History events
-1313 — (7 Sivan 2448) Following God’s command, Moses ascended the mountain to receive the Torah there, and Joshua bin Nun accompanied him to the boundary drawn around the mountain. He pitched his tent there and remained in it for all forty days while Moses was on top
-1282 — (28 Nisan 2488) Traditional date marking the fall of the walls of Jericho
-443 — (7th of Iyar, 3317) Nehemiah dedicated the newly built walls that had been built around Jerusalem
1096 — (8th of Iyar, 4856) Jews of Speyer massacred by the Crusaders
1407 — (25 Iyar 5167) King Rupert III of Germany appointed Rabbi Israel of Krems as the Chief Rabbi of all German communities, giving him a certificate stating that he was a great expert in the Talmud and, overall, a good man. However, since Israel’s functions included civil control over Jews and especially tax collection, the German rabbis opposed his appointment. Upon learning this, the king confirmed Israel’s appointment as Chief Rabbi with a second decree (November 23, 1407), imposing a fine of twenty gold marks on anyone who refused to obey him. But the decrees had no effect, and the office of Chief Rabbi was never implemented.
1488 — (22th of Iyar, 5248) In Naples, Joseph Günzenhäuser published the first printed edition of the Pentateuch with a commentary by Abraham ibn Ezra
1588 — (16th of Iyar, 5348) Council of Hanover in Germany ordered the severance of all business connections between Jews and Christians
1667 — (9th of Iyar, 5427) Many Jews were killed in anti-Jewish riots in Lemberg. Lemberg is in the Ukraine. These killings took place during the wars between the Poles and the Cossacks. The fate of the Jews of Lemberg would grow even worse in 1668 when most of them would perish in a massacre
1881 — (4 Iyar 5641) Pogrom in Odessa. Lasted 3 days. Decisive actions by the police and units of Jewish student and worker self-defense prevented major casualties and destruction; Pogrom in the city of Romny, Poltava Governorate.
1882 — (Old Style) (14 Iyar 5642) On the initiative of Interior Minister Ignatiev, Alexander III approved the «Temporary Regulations» — laws further restricting the rights of Russian Jews; for example, Jews in the Pale of Settlement were deprived of the right to settle in rural areas, and those already living there were forbidden to buy or lease land
1882 — (7th of Iyar, 3317) The Czar gave his approval to series of anti-Semitic regulations proposed by Count Ignatiev known collectively as the “May Laws»
1898 — (11th of Iyar, 5658) In Kiev, Blume Neiditch and Moshe Mabovitch gave birth to Golda Mabovitch, the sister of Sheyna and Tzipke Mabovitch, who gained fame Golda Mier
1902 — (26th of Nisan, 5662) Herzl wrote to the Sultan of Turkey appealing for the establishment of a Jewish university in Palestine. “The idea of a Jewish university, and all that such a university implied, quickly became an integral part of Zionist thinking
1907 — (19 Iyar 5667) A synagogue was founded in Harbin, which later became known as the Main Synagogue
1909 — (12th of Iyar, 5669) Fire destroys part of the Haskoy, the Constantinople Jewish quarter. Five hundred Jews are left homeless.
1915 — Order to evict the Jews of Kovno Governorate, allegedly for actions favoring German troops, affecting residents of the village of Kuz on April 28, 1915
1918 — (21th of Iyar, 5668) In Vienna, тhe Christian Socialist deputies in the Reichsrath introduced an interpellation demand the establishment of a percentage limitation for Jewish students in all higher educational institutions
1921 — (25 Nisan 5681) Arab attack on Petah Tikva. Residents of surrounding Arab villages and Bedouins participated. Initially, they looted and burned the small surrounding settlements of Kfar Sava and Ein Hai. The residents of Petah Tikva held off the Arab attack with gunfire, but due to a shortage of ammunition, their capabilities were limited. The situation was saved by arriving British soldiers, who dispersed the crowd with machine gun fire and even dropped 4 bombs from an airplane.
