Leah Rabin Passes Away
Leah Rabin, peace advocate and widow of slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, passes away at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikvah after battling cancer.
Knesset Passes Environmental Enforcement Law
In a move designed to “make the polluter pay,” according to Environment Minister Raphael Eitan, the Knesset passes the Environmental Enforcement Law.
Ethiopians Protest Dumping of Donated Blood
January 28, 1996 About 10,000 Ethiopian Jews from across Israel demonstrate in Jerusalem against the government’s decision to dispose of blood donated by Ethiopian Israelis. The demonstration outside the office of Prime Minister Shimon Peres…
Matityahu Shmulevitz Passes Away
Matti Shmulevitz, a member of the underground Lehi and an advisor to Menachem Begin, passes away at the age of 75 one day after collapsing during a chess game in Tel Aviv.
Yitzhak Rabin Is Assassinated
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a prominent actor in virtually all of Israel’s modern history, is assassinated by Yigal Amir at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
Aharon Barak Is Appointed Israel’s Supreme Court President
During his term as President, Barak is instrumental in expanding the court’s power, especially in the area of protecting civil liberties and personal freedoms, often from government rulings or military actions.
Full Agranat Report Released
January 1, 1995 The full, 1,500-page Agranat Report, the Israeli government’s official assessment of the Israel Defense Forces’ performance during the October 1973 Middle East war, is released to the public, with the exception of…
Rabin and Peres Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. At the time, Rabin is Prime Minister of Israel and Peres is Foreign Minister.
Agreement on the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area Is Signed
The Agreement on the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area, the first of its kind to grant Palestinians a measure of autonomy, is signed by Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat in a ceremony in Cairo.
Cave of Machpelah Massacre Takes Place
Baruch Goldstein, an American immigrant and member of the radical Kach party, opens fire on Muslim worshippers in Hebron, killing thirty and wounding 125 before being beaten to death by survivors.
PLO and Israel Recognize Each Other’s Existence
After nine months of secret contacts mediated by Norwegian diplomats, the PLO and Israel recognize each other’s existence.
Knesset Passes Ninth Basic Law: Human Dignity
The Knesset reaches a compromise to draft a series of Basic Laws that would eventually form a final constitution.
Shamir Fires Weizman over PLO Contact
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir dismisses Science Minister Ezer Weizman as a consequence of his contact with the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).
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…
Diplomat Eliahu Eilat Dies
After a distinguished career in the service of Zionism and Israel, Eliahu Eilat passes away in Jerusalem at the age of 86.
Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Kach
The Israeli Supreme Court upholds the Central Election Committee’s ban on the extremist right-wing political party Kach from the election for the 12th Knesset.
Mordechai Vanunu Returns to Israel
Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli nuclear technician who leaked details of Israel’s nuclear program to the British press, is extradited to Israel, one day after an undercover female Mossad agent posing as an American lured him to Italy from London.
11th Knesset Election Results in National Unity Government
When neither party receives a majority of the votes in the eleventh Israeli Knesset elections, the Labor and Likud parties form a coalition government.
Fifteen Members of Jewish Underground Extremist Group Are Arrested by Shin Bet
After a two-year investigation, the Shin Bet (The Israeli Security Force) arrests fifteen members of the Jewish Underground.
Yitzhak Shamir Is Elected Prime Minister
Yitzhak Shamir becomes the seventh Prime Minister of Israel after Menachem Begin resigns due to health and personal issues.
Politician Simha Erlich Dies
June 19, 1983 Simha Erlich, the deputy prime minister in Israel’s first two Likud-led governments, dies. Born in 1915 in what is now southeastern Poland, where he was involved in a Zionist youth group, Erlich…
Israelis Protest Sabra and Shatila Massacre
September 25, 1982 An estimated 400,000 protesters in Tel Aviv demonstrate anger at the massacre in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon and demand an investigation into Israel’s role and responsibility. Organized by…
Moshe Dayan Dies at 66
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.
Begin, Likud Elected to Lead Israeli Government in Landslide
Bolstered by the support of Jews from North Africa and the Middle East, Likud’s victory ends the Labor movement’s hegemony over Israeli politics.
