History events
682 — (18th Shevat 4442) Visigoth King Erwig pressed for the «utter extirpation of the pest of the Jews,» and made it illegal to practice any Jewish rites in an area that corresponds to much of modern-day Spain. This put further pressure on the Jews to convert or emigrate
1119 — (18th Shevat 4879) Callixtus II began his papacy. In 1120, Calixtus II issued the first of the bulls called “Sicut Judaeis” (As the Jews) which in his case was intended to protect Jews from the consequences of the First Crusade “during which over five thousand Jews were slaughtered in Europe.”
1682 — (3rd of Adar, 5442) Asser Levy, the «founding father» of North American Jewry passed away. Нe was one of the 23 Jewish refugees who fled from Recife after the end of Dutch rule in the area although is not listed in the extant congregational minute books of the Brazilian Jewish community. It is known that he eventually went to New Netherland, possibly arriving in New Amsterdam aboard the St. Catherine or St. Charles in early September 1654
1840 — (27th Shevat 5600) In what would be the opening of the Damascus Blood Libel, “Father Thomas, a Roman Catholic priest and a” long-time resident of Damascus “suddenly disappeared today
1882 — (12th Shevat 5642) “The French Catholic newspaper La Croix publishes an article by Father Francois Picard, head of the Assumptionist order behind the journal, declaring that Jewish bankers and that they are behind all of Europe’s problems,”
1882 — (12th Shevat 5642) Mass-meetings held at New York and London expressing sympathy with the persecuted Jews of the Russian empire
1935 — (28th Shevat 5695) At the annual convention of the Palestine Jewish Farmers Federation, Moshe Smilansky, veteran farmer economist, poet, writer and journalist, shocked the assembled gathering when in his opening address as president he announced that in the present circumstances in Palestine Jewish farmers and colonists should employ only Jewish labor
1938 — (30th Shevat 5698) In Berlin, the Ministry of the Interior published a new law today empowering “German courts to revoke previous rulings permitting Jews to changes their names” which means that “a Jew who changed his name years ago can be compelled to resume his original names; The German government published a decree officially notifying banks “that any company that has one Jewish director” or in which Jews have a 25 per cent ownership stake “must be classified as a Jewish concern.”
1944 — (7th Shevat 5704) Today, the Irgun proclaimed a revolt against the British mandatory government
1948 — (21th Shevat 5708) The Arabs bombed the Palestine Post (a.k.a. Jerusalem Post) building in Jerusalem
1970 — (25th Shevat 5730) Oil was pumped for the first time in the newly completed 42-inch Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline
2006 — (3th Shevat 5766) Despite violent protests, Israel successfully completed the evacuation of the West Bank outpost of Amona
People
1605 — (23th Shevat 5355) Birthdate of Aboab de Fonseca, the Portuguese born Dutch Rabbi and Mystic
1872 — (22th Shevat 5632) Bogumil Dawison, German actor, died
1885 — (16th Shevat 5645) Perez Smolenskin, Russian Hebrew writer, died