This Month in Jewish History: March

What happened in the month of March throughout Jewish history?

See a short explanation on the Jewish Calendar

March 712

In Toledo, while Christians were praying for deliverance from the Moslems on Palm Sunday, the Jews opened the gates for the Moslem invaders under Tarik. This marked the end of the Visigothic rule in Spain and the beginning of one hundred and fifty years of peace. Thus began a golden age in which for the most part Jews were able to study what they wanted. The Iberian caliphate was independent of Baghdad and encouraged the flowering of Spanish-Jewish culture, while it was at the same time being suppressed by the Baghdad caliphate.

1733 March 1556

Under orders of Paul IV, privileges granted to Jews in Ancona were revoked. Former Marranos were forced back into Christianity. 23 men and 1 woman were burned for refusing. The Sultan Suliman complained (March 9th) that his Turkish Jewish subjects had been imprisoned and that because of this he had lost a substantial amount of money. He demanded that all Turkish Marranos be set free.

March 1915

Grand Duke Sergei, the Russian Commander-in-Chief began to expel all the Jews from the Pale of Settlement on the pretext that they could not be trusted with the advancing Germans. Kovna, Lithuania, and Kurland were most affected. Over five hundred thousand Jews were forcibly evacuated, sometimes on forced marches. Until the arrival of the Germans, who prevented any more expulsions, over one hundred thousand died of starvation, disease and exposure.

March 1919

In Poland, an anti-Jewish boycott became a serious threat. Cooperatives were created to undersell Jews and numerous laws were passed to force Jews out of business and out of the legal and medical professions.

March, 1921

Treaty of Riga - Poland's post WWI borders are finally recognized. They received almost one-third of the Ukraine along with Galicia, Pozania, Pomerania , and parts of Silesia bringing the Jewish popluation to between 11-15% according to conservative estimations.

March 1933

In Breslau, Jewish lawyers and judges were attacked by the Nazis. This was the first official violence against Jews

March 1

1349(10 Adar II 5109): WORMS Riots broke out in the town. Many Jews fled to Heidelberg others in desperation set fire to their homes or were murdered. An estimated 420 people died that day. Their property was seized by the town.

1870: DI YIDDSHE ZEITUNG – published by J.K. Buchner becomes the first Yiddish weekly to be published in the United States. The language itself was more of a German Yiddish and conservative rather then socialist in direction.

1920: Tel Hai, a Jewish village in the Galilee is attacked by Arabs. Joseph Trumpeldor and five men under his command were killed in the ensuing battle.

March 2

1382: The Mailotin Riots began in Paris. These riots were similar to the tax riots held two years previously. Both times the Jews were considered accomplices in over-oppressive taxes. Sixteen Jews fell victim to this outbreak.

1916 Birth of SHOLEM (ALEICHEM) RABINOWITZ (KIEV) - famed Yiddish novelist, he wrote in Russian and Hebrew. His characters are vivid and memorable, such as Tevye the Milkman, for example. Stempeyu, his first Yiddish novel, helped establish his credentials as the "Yiddish Mark Twain". Sholem Aleichem wrote happy children's tales as well as romances. His pseudonym was originally used to disguise him from his father who, as one of the Maskilim, praised Hebrew and condemned Yiddish.

March 3

1918: The Brest-Litovsk Treaty, is signed between Russia and Germany formally takes Russia out of WWI. Russia had an interest in seceding from the war, and the price she paid was to relinquish control of the Ukrainian "bread basket" to Germany. The removal of the Russian influence in the Ukraine gave rise to nationalistic aspirations. The following year, while Simon Petlyura was commander of the army and national leader, mass anti-Jewish riots and violence broke out throughout the Ukraine..

1919: Emir Faisel writes a letter to Felix Frankfurter expressing his support for the Zionist cause. ”We Arabs...look with deepest sympathy on the Zionist Movement....We will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome”.

1939: Cardinal Pace III, a long time semi-supporter of the German government, becomes Pope Pius XII. He was later greatly criticized for his passive acceptance of the Final Solution.