1923 — (17 Iyar 5683) The last large legal group of young emigrants, numbering 400 people, arrived in Jaffa from Russia. They represented a youth movement intending to make aliyah and preparing themselves for it. It originated in the early 20th century. In Soviet Russia, the movement was formally permitted from August 1923 but was split ideologically into «communist» and «nationalist» factions – legal and illegal branches. In 1928, the Soviet regime banned the movement.
1924 — (29 Nisan 5684) In Omaha, Nebraska, the Jewish teenage boys’ organization Aleph Zadik Aleph was created, which still exists today and became nationwide in America.
1930 — (5 Iyar 5690) The American sound film «The Jazz Singer» was shown for the first time in Palestine at the Eden Cinema in Tel Aviv. The appearance of «new» cinema caused widespread discontent. Many cultural and political figures protested, advocating for Hebrew, which had not yet become established as a spoken language. The atmosphere was particularly heated regarding films in Yiddish. Yiddish supposedly posed a threat to Hebrew since it was spoken by the majority of the population. The city council and cinema administration reached an agreement that preference in the repertoire would be given to musical films, and the sound would be turned off during dialogues.
1933 — (7 Iyar 5693) Third day of the celebration of Tel Aviv’s 25th anniversary. A parade of schoolchildren. Municipal buildings decorated with flowers. Two new streets named after M. Dizengoff and his wife, despite his protests that he was unworthy of such an honor
1934 — (18th of Iyar, 5694) “A three-day celebration of the 25th anniversary of the founding of Tel-Aviv…culminated today with a tribute to the veteran 72 year old founder and present Mayor, Meyer Dizengoff. More than 10,000 school children marched through the streets to the municipal building carrying baskets of flowers, where were presented to the Mayor. Two new streets were named for him and his late wife, despite his protests that he was unworthy of such an honor.”
1935 — (30th of Nisan, 5695) For the second day in a row, temperatures in Palestine reach 104 degrees “in the shade.” The coastal settlements and cities, including Tel Aviv were most affected by the unusual heat wave. Temperatures in Palestine average 65 in May and 74 during July and August. In modern times, the temperature record belongs to a day in August 1881 when the thermometer reached 112
1939 — (14 Iyar 5699) Kibbutz Dafna was established using the «Tower and Stockade» method
1939 — (14th of Iyar, 5699) The Budapest «Jewish Law» prohibits any Hungarian Jew from becoming a judge, a lawyer a schoolteacher or a member of the Hungarian parliament
1945 — (20 Iyar 5705) The Holocaust. The last prisoners of the Theresienstadt ghetto (17,247 remained out of 140,937) were liberated by the Soviet Army
1945 — (20th of Iyar, 5705) In the worst friendly-fire incident in history — Britain’s Royal Air Force killed more than 7,000 survivors of Nazi concentration camps who were crowded onto ships in Lubeck harbor …….
1948 — (24 Nisan 5708) War of Independence. Operation «Broom» began with the aim of clearing the territory between the northern tip of the Kinneret and the Hula Valley, on both sides of the Tiberias-Metula highway and to Jordan in the east, from the enemy. As a result, the Upper Galilee was connected to the rest of the country, and it became possible to travel there by transport relatively freely, without a guarded convoy. «Broom» was a continuation of Operation Yiftach, which began on May 1st, aimed at liberating eastern Galilee and seizing transportation arteries. Yigal Allon commanded the operations.
1949 — (4 Iyar 5709) On the initiative of the first Chief Rabbi of the IDF, Shlomo Goren, ceremonies commemorating the fallen in the War of Independence were held for the first time. Since then, Memorial Day for the Fallen of Israel’s Wars is annually observed on the eve of Independence Day.
1960 — (6th of Iyar, 5720) The Anne Frank House, a museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, opened in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1968 — (5 Iyar 5728) «Watching the military parade marking the 20th anniversary of Israel’s Independence, a foreigner asked a local standing nearby how he thought the next 20 years would turn out for Israel. ‘The next?’ the local replied, ‘I still don’t understand how we survived the past ones.'»
