History events
-1569 — (or May 8) BCE (5 Sivan 2192) Reuben — the eldest son of Jacob by his wife Leah and one of the 12 progenitors of the tribes of the Jewish people — found a herb (mandrake root) for his mother, which was believed to cure infertility
-833 — (2 Iyar 2928) Traditional date on which King Solomon began building the Temple in Jerusalem
539 — (4 Sivan 4299) The Third Council of Orléans of the Gallic Church deemed it necessary to warn believers against Jewish “superstitions”. At that time, it sometimes happened that Christian clergy attended feasts hosted by Jews; intermarriages between Jews and Christians also occurred; many locals converted to Judaism, and Jewish religious customs were widespread.
1247 — (1 Sivan 5007) Pope Innocent IV issued a bull prohibiting the blood libel against Jews, and disseminated it in France and Germany
1355 — (25th of Iyar, 5115) More than 1 200 Jews died defending Toledo from the army of Henry II of Trastámara, who attacked the city under the pretext of protecting Blanche of Bourbon, wife of King Peter the Cruel of Castile. In recognition of the Jewish community’s loyalty and service, Peter allowed his treasurer and chief advisor, Don Shmuel ben Meir ha‑Levi Abulafia, to build a beautiful synagogue (1357)
1764 — (5 Iyar 5524) A resolution of the Sejm on the census of Polish Jews. The reason for adopting the resolution was: “the circumstance that the government had learned that Jewish elders, through levies and private distributions, instead of the 40 000 złoty head tax established by the 1717 constitution for all Jews collectively, had been collecting a far larger sum, greatly burdening all Jews — especially those living in royal and noble towns — and had been using that sum for their own benefit and private expenses. Meanwhile, the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth could derive much greater revenue from the Jewish tax without burdening the Jews.”
1786 — (9 Iyar 5546) Decree of Catherine II prohibiting Jews in Russia from registering as merchants outside Belarus.
1789 — (11 Iyar 5549) Emperor Joseph II of Austria‑Hungary issued the “Edict of Toleration” for the Jews of Galicia. The edict introduced:
military conscription for Jews;
compulsory primary education in German;
German surnames;
subordination to state courts.
The kahal self‑government in 141 Galician communities was replaced by a board of three elected elders (seven in Lviv and Brody), appointed by the government and responsible only for synagogues and charity. Rabbis lost the right of judicial authority and cherem (excommunication), and their number was reduced to six in Galicia (one per administrative district). Thus, Joseph II’s measures aimed not so much at emancipation as at the assimilation of Jews.
1846 — (11 Iyar 5606) Jews of Aargau — a canton in northern Switzerland — were granted the right to live in all parts of the canton
1894 — (1st of Iyar, 5654) “A Jew-baiting” mob attacked the Jewish section of Grajewo, Poland “looting the shops and houses, beating the men and insulting the women” before setting fire to several stores
1905 — (2th of Iyar, 5665) Anti-Jewish violence broke out today in Zhitomir, the capital of Volhynia, Russia
1907 — The newspaper Jewish Labour Chronicle reported that the share of the Jewish population in the empire at the beginning of the century was as follows:
factory and artisanal workers: 3 %;
artisans and proletarians: 9.3 %;
unskilled labourers: 6.9 %;
intelligentsia: 31 %;
petty bourgeois urban commoners: 67.2 %;
large and medium bourgeoisie: 4.5 %;
peasantry: 2.1 %;
armed forces: 3.5 %.
1911 — (9 Iyar 5671) Beilis Case. The Kiev prosecutor’s office removed E.F. Mishuk, head of the Kiev detective police, from the investigation into the murder of the boy Yushchinsky. Mishuk had refused to see a ritual character in the atrocities committed against the boy. Mishuk was accused of having been bribed by Jews.
1916 — (4 Iyar 5676) Pogrom in Krasnoyarsk.
1917 — (15 Iyar 5677) The London newspaper The Jewish Chronicle published a report on the deportation of Jews from the Land of Israel by the Turks. 8 000 Jews left Jaffa. Jewish homes in Tel Aviv and Jaffa were looted. Two Jews were hanged at the entrance to Tel Aviv. The Jewish guard left in Tel Aviv to watch over the property of the expelled was arrested. 300 Jews in Jerusalem were also expelled.
1919 — (25 Iyar 5678) A peasant gang broke into Bratslav. After a two‑day pogrom in which 82 Jews were killed and 12 were wounded, local Old Believers drove the bandits out of the city and took over its protection.
1934 — (22 Iyar 5694) By a decree of the USSR government, the Jewish National District in Birobidzhan — founded in 1930 — was granted the status of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. On the same day, the Sholom‑Aleichem Jewish Regional Universal Scientific Library was founded in Birobidzhan.
