History events
-1590 BCE — (14 Nisan, 2171, or 30 March –1589) Jacob deceitfully received Isaac’s blessing.
-1313 BCE — (14 Nisan, 2448) The day before the Exodus, Joshua bin Nun assisted Moses and his brother Aaron in circumcising all the sons of Israel so that each could offer the Passover sacrifice. This was in accordance with God’s command: “But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.” During the years of bondage, the Jews had ceased to observe this commandment
1421 — (9st of Nisan, 5181) In Vienna, under the auspices of Archduke Albert of Austria, a combination of murder, libel and host-desecration charges brought about the destruction of the entire Jewish community. This was partly due to the revival of the crusader spirit of the Hussite Wars. Many Jews were forcibly baptized, others took their own lives. The rest were forced to leave. Later this became known as the Wiener Gezairah (The Vienna edict)
1496 — (27 Adar I, 5256) Jews were expelled from the Styria region of Austria. This followed the estates of Carinthia and Styria agreeing to regularly pay Emperor Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire the sum he had previously collected from the Jews. Until then, the emperor had resisted expulsion because Jewish taxes covered most of his war expenses. (Jews were expelled from Carinthia on 9 March.)
1682 — (12th of Adar I, 5442) Anti-Jewish riots beak out in Krakow
1715 — (18th of Adar I, 5475) Elector Max Emanuel ordered the expulsion of the few Jews still living in Bavaria, Germany
1862 — (10th of Adar I, 5622) The U.S. Congress allowed Rabbis to serve as army chaplains
1920 — (22 Adar I, 5680) The US Congress authorised rabbis to serve as army chaplains
1921 — (2th of Adar I, 5681) The Histadrut (General Federation of Labor) passed a resolution to establish the Haganah
1925 — (16th of Adar, 5685) “Decorated from stem to stern with flags of the international code and bearing the six-pointed star — the shield of David — on her funnels, the steamship President Arthur of the American-Palestine Line sailed today for the Holy Land with 400 passengers, beginning a new steamship service and linking Palestine directly with New York”
1934 — (25 Adar I, 5694) The Palestine national football team travelled to Egypt for its first official match in the 1934 World Cup qualifiers. Players and coach boarded a train in Tel Aviv, passing through Lod, Rehovot, Yavne, Ashdod, and stopping at Rafiyah to change trains; then through Qantara (where they changed trains again) and via Suez to Cairo. They stayed at the Continental Hotel, where a delegation from the Egyptian Football Federation soon arrived to greet them warmly. The Palestine team consisted of players from Ha‑Poel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Jerusalem, Ha‑Poel Haifa, and Ha‑Koah Tel Aviv. The team was coached by Shimon Ratner
1937 — (29th of Adar, 5697) The Palestine Post reported that the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Ormsby-Gore, told the House of Commons that from 1922 to 1935 the population of Jerusalem rose from 63,000 to 110,000; of Tel Aviv from 15,000 to 110,000; of Jaffa from 33,000 to 74,000 and of Haifa from 25,000 to 85,000. He added that a committee had been set up by the High Commissioner in 1932 to consider compulsory health insurance, but it had decided that the introduction of such system in Palestine was premature, especially for the Arab section of the population
1942 — (23 Adar I, 5702) Shoah. A ghetto was established in Shumsk (2 500 people), Ternopil Oblast.
1947 — (20 Adar I, 5707) The ship Shabtai Lozinsky, carrying 825 illegal immigrants, evaded British coast guard vessels and approached the Land of Israel near Kibbutz Nitzanim. Due to a storm, transferring people by boat proved impossible. The ship then approached the shore to within 100 metres and ran aground. Haganah fighters stretched a rope to the shore, lined up along it, and began passing the arrivals hand‑to‑hand. In this way, 350 people were transferred. In the morning, the British arrived and arrested the remainder, sending them to Cyprus.
1948 — (1 Adar II, 5708, or 13 March) War of Independence. During the Haganah’s attack on the village of Abu Kabir, the “Davidka” mortar was first used. Its loud, thunderous blast led the Arabs to suspect the Jews of deploying a new type of weapon. The design was developed by Haganah veteran David Leibovich.
1948 — (1 Adar II, 5708) Israeli Artillery Day. The Haganah General Staff issued an order to form artillery units. Some 300 men who had served as artillerymen in the Allied forces were recruited. Yehu da Ginzburg became the first commander. The first artillery pieces were French 65‑mm guns purchased from the British, affectionately nicknamed “Little Napoleon” by the troops
1949 — (11th of Adar, 5709) At the conclusion of Operation Uvada, the commander sent the following telegram “»On Hagana day, the 11th of Adar, the Palmach Negev brigade and the Golani brigade present the Gulf of Eilat tothe State of Israel»; The raising of a hand-drawn flag, known as the “Ink Flag» over the police station at Umm Rashrash, the future site of the city of Eilat, at 16:00 is considered to mark the end of the War of Independence
1949 — (11 Adar I, 5709) The Israeli government announced that at least 100 000 housing units needed to be built for new immigrants, but until funding sources were found, people would remain in tent camps and temporary settlements
1950 — (23th of Adar, 5710) The Israeli Defense Ministry today ordered the registration for the Army Reserve of all physicians between the ages of 29 and 49.”
