History events
39 — (16 Tevet 3791) Titus was born — Roman emperor, conqueror of Jerusalem in the Jewish War. Died on September 13, 81 AD. His body was burned and his ashes scattered, according to tradition, to avoid the vengeance of the «God of the Jews.»
1066 — (9 Tevet 4827) Joseph ibn Nagrela, son of Samuel ibn Nagrela, was murdered in Granada during the Granada Massacre. ….. He had served as vizier to Badis, ruler of the Berbers. There had been constant tension between the Berbers and the Arab population. Joseph attempted to ease the conflict between the two camps and prevent excesses against the local Arabs. His enemies included Abu Ishak, Berber advisor to the prince, who accused him of trying to cede the city to a neighboring prince. Badis ordered Joseph killed and crucified. In the ensuing massacre of the Jewish population, 1,500 families were killed, including Joseph’s wife and son. A few years later, Jews were readmitted to Granada and reassumed high offices
1480 — (27 Tevet 5241) In the Spanish city of Guadalajara, the printer Solomon ben Moses Ha-Levi Alkabetz printed the work of Jacob ben Asher «Hoshen HaMishpat» («The Breastplate of Judgment»).
1705 — (24 Tevet 5466) Due to an outbreak of plague in his army, the ruler of Tunis lifted the siege of Tripoli. He had threatened to annihilate the entire population upon capturing the city. In gratitude for their miraculous deliverance, the rabbis of Tripoli decreed that the 24th of Tevet be celebrated annually as Purim Sherif
1768 — (20th of Tevet, 5529) Today, the Jews in Montreal formed Shearith Israel, the earliest Jewish congregation in Canada
1798 — (22 Tevet 5559) In Rome, a mob attempted to burn down the Jewish ghetto, but rain extinguished the fire.
1834 — (28 Kislev 5595) Entry in the book of the Riga Kahal: «During the stay of our Sovereign in Riga, the members of the Kahal had the honor of being presented to His Majesty and offering him a poem on a velvet cushion, which cost 51 rubles 85 kopecks. The synagogue was decorated, which cost 6 rubles 9 kopecks.»
1934 — (24 Kislev 5695) The third Rotary Club in Israel (after Jerusalem and Haifa) was established in Tel Aviv
1937 — (26th of Tevet, 5698) The Palestine Post reported that the Jewish settlement of Atarot and police patrols at Tulkarm and on the Nablus-Jenin road came under heavy Arab fire, but there were no reports of casualties
1941 — (10 Tevet 5702) The Shoah. Mass shootings of Jews continued in Bogdanovka. The Jewish camp in Dzhankoy was liquidated: 443 people were shot
1942 — (22th of Tevet, 5703) Pope Pius XII told an American representative that he regarded the atrocity stories about Jews as exaggerations «for the purposes of propaganda.»
1947 — (17 Tevet 5708) The Givati Brigade was formed. Its first commander was Sh. Avidan.
1947 — (17th of Tevet, 5708) War for independence. ….. Forty Jewish workers were killed by Arabs at the Haifa refineries; A bus carrying hospital workers to Mount Scopus came under attack at the same place where Jewish doctors had been attacked the day before. Fourteen of the Hadassah Hospital workers were wounded; Arab gun men attacked a group of Jews as they began to bury ten of their murdered co-religionists at the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives
1948 — (28th of Kislev, 5709) War for independence. During Operation Horev, the Harel brigade moved further west into the Sinai Peninsula; Israeli armor and infantry captured the airfield south of El Arish and moved to capture the town itself; The British government took an active role on the side of the Arabs in the Israel War for Independence. The British issued an ultimatum to Israel that unless it withdrew from the Sinai it would employ force to force the Israelis to leave
1952 — (12th of Tevet, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported that the Women’s Labor Bill, which banned women from dangerous employment and offered special maternity privileges, passed the first reading in the Knesset.
1957 — (7th of Tevet, 5718) The Israeli government of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion resigned
1964 — (25 Tevet 5725) The 26th Zionist Congress opened in Jerusalem.
1970 — (2 Tevet 5731) Israel. During a storm in the Dead Sea area, part of a cliff collapsed onto the roof of an army mess hall. 19 soldiers were killed.
