History events
1190 — (20th of Adar, 4950) During the Lenten Fair, Crusaders filled “with passion for crusade” and jealousy over the supposed wealth of the Jews, slaughtered them at Stamford, England
1236 — (21st of Adar, 4996) The Jews of Narbonne began celebrating the Purim of Narbonne after Don Aymeric, the governor, intervened to protect the Jews from marauding Christians who had already carried off the library of Reb Meir ben Isaac as they made their riotous way through the Jewish quarter
1822 — (14st of Adar, 5582) Turkish soldiers killed 60 Jews in Bucharest
1849 — (13st of Adar, 5609) The Emperor Franz Joseph “promulgated his own constitution which granted equal civic and political rights to all citizens, regardless of religious confession” as a result of which “the Jews were emancipated by imperial fiat and not by the popularly elected Reichstag.”
1851 — (3st of Adar, 5611) A poll tax levied on Russo-Polish Jews entering Austrian Galicia was discontinued
1912 — (18th of Adar, 5672) Hadassah was founded by Henrietta Szold. “At a meeting at Temple Emanu-El in New York City, Henrietta Szold, a noted scholar, teacher, journalist, editor, social worker and pioneer Zionist, convinced the Daughters of Zion study circle to expand its purpose and embrace “practical Zionism,” proactive work to help meet the health needs of Palestine’s people. Because the meeting was held around the time of Purim, the women called themselves “The Hadassah chapter of the Daughters of Zion,” adopting the Hebrew name of Queen Esther. Hadassah also means “myrtle,” a hardy Levantine plant with agricultural and biblical significance. Henrietta Szold became the first president
1918 — (23th of Adar, 5678) The Palestine Fund Restoration Commission announced to today that “plans have been completed for the establishment of a great Jewish university in Jerusalem” and “that one of the first duties of the commission, which is going to Palestine under the auspices of the fund, would be the founding of this university” on the site which has already been chosen and acquired
1918 — (23 Adar I, 5678) (or 8 March) The first issue of the Jewish Soviet newspaper Varhayt was published in Petrograd. On 7 August, it was renamed Emes (Der Emes; Yiddish: Truth). The newspaper ceased publication in January 1939
1920 — (17 Adar I, 5680) Arab demonstrations swept cities across the Land of Israel under the slogans “Down with the British!” and “Slaughter the Jews!”. These were a reaction to news that the Entente powers had endorsed the Balfour Declaration
1933 — (9th of Adar, 5693) “The Nazis hoisted their swastika flag over a synagogue at Bochum this morning.”; At Konigsberg, a bomb which was thrown into the local synagogue “exploded near the ark, setting fire to the curtain”
1939 — (16 Adar I, 5699) Three hundred and eighty immigrants—mostly elderly people and children—safely reached the shores of Eretz Israel from the port of Sušak in Yugoslavia. They had set sail on the old, slow passenger ship Colorado, then transferred at sea to the faster vessel Atrato, which Yugoslav authorities had forbidden to carry passengers because it was not a passenger ship. This was one of the illegal Aliyah operations organized by Mossad LeAliyah Bet
1940 — (18th of Adar-1, 5700) As Jews continued to protest against the newly enacted British laws limiting purchase of land in Palestine by Jews, the Chief Rabbis and leaders of the Vaad Leumi led a protest demonstration through the streets of Jerusalem while other Jews took part in a work stoppage in Haifa. In reaction to the protest in Jerusalem, the British imposed an over-night curfew on the Jewish quarter of the City of David
1942 — (18 Adar I, 5702) Shoah. In the villages of Petrivka and Raidolina (Veselinovsky District), self‑defence units shot 95 and 270 Jews from Odessa, respectively
1944 — (12th of Adar-1) At Birkenau, 3,860 Jews who had been living in «family quarters», were sent to the gas chambers. Five days earlier, in their special «family quarters», they were shown off to Red Cross representatives (who were not allowed to see the rest of the camp.)
1947 — (15th of Ada-1r, 5707) As the British continued their efforts to pacify Palestine, 5,000 troops and policemen surrounded Rehoveth, Nathanya and Hadera and began searching the communities for “terrorists” and weapons. The raid netted thirty-two detainees and a small cache of arms
1949 — (6th of Adar-1, 5709) During Operation Uvda, “Golani forces conquered the village Ein Harouf; “the Alexandroni Brigade moved from Beersheba through Mamshit towards Sodom and then made an amphibious landing near Ein Gedi through the Dead Sea.”; The IDF established a based Ayn Husb at the junction of the Beersheba-Sodom and Sodom-Eilat tracks
1960 — (8 Adar I, 5720) Architect Dov Karmi began work on planning the Knesset building.
