History events
-1742 BCE — (15 Nisan, 2018) God made a covenant with Abraham, promising him and his descendants the Land of Israel, as recorded in Genesis 15. (Alternatively, in 2019.)
-1313 BCE — (15 Nisan, 2448) The Exodus of the Jews from Egypt
1656 — (27th of Adar, 5416) The Jews were denied the right to build a synagogue in New Amsterdam
1682 — (27th of Adar-1, 5442) Students in Cracow staged anti-Semitic riots
1745 — (20th of Adar-1, 5505) Jews exiled from Prague
1879 — (18 Adar I, 5639) The so‑called Kutaisi Affair—another bloody libel—came to an end
1908 — (10th of Adar-1, 5668) A major fire in the Jewish quarter of Haskoy, Constantinople, Turkey destroys 500 houses. There were over 5,000 Jews left without shelter
1918 — (29th of Adar, 5678) Founding of Magen David Adom. At a meeting in Philadelphia attended by David Ben‑Gurion, Golda Meir, and Henrietta Szold, concerns were raised that the Jewish Legion in Palestine—also known as the 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers in the British Army, which had taken part in the liberation of Eretz Israel from Turkish rule—lacked medical support. Magen David Adom was established to provide aid to both the Jewish Legion and settlers in Palestine. It was disbanded at the end of the war. (According to other sources, the meeting took place in October 1918.)
1918 — (29 Adar I, 5678) A pogrom in Yuzovka (Donetsk)
1936 — (19th of Adar, 5696) In Poland, a mob raided the Jewish shops at Turka and order was restored only after the police finally intervened and “arrested twenty rioters.”
1940 — (3 Adar II, 5700) Haganah’s underground radio station began broadcasting from Tel Aviv for the first time, later becoming Kol Yisrael (Voice of Israel). The station’s first transmitter was installed at 145 Ben Yehuda Street
1942 — (24 Adar I, 5702) Shoah. During a raid in Feodosia, 11 Jews were captured and shot by Sonderkommando 10b. On the same day, 650 Jews from Odessa were executed in the village of Gulyayevka and 346 Jews in Onoryevka (Berezovsky District), while 6 and 18 Jews, respectively, were killed in Komzetovka and Bogay (Yevpatoria District, Crimea). At the same time, a ghetto was established in Olyka (Volyn Oblast)
1943 — (6th of Adar I, 5703) German forces liquidated the Jewish ghetto in Cracow. Two thousand Jews were rounded up for deportation at Cracow, Poland. Before the trains left hundreds of children were shot to death, hundreds of elderly were killed in the streets, and an untold number of patients were killed in the hospital wards
1946 — (10th of Adar I, 5706) During Aliyah Bet, British police kill one female member of the Palmach as they fired on “the schooner Wingate which was attempting to land 248 refugees – an attempt that was thwarted by the HMS Chevron which took the captured vessel to Haifa
1947 — (21th of Adar, 5707) Tonight the British government in Palestine announced that it had arrested 78 people including 15 members of the Stern gang and 12 members of the Irgun. The arrests of these “terrorists” had been made possible, in part, because of assistance from the Jewish community.; Some resistance was encountered by British troops today when 703 Jews who arrived in Palestine waters yesterday after running the naval blockade were taken aboard the steamer Empire Rival. The Jews are reportedly being shipped to camps in Cyprus
1950 — (24 Adar I, 5710) The first session of the Knesset was held in the three‑storey Frumin Building, which served as its home for the next 16 years. The building is located in central Jerusalem, at 24 King George Street
1952 — (16th of Adar, 5712) The Jerusalem Post reported that Eilat was bedecked and illuminated to mark the third anniversary of the town¹s liberation. A military parade was held and a message was read from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion
1997 — (4th of Adar I, 5757) Seven school girls aged twelve and thirteen, all from the same school at Beit Shemesh, were shot dead and Hila Levy was injured by a Jordanian soldier who went berserk on the Jordan Border after which King Hussein paid surprise and much appreciated condolence call on the grieving families
2008 — (6 Adar II, 5768) Arabs fired 30 Qassam rockets and 7 mortars at the Western Negev. At least six rockets were launched toward Sderot. No one was physically injured in these incidents.
2011 — (7 Adar II, 5771) Angel Soye and Angelo Tamietti from a northern suburb of Paris were posthumously awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations. In 1942, Angel and Angelo had hidden four Jewish children from the Nazis. Their heirs received honorary certificates and personal medals of the Righteous Among the Nations.
2021 — (29 Adar I, 5781) At the 470 class mixed‑pair sailing world championships in Portugal, Gil Cohen and Noam Omri won gold, while Tal Sadeh and Noa Lasri took silver
People
1421 — (10th of Nisan, 5181) Rabbi Aaron of Neustadt, author Hilkhot Niddah died the martyr’s death in Vienna
1601 — (19th of Adar I, 5361) Mordecai Marcus Meisel passed away. Born in in 1528, the son of Samuel Meisel, he was one of the wealthiest people in Bohemia. A noted philanthropist, he was a leader of the Jewish community in Prague
1900 — (12 Adar II, 5660) Béla Guttman, a future famous football coach, was born in Budapest. He died on 28 August 1981.
1908 — (10 Adar II, 5668) Walter Annenberg, an American media magnate, was born. Owner of several US newspapers, magazines, and television stations, Annenberg was also known for his philanthropy; he established a foundation that donated billions of dollars, both before and after his death in 2002.
1910 — Lidia Brodskaya, an artist, was born. She died on 11 March 1991.
1944 — I. Kio, a circus performer and magician, was born. He died on 30 August 2006
1946 — (10th of Adar I, 5706) Birthdate of Yonatan «Yoni» Netanyahu who was a commander in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit of the Israel Defense Forces. His younger brothers are Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister of Israel, who previously held that office from 1996-99, and Iddo Netanyahu, an Israeli author and playwright
1960 — (14 Adar I, 5720) Erez Gerstein, a brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces, was born. He was killed in Lebanon on 28 February 1999.
1960 — A. G. Borovik, a journalist and editor‑in‑chief of Sovsem Sekretno (Top Secret), was born. He died in a plane crash on 9 March 2000.
2005 — (2 Adar II, 5765) Amir Drori, a veteran of the IDF and participant in all of Israel’s wars, died of a heart attack. In 1986, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff