May 20

History events
68 — (3rd of Sivan, 3828) During the Great Revolt, Vespasian captured Jericho and slaughtered the Jewish inhabitants
1092 — (12rd of Sivan, 4852) During the reign of St. Ladislaus the Synod of Szabolcs decreed that Jews in Hungary should not be permitted to have Christian wives or to keep Christian slaves. This decree had been promulgated in the Christian countries of Europe since the fifth century, and St. Ladislaus merely introduced it into Hungary
1671 — (21rd of Sivan, 5431) Frederick William of Prussia permitted 50 Jewish families who had been expelled from Vienna to settle in his dominion
1922 — (22th of Iyar, 5682) “The first Jewish municipal bond issue in history, amount of 80,000 pounds has been authorized by the Palestine Government for the township of Tel-Aviv…The obligations are secured by taxation, the bonds being used at 6 per cent, repayable in twenty years
1925 — (26th of Iyar, 5685) Founding of Davar, the Hebrew language newspaper of the labor movement in Palestine.
1930 — (22th of Iyar, 5690) Sir John Hope-Simpson arrives in Palestine. ….. Upon the recommendation of the Shaw Commission the British authorities conducted an investigation into the possibilities for future immigration to and settlement of Palestine. The investigation was headed by Sir John Hope-Simpson, who spent a relatively short amount of time in Palestine reviewing the situation. Hope-Simpson’s main concern was that there was not sufficient land to support continued immigration. According to his report, Arab farmers were suffering from severe economic difficulties. Many were tenant farmers who owed large amounts of money and lacked the means to ensure successful agricultural endeavors. Others were simply unemployed. The report indicated that the Jewish policy of hiring only Jews was responsible for the deplorable conditions in which the Arabs found themselves. Due to these conditions, Hope-Simpson recommended the cessation of Jewish immigration. Only after new agricultural methods would be introduced in Palestine, would room be made for an additional number of immigrants. In response, Jewish leaders in the Yishuv argued that Hope-Simpson had ignored the capacity for growth in the industrial sector. Stimulating economic growth through increased demand would most likely benefit the Arab economy as well. Hope-Simpson disagreed, seeing the future of Palestine in agriculture, not in industry. Jews also claimed that since they had made a principle of using Jewish labor only, the cessation of immigration would in fact have no effect on Arab unemployment. The Hope-Simpson Report was published in October, 1930. At the same time, the Passfield White Paper was issued, clarifying British intentions in Palestine.”
1940 — (12th of Iyar, 5700) A concentration camp begins functioning at Auschwitz in Poland. Because most of Europe’s Jews live in Poland and Eastern Europe, the six concentration camps called death camps will be established there: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Chelmno, Belzec, Treblinka, Sobibór, and Majdanek
1941 — (23th of Iyar, 5701) In France, more laws were put into place restricting Jewish movements in all aspects of life. Jews are prohibited from engaging in wholesale and retail trade. They cannot own banks, hotels, or restaurants
1941 — (23th of Iyar, 5701) Goering commanded that no Jew would be allowed to emigrate from any occupied territory…»in view of the imminent final solution». This was the first official reference of THE FINAL SOLUTION.
1945 — (8rd of Sivan, 5705) Between today and May 27, four Polish Jews who return to their hometown of Dzialoszyce are murdered by Poles
1947 — (1rd of Sivan, 5707) The Palmach “blew up a coffee house in Fajja, specifically in retaliation for the murder of two Jews in nearby Petah Tikva
1948 — (11th of Iyar, 5708) Jewish fighters scored their first victory over the Syrians at Deganya. At 4:30 in the morning, Syrian troops crossed the Jordan and attacked the Kibbutz with tanks and flamethrowers. By noon the tanks were inside the perimeter of Deganya when two 65 mm. howitzers and additional fighters under the command of Moshe Dyan arrived. When they went into action, the Syrians were so startled that they retreated. One of the Syrian tanks that had penetrated the kibbutz and was destroyed remains to this day at Deganya as a memorial to the bravery of the defenders. What seemed like a miracle was the result of a bold gamble by Yigal Yadin, the man who sent the guns in the first place
1948 — (11th of Iyar, 5708) Operation Balak officially begins with its first flight from a Czech airfield code named ‘Etzion.’ Operation Balak was the name given to secret program for purchasing and shipping arms to the infant Jewish state; The United Nations named Count Folke Bernadotte to serve as mediator between the Jewish and Arab states
1949 — (21th of Iyar, 5709) Today the leader of Umm al-Fahm “signed on oath of allegiance to the State of Israel, which was in the “Little Triangle,” which had been awarded to Israel by the Lausanne Conference of 1949
1985 — (29th of Iyar, 5745) Israel exchanges 1150 Palestinian prisoners for 3 Israeli soldiers

People
1769 — (13th of Iyar) Rabbi Nethanel Weil of Prague, author of “Korban Nethanel” passed away
1806 — (3rd of Sivan, 5566) Talmudist and author Samuel ben Nathan Ha-Levi Loew, who had been born in Bohemia in 1720 and who “presided over a yeshiva at Boskovice, Moravia for almost 60 years” passed away today
1851 — (18th of Iyar, 5611) Birthdate of inventor Emile Berliner. Born in Germany, Berliner came to the United States in 1870. His most famous invention was the flat phonograph record which replaced the cylinder that had been invented by Thomas Edison
1873 — (23th of Iyar, 5633) Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, a tailor from Reno, received patent 139,121 which protected their invention of blue jeans with copper rivets in areas of stress including the pocket corners and the button fly
1874 — (4rd of Sivan, 5634) Levi Strauss marketed blue jeans with copper rivets charging $13.50 per dozen
1889 — (19th of Iyar, 5649) Samuel Alatri, Italian philanthropist, died
1915 — (7rd of Sivan, 5675) In the kibbutz Deganya, Shmuel and Devorah Dayan, Ukrainian Jewish immigrants from Zhashkiv gave birth to Moshe Dayan
1944 — (27th of Iyar, 5704) In Jerusalem, Zev and Esther Vilnay gave birth to Matan Vilnai. Mata joined the IDF where he served with the paratroopers, the Sayeret Matkal and deputy commander of the assault force for the Entebbe Raid. He rose to the rank of Major General and served as Deputy Chief of Staff before retiring to civilian life where he served in the Knesset and as Minister for Home Front Defense
1957 — (19th of Iyar, 5717) One worker was killed when a terrorist “opened fire in the Arava region.”