History events
-597 — BCE (9 Nisan 3164) Nebuchadnezzar, during a punitive expedition against Judah, captured Jerusalem, took King Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) captive, and appointed his uncle Zedekiah as king (II Kings 24; Jeremiah 37:1; and others). Judah paid a heavy tribute; King Jehoiachin, along with his family, mother, courtiers, and 10,000 soldiers and craftsmen, was exiled to Babylon.
-348 — BCE (1 Nisan 3413) The prophet Ezra and his companions—one and a half thousand people—left Persia and returned to the Land of Israel after the Babylonian captivity
1190 — (7th of Nisan, 4950) (7 Nisan 4950) York (England). Aristocrats heavily indebted to Abraham of Lincoln, represented in York by Joseph, instigated a pogrom. The Jews, with the commandant of the royal castle’s permission, took refuge in one of the towers. Suspecting the commandant of a malicious plot, the Jews refused to let him in, and at his order, soldiers besieged the castle. When a monk, who had been calling for the soldiers to execute the Jews, was killed by a stone thrown from the tower, an enraged mob joined the besieging soldiers. The Jews defended themselves for 6 days; then Rabbi Yom-Tov urged the Jews to prefer death by the hands of their loved ones to a shameful demise, and most of the besieged took their own lives. The rabbi, after killing Joseph, committed suicide. The Jews who did not wish to die came out of the tower the next day hoping to be saved by baptism, but almost all were torn apart by the mob. The crowd, finding no debts owed by Christians in the castle, stormed the cathedral’s treasury, destroyed the copies kept there, and then looted and destroyed the homes of wealthy Jews
1722 — (9th of Nisan, 5482) The new «Aeltesten-reglement» (Constitution of the Jewish Community) was issued today in Prussia. It was intended to do away with the evils that had become apparent in the administration of the community, and which, in order to be brought home more thoroughly, was to be read every year in the synagogue. Under this constitution the administration consisted of two permanent chief elders, five elders, four treasurers, and four superintendents of the poor, and assistants; new officers were to be elected every three years by seven men chosen by lot from among the community. The committee was to meet every week in the room of the elders, and to keep the minutes of their proceedings; resolutions, passed by them, becoming law by a majority vote. The exclusion of a member of the community from the Passover was made dependent on the unanimous vote of the committee; the ban could be pronounced only with the consent of the rabbi; and both of these measures were to be subject to ratification by the Jews’ commission. The elders were held responsible with their own money for the proper collection of the taxes, but could proceed against delinquent payers. Every year the entire board had to report to a committee of five chosen by the community. The college of rabbis was to consist of a chief rabbi, a vice rabbi and two or three assessors. Other taxes were soon added to the existing ones; e.g., on pawnshops, and calendar money for the Royal Society of Science, and marriage licenses. The income from the last was paid into the treasury from which enlisted men received their pay, and its amount (4,800 thalers a year) soon became a permanent tax upon the whole community
1743 — (2th of Nisan, 5503) The New-York Weekly Journal reported that a Jewish funeral procession in New York was attacked by a mob. According to «one learned Christian» witness to it, the mob had, «insulted the dead in such a vile manner that to mention all would shock a human ear.»
1859 — (10th of Adar-1, 5619) A decree by Alexander II allowed first-guild Jewish merchants to live outside the Pale of Settlement in Russia. To prevent the emergence of a «whole tribe of Israel» along with the merchants in the interior regions, a small number of servants and clerks that could be brought along was stipulated
1873 — (17 Adar-1 5633) It was ordered: I) to transform rabbinical schools in Vilnius and Zhytomyr into Jewish teacher training institutes without a special obligation to prepare youth for rabbinical positions; II) to close state Jewish schools of the 2nd category; III) to transform state Jewish schools of the 1st category in areas with a significant Jewish population where the number of general schools is insufficient into Jewish primary schools, applying the regulations of the urban schools of May 31, 1872, while closing other state schools of the 1st category
1908 — (13th of Adar I, 5668) In Haifa, «bitterness against the Jews led to a clash between Jews, Ottoman soldiers and local Arabs in which thirteen Jews were injured, some of them severely.»
