History events
-797 — (23 Sivan 2963 BCE) King Jeroboam ordered the erection of barriers on the roads to Jerusalem to prevent the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Israel from making pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot
1096 — (5rd of Sivan, 4856) The Jews of Bacharach, Germany, were massacred by the Crusaders
1241 — (18 Sivan 5001) The burghers of Frankfurt am Main twice unsuccessfully attacked the Jewish quarter. The next day, the burghers resumed the attack. Almost all the Jews were killed; a few, by accepting baptism, saved their lives. The burghers looted property, set fire to Jewish homes, and destroyed the synagogue. Emperor Frederick II, the supreme protector of the Jews, who constituted a source of revenue for his treasury, held the citizens of Frankfurt accountable for destroying a solvent Jewish community. However, the matter was forgotten, and soon Jews resettled in the city, apparently in the same quarter where they had lived before 1241. The cause of the citizens’ animosity towards the Jews was a rumor that the Tatars advancing on Germany from the east in 1241 were descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes. The specific pretext for the attack was the desire of one Jew to convert to Christianity, but his relatives dissuaded him from this step
1554 — (28rd of Sivan, 5314) Pope Paul IV issued a bull ordering Jews to surrender all books containing alleged anti-Christian blasphemies. The sweeping terms of the bull covered all rabbinic work relating to the Talmud. In effect, Paul IV nullified a bull issued by Pope X in 1518 which permitted the publication of codes of Jewish law upon the approval of church censors
1686 — (16 Sivan 5446) Jews of New Amsterdam were permitted to openly practice Judaism
1872 — (21th of Iyar, 5632) The inauguration services of the new Mount Sinai Hospital building were held this afternoon
1885 — (5645, 15 Sivan) A fire in Grodno. Hundreds of Jewish homes, six synagogues, and an orphanage were destroyed.
1915 — (16 Sivan 5675) (Old Style) A fire at house No. 1 on Solyansky Proezd in Moscow. The fire destroyed a Judaica library of over 2,000 volumes belonging to the «Society for the Dissemination of Correct Knowledge about Jews and Jewry.» The Society initially aimed to reconcile Russians with Jews by familiarizing the former with the culture, history, and traditions of the latter. However, it turned out that the main consumers of the knowledge and information disseminated by the «Society» were the same Jews, while for others, with rare exceptions, it was a matter of indifference
1938 — (28th of Iyar, 5698) The Palestine Post reported that the Tel Aviv Port celebrated its second anniversary by a swimming meet and a sailing review
1939 — (11 Sivan 5699) A terrorist attack in an Arab cinema in Jerusalem. A bomb planted by the Irgun (ETZEL) exploded. This was one of the organization’s actions in response to Arab attacks on Jews and as a protest against the publication of the White Paper.
1942 — (13 Sivan 5702) The Shoah. A distinguishing mark was introduced for Jews in France.
1942 — (13 Sivan 5702) The Shoah. 680 Jews were executed in Ivanopol (Zhytomyr region), 1350 Jews in Radziwiłłów (Krasnoarmiysk, Rivne region), several hundred Jews in Monastyryshche (Cherkasy region), and 29 Jews in the village of Rin, Ivano-Frankivsk district. The first thousand Jews were sent from Mohyliv-Podilskyi (Vinnytsia region) to a camp in the village of Skazintsy near the city
1942 — (13rd of Sivan, 5702) Vichy France forbids Jews access to all restaurants and cafes, libraries, sports grounds, squares, and other public places.
1948 — (20th of Iyar, 5708) As a result of Jewish forces capturing Acre, Nahariya was reunited with the rest of the Jewish State. Under the terms of the partition, Nahariya had been excluded from what would become the nation of Israel
1948 — (20th of Iyar, 5708) Israeli settlers established Shomrat, a new Kibbutz just north of Acre
1948 — (20th of Iyar, 5708) During the War of Independence, the Israeli Air Force went into action as a combat force for the first time. ….. The force was made up of four Messerschmitts (ME-109’s). The planes had been bought in Czechoslovakia and shipped to Israel by sea. There was no time test the hastily assembled aircraft before sending them into combat. The Israelis did allow themselves the luxury of painting the Star of David on the planes before they took flight. The four planes were sent to attack the Egyptian armored column at Ashdod, which was only twenty miles from Tel Aviv. One of the four planes was flown by Ezer Weizman, the father of the Israeli Air Force and later President of Israel. Following a series of bombing and strafing runs, the Egyptian forces broke off their advance. But as with all “successes” the Israelis paid a heavy price. One of the four planes was shot down reducing the Air Force by 25%. Eddie Cohen, a volunteer from South Africa was the first combat pilot to give his life defending the Jewish state. In one of the minor ironies, the ME-109, the first combat aircraft of the Israeli Air Force, had been the pride of the German Air Force during World War II. The other two pilots were Lou Lenart and Mordechai “Modi” Alon
1948 — (20th of Iyar, 5708) The British halted Jewish immigration from the DP camps on Cyprus to Israel. Under the terms of the UN cease fire agreement then being negotiated, no person of military age was to be allowed to immigrate to Palestine
1948 — (20 Iyar 5708) War of Independence. Egyptian forces, comprising an infantry brigade with artillery and tanks, began advancing north along the coastal plain but were stopped 3 km from Ashdod, near a bridge blown up by sappers of the Givati Brigade. In defensive battles, the Israel Defense Forces used for the first time four Messerschmitts and 65-mm cannons they had just received. Fighting on this line continued for 6 days
1948 — (20th of Iyar, 5708) Lehi, the Irgun and the Palmach were dissolved with most of these groups members joining the IDF
1948 — (20 Iyar 5708) Kibbutz Shomrat was established in the Galilee.
