History events
1255 — (24th of Elul, 5015) The body of a little boy who had disappeared was found in a well at Lincoln. ….. The boy would become known as Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln (England) was the subject of an infamous ritual murder libel. It was alleged that Jews enticed the boy and while starving him, invited Jews of Lincoln to murder him ritually. (Jews did come to Lincoln at that time to attend a wedding.) His body was cast into a well and a month later, «miracles» followed the discovery of his corpse. On the basis of the alleged «confession» by Jopin (Jacob), the secular authorities (for the first time) and the Church sent 91 Jews to the Tower of London. Eighteen were executed before Richard and the friars stopped the killings. This incident provided Chaucer with the idea for his Prioress Tale and the hero of the popular ballad, «Little Sir Hugh»
1263 — (22 Elul 5023) King Jaime of Aragon gave Jews three weeks to remove all blasphemies from their books
1477 — (20th of Elul, 5237) T’hilim with Kimchi’s commentary was published for the first time in Bologna, ….. Italy by Hayyim Mordecai and Hezekiah de Ventura. T’hilim is the Book of Psalms. Kimchi is David Kimchi also known as RaDAK. He was the third in a line of grammarians, lexicographers and Biblical commentators. RaDAK’s more accurate renderings of the ancient texts helped to fuel the Protestant Reformation
1897 — (1th of Elul, 5657) The First Zionist Congress (Basle, Switzerland) was convened by Theodore Herzl. ….. It was represented by one hundred and ninety-seven delegates. This was one of the most important yet unexpected convocation in modern Jewish History. Against all odds, Herzl had Jews from twenty-four different states as varied Palestine, the United States and an array from across Europe. The Congress adopted a document known as the Basile Program that declared, «The task of Zionism is to secure for the Jewish people in a Palestine in a publicly recognized legally secure homeland.» The Congress also announced that it would dedicate itself to strengthening Jewish consciousness and national feeling»
1903 — (6 Elul 5663) The Gomel pogrom, during which ten Jews were killed, many were wounded, and much Jewish property was looted. At the same time, Jewish self-defense, for the first time in Russian history, offered resistance to the pogromists. After the pogrom, the famous Gomel trial took place (October 1904 – January 1905; November 1906), in which not only the pogromists but also 36 Jews — members of the self-defense — were tried. Despite the unfavorable atmosphere in court, the testimony of about a thousand witnesses established the perpetrators of the pogrom and the role of the tsarist authorities who had patronized them. Some of the Jews — members of the self-defense — were acquitted, others were sentenced to several months in prison
1929 — (23th of Аv, 5689) The day began with an Arab attempt to massacre the Jewish population of Safed, ….. one of the sacred cities of Palestine and the center of study of the Kaballah. Initially nine Jews were killed and thirty wounded. As day turned into night the attack continued with the Arabs killing twenty-two Jews, wounding scores more and burning the whole town except the government buildings. Fighting proceeded for eight hours before British troops arrived from Tiberias. At least one American was found among the wounded. According to reports circulating in the ancient Jewish settlement 3,000 have been left homeless and some of the wounded were tortured by the Arab raiders; After a week of Arab riots that started on August 23, as of today, 113 Jews had been killed and 339 wounded. As a result of the riots, Sir Walter Shaw headed a commission which urged the banning of Jewish immigration and absolved the Arabs and the Mufti of guilt. Another commission led by Sir John Simpson declared that the entire Zionist operation was unsound and undesirable. Both of these commissions were under the auspices of Lord Passfield, the British Colonial Secretary; In a letter to The Times of London, British Zionist Harry Sacher refuted Arab claims that the Wailing Wall was part of the Mosque of Omar and that the Jews had no right to be there. The Mufti had claimed that the Arab Riots were provoked by Jews marching to the Wailing Wall and violating the law by hosting a Zionist flag
1924 — (29 Av 5684) The Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land was established within the government of the USSR
