History events
-1313 — (1 Iyar 2448) According to tradition, this was the date of the first population survey of the Israelite people taken by Moses
-1312 — (21 Iyar 2449) The people coming from Egypt began to complain to God, lamenting their fatigue.
-1312 — Same (21 Iyar 2449) God commanded that, to assist Moses, who was worn out by the constant complaints and whims of the Jews, seventy elders be chosen.
-1312 — (21 Iyar 2449) B.C.E. The leader of the tribe of Ephraim, Meidad, was chosen as one of the seventy elders of Israel
70 — (7 Iyar 3830) Jewish War. On the 15th day of the siege, the Romans captured the first wall of Jerusalem
124 — (5th of Iyar, 3884) A Roman centurion named Valens stationed in the military camp which bordered the date palm groves in En Gedi by the Dead Sea made an emergency short-term loan to a Jew named Judah at an interest rate of twelve per cent per annum
1649 — (5th of Sivan, 5598) The Massachusetts General Court ruled today that Solomon Franco was to be expelled from the colony, and granted him «six shillings per week out of the Treasury for ten weeks, for sustenance, till he can get his passage to Holland. Franco, a Sephard, is “the second Jew known to have lived in North America. He settle in Boston where he was an “agent for Immanuel Perada, a Dutch merchant.” After Franco had delivered supplies from Perada “to Edward Gibbons, a major general in the Massachusetts militia” a dispute arose over who should pay the Jew for the merchandize – Gibbons or Parada. The solution of the court was to expel Franco
1702 — (19 Iyar 5462) The Jews of Bobruisk were sentenced by decree of the Grand Lithuanian Tribunal (the highest appellate court of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) to pay a fine for failing to pay postal duties for two years in the amount of 40 Polish złoty. In 1766, there were 395 Jewish taxpayers in Bobruisk. The poll tax was levied on every Jew who had reached the age of one
1872 — (28 Nisan 5632) The Academy of Jewish Science (The Higher School of Judaica) opened in Berlin. It was closed on July 7, 1942. The first intake had 12 students, including 4 girls.
1920 — (18 Iyar 5680) The Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) adopted a resolution «On the Arrest of the Zionist Congress» (see April 23), which provided for the publication of propaganda material that compromised the delegates of the Congress.
1921 — (28 Nisan 5681) An Arab attack on Hadera and Rehovot. In Hadera, the self-defense committee gathered the entire population in one house, abandoning the other houses and property. The Arabs primarily began to loot what was left and did not attack the besieged. Then an English plane arrived, dropped a bomb, and an armored car arrived and fired on the crowd with machine guns. The Arabs fled. 2 houses burned down, and 14 were looted. Rehovot defended itself independently, but the thousand-strong crowd of Arabs showed no zeal and dispersed after the first gunfire.
1942 — (19 Iyar 5702) In the «Baltimore» hotel in New York, an Extraordinary Zionist Conference opened. A program of action for the Zionist movement was adopted. The Baltimore Program laid the foundation for the political struggle of the Jews of the Land of Israel from 1943 to 1948.
1942 — (19 Iyar 5702) Shoah. 800 Jews from the town of (Lviv region) were taken to the Janowska camp in Lviv.
1943 — (1 Iyar 5703) The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. A small group of fighters from the Jewish Fighting Organization infiltrated the ghetto from the Aryan side and on May 5-6 led civilian Jews out into the city. Covering their retreat, on May 6, almost the entire group perished.
1947 — (16 Iyar 5707) 17-year-old A. Rubovich, an activist of the Lehi organization, was killed by English officer R. Ferran. Ferran was tried by a military court but was acquitted as he denied killing the boy. After the investigation, Ferran returned to London. After a while, his brother was killed by a bomb planted in a package
1947 — (16th of Iyar, 5707) David Ben-Gurion completes a five week round of meeting with dozens of Jewish military commanders which will later be described as a “systematic investigation” of the Yishuv’s ability to withstand the military onslaught it could expect from the surrounding Arab nations if the British decided to leave; David Ben Gurion meets with Professor Yochana Ratner of the Technion in an attempt to further evaluate the readiness of the Haganah and the Palmach to fight a conventional war against invading Arab armies
1948 — (27th of Nisan, 5708) An emergency meeting was convened to deal with reports of a typhoid epidemic in Acre; The 12th Battalion of the Golani Brigade captured the village of Shajara; The main Palmach assault to secure the town of Safed began
1953 — (21th of Iyar, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported that the Treasury introduced a new system of granting eighty per cent export premiums for some industries; Israel and Argentina had raised their missions to the rank of Embassies and exchanged Ambassadors
1962 — (2 Iyar 5722) An airplane piloted by 23-year-old Yakir Nave and 19-year-old Oded Koton crashed into the Sea of Tiberias during a training flight. In memory of Yakir Nave, a settlement named Yakir was established in Samaria by a group of religious families in February 1981.
1970 — (30 Nisan 5730) General Israel Tal sent the results of an economic study regarding the feasibility of developing and producing an Israeli tank to the Ministries of Defense and Finance.