1949 — (1 Sivan 5709) The Jewish State Theater was founded in Iași, Romania. Puppet shows for children were also performed there.
1953 — (15rd of Sivan, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported that two Israeli soldiers were wounded in another confrontation with Jordanians in the Hebron area. A large number of month-old locusts were destroyed in the Negev. The hoppers came from the Sinai Desert where they laid their eggs
1957 — (28th of Iyar, 5717) A tractor driver was killed, and two others wounded, when the vehicle struck a landmine, next to kibbutz Kissufim
1964 — (18rd of Sivan, 5724) A meeting of The Arab League in east Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian situation leads to the formation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization
1972 — (16rd of Sivan, 5732) Morag, the southernmost settlement in Gush Katif was established” today “as a non-religious pioneer Nahal military outpost, and demilitarized when turned over to residential purposes in 1982
1973 — (27 Iyar 5733) The Nahal outpost of Katif was established in Gaza. Settlers actively engaged in agriculture, and within a few months, the surrounding sand dunes were covered with greenhouses for growing vegetables. The civilian settlement established on this site was named Netzer Hazani.
1978 — (22 Iyar 5738) A miniature, video camera-equipped unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, the «Mastiff,» was created for the Israeli Air Force by the Israeli company Tadiran.
1996 — (11 Sivan 5756) The 14th Knesset was elected. B. Netanyahu became Prime Minister of Israel. For the first time in Israel, alongside the Knesset elections, the Prime Minister was directly elected.
1999 — (14 Sivan 5759) The Eurovision final was held in Jerusalem.
2008 — (24 Iyar 5768) The voting to choose the bird that would henceforth become the national symbol of Israel was completed. President Shimon Peres announced at a ceremony that the majority of voters chose the hoopoe.
2008 — (24 Iyar 5768) The basketball club Hapoel Holon, for the first time in its history which began in 1947, became the champion of Israel, defeating the perennial favorite of all tournaments in Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv, 73-72 in the Final Four.
2013 — (20 Sivan 5773) Unknown individuals set fire to several cars in two Arab villages in the Jordan Valley. On the cars, they wrote with spray paint «30 days for Eviatar,» «Greetings from Eviatar,» and «Price tag.» This was a retaliation action for Eviatar Borovsky, a resident of a settlement in Samaria who was killed by an Arab at the Tapuach junction in April 2013
2014 — (29th of Iyar, 5774) The cornerstone for a new Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue, which would replace the centuries old structure that had been deliberately destroyed by Arab armies in 1948, was laid today
2023 — (9 Sivan 5783) Right-wing activists set up structures that would house the Homesh yeshiva. The yeshiva structures were placed on the site where the settlement of Homesh, destroyed as part of Israel’s unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria, stood until 2005. The 25th Knesset passed a law repealing the disengagement in Northern Samaria. Later, the commander of the IDF Central Command signed an order allowing Israelis to be in Homesh.
2024 — (21 Iyar 5784) The war with Gaza. Day two hundred and thirty-six. The IDF took control of the «Philadelphi Corridor,» i.e., the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt; at least 20 Hamas tunnels connecting the Strip to the Sinai Peninsula were discovered on the border.
2025 — (2 Sivan 5785) The government approved the establishment of 22 new settlements in Judea and Samaria
People
1647 — (24th of Iyar, 5407) Poet and translator Moses Belmonte, the eighth child of Jacob Belmont, who works included a Spanish translation of the “Song of Songs” passed away today in Amsterdam
1686 — (16rd of Sivan, 5446) Jews of New Amsterdam were allowed to openly practice their religion
1826 — (22nd of Iyar): Rabbi Judah Leib, author of “Likkutei Maharil” passed away
1861 — (20rd of Sivan, 5621) Lelewel, Polish geographer and friend of Jews, died
1911 — Leah Goldberg, Israeli poetess, was born. She died on January 15, 1970.
1912 — Joshua Bar Joseph, Israeli writer, playwright, critic, and journalist, was born. He died on October 7, 1992.
1921 — Pearl Lang, American ballet dancer, was born in Chicago. She died on February 28, 2009.
1948 — (20 Iyar 5708) Eddie Cohen, a pilot in the Israeli Air Force and a volunteer from South Africa, was killed during an aerial battle near Ashdod
1950 — (13rd of Sivan, 5710) Jacob Rosenheim, president and founder of Agudath Israel World Organization arrived in Israel today so that he can take up residence in Tel Aviv. Many of the activities of the organization which has 200,000 followers are now being directed from Israel
2024 — (21 Iyar 5784) The war with Gaza. Day two hundred and thirty-six. In a battle in the southern part of the Strip, Staff Sergeant Amir Galilov, 20, Staff Sergeant Uri Bar-On, 21, and Staff Sergeant Ido Appel, 21, were killed. Six soldiers were seriously wounded in the battles.
2024 — (21 Iyar 5784) A terrorist attack. At the «Hava Shosh» checkpoint, an Arab ran over two soldiers and fled to Palestinian territory. Staff Sergeant Eliya Hillel, 20, and Staff Sergeant Diego Shvisha Harsaj, 20, were killed.