July 25, 1992 — Nightclub Owner Aris San Dies
Aris San (left) performs with his band in 1973. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Aris San, who helped popularize the Greek sound in Israeli music, dies under mysterious circumstances in Budapest at 52. After following a woman to Israel at 17, the Greek native found an audience for his bouzouki-driven music among Greek and Mizrahi Jews, and his hybrid music, known as laika, set the stage for the rise of Mizrahi music in the 1970s. He opened Greek nightclubs across Israel, then repeated the success in New York.
July 26, 1928 — Writer Netiva Ben Yehuda Is Born
Dahn Ben Amotz and Netiva Ben Yehuda wrote 1972’s “The World Dictionary of Hebrew Slang.” Palmach Archive.
Netiva Ben Yehuda, a writer acclaimed for a trilogy based on her service in the Palmach, is born in Tel Aviv. She calls the books neither fiction nor history, but a “worm’s-eye view” of the trauma women experienced on the front lines. She de-mythologizes Israel’s founding and exposes sexism in the Palmach. She advocates the use of Hebrew slang in writing and co-writes “The World Dictionary of Hebrew Slang” in 1972.
July 27, 1656 — Philosopher Spinoza Is Excommunicated
Baruch Spinoza survived excommunication to be remembered as one of the most important philosophers of the Enlightenment.
The Amsterdam Jewish community excommunicates 23-year-old Baruch Spinoza after he refuses to take a payment to be silent about his views on Judaism. Particularly offensive to communal leaders are his questioning of the Torah’s divine nature, his denial of the immortality of the soul and his rejection of a providential God. Spinoza nonetheless becomes one of the most influential philosophers of the European Enlightenment.
July 28, 1845 — Reform Rabbis Turn Away From Israel
In helping launch Reform Judaism, Rabbi David Einhorn argued that Judaism’s mission no longer was a return to the Land of Israel.
A two-week assembly of Reform rabbis in Frankfurt-am-Main ends after the 31 rabbis unanimously agree to remove all prayers calling for a return to Israel. The implication is that Judaism is a religion, not a nationality. The rabbis, who decided in a previous assembly that most of the service could be conducted in German instead of Hebrew, see the Diaspora as an essential part of Jews’ mission to spread God’s message worldwide.
July 29, 1891 — Pregnancy Test Developer Zondek Is Born
Bernhard Zondek, shown in the 1950s, spent decades teaching and researching in Israel after fleeing Nazi Germany. Central Zionist Archives.
Bernhard Zondek, the obstetrician-gynecologist behind one of the first reliable pregnancy tests, is born in Wronke, Germany, now in Poland. In 1928 he and Jewish colleague Selmar Aschheim develop the A-Z pregnancy test, which leads to the phrase “the rabbit died” for a positive result. After losing his job in Berlin in 1933 because of the Nazis, he moves to Mandatory Palestine in 1934 and works in hormone research at Hebrew University.
July 30, 1992 — Yael Arad Wins Israel’s First Olympic Medal
By Ya’acov Sa’ar, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin meets with silver medalist Yael Arad and bronze medalist Oren Smadja on Aug. 31, 1992, to celebrate their Olympic judo success.
Tel Aviv native Yael Arad, 25, becomes the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal, taking the silver in judo in the half-middleweight (61-kilogram) class at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona. She dedicates her medal to the 11 Israelis killed at the Munich Olympics 20 years earlier. In 1993 she wins the European championship and takes silver at the world championships. She competes in the 1996 Olympics and coaches at the 2000 Games.
July 31, 1962 — Politician Moshe Feiglin Is Born
Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0. Moshe Feiglin (center) and fellow members of the 19th Knesset attend their swearing-in ceremony Feb. 5, 2013.
Right-wing politician Moshe Feiglin is born in Haifa. A high-tech entrepreneur, he founds an organization to protest the Oslo Accords, then launches a political movement, Jewish Leadership, which joins with Likud in 2000. He runs for Likud chairman three times and wins a Knesset seat in 2013. His independent Zehut party creates a stir in the April 2019 Knesset election with a plan to legalize marijuana but misses the electoral threshold.
