History events
921 — (6th of Tevet, 4682) Rav Saadiah Gaon cautioned today cautioned the Jews of Egypt to reject the religious calendar adopted by Rabbi Aaron ben Meir, head of the Palestinian yeshiva in Ramleh
1622 — (22 Tevet 5383) The curtains were stolen from the Prague palace of Prince Liechtenstein during his absence. By order of the palace supervisor, it was announced in all synagogues in Prague that anyone who had the stolen goods should return them to the sexton Altshul. After that, a Jew named Joseph Tein delivered the curtains to Altshul, then the sexton of the Maisel Synagogue in Prague, claiming he had bought them from two soldiers. The vice-governor, Count Rudolf Waldstein, demanded that the buyer be named and brought to him for punishment. However, since the congregational statutes prohibited naming recipients of stolen goods who voluntarily renounced them, the sexton did not name Tein, and as a consequence, he was thrown into prison and sentenced to hang the next day. To save his life, Altshul revealed the name of the buyer with the permission of the community leadership, after which he was released, and instead, Joseph Tein was sentenced to the gallows. Efforts by influential Jews and intercession by members of the city council led to Count Waldstein releasing the prisoner on the condition that the community pay a fine of 10,000 florins. To humiliate the Jews, he ordered that this money, divided into ten equal parts, be paid in silver coins and carried in cloth bags by ten prominent Jews accompanied by soldiers through the streets of Prague to the town hall. Altshul recorded this event in a scroll titled «Megilat Purim ha-Kelaim» («The Scroll of Purim of the Curtains») and obligated all his descendants to read this scroll annually on the 22nd of Tevet, the day he was freed, and to commemorate this day by «feasting and giving thanks to God for his salvation.»
1891 — (14 Kislev 5652) The Jewish theater of Lviv, under the management of Yakob Ber Himpli, presented the premiere of A. Goldfaden’s play «Moshiach Zeitn.»
1891 — (14 Kislev 5652) The steamship «Pampa» arrived in Buenos Aires with 800 Jews from Russia, becoming pioneers in the history of Jewish agricultural immigration to Argentina
1918 — (12nd of Tevet, 5679) Efforts to break the monolithic opposition to Zionism of Jerusalem’s Orthodox community met with success at the founding meeting of a group of senior rabbis, who in defiance of the ultra-Orthodox rabbis set up a Joint Sephardic — Ashkenazi Council which was the first breach in the Orthodox community’s strong and united opposition to Zionist institutions
1927 — (21th of Kislev, 5688) The struggle for work turned violent during the citrus harvest in Petah Tikvah. Jewish workers, seeking employment, protest against the hiring of Arab labor by the farmers. Demonstrations and an attack on the Agricultural Committee lead to the intervention of the British police. Workers are beaten and injured. Some are arrested and sentenced to several weeks’ imprisonment
1930 — (25th of Kislev, 5691) Seventy-five-year-old Meier Dizengoff sought re-election as Mayor of Tel Aviv in contest that pits him against Laborite Joseph Aronwitz. Dizengoff was one of the original founders of the city in 1909 and is noted for donating his salary to municipal projects not funded by the city
1937 — (11nd of Tevet, 5698) The Palestine Post reported that 13 Jews were wounded when Arab terrorists ambushed a bus between Haifa and Nahalal. Another bus was fired on near Castel
1937 — (11nd of Tevet, 5698) A Jewish guard, Haim Berger, was wounded in Tiberias, and Eliahu Gadi was shot and wounded near Kibbutz Ramat Rahel
1939 — (3nd of Tevet, 5700) Gauleiter Hans Frank launched an action aimed at shipping rural Jews to large Polish cities where they would be the tight control of the SS. Tens of thousands of Jews would be rounded up, transported or force-marched into specially designated urban ghettos
1941 — (25th of Kislev, 5702) Тhe Germans established a ghetto today at Stanislawow which would lead to the extermination of a Jewish population that had lived in the town since 1662
1941 — (25 Kislev 5702) Shoah. The execution of Jews in Liepāja. People were arrested right in their apartments, gathered in the stables of the artillery regiment and at the freight station. Columns of trucks with people headed toward the dunes of Shkede from early morning, and foot columns of the doomed followed. It was cold, with a cutting wind blowing from the sea, and the ground was frozen. Over three days, 2,772 people were killed.
1941 — (25 Kislev 5702) Janis Lipke, a worker from Riga, rescued 10 Jews from the ghetto and hid them. In total, he saved 55 people during the war. In 1966, Lipke was awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations.
1941 — (25 Kislev 5702) Shoah. In Molotchansk (Zaporizhia region), 36 Jews were shot. In Kharkiv, over 300 Jews were taken from the concentration camp for hostages. A concentration camp was established in Dzhankoy (Crimea) for the Jews of the city and surrounding areas. A Jewish residential area was created in Rivne (around 5,000 Jews). The Bar district administration (Vinnytsia region) announced the establishment of ghettos in Bar and Yaltushkov starting December 20, to which all Jews were to relocate.
