History events
1534 — (28th of Iyar, 5294) The first Hebrew printing press in Poland located in Cracow published its first book Sha’arei Duro a code of dietary laws by Rabbi Isaac ben Reuben
1728 — (16th of Sivan, 5488) Hayyim and Joshua Reizes of Lvov (heads of the Rabbinical court and the yeshiva respectively) were arrested when a Jesuit priest, Zoltowskiki, discovered that Jan Filipowicz (soon tortured and killed), a convert, had reconverted to Judaism. They were accused of complicity. Condemned to death, Joshua committed suicide by cutting his own throat. For three days his brother Hayyim refused to convert to Christianity. His tongue was then torn out, his body quartered, and he was finally burnt. Their property was then confiscated
1837 — (8th of Iyar, 5597) The Jews of Leipzig were given permission to organize as a religious community and establish a synagogue
1896 — (1 Sivan 5656) Scottish travelers in Palestine, Agnes Lewis and Margaret Gibson, upon returning to London, showed Hebrew scholar Solomon Schechter several pages of Hebrew text that they managed to smuggle out of Egypt. It turned out to be the original Hebrew of the apocryphal book of proverbs «The Wisdom of Ben-Sira» from the geniza (archive) of the ancient Cairo synagogue «Ben Ezra.» Thus began the scientific study of the treasures of the geniza
1906 — (18th of Iyar, 5666) The Bezalel Art School opened in Jerusalem
1919 — (13th of Iyar, 5679) During the Russian Civil War the Jews of Boguslav, a city in the Kiev district of the Ukraine were attacked by gangs of marauding peasants that killed 20 Jews
1919 — (13 Iyar 5679) Civil War. A pogrom in Rotmistrovka (Cherkasy region) lasted for 2 days. About 60 houses and many shops were burned and destroyed. 45 people were killed and many seriously wounded
1929 — (3th of Iyar, 5689) In Palestine, The Mandatory Government announces an immigration quota of 2.400 permits for a half-year period, beginning in April
1936 — (21 Iyar 5696) An attack by Arabs on the Jewish quarter of Safed resulted in the deaths of a father and his three children
1939 — (24th of Iyar, 5699) SS St Louis departs Hamburg for Cuba with 937 Jews on board. This tragic episode was portrayed in the book and the film, Voyage of the Damned. Having been denied entrance to Cuba, the ship was turned away from the United States. Steaming off the shore of Florida, the refugees could see the lights of Miami. Coast Guard vessels tracked the ship to make sure nobody escaped and to keep the captain from running his ship aground in American waters. In the end, the ship returned to Europe. About half of the passengers survived the war
1942 — (26 Iyar 5702) Shoah. About 200 Jews were shot in Synelnykove (Dnipropetrovsk region). The military command 1/287 in Feodosia reported that Sonderkommando 10b executed 34 Jews in the city.
1947 — (23 Iyar 5707) The UN General Assembly established the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, also known as UNSCOP
1948 — (4th of Iyar, 5708) The Arab Emergency committee and the Haganah High Command signed the terms for the Arab surrender of the town of Jaffa. Despite Jews pleas to stay, 67,000 of the city’s 70,000 inhabitants of the city left, many by boat for Lebanon; On the day before Israel declares her independence, Arab irregulars perpetrate The Kfar Etzion massacre. Armored cars of the Arab Legion broke through the final defense line of Kfar Etzion. In the last message sent by the defenders to Jerusalem, the defenders described “a Masada –like battle.” The handful of Jewish defenders came out under a white flag and surrendered. Fifteen of the defenders stacked their weapons, and then, lined up to be photographed. Instead of the click of the camera, the Jews were treated to a burst of machinegun fire that killed all of them. Was this planned or a freak accident? To this day, the question has never been answered. The victorious Arab Legion did kill an Arab family that had remained in Kfar Etzion with their Jewish friends.
1948 — (4 Iyar 5708) War of Independence. During Operation Gideon, the Haganah captured the city of Beit She’an.
1948 — (4 Iyar 5708) War of Independence. One of the first operations of the Haganah Navy was the transportation of fighters from Haifa to Shavei Zion and Nahariya as part of Operation Ben-Ami to liberate Western Galilee. The actions began at night. 450 fighters from the Carmel Brigade were landed from ships and captured coastal Arab villages north of Haifa. Then, during the ongoing advance after several hours of shelling, Acre opened its gates. The route from Haifa to the settlements in Western Galilee was cleared.
1948 — (4 Iyar 5708) War of Independence. The ship «Boria» arrived at the Haifa port with weapons for the Haganah but was seized by the British. It was released after the declaration of independence
1948 — (4 Iyar 5708) War of Independence. A Haganah unit landed by sea north of Rosh HaNikra to blow up a bridge and prevent the arrival of Arab reinforcements from Lebanon. The unit encountered superior enemy forces who opened fire, and it was forced to retreat without completing the mission.
1948 — (4 Iyar 5708) War of Independence. The «Alexandroni» Brigade launched Operation «State» in the Coastal Plain to liberate the Arab part of Kfar Saba (northeast of the Jewish part).
1948 — (4 Iyar 5708) In Italy, the Haganah established a permanent naval sabotage unit to combat arms imports
1952 — (18 Iyar 5712) The first graduating class of the Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
1953 — (28th of Iyar, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported that a Bill had been introduced in the Knesset by the Minister of Education and Culture, Prof. Benzion Dinur, for the establishment of «Yad Vashem» (an everlasting name), for the memory of the six and a half million Jews who perished in the Holocaust and were granted Israeli honorary citizenship. The Yad Va’Shem archives and museum were to be set up in Jerusalem, «The Heart of the Jewish People
1960 — (16th of Iyar, 5720) “Papyri Found In Judean Cave Identified As Letters From Bar Kochba” published today described the discovery of “eleven letters, written by Simon Bar Kochba” “in a cave near the Dead Sea.”
