British Zionist Leader Arieh Handler Dies
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 York
Acclaimed jazz artist John Zorn hosts the first annual Israeli Jazz Festival at “The Stone,” his New York City venue.
Yemeni Jews Secretly Flown to Israel
February 19, 2009 Ten of the fewer than 300 Jews living in Yemen arrive in Israel after being secretly airlifted through arrangements by the Jewish Agency amid threats from Al-Qaeda and other terrorists. The arrivals…
First International Holocaust Remembrance Day
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 Dies
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 Relations
The Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee adopts a new Policy Statement on Israel-Diaspora Relations.
Operation Solomon Rescues Ethiopian Jews
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 Assassinated
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 Prison
Jonathan Pollard, accused of spying for Israel, is sentenced to life in prison for espionage. He is later released in 2015.
Achille Lauro Is Hijacked
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 Cemetery
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 Jews
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 Convenes
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 Elghanian
Following a show trial lasting only twenty minutes, Habib Elghanian was executed by firing squad.
Carter Proposes Aircraft Sale to Saudis
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 Dies
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 Flight
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…
Mount Scopus Concert Takes Place
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.
First President Chaim Weizmann Dies
Chaim Weizmann, a leader of the Zionist movement and the first president of the State of Israel, dies in Rehovot after a yearlong illness.
First Israel Bonds Mission Begins
“The Development Corporation of Israel” (known today as “Israel Bonds”) offers American Jews the opportunity to invest in Israel by purchasing bonds.
Hadassah Medical Center Breaks Ground
June 5, 1952 Having been forced to evacuate its campus on Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus after the massacre of 78 medical people April 13, 1948, Hadassah breaks ground on the Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center at…
David Ben-Gurion Visits Tennessee Valley Authority Projects
Ben-Gurion’s trip, the first visit by an Israeli Prime Minister to the US, includes a tour of hydroelectric and water projects in Tennessee and Alabama.
Third Maccabiah Games Begin
The Third Maccabiah Games commence in the 50,000-seat stadium in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Law of Return Is Enacted
Introduced as part of a festive legislative session marking the anniversary of Theodor Herzl’s death, the Law of Return creates an open-door immigration policy for Jews throughout the world.