1942 — (7 Tevet 5703) Shoah. In Ilyintsy (Vinnytsia region), the last 100 Jewish craftsmen were exterminated. In the Brodetske and Shestakove camps (Katerynopil district of Cherkasy region), 255 and 105 Jews were shot, respectively
1945 — (11nd of Tevet, 5706) At approximately 1:45 P.M., about 20 fighters of the Haganah — the pre-state underground Jewish militia — seized a British truck south of Acre. ….. The men, armed but wearing civilian clothing, confiscated about half a ton of documents, packed into eight sealed steel containers and 12 sacks of diplomatic mail. The documents had been sent from the British legation in Beirut to Haifa Port, from which they were to be transported to Britain. The truck was taken to an unknown location. The driver and armed guards were later found in an abandoned building near Kiryat Ata. The British tried to minimize the importance of the captured documents, claiming that most of them concerned economic matters of the British Mission in Beirut, headed during World War II by General Edward Spears. But the reaction of the British, the French and the Haganah itself to the event clearly suggests that the papers removed from the truck were, in fact, of far greater consequence. Immediately after the incident, the French consul in Jerusalem came to Tel Aviv. The French were given classified documents from the truck that were of great operational importance to them. The British Mandate authorities censored reports of the event, prohibiting Hebrew or British newspapers from publishing any details about the Haganah operation. The documents were eventually returned to the British, but about one percent of them remained in the hands of the Haganah. The French considered the remaining so documents to be so valuable that they entered into with the Yishuv to get more of them. The British were so determined to get their hands on the remaining documents that they attempted to seize them through clandestine military action in May and June of 1948
1947 — (2 Tevet 5708) War of Independence. Arabs in Jerusalem blew up a water pipeline.
1947 — (2 Tevet 5708) A unit of reservists of the Palmach was created, later called «Beasts of the Negev.» Its tasks included guarding southern settlements, and by the end of the war, it became part of the 9th battalion of the Negev Brigade. In the Israeli army, it was not customary to award medals for bravery – every fighter was considered as brave as any other – but those who wore the insignia of the «Beasts of the Negev» were treated with special admiration. The symbol of the unit, a camel, is seen in many photographs. Its commander, Simcha Shiloni, was one of the most famous field commanders of the War of Independence on the southern front. His unit became renowned for its courage and bravery
1948 — (13th of Kislev, 5709) A flight of Spitfires took off from Czechoslovakia as part of a clandestine operation to bring modern aircraft to Israel.
1955 — (30 Kislev 5716) Israel. A member of the Einat kibbutz was arrested for failing to declare $3,175 received from his sister.
1956 — (11 Tevet 5717) The construction of a new section of the Eilat-Be’er Sheva oil pipeline began.
1956 — (11 Tevet 5717) Israel. Residents of Be’er Sheva declared a boycott against a city resident for charging a soldier returning from Sinai 2 lira for permission to take a shower.
1958 — (4 Tevet 5719) Israel. The censorship council allowed films in German to be screened but maintained strict restrictions on films featuring actors who collaborated with the Hitler regime.
1961 — (8nd of Tevet, 5722) Former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death by an Israeli court.
1969 — (6 Tevet 5730) Golda Meir formed another government of national unity in Israel.
1979 — (25th of Kislev, 5740) Two Palestinians connected to the Munich Olympics Massacre, Ali Salem Ahmed and Ibrahim Abdul Aziz, were killed in Cyprus
1980 — (8 Tevet 5741) Jordan’s representative to the UN, H. Nusseiba, told the UN General Assembly that «Zionists are the richest people in the world and determine the fate of humanity. People like Lord Rothschild, in complete secrecy, decide daily and inform the world how much gold will cost. And in South Africa, there is Mr. Oppenheimer, who holds 15 million blacks in captivity and monopolizes diamonds, uranium, and other valuable resources that rightfully belong to the struggling peoples of South Africa and Namibia.»
1988 — (7 Tevet 5749) The UN General Assembly adopted resolution number 43/177, recognizing the declaration of the state of Palestine by an absolute majority of 104 votes («against» were Israel and the USA, and 36 countries abstained). Many countries even opened representations and embassies in the «state of Palestine.
1990 — (28th of Kislev, 5751) Three Israelis were stabbed and killed in an aluminum factory in Jaffa today, the police said, and widespread anti-Arab rioting followed
1999 — (6 Tevet 5760) Unsuccessful negotiations began in Washington with Syria concerning the possibilities of concluding peace.
2005 — (14 Kislev 5766) In Tel Aviv, the «World press phono» exhibition opened for the fourth consecutive time, featuring 426 photographers from 123 countries.
