History events
-1563 (28 Shvat 2198 BCE) — Yaakov’s son Asher was born
681 — (2th of Adar, 4441) The 28 canons adopted by the Twelfth Council of Toledo which contained a series of “diverse measures against the Jews” were read for the fir time in the Church of Santa Maria in Toledo, Spain
1349 — (7th of Adar 5109) The Jews were driven out of Burgundy and escorted as far as Montbozon
1449 — (3th of Adar 5209) New Christians or Conversos were the targets of a riot in Toledo, Spain. The Conversos especially the wealthy ones, were attacked during a revolt against taxation. Three hundred of them decided to band together and defend themselves. During the attack one Christian were killed. In response, 22 Marranos were murdered and numerous of their houses were destroyed
1659 — (13th of Shevat, 5419) Cornelis Janss Plavier and his wife Geertje Andriesz, who were about to leave for New Amsterdam borrowed 1625 guilders, insurance included, from Amsterdam merchant Abraham Cohen Henriquez. The loan was to be repaid with the sale of beaver shipped in the autumn to Amsterdam. Merchandise and bills of lading for the beaver were to be kept by Asser Levy, or in his absence by Joseph d’ Acosta, until proper security could be given by the couple for the shipment for which they were obligated. The borrowers were not Jewish; the others involved were
1783 (24 Shvat 5543) — Catherine II issued a decree allowing the printing of Hebrew‑language books in Russia. That same year, the first Hebrew books were published in Shklov and Polonnoe
1790 — (12th of Shevat, 5550) In France, active citizenship was extended to the «well born» Sephardic Jews of Bordeaux, who promptly bowed out of the fight for equal rights. They looked upon their poorer brothers in Alsace-Lorraine with contempt.
1791 — (22th of Shevat, 5551) The National Assembly grants civil rights to the Jews of Alsace and Lorraine completing the process of emancipation for French Jews
1808 — (27th of Tevet, 5568) Jerome Bonaparte granted full civil rights to the Jews of Westphalia
1842 — (16th of Shevat, 5602) During the consecration of the first Reform Synagogue in London, Rabbi David Woolf Marks shocked the traditional Anglo-Jewish community by declaring. “We solemnly deny that a belief in the divinity of those traditions written in the Mishnah and the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud is of equal obligation to the Israelite with the faith in the divinity of the Laws of Moses… These books are human compositions; and, though we are content to accept with reverence, advice and instruction from our post-biblical ancestors, we cannot unconditionally accept their laws. For Israelites there is but one immutable Law – the sacred volume of the Scriptures commanded by God to be written down for the unerring guidance of His people until the end of time.” Every Hebrew congregation must be authorised to take such measures as shall bring the divine services into consonance with the will of the Almighty, as explained to us in the Law and in the Prophets.”
1902 — (19th of Shevat, 5662) Shaare Zedek Hospital opened today in Jerusalem “with 20 beds, an outpatient clinic, and a pharmacy.”
1902 (19 Shvat 5662) — Shaare Zedek Hospital was founded in Jerusalem. It took its name from the nearby Shaare Zedek neighbourhood, located slightly to the south
1904 — (10th of Shevat, 5664) Herzl received a telegram from Leopold Greenberg that described a definitive offer from the British Government that would allow for a Jewish homeland in Nandi, a territory in the colony of Kenya. Greenberg advised immediate acceptance and the sending of an expedition. Greenberg was a British Zionist and publisher of the Jewish Chronicle
1920 — (7th of Shevat, 5680) The Palestine Military Railways, the British operator of the Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway began rebuilding the line today, widening to “standard gauge” today
1930 — (27th of Tevet, 5690) According to reports published today, “there are more than 213,000 volumes in the Hebrew University Library.” During 1929, 22,000 volumes were added to the library’s collection. The library includes the ‘only medical library of note in the entire region.’” The Library has expanded its locations as well as it collection. Based on the demand of physicians in Palestine, the library has established a branch medical library at the Nathan Straus Health Center in Jerusalem and another such facility in Tel Aviv
1935 — (23th of Shevat, 5695) “A national campaign to raise $500,000 this year for buying land in Palestine was opened tonight under the auspices of the Jewish National Fund at a dinner at the Hotel Astor.”