March 4, 1820

1820 Alexander I of Russia prohibits the employment of Christian servants by Jews.

1849 March 4 AUSTRIA

Abolished discrimination on the basis of religion in their new constitution ("Octroyierte Verfassung")

March 5

1328: After the death of Charles the Fair, Pedro Olligoyen, a Franciscan friar, used the Jews as a scapegoat against French rule. All the Jewish houses are pillaged then destroyed. Approximately 6000 Jews were murdered with 20 survivors.

1891: President Harrison is presented with a petition by prominent non-Jews requesting an international conference to consider and bring to a just conclusion the Jewish claims to Eretz-Israel.

1902: Mizrachi is set up by Rabbi Isaac Jacob Reines as a religious Zionist organization based on the Basel Program and commitment to the Torah. Their slogan is "Eretz Israel for the people of Israel according to the Torah of Israel."

1933: Hitler, needing support for his minority government, called for elections. He terrorized all the opposition, including the communists whom he accused of setting a "mysterious" fire in the Reichstag. After the election, Hitler asked his new majority government to grant himdictatorial powers, which they did.

March 6

1239: With the Edict of Valencia, King James I validates privileges of the Jews of Aaragon. The Jewish courts ( Bet din) were authorized to try all cases except capital offenses. He furthermore forbade all harassment except for financial debts, and these only ifthe United Nations they could be proven.

1781: Georgia ( British colony) Governor James Wright ordered the Jews of the Georgia to leave accusing them of disloyalty to his majesty by supporting the revolution. The order was never carried out.

1815: With the defeat of Napoleon, new restrictions are imposed on the Jews all over Europe. In Lubek the guilds demanded and obtained a decree expelling all Jews.

March 7

1912: The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Hadassah, is founded by Henrietta Szold. The name Hadassah is another name for Esther and was chosen since the meeting was held on Purim. Their main goals included promoting Zionist ideals in the United states and improving health conditions in Eretz-Israel

March 8

1957: Israel is forced by the United Nations and more specifically the United states to withdraw from the Gaza Strip taken in the Sinai Campaign. The entire Sinai was supposed to remain a demilitarized zone which it did until Egypt (Nasser) asked the UN to leave by in preparation for the 6-Day War, to which they complied with alacrity.

March 9

1820 Spain A royal decree officially abolishes the Spanish Inquisition though in reality it was actually only brought to an end on July 15, 1834

1938: The Chancellor of Austria, Schuschnigg, announces a plebiscite on the question of Austrian independence. His policy was to try and keep Austria semi-independent and to limit the more overt anti-Semitic activities. Hitler furiously demanded his resignation, which arrived two days later. His resignation opened the way to the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria by Germany on March 13.

March 10, 1951

1951: In Iraq a law is passed which freezes the assets of all Jews who left the country and who had not returned. This applied to the more than 123,000 Jews who had been forced to flee during the years 1948-1951. An estimated 200 million dollars worth of Jewish property was then taken over by the state.

March 11

1415: Pope Benedict XIII , enraged by the lack of conversions after Tortosa, bans the study of the Talmud in any form and tried to restrict Jewish life completely.

1762: Although Rhode Island was considered more liberal than other states, and although a few Jews had be previously granted citizenship, the state refused to grant citizenship to Aaron Lopez and Isaac Eliezer. The court stated that “no person who is not of the Christian religion can be admitted free of this colony.” Lopez was granted citizenship by Massachusetts, and the sentence “upon the true faith of a Christian“ was excluded from the oath. Lopez was probably the first Jew to be granted citizenship in Massachusetts.

1812: Prussian Jews are granted civil rights. Although later reaction revoked most of this freedom, the discrimination never returned to the level existing in the "Middle Ages." That is, until the rise of Hitler.

