History events
-1312 — (9th of Av, 2449) The spies returned. They had been sent by Moses on June 12th, -1312, to scout the situation in the Holy Land, where he was leading the people from Egypt.
70 CE — (21st of Tammuz, 3830) The Jewish War. «The Romans also (see July 19th) burned the adjacent gallery of the Temple, and when the fire engulfed an area of fifteen cubits, the Jews even helped them and tore off the roof. Though able to fight the fire, they not only did not hinder it, but also destroyed everything that lay between them and Antonia.» On the same day, «the rest of the Roman army, after seven days of work, demolished the foundations of Antonia and built a broad road up to the Temple itself. Having thus approached the first wall, the legions began to build ramps: one opposite the northwestern corner of the inner Temple, another near the northern portico, between two gates; and of the remaining two, one at the western colonnade of the outer Temple and another at the northern colonnade outside.» (Josephus Flavius)
1733 — (20th of Av, 5493) A group of 42 Jews who had sailed from London aboard the William and Sarah arrived in Savannah today, “months after the colony’s founding by James Oglethorpe.” “Most of them were Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who had fled to England a decade earlier to escape the Spanish Inquisition. Many of them had been members of the Bevis Marks Synagogue and would be founders of Mickva Israel, Georgia’s oldest Jewish congregation
1820 — (10th of Av, 5580) A small wooden building which had been erected at the northeast corner of Liberty and Whitaker streets Savannah was consecrated by members of Mikveh Israel. This was the first Jewish house of worship to be built in the State of Georgia
1901 — (5th of Av, 5661) A meeting of the Zionists of Yekaterinoslav (Dnipropetrovsk) took place, dedicated to the election of delegates to the All-Russian Zionist Congress in Minsk
1918 — (12th of Av, 5678) In Russia, the revolutionary government that had overthrown the Czar removed the ban on Hebrew and Yiddish periodicals
1931 — (7th of Av, 5691) CBS’s New York City stations began broadcasting the first regular seven days a week television schedule in the United States. George Gershwin was one of three people to appear on the first broadcast. That’s right – one third of the «cast» of this landmark television show was Jewish. Of course, CBS was owned by Bill Paley adding to the Jewish twist
1938 — (22nd of Tammuz, 5698) Before dawn “a band of Arabs estimated to number 100” attacked “an isolated settlement in the north, Kiriat Hahroesh, where stabbed to death a man, his wife and their 2 year old baby” all living in one hut “before entering another hut where they killed a settler and his 11 year old son.
1941 — (26th of Tammuz, 5701) In Minsk, 45 Jew were ordered to dig a pit. They were then thrown in and Russian prisoners were ordered to bury them alive. The Russians refused. The Germans then shot the Russians and the Jews in the pit
1943 — (18th of Tammuz, 5703) Shoah. An order from Reichsführer-SS H. Himmler regarding the liquidation of all ghettos in the occupied territory of the USSR
1947 — (4th of Av, 5707) The Exodus, a refugee ship with 4,500 refugees on board, was turned back by the British and returned to Germany. The ship had tried to run the British blockade unsuccessfully: The British forcefully boarded the ship killing 3 Jews and wounding over 100.
1948 — (14th of Tammuz, 5708) David Shaltiel, the district commander of the Haganah in Jerusalem held the last in a series of meetings mediated by the UN with Abdullah el Tell, “the commander of the Arab Legion in the city” where “they signed a formal cease-fire based on the existing positions of their forces.”
1953 — (9th of Av, 5713) The first cargo ship carrying goods as reparations left Bremen for Israel. On board were metal structures and fertilizers.
1993 — (3rd of Av, 5753) Israeli archaeologists discovered the first (!) written mention in the history of archaeology of the «House of David» – the dynasty of kings who ruled in Judea – in a source independent of the Bible.
2009 — (29th of Tammuz, 5769) A festive ceremony was held in Haifa marking the completion of work on one of the largest transport projects in Israel – the tunnels under Mount Carmel.
2010 — (10th of Av, 5770) The Knesset approved in its second and third readings a bill banning the sale of alcoholic beverages from 23:00 to 06:00.
2017 — (27th of Tammuz, 5777) Terrorist attack in the settlement of Halamish. An Arab from the village of Kobar broke into the home of the Salomon family, where they were celebrating the birth of a grandson of Yosef and Tova. He murdered Yosef Salomon (70 years old), his children Chaya (46 years old) and Elad (35 years old). Tova Salomon, Yosef’s wife, was seriously wounded. Michal Salomon, Elad’s wife, together with her five children, hid on the second floor of the house, which saved their lives.
2019 — (24th of Tammuz, 5779) The Israeli youth basketball team won the final match of the European Championship against the Spanish national team with a score of 92:84, becoming continental champions for the second consecutive time
People
1718 — (27th of Tammuz, 5473) Shabbethai ben Joseph Bass who was born at Kalisz 1641 and who was the father of Jewish bibliography, and author of the Sifsei Chachamim supercommentary on Rashi’s commentary on the Pentateuch passed away
1816 — P. Reuter was born – founder of the major modern news agency Reuters. He died on February 25, 1899.
1882 — D. Burliuk was born – poet. He died on January 15, 1967.
1886 — Yitzhak Katzenelson was born – poet, playwright, and educator. He wrote in Hebrew and Yiddish. He perished in Auschwitz on May 3, 1944.
1913 — S. Alyoshin (Kotlyar) was born – playwright. He died on February 27, 2008.
1920 — Isaac Stern was born – American musician. He is considered one of the outstanding violinists of the 20th century. He died on September 22, 2001.
1923 — Rudolf Arthur Marcus was born – American chemist, founder of the theory of electron transfer in solutions (Marcus theory).
1926 — English film director Karel Reisz was born. He died on November 25, 2002.
1937 — (13th of Av, 5697) Decree granting Y. Smushkevich the title of Hero of the USSR. Smushkevich became the first Jew to receive this award
1938 — (22nd of Tammuz, 5698) Morris Mitchtom, the Jewish immigrant, who along with his wife “invented the Teddy Bear”, passed away today
2003 — (21st of Tammuz, 5763) Israel Defense Forces soldier O. Shaul was abducted and murdered by Arabs.
2018 — (9th of Av, 5778) During combat operations on the border with the Gaza Strip, Staff Sergeant Aviv Levi (21 years old) was killed by Arabs.
2025 — (25th of Tammuz, 5785) The War with Gaza. Day six hundred fifty-four. Warrant Officer Vladimir Loza, 36, and 19-year-old Staff Sergeant Amit Cohen were killed.