In a new series for every issue during 2016, we look back at events that took place in the same week over the JC's 175-year history.
February 11 1944:
A German-Jewish refugee serving with the United States army in Italy used his language skills to persuade a group of German machine-gunners to surrender. Private Richard Stern was commended for his heroism. Only years earlier, he had served with the German army, and had received a decoration from Hitler before it was realised he was Jewish.
February 12 1982:
Agudat Israel, the world movement of Orthodox Jewry, increased its pressure on El Al to stop flights on Shabbat by threatening that its supreme Council of Sages would issue a religious prohibition against the company. El Al officials were reportedly “shocked” and concerned about the potential financial repercussions of a ban.
February 14 2003:
New school admissions rules outlined that state-aided Jewish schools with spare places would have to accept non-Jewish applicants. But the report said: “The new rules on empty places are unlikely to affect most Jewish schools, which are oversubscribed”.