History events
-1313 — (28 Iyar 2448) The camp of the Jews who had just left Egypt was attacked by the Amalekite army, and Moses appointed Joshua as commander, commanding him: «Choose us men and go to war with Amalek!» In the ensuing battle, Joshua «weakened Amalek and his people with the sword.»
1288 — (21th of Iyar, 5048) At Troyes, thirteen Jews chosen from among the richer members of the community were condemned by the Inquisition to perish in the flames because of “the pretended murder of a Christian child.”
1367 — (25 Iyar 5127) Polish King Casimir III extended the privileges of Boleslaw V of Kalisz to the Jews of the recently annexed Little Poland, which included the conquered Red Ruthenia and part of Volhynia. (In 1264, Jews who had recently arrived in the city received privileges from Prince Boleslaw V the Pious, known as the Kalisz Statute, which later served as the basis for Polish legislation regarding Jews.)
1510 — (15 Iyar 5270) On this day, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian signed the following document: «We warn all Jews living now in Colmar that we hereby allow our esteemed burgomaster to expel all Jews who have been living here until now, within the shortest time, and we do not permit them to return at any time. If you ever come to visit Colmar for trade, your outer clothing must be marked with a yellow circle, and anyone who does not comply with this order will face punishment.»
1835 — (13 in the old style, 26 Nisan 5595) The decree of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, titled «Regulations on the Jews,» allowed Jews to receive state lands for indefinite use, acquire and rent plots of land in six provinces, and provided temporary recruitment and tax relief for colonists. The overwhelming majority of Jewish agricultural colonies established in subsequent years were organized in the Bessarabia region, and the provinces of Yekaterinoslav and Kherson
1846 — (29th of Nisan, 5606) The United Order of True Sisters, the first independent national women’s organization in America, held its first meeting. Organized at Temple Emanu-El in New York City, the United Order of True Sisters (UOTS) was conceived as a female counterpart to the male Jewish B’nai B’rith organization (founded in 1843), but functioning separately
1848 — (22 Nisan 5608) The new constitution of Austria guaranteed the religious rights of Jews
1881 — (26th of Nisan, 5641) Anti-Semitic league of Germany presents a petition with 255,000 signatures to Bismarck
1881 — (26 Nisan 5641) A pogrom occurred in the town of Beriozovka in the Kherson region
1894 — (19th of Nisan, 5654) “The Samaritan Pentateuch” published today described the text from 1232 which is in the possession of the Lenox Library. It contains thirty chapters of the Book of Genesis which are not found in the copies of the Samaritan Pentateuch in the possession of the British Library or the Vatican Library. The text is written in Hebrew and contains the Samaritan version of the Five Books of Moses
1911 — (27 Nisan 5671) In the context of the «Beyliss Case,» two professors from Kyiv conducted a re-autopsy of the murdered boy. The professors claimed that the murder was committed for the purpose of obtaining blood, indicating its ritual nature. It was later proven that the specialists provided false conclusions and were rewarded with 4,000 rubles from the Ministry of Justice for their work.
1936 — (3 Iyar 5696) Arabs proclaimed a general strike in Eretz-Israel under anti-Zionist slogans (or April 22). Their demands to the British included the prohibition of immigration, the transfer of land to the Jews, and the establishment of a government accountable to the people. A boycott of Jews was also announced. The British were given a deadline of May 15, after which the Arabs threatened acts of civil disobedience, terrorism, and sabotage against the authorities and Jews.
1942 — (8 Iyar 5702) The Holocaust. In the village of Munich (Gradovka) in the Mostovskoy district of the Odessa region, a «self-defense» unit executed 600 Jews from Odessa. Able-bodied Jews from Pyatigorsk (Kyiv region) were transferred to the labor camp in Buky (Cherkasy region)
1944 — (2th of Iyar, 5704) Joel Brand, a member of the Relief and Rescue Committee of Budapest, was summoned to a meeting with Adolf Eichmann, who presented him with an offer that would be known as «Blood for Trucks. «Eichmann told Brand that the highest SS authorities had approved the terms, in which Eichmann would barter «a million Jews» for goods obtained outside of Hungary, including 10,000 trucks for civilian use, or, as an alternative, for use on the eastern front. The 1 million Jews would have to leave the country-since Eichmann had promised that Hungary would be Judenrein-and might head for any destination other than Palestine, since he had promised the Mufti of Jerusalem that no Jews would be allowed to emigrate there. To negotiate the effectuation of the deal, Eichmann let Brand leave Hungary. Although Brand was unaware of it at the time, the offer was evidently connected with an attempt by Himmler to drive a wedge between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, and to conclude a separate peace with the former. Brand did go to Ankara, Jerusalem, and Cairo, and he negotiated with American officials and leaders of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. However, he was arrested and imprisoned in Cairo, and the rescue scheme was never implemented
