History events
1290 — (6th of Kislev, 5051) The community of Huesca, Spain prohibited Christians from buying meat or poultry from Jews under a penalty of 70 days in jail
1492 — (20 Heshvan 5253) King Ferdinand of Spain issued a decree allowing Jews to return to Spain from exile on condition that they convert to Catholicism within four years, while guaranteeing the return of their real estate (or compensation for its actual value by those who had purchased houses and land for a pittance during the expulsion of the Jews).
1802 — (15 Heshvan 5563) (or in 1800, 22 Heshvan 5561) German Jews of Philadelphia founded the synagogue «Rodeph Shalom» — the first Ashkenazi synagogue in the United States.
1807 — (9 Heshvan 5568) In the town of Vidin on the southern bank of the Danube — a miraculous rescue of Jews whom local Muslims were planning to massacre: their sheikh was mortally ill, and his physician was a man by the name of Cohen. He (and along with him all his co-religionists) was accused of poisoning the ruler. Only the dying man’s vigorous defense of his doctor saved the community. The dates of these events, the 9th and 10th of Heshvan, were declared Purim days.
1816 — On the island of Saint Helena, Napoleon replied to his physician Barry’s question about why he had consistently encouraged and supported the Jews: «I always wanted to see the Jews as equal subjects, as are all the other peoples of my empire. I wish for the Jews to be treated as brothers, as if we were all part of Judaism. This would have been advantageous for France as well, because the Jews would have immigrated to our country with their wealth. Had it not been for my downfall, the majority of European Jews would have relocated to France, where freedom, equality, and fraternity awaited them.»
1862 — (17 Heshvan 5623) General Grant, commander of the Union forces in the districts of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi (USA), ordered «all conductors to allow no Jew to board trains heading south» on the grounds that Jews were engaged in cotton speculation and thereby increasing the strength of the Confederacy.
1867 — (12 Heshvan 5628) In Ireland, Colonel John Henry Patterson was born into a Protestant family — commander of the Jewish Legion during World War I — «one of the most remarkable Christian figures ever to cross our path in all the centuries of the Diaspora.» (V. Jabotinsky).
1920 — (29 Heshvan 5621) In Tel Aviv, the premiere of the first professional theater in Eretz Israel, «HaTeatron HaIvri,» took place.
1921 — (9 Heshvan 5682) Civil War. A report from the chairman of the Novozlatopol Volost Military-Revolutionary Committee to the Huliaipole district leadership: «We hereby inform you, for notification of the Central Jewish Committee for Relief of Pogrom Victims in the city of Kharkov: the colonies of the Novozlatopol volost have been completely destroyed by raids of anarchist bandits over the past two years and by the invasion of White Guards in September 1920. At present, the Jewish residents of the colonies are, as a result of this and also due to crop failure, doomed to die of hunger and cold. In recent days, deaths from starvation have been observed. The entire population subsists on oil cake, as a result of which some families have become swollen and are bedridden from weakness and malnutrition. Recently, Jewish residents of the colonies have been fleeing to the cities of Yuzovka and Yenakiieve to work in factories as unskilled laborers, in order to save themselves from starvation, while leaving their families behind in the colonies to fend for themselves.»
1921 — (9 Heshvan 5682) In Tel Aviv, on Allenby Street, the foundation stone was laid for a new grand synagogue. Its construction was completed four years later, thanks to the financial support of Baron Rothschild.
1931 — (30 Heshvan 5692) During a demonstration by Polish nationalists held under antisemitic slogans, a student named S. Wacławski was killed. On the approaches to the central square of the city, the demonstrators were attacked by Jewish students. Some of them began throwing stones at the nationalists. One struck Wacławski in the head. All attempts to save his life proved futile. Wacławski’s death sparked massive unrest in Vilna, directed against the Jews. In the following days, it spread to other cities in Poland: Krakow, Lodz, Białystok, Częstochowa, Kovel — some of these were accompanied by acts of violence against Jews. The Jewish student who threw the stone at Wacławski was arrested. The court found him guilty of manslaughter and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment.
1941 — (20 Heshvan 5702) The Shoah. In Kamionka Strumilowa (Lvov region), 400–500 disabled Jews were shot. In Romny (Sumy region), over 1,200 Jews were shot. In Sosnytsia (Chernigov region) — 5 Jews. In Feodosia (Crimea), an order was issued for the registration of Jews (1,052 people registered). From the Marculești camp (Bessarabia), the last 1,200 Jews were deported to Ukraine (the camp held a total of approximately 9,000 Jews).
1942 — (1 Kislev 5703) The Shoah. From Zbarazh, Skalat, Ternopil, and Terebovlia, approximately 3,900 Jews were transported to Belzec; 109 Jews were killed on the spot in Terebovlia, and about 200 Jews in Skalat.
1947 — (27 Heshvan 5708) Haganah Chief of Staff Yaakov Dori signed the order for the establishment of the Israeli Air Force.
