April 18, 1940:
Birthday of Joseph Goldstein, American biochemist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1985 for the discovery that human cells have low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors that remove cholesterol from the blood. This led to the development of statin drugs, which significantly reduce the risk of cholesterol-related diseases, notably coronary heart disease.
April 19, 1943:
After 265,000 Jews were deported to the Treblinka death camp, and another 100,000 Jews died of disease and starvation, the remaining 35,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto (from an original 400,000 – 30% of the entire population of Warsaw!) staged an organized uprising, and drove back the Nazis when they began the final liquidation of the ghetto. In the fighting that ensued, approximately 300 Germans and 7,000 Jews were killed. They held out until May 16, longer than some European countries with armies. Besides a few dozen fighters who escaped through the sewers, the remaining Jews were sent to their deaths in Treblinka.
April 20, 1799:
Napoleon issued a proclamation to the Jews of Palestine promising the “reestablishment of ancient Jerusalem,” coupled with a plea for their support. This was the first promise by a modern government to establish a Jewish state.
<strong>Iyar 4: </strong>Remembrance Day (<a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-851353"><em>Yom Hazikaron</em></a>):
Official memorial day for the soldiers who fell in Israel’s wars. All places of entertainment are closed, flags are flown at half-mast, people visit military cemeteries, ceremonies are held, and the country comes to a halt during a siren while observing two minutes of silence.
<br><strong>Iyar 5: Independence Day (<a href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-740177"><em>Yom Ha’atzma’ut</em></a>): </strong>
At a ceremony in Tel Aviv in 5708 (1948), David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel an independent state. Since then, the fifth of Iyar has been a national holiday celebrated by barbecues, hikes, concerts, and the awarding of the Israel Prize. In many synagogues, a special service including “Hallel” is recited.
Iyar 6: 5104 (1344):
Yahrzeit of Rabbi Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag; also known as Gersonides), philosopher, exegete, astronomer, and author. As an astronomer, he influenced Copernicus and invented the “Jacob’s Staff,” a quadrant used for centuries by navigators. He also reportedly invented the camera obscura, which threw images on a screen and was the forerunner of the modern camera.
April 24, 1873:
Birthday of Joseph Poliakoff, Russian-born British sound engineer and inventor of a device that allowed for synchronized audio on film; the radio volume control; a magnetic induction loop that allowed hearing-impaired people to hear in auditoriums or theaters,; the paging beeper; and personal hearing aids.
April 25, 1920:
The San Remo Resolution was adopted at the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council, allocating League of Nations mandates for the administration of three then-undefined Ottoman territories in the Middle East: “Palestine,” “Syria,” and “Mesopotamia.” The resolution made Britain responsible “for putting into effect the [Balfour] declaration...in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” with Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations as the basis for the British Mandate. This resolution thereby transformed the Balfour Declaration from a letter of intent into a legally binding foundational document under international law. It also laid the political foundation for the creation of the 22 Arab League states, none of which had existed as an independent country previously.
April 26:
Birthdays of influential philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889); Pulitzer Prize-winning author Bernard Malamud (1914); and Arno Penzias (1933), laureate of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics.
<br><strong>April 27, 1945: </strong>
Birthday of Lee Felsenstein, American computer engineer who played a central role in the development of the personal computer. He was the designer of the Osborne 1, the first mass-produced portable computer, and of the shared-memory video display module board, which was widely copied and became the basis for the standard display architecture of all personal computers.
April 28, 1838:
Birthday of Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer and legal scholar who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1911 for his work in the field of private international law, in particular establishing the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
April 29, 1881:
Major pogroms lasting nearly a year began in Russia, incited by the interior minister, ultimately leading to the antisemitic May Laws.
April 30, 1925:
The Zionist Revisionist party was founded by Ze’ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky. He demanded a more aggressive policy toward the British, believing that only worldwide pressure would force them to abide by the mandate. His followers, who included Menachem Begin, became the founders and leaders of the Israeli right-wing political parties.
Iyar 14: Second Passover (Pessah Sheni):
When the Temple was standing, anyone who was unable to bring the Passover lamb at the proper time on Nisan 14 was able to bring it one month later (Numbers 9). Nowadays, in the words of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch, this teaches that “no situation is ever completely lost.”
