Iraq Allows Jews to LeaveCIE+
March 3, 1950 The Iraqi government retracts a policy banning emigration to move to Israel, on the condition that Jews give up their Iraqi citizenship when they leave the country. In addition, those who previously…
Herzl’s Body Is Reburied in IsraelCIE+
August 17, 1949 Theodor Herzl, who was buried in Vienna after his death July 20, 1904, is reburied along with his wife and parents on the Jerusalem hill that is renamed Mount Herzl in his…
Rabbi Stephen S. Wise Passes Away CIE+
Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, a stalwart of American Zionism and the Reform movement, dies at age 75.
Israel Declares IndependenceCIE+
On Friday afternoon in the Tel Aviv Museum, David Ben-Gurion, chairman of the Provisional State Council, declares Israel’s independence. The United States is the first country to recognize the new and already besieged state of Israel.
Bronislaw Huberman Dies
Known as one of the most cherished violinists of his generation, and one of the greatest Jewish musicians of all time, Bronislaw Huberman passed away at his home in Switzerland at the age of 64.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Author Aharon Appelfeld Is BornCIE+
Aharon Appelfeld, an Israeli author, professor, and Holocaust survivor, is born near Czernowitz, Ukraine (then part of Romania).
Israeli Philanthropist Stef Wertheimer Is Born in GermanyCIE+
Born in Kippenheim, Germany in 1926, Stef Wertheimer immigrates to Mandatory Palestine in 1937. A philanthropist and ardent peace activist, Wertheimer has dedicated more than $100 million of his own money to build industrial parks in the Galilee.
Hasidic Zionist Rabbi Friedman Ben-Shalom Is BornCIE+
November 8, 1923 Rabbi Yisrael Meir Friedman Ben-Shalom, a sixth-generation descendant of Rebbe Yisrael of Rizin, is born in Bohush, Romania, to a Hasidic and Zionist family. Friedman Ben-Shalom joins Hashomer Hatzair, the secular Zionist…
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda DiesCIE+
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, considered the “father of modern Hebrew,” dies from tuberculosis at the age of 64 in Jerusalem. Thirty thousand mourners attend his funeral on the Mount of Olives.
Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan Writes Article Leading to Reconstructionist MovementCIE+
Rabbi Mordechai M. Kaplan, publishes “A Program for the Reconstruction of Judaism” in the Menorah Journal. His ideology eventually leads to the creation of a fourth American Jewish denomination, the Reconstructionist movement.
First Jewish Congresswoman Bella Abzug Is BornCIE+
Bella Abzug is born in the Bronx, New York to an Orthodox Jewish immigrant family from Russia. Elected in 1970, she serves three terms in Congress and is the first Jewish woman to be elected to the House of Representatives.
Republic of Poland Minorities Treaty Is Signed
During the Paris Peace Conference, one of the major initiatives undertaken by the Allies is recognition of minority rights in European states. While addressing the rights of minorities in general, the Polish Treaty specifically mentions Jewish cultural and civil liberties.
Composer Leonard Bernstein Is BornCIE+
Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts to Ukrainian-Jewish parents, Leonard Bernstein is one of the most prolific composers and conductors in American history.
The Joint Is FoundedCIE+
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is founded with the merger of the Central Relief Committee and the American Jewish Relief Committee.
Private U.S. Aid Arrives for Jews in Palestine in WWICIE+
Responding to a plea from Henry Morgenthau, United States Ambassador to Turkey and American Jewish leaders, led by Louis Marshall and Jacob Schiff, quickly raise $50,000 in aid for the Jewish community in the Palestine.
Teddy Kollek Is BornCIE+
Teddy Kollek, Zionist leader and long-time mayor of Jerusalem, is born in Nagyvázsony, Hungary.
British Make the Uganda ProposalCIE+
British Secretary of State for the Colonies Joseph Chamberlain and Theodor Herzl meet to discuss Jewish settlement. At this meeting, Chamberlain proposes that the Jewish state be created in Uganda.
First Conference of Russian Zionists Is Held in WarsawCIE+
Held a few weeks before the Second Zionist Congress was set to convene in Basle, Switzerland, 160 Russian Zionists from ninety-three cities and towns in Russia meet secretly in Warsaw, Poland.
Orthodox Union Is Founded, Expresses Support for Zionism
The Orthodox movement created the Orthodox Union, and adopted a constitution and by-laws at their meeting at Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in New York.
