History events
-356 BCE (13 Adar I, 3405) On this day, Haman—the chief vizier at the court of Ahasuerus—designated for the annihilation of all the Jews of Persia.
-356 BCE (13 Adar I, 3405) On the pre-designated day for the pogrom, 13 Adar, 3405 (356 BCE), the Jews, supported by the Persian authorities, killed approximately seventy thousand of their enemies—and in Shushan, the clashes continued on 14 Adar. The day after the victory—14 Adar throughout the empire and 15 Adar in Shushan—the Jews celebrated and rejoiced. To commemorate these days, Mordechai and Esther established the festival of Purim (from the word pur—lot)
-161 BCE — (13rd of Adar, 3600) Jewish soldiers led by Judah Maccabee defeated Nicanor, the Syrian general who had boasted that he would destroy the Temple and mount Judah’s head on the gates of Jerusalem
68 CE (4 Adar I, 3828) Jewish War. Vespasian captured the city of Gadara. «The most notable citizens of this city secretly sent representatives to him with a promise to surrender the city. The desire for peace and the preservation of their property prompted this step, as the city was inhabited by many wealthy people.» (Josephus Flavius)
1336 — (12th of Adar, 5096) Alfonso X of Castile was persuaded by the apostate Alfonso of Valladolid to ban the prayer Aleinu. Alfonso alleged that the prayer was anti-Christian. As a result, many Jewish communities excised a sentence from the prayer which has only been printed in recent years in only some prayer books. The offending line which was taken out comes just before the time when everybody bows and recites “Va-ananchnu Kor’im – But we bend our knees…” The line that was taken out reads “For they bow to vanity and emptiness and pray to a god which helps not.” If you read the entire prayer and insert this line, the following line makes a lot more sense. According to several commentators the offending line had nothing to do with the Christians but had been placed there to refer to all heretics and that its origins were found in Isaiah (30:7 and 45:20). Further evidence refuting the claim that it was anti-Christian can be found in the fact that it was composed in the third century by Rav Abba Arucha head of the Academy of Sura (Persia) which was not a Christian country. Ashkenazi prayer books dropped the line but Sephardic prayer books i.e. those in the land of Islam, retained the line. Today it can be found in some Ashkenazi prayer books including those in the Artscroll Series
1451 — (23th of Adar, 5211) Nicholas V issued a papal bull banning all social intercourse between Christians and Jews
1593 — (3th of Adar-1, 5353) Pope Clement VIII issued “Caeca et Obdurata Hebraeorum perfidia” (the blind and obdurate perfidy of the Hebrews) a papal bull which expelled the Jews from the Papal States, effectively revoking the bull Christiana pietas issued in 1586 by his predecessor Pope Sixtus V.The bull was a culmination of Clement VII’s tightening of the anti-Jewish measures of his predecessors which began with his elevation to the papacy in 1592. The bull gave Jews three months to leave the Papal States (with the exception of Rome, Ancona, and the Comtat Venaissin of Avignon). The main effect of the bull was to evict Jews who had returned to areas of the Papal States (mainly Umbria) after 1586 (following their expulsion in 1569) and to expel Jewish communities from cities like Bologna (which had been incorporated under papal dominion since 1569). For the Jews remaining within Rome, Ancona, or the Comtat Venaissin, the bull re-established mandatory weekly sermons. The bull also resulted in the relocation of Jewish cemeteries to Ferrara and Mantua. The bull alleged that Jews in the Papal States had engaged in usury and exploited the hospitality of Clement VIII’s predecessors «who, in order to lead them from their darkness to knowledge of the true faith, deemed it opportune to use the clemency of Christian piety
1799 — (20th of Adar-1, 5559) Napoleon captured Gaza. This was his first encounter with «Palestinian» Jews.” It is said that he offered “the reestablishment of ancient Jerusalem” as a Jewish homeland in return for Jewish loyalty
1903 — (28th of Shevat, 5663) “Zionist committees set out today to investigate the feasibility of a British proposal to have Jews colonize El-Arish” which is located on the Mediterranean coast of the Sinai Peninsula. Herzl receives a telegram from the commission in El Arish: «Vicinity has made a favorable impression.»
1916 — (21th of Adar-1, 5676) Based on reports published today, that 35,000 Jews living in Palestine including those at settlement started by Wolf Gluskin, are “in dire straits” because, among other things, “the wine industry which” had been developed “before Turkey entered” the World War “had been destroyed.”
1920 (6 Adar I, 5680) The struggle for Upper Galilee. Metula once again passed into Jewish hands. The group of fighters who expelled the Arabs was led by J. Trumpeldor, who had arrived from Russia only about six months earlier
1927 — (23th of Adar-1, 5687) “Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel-Allenby in the first Soccer Derby in Tel Aviv” today
1931 — (8th of Adar, 5691) Today, the violent ant-Semitic attacks were renewed at Pecs University in Budapest which resulted in the rector suspending lectures for two days
1937 (14 Adar I, 5697) Founded by the «Tower and Stockade» method: Kibbutz Ginosar
1941 — (28th of Shevat, 5701) The 1941 February Strike which was organized in the Netherlands as protest following pogroms that had taken place in Amsterdam’s Jewish neighborhoods began today; One thousand, six hundred Jews were deported from Gora Kalwaria to the Warsaw Ghetto
1943 (20 Adar I, 5703) The Holocaust. Marked by this date is a letter from Eichmann to the Foreign Ministry complaining about the Italian authorities, who allegedly hindered the «solution of the Jewish question» and even contributed to its failure, which could serve as an example for the governments of other states. The Italians mainly resorted to delaying tactics and managed to save thousands of Jew
1946 — (24th of Adar-1, 5706) Three RAF installations were attacked in Palestine tonight resulting in damage valued at $2,000,000,000. Fourteen planes were destroyed outright, and another 8 planes were damaged so badly that they were beyond repair
1947 — (5th of Adar, 5707) The SS President Warfield set sail from Baltimore, MD on a voyage which would sail her into the history books as The Exodus
1953 — (10th of Adar, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported that Hevrat Ovdim (the Histadrut’s General Cooperative Society), together with the Histadrut’s pension funds and other organizations, mobilized funds for the construction of the first huge hotel and rest house in Eilat
1954 — (22th of Adar-1, 5714) Nasser became Egyptian premier
1955 — (3rd of Adar I, 5715) Arab terrorists, one of whom “was found to be in possession of documents linking him to Egyptian military intelligence” murdered an Israeli civilian in Rehovot
1974 (3 Adar I, 5734) The religious-public settlement organization Gush Emunim was established—members of the movement believed that the establishment of the State of Israel was «the beginning of redemption,» and the mass Jewish settlement on the West Bank was a continuation of this process.