1939 — (18 Iyar 5699) Ben‑Gurion was tasked with streamlining the activities of the Haganah and defining its tactical and strategic goals and objectives. It had become clear that the Yishuv was unprepared for a prolonged, multifaceted struggle — both against the Arabs and against the Mandate authorities. A month later, a decision was made regarding the role of the Haganah as the core of the future Jewish army, the command structure of the Haganah, its degree of subordination to the Yishuv authorities and the Zionist Organization, and the establishment of special‑operations units within the Haganah.
1942 — (20 Iyar 5702) Shoah. Several hundred Jews were executed in Ivano‑Frankivsk. It is likely that on this day, about 500 Jews from Mostyska (Lviv Oblast) were transported to the Janowska camp in Lviv
1948 — (28 Nisan 5708) War of Independence. Operation Maccabi began, aiming to break the siege of Jerusalem. The Harel and Givati Brigades took part. Its successful continuation was disrupted by the Egyptian invasion: the Givati Brigade was redeployed to the south.
1948 — (28 Nisan 5708) War of Independence. Fulfilling their threat to “starve Jerusalem of water”, the Arabs blocked the water pipeline.
1958 — (17 Iyar 5718) In a letter to J. Lamm, vice‑president of the B’nai B’rith organization, Ben‑Gurion declined his request to rebury the remains of Vladimir Jabotinsky in Israel. Only in 1964 were Jabotinsky’s remains and those of his wife laid to rest at Mount Herzl Cemetery.
1977 — (19 Iyar 5737) Terrorist attack. A bomb exploded in a synagogue in Buenos Aires.
2000 — (2 Iyar 5760) The one‑millionth immigrant from the USSR arrived in Israel, counting from 1989 onwards
2002 — (25th of Iyar, 5762) Hamas claimed responsibility for today’s bombing at Rishon LeZion where 15 people were killed and another 55 were wounded
2008 — (2th of Iyar, 5678) As Israel celebrates its 60th anniversary, the population nears 7.3 million with 76% of the population being Jewish On the eve of its independence day, Israel’s population numbers 7,282,000, 75.5 percent of which is Jewish, and 20.1 percent Arab, Central Bureau of Statistics show. The remaining 4.4 percent is made up largely of immigrants and their children who are not registered as Jews in the Interior Ministry’s population rolls.
2009 — (13 Iyar 5769) The city council of Modi’in banned the sale of alcohol in the city after 10 p.m. Modi’in became the first municipality in Israel to adopt such a regulation.
2013 — (27 Iyar 5773) Israel held its third National Day of Life Saving. The initiator and main driving force behind the Day of Life Saving has always been the “Rothschild Envoys” organization, in cooperation with Magen David Adom, the National Transplant Center, and the Cancer Control Association, with active support from rescue services, the Students’ Union, volunteers, and many others.
familiarizing the public with life‑saving efforts;
increasing the number of people who have consented to become organ donors;
replenishing the Israeli blood bank;
widely disseminating information about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and methods for the prevention and early diagnosis of cancer.
2024 — (29 Nisan 5784) War with Gaza. Day 214. Fighting across the entire territory of the Gaza Strip; the Finance Committee of the Knesset approved a draft privatization of the state‑owned Israel Post
People
1659 — (24 Iyar 5419) Spanish historian and geographer, Marrano Rodrigo Mendes Silva and his wife Gioamar Mendes were arrested by the Inquisition for secretly adhering to Judaism. The investigation, which involved torture, lasted until 1662. On June 25, 1662, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and the lifelong obligation to wear the sanbenito. On March 28, 1663, the Grand Inquisitor commuted the sentence with a ban on leaving Spain or changing his name. However, Silva managed to escape to Venice. There, despite his age, he underwent circumcision, took the name Joseph, and married an 18‑year‑old woman. He died in 1670.
1906 — (23 Iyar 5667) Avidar Yosef, an Israeli military commander, diplomat, statesman, and public figure, was born in Volhynia. He died on September 13, 1995.
1909 — (16 Iyar 5669) Edwin Land, an American optical scientist, inventor of the Polaroid camera and founder of the Polaroid Corporation, was born. He died on March 1, 1991.
1913 — (30 Nisan 5673) Shlomo Ben‑Yosef, a member of the Etzel (Irgun) and the first Jew executed by the British as a terrorist (on June 29, 1938, in Acre Prison), was born in Lutsk.
1919 — B. Slutsky, a poet, was born. He died on February 23, 1986.
1939 — S. Altman, a biologist and Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (1989), was born in Montreal. He died on April 5, 1989.
1994 — (27th of Iyar, 5754): Haim Bar Lev, the IDF’s Chief of General Staff from 1968 to 1971, passed away
2024 — (29 Nisan 5784) In northern Israel, Staff Sergeant Dan Kamkaji (aged 31) and Staff Sergeant Nachman Nathan Herz (aged 31) were killed in an attack by Hezbollah.
2025 — (9 Iyar 5785) Gaza War. Day 579. In the southern Gaza Strip, Sergeant Yishai Elyakim Urbach (aged 20) and Staff Sergeant Yam Fried (aged 21) from Salit were killed; four soldiers were seriously wounded