History events
-1313 BCE — (23 Iyar 2448) Moses, with the help of God, obtained water from a rock to quench the thirst of the Jews wandering in the desert
1298 — (7th of Iyar, 5058) In Rotttingen, a small German town in Franconia, a local noble named Rindfleish, accused the local Jews of profaning the host. He then incited the Burgher and local populace to join in the killing. Twenty one Jews were murdered. The killing soon spread to a hundred and forty communities in Bavaria and Austria. In all tens of thousands of Jews were either killed or wounded. The killing stopped when the civil war raging through Germany ended. Albrecht, the newly chosen Emperor, brought an end to the violence and even punished some the participants
1505 — (16 Iyar 5265) The expulsion of Jews from Burgundy.
1615 — (1 Iyar 5375) Jews were expelled from the German city of Worms. The expulsion procedure was developed by lawyer Dr. Chemnitz, who proposed a series of measures that made it impossible for Jews to live in the city. After the Jews left the city, the mob looted the synagogue and destroyed the Jewish cemetery.
1657 — (17 Iyar 5417) After two years of struggle, one of the first Jewish residents of New York (then New Amsterdam), A. Levy, received permission to serve in the militia, which had previously been prohibited for Jews. Military service was replaced by a special tax. The ability to bear arms made Jews full citizens of the city. Soon, Levy obtained the title of burgher, reluctantly granted to him by the mayor. Levy owned a slaughterhouse, which is now the site of Wall Street.
1775 — (20 Nisan 5535) The Edict concerning Jews (Editto sopra gli Ebrei) was promulgated by Pope Pius VI.
1799 — (15 Nisan 5559) Napoleon became the first major statesman to proclaim the legitimate right of the Jewish people to create their own state – a national homeland – on the territory of Palestine, which was then under Turkish control. During his campaign in Egypt, on April 20, the night before Passover, Napoleon wrote an address to the Jewish people. This address was titled «From Bonaparte – to the lawful heirs of the Holy Land.»
1837 — (15 Nisan 5597) A decree against accepting Jews in Russia into the quarantine guard (border troops). It was decreed that «young men, especially recruits, of immoral character, and lower ranks among Jews should not be assigned to the guard.»
1848 — (17 Nisan 5608) A proclamation from the Hungarian government stated that the ministry could not change the law regarding the inclusion or exclusion of any group of the population from the national guard, but at the request of the citizens of Pest, it ordered the immediate disarmament of Jews. Jews were forced to form their own guard.
1902 — (April 7, according to the Julian calendar) Mikhail Menshikov, in an article titled «Conspiracies Against Humanity,» published in No. 9372 of the Petersburg newspaper «Novo Vremya,» first mentioned the existence of «The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.»
1915 — (6 Iyar 5675) The first regular military unit of Jews in the 20th century — the Mule Drivers’ Unit — joined the British army on the Greek island of Lemnos. The unit was divided. Two companies became part of the 29th division and participated in the tragic invasion of Gallipoli, while two others joined Australian units and were soon disbanded.
1920 — (2 Iyar 5680) A strike by the Jews of Jerusalem against the sentence against Zhabotinsky (see April 19, 1920). All educational institutions were closed; in synagogues, worshippers read Psalms and blew the shofar.
1920 — (2 Iyar 5680) The first Zionist congress under Soviet rule opened in Moscow (see April 23, 1920).
1921 — (12 Nisan 5681) 47 members of the China Zionist Organization set off from Shanghai on the Italian ship «Trieste» to live in Palestine. In May and July of the same year, two more groups of Jews, totaling 70 people, relocated from China to Palestine
1936 — (28th of Nisan, 5695) Jews repelled an Arab attack in Petach Tikvah. This attack was part of the Arab Uprising that lasted from 1936 until 1939; “In an attack in the Shapira quarter, a Jewish suburb of Jaffa, Arabs killed two Jews and wounded several others” including “a Jewish youth riding a bicycle in Jaffa” who “was beaten so severely that he died almost instantly.”; “The Yemenite Jewish quarter outside of Tel Aviv” was destroyed by fire set by Arabs; Part of a mob of three hundred Haurani Arabs “broke into the home of a Jewish family in Manshieh quarter and killed the father and injured the mother who was transported by the police along with their three children to Hadassah Hospital
1938 — (19th of Nisan, 5698) The Palestine Post reported that, forty «illegal» Jewish immigrants who had been in Palestine for many years, declared a hunger strike in order to persuade the mandate’s authorities to change their status from «illegal» immigrants whom the courts failed to deport, to that of recognized permanent residents, so that they could bring here their families from abroad
1939 — British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain on policy regarding Palestine: «If we are forced to offend one of the parties, we will offend the Jews rather than the Arabs.»
