History events
-75 — BCE (2 Shvat 3684) King of Judea Alexander Yannai died
1634 — (15th of Tevet, 5395) Religious freedom was granted to Jews and Catholics in Brazil. This was the period of time when Brazil was under the control of the Dutch
1901 — (16th of Tevet, 5662) The Fifth Zionist Congress convenes in Basel. The Jewish National Fund is established. The Jewish Colonial Trust, the monetary arm or bank of the World Zionist Organization, finally raises sufficient sums to be established. By the end of the year, 250.000 English Pounds have been collected
1902 — (26th of Kislev, 5663) Final publication of the American Hebrew which would merge with The Jewish Messenger and resume publication in 1903 as The American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger
1909 — (14 Tevet 5670) Hamburg. Opening of the Ninth Zionist Congress
1917 — (11th of Tevet, 5678) Orthodox rabbis in Jerusalem establish the Ashkenazi Community Council to oppose the Zionist dominated City Council of Jerusalem Jews
1936 — (12th of Tevet, 5697) Founding of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The Polish born violinist Bronislaw Huberman is credited with founding the orchestra. It was originally called the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra but changed its name after the founding of the state of Israel
1940 — (26th of Kislev, 5701) The British government suspended the quota for legal immigration for three months, thus halting all immigration until March, 1941
1940 — (26 Kislev 5701) Shoah. Beginning on this day, the British authorities interned on Mauritius 1,580 Jews — passengers of the ship «Atlantic,» refugees from the Central European countries captured by the Germans. The men were placed in a camp on the territory of a former prison, women and children in 30 nearby barracks built of corrugated iron; they suffered from tropical diseases, hunger, and lack of clothing. 126 deceased prisoners were buried in a Jewish cemetery that still exists today. Jewish organizations, especially the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the World Jewish Congress, and the Jewish Agency, provided them with significant moral and material assistance. Hebrew study courses operated clandestinely in the camp. More than 200 internees joined the Allied armies, including the Jewish Brigade. In 1945, the British authorities permitted the remaining ones to repatriate to Eretz Israel.
1942 — (18 Tevet 5703) Shoah. The Higher SS and Police Leader in Ukraine, Obergruppenführer SS Prützmann, reported to Himmler that, as «accomplices of the partisans,» the following had been executed: in August — 31,246 Jews, in September — 165,282, in October — 95,735 Jews, in November — 70,948, a total of 363,211 Jews
1946 — (3th of Tevet, 5707) Diamond factories in Natanya and Tel Aviv are raided, reportedly by Jews who would have been using the proceeds of the raid to finance the fight against the British
1947 — (13th of Tevet, 5708) War for independence. Hans Beyth, a central figure in welcoming newly arrived immigrant children to Eretz Israel, ….. was one of seven Jews killed by Arab snipers as they traveled in convey coming from the coast up to Jerusalem. Beyth had just completed arrangements for the care of 20,000 young survivors of the Holocaust and other youngsters from Europe; One Jew was killed and two were wounded today when Arabs attacked a Jewish patrol at Imara in the Negev; A four-year-old Jewish girl, whose name has not been made public was killed today a bullet in Tel Aviv. The assailant has not been identified; In Jerusalem, an Arab Legion truck that had illegally entered the city, was fired on by Jews manning a Haganah outpost. No casualties were reported by either side
1948 — (24th of Kislev, 5709) Israel greeted the arrival of its 100,000th immigrant since its declaration of statehood in May.
1948 — (24th of Kislev, 5709) A six plane formation of Spitfires arrived in Israel from Czechoslovakia
1948 — (24th of Kislev, 5709) In the evening, the Chanukah light is kindled for the first time in almost 2,000 years in an independent Jewish state
1948 — (24th of Kislev, 5709) King Abdullah of Jordan attended a Palestinian conference in Ramallah that “declared its support for the Jericho Conference resolution, calling for unification of the two banks of the Jordan under the Hashemite crown.”
1948 — (24 Kislev 5709) War of Independence. Operation «Horev.» Battle of the «Negev» brigade for the Tmile fortified area.
1949 — (6 Tevet 5710) A decision was adopted to move the sessions of the Knesset to the Jewish Agency building in Jerusalem.
1949 — (6 Tevet 5710) On the site of the temporary immigrants’ camp Halsa, the settlement of Kiryat Shmona was established (initially Kiryat Yosef in honor of Yosef Trumpeldor). In 1974 it was declared a city. In 2010 its residents numbered 23,200.
1963 — (10 Tevet 5724) Passenger trains from Haifa and Tel Aviv collided near Beit Yehoshua. No one was killed, but 55 people were injured.
