History events
-1567 BCE — (16 Nisan 2194) Jacob and Leah welcomed the birth of their son Levi.
-1313 BCE — (1 Iyar 2448) A miracle occurred with bitter water: at a campsite in Marah, the Almighty showed Moses a tree and commanded him to throw it into the bitter water, and the water became sweet
-835 ВСЕ— (1st of Nisan, 2926) According to some Joash assumed the throne as King of Judah
-356 BCE — (16 Nisan 3405) The villain Haman was hanged
1188 — (28st of Adar II, 4948) Emperor Frederick was convinced (both diplomatically and financially) by Moses bar Joseph Hakohen of Mayence to issue a decree declaring “that anyone who wounds a Jew shall have his arm cut off, he who slays a Jew shall die. This decree succeeded in preventing most of the excesses of the pervious crusades in the third crusade soon to follow
1254 — (9 Nisan 5014) The Czech King, Duke of Austria, Přemysl II Otakar, confirmed an earlier charter issued by Austrian Duke Frederick II, which listed the fundamental laws for the Jews of Austria, and added a clause prohibiting blood libels against the Jews, referencing the relevant papal bulls.
1349 — (9 Nisan 5109) The Emperor of Germany, Charles IV, issued a decree absolving the citizens of Speyer from responsibility for the murder of local Jews on January 22, and declared that all Jewish property now belonged to the city; by the same decree, the property left by the Jewish community was transferred to the citizens of Worms on March 1
1516 — (26th of Nisan, 5276) Today, the government created the Venetian Ghetto which according to some was the oldest ghetto in the world and would survive until the arrival of Napoleon at the end of the 18th century
1559 — (21th of Nisan, 5319) Polish King Sigismund II granted the Jews a charter despite opposition of the local authorities at Przemysl
1629 — Birthdate of Alexis Mikhailovich, the second of the Romanov Czars. He reigned during the period marked by the Chmelnicki Uprising that decimated eastern European Jewry and the appearance of Sabbati Zvi. Considering the fact that we have records of the Czar ordering sharpshooters to protect Jews on their travels, sending Jewish merchants abroad to purchase wine and allowing Jews living in territory he acquired under the Treaty of Andrussev to continue living there as Russian citizens, he is considered to have been “kindly disposed toward the Jews
1632 — (17 Nisan 5392) The authorities of Amsterdam issued a decree stating that Jews could not be members of guilds—organizations of merchants specializing in specific trades
1814 — (8th of Nisan, 5574) The King of Denmark officially allowed Jews to find employment in all professions and makes racial and religious discrimination punishable by law
1848 — (24th of Adar II, 5608) A decree issued today granted civil rights to the Jews of Alessandria, Italy which allowed to serve in the army and hold government jobs
1848 — (24 Adar-2 5608) King Charles Albert signed a decree granting civil rights to all non-Catholics in Piedmont, including Jews
1881 — (28 Adar-2 5641) The Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, Rudolf, visited Jerusalem: «Jerusalem retains its unchanged ancient and austere Jewish character and has nothing in common with the cheerful, colorful cities of Islam.»
1882 — (9 Nisan 5642) Pogrom in Balta. Twelve Jews were killed, 211 were injured, 39 severely. Initially, a self-defense unit consisting of porters, drivers, and craftsmen attempted to take action. It was well organized and repelled the rioters, but the police intervened and dispersed the self-defense group. Twenty-four looters were arrested, along with a significantly larger number of Jews. The former were soon released, while the latter were held for two days
1892 — (1th of Nisan, 5652) The Russian government published the edict that expelled 14,000 Jews from Moscow. Two thirds of Moscow’s Jewry were disposed and violently removed to the Pale of Settlement
1908 — (28 Adar-2 5668) The heirs of Z. Vysotsky donated 100,000 rubles for the construction of the Technion in Haifa
1912 — (11th of Nisan, 5672) By decree of the King of Italy, Jews in Tripoli can now organize as a community
1923 — (12 Nisan 5683) The Palestine Electric Corporation was established
1930 — (29th of Adar, 5690) The first American convention of the promoters and adherents of the Yiddish language, literature and culture opened this evening at the Irving Plaza Hall in New York City. Eight hundred people from the United States and Canada attended the opening session of a convention working to foster Yiddish Culture
1939 — (9th of Nisan, 5699) The Soviet NKVD secret police arrested Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the father of the late Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson for his outspoken efforts against the Communist Party’s efforts to eradicate Jewish learning and practice in the Soviet Union. After more than a year of torture and interrogations in Stalin’s prisons, he was sentenced to exile to the interior of Russia. He died there in 1944. Rabbi Schneerson was a distinguished Kabbalist. Some of his writings have been published under the name Likkutei Levi Yitzchak. Most of it, however, was burned or confiscated by the Soviet authorities and has yet to be returned to the Chabad movement
1941 — (1 Nisan 5701) Shoah. In France, the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs was established, responsible for many anti-Semitic actions during the war. The office was headed by the far-right politician Xavier Vallat.
