History events
1481 — (13th of Iyar, 5241) Jews of Seville burned at the stake
1499 — (11th of Iyar, 5259) The New Christians, including those who had been forcibly baptized, are forbidden to leave Portugal
1657 — (18 Iyar 5417) Jews achieved full civic rights as citizens of New Amsterdam.
1871 — (30 Nisan 5631) The newspaper «HaVa’tzelet» stated: «We see with our own eyes that the time has come to take care of our homeland. The time we have waited for so many years has come. Why should we remain asleep now?» The author linked his confidence that the time for national construction had come to the fact that the Sultan «equalized the rights of all his subjects.» By this, he probably referred to the Porte’s decision (1867), which allowed foreigners to acquire land in all parts of the Ottoman Empire, except for the historical lands of Islam. The newspapers «Ha-Levanon» and «HaVa’tzelet» began their activities in Jerusalem in 1863. However, by the decision of the Turkish authorities, «HaVa’tzelet» was closed for 7 years. In 1871, it resumed operations
1903 — (24nd of Nisan, 5663) Herzl arrived in London as he continued to his quest to get support from leading British political leaders and prominent English Jews for a Jewish homeland
1936 — (29 Nisan 5696) Contrary to the expectations of the Haganah, the Arabs did not attack fortified and defensively prepared settlements but concentrated their strikes on transport arteries and agricultural land. The fields of Tel-Shok near the kibbutz Tel-Amal were the first to be set on fire. The labor of the settlers went to waste
1936 — (29nd of Nisan, 5696) The funeral for six Jews who were murdered by Arab rioters in Tel Aviv yesterday was held at 6 o’clock this morning at the end of which all were buried in a common grave including one of the victims who was never identified
1946 — (20th of Nisan, 5706) On the 6th Day of Pesach, five Jews, each of them a concentration-camp survivor, motoring near Nowy Targ, Poland, were stopped at a mock police checkpoint and shot to death. The oldest victim was 35, one was 25, and the remaining three were 22
1938 — (20 Nisan 5698) Three Jews from the Beitar battalion in Rosh Pina, including Sh. Ben-Yosef, on their own initiative and against the command’s orders, made an unsuccessful attempt to take revenge on the Arabs for the attack on March 28 (when 6 Jews were killed, including 3 women and a child), but were captured by the British.
1938 — (20 Nisan 5698) The newspaper «Palestine Post» reported: a decree appeared in Switzerland requiring all foreign citizens, particularly Austrian refugees, to leave the country. The acquisition of land or even significant financial investments could not serve as grounds for obtaining permission to stay (the decree was primarily aimed at Jewish refugees seeking refuge in supposedly neutral Switzerland).
1945 — (8 Iyar 5705) Five Jews who survived the concentration camp and were returning to their homeland in Poland were shot at the Polish checkpoint in Nowy Targ. They were aged between 22 and 35
1948 — (12 Nisan 5708) War of Independence. The fighting for Haifa began. The assault was carried out by two columns and lasted 48 hours. The commander of the Arab troops and his deputy soon fled, and Arab resistance was broken.
1948 — (12 Nisan 5708) The end of the internationalization of Jerusalem. Upon arriving in the city, Ben-Gurion initiated the appearance of black and green posters in Hebrew on the streets, announcing the establishment of the municipal council of Jewish Jerusalem
1953 — (6th of Iyar, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel accused Egypt of an act of piracy when three Israeli fishing smacks were stopped and searched, in international waters, by an Egyptian corvette
1963 — (27 Nisan 5723) The first international book fair opened in Jerusalem, with participation from 25 countries, including the USSR and the FRG. Since then, the fair has been held every 2 years.
1967 — (11 Nisan 5727) Two weeks after an air battle in which 6 Syrian planes were shot down, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the USSR, Malik, stated that Israel was jeopardizing «the very existence of the state.»
1982 — (28 Nisan 5742) The evacuation of the city of Yamit in Sinai began. The four-day forced evacuation was accompanied by serious clashes. After the city was emptied, Defense Minister Sharon ordered its complete destruction.
1999 — (5 Iyar 5781) In the northern Negev, southwest of Hebron and 15 kilometers from Be’er Sheva, the settlement of Sansana was established
2001 — (28th of Nisan, 5761) Dr. Mario Goldin, 53, of Kfar Sava, was killed when a terrorist detonated a powerful bomb he was carrying near a group of people waiting at a bus stop on the corner of Weizman and Tchernichovsky streets. About 60 people were injured in the blast. Hamas claimed responsibility
2002 — (9th of Iyar, 5762) Official end of Operation Defensive Shield, the Israeli response to a wave Arab terrorism that included the murder of 30 people during a Seder
People
1165 — (10 Iyar 4925) The ship on which Maimonides sailed with his family from Fez to the Holy Land encountered a storm. When the sea calmed, Rambam took upon himself a vow that henceforth on these two days he, his household, and all subsequent generations would fast and perform good deeds commensurate with their abilities. Rabbi Moshe also promised that on the 10th of Iyar, he would spend the day in solitude with prayer in memory of the day when he was alone with God.
1484 — (26 Nisan 5244) Giovanni Ambrosio («Guglielmo the Jew from Pesaro»), a choreographer, dance master, and composer of the Renaissance, died at the age of 64
1585 — (22nd of Nisan, 5345) Sixteenth century Salonica born Rabbi Moses ben Joseph di Trani (Mabit) passed away in Safed
1878 — (18 Nisan 5638) Rabbi Levi-Itskhak Zalmanovich Schneerson was born in the village of Poddobryanka near Gomel. He was the chief rabbi of Yekaterinoslav (Dnipropetrovsk) from 1909 to 1939 and the author of profound works on Kabbalah and Hasidic teachings. In 1939, he was accused of anti-Soviet activity and exiled to Kazakhstan in the village of Chiiili. In Chiiili, he suffered greatly from hunger and restrictions on movement. In the last days of his life, he received permission to move to Alma-Ata, where he died on August 9, 1944.
1896 — Gertrude Wismüller-Meyer was born. A righteous among the nations, she participated in organizing 74 transports of Jewish children from Europe to England as part of the «Kindertransport» operation. She died on August 30, 1978.
1896 — (8th of Iyar, 5656) Baron Maurice de Hirsch, philanthropist, died
1922 — (23 Nisan 5682) I. Kupermana was born, a multiple world champion in checkers. He died in 2006.
1938 — Joas Hirschberg was born — a composer, musicologist, violinist, and professor at the Hebrew University
1947 — (1st of Iyar, 5707) Nineteen year old British Army veteran and Irgun member Meir Feinstein and twenty year old Moshe Barazani blew themselves up with a handgrenade hours before they were scheduled to be hung in the Jerusalem Central Prison
2024 — (13 Nisan 5784) Major reserve Dor Zimel, 27 years old, from Even Yehuda, died in the hospital from wounds sustained during an attack by a UAV from Lebanon on April 17.