History events
117 — (12th of Adar, 3877) As the rebellion by Disapora Jews against the Roman Empire of Trajan came to an unsuccessful close, two Jewish brothers who had been leaders in the revolt, Pappus and Julianus were executed at Laodicea in Syria. Trajan did not get to savor his victory since he died in 117. Unfortunately for the Jews he was followed by Hadrian who was even crueler than his predecessor
1349 — (11th of Adar-1, 5109) In Erfurt, the capital of the German state of Thuringia, 1,000 Jews were killed in a single day of violence in a pogrom brought on by hysteria surrounding The Black Death which struck Europe
1382 — (16th of Adar, 5142) The Mailotin Riots began in Paris. These riots were similar to the tax riots held two years previously. Both times the Jews were considered accomplices in over-oppressive taxes. Sixteen Jews fell victim to this outbreak violence
1796 — (22th of Adar, 5556) Rabbi Mordecai of Niesvizh, issued a proclamation, which was approved by other rabbis in Poland, addressed to all Jews of Poland, imploring every male and female, adult and minor, whether living in cities or villages, to subscribe a fixed sum every week for the support of their countrymen, who had settled in the Holy Land with the amount to be paid quarterly, in addition to special donations at weddings, circumcisions, and other religious rejoicings all of which resulted in a substantial increase in the halukkah (the fund to support Jews living in the Holy Land)
1848 — (27th of Adar-1, 5608) Ibrahim Pasha who issued a decree “forbidding the Jews to pave the passage in front of the Wall. It also cautioned them against “raising their voices and displaying their books there.” They were however allowed “to pay visits to it as of old”
1882 — (11 Adar-1 5642) Diary of Dr. H. Khisin, one of the pioneers of settling the land of Israel: «Among one part of our society, a strong movement for the colonization of Palestine has arisen. I have thought a lot about this issue and have come to the conclusion that this is the only possible outcome for our people; therefore, there is still a grateful and broad field for honest, devoted sons of Israel. The great idea of revival is worth working for.»
1915 — (16th of Adar, 5675) Vladmir Jabotinsky formed a Jewish military force to fight in Palestine against the Turks in World War I.
1918 — (18 Adar-1 5678) Pogrom in the Turkestan city of Karmine. At that time, Karmine was a fortress within the Bukhara Emirate. On March 1, 1918, the chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of Turkestan, Kolesov, based on a false report of a revolution in Bukhara, sent military forces to assist the rebels. The troops of the Bukhara emir resisted the military and forced Kolesov’s detachment to retreat. The retreat took place along the railway from Kogan towards Samarkand. The population living along this road, by order of the emir Said Alim Khan, dismantled and in some places destroyed the railway. Thus, the armed detachment of Red Guards found itself in the fortress of Karmine, where mainly Bukhara Jews lived, engaged in crafts and small trade. The commander of the military unit demanded the surrender of those who participated in the destruction of the railway from Kyzyl-Tepa to the Karmine station and further to the Znatdin station. The elders tried to prove to the commander that none of the Jews participated in the destruction of the railway. Failing to secure the surrender of the «guilty,» the commander ordered a pogrom to begin, after which the looting of homes and shops started. Soldiers herded more than a dozen young women into the synagogue and raped them. Then, under threat, most residents were taken to the Karmine railway station. People were loaded into a car and taken to Samarkand
1939 — (11 Adar-1 5699) A radio station of the underground organization Etzel «Kol Tzion Olochem» began broadcasting in the Land of Israel. It operated until the establishment of the State. The first announcer was Esther Raziel-Noar, sister of the Etzel leader David Raziel
1940 — (22th of Adar-1, 5700) The police imposed curfew regulations at Tel Aviv tonight after breaking up widespread demonstrations protesting against British restrictions on the sale of Arab lands to Jews
1942 — (13th of Adar, 5702) As Purim began, Jews from Minsk refused to cooperate in latest deportation. Germans and Ukrainians retaliated by searching houses, dragging children to sand pits and throwing them in alive, throwing candies in after them as they died. By the end of Purim 5,000 Jews were murdered in Minsk. Jews all over Europe were tortured, murdered or deported that day included those from Krosniewice, Baranowicze, Lvov and Zdunska Wola; At Janowska, eight laborers were ordered to stand in a barrel of water by Gestapo chief Dibauer, because «they didn’t look too clean.» They all froze to death by the next day as the ice hardened around their feet
