History events
1349 — (13th of Elul, 5109) Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after having been accused of being the cause of the plague
1378 (4 Elul 5138) — The city of Worms was granted the right to extend protection to Jews
1511 — (4th of Elul, 5271) The Portuguese conquer Malacca. ….. Malacca, Malaysia was in the 16th century a Jewish hub not only for Portuguese Jews but also for Jews from around the Red Sea and the Malabar. With its synagogues and rabbis, Jewish Culture in Malacca was alive and well. Visible Jewish presence existed in Malacca right up to the 18th century. Due to the Portuguese inquisition a lot of the Jews of Malacca assimilated into the Malacca Portuguese (Eurasian) community. They are a creole community often referred to as Kristang; and their Portuguese dialect Papia Kristang
1703 — (27th of Elul, 5463) The Aleinu prayer was prohibited in Brandenberg, Germany. ….. Aleinu, composed by Rav (one of the great Talmudist (d. 247)) had been part of the ritual prayer for almost 1500 years. It served as a focal point for anti-Jewish attacks. Although the wording «For they bow down to emptiness and vanity and to a God that cannot save» which was taken from Isaiah (45:20) referred to idol-worshipers, some Christian leaders claimed it was an attack on Christianity. The part of the prayer was eventually eradicated from the Ashkenazic siddur (prayerbook) entirely and only reprinted recently
1840 (29 Av 5600) — Muhammad Ali, ruler of Egypt, issued a decree pardoning Jews accused of the ritual murder of the superior of the Capuchin monastery in Damascus and his servant, and ordered the termination of the investigation. Since the decree did not lift the blood libel from the Jews, it was replaced — at the insistence of a Jewish delegation — with another one stating that the release of the prisoners was an act of justice, not a favour granted by the authorities
1891 (24 Av 5651) — The Jewish agricultural settlement of Woodbine, for immigrants from Russia fleeing pogroms, was established in New Jersey
1892 — (5th of Аv, 5652) In Deadwood, South Dakota, the Hebrew Cemetery Association purchased a section in the new cemetery for Jewish burials for the sum of $200.
1897 — (30th of Elul, 5657) Opening of the first Zionist Congress at Basel
1898 — (10th of Elul, 5658) The Second Zionist Congress convenes in Basel and hears an address from Dr. Max Nordeau
1903 (5 Elul 5663) — The Sixth Zionist Congress, known in history as the “Uganda Congress”, ended in Basel. The so‑called Uganda Plan was discussed, sparking heated debates. A split was avoided: the Congress formed an expedition to inspect the proposed lands, but as a compromise, also established a commission to study the conditions for developing settlements in the Land of Israel
1910 — (23th of Аv, 5670) A bulletin issued by the Government that ….. gives information about the clergy in America reported that there were 1,084 Jewish rabbis in the United States in 1906, that the average salary of rabbis in cities having a population of 300,000 or more is $1, 491 which is the lowest paid to clergy except for Roman Catholics and that in New York City “Jewish places of worship are valued at $8,700,000 with 19 per cent debts
1917 (10 Elul 5677) — A statement announcing the formation of a Jewish Battalion within the British Army was published in London. In total, three Jewish battalions were formed: the 38th, 39th, and 40th Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers
1918 — (20th of Elul, 5678) American diplomats Henry King and Charles Crane presented their report to the Paris Peace Conference. They recommended the joining of Palestine to Syria, an end to the establishment of a Jewish National Home in Palestine and an international and interdenominational committee to supervise the Holy Places. Their report proved to be meaningless when the U.S. Senate rejected the Versailles Treaty. What may come as a surprise to some is that this betrayal of Zionist principles was prepared on the initiative of Woodrow Wilson
1919 (2 Elul 5679) — Pogrom in the town of Hermanivka, Obukhiv District, Kyiv Governorate
1938 — (1th of Elul, 5698) As Arab Irregulars continued their sniping and arson: today, “curfews were imposed on Jaffa, Ramleh, Jenin, Nablus and Beersheba
1941 — (5th of Elul, 5701) Second day of two day Aktion under the command of Obergruppenfuehrer Friedrich Jeckeln at Kolomija near Kamenets-Podolsk during which a total of 23,600 Jews were murdered. Of the total between 14,000 and 18,000 of them were Hungarian Jews. The Germans were assisted by the Hungarians during the two days of slaughter; Thousands of Jews are murdered at Czyzewo-Szlachecki, Poland
1941 (5 Elul 5701) — Shoah. A decree was adopted in France requiring the mandatory sale of property owned by Jews
1941 (5 Elul 5701) — Shoah. The third mass shooting of Jews in the Lithuanian town of Keidanai (the first on June 24, the second on July 23). 2 076 people were killed
1942 — (15th of Elul, 5702) Fourteen thousand Jews are killed at Sarny, Ukraine; Ten thousand Jews are murdered at Miedzyrzec, Poland; Jews of Chortkov, Ukraine, are put into freight cars and transported to the death camp at Belzec; The Antwerp police roundup 1,243 Belgian Jews and ship them to the death camps
1942 (15 Elul 5702) — Shoah. Most of the remaining Jews in Antwerp were arrested and sent to transit camps.
