History events
-357 BCE — (15 Nisan 3404). Queen Esther invited Ahasuerus and Haman to her evening banquet. On the night after the banquet, Haman, inspired by his closeness to the king and queen, erected a huge tree 50 cubits high in his courtyard, intending to hang Mordecai on it the next morning
614 — (24th of Nisan, 4374) According to “the Armenian bishop and historian Sebos” one of two possible dates the residents of Jerusalem rebelled during the war between he Byzantines and the Sasanians – a rebellion which claimed an untold number of Jews living in the city
1795 — (20 Nisan 5555). The Third Partition of Poland. Lithuania, which then included the Vilna and Grodno regions, was annexed by Russia. In total, Russia “acquired” about 700–800 thousand Jews.
1912 — (22 Nisan 5672). Construction of the Technion — the first technical higher education institution in the Land of Israel — began in Haifa (or April 11)
1920 — (21th of Nisan, 5680) Anti-Jewish mass meetings were held in Vienna to commemorate “the 10th anniversary of the death of Karl Lueger, the former Jew-baiting burgomaster.”
1937 — (28 Nisan 5697). Using the “Wall and Tower” method, the moshav Beit Yosef was established in the Beit She’an Valley, 8 kilometres north of the city of Beit She’an
1937 — (28th of Nisan, 5697) The Palestine Post reported that over 10 million boxes of citrus were shipped out from Palestine from the beginning of the citrus season 8,951,597 boxes of oranges and 1,218,896 of grapefruit; that after Poland inaugurated a thrice-weekly air service to Palestine, the Italian airline Ala Littoria started a regular weekly hydroplane service to Haifa; that the largest-ever single pilgrimage from England since 1888 including 1,050 English and Welsh tourists arrived in Haifa aboard the S.S. Duchess of Richmond. The pilgrims proceeded to Jerusalem by two special trains, 70 cars and 15 buses, accompanied by 70 guides. They took over, for three days, all available Jerusalem hostels and hotels
1942 — (22 Nisan 5702). Shoah. A “Jewish action” took place in Kuty (Ivano‑Frankivsk Oblast): about 900 Jews were killed on the spot and about 600 were deported to Kolomyia. In Stari Kuty, 16 Jews were shot.
1948 — (29 Adar II 5708). War of Independence. Four Palmach battalions recaptured Castel. The Arabs discovered the body of Abdel Qader, fell into mourning, abandoned their positions at Castel, and left to bury their leader. The Palmach occupied the vacant fortifications.
1948 — (29 Adar II 5708). War of Independence. Battle for the village of Deir Yassin between fighters of the Etzel and Lehi. There were heavy civilian Arab casualties. Debate over this episode continues to this day. The “Left” accuses the “Right” of unnecessary cruelty. The latter argue that the deaths of women and children occurred in the heat of battle and that the victims were used as human shields. It is also said that without Deir Yassin, there would be no Israel, as the frightened Arab population fled in many parts of the Land of Israel, leaving room for the Jews.
1948 (29 Adar II 5708). War of Independence. In the port of Bari, an agent of the Haganah, M. Mardor, blew up the Lino, a ship carrying weapons for the Arabs. It carried 8 000 rifles, 600 000 cartridges, many grenades, and explosives
1952 — (14th of Nisan, 5712) The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel observed the Pesach festival with all traditional holiday foods severely rationed and in a very short supply. Wine shops were well-stocked, but only the more expensive brands were available. Pesach chocolates, sweets and biscuits were completely absent. The sole bright spot was an ample supply of vegetables. Citrus fruit was either very hard to get or completely unavailable
1956 — (28 Nisan 5716). Terrorist attacks by Egyptian saboteurs on this day:
A command vehicle was blown up by a mine in Be’erotaim. Two more mines were found nearby.
An attack using hand grenades and automatic weapons was carried out on a workers’ camp of a water supply company in Ketziot; two people were killed and three wounded.
A car was fired upon near the kibbutz Beit Ra’im; one person was killed and one wounded.
1957 — (8 Nisan 5717). Israel lifted the ban on the screening of German films. This did not apply to films made during the Nazi era or those featuring actors who had collaborated with Hitler
1973 — (7th of Nisan, 5733) Israel Defense Forces Special Forces units attacked several Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) targets in Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon in an action thought “to be part of the retaliation for the Munich massacre at the Summer Olympics in 1972.”
1978 — (2 Nisan 5738). The 79‑day strike of merchant mariners, the longest in Israeli history, came to an end.
1995 — (9 Nisan 5755). Terrorist attack near Kfar Darom: an Arab blew up a car near a bus carrying soldiers and residents of Kfar Darom. Eight people were killed and 36 wounded.
2002 — (27 Nisan 5762). Operation Defensive Shield: during a battle in Jenin, 12 reserve paratroopers were killed due to the fear of harming civilians. They had fallen into an ambush while advancing through the streets without cover. The IDF did not use heavy equipment in urban combat.
2008 — (4 Nisan 5768). Terrorist attack near the Karni Terminal in the area of the kibbutz Nahal Oz: Arabs infiltrated from Gaza, opened fire on a group of Israelis, and killed two of them
People
1141 — (30th of Nisan, 4901) Rabbi Joseph ben Meir Ha-Levi Ibn Migas “disciple and successor to Rabbi Isaac Alfasi” passed away today
1723 — (4th of Nisan, 5483) Judah Loeb ben David Neumark, author of Shoresh Yehuda which had been published at Frankfort on the Main in 1692 and who had been the manager of the printing house owned by Daniel Ernest Jablonski passed away today1895. Eduardo Proper de Caléjon, a Spanish diplomat, was born. Between June 18 and 22, 1940, on his own initiative and against his superiors’ wishes, he issued several thousand entry visas to French Jews fleeing the Nazis while serving as consul in Bordeaux. On August 6, 2007, Yad Vashem awarded Eduardo Proper de Caléjon the title of Righteous Among the Nations.
1899 — L. Litvinov (Gurevich), theatre director, was born. He died on March 21, 1963.
1903 — Gregory Goodwin Pincus, American biologist and one of the creators of oral contraceptive pills, was born. He died on August 22, 1967.
1912 — L. Kopelev, writer, was born. He died on June 18, 1997.
1921 — (1 Nisan 5681). Yitzhak Navon, Israeli statesman and the fifth President of Israel (1978–1983), was born in Jerusalem. He died on November 7, 2015.
1924 — (5 Nisan 5684). Bertha Abramson, the first woman in the USA to be allowed to serve as a synagogue regent, was born in Greece. She died on February 19, 2019.
1925 — Ernst Neizvestny, sculptor, was born. He died on August 9, 2016.