British Parliament Debates Future of PalestineCIE+
In the midst of the 1936-1939 Arab revolt, a debate over British policy in Mandatory Palestine is held in the House of Commons.
Arab Congress Rejects PartitionCIE+
At the conclusion of a four-day conference in Cairo, Egypt, Arab leaders adopt the Resolutions of the Inter-Parliamentary Congress. The conference and resolutions are a response to the British Peel Commission Report of 1937.
Weizmann Expresses Dismay Over Britain’s Pro-Arab Position to MacDonald
As part of the Zionist strategy to engage the British government in political negotiations, Chaim Weizmann airs his grievances against the British government for reversing their pro-Zionist policy.
Arab Rebellion Breaks Out in PalestineCIE+
Violence between Jews and Arabs quickly escalated as Arab workers went on a six-month strike as violence erupted in different parts of British-ruled Palestine.
Zionist Leaders Debate Land Purchase StrategiesCIE+
Zionist leaders debate how to confront proposed British restrictions on Jewish land purchase in Palestine.
YMCA Opens New Building in JerusalemCIE+
The Jerusalem YMCA, still operational today, is opened by General Edmund Allenby in front of an overflow crowd.
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.
British PM MacDonald Rejects Passfield White PaperCIE+
The White Paper contained distinct threats to the geography of the Jewish National Home. The subsequent nine years saw unprecedented growth of Jewish demographic and physical presence in Palestine.
Arab Leaders in Palestine Admit Failure of Non-CooperationCIE+
In a diary entry, Frederick Kisch, the head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency, notes that most Arab leaders “recognize that the policy of non-cooperation with the Government has been a failure.”
Palestine Jewish Agency Expands to Include World Jewish RepresentativesCIE+
The Jewish Agency holds its first meeting on August 12, the day after the conclusion of the Congress. With so many Jews having immigrated to the US over the previous four decades, American presence in the Jewish Agency had become financially and politically significant for Zionism’s key growth in the United States.
Israeli Spymaster Rafi Eitan Is BornCIE+
November 23, 1926 Rafi Eitan, whose intelligence career ranges from the high of capturing Adolf Eichmann in Argentina to the low of handling U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard as a spy, is born on a…
Syria Gains Control of Golan HeightsCIE+
In border designations for states drafted primarily by Britain and France after WWI, the new state of Syria gains control of the Golan Heights.
Shimon Peres Is BornCIE+
The only politician in Israeli history to hold the positions of both President and Prime Minister, Shimon Peres is born in Belorussia to Yitzchak and Sara Perski.
Yitzhak Rabin Is BornCIE+
Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s 5th Prime Minister, is born in Jerusalem to parents who came to Israel during the Third Aliyah. He is the first Israeli Prime Minister to be born in Eretz Yisrael.
Zionist Leader Nahum Sokolow Meets With U.S. PresidentCIE+
Nahum Sokolow, serving as President of the Executive Committee of the World Zionist Congress, meets with President Warren Harding in Washington, D.C.
Treaty of Sevres Dissolves the Ottoman EmpireCIE+
Following the San Remo conference in April 1920, a treaty is signed between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire in the town of Sevres, France, officially breaking up the Ottoman Empire.
Herbert Samuel Appointed First High Commissioner of Palestine Durin San Remo ConferenceCIE+
British Prime Minister David Lloyd George asks Herbert Samuel to become the first High Commissioner of Palestine.
Weizmann Sends Warning to British GeneralCIE+
Chaim Weizmann warns that unless world Jewry secures a place of their own they will be faced by a terrible catastrophe.
Anwar Sadat Is BornCIE+
Born into a family of thirteen children in Mit Abu al-Kum, Egypt, Sadat is a member of the Free Officers movement that overthrew Egypt’s monarchy in 1952. As Egypt’s President, he signs a historic peace agreement with Israel in 1979.
Ronald Storrs Is Appointed Military Governor of JerusalemCIE+
British General Edmund Allenby appoints Ronald Storrs as Military Governor of Jerusalem.
Balfour Declaration Is ReleasedCIE+
In seeking official government endorsement for the Zionist cause from a great power, the leadership of the Zionist Organization successfully obtains support from the British government in 1917 by way of the Balfour Declaration.
Sykes-Picot Agreement Proposes Division of Ottoman TerritoriesCIE+
A secret treaty is negotiated to divide the former Ottoman territories between Britain and France.
Correspondence Begins Between Hussein and McMahonCIE+
The Husayn-McMahon correspondence commences between the Arab leader Husayn bin-Ali and the British government official Sir Henry McMahon.
Chaim Weizmann Joins British AdmiraltyCIE+
Chaim Weizmann, first President of Israel, then working as a chemist in Manchester, England, is appointed to the British Admiralty as an Honorary Technical Adviser on acetone supplies.