1951 — (4th of Adar I, 5711) As of this date the Iraqis allowed planes filled with Jewish refugees to fly straight to Israel instead of having to go to Cyprus first
1952 — (15 Adar I, 5712) Purim 5712 was rather dull, reflecting the impact of scarcity and high prices. New costumes were unobtainable. Children made masks from old notebook covers, painted them, wrapped them in foil, and attached old shoe laces as ties. Even simple paper toys and rattles had become more expensive.
2002 — (28 Adar I, 5762) In response to terrorist attacks, the IDF entered Ramallah. Golani Battalions advanced from the north and southeast; the Nahal Brigade (with an attached paratrooper battalion) deployed in the southeast; and a combined unit of IDF officer cadets advanced from the southwest. This march was largely psychological; combat operations began later.
2008 — (5 Adar II, 5768) Muhammad Shkhade—who had organised the 6 March 2008 terrorist attack at Merkaz ha‑Rav Yeshiva—and three other militants with him were shot dead near a restaurant in the government complex area of Bethlehem. The operation involved Israeli Defense Forces special‑operations units.
2011 — (6 Adar II, 5771) A terrorist attack in the settlement of Itamar (Samaria): the Fogel family of five was murdered. The father, mother, and their three children—two boys aged 11 and 3, and a one‑month‑old girl—were killed. Around
2011 — (6 Adar II, 5771) A terrorist attack occurred in the settlement of Itamar (Samaria): the Fogel family of five was murdered. The victims included the father, the mother, and their three children—two boys aged 11 and 3, and a one‑month‑old girl. Around 1 a.m., Arabs broke into the house and killed the occupants with knives. The eldest daughter, aged 12, and two younger brothers, aged 6 and 2, survived by chance.
2012 — (18 Adar I, 5772) The lower house of the Egyptian parliament declared Israel the “number one enemy” and approved decisions to expel the Israeli ambassador and halt gas sales to Israel. Legislators in Cairo endorsed a report by the parliamentary committee on Arab affairs, resolving that Egypt would “never be a friend, partner, or ally of Israel,” and expressed support for Palestinian resistance to “Israel’s aggressive policies in all their forms.” The decision was largely symbolic, as the final authority at the time rested with the Supreme Council of the Military, which intended to uphold the peace treaty with Israel.
2014 — (10 Adar II, 5774) The Knesset passed a law requiring ultra‑Orthodox Jews to serve in the military on equal terms with other young citizens. Under the law, starting in 2017, ultra‑Orthodox men reaching conscription age must either join the army or perform alternative service. Previously, they could avoid conscription if they devoted all their time to study at a yeshiva.
2014 — (10 Adar II, 5774) 130 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. The shelling continued on 13 and 14 March. The Israeli Air Force responded with strikes on targets in Gaza. Partial mobilisation of air‑defence reservists was announced.
2024 — (2 Adar II, 5784) Two Arab children threw stones and bottles at a Jewish kindergarten in Ramla. The caregivers had to move the children indoors and call the police. The Arab children were found to be five years old.
People
1825 — (22 Adar I, 5585) G. Bagrov, a Jewish writer in Russian, was born. He criticised the separateness of Jewish life, Judaism, and religious education, and called Palestinophilia an adventurism. He died on 10 May 1885.
1847 — (24 Adar I, 5607) Rosa Soneshhein, born in Czechia, founded the first US magazine for Jewish women and the first literary society for European women. She was a writer and journalist. She died in 1932.
1865 — (14 Adar I, 5625) Max Isidor Bodenheimer, a close associate of Theodor Herzl, one of the 13 founders of the Zionist Organization, and one of the first directors of the Jewish National Fund, was born. He died in 1940
1899 — (1st of Nisan, 5659) Sir Julius Vogel, the first Jewish Premier of New Zealand passed away
1913 — Yaakov Frank, born in Jerusalem, was a participant in the War of Independence and a public and state figure in Israel. He died on 9 July 1993.
1915 — (26 Adar I, 5675) Deborah Bartonova (Bartonov), an Israeli actress, dancer, choreographer, and recipient of the Israel Prize, was born in Russia. She died on 19 April 2010.
1928 — (20 Adar I, 5688) Mordechai Eliyahu, born in Jerusalem, served as Israel’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi from 1983 to 1993 and was the spiritual leader of Israel’s national‑religious camp. He died on 7 June 2010.
1940 — G. I. Gorin, a writer and playwright, was born. He died on 15 June 2000
1942 — (23rd of Adar, 5702) David Raziel was killed while serving for the British in Iraq
1943 — (5th of Adar I, 5703) Oskar Schindler, аddressing his workers, he told them not to go home tonight. The Krakow ghetto, he said, would be liquidated the next day. Schindler had witnessed the killings and decided he must protect his laborers. He would build his own concentration camp as a satellite to Kraków-Plaszów, and his staff would compile the now famous list of workers he wanted transferred to his camp
1945 — (27th of Adar, 5705) According to some sources, this is the day Anne Frank died at Bergen Belsen two months before the liberation by British forces
1972 — (26 Adar I, 5732) Doron Shefer, Israel’s most famous basketball player, was born in Petah Tikva