History events
681 — (30th of Shevat, 4441) The Twelfth Council of Toledo which approved several canons aimed at punishing the Jews including on that prohibited conversos from returning to Judaism and allowed for the confiscation of Jewish owned goods came to a close
1240 — (30th of Shevat, 5000) Disputation at Paris on the Talmud
1482 (12 Adar I 5242, or 26 January) — In Bologna, printer Abraham ben Chaim published the Pentateuch with Rashi’s commentaries and an Aramaic translation
1648 — (11th of Shevat, 5408) The Khmelnytsky or Chmielnicki Rebellion against the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania began in earnest when Bohdan Khmelnytsky brought a contingent of 300-500 Cossacks to the Zaporizhian Sich and quickly dispatched the guards assigned by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to protect the entrance. His defeat of the counterattacking Commonwealth forces coupled with is oratorical skills brought thousands of rebels including the Ruthenians to join his uprising. Jews, who served as the middle-man and administrators for the absentee Polish landlords were an easy target for the rebels. The bloody uprising will mark the long, slow disintegration of the Polish state. The slaughter of the Jews was so great that it would not be surpassed until the time of the Nazis
1844 — (4th of Shevat, 5604) Congregation Shaarai Shomayim u-Maskil el Dol was chartered today in Mobile, Alabama. “Israel I.
1849 — (2th of Shevat, 5609) The West End Synagogue of British which had been formed by Jews who left Bevis Marks in 1841 dedicated its new facility in Upper Berkeley Street
1854 — (25th of Tevet, 5614) Sir Henry Rawlinson wrote to from Baghdad today that “a number of clay cylinders taken from the ruins of what is ‘Ur of the Chaldees’ of Genesis disclosed the fact that a few years” prior “to the fall of Babylon, Nabonnedus had associated his son Bilsharuzur, the ‘Belshazzar’ of Scripture with him in the government” “thus showing the harmony between the Biblical narrative and secular history.”
1861 — (14th of Shevat, 5621) Charles Dyte laid the foundation stone for the historic Ballarat Synagogue, the oldest surviving synagogue on the Australian mainland
1879 (1 Shvat 5639) — In St. Louis, Rosa Sonneschein founded the first Literary Club of Jewish Women in the USA
1882 — (5th of Shevat, 5642) Bilu was founded at Kharkov
1904 — (8th of Shevat, 5664) Herzl met Pope Pius X and tried to convince him to support the vision of Zionism without any success. The pope totally rejected the idea that Jerusalem would be in Jewish hands: «If you come to Palestine and settle your people there, we want to have churches and priests ready to baptize all of you.»)
1919 — (24th of Shevat, 5679) The League of Nations was founded. British control over Palestine would take its legal form from a Mandate by the League of Nations
1923 (8 Shvat 5683) — Haaretz published an article on the situation of Jews in Austria. It reported: “Disorders broke out at Austrian universities, organised by German nationalists. The protesters demanded a quota system for Jewish students and a law barring Jewish professors from serving as rectors or deans. Nationalists set up pickets at the entrance to the University of Vienna, preventing Jewish students from entering. Authorities suspended classes until order was restored. However, the university rector
1925 (29 Tevet 5685) — For the first time in modern history, children in Jerusalem planted trees on Tu Bi‑Shvat, the Jewish ‘New Year of the Trees’ did not condemn the instigators; instead, he declared their demands should be subject to discussion and negotiation.”
1932 — (17th of Shevat, 5692) Degrees were awarded to 13 graduates at the first commencement exercises of Hebrew University which was opened in 1925
1939 (5 Shvat 5699) — The Shoah. A circular from the German Foreign Office announced the ultimate goal of German policy: the emigration of all Jews from the country
1940 — (15th of Shevat, 5700) The Nazi decreed the establishment of Jewish ghetto in Lodz, Poland
1942 (7 Shvat 5702) — The Shoah. A ‘self‑defence’ unit of local Germans began shooting Jews from Odessa who had been brought to the Veselinovka District of Mykolaiv Oblast. On the same day, the SD and field gendarmes began ‘resettling’ Jews in the Sarabuz‑Spat area (Simferopol District, Crimea). Thirty‑five people were killed using a gas van
1945 — (11th of Shevat, 5705) The Nazis begin the evacuation of the Stutthof concentration camp. In yet another Death March prisoners were sent westward in the middle of driving snow storm. Many would die from freezing. Others were shot or thrown into the icy Baltic Sea
1948 — (14th of Shevat, 5708) Mishmar, a paper first published by Hashomer Hatzair in 1943, changed its named to Al HaMishmar (On Guard) today
1948 (14 Shvat 5708) — War of Independence. Observers from the 8th Company of the Palmach spotted a group of five Arabs preparing to attack a convoy near Castel. A platoon of 24 soldiers, commanded by Yaakov Israelit, was dispatched. The platoon attacked the Arabs, only to discover there were not five but fifty attackers. In the battle, ten Jews were killed (including Yaakov and his deputy) and twenty‑five Arabs
1949 (24 Tevet 5709) — Elections for the First Knesset. There were not enough suitable buildings for polling stations, so synagogues were used—to the dismay of religious Jews. On election day, gabbais went through the streets knocking on doors and shouting, much like during the Selichot prayers on Yom Kippur: “Jews, rise up for the elections!” A total of 42,700 people participated. The results:
Mapai (Israeli Workers’ Party): 36 %;
Mapam (United Workers’ Party): 15 %;
United Religious Front: 12 %;
Herut: 12 %;
General Zionists: 5 %;
Progressive Party: 4 %.