2005 — (14 Kislev 5766) The Tel Aviv municipality decided to relocate the wholesale market from the city center between Hashmonaim and Karlibach streets to the suburb of Rishon Lezion, Tsrifin. The market occupied an area of 59 dunams (1 dunam = 0.1 hectares).
2005 — (14 Kislev 5766) The Knesset passed a law permitting car races in any class of vehicles in the country.
2006 — (24 Kislev 5767) A ceremony was held in Afula to lay the foundation for a municipal sports and recreation center.
2009 — (28 Kislev 5770) Israel. Inspectors from the National Parks and Nature Reserves Authority caught a crocodile that had been terrorizing residents in the south of the country for the past few days. The animal was hiding in the Ha-Basor river, near the kibbutz Tzeelim (Western Negev). Representatives of the National Parks and Nature Reserves Authority stated that the crocodile «strayed» during the liquidation of a reptile farm located in the area. The farm was moved to another location, but one crocodile apparently managed to escape.
2010 — (8 Tevet 5771) The ski resort on Mount Hermon opened to visitors, marking the start of the ski season in Israel. The resort had been closed for the past four years due to a lack of snow. To cover losses, the administration increased entrance prices and rental fees by 7%. Entrance fees were set at 49 shekels (previously 45) for adults and 44 shekels (previously 40) for children.
2013 — (12 Tevet 5774) Terrorist attack. Around 21:00, a soldier from the regular Lebanese army opened fire on an Israeli car located about 50 meters from the border fence in the Rosh HaNikra area (the western section of the Lebanese-Israeli border). Approximately 10 shots were fired, with at least 6 bullets hitting the car. Sergeant Shlomo Cohen of the IDF was killed
2014 — (23th of Kislev, 5775) Shin Bet reported foiling a suicide bomber’s plot in Tel Aviv based on disguising the suicide bomber as a pregnant woman in need of medical help; The Israel Antiquities Authority announced today that archaeologist have uncovered a farmhouse that is 2,800 years old consisting of 23 rooms “in the area of modern day Rosh Ha’ayin
People
1679 — (22nd of Tevet, 5440) Moses Raphael de Aguilar, who as a Sephardic-Dutch rabbi and Hebrew Grammarian wrote twenty books and served briefly as the leader of Jewish community in Recife, Brazil passed away today
1772 — (19th of Kislev, 5533) Reb Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch second leader of the Chassidic movement, successor to the Baal Shem Tov and spiritual mentor of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, known for his scholarship, piety, and asceticism passed away
1810 — (18th of Kislev, 5571) Ludwig Dessoir, German actor, born
1815 — (13 Kislev 5576) Joseph Moise Levy was born in England — editor and publisher of The Sunday Times. In 1855, he acquired The Daily Telegraph from Colonel Arthur Sleigh, which the colonel had founded specifically to criticize the Duke of Cambridge. Levy focused on entertaining reading for the general public, and the publication established itself as «the largest, best, and most accessible in the world.» The newspaper quickly became Britain’s «champion» in circulation and, due to its price of just a penny per copy, became the progenitor of the so-called «penny press.» Levy died in 1888.
1895 — Shimon Kushner was born — an Israeli writer. He died in February 1986.
1899 — H. Abrahams was born — Olympic champion in the 100m race in 1924. He died on January 14, 1978.
1903 — Y. Raizman was born — a director. He died on December 11, 1994.
1904 — (7 Tevet 5665) B. Bass was born — world champion among professional boxers in the featherweight (1927) and lightweight (1929-30 and 1931) categories. He died on June 25, 1975.
1913 — Muriel Rukeyser was born — an American poet. She died on February 12, 1980.
1922 — A. Freed was born — an American DJ. He died on January 20, 1965.
1923 — (7nd of Tevet, 5684) Birthdate of Gotthard Glass who would gain famed as Uziel “Uzi” Gal. The German-born Israeli gun designer best remembered as the designer and namesake of the Uzi submachine gun
1952 — (27th of Kislev, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported that Dov Shilansky was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment for trying to bomb the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jerusalem in protest against the acceptance of German reparations
1992 — (20th of Kislev, 5753) Hamas terrorists kidnapped Nissim Toledano, an Israeli Army Sergeant
1948 — (13 Kislev 5709) Pilot Wayne Peak of the first fighter squadron of the Israeli Air Force was killed. His fighter, with tail number 1907, crashed on takeoff.
2023 — (3 Tevet 5784) War with Gaza. Day seventy. Reserve sergeant Shai Uriel Pizem, 23 years old, and reserve sergeant Tomer Shlomo Miara, 28 years old, were killed. During the fighting in Shuja’iyya, soldiers mistakenly identified three hostages as threatening opponents and opened fire on them. Yotam Chaim, 28 years old, Samer Fuad Al-Talalka, 25 years old, and Alon Shamriz, 26 years old, were killed from Kfar Aza.