1942 — (11 Nisan 5702) Shoah. Over 300 Jews from Aleksandrovka (Kirovohrad region) were executed, and in Kolomyia, 55 Jews from the village of Rakovchik (Korshiv district of Ivano-Frankivsk region) were killed
1943 — (22th of Adar, 5703) Shoah. Third and final shipment of Macedonian Jews from Skopje to Treblinka. Of the 7,144 Jews shipped there over three days only about 200 survived the war
1944 — (5th of Nisan, 5704) Tel Aviv was declared off limits to all military personnel today, including those who have family living in the city. The ban was in response to attacks on police stations in Haifa, Jaffa, and Jerusalem for which the Irgun has taken public credit
1945 — (15th of Nisan, 5705) On the first day of Pesach at least 58 Jews were murdered in a forest near the Austrian village of Deutsch Shuetzen, in what would come to be called the Deutsch Shuetzen Massacre
1947 — (8th of Nisan, 5707) “A ship carrying 1,600 Jewish unauthorized refugees was intercepted tonight off the northern coast of Palestine by the Royal Navy.” The ship which was known as the Patria or Moledeth was taken to the harbor at Haifa.
1950 — (11th of Nisan, 5710) The “first contingent of ‘hard core’ cases from the refugee camps in German and Austria arrive in Israel” three days before Pesach. “These unfortunates, the halt, the lame and the blind were brought in by the combined efforts of the international relief organizations, the Jewish Agency for Palestine and the Israeli Government.” Their arrival is an example of David Ben Gurion’s belief that Israel is the home for all Jews regardless of their condition
1954 — (24 Adar-2 5714) A discussion was scheduled in the UN regarding Israel’s complaint against Egypt, which banned the passage through the Suez Canal of all goods both from and to Israel, including non-military shipments (such as food) and even those transported by non-Israeli vessels. The Soviet Union, exercising its veto power, successfully removed the issue from the agend
1956 — (17th of Nisan, 5716) Syria returned 4 Israeli soldiers who had been held captive for fifteen months in return for an the prisoners the Israelis had taken during Operation Olive Leaves; Beersheba was linked to Israel’s railway system
1971 — (3 Nisan 5731) The Israeli government conferred the honorary title of Righteous Among the Nations upon Georg Dukwitz. During the war, he served as the naval attaché at the German embassy in Denmark and warned Danish Jews of the impending deportation three days before it began, which allowed 7,200 people to escape
1977 — (10th of Nisan, 5737) The Jerusalem Post reported that the Egged management threatened to withdraw public transport service to and from Lod due to hooliganism, personal attacks, theft and other difficult conditions at the Lod Central Bus Station
2002 — (16 Nisan 5762) Operation «Defensive Shield» commenced; a terrorist attack occurred at a Jerusalem supermarket: a female suicide bomber detonated herself—2 killed, 28 injured. Senior Lieutenant B. Pomerantz of the «Sayeret Egoz» unit of the Israel Defense Forces was killed in Ramallah near the Mukata complex.
2012 — (6 Nisan 5772) The Israeli Ministry of Transportation and the «Metropoliten» company introduced new buses of the Volvo brand (assembled by the «Merkavim» company) with comfortable seats equipped with the latest technology: radio, wireless internet, mobile phone charging, and various reading materials (newspapers and books). The buses were assigned to the rapid route No. 249 operated by «Metropoliten» from Hod Hasharon to Tel Aviv. The frequency during peak hours was every 20-30 minutes, five days a week.
2022 — (26 Adar-2 5782) A terrorist attack occurred in Bnei Brak. An Arab opened fire on passersby with a rifle, killing a police officer who engaged him in a shootout, two religious Jews, and two Ukrainian builders. He was shot by the police.
2023 — (7 Nisan 5783) A satellite, Ofek-13, was launched into space from a site in central Israel using a Shavit rocket. Israel is one of 13 countries capable of launching its own satellites and the only one forced to do so as the planet moves westward
People
1244 — (11th of Nisan, 5004) Rabbi Meir Abulafia Halevi (Ramah), noted Talmudist, masorete, and poet passed away today at Toledo, Spain at the age of 74
1575 — (18 Nisan 5335) Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, a rabbi and author of the foundational code of halachic laws, the Shulchan Aruch, died
1614 — (29th of Nisan, 5374) Rabbi Joshua Falk ben Alexander Katz of Lemberg author of Sefer Me’irat Einayim, passed away today
1714 — (13th of Nisan) Rabbi David ben Solomon Altaras, author of Kelalei ha-Dikduk passed away
1819 — (3 Nisan 5579) Isaac Mayer Wise, a rabbi of the Reform movement and a public figure, was born in Bohemia. He passed away on March 26, 1900.
1843 — (27 Adar-2 5603) Frances Jacobs was born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. A prominent social figure in the United States, she, along with her husband Abraham Jacobs and brother Benjamin Vaseybarth, were «pioneers» of Colorado, among the first residents of Denver. Frances Jacobs was the organizer of the first daycare, the Society for Mercy, and the National Jewish Hospital. She died on November 3, 1892
1866 — (22nd of Adar II, 5646) Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch passed away. Born in 1789, Rabbi Menachem Mendel was the grandson of the first Chabad Rebbe and was the third Chabad Lubavitch Rebbe
1937 — (17 Nisan 5697) Janusz Korczak wrote a letter to the Lichtenstein couple in Eretz Yisrael: «… I have decided … to spend the last years of my life in Eretz Yisrael, currently in Jerusalem, where I will learn Hebrew, so that in a year I can move to a kibbutz, the reason being that there, the very last will not spit in the face of the very best just for being Jewish.»
2024 — (19 Adar-2 5784) War with Gaza. Day 175. In battle, Sergeant Alon Kudryashov, 21, from Modiin, was killed. Six fighters were severely wounded. Ten sustained injuries ranging from light to moderate severity