1965 — (3th of Tevet, 5726) Аt the 38th annual meeting of the American Academy for Jewish Research, ….. Norman Gold, an assistant professor of Medieval Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago, announced the discovery of a document that bears the date of 1020 which he called the oldest extant legal document of the Jews in Sicily” and which he said “showed that a community of Jews flourished in Syracuse under the Arabs before the Norman conquest of the island in 1080
1968 — (5 Tevet 5729) Terror attack. Two Arab terrorists fired submachine guns at an El Al airplane at Athens airport. One passenger was killed and one was wounded
1969 — (17th of Tevet, 5730) Operation Rooster 53 was launched at 9 p.m. as A-4 Skyhawks and F-4 Phantoms began attacking Egyptian forces along the western bank of the Suez Canal and Red Sea which provided cover for three Aérospatiale Super Frelons, carrying Israeli paratroopers, made their way west towards their the communication network which was their ultimate target
1977 — (16th of Tevet, 5738) The Jerusalem Post reported ….. from Ismailia that Prime Minister Menachem Begin, after a meeting with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, saw «peace in a few months.» Begin had also expressed his anger and disappointment with Knesset members who leaked details of his peace plan before he could hand it over to Sadat. The Egyptian president described the meeting as «one of the happiest days of his life» and added that he was now ready for full ties and normalization with Israel
1990 — (Tevet 5751) Israel and the USSR announced the restoration of diplomatic relations.
2001 — (11th of Tevet, 5762) In Moscow, a monument honoring Shalom Aleichem was unveiled at a public ceremony attended by Nathan Meron, the Israeli Ambassador
2006 — (5th of Tevet, 5767) Two boys, both 14, were injured about 9 p.m. when a Qassam rocket landed in the street near where they were walking. Both were treated by Magen David Adom paramedics and taken to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. A total of eight Qassams were fired at Israel during the day, the most in a single day since the cease-fire was declared about a month ago
2008 — (29 Kislev 5769) During the night, Arabs from Gaza fired at least 20 mortar shells at populated areas of the Western Negev. During the shelling, trucks with humanitarian aid for Arabs were approaching the border crossings of the Gaza Strip
2012 — (13th of Tevet, 5773) A 2,750-year-old temple and a cache of sacred vessels from biblical times were discovered in an archaeological excavation near Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced today
2013 — (23th of Tevet, 5774) A total of 38 Indian citizens from the Bnei Menashe community made aliya today, the first cohort to arrive since the Knesset approved another wave of immigration for the group
2024 — (25 Kislev 5785) The Air Force attacked a number of targets in Yemen: airplanes and the control tower at Sanaa airport, the Aziz and Ras Kantib power stations («the foundation of the Houthis’ energy infrastructure»), infrastructure in the ports of Hodeidah, As-Salif, and Ras Kantib in western Yemen, the Ed-Dailami airbase and its surroundings in northern Sanaa.
2025 — (6 Tevet 5786) Terror attack in Northern Samaria. An Arab from Jenin killed two people. A 19-year-old girl — with a knife, a 68-year-old man — by running him over with a car. The Arab had worked in Israel for several years
People
1862 — Poet Semyon Nadson was born. Died January 31, 1887.
1864 — (27 Kislev 5625) I. Hankin was born — a pioneer of the settlement of Eretz Israel. Died November 11, 1945.
1869 — M. Nappelbaum was born — photographer. Died June 13, 1958.
1886 — In Grodno, Avraham Krinitzi was born — Israeli statesman, first mayor of Ramat Gan. Died November 13, 1969.
1889 — In Galicia, Isaac Foiring was born — German businessman, leader of German Zionists. Died December 26, 1937.
1892 — E. Krotky (German) was born — satirical poet. Died February 10, 1963.
1896 — In Sarajevo, Baruch Kalmi was born — one of the most famous and authoritative scholars researching the Ladino language. Died in 1945 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
1924 — (29th of Kislev, 5685) Birthdate of Israeli spy Eli Cohen
1946 — (3th of Tevet, 5707) Mobster Bugsy Siegel opened the glitzy Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada
1956 — (22th of Tevet, 5717) Birthdate of Yehudit Ravitz, the native of Beersheba and member of “Sheshet” who is a successful singer-songwriter, composer and music producer
1972 — (21 Tevet 5733) At the age of 88, former US President Truman died: «I did not know a single statesman who related to Israel with such sympathy as he did,» said Ben-Gurion.
2023 — (14 Tevet 5784) War with Gaza. Day eighty-one. Soldiers of the 36th IDF Division began destroying terrorist infrastructure in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central part of the Gaza Strip. In the first hours of the operation in Al-Bureij, a tunnel shaft leading to an extensive underground infrastructure, a Hamas training camp, and a huge quantity of weapons and ammunition were discovered in the refugee camp. Sderot and Ashkelon, the settlements of Ibim and Nir Am, Netiv HaAsara, Karmia, Zikim, Yad Mordechai, and Mavkiim were shelled from Gaza. Killed in the fighting were Master Sergeant (res.) Maor Lavi, 33, Major Shai Shamriz, 26, Captain Shaul Gringlick, 26, Sergeant (res.) Elisha Yonatan Luber, 24, Master Sergeant (res.) Yosef Gitarz, 25; Sergeant Daniel Nachmani, 21, died of wounds received on December 22 near the northern border. Nine servicemen were seriously wounded.
2024 — (25 Kislev 5785) War in Gaza. Day four hundred forty-seven. Killed in the fighting were Major Od Shreibman, 27, Captain (res.) Amit Levi, 35; one serviceman was wounded.