When New York City Police Attacked a Jewish Funeral Procession

Today, according to the Hebrew calendar, is the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Jacob Joseph, who was brought from his native Russia to New York City in 1888 to serve as the local Jewish community’s first (and last, as fate would have it) chief rabbi. In reality, his authority was only recognized by a number of Orthodox East European congregations, and even then it diminished rapidly as time wore on. But tens of thousands of Jews turned out for his funeral procession, where they met an outbreak of violence from local toughs and police. Scott Seligman relates this story in conversation with Nachi Weinstein. (Audio, 50 minutes.)