May 16

History events
1165 — (3th of Sivan, 4925) Maimonides and his family arrived at Acre, Palestine. Having been forced to leave Spain because he would not convert to Islam, Maimonides and his family settled in Fez, Morocco. His work with Jews who had been forced to convert to Islam attracted attention of the local authorities and the family moved on to Palestine. Do to the poverty of the land and the uncertain conditions there, Maimonides finally settled in Egypt where he served both as a physician and leader of the Jewish Community.
1477 — (4th of Sivan, 5237) Abraham dei Tintori produced the first printed edition of the book of Job with a commentary by Levi ben Gerson was published today in Ferrara, Italy
1487 — (23th of Iyar, 5247) Joseph Solomon Sonciino produced the first printed edition of Seder Tahanunim at Soncino, Italy
1754 — (24th of Iyar, 5514) Fire ravaged the Ghetto in Prague
1796 — (8th of Iyar, 5556) Emancipation of the Jews of Holland
1854 — (18th of Iyar, 5614) According to an article published today the American Society for Meliorating the Condition of the Jews reported that there are 17 synagogues in New York City that show a membership totaling 25,000. The last census shows that there are 46,000 Jews in the entire United States. The society believes that the census figure is a case of underreporting because it only records people as being Jewish if they self-report. “It is a well-known fact that one-half or more of the Jews in this country call themselves Frenchman, German, Poles, Hungarians and Englishman and never make themselves known as Jews in governmental connections.”
1919 — (16th of Iyar, 5679) The first Estonian Congress of Jewish congregations which had been convened on May 11 to discuss the new circumstances Jewish life was confronting came to a close today.
1927 — (14th of Iyar, 5687) It was reported today that four thousand six hundred and twenty-eight persons are now living in 41 settlements in Palestine created by the Keren Hayesod, according to the latest figures given out by the Department of Agricultural Colonization of the Palestine Zionist Executive. Sixty-five per cent of this population are workers, and the remainder children
1936 — (24th of Iyar, 5696) A bomb thrown by Arabs kills three Jews at the Edison cinema in Jerusalem. The Haganah demands permission to retaliate, but Ben Gurion refuses. The Edison Cinema was not just a movie theatre. It was a “citadel of secular European culture in Jerusalem. It opened in 1932 with a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” sung in Hebrew. The Edison was the third largest cinema in the city and popular sport for British soldiers and officials
1938 — (15th of Iyar, 5698) After two and half weeks of touring the country, Britain’s Palestine Partition Commission began its first official session. Because of the continued Arab violence, the meeting was held “in camera under heavy guard.’ While Arab leaders continued to boycott the commission, Jewish leaders Chaim Weizmann, David Ben Gurion, Moshe Shertok and Dr. Bernard Joseph met with the British to discuss possible implementation of partition proposals
1943 — (11th of Iyar, 5703) The famous Tolmatsky Synagogue of Warsaw was dynamited by order of General Jurgen Stroop. It marked the last German «major operation» in the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto uprising
1944 — (23th of Iyar, 5704) The first of more than 180,000 Hungarian Jews reached Auschwitz
1948 — (7th of Iyar, 5708) Israel issued its first postage stamps
1948 — (7th of Iyar, 5708) Tonight, “after driving away the enemy” “company of the third battalion of the Yiftach Brigade occupied the Tegart fort called Metzudat Koach by the Israelis which overlooked the Hula Valley; Chaim Weizmann was chosen Chairman of the Provisional State Council of Israel which effectively made him the first president of the State of Israel
1948 — (7th of Iyar, 5708) At approximately one o’clock in the morning Syrian artillery began shelling Kibbutz Ein Gev. At dawn, Syrian aircraft attacked the Kinarot valley villages. Later in the day “Syrian aircraft made bombing runs on Masada, Sha’ar HaGolan, Degania Bet and Afikim
1950 — (29th of Iyar, 5710) Out of a large collection of 120 styles of knit fashions brought to this country from Israel, for merchandising, forty were shown this afternoon at the Plaza Hotel to buyers. The presentation, under the auspices of Service for Palestine, Inc., 2 Park Avenue, was its first show to promote Israel-made products in the American market
1966 — (26th of Iyar, 5726) Two people were killed today during a “landmine attack between Sea of Galilee and Almagor.”

People
1617 — (11th of Iyar, 5377) Judah Löb Sarava, the Rabbi at Venice who is quoted in the ritual work «Mashbit Milḥamot,» in connection with a question in regard to the ritual bath” and “translated into Hebrew Saadia’s commentary on Canticles” passed away today
1746 — (26th of Iyar, 5506) Moshe Chaim Luzzatto passed away. Born in 1707, this Italian rabbi known by the Hebrew acronym RaMChal was noted philosopher and student of kabbalah
1775 — (16th of Iyar, 5535) Veitel-Heine Ephraim who served as “Jeweller to the Prussian Court and Mint Mast under the Prussian Kings Frederick William I and Frederick the Great for whom he played a critical role in financing the Seven Years War passed away today
1785 — (7th of Sivan, 5545) Rabbi Chaim Abraham ben Moses Israel of Ancona, author of “Bet Avraham” passed away
1823 — (6th of Sivan, 5583) Heyman Steinthal, philosopher and linguist, born
1845 — (9th of Iyar, 5605) Birthdate of Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov, also known as Eli Metchnikoff. Born in the Ukraine, he was a Russian microbiologist best remembered for his pioneering research into the immune system. Mechnikov received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1908, for his work on phagocytosis. He passed away in Paris in 1916
1984 — (14th of Iyar, 5744) Irwin Shaw passed away at the age of 71
2009 — (22nd of Iyar, 5769) Mordechai Limon, the first commander of the Israel Navy, passed away today at the age of 85