British Zionist Leader Arieh Handler DiesCIE+
Handler moves to Israel in 1948, taking a leadership role in Hapoel Ha-Mizrahi. In 2006, at the age of ninety, he makes Aliyah to Israel for a second time.
Israeli Jazz Festival Opens in New YorkCIE+
Acclaimed jazz artist John Zorn hosts the first annual Israeli Jazz Festival at “The Stone,” his New York City venue.
Yemeni Jews Are Secretly Flown to IsraelCIE+
The leader of the Jewish community in Yemen and nine others immigrate to Israel to escape terrorist threats.
“Zionist Idea” Author Rabbi Hertzberg Dies
Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, a leading scholar and Jewish communal and religious leader, passes away from heart failure at the age of 84.
First International Holocaust Remembrance DayCIE+
January 27, 2006 The first U.N.-recognized International Holocaust Remembrance Day is held on the 61st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The goal of the commemoration is to educate the nations of the world and…
Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig DiesCIE+
Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig, a founder of Israel’s National Religious Party and signatory of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, passes away in Jerusalem at the age of 96.
AJC Adopts New Policy Statement on Israel-Diaspora RelationsCIE+
The Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee adopts a new Policy Statement on Israel-Diaspora Relations.
Operation Solomon Rescues Ethiopian JewsCIE+
May 25, 1991 Operation Solomon flies more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 36 hours using 34 airplanes, including a Boeing 747 that sets a record with 1,087 passengers. The operation brings almost twice…
Meir Kahane AssassinatedCIE+
November 5, 1990 Israeli politician Rabbi Meir Kahane, 58, is fatally shot by Egyptian-American El Sayyid Nosair in a Manhattan hotel where Kahane is addressing a crowd of mostly Orthodox Jews. Kahane was elected to…
Jonathan Pollard Is Sentenced to Life in PrisonCIE+
Jonathan Pollard, accused of spying for Israel, is sentenced to life in prison for espionage. He is later released in 2015.
Natan Sharansky Reaches IsraelCIE+
World-famous Soviet refusenik Anatoly Shcharansky is released after eight years in a Siberian labor camp and flies to his new life as Natan Sharansky in Israel.
Achille Lauro Is HijackedCIE+
Members of the Palestinian Liberation Front hijack the cruise ship Achille Lauro off the coast of Egypt. The ship had departed from Genoa, Italy on October 3rd with 748 passengers on board for an 11-day cruise with planned stops in Naples, Alexandria, Port Said, and Ashdod, Israel.
President Reagan Visits Bergen-Belsen and Bitburg CemeteryCIE+
The President, seeking reconciliation with Europe, angers Jewish leaders in the US and Israel with his planned visit to a Nazi military cemetery.
Israelis Participate in Conference With Moroccan JewsCIE+
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.
First International Festival of Jewish Theater ConvenesCIE+
The First International Conference and Festival of Jewish Theater opens in Tel Aviv. The festival coincides with the beginning of the first war in Lebanon and is almost canceled because many Israeli participants were called up for reserve duty.
Iran Executes Jewish Leader Habib ElghanianCIE+
Following a show trial lasting only twenty minutes, Habib Elghanian was executed by firing squad.
Carter Proposes Aircraft Sale to SaudisCIE+
February 14, 1978 President Jimmy Carter announces a plan to sell advanced fighter jets to Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Coming three months after Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s visit to Israel, the proposal draws swift…
American Zionist Leader Rose Luria Halprin DiesCIE+
Rose Luria Halprin, who served twice as the national president of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, passes away at the age of 83 in New York.
Refuseniks Arrested Before FlightCIE+
June 15, 1970 A dozen Soviet dissidents are arrested at Leningrad’s Smolnoye Airport just before boarding a 12-seat Antonov AN-2 aircraft for an attempt to fly to freedom. Also arrested are four conspirators in the…
El Al Flight Attacked in AthensCIE+
December 26, 1968 El Al Flight 253 from Tel Aviv to New York is about to take off after a layover in Athens when two men posing as passengers approach the Boeing 707. One draws…
Mount Scopus Concert Takes PlaceCIE+
A packed audience fills the amphitheater on Mount Scopus to celebrate the end of the June 1967 War and to mark the cultural unification of Jerusalem.
Museum Marks First Official Yom HaShoahCIE+
May 5, 1959 Some 2,500 people, including Israeli Interior Minister Israel Bar-Yehuda and Polish Ambassador Antoni Bida, gather at Kibbutz Lohamei HaGetaot in the western Galilee for a commemoration of the first Yom HaShoah (Holocaust…
Albert Einstein Dies
World-famous scientist and Zionist Albert Einstein dies at Princeton Hospital.
First President Chaim Weizmann DiesCIE+
Chaim Weizmann, a leader of the Zionist movement and the first president of the State of Israel, dies in Rehovot after a yearlong illness.
