reported antisemitic attacks in the New York metropolitan area since Dec. 24 — Lucas is said to have used racial slurs and shoved the Hasidic man to the ground when he tried to film the incident.
Sources said she shouted “F*** you, Jew” and “I will kill you Jews” at the victim at Gerry and Rutledge streets, the New York Post reported. She was there with another woman.
The victim tried to film the women but they allegedly knocked him over and broke his cellphone.
Police said the second woman, 34, was not charged.
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