March 12

1421: In Vienna, under the auspices of Archduke Albert of Austria, a combination of murder, libel and host-desecration charges bring about the destruction of the entire Jewish community. This was partly due to the revival of the crusader spirit of the Hussite Wars. Many Jews were forcibly baptized, others took their own lives. The rest were forced to leave. Later this became known as the Wiener Gezairah ( The Vienna edict).

1715: Elector Max Emanuel orders the expulsion of the few Jews still living in Bavaria,Germany.

1938: Hitler enters Austria to the greetings of the Church and Cardinal Innitzer. Seys-Inquert, who later achieved infamy as a mass murderer of Jews, is appointed Chancellor. The following day, Austria was annexed to Germany.

1945 : Anne Frank born June 12 1929 is murdered at Bergen Belsen two months before the liberation

March 13

1601 Mordchai Meisels, one of the wealthiest people and biggest philanthropists in Bohemia dies. Although his widow had given presents of tens of thousands of florins to the king and city, soldiers forcibly entered his house on the Sabbath. His nephews were tortured until they “confessed“ that there was still more money hidden away. All the money was declared property of the Bohemian Chamber with nothing left to the family.

1880: Alexander II of Russia is assassinated, and with him his half-hearted liberalism. He was succeeded by Alexander III who, devoted to medievalism, urged the return to Russian civilization. The most influential person during his reign was Pobestonostov, his financier and procurator of the Holy Synod, who earned the title "the Second Torquemada." The newspapers in Moscow, Kiev and Odessa began a campaign against the Jews.

March 14

1630: In Przemysl, Poland, Moses the Braider, a Jewish merchant, is accused of conspiring to desecrate the host and is burned alive.

1937:Pope Pious XI issues an encyclical condemning racism. This was one of the few times the Vatican made a public statement against the Nazi regime. The next pope, Pious XII, did even less.

Birth of ALBERT EINSTEIN 1879-1955 (Ulm, Germany) - discovered of the Theory of Relativity and a theory of photo-effect, which helped pave the way for television. He was a leading anti- war activist during World War I and again after the Second World War. Together with his rise to fame came his awareness of anti- Semitism, and he emigrated to the United States in 1933 after Hitler's rise to power. Einstein was an outspoken advocate of Zionism and visited Eretz-Israel in 1922. Together with Enrico Fermi, he developed the atom bomb. His only comment upon hearing the news of Hiroshima was "Oi Veh". In 1952 he was offered the presidency of Israel as successor to Weizmann, but he declined.

March 15

1886: YESHIVA ETZ CHAIM is founded in New York. It was the first American yeshiva to include the study of Talmud.

1900: : A blood accusation begins after the death of a local student in Konitz (Prussia). Wolf Israelski is accused and arrested, while Count Plucker promoted riots against the Jews. After Israelski was proven innocent, two others, Moritz Lewy and Rosenthal, were arrested on the same charge. Rosenthal and Lewy were acquitted, yet Lewy was sentenced to four years for denying he knew the victim. All the evidence was based on the testimony of a petty thief, Masloff who later received only one year for perjury..

1939: Germany violates the Munich Agreement and marched into Prague.

1945 Anne Frank (born 1929) dies in Bergen Belsen concentration camp from Typhus shortly before the liberation. Anne was born in Frankfurt but spent most of her life in Holland. Once the deportations began Anne and her family moved to a hiding place and stayed there from July 9,1942 until August 4,1944 when they were betrayed. Anne had hoped to become a writer and succeeded beyond anything she could have imagined when her diary was published in

March 16, 1190

1190: On the Sabbath eve before Passover ("Shabbat Hagadol") in York, England, a group made up of clergy, barons indebted to the Jews, and crusaders waiting to follow Richard, set Jewish houses on fire and stole all their valuables. The Jews under Josce, a prominent Jew of York, and their Rabbi, Yom Tov of Joigny (a contemporary of Rabbenu Tam and author of the Yom Kippur Hymn "Omnam Ken"), fled to the castle. Richard Malebys (a noble who owed large sums to Jewish moneylenders) commanded the attackers. For 6 days the Jews held out. A monk who came each morning to celebrate mass and inflame the crowd was killed by a stone thrown from the tower. Facing the choice of baptism or death, most chose death. (Josce killed his wife and two children, and was in turn killed by the Rabbi). The vast majority killed themselves after destroying their belongings. Josce was the last to die. The few who remained opened the gate and requested baptism. They were massacred anyway. Over 150 Jews died, the Sheriff of York was forced to resign, and the bonds of debts to Jews which were kept for safekeeping in Yorkminster were destroyed on the floor of the church.

