History events
-1283 BCE — (18 Nisan 2478). The walls of Jericho fell after the warriors of Joshua ben Nun (Joshua) marched around the city in orderly ranks for six days, with the Ark of the Covenant carried ahead and priests blowing their horns. When the Israelites broke through the gap in the wall and entered the city, they killed all the inhabitants, burned their houses, and destroyed their possessions. Only gold, silver, and metal vessels were kept for the portable temple — the Tent of Meeting (S. Dubnow)
70 — (15th of Nisan, 3830) The Siege of Jerusalem begins in earnest as Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian, surrounds the Jewish capital, with four Roman legions
73 — (19th of Nisan, 3833) According to the Jewish historian Josephus, 967 Jewish zealots committed mass suicide within the fortress of Masada on this last night before the walls were breached by the attacking Roman Tenth Legion
1442 — (3 Iyar 5202). By order of the Saragossa municipality, Jews had to pay an annual tax of 200 soldos to the city treasury for the privilege of having the gates to their residential quarter regularly opened and closed
1660 — (13th of Iyar, 5420) Seven Jews were burned at the stake in Seville
1768 — (27 Nisan 5528). The beginning of the Koliivshchyna — an uprising in Ukraine by the Haidamaks and Orthodox peasants, accompanied by terrible cruelties against Jews. A contemporary wrote: “The revolt, known as the Haidamak movement, began in the village of Zhabotin; 70 people were killed… We fled and lost all contact with one another, lost all our possessions, many died of thirst and hunger, several thousand were not buried but fell to dogs and pigs…”
1859 — (10th of Nisan, 5619) In Galatz, Rumania, Jews were accused of taking blood from a Christian child (for the baking of matzos) though not of killing him. Fifteen «culprits» were arrested. The next day a mob broke into the synagogue, killing some of the worshippers, destroying some fifty scrolls and demolishing the synagogue. The fifteen were soon released with no convictions, yet the government refused to allow the synagogue to be rebuilt for nearly twenty years.
1869 — (3th of Iyar, 5629) (or, according to other sources, July 3). An association of Jewish organisations in Germany was founded to look after the interests of all German Jewry. The association included East Prussia, West Prussia, Pomerania, Posen, Saxony, Westphalia, the Rhineland, Bavaria — a total of 867 individual communities
1870 — (13th of Iyar, 5630) In London, Nathan Adler and Lionel Cahn established the United Synagogue. It united the Ashkenazi synagogues of London for charities and civic affairs
1887 — (20 Nisan 5648). Neve Tzion, the first Jewish quarter outside the walls of Jaffa (today a district of Tel Aviv), was founded.
1890 — (24 Nisan 5650). The first official meeting of the Odessa Hibbat Zion society (see November 6, 1884) was held. 162 people attended; they elected an audit commission and a five‑member committee headed by L. Pinsker
1921 — (6th of Iyar, 5681) The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that “Tel-Aviv has been officially recognized as an independent township
1938 — (13th of Nisan, 5698) The Palestine Post reported that 35 families from Rexigen in south Germany were settled, together with a number of other families in a new village, south of Nahariya. Work went on erecting buildings, the defense stockade and a search-light tower
1941 — (17th of Nisan, 5701) Two hundred Flemish supporters of the Nazis burned two synagogues in the Oosten straat as part of what is called the “Antwerp Pogrom.”
1942 — (27 Nisan 5702). Shoah. Over 500 Jews were deported from Halych to Ivano‑Frankivsk, and over 90 were killed on the spot: 64 were shot, and about 30 children were drowned in the Dniester. In Vinkivtsi (Khmelnytskyi Oblast), 1 875 Jews were shot. About 1 000 Jews were deported from Obertyn (Ivano‑Frankivsk Oblast) to Kolomyia (in mid‑May, some Jews returned to Obertyn)
1944 — (21th of Nisan, 5704) The first transport of Athenian Jews left Greece for Auschwitz
1947 — (24th of Nisan, 5707) Two thousand five hundred fifty-two illegal immigrants reached Haifa on board the Guardian. Three of them had been killed while unsuccessfully resisting a Royal Navy boarding party which was in the process of transporting them to Cyprus
1948 — (5th of Nisan, 5708) Surrounded by armed Arabs, the Jews of Safed awaited the final onslaught and their death when a Palmach platoon that was the spearhead of Operation Yiftach entered the city after marching through the mountains
1949 — (15th of Nisan, 5709) First Day of Pesach in the newly created state of Israel
1953 — (29th of Nisan, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported that the tenants of the houses administered by the Custodian for Abandoned Property had from then on been allowed to sell, or transfer their flats or rooms for an agreed sum. However one-third of the price would have to be paid to the custodian; that in Jerusalem’s Zion Square, hundreds of singing and dancing men celebrated the conclusion of the fourth complete reading of Gemara
1953 — (29 Nisan 5713). Attempted terrorist attack. For the first time, Arabs attempted to infiltrate into Israel by sea, but failed. One of their boats was intercepted, the other escaped
1960 — (17 Nisan 5720). The Rishon LeZion municipality decided to develop the city westward, towards the sea. Today, this part of the city is one of the most densely populated in Israel.
