History events
1483 — (20th of Tevet, 5244) The first edition of Talmud Babli Berakot was published in Soncino, Italy by Joshua Solomon Soncino
1488 — (15th of Tevet, 5249) The first edition of the Sefer Mitzvoth Gadol was published in Soncino, Italy. ….. The Sefer Mitzvoth Gadol (The Great Book of the Commandments) was written by Rabbi Moses ben Jacob of Coucy’. Rabbi ben Jacob lived in the first half of the 13th century in Coucy, France. This work—usually designated by its acronym, the Semag—classifies Jewish law according to the traditional enumeration of 613 commandments. The work is divided into two sections. The first deals with the 365 negative precepts of the Torah, and the second with the 248 positive precepts
1781 — (2th of Tevet, 5542) Poll-tax abolished in Austria
1844 — (9th of Tevet, 5605) The Czar abolished all Kahals in the Russian Empire
1894 — (21th of Kislev, 5655) The trial of Alfred Dreyfus began today at the Cheche-Midi Prison
1903 — (30th of Kislev, 5664) Chaim Zelig Louban, a 27-year-old student, attempts to assassinate Max Nordau at a Chanukah ball of the Paris Zionist society. ….. He approaches Nordau, cries «Death to Nordau, the East African» and fires two shots. Nordau writes to Herzl: «Yesterday evening I got an installment on the debt of gratitude which the Jewish people owe me for my selfless labors on its behalf. I say this without bitterness, only in sorrow. How unhappy is our people, to be able to produce such deeds.» This incident goes to show the depth of feeling surrounding the “Uganda Plan”
1919 — (27th of Kislev, 5680) The SS Ruslam reached Jaffa with 671 people aboard. ….. The ship was loaded with doctors, artists, and academics and had been called Israel’s Mayflower. Its arrival marked the period of what is known as the «Third Aliyah,» which lasted four years. Approximately 50% of the 35,000 immigrants were from Russia and 35% from Poland. The «Third Aliyah» was idealistic and marked the time when the first Kibbutzim and Moshavim were established
1924 — (22th of Kislev, 5685) Governor General Primo de Rivera of Spain offered all Sephardim the possibility of reacquiring Spanish nationality provided they acquired this nationality before December 31, 1930
1948 — (17th of Kislev, 5709) During “Operation Velvetta” 12 more Spitfires were flown to Israel as part of the effort to create a modern air force in the heat of battle.
1952 — (1th of Tevet, 5713) David Ben-Gurion’s government resigned due to a dispute with the religious parties over religious education
1952 — (1th of Tevet, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported ….. that the resolution of the UN General Assembly’s Political Committee urging direct Arab-Israeli peace negotiations was hindered by a sudden Philippine and Catholic Bloc countries’ amendment demanding the implementation of all old UN resolutions, including the internationalization of Jerusalem. Israel complained to the US and Britain that they continue to arm the Arab states, despite their promise that there should be no arms race in the region
1953 — (13th of Tevet, 5714) Two Unit 101 Squads led by Meir Harzion completed a nighttime attack during which they ambushed a car carrying Mansour Awad, “a Lebanese born doctor serving in the Arab Legion” who died during the attack
1969 — (10th of Tevet, 5730) During the War of Attrition, Israeli aircraft bombed “a group of Egyptian military bases about 30 kilometers from the Suez Canal
1995 — (2th of Kislev, 5756) Roval Elimelech who lives in Kfar Saba, ….. a suburban town north of Tel Aviv, found out that a new border had sprung up overnight not far from her doorstep. About a mile away, Palestinian policemen had moved into Qalqilya, a town on the West Bank’s border with Israel, taking it over from Israeli soldiers who had withdrawn on Saturday night in keeping with an agreement signed in September on expanding Palestinian self-rule. At a new crossing point into Qalqilya this morning, a red sign informed Israeli motorists that they were entering a zone under the control of the Palestinian Authority. The sign warned that they could be stopped by Palestinian policemen and asked to produce drivers’ licenses and other identification, Qalqilya is the closest town to Israel’s main population centers that has changed hands so far. Less than 10 miles separates it from the metropolitan sprawl around Tel Aviv. Under the September agreement, Israel was to complete a pullout from six major West Bank towns and hundreds of neighboring villages by the end of this month. Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus and Qalqilya have already been turned over to Palestinian control. Bethlehem and Ramallah are next. Kfar Sava, a rapidly growing community of 75,000, has a history of neighborly relations with Qalqilya that were disrupted during the seven-year Palestinian uprising that broke out in 1987. Thousands of Israelis used to visit Qalqilya regularly for bargains in its market and shops, but most stayed away during the years of violent unrest. Today, community leaders and ordinary citizens in both towns said they hoped that they could restore old ties on a new footing. The Mayors of both towns have already met to discuss cooperation in sewage projects and waste disposal, and Kfar Sava’s Deputy Mayor was a guest of honor at a festive reception today in Qalqilya
2008 — (22th of Kislev, 5769) Haaretz reported that a rare half shekel coin, first minted in 66 or 67 C.E., was discovered by 14-year-old Omri Ya’ari as volunteers sifted through mounds of dirt from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
2014 — (27th of Kislev, 5775) For the third time since the end of Operation Protective Edge Palestinians in Gaza fired a Kassam rocket at an Israeli community in the Eshkol region near the Gaza Strip this morning
People
1910 — (18th of Kislev, 5671) Birthdate of David Raziel, one of the founders of «The National Military Organization in the Land of Israel» better known at the Irgun.
2010 — (12th of Tevet, 5771) The body of Kristine Luken, a US citizen living in England who was visiting Israel, was found south of Mata, approximately 400 meters from the road between was discovered around 6:30 a.m. today. She was one of two women who were stabbed while were hiking in the wooded hills west of Jerusalem on Saturday