Relations between Israel and the USSR began to improve under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1987, the two countries established consular ties which coincided with the Soviet Union’s easing of restrictions on Jewish life and eventually opening the gates of immigration to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir dismisses Science Minister Ezer Weizman as a consequence of his contact with the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).
King Hussein of Jordan announces his intention to politically disengage from the West Bank, leaving the PLO to fill the political vacuum.
December 9, 1987 Riots erupt in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in what comes to be recognized as the start of the First Intifada, an Arabic word meaning “awakening” or “uprising.” The immediate…
In 1984, there were approximately 20,000 Jews in Morocco. Both Israelis and Arabs were suspicious of the May 13-14 Conference on the Jewish Communities of Morocco which was held in Rabat.
Palestinian militant factions unsuccessfully challenge Arafat’s control during the First Lebanon War.
As stipulated in the 1979 peace agreement between the two countries, Israel completes its evacuation of Sinai and returns the peninsula to Egypt.
In a quickly organized and somewhat surprising move, the Knesset votes to annex the Golan Heights by a vote of 63-21.
Moshe Dayan, Israel’s iconic military and political leader, passes away from a heart attack in a Tel Aviv hospital at the age of 66.
In 1950, the Knesset passes a law that states, “Whereas with establishment of the state of Israel, Jerusalem once more becomes the capital.” In 1980, the Knesset elevates the law to a Basic Law, giving the political status of Jerusalem increased legislative weight.
June 2, 1980 HaMakhteret HaYehudit (the Jewish Underground), a terrorist group formed by members of the Orthodox Gush Emunim movement, launches its first round of car-bomb attacks on West Bank Palestinian officials. Bassam Shakaa, the…
After Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s diplomatic opening with Israel, almost all Arab states publicly criticized his engagement with Jerusalem.
Yigal Alon, born in 1918 in Kfar Tabor, begins his career in the Haganah. Later elected to the Knesset in 1954, he remains a parliament member until his death.
As a follow-up to the peace treaty with Egypt, Menachem Begin becomes the first Israeli prime minister to visit an Arab capital.
Sixteen months after Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem and Knesset address, the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty is signed at the White House in Washington.
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin are jointly awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to bring about peace between Israel and Egypt.
September 5, 1978 The Camp David Summit begins at the Catoctin Mountain presidential retreat in Hauvers, Maryland. Conducted within the framework of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, enacted in 1967 after the Six-Day War, the…
Six months after his historic visit to Jerusalem, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat invites Israel’s Foreign Minister Ezer Weizmann to meet with him in Salzburg, Austria.
After Egyptian President Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem in November 1977, the United States seeks to move negotiations closer to an agreement between Israel and Egypt.
A group of eleven Palestinian terrorists, who had departed from Lebanon by boat, land on a beachhead north of Tel Aviv and embark on one of the worst terrorist attacks in Israel’s history.
One day after arriving from Egypt for his historic visit to Jerusalem, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat addresses a specially arranged sitting of the Knesset.
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat lands in Israel for a historic 36-hour visit, most of it spent in Jerusalem.
Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan conducts secret talks with Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Hassan Tuhami in Morocco.
Zgibniew Brzezinski, President Carter’s National Security Adviser, wrote a memorandum redefining the Carter administration’s position on resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, and advocating for a Palestinian homeland.