1919 — (14 Adar-2 5679) Civil War. Pogrom in Smela by Grigoriev’s gang
1932 — (8th of Adar I, 5692) A new immigration category for middle-class settlers seeking admission to Palestine which would mean that “farmers, merchants and industrialist would be admitted in the new category if they that have a capital of five hundred pounds, was announced in Jerusalem today
1934 — (29th of Adar, 5694) The first official match of the Israeli national team in the qualifying tournament for the 1934 World Cup. Egypt-Palestine 7:1. The game took place at the English army stadium in Cairo. 14 thousand spectators gathered. National anthems were played before the start. «Hatikvah» was accompanied by the raising of the Israeli national flag. In Tel Aviv, hundreds of fans awaited the result. By agreement, it was communicated by phone to the Sapir café on Allenby Street
1942 — (22th of Adar, 5702) Shoah. The first 1,600 Jews were deported from Lublin to Belzec. Another 10,000 would follow the next week
1942 — (27 Adar-1 5702) Shoah. In the village of Katashyn (Berezov district), 120 Jews from Odessa were shot. On the same day, 500 Jews from the city of Melec (Krakow Voivodeship, Poland) were settled in Belz (Lviv region)
1943 — (9th of Adar I, 5703) An SS officer was killed by a Jew named Kotnowski at Lvov. In reprisal, the Germans hung 11 Jewish policemen from the balconies overlooking the main street of the Ghetto. Also over 1,000 Jews were taken away and shot
1948 — (5 Adar-2 5708) War of Independence. Arabs blocked the road to settlements in northern Negev near the village of Breir. There were two roads leading to them. By an unofficial agreement, one was used by Jews, the other by Arabs. Jewish caravans were accompanied by English convoys. The road was dug up after Britain left the area. Another road had to be used. However, after 10 days, this route also became impossible due to mines laid by Arabs
1954 — (11th of Adar I, 5714) Tonight, unknown assailants attacked an Egged bus traveling between Eilat and Tel Aviv killing the driver Efraim Firstenberg, eight male passengers and two female passengers following which the killers spat on and abused the bodies of the dead before leaving with loot they had collected
1957 — (13 Adar-2 5717) UNEF troops settled in Sharm el-Sheikh and Gaza after being abandoned by the IDF. They left deep at night during a quiet operation. Regarding this, Ben-Gurion spoke to the ministers with tears in his eyes, saying, «I am the one who gave the order for young people to go and fight for their lives, now I am forced to explain to them why they must retreat…»
1961 — (28 Adar-1 5721) Operation «Moral» began for the rescue of Jewish children from Morocco. It ended on July 24. 500 children were evacuated
1962 — (10th of Adar 1, 5722) The “Golani Brigade raided Syrian outposts to the north of the Sea of Galilee in order to stop Syrian shelling of Israeli Villages. Seven Israeli soldiers and thirty Syrian soldiers were killed during the battle.” The raid did not end the shelling. It would continue sporadically until 1967 when the IDF heroically took the Golan Heights
1965 — (12 Adar-2 5725) The Knesset voted to establish diplomatic relations with West Germany. 66 deputies voted «for,» and 29 against. At that time, the Prime Minister was L. Eshkol and the Foreign Minister was G. Meir.
2005 — (5th of Adar 1, 5675) In yet another exchange of land for a promise of peace, Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control
2010 — (1 Nisan 5770) In the morning, fierce clashes between Arabs and police and border guards began simultaneously in several centers throughout East Jerusalem. The police used crowd dispersal measures. The leadership of the «Ambulance Service» («Magen David Adom») placed its teams across the country on high alert in case Arab unrest spread to other areas, as in October 2000.
