History events
1487 — (4th of Nisan, 5247) In Naples, Joseph Günzenhäuser printed “Psalms” with a commentary by Kimhi
1537 — (16th of Nisan, 5297) King Sigismund I of Poland issued a decree granting a monopoly of importation and publication of Hebrew books to the Helitz brothers who had established the first Hebrew printing press in Poland. The Jews resisted the edit since the Helitz brothers had converted to Christianity
1882 — (8th of Nisan, 5642) A pogrom begins in the largely Jewish town of Balta, in Podolia, Russia
1891 — (18th of Adar II, 5661) Jews expelled from Moscow by order of the governor-general
1917 — (5th of Nisan, 5677) As the British forces advanced in Palestine, the Jews of Tel Aviv and Jaffa were expelled by the Turks. The Turks were sure that the Jews were secret (and not so secret) allies of the British Army
1928 — (7th of Nisan, 5688) The Presidium of the General Executive Committee of the USSR passed the decree «On the attaching for Komzet of free territory near the Amur River in the Far East for settlement of the working Jews.» The decree meant «a possibility of establishment of a Jewish administrative territorial unit on the territory of the called region
1932 — (20th of Adar II, 5692) The first Maccabiah athletic games took place in Tel Aviv with representatives from 14 countries
1942 — (10th of Nisan, 5702) The first transport of French Jews to Auschwitz began
1944 — (4th of Nisan, 5704) The Irgun issued a statement today claiming credit for the attacks on police stations in Haifa, Jerusalem and Haifa. It also claimed that it had called ahead and left warnings about the impending attacks. The Irgun denied responsibility for shootings in Tel Aviv and blamed those on the Stern Gang
1948 — (17th of Adar, 5709) “Twenty-five Jews were killed and twenty-four were wounded in a thirty-hour fight” when 3,000 Arabs ambushed their convoy “south of Bethlehem in the Solomon’s Pools area”;
This afternoon “250 Arabs” armed “with two-inch mortars and light machine guns…ambushed a convoy of five truck and an armored car killing 45 Jews “at Kabriri, a village each of Nahariya
1949 — (27th of Adar II, 5708) James Grover McDonald, the first United States Ambassador to Israel presented his credentials today
1975 — (16th of Nisan, 5735) Two bus bombing in Jerusalem resulted in 13 casualties
2002 — (15th of Nisan, 5762) “Rachel and David Gavish, 50, their son Avraham Gavish, 20, and Rachel’s father Yitzhak Kanner, 83, were killed when a terrorist infiltrated the community of Elon Moreh in Samaria, entered their home and opened fire on its inhabitants. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.”
People
1038 — (20th of Nisan, 4798) Ravi Hai Gaon passed away
1737 — (7th of Nisan, 5497) Joseph Suess Openheimer (Jud Suess), former confidential adviser to Karl Alexander, duke of Wuerttemgerg, was interrogated for the first time by a judicial examiner preparing an indictment on charges of high treason, violation of the constitution, and oppression of religion.” Although the charges were totally bogus, he would be convicted and hung
1797 — (1st of Nisan, 5557) Rabbi Saul Shiskes of Vilna, author of Shevil ha-Yashar passed away
1832 — (26th of Adar II, 5592) Lazarus Bendavid, German philosopher and reformer, died
1849 — (5th of Adar II, 5609) James Darmesteter, French Orientalist, born
1891 — (18th of Adar II, 5651) Edward Lawrence Levy of England won the first World Weightlifting Championship which had been organized by the International Weightlifting Federation
1908 — (25th of Adar II, 5668) Birthdate of Isaak Kikoin the physicist who won both the Stalin and Lenin prizes and who played a key role in the development of the Soviet atomic program
1940 — (18th of Adar, 5700) Vintner and violinist Shmuel Cohen, an early settler of Rish Lezion and the husband of Minya Papirmeister who created Israel’s national anthem Hatikvah by providing a musical voice for the words of Naftali Herz passed away today
1970 — (20th of Adar II, 5730) Natan Alterman “an Israeli poet, playwright, journalist, and translator who — though never holding any elected office — was highly influential in Socialist Zionist politics, both before and after the formation of the state of Israel” passed away
1985 — (6th of Nisan, 5745): Marc Chagall passed away