1978 — (28 Adar I, 5738) An open letter from 300 reserve military personnel to Prime Minister Menachem Begin marked the beginning of the Shalom Akhshav movement
1979 — (8th of Adar-1, 5739) Twelve people were injured when a bus was detonated on a bus at the Plaza hotel, while nobody was injured when a second bomb was detonated on another bus in Tel Aviv
1988 — (18 Adar I, 5748) Terrorist attack. Arabs hijacked a bus carrying workers from the Dimona nuclear facility. During the rescue operation, three hostages were killed and the terrorists were eliminated.
2001 — (12 Adar I, 5761) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon formed a National Unity Government. Shimon Peres (from the Labour Party) became Foreign Minister, and Binyamin Ben‑Eliezer became Defence Minister
2003 — (3rd of Adar II, 5763) Two Israelis were killed and five were wounded when armed terrorists infiltrated the community of Kiryat Arba and attacked during Shabbat. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack
2007 — (17th of Adar-1, 5767) The Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee decided to move the national archive of Israel from Jerusalem to Arad
2024 — (27 Adar I, 5784) Gaza War, Day 153. The war evolved into an anti‑terrorist operation. IDF ground forces and the Air Force targeted isolated terrorists spotted by observers and demolished suspicious buildings. A rocket and mortar attack warning sounded in Sderot and the kibbutzim Ibib and Nir Am. Three rockets were launched toward the city: one landed in an empty lot within the city limits, the other two outside the city
2025 — (7 Adar I, 5785) The Population and Immigration Authority, after analysing names given to newborns from the founding of the State of Israel until early 2025, found that the most common male name was Joseph and the most common female name was Sarah. The top male names after Joseph were David, Muhammad, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, and—gaining particular popularity in recent years—Michael, Daniel, and Alexander. Among female names, following Sarah, were Rachel, Miriam, Esther, Hannah, Rebecca, Yael, Michal, Tamar, and Leah.
2025 — (7 Adar I, 5785) Keren Kayemet le‑Israel (Jewish National Fund) opened a new 20‑kilometre cycling trail in the Yad Mordechai Forest
People
1361 — (30th of Adar) Rabbi Simeon ben Zemah Duran, author of Sefer ha-Rashbaz passed away
1612 — (13th of Adar II, 5372) Mordecai ben Avraham Yoffe, the son of Abraham ben Joseph passed away at Prague. Born in 1530, he was the Rosh Yeshiva in Prague and author of “Levush Malkhut, a ten-volume codification of Jewish law that particularly stressed the customs of the Jews of Eastern Europe
1699 — (16 Adar II, 5459) Antonio Núñez Ribeiro Sanches, court physician to Empress Elizabeth, a descendant of marranos who was registered as Catholic, a talented doctor and scholar, was born. He died on 24 October 1782
1809 — (19th of Adar, 5569) Birthdate of Meïr Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Weiser the Russian rabbi known by the acronym Malbim the opponent of Reform whose literary works included a commentary on “Esther” published in 1845
1825 — (17 Adar I, 5585) Alfred Edersheim, writer and biblical scholar, who converted to Christianity in his youth, was born. He is known for his book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. He died on 16 March 1889.
1832 — Adolf Neubauer, assistant librarian at the Bodleian Library in Oxford and publisher of the exemplary collection of medieval Jewish chronicles Mediaeval Jewish Chronicles and Chronological Notes, was born in Hungary. He died on 6 April 1907
1860 — (13th of Adar, 5620) Joseph Almanzi, bibliophile and poet, died
1884 — (10 Adar I, 5644) Shlomo Kaplansky, engineer, educator, and one of the ideologists and founders of the Labour Zionist movement, was born in Białystok. He died on 7 December 1950 in Haifa.
1900 — (6 Adar II, 5660) Immanuel Ringelblum, historian and public figure, creator of the archive of historical testimonies about the Warsaw Ghetto and chronicler of its fate, was born. He was executed on 7 March 1944 along with his wife and young son.
1959 — Zvi Nadav, one of the founders of the State and a public and state figure in Israel, died at the age of 67.
2002 — (23 Adar I, 5762) Sergeant E. Korol of the Israel Defense Forces was killed in the Tulkarm refugee camp