August 8, 1984 — Linguist Avraham Even-Shoshan Dies
Avraham Even-Shoshan is shown with the first edition of his dictionary. National Library of Israel.
Hebrew linguist and lexicographer Avraham Even-Shoshan dies at 77 in Tel Aviv. A native of Minsk, he settled in Palestine in 1925 and worked as a laborer. Between 1946 and 1958, he worked on the New Dictionary of the Hebrew Language, known since 2003 as the Even-Shoshan Dictionary. The dictionary contains almost 25,000 main entries and more than 70,000 words. He was awarded the Israel Prize in 1978.
August 9, 2006 — Wider Offensive Is Approved in Second Lebanon War
Israel’s Security Cabinet approves an expansion of the offensive in southern Lebanon nearly a month into the Second Lebanon War, which started when Hezbollah killed eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapped two others. The resolution authorizes attacks anywhere in Lebanon to achieve five goals, including the return of the kidnapped soldiers. A U.N.-brokered cease-fire ends the war Aug. 14.
August 10, 1920 — Treaty Dissolves Ottoman Empire
Sultan Mehmed VI leaves the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul after abdicating as the last ruler of the Ottoman Empire in 1922.
World War I’s victorious nations and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Sevres to break up the empire. The treaty incorporates the Balfour Declaration’s language calling for “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. The Ottoman sultan, Mehmed VI, endorses the treaty, but the Turkish National Assembly, set up by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, rejects the pact. It is replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.
August 11, 2017 — Holocaust Survivor Dies as World’s Oldest Man
Yisrael Kristal, shown in 2016, secretly made candy in the Lodz ghetto, then made candy to thank the Soviet troops who liberated Auschwitz in January 1945. Kristal family photo.
Holocaust survivor Yisrael Kristal, recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest living man and one of the 10 longest-lived men ever, dies in Haifa one month before his 114th birthday. A candy maker, he was born in Maleniec, Poland, in 1903. He survived the Lodz ghetto, where his daughters died, and Auschwitz, where his wife died. He moved to Israel with his new family in 1950.
August 12, 1944 — Labor Leader Berl Katznelson Dies
Berl Katznelson helped build the infrastructure of Labor Zionism in pre-state Palestine. Central Zionist Archives.
Labor Zionist leader Berl Katznelson dies of a hemorrhage in Jerusalem at 57. A native of Belarus, Katznelson made aliyah in 1909 as a foundry worker but became disillusioned with the poverty of Jewish workers. He developed the idea of a cooperative group of small landholders that led to the moshav movement. His 1919 program for labor unity became the basis for the Mapai party, created in 1930.
August 13, 1942 — Eurovision-Winning Composer Nurit Hirsch Is Born
In addition to composing the 1978 Eurovision winner, Nurit Hirsch wrote the music for Israel’s first entry in the song contest, “Ey-sham,” in 1973. By Ilan Besor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Nurit Hirsch, a musician and composer, is born in Tel Aviv. From a young age, she plays piano at a theater, a ballet studio and a quartet club. She begins to compose after her military service. Her songs are first recorded in 1965 by the Sarid Trio and Gesher ha-Yarkon Trio. With Ehud Manor’s lyrics, she writes Israel’s first Eurovision-winning song, “A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” performed by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta in 1978.
August 14, 1944 — U.S. Refuses to Bomb Death Camps
Assistant War Secretary John J. McCloy arrives at a Royal Air Force base in July 1945 on his way to the Potsdam Conference. Less than a year earlier, he revealed that the U.S. military would not bomb concentration camps. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
U.S. Assistant War Secretary John J. McCloy writes to Leon Kubowitzki, the head of the rescue department of the World Jewish Congress, to notify him that the U.S. military will not bomb Nazi death camps and their infrastructure. McCloy is explicit that the United States could conduct such missions but believes that air operations elsewhere would be more effective in saving Jewish lives by defeating Germany.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