1929 — (23 Av 5689) Safed pogrom. 15 killed, 80 wounded
1936 — (11th of Elul, 5696) Arabs attacked Jewish settlement in the Sharon Valley in southern Judea and in the Jordan Valley tonight
1941 — (6 Elul 5708) Shoah. In Valegotsulovo (now Dolinskoye, Odessa region), Sonderkommando 10b shot several hundred Jews. On the same day in Dymer and Pyatigory (Kyiv region), 18 and 19 Jews were killed, respectively. Police Regiment «South» shot 65 Jews that day, and the headquarters company of the Higher SS and Police Leader in Kamenets-Podolsky shot another 1,400 Jews. In Kherson, 100 Jews were shot that day. On this day, a unit of Sonderkommando 4a likely shot 261 Jews in Fastov (Kyiv region)
1942 — (16th of Elul, 5702) Occupation officials in the East inform Berlin that the «Jewish problem» has been «totally solved» in Serbia. Since German occupation, 14,500 of Serbia’s 16,000 Jews have been murdered
1942 — (16 Elul 5702) Shoah. In Rafalovka (Rivne region), over 2,500 Jews were shot
1944 — (10th of Elul, 5704) The last transport left the Lodz Ghetto after two months of final liquidation of the Jewish population. Only 600 Jews remained from 76,000 who were still alive there on June 15, 1944
1953 — (18 Elul 5713) Five young people were killed by Jordanian soldiers on their way to the ancient city of Petra, located in Jordan. This was the first case of Israelis dying while traveling to the Red Rock, but not the last; Petra, precisely because of its inaccessibility, remained a lure for Israeli extreme adventurers for a long time
1961 — (17th of Elul, 5721) The Sixth Maccabiah opened today in Tel Aviv
1967 — (23 Av 5727) Meeting of Arab leaders in Khartoum. The triple «No» to Israel: No to Peace, No to Negotiations, No to Recognition.
1979 — (6 Elul 5739) The moshav Salit was officially recognized. Founded in 1977 by the Herut-Beitar movement. Located in western Samaria. The name «Salit» means «Rocky»; it is also the name of a bird species common in Israel, the wheatear (Oenanthe).
1981 — (29 Av 5741) PLO terrorists attacked a synagogue in Vienna during the Sabbath service. Two killed, 17 wounded.
1994 — (22 Elul 5754) An agreement was signed on the transfer of power over Gaza and Jericho to the PLO. It was accompanied by 6 separate agreements: on the transfer of power in the spheres of education and culture; health; social welfare; tourism; direct taxation; local production and value-added tax.
2013 — (23 Elul 5773) The laying of Tunnel No. 1 on the Latrun – Sha’ar HaGai section was completed as part of the project to create a high-speed Tel Aviv-Jerusalem railway line.
2020 — (9 Elul 5780) In Nice, the «Tour de France» cycling race started once again, and for the first time in history, the Israeli team Israel Start-Up Nation and the Israeli cyclist Guy Niv took part in it.
2020 — (9 Elul 5780) The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, canceled the 1972 law on the economic boycott of Israel by the United Arab Emirates and signed a series of decrees allowing companies and individual entrepreneurs in the UAE to enter into trade and financial deals with Israeli companies
People
1435 — (4 Elul 5195) Pablo de Santa Maria, also known as Solomon Ha-Levi, Rabbi of Burgos, and the main inspirer of the anti-Jewish edicts, died
1854 — (5th of Elul, 5614) Birthdate of Joseph Jacobs an Australian literary and Jewish historian, who was a writer for the Jewish Encyclopedia
1904 — William Guglielmo Niederland — American psychoanalyst and neurologist — was born. Died July 30, 1993.
1939 — W. Friedkin — American film director — was born. Died August 7, 2023.
2003 — (1st of Elul, 5763) The Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the murder of 25 year old Shalom Har-Melekh and the wounding of his wife Limor who was seven months pregnant
2013 — (23 Elul 5773) 24-year-old Israeli judoka Yarden Gerbi became the world champion in the weight category up to 63 kg at the World Championship held in Rio de Janeiro. This is the first gold medal in the history of Israeli judo at a world championship.
2018 — (18 Elul 5778) Benjamin Vered, who for decades held several important positions responsible for Israel’s military, scientific, and technological power, died at the age of 95. He was completely unknown; the public knew neither his name nor his face.
2024 — (25 Av 5784) The war with Gaza. Day three hundred twenty-eight. Hamas militants shot six hostages: Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and IDF Senior Sergeant Uri Danino