1968 — (24th of Tevet, 5728) Last transmission is received from the Israeli submarine, Dakar
1983 (11 Shvat 5743) — A financial collapse occurred on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
2002 (12 Shvat 5762) — A terrorist attack in Tel Aviv near the old bus station: a suicide bomber detonated himself in a café. Twenty‑six people were wounded.
2005 (15 Shvat 5765) — The southern section of Highway Ayalon (Route 20) was opened.
2016 (15 Shvat 5776) — A terrorist attack in the settlement of Beit Horon wounded two women. The terrorists were killed. One of the victims, 24‑year‑old Shlomit Kriegman, later died.
2024 (15 Shvat 5784) — Gaza War, Day 111. IDF 98th Division forces continued their advance near Khan Yunis. Soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade operated in the Al Amal area; fighters from the Maglan special unit captured a terrorist headquarters containing large quantities of weapons. A group of militants at the site was eliminated
2026 — (7 Shvat 5786) The government approved the proposal of the Minister of Settlement Affairs and the Minister of Construction to establish five new community settlements («yishuv kehilati») east of Be’er Sheva, along Highways 25 and 80
People
1376 — (9th of Shevat, 2385): Nissim ben Reuven, also known as Nissim of Gerona, “one of the last of the great Spanish medieval Talmudic scholars passed away today
1505 — (20th of Shevat, 5265) Ercole I d’Este, the Duke of Ferrara around whose court the life Abraham ben Mordecai Farissol, “the Jewish-Italian geographer, cosmographer scribe and polemicist” revolved passed away today
1887 (29 Tevet 5647) — Berl Katznelson, a leader of the Zionist movement and public and political figure, was born. He died on 13 August 1944.
1887 — Saul Grigoryevich (Shoyl Gershkovich) Bron, revolutionary, was born. From 1931–1934, he served as chair of the USSR Chamber of Commerce and deputy people’s commissar for foreign trade. He was executed in 1938 on charges of being a spy.
1894 (18 Shvat 5654) — Avraham Zayde Heller, rabbi from Safed and author of The Battle for Safed: Legend and Reality, was born. During the War of Independence, he issued a halakhic ruling permitting fortification works in Safed on Shabbat, which proved crucial during battles with Syrians. He died on 22 December 1990.
1902 — M. I. Geller, satirical writer and variety‑show author, was born. He died on 2 May 1971.
1921 — Samuel T. Cohen, inventor of the neutron bomb concept, was born in Brooklyn. He died on 28 November 2010.
1927 (22 Shvat 5687) — Yitzhak Hofi, head of Mossad from 1974–1982, was born. He began in the Palmach and served as commander of the Northern Front during the Yom Kippur War. He died on 15 September 2014.
1938 — V. S. Vysotsky, poet, was born. He died on 25 July 1980.
1940 (15 Shvat 5700) — Avraham Neir, Israeli Air Force ace pilot, was born. He was captured during the Yom Kippur War on 13 October 1973 and tortured. He died in captivity.
1955 (2 Shvat 5715) — Haim Elbaz, a member of a moshav in the Negev, was killed by Arabs while working in the fields. Israel reported the attack to the UN as an example of ongoing terrorist warfare.
1978 — (17th of Shevat, 5738) In Kryvyi Rih, then in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Oleksandr Zelenskyy, a professor and computer scientist and the head of the Department of Cybernetics and Computing Hardware at the Kryvyi Rih State University of Economics and Technology and computer engineer Rymma Zelenska, gave birth to Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy a Ukrainian politician and former comedian and actor and since 2019 the sixth and current president of Ukraine
2000 (18 Shvat 5760) — Sergeant R. Zangvil of the IDF Givati Brigade from Jerusalem was killed in southern Lebanon.
2025 (25 Tevet 5785) — As part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza, hostages Naama Levy (20), Liri Albag (19), Karina Ariev (20), and Daniella Gilboa (20) were released. All were IDF observers captured on 7 October 2023