1942 — (13 Adar-1 5702) Shoah. In the village of Yuzvin (now Nekrasovo in the Vinnitsa region), 97 Jews were shot. Likely on the same day, in the village of Munich (now Gradovka in the Mostovsky district of the Odessa region), a «self-defense» squad shot 500 Jews from Odessa
1943 — ((16th of Adar-1, 5703) Over 2,500 Jews in Salonica are crammed into 593 rooms in the Baron de Hirsh Ghetto. The ghetto was surrounded with high wooden fences, topped with barbed wire. Signs in German, Greek and Ladino warned Jews not to leave, under penalty of death
1943 — (25 Adar-1 5703) Shoah. The Bulgarian government approved agreement No. 127 for the deportation of 20,000 Jews beyond the borders of Bulgaria. Thanks to the efforts of Vice President of Parliament Dimitru Peshev, the deportation, which was scheduled for March 9, was postponed (and later quietly canceled): in the cities of Kyustendil and Dupnitsa, the message arrived around 8 PM, while cities like Plovdiv, Pazardzhik, Samokov, Shumen, and others only received it the next day, on March 10, when Jews had already been forcibly gathered, and the trains were standing steamy and ready for departure
1945 — (17th of Adar, 5705) Haaretz published the following description of kidnapping Yaakov Tavin during the “Hunting Season.” “Passersby in Dizengoff and Yirmiyahu streets were greatly struck…by the kidnapping of a young man in the street. The kidnapping occurred at 11 a.m. and was witnessed by a large number of people. A large taxi halted at the corner of Dizengoff and Yirmiyahu streets, and several men emerged, one of them dressed in police uniform. They approached the young man, who was standing on the pavement holding a package. Shouting ‘Thief!’, they attacked him and began to hit him. The crowd thought that he was in fact a thief, and several of them joined the attackers and helped them to push the young man into the taxi. He struggled with them and shouted in Yiddish and in Hebrew: ‘Jews, help me! Why do you let them hit a Jew?’ He was thrown into the car, which swiftly drove away
1947 — (10th of Adar, 5707) In Tel Aviv, a radio announcement by the Irgun was heard in which the Jewish organization took responsibility for yesterday’s attack on a British officers’ club in Jerusalem yesterday. The Irgun said the attack was in retaliation for British attacks in Haifa on Friday, February 28. In response to the latest wave of violence, the British imposed martial law throughout Palestine. At 4 A.M. British troops occupied Petah Tikav Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv as well as other coastal communities while the government in Jerusalem imposed additional restrictions on Mea Sharim.
1950 — (13th of Adar, 5710) Israel Railways began regular passenger service today from Tel Aviv North Railway Station, via the Eastern Railway and Rosh HaAyin, to Jerusalem; A bill was introduced in the Iraqi parliament allowing the Jews of Iraq to immigrate to Israel. Introduction of the bill required a large cash payment by the Israeli representatives. The “Jews could leave provided they left behind all gold, jewelry and valuables and provided that they also gave up their Iraqi citizenship.”
1982 — (7 Adar-1 5742) The Knesset faction «Tkhiya» brought a vote of no confidence against the Israeli government, demanding an immediate halt to the withdrawal from Yamita.
1984 — (28 Adar-1 5744) A factory for the production of fireproof fibers, replacing harmful asbestos, opened in Kibbutz Afikim
2002 — (18th of Adar, 5762) Eleven Israelis were killed in a Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox neighborhood
2006 — (2 Adar-1 5766) The telephone company «Bezeq» received permission from the Ministry of Communications to introduce the national telephone code 076. This permission allowed Bezeq to provide subscribers with numbers that did not indicate the region they were in, and accordingly, not charge for long-distance calls. Previously, the company had six regional codes: Jerusalem — 02; Tel Aviv-Jaffa — 03; Haifa, Akko — 04; Galilee, Golan Heights, Nazareth — 06; the coast south of Tel Aviv, Negev desert, and Eilat — 08; the coast north of Tel Aviv — 09. Under this system, a call from one region to another was considered long-distance and incurred an additional charge.
2008 — (25 Adar-1 5768) The Israel Defense Forces’ operation in Gaza, called «Hot Winter,» lasted three days. Two battalions from the «Givati» Brigade, special forces, sappers, and the «Saar» tank battalion participated in the operation. Two Israeli soldiers were killed, and eight were wounded.
2009 — (6 Adar-1 5769) At night in the Transnistrian city of Bender, a synagogue was desecrated. Commenting on the incident, the leader of the Jewish community stated that «this was done to evict us from here.»
