This week in Jewish history: Polio vaccine, Hebron massacre, Zionists

Menachem Av 19, 4379 (619 CE):

Yahrzeit of Nehemiah ben Hushiel, the leader of the Jewish revolt against Heraclius, considered the last serious attempt to reestablish Jewish autonomy in Israel prior to modern times. Joining forces with the Persians, the Jews captured Jerusalem in 614 CE, and Nehemiah was appointed its ruler. According to the Book of Zerubabel, he began making arrangements for the building of the third Temple and sorting out genealogies to establish a new high priesthood, but he was killed in the fifth year of his reign.

Aug. 24, 1929:

Sixty-seven Jewish men, women, and children were slaughtered, and scores were wounded, raped, and maimed by their Arab neighbors in the city of Hebron, who rioted for three days amid cries of “Slaughter the Jews.” Jewish homes were pillaged, synagogues were desecrated, and a Jewish hospital, which had provided treatment for Arabs, was attacked and ransacked. The ancient Jewish community of Hebron, which had lived in relative peace for hundreds of years, was not revived until it was recaptured in the 1967 Six Day War.

Aug. 25, 1933:

The Transfer Agreement was signed between representatives of the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and the German government. German goods were purchased, exported to pre-State Israel, and sold there, with the proceeds being used by new immigrants from Germany to start their lives. Between 1933 and 1941, over 20,000 German Jews transferred more than $30 million using this mechanism.

Aug. 26, 1906:

Birthday of Albert Sabin (Abram Saperstejn), developer of the “live” form of the polio vaccine which doesn’t require refrigeration and can be taken on a sugar cube. This development eliminated the need for needles or sterilization, thus making worldwide immunization possible. Sabin refused to patent his vaccine or profit from it in any way so that its minimal cost would guarantee a more extensive spread of the treatment. He also developed vaccines for encephalitis and dengue fever.

Aug. 27, 1945:

The 1,310 surviving Jewish refugees fleeing Europe who had been forcibly transferred to Mauritius by the British government were allowed into Israel.

Aug. 28, 1903:

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination, was first published in serialized form, from August 28 to September 7, in Zmaya, a Saint Petersburg daily newspaper. Despite being exposed as fraudulent, it was translated into multiple languages and disseminated internationally in the early 20th century. Described as “probably the most influential work of antisemitism ever written,” to this day it remains widely available in numerous languages, in print and on the Internet, and continues to be presented as a genuine document.

Aug. 29, 1897:

The World Zionist Organization was founded at the First World Zionist Congress, which opened in Basel, Switzerland, with 200 delegates from 16 countries. Theodor Herzl, who financed it himself, noted in his diary: “At Basel, I founded the Jewish state.” 

The above is a highly abridged weekly version of the daily Dust & Stars. To receive the full newsletter with all the events and remarkable Jews who have changed the world, subscribe: dustandstars.substack.com/subscribe/