1981 (21 Adar I, 5741) Jewish activists from Moscow and other cities (127 signatures) appealed to the 26th Congress of the CPSU with a letter calling for freedom of emigration for Jews
1991 — (11th of Adar, 5751) The barrage of Iraqi scud attacks that began on January 18th came to an end today. During that period 39 missiles were fired into Israel
1994 — (14th of Adar, 5754) Baruch Goldstein opened fire inside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank, killing 29 Muslims before he was beaten to death by worshippers
1995 (25 Adar I, 5755) Two terror attacks in Jerusalem and Ashkelon—28 killed, about a hundred wounded
1996 — (5th of Adar I, 5756) One person died in the bombing of the Ashkelon bus station for which Hamas claimed responsibility; Seventeen civilians and nine soldiers were murdered and forty-eight people were injured when a Palestinian terrorist set off a bomb “on a No.18 bus traveling down Jaffa Road near the Jerusalem Central Bus Station.”
2005 — (16th of Adar I, 5765) Yael Orbach, 28, of Rehovot, Yitzhak (Itzik) Buzaglo, 40, of Mishmar HaYarden, Aryeh (Arik) Nagar, 37, of Kfar Saba,Ronen Reuvenov, 30, of Tel Aviv and Odelia Hubara, 26, of Jerusalem were murdered today and fifty more people were injured when a Palestinian terrorist detonated a bomb “at the entrance to «Stage», a popular Tel Aviv nightclub, on the corner of Herbert Samuel and Yonah Hanavi streets, opposite the Israeli beachfront”
2007 (7 Adar I, 5767) The IDF launched a large-scale counter-terrorism operation in Nablus (Shechem) called «Hot Winter,» aimed at destroying terrorist infrastructure. It lasted a week. Four soldiers were lightly wounded during the combat operations.
2012 (2 Adar I, 5772) The «Hahagana» railway station was opened on the line connecting Hod HaSharon with Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, Holon, and Rishon LeZion.
2013 (15 Adar I, 5773) The first tests of the «Arrow-3» interceptor missile, designed to intercept ballistic missiles in the stratosphere, were conducted at the Palmachim base.
2019 (20 Adar I, 5779) In Kiryat Ono, near Tel Aviv, a new medical center capable of operating even under bombing and the use of various other weapons was officially opened.
People
1561 (9 Adar I, 5321) At the age of 41, Jorge de Montemayor died—a soldier, singer, poet, musician, and writer. He belonged to the artisanal-merchant strata of Spanish-Portuguese Jewry. In 1558-1559, he wrote the pastoral novel «Diana Enamorada,» which initiated the Spanish pastoral and chivalric romance and had a huge influence on the development of pastoral and chivalric literature in Europe in the 16th-17th centuries. The book was translated into English, German, Italian, and Portuguese. Montemayor was killed by one of his friends over a romantic issue.
1842 (15 Adar I, 5602) Born in Mogilev Governorate: Peretz Moiseyevich Smolenskin—writer, publicist, publisher, author of the novel «The Inheritance» – the first social novel in Hebrew. Died February 1, 1885.
1861 (15 Adar I, 5621) Born: Meir Dizengoff—Israeli political and public figure, first mayor of Tel Aviv. Died September 23, 1936.
1899 (15 Adar I, 5659) Born in Bobruisk: Solomon Ravikovitch—one of the leading agricultural specialists in Israel, agronomist, recipient of the Israel Prize. Died May 17, 2000.
1914 Born: A. Ostrovsky—composer. Died September 18, 1967.
1921 Born: R. Kachanov—director, artist, screenwriter of animated films. Died July 4, 1993.
1934 (10 Adar I, 5694) Born: Meir Har-Zion—officer of Israeli special forces, fighter of «Unit 101» and the 890th Battalion. Har-Zion’s personal courage brought him fame throughout Israel. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion called him «the new Bar Kokhba,» and General Moshe Dayan called him «soldier number one.» Died March 14, 2014.
1949 (26 Shevat, 5709) Three performers of spoken genre, G. Banai, Sh. Levi, I. Poliakov, united into the comic group «The Pale Trackers»; some of their sayings became popular expressions in Israel.
1954 (22 Adar I, 5714) Born: Gabi Ashkenazi—Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.
2024 (16 Adar I, 5784) Gaza War. Day One Hundred and Forty-Two. In battles, 21-year-old Senior Sergeant Neria Belete from Shavei Shomron and 20-year-old Senior Sergeant Ido Eli Zrien from Jerusalem were killed. Five soldiers were seriously wounded