History events
-876 — (28th of Iyar, 2884) This is the traditional date of death of Samuel, prophet and priest (born 2832)
120 — (18 Sivan 3880) Rabbi Gamaliel II, called Gamaliel of Yavne, grandson of Rabbi Gamaliel I, died. He assumed the position of Nasi after Johanan ben Zakkaï (around 80 CE). He was recognized as one of the greatest legal scholars, and was not only the highest religious authority of his time but also an acknowledged national-political leader. In all likelihood, the Roman authorities also recognized him as the authorized representative of the Jews
1430 — (11th of Sivan, 5190) Moses Arragel, a Hebrew Scholar in Castile, presented his translation of the “Old Testament” into the Castilian language to Don Luis de Guzman, grand master of the Order of Catalrava”
1453 — (25th of Sivan, 5213) In Breslau, John of Capistrano led a mock trial of alleged desecrations of the host. The Rabbi of the community hanged himself and urged other Jews to commit suicide. Forty-one Jews were burned, their property confiscated, and all children under seven were forcibly baptized
1476 — (10th of Sivan, 5236) Printing of the first edition of Tur Orah Cahim in Mantua, Italy
1492 — (7 Sivan 5252) In Leiria, Portugal, Abraham de Ortas published Orach Chayim, the first part of the work Arba’ah Turim («The Four Rows») by Jacob ben Asher
1541 — (7 Sivan 5301) Jewish merchants from the Levant, who had settled in Venice several centuries earlier than their coreligionists from Germany (who were confined to the ghetto in 1516) and had continued to live in any quarter of the city as they wished, were also separated from the Christians.
1797 — (8 Sivan 5557) The Jews of Verona were granted the right to leave the ghetto. This occurred as a result of the city’s occupation by Napoleon’s army. However, soon after the restoration of Austrian rule, hatred of the Jews began to be spread by the Catholic clergy. The governor even had to intervene, issuing a decree on January 22, 1798, which imposed heavy fines on those who insulted Jews by word or deed; nevertheless, persecution continued and only subsided after the publication of a second order on August 17, 1799.
1919 — (4 Sivan 5679) The Second Conference of the Jewish Sections (Evsektsiya) opened in Moscow. Only 32 people attended.
1925 — (10 Sivan 5685) An exhibition of collections of Jewish art, the flora and fauna of Israel, and archaeology opened at the Bezalel Museum for the first time since the World War. The museum’s collections became the foundation of the Israel Museum
1937 — (23th of Sivan, 5697) The Palestine Post reported that the new Central Railway Station opened in Haifa
1939 — (15 Sivan 5699) Terrorist attack. The death of a joint Anglo-Jewish patrol guarding the railway near the Arab village of Taiba at the hands of Arabs. The railway served as a kind of border between the territory inhabited by Jews and the Arab villages. It was a convenient target for Arab gangs. It was guarded by special railway units composed of Jews and Englishmen.
1939 — (15 Sivan 5699) Terrorist attacks. An Irgun (ETZEL) attack on telephone lines used by the British. Also, a bomb exploded near the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Five Arabs were killed, several wounded. The Irgun carried out its actions in response to Arab terror and in contrast to the policy of restraint practiced by the official Jewish authorities.
1942 — (17 Sivan 5702) The Holocaust. 1,000 Jews were deported from Bełż and the surrounding areas (Lviv Oblast) to the Sobibor extermination camp. Likely on the same day, a «self-defense» unit from the village of Lichtenfeld shot about 1,200 Jews in Sukha Verba (Mostyska Raion, Odesa Oblast). A «Jewish action» was carried out in Kivertsi (Volyn Oblast). Another 1,000 Jews were evacuated from Mohyliv-Podilskyi
1943 — (28th of Iyar, 5703) Liquidation of the Lwów Ghetto, located in German-occupied Poland, was completed, with the last surviving Jewish residents deported to the nearby Janowska concentration camp
1944 — (11th of Sivan, 5704) The Allies begin a bombing operation (Operation Frantic) in the Balkans, the goal of which is to distract the Germans from upcoming Allied landings in France. Bombing routes overfly the railway lines leading from Hungary to Auschwitz. The operation lasts for four months, during the deportation of tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz. The railway lines carrying the Jews are never targeted
1948 — (24th of Iyar, 5708) The Golani and Carmeli brigades attacked Jenin today
1948 — (24 Iyar 5708) The first airbase of the Israeli Air Force was established in a field near Herzliya. The 101st Squadron was based there. The airstrip was used by the squadron until November 1948, when it was transferred to the Hatzor Airbase.
