History events
1014 — (17th of Iyar, 4774) During a civil war that had broken out between Arabs and Berbers in 1013, the Jews of Cordoba experienced their first massacre today
1283 — (21th of Nisan, 5043) Following an accusation of ritual murder (the blood libel) thirty-six Jews were murdered in Mayence (Mainz), Germany
1343 — (24th of Nisan, 5103) A massacre of the Jews in Wachenheim, Germany which had begun before Easter spread to surrounding communities
1506 — (25th of Nisan, 5266) During a service at St. Dominic’s Church in Lisbon, Portugal, some of the people thought they saw a vision on one of the statues. Outside, a newly converted Jew-turned-Christian raises doubts about the «miracle.» He was literally torn to pieces and then burnt. The crowd led by two Dominican monks proceeded to ransack Jewish houses and kill any Jews they could find. During the next few days, countrymen hearing about the massacre came to Lisbon to join in. Over two thousand Jews were killed during a period of three days ending on April 21
1566 — (30th of Nisan, 5326) Pius V issued “Romanus Pontifex. After being in office for three months, Pope Pious rejected the lenience’s of his predecessor and reinstated all the restrictions that Paul IV had placed on the Jews. These included being forced to wear a special cap, the prohibitions against owning real estate and practicing medicine on Christians. Communities were not allowed to have more than one synagogue and Jews were confined to a cramped ghetto
1771 — (5th of Iyar, 5531) Maria Theresa granted two Sovereign Licenses to the Jews of Trieste, licenses that constitute real improvement in their economic conditions
1848 — (16th of Nisan, 5608) Anti-Jewish violence broke out in Budapest, Hungary
1896 — (6th of Iyar, 5656) Herzl’s The Jewish State was published: «Palestine is our unforgettable historic homeland. . . Let me repeat once more my opening words: The Jews who will it shall achieve their State. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and in our own homes peacefully die. The world will be liberated by our freedom, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness. And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind.»
1903 — (22th of Nisan, 5663) Riots broke out after a Christian child is found murdered in Kishinev (Bessarabia). The mobs were incited by Pavolachi Krusheven, the editor of the anti-Semitic Newspaper Bessarabetz and the vice governor Ustrugov. Vyacheslav Von Plehev, the Minister of Interior supposedly gave orders not to stop the rioters. The Jews were accused of ritual murder. During the three days of rioting, 47 Jews were killed, 92 severely wounded, 500 slightly wounded and over 700 houses destroyed. Despite a world outcry, only two men were sentenced to seven and five years in prison, and twenty-two were sentenced for one or two years. This pogrom was instrumental in convincing tens of thousands of Russian Jews to leave to the West and to Eretz-Israel. The child was later discovered to have been killed by a relative.
1934 — (4th of Iyar, 5694) According to a report by Morton Rotehnberg, President of the Zionist Organization of America, 11,000 German Jewish refugees had entered Palestine from April 1, 1933 through January 1, 1934.
1936 — (27th of Nisan, 5696) Arabs attacked Jews in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa district this morning leaving nine Jews dead and another fifty seriously wounded.
1943 — (14th of Nisan, 5703) — Warsaw ghetto uprising; The Bermuda Conference of Great Britain and the U.S., held in Hamilton, Bermuda, takes no meaningful action to help Jews in Europe. Before the meeting, representatives of both countries had agreed not to discuss immigration of Jews to their nations nor to ship food to Jewish refugees in German-occupied Europe
1948 — (10th of Nisan, 5708) Twenty-four armored trucks filled with Jewish veterans who had served with the British Army during WW II, drove to a hilltop “situated less than a mile from the Arab village of Bureir” where the Jews disembarked and established a new settlement called Brur Hayal; Haganah captured Tiberias
People
1306 — (4th of Iyar, 5066) The body of Rabbi Meir Ben Baruch was released by the authorities 13 years after his death so that he could receive a Jewish burial Maharam of Rothenburg
1539 — (1th of Iyar, 5299) Eighty-year old Catherine Zaleshovska was burned at the stake on the order of Bishop Gamrat and with the approval of Queen Bona Sforza for having denied the basic tenants of Christianity after having converted to Judaism. She had been held as a prisoner for ten years before being murdered.
1670 — (29th of Nisan, 5430) Solomon Ben Isaac Marini, “the only rabbi at Padua who survived the plague of 1631” and who wrote a commentary to Isaiah entitled Tikkun Olam in 1652 and who was the brother of Dr. Shabbethai ben Isaac Marini, passed away today
1772 — (16th of Nisan, 5532) Birthdate of economist David Ricardo. Raised as a Sephardic Jew, Ricardo eloped with a woman who was a Quaker. He later converted and became a Unitarian
1776 — (30th of Nisan, 5536) Jacob Emden, German rabbi, died
1881 — (20th of Nisan, 5641) Benjamin Disraeli, former Prime Minster, 1st Earl Beaconsfield and famous novelist passed away. Born Jewish, Disraeli was converted to Christianity by his father. The elder Disraeli was angry with the Jewish community and marched his children to the baptismal font in protest. The elder Disraeli did not convert. Disraeli was proud of his Jewish heritage and certainly suffered many anti-Semitic attacks during his career. In one exchange, he reminded a political opponent that while his ancestors had been drinking blood out skulls, Disraeli’s ancestors had been singing the Psalms of David in the Temple of Solomon.