Iyar 15, 2448 (1313 BCE):
Manna, the “bread from heaven,” which sustained the Children of Israel during their 40 years of wandering through the desert, began to fall for the first time in the desert of Tzin (Seder Olam 5; Kiddushin 38a).
May 3, 1898:
Birthday of Golda Meir, who was born in Kyiv, raised in Milwaukee, and made aliyah in 1921. She served as head of the Jewish Agency, ambassador to Russia, labor minister, foreign minister, and Israel’s fourth prime minister from 1969-1974 (one of the first female heads of state ever). She was portrayed as the “strong-willed, straight-talking, gray-bunned grandmother of the Jewish people.”
“No matter what they throw at us, we will beat them,” she said.
May 4, 1947:
The Irgun Zeva’i Leumi (Etzel), an underground organization fighting for an independent Jewish state, broke into the British prison fortress at Acre and freed 41 Jewish prisoners. This daring action was later immortalized in the movie Exodus.
Iyar 18: Lag Ba’omer (33rd day of the Omer):
Rabbi Akiva, who was a poor and ignorant shepherd until he was 40 years old, became the greatest sage of his time, with 24,000 students. In the weeks between Passover and Shavuot circa 120 CE, a plague broke out among his students because they did not conduct themselves with love and respect for one another. Every day, some students died, but on the 33rd day of the Omer, the deaths stopped, and the day became a joyful one.
May 6, 1856:
Birthday of Sigmund Freud, the Austrian psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. Freud is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and the defense mechanism of repression, and for creating the clinical practice of psychoanalysis. His theories were opposed at first, but in time profoundly changed the way in which people see themselves.
May 7, 1945:
Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, ending World War II.
<br><strong>May 8, 1943: </strong>
Mordechai Anilewicz, commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, was killed in the main bunker, at the age of 24. He had united the various factions, published a newsletter (Against the Stream), and started an urban kibbutz.
May 9, 1945:
The Theresienstadt ghetto/concentration camp was liberated by Soviet forces. Of the 155,000 prisoners that passed through there, 124,352 were either killed there or deported to extermination camps.
May 10, 2010:
Recognizing its economic achievements, the 31 states of the OECD voted unanimously to invite Israel to become a member.
May 11, 1960:
Adolf Eichmann, in charge of implementing Hitler’s “Final Solution,” was captured in Buenos Aires by Israeli Mossad agents, who smuggled him out of the country to stand trial in Jerusalem for his crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
May 12, 1948:
Beit She’an was captured by the Hagana in the War of Independence.
<br><strong>May 13, 1939: </strong>
937 Jews fled Nazi Germany on board the luxury liner MS St. Louis, intending to reach Cuba and then the US to begin a new life. They were turned away from Cuba, the US, and Canada before being forced to return to Europe, where more than 250 were murdered by Nazis. Captain Gustav Schroeder was posthumously named one of the Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem for his valiant efforts to find them refuge.
May 14, 1948:
The first legislative act of the newly declared provisional government of the State of Israel was the repeal of the British White Paper of 1939, which had restricted Jewish immigration and the acquisition of land in pre-state Israel.
Iyar 28: Jerusalem Day (Yom Yerushalayim):
On this date in 5728 (1967), Israeli paratroopers liberated the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six Day War, restoring Jewish control of the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site. Soldiers danced, sang, and cried at the Western Wall, the site of Jewish prayers for centuries. Iyar 28 is celebrated today as Jerusalem Day, which includes a special service of prayer composed by the Chief Rabbinate, commemorating the reunification of the Holy City, which has stood as the capital of the Jewish nation for 3,000 years.
Iyar 29, 2884 (877 BCE):
Yahrzeit of the prophet Samuel (Shmuel), the last of the biblical Judges (Shoftim), who led the people of Israel in the four centuries between the passing of Joshua and the anointment of Saul as the first king of Israel in 879 BCE. When Saul failed to properly implement his duties as king, Samuel anointed David to succeed him. Samuel was the author of the biblical books of Judges, Samuel, and Ruth.■
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