1948 — (24 Iyar 5708) War of Independence. On the day of the first Egyptian attack on Kibbutz Negba, Israeli forces numbered about 70 fighters from the Givati Brigade and 70 kibbutz members, including 10 women, armed with light weapons. The Egyptians attacked Negba with the forces of an infantry battalion, a tank company, an armored division, and three field artillery batteries. The offensive was supported by bomber aircraft. Despite overwhelming superiority in manpower and equipment, the Egyptians were unable to capture the kibbutz. This loss of momentum allowed the IDF to transfer troops to the south and halt the Egyptian advance
1949 — (5th of Sivan, 5709) The Kingdom of Transjordan was renamed The Kingdome of Jordan. …..The kingdom had been named Transjordan because it was across (trans) the Jordan river. In 1948, Jordan’s army crossed the Jordan River and seized the eastern portion of Jerusalem and the territory now called the West Bank. Since the country was now on both sides of the Jordan River, it was no called Jordan. This name change proved that the government of Jordan planned to remain permanently on the west bank of the Jordan River and there was no intention to create a Palestinian State
1952 — (9th of Sivan, 5712) The Jerusalem Post reported that an Israeli mother, who drowned her sick and handicapped five-year-old child in the sea, received a one year prison sentence. The judge pointed out that there was a waiting list of more than 300 handicapped children waiting for proper treatment
1955 — (12 Sivan 5715) The «Accadia» hotel, the most luxurious in Israel, opened in Herzliya. Every room had a telephone. Subsequently, Sadat, Clinton, and others stayed there.
1967 — (23 Iyar 5727) Israel. A government consultation in a narrow forum — Eshkol, Eban, Dayan, Rabin, Allon — regarding the timing of the start of the war. Dayan proposed starting the war immediately, destroying the Egyptian Air Force from the air but not crossing the borders; Allon proposed advancing to the Canal; Eshkol supported them, and even the cautious Eban expressed no concerns. However, it was decided that the attack would begin «no earlier than Monday, June 5th.»
1970 — (27 Iyar 5730) The first match of the Israel national football team in the World Cup — against Uruguay (0:2).
1978 — (26 Iyar 5738) Terrorist attack. Explosion of a passenger bus on Route 12 in Jerusalem. 6 dead, 21 wounded.
1980 — (18 Sivan 5740) Residents of the Kiryat Arba settlement planted a bomb near the market in Hebron. The explosion injured 11 Arabs. Attack on the car carrying the mayors of Ramallah, Nablus, and Shechem (Nablus)
1982 — (11th of Sivan, 5742) Yad Vashem recognized Jan Karski as Righteous Among the Nations. A tree bearing a memorial plaque in his name was planted at Yad Vashem’s Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations in Jerusalem
1993 — (13 Sivan 5753) Discussion in the Knesset regarding nightclubs where drugs are used.
2015 — (15 Sivan 5775) The «Pais» center, one of the most beautiful in Israel, intended for youth, opened in the community of Elishama, located near Kfar Saba. The center, spanning an area of 241 square meters, includes a main hall, study rooms, a kitchen, a fortified room, and a paved outdoor area.
2024 — (25 Iyar 5784) The cornerstone was laid for the medical school building on the University of Haifa campus, which is set to open at this university as early as the 2025–2026 academic year
People
1128 — (2th of Tammuz, 4888) Pier Leoni, “the son of the Jewish convert Leo de Benedicto and founder of the great and important medieval Roman family of the Pierleoni” who was said to be “the greatest man in Rome in his time” passed away today
1816 — (6 Sivan 5576) Grace Aguilar was born — an English writer. She died on September 16, 1847.
1847 — (18 Sivan 5607) Emil Bessels was born in Germany — a physician and explorer. He died on March 30, 1888.
1889 — (3 Sivan 5649) «Hitler’s personal soothsayer,» clairvoyant Erik Jan Hanussen, was born. He was killed on March 25, 1933.
1889 — (3 Sivan 5649) Chaim Yitzchok Farber was born — a poet, prose writer, and translator who wrote in Yiddish. He died on June 25, 1968.
1904 — (19 Sivan 5664) J. Weissmuller was born — an American swimmer, five-time Olympic champion, holder of 67 world records, and the first to swim 100 meters in under a minute. He died on January 20, 1984.
1909 — (13th of Sivan, 5669) Birthdate of Benzion Netanyahu an Israeli historian and Zionist activist who is also known for being secretary to the father of the Revisionist Zionism movement Ze’ev Jabotinsky as well as the father of Yonatan Netanyahu, former commander of Sayeret Matkal, who was killed in Operation Entebbe and Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu
1937 — Yunna Moritz was born — a poet.
1946 — (3th of Sivan, 5706) Birthdate of Tel Aviv native Gidon Remez the prize winning Israeli author who along with Isabella Ginor is responsible for the innovative history Foxbats Over Dimona and The Soviet-Israeli War, 1967-1973
1948 — (24 Iyar 5708) The newspaper Haaretz published the Manifesto of the group of local artists, in which they called for new perspectives on Jewish painting. This proclamation led to the creation of the «New Horizons» artists’ association in Israel.
2024 — (25 Iyar 5784) David Levy, an Israeli statesman, passed away at the age of 86. He went down in history as the Minister of Construction who, over 13 years, succeeded in making housing more accessible for the majority of Israelis.
2025 — (6 Sivan 5785) The Gaza War. Day six hundred and five. In the northern Gaza Strip, Senior Sergeant Lior Steinberg, 20; Senior Sergeant Ofek Barhana, 20; and Senior Sergeant Omer Van Gelder, 22, were killed; two soldiers were moderately wounded