History events
1494 — (26th of Sivan, 5254) Gerson ben Moses Soncino who had established a printing-press in Brescia finished issuing “a complete Bible” today – a task that had begun on May 24
1593 — (10th of Sivan, 5353) The Jews were barred from living in Riga and Livonia.
1665 — (27th of Sivan, 5425) Sabbeti Zevi proclaimed himself Messiah. ….. The most famous of all the False Messiahs, Sabbeti Zevi enthralled tens of thousands of Jews. His message was accepted across all social and economic classes. His followers were to be found throughout Jewish communities in Europe and the Orient. Turkish authorities became alarmed at his growing popularity and had him arrested. The Sultan gave him the choice of proving his claims or suffering the death penalty. The would-be Messiah gave up the game, accepted a minor governmental position in Turkey and converted to Islam. The whole episode might be written off as a farce if it were not for the fact that so many had believed in him and were disillusioned by the outcome. In addition, charges of being a secret supporter of his beliefs would tear at the fabric of Jewish society for decades to come
1935 — (27 Iyar 5695) Jews are banned from the German Armed Forces
1939 — (12th of Sivan, 5699) Even though it placed strict limitations on Jewish immigration, Arab leaders rejected the White Paper today because it allowed for Jewish immigration and for the possibility of a Jewish home in Palestine. The Arab High Committee rejected any role for Jews in Palestine and asserted that the creation of an Arab state is the solution to the problem.
1944 — (9th of Sivan, 5704) The Jewish community of Khonia, Crete,which traced its history back toRoman times, came to an end when the ship Danai, into which all the Jews had been herded, was towed out to sea and sunk
1948 — (21 Iyar 5708) War for independence. ….. In further moves to relieve pressures on the coastal strip and to ward off disaster two columns of Israeli armored cars were advancing to on Jenin.” One column was advancing from Afula while the other was coming from Megiddo which was the scene of a counter-attack by Trans-Jordan’s Arab Legion. In the south, the Arab Legion was reported to have massed two hundred armored vehicles at Rameleh which will be used in the fight to keep the road from Jerusalem to the Coast Plain from being opened to Jewish convoys. At the same time the Egyptians have amassed 500 armored vehicles twenty miles south of Jaffa as part of what appears to be another move against Tel Aviv
1948 — (21 Iyar 5708) War for independence. Moti Alon took off in the only undamaged S-199 this “morning to escort a Tel Aviv Squadron Dragon Rapide to support the Seventh Brigade at Latrun. He flew several sorties and by the time he called it a day, one mechanic said, «his machine was so full of holes, we didn’t know how he kept it flying.»
1962 — (26 Iyar 5722) Adolf Eichmann, head of the Jewish department of the Gestapo, the first Nazi to be condemned by the Jewish state, was hanged
1965 — (28 Iyar 5725) Jordanian Legionnaires fired on the neighborhood of Musrara in Jerusalem, killing two civilians and wounding four
1967 — (20 Iyar 5727) Six-Day War. ….. With the announcement of the alliance between Egyptand Jordan,Israelwas faced with the possibility of having to fight a war on three fronts – the Sinai, the Golan and the West Bank – Egypt, Syria and Jordan; Contingents of the Iraqi Army arrived in Egypt with plans to join in the upcoming war with Israel; The government of Egypt declared that Eilat, Israel’s southern port, had been illegally occupied by Israel. With Egyptian troops stationed a few miles away at Taba, the Israel felt even more threatened; At Nasser’s insistence, Ahmed Shukeiry, head of the PLO, flew back to Jordan with King Hussein. He then went to Jordanian occupied portion of Jerusalem where he promises the Jews of Israel that after the war they will either have not survived or will be ‘repatriated.’
1974 — (9th of Sivan, 5734) After Henry Kissinger conducted a feverish round of shuttle diplomacy between Damascus and Jerusalem, the separation of forces agreement between Israel and Syria was signed in Geneva. This marked the formal end the hostilities known as the Yom Kippur War
People
942 — (26 Iyar 4702) Sa’adia ben Joseph (Rav Saadia Gaon) passed away. Born in Egypt in 882, he moved to Babylon in 928 to head the Academy at Sura. He revived the waning influence of the Academy and wrote on many subjects including grammar, Halachah and philosophy. As one of the foremost opponents of Karaism, he wrote the exposition «Emunot Vedeot», which became very popular
1492 — (4th of Sivan, 5252) Isaac Abrabanel…left Spain for Naples after his unsuccessful intervention with King Ferdinand to revoke the decree of expulsion of the Jews
1747 — (26 Iyar 5507) Moses Hayyim Luzzatto passed away. ….. Born in 1707 at Paua, Italy, this great poet and mystic became an unfortunate victim of the reaction to Shabbetaianism. His writings were burned and he tragically died soon after his arrival to Eretz-Israel. His most lasting achievements were his use of Hebrew in secular poetry and his ethical work, Mesilat Yesharim (Path of Righteous). Luzzatto also wrote two Hebrew dramas, Migdal Oz (tower of Strength) and La-Yisharim (Praise to the Righteous)