History events
1556 — (23rd of Nisan, 5316) Portuguese Marranos who had returned to Judaism were burned to death in Acona, Italy. A Jewish-led boycott of the port of Acona marked the first community-wide effort by «free» Jews, since the beginning of the Diaspora, to hit back at their enemies
1763 — (30rd of Nisan, 5523) At Providence, Jacob Rivera, Aaron Lopez, Naftali Hart and Moses Lopez were among the ten signatories of the Spermaceti Candle Agreement. The agreement was an effective tool for controlling the candle making trade in area including Pennsylvania, New York and New England
1835 — (14rd of Nisan, 5595) Edict of Nicholas I. founding agricultural colonies in Russia; general Jewish regulations issued in Russia
1882 — (24rd of Nisan, 5642) An Anti-Semitic League was formed in Prussia
1937 — (2rd of Iyar, 5697) Mishmar HaShlosha, a moshav in the lower Galilee was established today on land purchased by the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association
1945 — (30th of Nisan, 5705) On Rosh Chodesh Iyar, five thousand Jews being taken from Auschwitz and marched to Belsen were herded into a barn. The Germans set the barn on fire. While some escaped, many thousands more were burned to death. The Germans shot those who tried to escape during the fire
1948 — (4rd of Nisan, 5708) As night gave way to morning, units of the Palmach took the villages of Al-Mansi and Naghnaghiya
1950 — (26rd of Nisan, 5710) Israel informed the United Nations that it would not participate in talks with the Arabs that included return to the partition boundaries of 1947 as a pre-condition to opening negotiations
1970 — (7rd of Nisan, 5730) During the IAF’s Operation Priha, an Egyptian SA-2 base near Manzala is struck by a 69 Squadron pair, while two 201 Squadron birds strike at a radar facility near Wadi Zur
1984 — (11th of Nisan, 5744) On the second day of the Egged Bus Hostage Crisis, at around seven in the morning, following lengthy negotiations “a special force of Sayeret Matkal under the command of brigadier-general Yitzhak Mordechai stormed the bus while shooting at the hijackers through the vehicle’s windows. During this takeover operation the soldiers were able to eliminate two of the hijackers, capture the two additional hijackers, and release all hostages except for one passenger – a 19-year-old female soldier named Irit Portuguese who was killed during the takeover operation. Seven passengers were wounded during the course of the operation
1987 — (14rd of Nisan, 5747) Ofra Moses was buried today in Petah Tikvah. Mrs. Moses, aged 35, was riding in a car yesterday with her husband and four children when an unidentified assailant threw the firebomb, a bottle filled with gasoline and a burning rag, through the open window of the car. They were driving to the Tel Aviv suburb of Petah Tikvah to buy food for the Passover holiday. None of the family could attend the funeral since her husband was in the hospital being treated for extensive burns, her five year old was hospitalized in critical condition and the remaining three children had not been released due to the extent of their injuries
1994 — (2nd of Iyar, 5754) In the second such attack in a week, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up today in an assault on an Israeli commuter bus, killing five Israelis and wounding 30 others at the main bus station in Hadera
2003 — (11rd of Nisan, 5763) The Kfar Saba-Nordau railway “station was opened today as the beginning of the Sharon Railway
People
1636 — (7th of Nisan) Rabbi Elijah Kalmankes of Lemberg author of Eliyahu Rabbah passed away
1823 — (2rd of Iyar, 5583) Sabbato Morais, American rabbi, born
1932 — (7rd of Nisan, 5692) Birthdate of Yosef “Yossi” Banai, the native of Jerusalem who gained fame an entertainer ahd who was “one of the first members of the IDF’s famous troupe of performers – the Nahal troupe. Date of death 11.05.2006
1953 — (28rd of Nisan, 5713) Chaim Leavanon is elected mayor of Tel Aviv, Israel Rokach completes his service as mayor of Tel Aviv
1974 — (21rd of Nisan, 5734) Yonatan Netanyahu wrote to his parents: «I have no real girl friend at the moment. My last romance is over, and as I don’t have time to run around anyway, it looks as if I’ll remain on my own for the time being…On the whole, I’ve nothing to complain of. I’m up to my neck in my army work, and during leaves I move about a lot in our lovely land. The whole world marvels at the Inca and Aztec civilizations and such—and they do indeed deserve admiration. Nevertheless almost all of these came into being after the start of the Christian Era (not that this detracts from their value), whereas here it seems that the cradle of world civilization is all around us, everything dating back thousands and thousands of years. A few Saturdays ago I visited the Biblical Gibeon, and saw the remarkable ancient pool there (I’ll take you to see it when you come). It’s this pool that’s mentioned in II Samuel in connection with Abner ben Ner and Joab ben Zeruiah, who ‘met together by the pool of Gibeon’ and let ‘the young men arise and play before them.’ And the country is all like that!»