March 17

1616: In Holland, under the rule of Prince Maurice of Orange, it is decided that each city could decide for itself as to whether to admit Jews. In those towns where they were admitted they would not be required to wear a badge of any sort identifying them as Jews.

1808: The Infamous Decree (decret infame) of Napoleon cancels all debts owed to Jews by those in Military service or by women if it was signed without the approval of their husbands or parents. It also abolished freedom of trade of the Jews by forcing them to acquire permits (which were almost never given) from the local prefects, and it prevented Jews from settling in the area of the Upper and Lower Rhine.

1917: The provisional government in Russia abolishes all restrictions against the Jews.

March 18

1389: On this date is a Massacre at Prague: A priest was hit with a few grains of sand by small Jewish boys playing in the street. He became insulted and insisted that the Jewish community purposely plotted against him. Thousands were slaughtered, the synagogue and the cemetery were destroyed, and homes were pillaged. King Wenceslaus insisted that the responsibility rested with the Jews for venturing outside during Holy Week.

1799: Haifa is captured by Napoleon. This marks the extent of Napoleon's conquest in Eretz Israel. The next day they reached Acre. It was defended by both British warships and local townspeople including the Jewish inhabitants. By June, Napoleon gave up and returned to Egypt.

March 19

1191, MASSACRE AT BRAY, FRANCE - eighty Jews were burned for trying to execute a vassal who had killed a Jew. (After securing permission from a local Lord , they had marched him in a procession and tried to hang him - on Purim three weeks before Easter).

1497: Passover in Portugal: King Emanuel, in an effort to prevent the Jews from fleeing the persecutions, secretly orders the baptism of all children between the ages of four and fourteen.

March 20

1848: In Berlin, Germany, riots and street fighting kill twenty Jews. Anti-Jewish riots spread also to Bavaria, Baden, Hamburg and many other cities.

1897 YESHIVA RABBI ISAAC ELHANAN (New York) is opened as an Orthodox rabbinical seminary. It later expanded into Yeshiva University, with both Jewish and secular studies, a medical (Einstein) and a graduate school (Ferkauf).

1899 JEWISH COLONIAL TRUST - The financial arm of the World Zionist Organization, is set up in England by Herzl. Its goal was to encourage Jewish settlement and projects which would “ advance the Zionist cause.” One of its subsidiaries, the Anglo-Palestine Company, later became Bank Leumi. Other investment helped create the Israel Electric Cooperation and Bank Hapoalim.

1933 March 20, VILNA

At the initiative of the Jews of Vilna, an anti-Nazi boycott began. It eventually spread all over Poland and to many countries in Europe. Yet within 6 months Poland itself signed a non-aggression treaty with Hitler which called for the cessation of all boycott activities.

March 21

629 BYZANTINE EMPEROR HERACLIUS (Eretz Israel) Marches into Jerusalem at the head of his army with the support of Jewish inhabitants. The Jews who had previously fought with the Persians against Byzantine rule decided to support him in return for a promise of amnesty. Upon his entry into Jerusalem the local priests convinced him that killing Jews was a positive commandment and that his promise was therefore invalid. Hundreds of Jews were massacred and thousands of others fled to Egypt. Thus, much of the rich Jewish life in the Galilee and Judea came to an end.

1349: ERFURT Germany - After a mob marched into the Jewish quarter carrying a flag with a cross the Jews tried to defend themselves. Over a hundred Jews were killed and much of the ghetto burned.