1941 — German newspapers in Greece come out blaming Jews for ruining Germany after World War I. During this same period in April, the Greek newspaper New Europe wrote in capital letters “DEATH TO THE JEWS.” The paper reported that the Jews were the cause of economic problems in Germany
1942 — (3 Iyar 5702) The Shoah. The Jewish residential area in Ivano-Frankivsk was turned into a ghetto (15,000 Jews). In Ternopil, 11,350 Jews were registered on this day
1948 — (11th of Nisan, 5708) On the eve of Pesach, «the last food convoy after Operation Nachson, made up of some 300 trucks brought provisions to Jerusalem; а convoy that included Prime Minister David Ben Gurion set out from Tel Aviv to the besieged city of Jerusalem. Ben Gurion wanted to spend Pesach in Jerusalem with the beleaguered defenders as a way of raising moral. The trip was extremely dangerous because the Arabs controlled the high ground on both sides of the highway and had successfully beaten back several other such attempts. While Ben Gurion, who was traveling in one of the lead vehicles, made it through, the rest of the convoy came under heavy attack and was forced to turn back after suffering heavy casualties. This was only one of the many battles fought to open the road to Jerusalem; Twenty Jewish soldiers were killed today when “a second attempt was made to” take Metzudat Koach, a Tegart fort built by Solel Boneh during the British Mandate” that “was a key observation point on the Naftali heights, overlooking the Hula Valley” which had been seized by the Arabs thus threatening the existence of kibbutzim in the Upper Galilee; Five members of Haganah were killed and twenty-four were wounded during a day long fight “at Deir Ayoub, just short of the gorges of Bab El Wad” with Arabs who were trying to keep a convoy from reaching Jerusalem which was under siege that was a violation of international law; “Arab throngs turned out at Amman to welcome The Grand Mufti, Haj Amin el Husseini” prior to his meeting with King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan who has intimated that his Arab Legion would soon join armies from Arab nations in an invasion of Palestine
1948 — (11 Nisan 5708) Truman, the President of the United States, received a letter from Chaim Weizmann stating: «The problem of guarding Jerusalem should not be placed on the Jews. It was precisely the USA, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands that persuaded the Jews to abandon their claims to Jerusalem. And the Jews made this sacrifice, so the UN is obliged to fulfill its duty and ensure the protection of Jerusalem.» On the same day, Ben-Gurion decided to change the policy regarding Jerusalem: it would be Jewish.
1948 — (11 Nisan 5708) The War of Independence. Negotiations with the Druze in the Ramat Yohanan area. The Druze announced that they would henceforth remain neutral and would not assist the Syrians. The negotiations were led by M. Dayan.
1953 — (5 Iyar 5713) The first ceremony for the awarding of the Israel Prizes for outstanding scientific discoveries and original works of art took place.
1975 — (9 Iyar 5735) The settlement of Ofra was founded
1987 — (21th of Nisan, 5747) Two Israeli soldiers and three Palestinian guerrillas were killed today in a shootout after the Palestinians cut through a Lebanon border fence and crossed into northern Israel
1989 — (15 Nisan 5749) Workers of all government institutions and enterprises were transferred to a five-day work week by decision of the government of Israel.
2024 — (12 Nisan 5784) The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court rejected the police’s request to extend the detention of Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian of the Hebrew University, who was arrested on Thursday. Her opinion on Israel: «This is a regime of murderers. They will continue to kill until they destroy the Palestinian people. They will use any lie — infants, rapes, and a million of their daily deceptions.» After this statement, Shalhoub-Kevorkian was suspended from teaching at the Hebrew University. However, professors from the university came out in her support. The university administration wrote a letter stating: «In a democratic country, there is no place for the arrest of individuals for such statements, no matter how outrageous they may be.»
People
1103 — (10th of Iyar, 4863):Ninety-year old Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen, also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi). Passed away today in Lucena, Al-Andalus
1344 — (28th of Nisan, 5104) Levi Ben Gershon (the RaLBaG) also known as Gersonides passed away
1630 — (18 Iyar 5390) Rabbi I. Horovitz, a public figure and rabbi of Frankfurt am Main, Prague, and several cities in Israel, died.
1895 — (26 Nisan 5655) Jerzy Petersburski was born — a Polish conductor and composer, author of the tango «Tired Sun» and the waltz «Blue Scarf.» He died on October 7, 1979.
1929 — M. Itkis was born — a distinguished master of sports in shooting. He died on June 22, 2009.
1949 — (21 Nisan 5709) Golda Meir returned to Israel, swapping her post as ambassador in the USSR for the position of Minister of Labor in the government