1965 — (11th of Iyar, 5725) Germany established diplomatic relations with Israel. Several Arab nations broke ties with West Germany after it established diplomatic relations with Israel
1965 — (11 Iyar 5725) Another shelling by tanks of Syrian territory, where work was being carried out to divert water from the Jordan River from the Kinneret (see November 3, 1964, and March 17, 1965). From a distance of 5800-6000 meters, 2 out of 3 bulldozers were destroyed. Air support was called up, but it did not engage in combat. The Syrians did not return fire
1967 — (3th of Iyar, 5727) Egyptian troops move into the Sinai, which is a demilitarized zone. Egypt radio sets the tone of propaganda («Egypt, with all its resources, is ready to plunge into a total war that will be the end of Israel»)
1967 — (3 Iyar 5727) Information that Israel was planning to attack Syria was conveyed to the Egyptian delegation visiting Moscow by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, N.B. Podgorny. The Soviet ambassador to Israel, D.S. Chuvakin, visited Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol on the same day and expressed «… a protest against the threatening concentration of Israeli troops on the Syrian border …». Shocked, Eshkol assured the ambassador that no attack on Syria was planned and offered to take him on a joint trip to the north—immediately, right now. Considering the size of Israel, they would reach Galilee in about an hour and a half. Since it was impossible to instantly hide tens of thousands of soldiers and thousands of vehicles in such a small area, the ambassador would see for himself that there were no military preparations whatsoever. Chuvakin declined the offer, stating that «his job was not to verify his government’s statements but to convey them to the Israeli leadership.»
1974 — (21 Iyar 5734) Terrorist attack. Three Arabs entered Israeli territory through the border with Lebanon, killed four residents in different locations in the city of Maalot, and took at least 89 people hostage at the «Netiv Meir» school, demanding the release of 26 of their comrades from Israeli prisons. After a siege lasting nearly ten hours, special forces attempted an assault, but the terrorists managed to kill 25 and wound at least 30 hostages before they were eliminated. A total of 29 people were killed in the massacre, most of whom were children from the «Netiv Meir» school.
1977 — (25 Iyar 5737) The Israeli public was presented with the domestically produced tank «Merkava.»
2005 — (4 Iyar 5765) Israel. Around 16:00 local time, Hezbollah began shelling and rocket attacks on fortified positions of the Israeli army in the Mount Dov area. At least 10 mortars and shells exploded on Israeli territory.
2021 — (2 Sivan 5781) The fourth day of the Arab-Jewish confrontation in Israel and Operation «Guardian of the Walls.» From 7:00 to 19:00, approximately 160 rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel. Arab riots continued in Lod.
2022 — (12 Iyar 5782) A demonstration with Palestinian flags took place on the campus of Ben Gurion University in Be’er Sheva, attended by dozens of Arab and Bedouin students. This demonstration was held for the first time with the knowledge and consent of the university administration.
2025 — (15 Iyar 5785) War in Gaza. Day five hundred eighty-five. The actual beginning of Operation «Gideon’s Chariots»: a gradual increase in pressure on Hamas without a full occupation of the sector. Three divisions were in action – the 252nd in the north, and the 143rd and 36th in the south. The intensity of IDF operations increased. Formally, however, it was only on May 17 (19 Iyar) around midnight that the IDF command announced the start of this operation.
People
1636 — (8th of Iyar) Rabbi Menahem Monish Chajes of Vilna passed away today
1799 — (8th of Iyar, 5559) Isaiah Berlin an 18th century German Talmudist passed away
1839 — (24th of Iyar, 5699) Rabbi Israel Ashkenazi of Shklov, leader of the Aliya of the followers of the Gaon of Vilna to Eretz Yisrael passed away
1860 — (21 Iyar 5620) Henry Samuel Moraish was born — an American writer, rabbi, and public figure. He died on September 21, 1935.
1880 — (13 Sivan 5640) Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel was born — rabbi of Rishon Lezion, one of the most well-known Sephardic rabbis of the early 20th century. He died in 1953.
1886 — (8 Iyar 5646) Joseph Achron, a violinist, composer, and music educator, was born. He died on April 29, 1943
1896 — (1 Sivan 5656) Evgeny Lann (Lozman), translator and writer, was born. He died on October 3, 1958
1897 — M. Vovski was born — a doctor, chief therapist of the Soviet Army from 1941 to 1950. He died on June 6, 1960.
1898 — F. Emler was born — a director. He died on July 12, 1967
1916 — (10th of Iyar, 5676) Sholem Aleichem passed away
1922 — (15 Iyar 5682) Gladys Heldman was born — founder of the magazine World Tennis, a well-known figure in global women’s tennis. She died on June 22, 2003.
1923 — Isaac Schwartz was born — a composer. He died on December 27, 2009.
1934 — (28 Iyar 5694) Ehud Netzer was born — an Israeli archaeologist. He died during excavations of Herod the Great’s tomb on October 28, 2010
1936 — (21st of Iyar, 5696) Two Jews, Ruben Klapholtz and Alter Cohen were shot to death by Arabs in the Old City of Jerusalem today, one as he left his home and the other as he passed an Arab Cafte
2022 — (12 Iyar 5782) During a shootout between Yamam fighters and armed terrorists near the village of Burqin in Jenin, Senior Sergeant Noam Raz was killed