4 Tammuz

1244- 24 wagonloads of Jewish books were burnt in France by the church.

1286- Rabbi Meir ben Baruch ("Maharam") of Rothenburg (1215?-1293), the great Talmudic commentator and leading Halachic authority for German Jewry, was imprisoned in the fortress at Ensisheim. A huge ransom was imposed for his release. The money was raised, but Rabbi Meir refused to allow it to be paid lest this encourage the further hostage-taking of Jewish leaders. He died in captivity after seven years of imprisonment.

1648- 1,000 Jews in Poland were tortured and killed by the Cossacks.

1941- Only a few days after Romania was annexed by Nazi Germany, the Nazis initiated a massive pogrom in the city of Yassi (Jassy) in which up to 24,000 Jews were killed. The Skverer Rebbe, Harav Yaakov Yosef was miraculously saved and afterward fasted on this date every year.

July 11, 1948- Jerusalem was bombed by the Arabs during the War of Independence. When the Jordanians captured Jerusalem, they did not move their capital from Amman to Jerusalem. No country- even while controlling it- ever called Jerusalem their capital other than the Jews.