1942 (15 Elul 5702) — Shoah. The shootings in Sarny (Rivne Oblast) ended; about 13 thousand people were killed over two days
1945 (19 Elul 5705) — The ship Dalin arrived at the shores of Israel with illegal immigrants — the first such vessel since the end of the war
1945 — (19th of Elul, 5705) The British Mandate Government published the Fitzgerald Plan for governing Jerusalem. The system of dividing the city into boroughs had some merit, but it was predicated on the notion that the British Mandate would continue. The plan, like so many before and after it, was dead on arrival
1952 — (7th of Elul, 5712) In an address to the Knesset, Prime Minister Ben-Gurion reported that Arab infiltrators killed 62 Israelis, injured 110 and abducted 29 during 1951
1953 — (17th of Elul, 5713) In the evening, Unit 101, under the command of Ariel Sharon, conducted its first mission
1957 (1 Elul 5717) — Construction of Israel’s first supermarket began on Ben‑Yehuda Street in Tel Aviv.
1971 (7 Elul 5731) — A violent demonstration by the young Sephardic organisation Black Panthers took place on Zion Square in Jerusalem. They protested against the policy of discrimination against Sephardim. An effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir was burned.
1983 (19 Elul 5743) — M. Begin resigned as Prime Minister. The reasons that prompted him to do so are still unclear. It may have been deteriorating health, depression following the death of his beloved wife, the collapse of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, or public outrage over the numerous casualties in the Lebanon Campaign. Begin said nothing to the Knesset. He only uttered: “I can’t go on any longer.” He did not even submit his resignation letter to the President in person, but sent Government Secretary D. Meridor instead.
2005 (23 Av 5765) — A terrorist attack at the Be’er Sheva bus station. An Arab carried out a suicide bombing. Two security guards who had prevented him from entering the bus were injured.
2008 (27 Av 5768) — Israel’s first private solar power plant began operating. It was installed at a dairy farm, had a capacity of 50 kW, and met two‑thirds of the farm’s electricity needs.
2013 (22 Elul 5773) — Operation Dove’s Wings was completed, during which about 3 thousand members of the Falash Mura community — descendants of Ethiopian Jews forcibly converted to Christianity — were brought to Israel from Ethiopia.
2018 (18 Elul 5778) — Staff of the Jewish National Fund nature reserve reported the start of bird migration to the south. The first flock of storks appeared on Lake Hula.
2025 (4 Elul 5785) — When Houthi leaders gathered at a secret villa in Sana’a, 10 bombs weighing 1 000 kg each were dropped on the building. The Houthi Prime Minister and the military leadership, including the Chief of the General Staff, were eliminated. The operation, carried out at a distance of more than 2 000 km, became one of Israel’s greatest intelligence achievements in Yemen.
People
1766 — (23th of Elul, 5526) Birthdate of Simon Edler von Lamel the native of Bohemia who became a leading Austrian merchant while working to improve the conditions of his fellow Jews as could be seen by his efforts to reduce their taxes
1842 — Heinrich Heidemann, a German archaeologist and philologist, was born. He died on October 10, 1889
1855 — (14th of Elul, 5615) Isaac Samuel Reggio, Jewish theological writer, died
1868 (10 Elul 5628) — Bezalel Yaffe, a public figure in Israel, was born. He founded an agricultural irrigation cooperative that built the first pumping station on the Yarkon River in 1912. In 1910, he headed the Geulla society, which purchased land for Jews. In 1918, he united the Jews of Jaffa and Tel Aviv into a single community, which he led until his death. In 1920, on land acquired by the Geulla society near Little Tel Aviv, the new district Tel Aviv Centre was established. He died on December 14, 1924.
1898 — Arkady Samoilovich Shaikhet, a Soviet journalist and photojournalist, was born. He died on November 18, 1959.
1903 — Bruno Bettelheim, a psychologist and psychoanalyst, was born. He died on March 13, 1990.
1906 — A. Manfred, a Soviet historian and writer, was born. He died on December 16, 1976
1923 — (16th of Elul, 5683) «Kid Dropper» Nathan Kaplan was gunned down today by Louis Cohen, a member of Jacob “Little Augie” Orgen’s gaing.. Born in 1891, he was also known as Jack the Dropper. Kaplan was an American gangster controlling labor racketeering and extortion in New York City during the post-World War I period into the early years of Prohibition in the early 1920s.
1925 — A. Strugatsky, a writer, was born. He died on October 12, 1991.
1929 — István Kertész, a Hungarian musician and conductor, was born. He died in an accident on April 16, 1973
1936 — (10th of Elul, 5696) — David Nishri, a19 year old student was killed today when Arabs ambushed a bus traveling between Kiriat Anavim and Jerusalem; Four children were injured when three bombs exploded in Tiberius and two more people were injured when Arabs attacked on bus traveling to Jerusalem
1986 — (23th of Аv, 5746) Birthdate of Galid Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas in June, 2006
1997 (25 Av 5757) — A unit of the Golani Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces discovered terrorists in southern Lebanon, near Wadi Saluni, and eliminated them. However, dry vegetation caught fire; 5 soldiers were killed and 5 were wounded. The names of the fallen: Oshri Schwartz, Oren Zarif, Ro’i Shukrun, Shimon Yadeg, and Shumeto Kashon.
2024 (24 Av 5784) — War with Gaza. Day 327. Senior Sergeant Yohai Hai Glam, aged 32, was killed