1971 — (19 Nisan 5731). Television began airing the Hebrew‑language series Hedva and Shlomik, which became very popular with Israeli viewers. The show tells the story of a young couple who moved from a kibbutz to the city.
1975 — (3 Iyar 5735). A demonstration flight of the Kfir fighter‑bomber, designed and built by the Ta’asiya Avirit aircraft company.
2002 — (2 Iyar 5762). Operation Defensive Shield. The IDF completed the clearing of Jenin. Three hundred militants were arrested
2004 — (23th of Nisan, 5764) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon formally announced his plan for withdrawing from Gaza today in a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, stating that «there exists no Palestinian partner with whom to advance peacefully toward a settlement.»
2013 — (4 Iyar 5773). On the occasion of Independence Day, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported that Israel had a population of 8.018 million — nearly ten times more than the 806 000 citizens at its founding. The Jewish population was 6.042 million (75.3 % of all residents), Arabs made up 20.7 %, and 1.658 million were of other nationalities. In 1948, Tel Aviv‑Jaffa alone had over 100 000 residents; in 2013, 14 cities had more than 100 000 residents, six of which had more than 200 000 — Jerusalem, Tel Aviv‑Jaffa, Haifa, Rishon LeZion, Ashdod, and Petah Tikva.
2014 — (14 Nisan 5774). Terrorist attack. On Highway No. 35 near Hebron, Arabs fired on a car carrying three members of one family. The father died of his wounds, the mother was seriously injured, and the nine‑year‑old boy suffered minor injuries.
2014 — (14 Nisan 5774). “The principle of ‘two states for two peoples’ is dead. It is unfeasible. The only option left is to create the state of Falastin across the entire area from the Jordan to the Mediterranean, from Rafah to Rosh HaNikra… No Palestinian will give up even an inch of Falastin. No one will stop Palestinians from returning to the villages from which they and their ancestors were expelled by the Jews 66 years ago” — Tawfiq Tirawi, member of the Fatah Executive Committee, at a forum organised by Al‑Quds University near Hebron.
2017 — (18 Nisan 5777). Terrorist attack in Jerusalem. An Arab armed with a knife attacked on a tram travelling along Jaffa Street. A British student was killed.
2024 — (6 Nisan 5784) At night, 185 attack drones, 36 cruise missiles, and 110 ballistic missiles were launched from Iran towards Israel. The vast majority of launches were carried out from the territory of Iran. However, there were also launches from Iraq and Yemen. The vast majority of the missiles were intercepted by Israeli air defense forces and the air force, together with the militaries of the USA, Great Britain, and Jordan. Iran explained the attack on Israel as revenge for the strike on its consulate on April 1, 2024.
People
1712 — (19th of Nisan, 5472) Rabbi Elijah Shapira of Prague, author of Eilyahu Rabba, passed away
1861 — (4th of Iyar, 5621) Birthdate of Belarusian native Israel Belkind a founder of the Bilu and a leader of the Fist Aliyahn
1862 — Shlomo Avraham Rozanes was born — a historian of Balkan Jewry. He died in 1938
1897 — (12th of Nisan) Seventy-eight year old French rabbi and author Lazar Wogue “best known for his translation of the Pentateuch…and for his history of Bible exegesis” passed away today in Paris
1902 — Y. Smushkevich was born — a pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. He was repressed on October 28, 1941
1938 — Rivka Michaeli was born in Jerusalem — an Israeli theater and film actress, and radio presenter. Rivka was asked if she would follow the example of the Israeli star Gila Almagor, who stated that she was resigning her membership in the far-left organization «B’Tselem» following the events of October 7. Michaeli stated that it was quite the opposite, and her heart is with the Palestinians who, she claims, have been subjected to violence since the events of October 7
1944 — (21th of Nisan, 5704) Henk Drogt, a 24 year old Dutch military policeman, was executed by the Nazis eight months after having been arrested by the Nazis for his refusal to arrest Jews and then joining the Resistance
1980 — (28th of Nisan, 5740) Jewish comedian Shimon Dzigan who along with Israel Shumacher formed “the most famous Yiddish comic duo of ‘Dzigan and Schumacher’” passed away today