2011 — (10 Adar-2 5771) Less than a week after the brutal murder of Udi and Ruth Fogel and their three children in the Samarian settlement of Itamar by Arabs, the Israeli army once again showed its true face, unknown to foreign media. An IDF paramedic assisted an Arab woman in labor. Similar cases had occurred before, but this one was notable as it happened in the Neve Tzuf settlement, where mourners were sitting shiva (seven days of mourning) in the home of Udi Fogel’s parents. That day, the Chief of Staff of the IDF, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, visited the Fogel senior home to express his condolences and sorrow over their terrible grief. A few minutes after his departure, a yellow Palestinian taxi arrived at the gates of the settlement. Soldiers who looked inside the vehicle saw a young Palestinian woman in labor and rushed for help to the nearest army base. A 19-year-old medic named Chaim Levin, serving in the «Rotem» battalion of the «Givati» brigade, ran to the car where he discovered a woman lying on her back preparing to give birth right in the vehicle. In that moment, the massacre in Itamar was not on his mind, the soldier recounted. «I take care of people and do not make distinctions between Arabs and Jews.»
2018 — (29 Adar-1 5778) A terrorist attack near the Arab village of Ya’bad, not far from the Jewish settlement of Mevo Dotan (Samaria), where a car driven by an Arab ran into a group of Israel Defense Forces soldiers. Two soldiers—an officer and a soldier—were killed, and two others were injured, with injuries ranging from moderate to severe.
2023 — (23 Adar-1 5783) An operation in Jenin conducted by Israeli border police fighters: two cars in which they were present approached the «An-Nimr» shopping center, where the leader of the «Al-Quds Brigades» in Jenin (the military wing of «Islamic Jihad»), Nidal Hazem, was standing. A man with a gun exited a Skoda vehicle and shot Hazem in the head from close range. Yusuf Shraim, who was nearby, attempted to attack the shooter, at which point armed individuals jumped out of the two cars and shot him. After that, Israeli fighters tried to escape, but due to a traffic jam on the street and a crowd attacking them, they were forced to take cover in a restaurant and defend themselves. Soon, Israeli military vehicles entered Jenin and evacuated the special forces soldiers.
2024 — (6 Adar-2 5784) War with Gaza. Day one hundred sixty-two. IDF strikes throughout the sector. Kibbutz Nahal Oz was shelled from Gaza.
2025 — (16 Adar-1 5785) Three new fifth-generation F-35i fighter-bombers arrived at the Air Force base. The planes joined the 116th combat squadron. Following this, the IDF now has three squadrons of F-35i—two combat and one training.
People
1473 — (16 Adar-2 5233) Francisco Pizarro was born — a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Inca Empire, founder of the city of Lima. He is believed to have come from a family of Marranos. He died on June 26, 1541.
1843 — (14 Adar-2 5563) Nehemiah Brüll was born in Nej-Rausnitz (Moravia) — a rabbi, scholar, engaged in almost all fields of Jewish science: research in biblical exegesis, grammar, history, literature, apocrypha, philology. He published results in the journal «Jahrbucher» (Frankfurt am Main, 1874—90). He died on February 5, 1891.
1843 — Otto Hirschfeld was born — a German historian and archaeologist; a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. He died on March 27, 1922.
1874 — Stephen Samuel Wise was born — a Reform rabbi, Zionist leader. He died in 1949
1890 — (24th of Adar, 5650) Birthdate of Solomon Mikhoels, Soviet actor and chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee
1894 — Esther Shub was born — a Soviet documentary filmmaker, honored artist of the RSFSR (1935). She died in 1959.
1910 — Ts. A. Melamed was born — a Latvian satirical writer, published in the magazines «Dadzis,» «Crocodile,» the Riga newspaper «Soviet Youth,» and other publications. He died on July 3, 1992.
1919 — (14th of Adar II, 5679) Yakov Mikhaylovich Sverdlov, Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Congress of Soviets of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic(SFSR) passed away at the age of 33.
1920 — M. A. Schweitzer was born — a film director. He died on June 2, 2000.
1921 — Leonid Zusievich Prokh was born — a meteorologist, author of «Dictionary of Winds.» He died in 1983
1935 — (11th of Adar II, 5695) Aron Nimzowitsch passed away. He was a chess grandmaster