1920: President Harding pushes Congress to limit immigration. This would have a direct effect on Jewish immigration prior and during World War II.

March 22

1144: This date in Norwich, England marks the first ritual murder libel. It set the pattern for subsequent accusations in England and France, arose against the background of the Civil War. A 12 year old boy, William, was found dead on Easter Eve, and the Jews were accused of killing him in a mock crucifixion. They were not, however, accused of using his blood for the making of matzos, although this would become a standard feature of later libels. It was later presumed by scholars that the boy died during a cataleptic fit or else he was killed by a sexual pervert. After Easter, a synod convened and summoned the Jews to the Church court. The Jews refused on the grounds that only the king had jurisdiction over them and they feared that they would be subjected to "trial by ordeal." William was regarded as a martyred saint and a shrine was erected in his memory. In spite of this episode, there was no immediate violence against the Jews. Over the years, despite denunciations by various popes, ritual murder libels continued. Possession of a saint's shrine bestowed great economic benefits on a town because sacred relics drew pilgrims who spent money on offerings, board, and lodging. For bones to be considered sacred relics they had to be killed by a heretic (i.e. a Jew). Such charges were used as an excuse to murder Jews as late as 1900 (Konitz).

1190 ENGLAND – King Richard angered by the riots and the lose of crown property ( since the Jews belonged to the crown) renews a general charter in favor of the Jews first issued by Henry II. His Chancellor Longchamp instituted heavy fins against the Pudsey and Percy families thus at the same time enriching the treasury and hurting his political opponents. Only three people who were also accused f destroying Christian property were executed

1564: In Mantua, Italy, David Provensalo and his son Abraham ask the Jewish notables to help him create a Jewish College. The idea was to allow Jews to learn languages and science while also receiving a “Jewish education.” Although they did establish a talmudic academy they were opposed by the local Church and did not succeed in opening the College.

1915: The majority of the Palestine Refugees' Committee under the encouragement of Joseph Trompledor and Vladimir Jabotinsky endorses a resolution calling for the formation of a “Jewish Legion" and propose to England its utilization in Palestine. Within a few days about 500 enlisted.

March 23, 1475

1475: Trent (Italy) is the scene of one of the more notorious ritual murder libels - Simon of Trent: A Franciscan monk, Bernardinus of Feltre, had receintly arrived and began preaching Lent sermons against the Jews. A week before Easter a boy by the name of Simon drowned in the river Adige. The monk charged the Jews with using the body for its blood. The body washed up a few days later near the house of a Jew who brought it to the Bishop Honderbach. 17 Jews were tortured for over two weeks. Some confessed while being tortured and 6 Jews were burnt. Two more were strangled. A temporary hiatus was called by Pope Sixtus IV, but after five years the trial was reopened and 5 more Jews were executed. The papal inquest agreed with the trial, Simon was beatified, and all Jews were expelled for 300 years. The trial served as the basis for anti-Semitic writings for hundreds of years. Only in 1965 was Simon de -beatified.

February 24

1564: Pope Pious IV permits the publication of the Talmud, although only after censorship and the deletion of the name "Talmud".

1656 ENGLAND: After the outbreak of the English Spanish war Jews living in England petition Cromwell to stay insisting that they are not Spaniards but rather Marranos. Although Cromwell chose not to officially reply , he permitted the community to establish a Jewish Cemetery, and for protection during prayers. His unwritten agreement was conditioned on there being no public Jewish worship. This is considered by many to mark the official end of the expulsion of the Jews from England.

1813: In Argentina, the inquisition is officially abolished. Two months later the Assembly passes regulations allowing freedom of practicing religion if it is observed in ones home.

March 25, 1938

1938: In Poland, after several attempts, the Seym outlaws the ritual slaughter of meat. The bill was never enforced because the Seym dissolved in September during the Czech crisis.