1977 — (18 Iyar 5737) The first tennis center in Israel was opened in Ramat Hasharon, built with donations from American Jews.
1983 — (23 Iyar 5743) An agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon was reached. It was decided to create a security zone 45 km wide in southern Lebanon. As a result, the U.S. lifted the arms embargo on Israel and allowed the sale of F-16 fighters to Israel.
1991 — (22 Iyar 5751) The Knesset discussed relations between Israel and the U.S. The U.S. demanded the cessation of investments in settlements in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip. Otherwise, they promised to deprive Israel of $10 billion for the absorption of repatriates.
2007 — (18 Iyar 5767) At the «Teddy» stadium in Jerusalem, fans of the Beitar football club caused a stampede that injured dozens of people. This happened after Beitar’s victory over the «Hapoel» club (Petah Tikva) with a score of 2:0. Fans rushed onto the field after someone spread a rumor that the team «Maccabi» (Tel Aviv) had points deducted, which made Beitar’s victory over Hapoel lead them to the championship. Dozens of people were taken to hospitals in Jerusalem. Fans continued to celebrate their team’s victory even when news of the injured emerged and medical personnel began evacuating. Subsequent spontaneous actions by fans continued on the streets of Jerusalem.
2018 — (21 Iyar 5778) Three stages of the «Giro d’Italia» bicycle race were held in Israel. On May 4, the race took place in Jerusalem, on May 5 — from Haifa to Tel Aviv, and on May 6 — from Beersheba to Eilat. For the first time in the history of this race, stages took place outside of Europe. The Israeli stages of the Giro were dedicated to the memory of Italian cyclist Gino Bartali, who helped save Jews during World War II.
2024 — (28 Nisan 5784) War with Gaza. Day 213. The IDF began a ground operation in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah (Rafiah), after calling on the local Arabs to evacuate to a safe humanitarian zone.
People
124 — (5 Iyar 3884) A Roman centurion named Valentin, stationed at a military camp bordering the date palm groves in Ein Gedi on the shores of the Dead Sea, provided an emergency short-term loan to a Jew named Judah at an interest rate of twelve percent per annum.
163 — (15 Iyar 3923) Rabbi Meir, a great sage of the Tannaitic era and a student of Rabbi Akiva, one of the most well-known rabbis after the destruction of the Temple, passed away.
1649 — (5 Sivan 5409) The General Court of Massachusetts ruled that Solomon Franco should be expelled from the colony, providing him with six shillings per week from the treasury for ten weeks for maintenance until he could obtain passage to Holland. Sephardic Franco was the second Jew known to have lived in North America. He settled in Boston, where he was an agent for Immanuel Pereira, a Dutch merchant. After Franco delivered supplies from Pereira to Edward Gibbons, a major general of the Massachusetts militia, a dispute arose over who should pay the Jew for the goods — Gibbons or Pereira. The court’s ruling was the expulsion of Franco
1747 — (5th of Sivan, 5507) Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato (RAMCHA»L), Kabbalist, poet, and author of Mesilat Yesharim passed away
1786 — (5th of Iyar, 5546) Ludwig Börne, German, writer, born
1830 — (13th of Iyar, 5590) Birthdate of Abraham Jacobi “a pioneer of pediatrics” who opened the first children’s clinic in the United States
1838 — (11th of Iyar, 5598) Rabbi Samuel Judah Leib ben David Kauder, author of Olat Shmuel passed away today in Prague
1856 — (1th of Iyar, 5616) Birthdate of Dr. Sigmund Freud, father of psycho-analysis
1884 — (11th of Iyar, 5644) Judah P. Benjamin, statesman and lawyer, died
1904 — (21 Iyar 5664) Moshe Pinchas Feldenkrais, an Israeli physicist, was born in Ukraine. He died on July 1, 1984.
1911 — (8 Iyar 5671) Benjamin Kahane, a major in the Israel Defense Forces, was born. In 1939, he graduated from pilot courses. He served in the 100th squadron during the War of Independence. He was killed on October 30, 1956, during the Sinai Campaign.
1923 — V. Etush, a theater and film actor, was born. He died on March 9, 2029.
1930 — (8th of Iyar, 5690) Birthdate of Mordechai «Motta» Gur the Jerusalem native who rose to the rank of Lt. General in the IDF and became the 10th Chief of Staff of the IDF
1934 — Naum Heiman, an Israeli composer, was born. He died on August 17, 2016.
1937 — (25 Iyar 5697) Jan Froman, an Israeli tennis player and initiator of the development of tennis in Israel, president of its Tennis Federation, was born in South Africa. He died in 2024.
1954 — (3 Iyar 5714) The remains of Baron Rothschild and his wife were brought to Israel. They were buried near Zichron Yaakov. This site is now called Ramat Hanadiv.
1994 — (25 Iyar 5754) Chief Rabbi of Romania Moshe David Rosen passed away at the age of 81. He represented the community in the Romanian parliament and was its undisputed leader