Events in the year 1940 in the British Mandate of Palestine. Incumbents High Commissioner – Sir Harold MacMichael Emir of Transjordan – Abdullah I bin al-Hussein Prime Minister of Transjordan – Tawfik Abu al-Huda Events 27 April – A friendly association football match between the national teams of Mandatory Palestine and Lebanon takes place at the Maccabiah Stadium in Tel Aviv; Mandatory Palestine beats Lebanon 5–1. June – The Zionist underground paramilitary group "Lehi" is established by Avraham Stern with the aim of forcibly evicting the British from Palestine. 9 September – The Italian Air Force bombs Tel Aviv causing 137 deaths. 25 November – The Patria, a French-built ocean liner, carrying approximately 1,800 Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe to Palestine, sinks in the Haifa harbour after a bomb carried covertly on board by the Haganah to explodes; 260 people are killed and another 172 injured. 12 December – The MV Salvador carrying some 327 Bulgarian Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe to Palestine, is wrecked in a violent storm in the Sea of Marmora, near Istanbul; 204 passengers including 66 children are drowned. Notable births 25 January – Avraham Lanir, Israeli fighter pilot, highest ranking Israeli Air Force pilot to fall into enemy hands (died 1973) 25 January – Giora Leshem, Israeli poet and publisher (died 2011) 26 February – Amos Kloner, Israeli archaeologist (died 2019) 29 February – Uri Milstein, Israeli historian 12 March – Eitan Haber, Israeli journalist 26 March – Haim Oron, Israeli politician 1 April – Amos Yaron, Israeli general 19 April – Yaron Ezrahi, Israeli political theorist (died 2019) 1 May – Elana Eden, Israeli actress 10 May – Zeidan Atashi, Druze Israeli politician and diplomat 29 May – Eliezer Shlomo Schick, Israeli Hasidic rabbi (died 2015) 6 June – Asa Kasher, Israeli philosopher and linguist 17 July – Faisal Husseini, Palestinian Arab politician and senior member of PLO (died 2001) 1 August – Ram Loevy, Israeli television director and screenwriter 4 August – Eliyahu Ben Haim, Israeli-American rabbi, prominent leader of the Sephardic Jewish community in New York City 15 August – Ze'ev Revach, comedian, movie actor, director 24 August – Yaron London, Israeli media personality, journalist, actor and songwriter 12 September – Amatzia Chen, Israeli general 3 October – Tamar Gozansky, Israeli politician 18 October – Uzi Even, Israeli scientist and politician, first openly gay member of the Knesset 20 October – Iftach