Gershom Scholem Is BornCIE+
Gershom Scholem, the pre-eminent scholar of Jewish mysticism, is born in Berlin. He immigrates to the Land of Israel in 1923.
Blackstone Memorial Is Presented to President HarrisonCIE+
William E. Blackstone, a Methodist lay leader and real estate investor, petitions President Benjamin Harrison on behalf of creating “a home for these wandering millions of Israel.” The Blackstone Memorial was the name of the signed petition.
Writer Peretz Smolenskin DiesCIE+
February 1, 1885 Russian Jewish novelist, editor and early Zionist Peretz Smolenskin dies of tuberculosis at 43 in Italy. Smolenskin was born in the Mogilev province of White Russia in 1842 and had a traditional…
BILU Forms, Laying Groundwork for First AliyahCIE+
The groundwork for the First Aliyah is laid with the formation of the BILU group at a meeting in the home of Israel Belkind in Kharkov, Ukraine.
Czar Alexander II Is AssassinatedCIE+
Czar Alexander II, the leader of Russia, is assassinated in St. Petersburg when a bomb is thrown into his carriage.
British Philanthropist and Zionist Alfred Mond Is BornCIE+
An early Zionist supporter in England, Alfred Mond (who would later become the first Lord Melchett) is born in England. Despite the fact that his parents were Jewish, Mond was not raised as a Jew and in fact was married in the Anglican church and raised his children as Christians.
Leo Motzkin Is BornCIE+
Raised in a traditional Jewish household, early Zionist activist Leo Motzkin is born in present-day Brovary, Ukraine.
Michah Joseph Berdichevski Is Born in UkraineCIE+
Scholar and writer Michah Joseph Berdichevski is best known for his Hebrew writings, which included his lengthy debate with Ahad Ha’am about the nature of Hebrew literature, as well as his extensive recording of Jewish folklore.
9 Jews Freed After Damascus Blood LibelCIE+
September 6, 1840 The nine surviving Damascus Jews accused of killing a Franciscan Capuchin friar and his servant to harvest the blood are freed by order of Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman pasha who controls an…
Allahdad: Jews Are Forcibly Converted, Massacred in Mashhad, IranCIE+
The tensions between the local Shiite population and Jews erupt in the northeast Iranian city of Mashhad.
Earthquake Devastates SafedCIE+
A massive earthquake and subsequent landslide devastate Jewish and Arab communities in Safed (Tz’fat). The mountain town, which had been the long-time home to a thriving Jewish population, suffers thousands of deaths.
France Grants Citizenship to Sephardi JewsCIE+
Sephardi Jews living in France are granted equal rights and given French citizenship by the National Assembly.
French National Assembly Debates Citizenship for JewsCIE+
Following the French Revolution and the August 26, 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man, the issue of Jewish rights is debated in the French National Assembly for three days with no conclusion.
Aeltesten Reglement: Constitution of the Jewish Community of Berlin Is IssuedCIE+
Berlin’s Jewish community reorganizes with a new constitution, the Aeltesten Reglement.
Shabbetai Zevi Declares Himself MessiahCIE+
Shabbetai Zevi was born on August 1, 1626 in Smyrna (Izmir), Turkey. A gifted scholar, he showed signs of mental instability early in his life, causing unpredictable mood swings from extreme depression to euphoria.
Amsterdam Jews Excommunicate Baruch SpinozaCIE+
Baruch Spinoza’s ideas about Judaism are rejected by the Amsterdam Jewish community, eventually leading to his excommunication. He goes on to become one of the most important philosophers of the Jewish Enlightenment, which seeks to reconcile the world of Jewish faith with secular, empirical reality.
Conversos Massacred in CordobaCIE+
A riot breaks out against the conversos or marranos–Jews who had publicly converted to Christianity but continued to practice Judaism behind closed doors.
Archduke Orders All Austrian Jews ArrestedCIE+
Austrian Archduke Albert V ordered that all his Jewish subjects were to be imprisoned and their possessions confiscated following libelous accusations against an influential member of Viennese Jewish community.
Charter of Duke Frederick II of Austria Is IssuedCIE+
In 1244, the Duke issues a charter extending rights to Jews. His goal is to build the region’s economy. The charter encourages Jewish money-lending and Jewish migration to an outlying area. It also guarantees Jewish safety.