1976 — (3th of Iyar, 5736) Thirty-three passers-by were injured when a booby-trapped motor scooter exploded at the corner of Ben Yehuda and Ben Hillel Streets. Among those injured were the Greek consul in Jerusalem and his wife. The following day, on the eve of Independence Day, the municipality organized an event at the site of the attack, under the slogan: «Nevertheless.»
1982 — (10 Iyar 5742) The Government of Israel decided to establish the settlement of Etz Efraim in Samaria, between Ariel and Rosh HaAyin, 40 km from Jerusalem.
2000 — (28 Nisan 5760) Foundation stone laid for the new building of the Yad Vashem memorial.
2001 — (10 Iyar 5761) A new 120-meter bridge between Israel and Jordan was opened across the Jordan River.
2011 — (29 Nisan 5771) The world’s first Jewish social internet platform, JewishNet, began operating.
2012 — (11 Iyar 5772) In Kiel, the Israeli Navy received a «Dolphin»-class submarine from the manufacturer – the fourth of this class built by Germany for the Israeli navy
2015 — (14th of Iyar, 5775) The largest riots in Tel Aviv’s history. Protesters from the Ethiopian community threw stones, bottles, and firecrackers at police. Several thousand demonstrators participated. 68 people were injured, including 56 police officers. The incident was sparked by a policeman beating a black soldier in Holon on April 26.
People
1583 — (11th of Iyar) Rabbi Isaac Mehling passed away in Prague
1616 — (16th of Iyar, 5376) Meir Lublin, the son of Gedaliah, the son-in-law of Isaac ha-Kohen Shapiro and the author of the Talmudic commentary Meir Einai Chachamim passed away today in Lublin
1655 — (26th of Nisan, 5415) Abraham Nunez Bernal was burned at the stake by the Inquisition of Cordova making him yet another Sephardic martyr
1703 — (28th of Iyar, 5463) Seventy two year old Samuel Oppenheimer the Jewish banker who bankrolled Emperor Leopold I during the Great Turkish War, passed away today
1726 — (13th of Iяра, 5486) — Rabbi Moshe Darshan, author of Torat Ahsam, passes away
1733 — (29nd of Iyar,5493) Rabbi Zevi of Vilna, author of “Bet Lehem Yehudah” passed away
1844 — (14th of Iyar, 5604) Birthdate of Édouard Adolphe Drumont “a French journalist and writer” who “founded the Anti-Semitic League of France in 1889 and was the founder and editor of the newspaper La Libre Parole.”
1864 — (27 Nisan 5624) Israel Joseph Benjamin, traveler, died at the age of 48. From 1844 to 1863, he visited Syria, Iran, Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Algeria, India, Morocco, and America. In 1856, he wrote a book of his travel notes in Hebrew, later translating it into French. In 1863, he went to London to raise money for his next journeys, but exhausted by years of previous travels, he died. Friends and admirers had to organize a public subscription to save his wife and daughter from poverty.
1898 — (11 Iyar 5658) (New Style) Golda Meir was born. Died December 8, 1978.
1924 — (29 Nisan 5684) Yehuda Amichai, poet, laureate of the Bialik Prize and the Israel Prize, was born. Died in 2000.
1929 — (23 Nisan 5689) Avraham Mandler, General in the Israel Defense Forces, was born in Austria. Killed in the Yom Kippur War, October 13, 1973.
1988 — (16 Iyar 5748) IDF Operation «Law and Order,» during which a Hezbollah base in southern Lebanon was destroyed. 35 terrorists were killed. On the Israeli side, Captain T. Mizrahi (24 years old), Reserve Captain B. Ravid (27 years old), and Sergeant M. Bernstein (21 years old) were killed; 17 people were wounded. The battle lasted 2 days.
1989 — (28 Nisan 5749) IDF soldier Ilan Saadon, 19 years old, was kidnapped by Hamas and murdered. His body was only found in 1996.
2002 — (21 Iyar 5762) IDF Captain A. Yaakov («Golani») was killed in Nablus (Shechem).
2025 — (5 Iyar 5785) The Gaza War. Day five hundred and seventy-five. Captain Noam Ravid, 23, and Staff Sergeant Yali Seror, 20, were killed; two soldiers were seriously wounded