March 26

1920: Shabelsky-Bork, supporter of the "Protocols" tries to assassinate Pavel Milyukov (former leader of the Cadets, who fled Russia in 1918) at a meeting of Russian refugees. Instead, he killed Vladimir Nabokov and was sentenced to fourteen years in prison. After serving for a short time, he was released and befriended by Alfred Rosenberg, the "Nazi philosopher".

1942 The first Jewish transportation arrives at Aushwitz under the command of Rudolf Hoss, containing 1000 Jews from Slovakia and 1000 women from Ravensbruk . According to a conservative estimate from March 1942 until the liberation on January 27 1945 over 750,000 Jews were gassed within its gates. Hoss himself estimated it at 1,135,000.

1979: Peace accord between Israel and Egypt is signed by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat.

March 27, 1639

1639: In Rome, a child is forcibly baptized after his father jokingly remarked that he would not Mind it, on the condition that the Pope acted as godfather. The Jews rioted and were violently crushed. As a result, two of his children were taken, one a baby, and were carried in a ceremony by the Pope.

1839: FORCED CONVERSION AT MESHED (Iran)

Influenced by other anti Jewish riots under the Kajar Dynasty in Iran, the local community attacked the Jewish quarter. The Synagogue was destroyed, over 30 Jews killed and the rest of the community threatened with annihilation. Moslem leaders offered to prevent further riots on condition that the Jews convert , which they did. The Jews became known as Jadid al-Islam or New Moslems thus ending the presence of the Jewish community . In secret they continued to practices Judaism taking what ever opportunities presented themselves, to flee the city with their families

March 28

1917 TEL AVIV – JAFFA – As the war front comes closer, the Turkish Governor of Jaffa orders all Jews to leave the city including Tel Aviv.

1932: The first Maccabia athletic games takes place in Tel Aviv with representatives from 14 countries.

March 29, 1814

1188 March 29, FREDERICK BARBAROSSA – is convinced (both diplomatically and financially) by Moses bar Joseph Hakohen of Mayence to issue a decree declaring “ that anyone who wounds a Jew shall have his arm cut off, he who slays a Jew shall die. This decree succeeded in preventing most of the excesses of the pervious crusades in the third crusade soon to follow. 1559 PRZEMYSL ( Poland) King Sigismund II grants the Jews a charter despite opposition of the local authorities

1814 The King of Denmark officially allows Jews to find employment in all professions and makes racial and religious discrimination punishable by law.

March 30

1218: Henry III of England enforced the Yellow Badge Edict. The badge was a piece of yellow cloth in the shape of the Tablets of the Law and was worn above the heart by every Jew over the age of seven.

1581: Pope Gregory XIII issued a Bull banning the use of Jewish doctors. This did notprevent many popes from using Jews as their personal physicians.

1526 ANTWERP( Belgium) Emperor Charles V issued a general safe-conduct to the Portuguese "New Christians" and Marranos allowing them to live and work there. Although they still had to live under cover they were safe from the inquisition which although under Spanish rule had not be recognized to work in the Southern “Low Countries” Only after the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), when Antwerp passed under Austrian rule were they able to live openly.

March 31, 1492

1492: The Edict of Expulsion (Spain): Since professing that Jews were not under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition, the Church leveled a ritual murder accusation against them in Granada and was thus was able to call for the expulsion of both Jews and Marranos from Spain. The Marranos themselves were accused of complicity in the case, and both were ordered to leave within four months. Torquemada, the director of the Inquisition (and incidentally of Jewish descent), defended this against Don Isaac Abarbanel. The edict was passed, and over fifteen thousand Jews had to flee - some to the Province of Aragon and others, like Abarbanel, to Naples. Still others found temporary sanctuary in Portugal.

1783 HUNGARY – Joseph I I allows Jews to live in the “Royal cities” including Pest. By 1787 81,000 Jews lived in Hungary

This material has been adapted from Beyond Time and History by Eli Birnbaum. It may not be reprinted or published in any for without the explicit consent of the author

This article belongs to the following subjects:

Jewish History » This Month in Jewish History