1938 — (25th of Shevat, 5698) The Palestine Post reported on the plight of the Jews in Romania. Under the new restrictions over 200,000 Jews had lost their trading licenses and one hundred thirty Jewish lawyers at Yassy had been expelled from the bar
1942 (9 Shvat 5702) — The Shoah. The executions of Odessa Jews deported to the Veselinovka District ended: a total of 1,000 people from the Grigor‑Gadyuchin Village Council were shot near Petrovka Farm, and approximately 1,000 Jews from the villages of Podolyanka, Sukha Balka, and Stepanivka were killed near an abandoned well close to Podolyanka
1945 — (13th of Shevat, 5705) The Soviet army entered Auschwitz and liberated more than 7,000 remaining prisoners, who were mostly ill and dying. It is estimated that at minimum 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945; of these, at least 1.1 million were murdered
1947 — (6th of Shevat, 5707) As part of “Aliya Bet,” the Chaim Arlozoroff set sail from Trelleborg, Sweden, carrying 664 survivors of the European death camps. Most of those on board, who were labeled illegal immigrants by the British, were women. When the ship finally arrived in Haifa, a struggle ensued at the end of which the British transferred the former camp inmates to detention camps at Cyprus
1969 — (8th of Shevat, 5729) Nine Jews were publicly executed in Damascus Syria
1978 — (19th of Shevat, 5738) The Jerusalem Post reported that The Jerusalem Municipality had begun the installation of a sewerage network at the Anatot Refugee Camp, despite UNRWA’s objections that this would violate the camp’s protected status as a «refugee camp of implicitly temporary nature.» UNRWA had previously objected to the installation of such a network, despite the 1970 cholera outbreak.
2002 (14 S hvat 5762) — A terrorist attack occurred on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem, wounding 101 people
2004 — (4th of Shevat, 5704) Israel honored 9 Greeks for their efforts to save Jews during WWII. Today, Israel’s ambassador to Athens presented that country’s influential “Righteous Among the Nations” award to nine Greek nationals who saved persecuted Jewish compatriots during the Nazi occupation of Greece (1941-1944)
2009 (2 Shvat 5769) — A terrorist attack: an explosive device planted by Arab terrorists detonated along the route of Israeli military patrols near the fence surrounding the Gaza Strip at the Kisufim Border Crossing. An IDF soldier was killed. His Bedouin relatives requested that his name not be published.
2014 (26 Shvat 5774) — Hurshat Matkal (literally, “IDF General Staff Grove”) appeared on the Jewish National Fund’s forest map in the Sataf area.
2023 (5 Shvat 5783) — A terrorist attack in the Neve Yaakov neighbourhood in northern East Jerusalem: an Arab opened fire from a vehicle at people near a synagogue, killing seven. The attacker was shot dead by police. That same day, celebrations broke out in Arab localities in Gaza, Judea, Samaria, and even in Amman, Jordan’s capital, praising the new “shahid” and his “feat”. Online footage showed Arab jubilation, with one comment stating: “If you Jews could see our joy today, you would flee our land today, without waiting for tomorrow.”
2025 (27 Tevet 5785) — The IDF announced the expansion of the anti‑terror operation Iron Wall to Tulkarm and its surroundings—effectively covering nearly all of northern Samaria. The operation began on 21 January in Jenin and the surrounding area
People
1164 — (1st of Adar 4924) Poet and philosopher Abraham ibn Ezra passed away
1197 — (6th of Adar 4957) Rabbi Samuel ben Natronai, a tosafist, was broken on the wheel and martyred today
1891 (18 Shvat 5651) — Ilya Ehrenburg, writer, was born in Kyiv. He died on 31 August 1967
1899 — (16th of Shevat, 5659) Birthdate of football player and manager Béla Guttmann the native of Budapest who “moved to Vienna to escape the anti-Semitism of the Admiral Horthy regime and joined the all-Jewish club SC Hakoah Wien which won the all-league title in 1926
1900 (27 Shvat 5660) — Hyman Rickover, creator of the American nuclear navy, was born. He died on 8 July 1986.
1902 (19 Shvat 5662) — Yosef Sapir, Israeli public and state figure, was born. He served as a minister in the Israeli government, mayor of Petah Tikva, leader of the General Zionists party, and was one of the founders of the liberal Herut party. He died on 26 February 1972