1952 — (22th of Cheshvan, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported ….. extensively on the death of the first president of the State of Israel, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, 78, who died at his home in Rehovot on the morning of 21 Heshvan, 5713, November 9, 1952. The funeral was planned to take place on a consecrated spot in Rehovot, in an olive grove of 75 trees planted in honor of his 70th and 75th birthdays. Born in Russia in 1874, Weizmann was trained as a biochemist in Switzerland. He moved to England in 1905 where he became a leader in the Zionist movement. Weizmann’s discovery of acetone played a key role in the issuance of the Balfour Declaration. Weizmann played a leading role during the inter-war years in developing the Jewish home in Eretz Israel. He was elected Israel’s first President in 1949 and was received by President Truman in that capacity at the White House
1958 — (28 Heshvan 5719) A decision was made to raise the price of cheap cigarettes «Degel,» «Adir,» «Washington,» «Fox,» and others. They now cost 280 prutot instead of 200. The decision was made after it became known that sales of these cigarettes had risen by tens of percent and that in August approximately 3 million packs had been sold.
1960 — (20 Heshvan 5721) Gilad Zar was born. He served in the Israel Defense Forces and was killed in a firefight with Arabs. Gilad’s brother Itai founded the outpost of Havat Gilad in 2002, located in northern Samaria. The outpost was repeatedly demolished by IDF and police forces, as it was situated on allegedly Arab-owned land, but was rebuilt each time by settlers. In 2025, after its territory was recognized as state land, it finally received official status
1967 — (7th of Cheshvan, 5728)The HMS Totem formerly a British submarine, was commissioned as the INS Dakar by the Israeli Navy
1968 — (19 Heshvan 5729) Fighters of Sayeret Shaked defeated a gang of Arabs in Sinai. Among those killed was Said Abu Abandak, the commander of the group of Arabs who had shot 12 passengers of a bus traveling from Tel Aviv to Eilat on March 17, 1954.
1975 — (6th of Kislev, 5736) The UN General Assembly voted to equate Zionism with Racism. This infamous proclamation was officially retracted 16 years later in December 1991
1980 — (2 Kislev 5741) In Judea and Samaria — 68 settlements and 17,400 residents. Three years earlier, there had been 24 settlements and 3,200 people.
1992 — (14 Heshvan 5753) A new Supreme Court building was inaugurated in Jerusalem. The primary sponsor of the project was Lord James de Rothschild. He also donated funds for the construction of the new Knesset building and the main synagogue of Jerusalem.
2002 — (5 Kislev 5363) Terror attack. The children of Naomi and Matan Ohayon, aged 4 and 5, and their mother were among the five residents of the settlement of Metzer killed by an Arab who had infiltrated the settlement.
2010 — (3 Kislev 5771) The largest Clean-Up Day in the history of the country took place in Israel. Approximately 2,600 tons of garbage were collected and removed from forests and nature reserves by 170 municipal councils. About 240,000 volunteers participated in the event, organized by the Jewish National Fund.
2014 — (17 Heshvan 5775) Terror attacks in Tel Aviv and Gush Etzion. An IDF soldier, Almog Shiloni, and 26-year-old Dalia Lemkus, a resident of the settlement of Tekoa, were killed by Arabs. Several people were wounded.
2023 — (26 Heshvan 5784) The Gaza War. Day thirty-five. The 401st Brigade operated on the grounds of the «Blue Beach» hotel, located on the coast. At least 30 terrorists had entrenched themselves in the hotel, firing anti-tank missiles at Israeli soldiers. Border communities and the center of the country were shelled from Gaza and Lebanon. Staff Sergeant Gilad Rozenblit, 21, was killed; Staff Sergeant Yonatan Yitzhak Semo, 21, died — he had been wounded in battle on November 8.
People
1659 — (24th of Cheshvan, 5420) Antonio Fernandez Carvajal(a Portuguese-Jewish merchant, who became the first naturalized English Jew passed away
1809 — (2th of Kislev, 5570) David Einhorn, American Reform rabbi, born
1867 — In Ireland, Colonel John Henry Patterson was born into a Protestant family — commander of the Jewish Legion during World War I — «one of the most remarkable Christian figures ever to cross our path in all the centuries of the Diaspora.» (V. Jabotinsky)
1887 — (23th of Cheshvan, 5648) Birthdate of German born author and peace activist Arnold Zweig
1913 — Karl Jay Shapiro was born — an American poet. Died on May 14, 2000.
1928 — (27 Heshvan 5689) Emmanuel Landau was born in Warsaw — a hero of Israel. Killed on March 17, 1948.
1946 — (16 Heshvan 5707) At the age of 82, Solomon Florentin died in Tel Aviv — a building contractor who, together with his partner David Abarbanel, organized a construction company that built virtually all the first buildings of the Tel Aviv neighborhood of Florentin
2000 — (12th of Cheshvan, 5761) Sgt. Shahar Vekret, 20, of Lod was fatally shot by a Palestinian sniper near Rachel’s Tomb at the entrance to Bethlehem
2002 — (5th of Kislev, 5763) Revital Ohayon, 34, and her two sons, Matan, 5, and Noam, 4, as well as Yitzhak Dori, 44 — all of Kibbutz Metzer — and Tirza Damari, 42, of Elyachin, were killed when a terrorist infiltrated the kibbutz, located east of Hadera near the Green Line, and opened fire
2007 — (29th of Cheshvan, 5768) Novelist, Pulitzer Prize winning writer and pseudo-social rebel, Norman Mailer passed away at the age of 84
2014 — (17th of Cheshvan, 5775) Twenty-six year old Dalia Lemkus was murdered by a terrorist as she waited at a bus stop