First Israel Bonds Mission BeginsCIE+
“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 ProjectsCIE+
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 BeginCIE+
The Third Maccabiah Games commence in the 50,000-seat stadium in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Law of Return Is EnactedCIE+
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.
Airlift of Iraqi Jews BeginsCIE+
Following the passage of March 1950 law allowing Jews to leave Iraq, the Ministry of Aliyah in Israel develops a plan to facilitate their immigration to Israel.
Benjamin Netanyahu Is Born in Tel AvivCIE+
Benjamin Netanyahu, the ninth and current Prime Minister of Israel, is born in Tel Aviv. Although he spends a good portion of his childhood in Philadelphia, Netanyahu returns to Israel in 1967 to fulfill his service in the IDF.
Rabbi Stephen S. Wise Passes Away CIE+
Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, a stalwart of American Zionism and the Reform movement, dies at age 75.
Violence Targets Jews in Arab CitiesCIE+
The U.N. General Assembly vote the previous day for the partition of Palestine sparks between Jews and Arabs in the British Mandate of Palestine and riots against Jews in Arab cities around the Middle East
Early U.S. Zionist Leader Emma Gotthiel Dies
Emma Gottheil, one of the first and most important women in Zionist leaders, passes away at her New York home at the age of 85.
Rabbi Abba Silver Addresses U.N. General AssemblyCIE+
In an address on behalf of the Jewish Agency, Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver calls upon the United Nations to honor the 1917 Balfour Declaration.
Harrison Report Confirms Deplorable Conditions of DP CampsCIE+
The Harrison Report, an inquiry into the conditions of displaced persons camps in occupied Germany, reveals that many of the rumors of poor treatment of Jews are indeed true and that “we appear to be treating the Jews as the Nazis treated them, except that we do not exterminate them.”
U.S. Reveals It Will Not Bomb Nazi Death CampsCIE+
In a letter written to Leon Kubowitzki, head of the Rescue Department of the World Jewish Congress, US Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy states that the War Department would not order the bombing of Nazi Death Camps because they did not see it as a priority for US military resources.
U.S. Republican Convention Supports Jewish State in Palestine
At the 1944 Republican Party National Convention, New York Senator Thomas Dewey’s strong support for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine captures the attention of Zionists in Palestine and, more notably, American Jewry.
Bermuda Conference Concludes Saving European Jews Is Not Feasible
A joint communiqué is issued, and it is clear that no widespread action to rescue Jews will be forthcoming. This bolsters the Zionist argument for a Jewish homeland.
Extraordinary Zionist Conference Begins at Biltmore Hotel in New YorkCIE+
The Biltmore Conference will set the framework for Zionist policy in the years during and after World War II.
Russian Sub Sinks Refugee Ship StrumaCIE+
After being mistaken as an enemy ship, the SS Struma, carrying nearly 800 Jewish refugees hoping to immigrate into Palestine, including 70 children, is sunk by a Russian submarine in the Black Sea.
Nazi Plan for “Final Solution” Is Drafted at Wannsee ConferenceCIE+
Nazis draw up a plan for the “Final Solution” of European Jewry in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee.
Farhud Tears Apart Baghdad Jewish Community
Fueled in part by the brief rule of a pro-Nazi party after a coup, Baghdad erupts in anti-Jewish violence known as the Farhud.
Maccabi Tel Aviv Ends U.S. Soccer TourCIE+
Playing their final match of an eleven match American tour, the Maccabi Tel-Aviv Football Club loses 4-1 to an American all-star team at Yankee Stadium in front of 20,000 spectators.
Exiled Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie Arrives in HaifaCIE+
Exiled because of Italy’s incursion into Ethiopia, Selassie spends a few weeks in Jerusalem contemplating how best to gain global support for his country.
Judah Magnes Outlines Hebrew University ExpansionCIE+
Opening the 1933-34 academic year, Judah Magnes, the president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, outlines an expansion plan for the university.
Recha Freier Establishes Youth Aliyah in GermanyCIE+
The same day that Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul Von Hindenburg, Recha Freier establishes the Committee for the Assistance of Jewish Youth.
First Maccabiah Games Open in Tel AvivCIE+
The first Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish Olympics, open in Tel Aviv.
