History events
-143 — (23 Iyar 3618 BCE) The entry of Simon Hasmonean’s (Maccabean) forces into the fortress of Akra. Akra was the last fortress in the land of Judea that held a Syrian garrison. The capture of Akra signified the end of the 27-year struggle of the Jewish people for their independence against the Syrians. These wars are referred to as the Hasmonean Wars (Sh. Dubnov «A Brief History of the Jews»)
1322 — (6 Sivan 5082) In Rome, by order of Pope John XII, public burning of Jewish religious books. This act was followed by anti-Jewish riots, the father-in-law of the poet and scholar Emmanuel of Rome was killed, and Jews were expelled from cities in Italy, particularly from Milan
1420 — (10th of Sivan, 5180) All the Jews of Austria seized
1510 — (14 Sivan 5270) Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, suspended the decree of November 12 regarding the confiscation of Jewish sacred books. This was due to the efforts of Hebraist and scholar J. Reuchlin, who opposed the burning of Jewish books. The author of a grammar and dictionary of ancient Hebrew, he vigorously defended the writings he revered, pointing out the importance of Jewish texts for the development of human thought and Christianity itself
1637 — (10th of Sivan, 5397) Seven Jews, including Rabbi Abraham ben Isaac, were murdered today in Cracow
1903 — (26 Iyar 5663) In order to improve the «moral, intellectual, and economic level of Jews living in Eastern Europe and Asia,» the Union for the Assistance of German Jews was founded in Germany, becoming one of the largest Jewish philanthropic organizations
1929 — (13th of Iyar, 5689) In Palestine, the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda and Hapoel HaTzair, the two major labor parties sign an agreement that will merge the two parties into one. The merger is slated to take place on July 25.
1930 — (25 Iyar 5690) In Tel Aviv, about fifty Jews were injured, twenty of them seriously, during clashes with the police during a general strike. The strike was organized in protest against government restrictions on immigration
1939 — (5th of Sivan, 5699) In Palestine, on the eve of the Shavuot holiday, seven new settlements are established simultaneously.
1939 — (5 Sivan 5699) Using the «Fence and Tower» method, six new settlements were established in Samaria, Galilee, and along the shores of Haifa Bay.
1939 — (5 Sivan 5699) An English policeman was killed in Jerusalem. This was the response of the Etzel organization to the «White Paper.»
1942 — (7 Sivan 5702) The Holocaust. Several hundred Jews were shot in Ivano-Frankivsk
1947 — (4th of Sivan, 5707) The British intercepted a three-masted Italian schooner today off the shore of Palestine containing 1,457 Jews who were trying to enter the country. The Jews, most of whom were Polish, Russian or Hungarian, had been on the ship for over two weeks. They had named the vessel Mordei Hagetaoth (Ghetto Fighters) and placed a sign on the deck, written in English proclaiming “From the ruins of the ghetto to our own country – our only refuge – Open the gates
1948 — (14th of Iyar, 5708) The only advance of the Arab Legion beyond the Old City walls into «Jewish Jerusalem» was halted in front of Notre Dame. The commander of the Arab Legion, Sir John Bagot Glubb (Glubb Pasha), considered that battle to be the worst defeat suffered by the legion throughout the war.
1948 — (14th of Iyar, 5708) Israeli forces take control of Ramat Rahel
1948 — (14th of Iyar, 5708) The settlement of Allonei Abba was established by Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia, Romania and Germany
1948 — (14th of Iyar, 5708) Egyptian forces began its attack on the Jewish settlement of Negba with an artillery barrage. The Egyptian force consisted of 2,000 well-armed troops as well as support from the Egyptians Air Force. The Jewish force at Negba consisted of 70 soldiers from the Haganah and 75 members of the settlement. They lacked artillery, air cover and pretty much anything else that a modern might need. Negba had to be held to keep the Egyptians from reaching Tel Aviv. The fight would last for nine days
1960 — (26th of Iyar, 5720) Prime Minister David Ben Gurion announces in the Knesset that Adolf Eichmann, an Nazi SS officer, was abducted from Buenos Aires, Argentina, by Israeli agents and flown to Israel to stand trial for crimes against the Jewish people
1967 — (13 Iyar 5727) A sharp statement from the USA and President Johnson to Egypt regarding the closure of the Straits of Tiran. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia declared the readiness of his armed forces to repel Israeli aggression.
1967 — (13 Iyar 5727) The Israeli government urgently decided to send Abba Eban on a tour of Western capitals to seek assistance.
