MILESTONES: October 10, birthdays for Mario Lopez, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brett Favre
Brooklyn Today
On this day in 1935, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page posted a warning from Italy’s spokesman in Geneva that any naval blockade on the part of the Allies would lead to war. The spokesman, in this international Swiss city that serves as the headquarters to the U.N. and non-governmental organizations, told the Associated Press that Italy was enraged over condemnations from other countries, and that the naval blockade would prove to be an ineffective economic sanction. Italy could always obtain goods through Germany and Austria … Below that story was one about the Italian army’s taking of Aksum and Adjigrat, with the goal of uniting Eritrea with the Italian Somaliland. Ethiopians consider Aksum to be a holy city and the legendary citadel of the Queen of Sheba (whom the Bible says was an emissary to, and later consort of, King Solomon.)
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On this day in 1947, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that troops from five Arab nations were massing on the border of what was then called Palestine. (The State of Israel would be established eight months later, on May 14, 1948.) On this October day, the Syrian and Lebanese governments said their troops were on the border, ready to invade if the British army withdrew (Palestine was under the British Mandate at the time); and if the Jewish authorities “lifted a finger” against the Palestinians. The British governor in Palestine denied knowing anything about this military operation … That edition of the Eagle also announced the return home of the remains of U.S. troops who did not survive the fighting…. And Abraham Lefkowitz, principal of Tilden High School, warned his students not to join an organization named the American Youth for Democracy. Lefkowitz charged the group had a deceptive name, and said it was really a front group for Communists.