1993 — (16 Tevet 5754) The Vatican established diplomatic relations with Israel.
2005 — (29 Kislev 5766) The Knesset passed a law making breathalyzer testing of drivers for alcohol mandatory rather than voluntary
2009 — (13th of Tevet, 5770) Statistics. ….. Israel’s population stands at 7.5 million, according to figures released today by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Published ahead of the Gregorian New Year 2010, Israel’s population has continued to grow at a steady rate of 1.8 percent over the past seven years, with 160,000 new babies born since last January 1 and some 14,500 new immigrants arriving over the past year; Today, the Shin Bet, Israel’s security service, released a report which showed that 566 rockets were fired on Israel from Gaza in 2009; most were fired in January, during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. By comparison, 2,048 rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza in 2008
2010 — (23th of Tevet, 5771) The Shin Ben (Israel Security Agency) reported today that there was a decrease in the number of terrorist attacks targeting Israelis in 2010. There were 798 recorded terrorist attacks in 2010 at the time the report was written, compared to 1,354 in 2009
2010 — (23 Tevet 5771) Delek Energy announced an overall estimate of natural gas reserves at the Leviathan field — 453 billion cubic meters of gas.
2012 — (17th of Tevet, 5773) Israel’s population stands at 7,981,000 citizens, an increase of nearly 2 percent, according to an annual end of the year tally from the Central Bureau of Statistics, released on today
2012 — (17 Tevet 5773) A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a railway station in Beit Shean to connect the city by rail to Afula and Migdal HaEmek.
2015 — (18 Tevet 5776) The Jewish National Fund opened its first solar installation for converting sunlight into electricity. It was located on the roof of the JNF-KKL central office in Jerusalem.
2016 — (1 Tevet 5777) According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel’s population grew by 167,000 in 2016, reaching 8.62 million: Jews — 6.45 million (74.8%), Arabs — 1.8 million (20.8%), representatives of other nationalities — 384,000 (4.4%).
2023 — (18 Tevet 5784) The Gaza War. Day eighty-five. Warrant Officer (Reserve) Konstantin Sushko, 30, died of wounds sustained on December 22; Captain Harel Itach, 22, was killed. Four soldiers were seriously wounded. Several rocket launches from Lebanon toward Israeli settlements on the northern border were recorded during the day. A vehicular terror attack near the Al-Fawwar refugee camp left a soldier severely injured.
2024 — (29 Kislev 5785) An elderly tortoise wounded in the combat zone in southern Lebanon was brought to the wildlife hospital at the Ramat Gan Safari Zoo. She was found by a paratrooper conscript, Noam Mendelson, who handed her over to veterinarians during his leave. The tortoise was hospitalized in a special reptile room, receiving necessary medications and medical procedures, as well as appropriate nutrition. After recovery, the tortoise was returned to the wild.
2024 — (29 Kislev 5785) A synagogue opened for the first time in the northern kibbutz of Merom Golan. Prior to its establishment, prayers were held in a temporary space. According to the kibbutz residents, the consecration of the synagogue became a double celebration: «After a year of war spent away from home, we have returned to the kibbutz where a new synagogue has been built. Reciting the blessing ‘Shehecheyanu’ (which expresses gratitude to God for allowing us to reach this joyous occasion), we meant both the synagogue and our return home.»
People
1596 — (9th of Tevet, 5357) Menachem Rapoport (Menachem Abraham ben Jacob Ha-Kohen) passed away. Known as Rappa, this Italian rabbi witnessed “the burning of the Talmud pursuant to the papal bull of 1553” and was the author of several works including “Zofnat Pa’neach”
1874 — (22th of Tevet, 5675) Ludwig Dessoir, German actor, died
1945 — (26 Tevet 5696) Yechezkel Dov Danin (Sukobulsky) died — one of the founders and first residents of Tel Aviv, a merchant and industrialist. Born in Białystok in 1868.
2020 — (15 Tevet 5781) Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, who served a 30-year prison sentence in the United States for espionage on behalf of Israel, arrived in Israel.
2024 — (29 Kislev 5785) The Gaza War. Day four hundred and fifty-one. Sergeant Uriel Peretz, 23, was killed. Three other soldiers were seriously wounded in the same incident.