1967 — (13 Iyar 5727) Mobilization in Israel is in full swing. School activities are reduced, all buses are directed for military use, bomb shelters are being equipped, trenches are being dug, and realizing that the government will need money, thousands of citizens have paid their taxes in advance; a flood of donations, including jewelry and wedding rings, has poured into the Ministry of Defense
1979 — (26th of Iyar, 5739) Three people were killed and thirteen more were injured when a bomb was detonated at a bus stop in Petach Tikva
2002 — (12 Sivan 5762) An unsuccessful attempt by Arabs to carry out a terrorist attack on a fuel depot near Herzliya. The charge detonated when the fuel truck was away from the tanks
2003 — (21 Iyar 5763) Terrorist attack. In the settlement of Netzarim (Gaza Strip), a passenger bus exploded on a mine. Several were injured.
2012 — (2 Sivan 5772) Work was completed on doubling the railway tracks between the Lod — Kiryat Gat — Be’er Sheva stations as part of the «To Be’er Sheva in 50 Minutes» project
2013 — (14th of Sivan, 5773) A sketched map of Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert’s land-for-peace offer to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in 2008 — hurriedly drawn up by Abbas after a meeting with Olmert that December, and made public for the first time today — suggests that Israel was prepared to withdraw to borders very similar to the pre-1967 lines and swap areas of northern and southern Israel in return for maintaining the larger settlement blocs
People
1572 — (18 Iyar 5332) On Lag B’Omer Moses Isserles, also known as the Rama passed away Born sometime between 1520 and 1525, he was the son of Israel Isserles, “ a wealthy leader of the Cracow community who, in 1553, received royal dispensation to build a synagogue in memory of his wife which is known as the Ream Synagogue.” Moses Isserles served as Rosh (Head of the) Yeshiva in Krakow. His main work was called Mappah Hashulchan («The Tablecloth») which adapted Caro’s Shulchan Aruch to the needs and customs of Ashkenazi Jewry, It was called the “The Tablecloth” because it “covered” the Shulchan Aruch which is translated as “the prepared table.” In other words he covered Caro’s Sephardic Table with an Ashkenazic Tablecloth. An earlier work, Darke Moshe Hakatzar (The Ways of Moses Abridged) was written in response to Caro’s comprehensive book on Jewish law called Beit Yoseph. He was known as well for the almost 100 Responsa he published. Isserles tried to strengthen the stature of many customs, elevating them almost to the level of Halachah (Jewish Law). On the other hand he was very lenient when it came to cases of stress or financial loss
1794 — (23 Iyar 5554) Isaac Mosheles was born — a Czech virtuoso pianist, conductor, composer, and educator. He died on March 10, 1870.
1873 — (26th of Iyar, 5633) Birthdate of Rabbi Leo Baeck. He passed away in 1956
1874 — (7 Sivan 5634) Ephraim Moshe Lilien was born — a graphic artist. He was one of the founders of the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem in 1906 (along with B. Schatz), where he taught for about a year. He died on July 18, 1925.
1886 — (18 Iyar 5646) David Remez was born — an Israeli statesman and public figure. He was one of the founders of Mapai and a leader of the Histadrut, the first Minister of Transport, and at the time of his death, he held the position of Minister of Education. He died on May 19, 1951.
1908 — Max Abramowitz was born — an architect. He died on September 12, 2004.
1910 — Artie Shaw was born — an American jazz musician. He died on December 30, 2004.
1919 — (23 Iyar 5669) Abraham Rafael Drori was born — an Israeli statesman and public figure. He was one of the founders of the Herut movement. He died on August 20, 1964.
1921 — G. Nathanson was born — a film director. He died on December 17, 2017.
1921 — G. Chukhrai was born — a film director. He died on October 29, 2001.
1925 — Joshua Lederberg was born — an American geneticist, Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine in 1958. He died on February 2, 2008
1948 — (14th of Iyar, 5708) Rabbi Yitzchak Avigdor Orenstein, the Western Wall’s first rabbi and his wife were killed today during the shelling of Jerusalem by the Jordanian forces trying to seize the entire city for its King
1970 — (17 Iyar 5730) Yigal Amir was born — the assassin of Yitzhak Rabin
1990 — (28th of Iyar, 5750) Eusébio da Silva Ferreira — considered by many to be one of the greatest soccer players of all time — took a short trip to the Jewish section of Vienna’s central cemetery to pray by the grave of the late Béla Guttmann, a Hungarian Jew and soccer legend, buried there in 1981