2011 — (26th of Adar-1, 5771) Pope Benedict XVI reiterated that the Jewish people are not responsible for Jesus’ death in a new book released today
2014 — (30 Adar-1 5774) In Jerusalem, at 4 PM, a mass prayer began among ultra-Orthodox Jews in protest against the conscription law. The number of participants in demonstrations that day in the capital reached 400,000 people.
2020 — (6 Adar-1 5780) The third consecutive elections for the 23rd Knesset: Likud — 36, Kahol Lavan — 33, the Joint List — 15, Shas — 9, Yahadut HaTorah — 7…
People
1336 — (10th of Adar I, 5096) Physician and astronomer Joseph Sason, a member of a prominent Iberian Jewish family passed away today in Toledo
1640 — (20th of Adar) Rabbi Joel Sirkes, author of Bayit Hadash passed away today
1814 — (10 Adar-1 5574) Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim, a poet and author of a commentary on the liturgical hymn «Clay in the Hands of the Creator,» died at the age of 74. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1740.
1858 — (16 Adar-1 5618) Samuel Antermaier was born in Lynchburg, USA — a public figure and philanthropist who participated in organizations promoting the economic development of Jewish settlements in Palestine. He was the president of the Zionist agency «Keren Hayesod.» He died on March 16, 1940
1859 — (N.S) (26th of Adar-1, 5619) In Russia, Menachem-Nukhem Rabinovich, a “rich merchant” who lost it all and his wife Chaye-Esther gave birth to Solomon Rabinowitz who became famous under the penname of Sholem Aleichem ( (Editor’s note: As with many Russians of his periods, Sholom Aleichim has two birthdates on the secular calendar – one on the Julian calendar and one on the Gregorian calendar.)
1870 — H. Gershuni was born (or March 3), one of the founders of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, leader of the Combat Organization of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party. He died on March 29, 1908.
1874 — Karl Schlechter was born — one of the strongest chess players of the early 20th century. He died on December 27, 1918.
1876 — Pope Pius XII was born — he was Pope from 1939. Hitler said about him that he was the only person who always spoke against him. After the occupation of Rome by the Germans, he opened the Vatican to Jewish refugees. He died on October 9, 1958
1893 — (14th of Adar, 5653) Birthdate of Eliyahu Golomb the native of Russia who made Aliyah in 1909 and organized the Haganah during the Mandate
1897 — Gertrude Levinstein was born in Leipzig — an Israeli dancer. She was a laureate of the Israel Prize in 1981 in the field of culture and dance. She died on March 27, 1987.
1900 — A. Labas was born — an artist, representative of expressionism. He died on August 30, 1983.
1900 — Kurt Weill was born — a German composer and conductor. He died on April 3, 1950.
1902 — (23 Adar-1 5662) Morris Berg was born — a well-known baseball player and scout in America, participant in World War II. He died on May 29, 1972
1925 — E. P. Geller was born — a grandmaster, one of the best chess players in the world. He died on November 17, 1998
1938 — (29th of Adar-1, 5698) The Palestine Post reported that An Emek settler, Abraham Goldschlager, 38, was murdered by Arab terrorists near Mishmar Ha¹emek. Tirat Zvi came under heavy Arab fire
1951 — (24th of Adar I, 5711) Yakov Gilyarievich Etinger, “one of the physicians accused in the ‘Doctor’s Plot’” died today in prisons as result of the brutal interrogations he was forced to endure
1980 — (14th of Adar, 5740) Yigal Allon’s funeral took place today at Kibbutz Ginosar on the shore of Lake Kinneret which had been his home for almost fifty years
2010 — (16th of Adar, 5770) Amos Oz said today that the Khoury family of East Jerusalem had funded the translation of A Tale of Love and Darkness, his best-selling autobiography to promote coexistence
2017 — (4 Adar-1 5777) David Rubinger, one of Israel’s most famous photographers, died at the age of 92. He left behind about half a million photographs, creating a chronicle of the formation of the Jewish state.
2024 — (22 Adar-1 5784) War with Gaza. Day one hundred forty-eight. Throughout the sector, the IDF continued to methodically strike objects of Hamas, destroying militants and weapons depots. Reserve Sergeant Denis Ekimov, 33, from Be’er Sheva, was killed in battle. At 7 PM, kibbutz Be’eri and the settlement of Hatzarim were shelled from Gaza