1945 — (12 Iyar 5705) A meeting of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee was held to discuss the publication of the «Black Book» about the Catastrophe. In the fall of 1945, the commission presented the finished material of the book, which had passed the censorship of the Main Censorship Department, and submitted it to the «Der Emes» publishing house. However, the country’s leadership delayed its publication. In November 1946, the leaders of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee appealed to A. Zhdanov for permission to print the already completed book, but no permission was granted
1946 — (24th of Nisan, 5706) The French ship Champollion brought 880 Jewish refuges with Palestine immigration certificates to Haifa today from Marseille. Of the group, 500 were children, mostly orphans.” Many of the immigrants were concentration camp survivors; A force of Jewish fighters attacked a police station in northern Tel Aviv killing seven British soldiers and policemen while wounding two other Britons and nine Jewish civilians. The Jewish fighters got away without suffering any casualties and have apparently escaped the security cordon created by the British
1948 — (16th of Nisan, 5708) A reporter for The Times of London (the voice of the British establishment) described the efforts of the Jewish leaders in Haifa to convince the Arab residents to remain. “The Jews wish the Arabs to settle down again to normal routine, but evacuation continues.” While the Haganah was distributing leaflets urging the Arabs to stay, the Arab High Command based in Damascus was urging them to leave supposedly to avoid Arab casualties when Arab planes would bomb Haifa. The planes never came, but the Arabs took flight and the “refugee problem” was born
1948 — (16 Nisan 5708) The War of Independence. The fighting for Jaffa began. Forces of the Etzel, numbering about 1,500 men, preceded the attack with a mortar bombardment. Jaffa was well fortified and offered serious resistance
1950 — (8th of Iyar, 5710) Prime Minister David Ben Gurion addressed the Zionist General Council on the sixth day of its meeting in Jerusalem. Ben Gurion told the leaders from around the world that “their financial and other aid to Israel did not entitle them to a voice in the affairs of Israel.” While acknowledging the importance of aid and support from the Jewish communities in the Diaspora, Ben Gurion took the classical Zionist line that “only Zionists who came to Israel and assumed the responsibilities of citizenship were entitled to a voice in determining policy.
1966 — (5 Iyar 5726) A terrorist attack. As a result of bomb explosions, two Israelis were injured, and three houses were damaged in the moshav Beit Yosef (Beit She’an Valley)
1979 — (28th of Nisan, 5739) Peace treaty between Israel and Egypt went into effect
1982 — (2th of Iyar, 5742) The Sinai Peninsula was returned by Israel to Egypt, as part of the 1979 Camp David Accord
2007 — (7th of Iyar, 5767) «Makor Rishon» started publishing daily
2012 — (3 Iyar 5772) Traditionally, on the eve of the next Independence Day, the Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel published demographic data. The population of Israel is 7.881 million. Jews number 5.931 million, or 75.3% of the population; Arabs number 1.623 million (20.6%). 0.327 million (4.1%) are identified as representatives of other nationalities.
2015 — (6 Iyar 5775) A terrorist attack in East Jerusalem. An Arab in a «Skoda» drove onto the sidewalk and hit four police officers, injuring them. Security personnel who arrived at the scene were pelted with stones and bottles filled with incendiary substances. The next morning, the terrorist was arrested.
2018 — (10 Iyar 5778) A storm in Israel. Rain, thunderstorms, heavy hail, and flooding occurred. The most precipitation fell in the northern part of the country, in Galilee, around Akko and Haifa. Flooding occurred in the lowlands. In the southern and central regions, after a «rain with sand,» strong winds arose. Power outages occurred in many areas, and traffic lights were not functioning.
2023 — (4 Iyar 5783) The Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel published data on the population of the country for Independence Day. The population of Israel was approximately 9.727 million. About 7.145 million of them are Jews (73.5%), 2.048 million are Arabs (21%), and 534,000 are representatives of other nationalities
People
1221 — (2 Iyar 4981) Baruch ben Samuel, a rabbi and one of the outstanding Jewish scholars of his time, passed away.
1747 — (26 Iyar 5507) Moses Chaim Luzzatto, a Kabbalist, playwright, poet, and moralist, died in Kfar Yasir near Akko.
1824 — (27 Nisan 5584) Shmuel Mogilever, a rabbi and public figure, the founder of a religious trend in the Hovevei Zion movement that preceded Zionism, was born in Belarus. He died on June 10, 1898.
1907 — (11 Iyar 5667) Soviet composer V.P. Solovyov-Sedoy was born. No, no, he is the real Vasily Pavlovich. He is included in the Calendar because his melody from the film «The Heavenly Silent Flyer» became a sort of anthem for the Palmach.
1920 — (7 Iyar 5680) Abba Bardichev was born in Galați (Romania) — a member of a British sabotage group, parachuted into Yugoslavia on March 15, 1944, captured by the Germans in occupied Romania, and executed in Mauthausen on January 26, 1945.
1920 — Fishel Leizerovich Kamensky, a communist, was arrested by the Polish police and executed after torture. During the occupation of Bobruisk by Polish forces in 1919-20, he was one of the creators and leaders of the communist underground.
1923 — Melissa Hayden, a famous ballerina in the USA, was born in Toronto. She died on August 9, 2006.
1949 — Joseph Levi, one of the founders of Nahariya, died at the age of 64