17 Tevet

1524- The organization of the Jewish community of Rome was approved by the pope.

January 3, 1676- Frederick William of Brandenburg issued a decree safeguarding the privileges of the Jews of Berlin.

December 30, 1727- Congregation Shearith Yisroel purchased a lot in lower Manhattan to erect the first structure ever designed and built as a shul in New York (and for that matter, in continental North America). At the time, New York had the only Jewish community in the country; it would be some two decades later before organized Jewish settlement began in Philadelphia, Lancaster and Charleston. Shearith Israel was the only Jewish congregation in New York City from 1654 (then New Amsterdam) until 1825, having been founded by Brazilian Jews of Spanish and Portuguese origin that fled the Inquisition.

Governor Peter Stuyvesant, known for his anti-Semitic views, had initially denied Jews the right to worship in a public gathering; these Jews fought for their rights and won permission. Today, Shearith Israel occupies a grand structure at 70th Street and Central Park West.

December 30, 1947- Arabs killed 40 Jews at the Haifa oil facility.