Evacuation from Gaza Begins
Soldiers and policemen begin enforcing the Disengagement Implementation Law, entering Gaza settlements and handing out evacuation orders to settlers.
Operation Moses Begins to Bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel
November 21, 1984 Israel launches Operation Moses, the first of several covert missions to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel. The collaboration among the Mossad, the CIA and Sudanese State Security uses more than 30 aircraft…
Knesset Votes in Favor of Golan Heights Law
In a quickly organized and somewhat surprising move, the Knesset votes to annex the Golan Heights by a vote of 63-21.
High Court Rules Against Settlement for First Time
The Israeli Supreme Court rules on an appeal by Arab landowners that the Gush Emunim settlement of Elon Moreh must be dismantled because of a lack of evidence that it was established for security reasons.
Begin and Sadat Win the Nobel Peace Prize
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin are jointly awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to bring about peace between Israel and Egypt.
Israel, Egypt Separate Forces With U.S. Guarantees
With U.S. assurances, Israel and Egypt agree to a buffer zone between their forces in the Sinai, moving toward what both sides wanted: the return of the peninsula for Egypt, peaceful relations for Israel.
Jewish Settlement Established at Hebron
April 4, 1968 Moshe Levinger and several other Israeli Jews pretending to be Swiss tourists check into a Hebron hotel to establish the first permanent Jewish presence in the city in almost 40 years, taking…
Israel’s Allon Plan Is Unilaterally Presented
Penned by Yigal Allon, the Plan is a strategic proposal for Israel’s retention of the Jordan Valley in the West Bank. It includes a series of Jewish settlements and military installations to act as buffers against potential Arab attacks from the east.
Operation Yachin Begins Bringing Jews From Morocco
November 28, 1961 Israel launches Operation Yachin to enable members of the 2,000-year-old Moroccan Jewish community to make aliyah. By the time the operation ends in 1964, more than 97,000 Jews emigrate from Morocco via…
Immigrant Ship Egoz Sinks off Morocco
The Egoz, a ship making its 12th mission to bring Moroccan Jews to Israel, sinks, drowning 44 immigrants, half of whom are children.
First Israelis Move Into Dimona
In the south of Israel, the development town of Dimona is populated entirely by Mizrahim (Jewish immigrants from Arab lands). It receives municipal status in 1969.
Operation Magic Carpet Ends
Between June 1949 and September 24, 1950, Operation Magic Carpet secretly brings nearly 50,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel.
U.N. Approves Partition Plan
The United Nations General Assembly passes Resolution 181 by a vote of 33-13 with 10 abstentions. The Resolution recommended the creation of separate Arab and Jewish states in Palestine, linked by an economic union.
White Paper Didn’t Halt Land Sales, Report Finds
A Land Transfer Committee report reveals that Arabs in Palestine willingly continued to sell land to Zionists in the early 1940s despite the British legal prohibition on doing so.
Gush Emunim Leader Hanan Porat Is Born
December 12, 1943 Hanan Porat, a leader in Israel’s post-1967 settlement movement, is born in Kfar Pines, northeast of Hadera. The family moves in 1944 to Kfar Etzion in the Judean Hills, then returns to…
Mitzpe Gevulot Established in Negev
The agricultural outpost of Mitzpe Gevulot was established.
Zionist Leader Max Bodenheimer Dies
A close associate of Theodore Herzl, Max Bodenheimer is the first president of the Zionist Federation of Germany and is a leader in the establishment of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). He dies in Jerusalem.
Kibbutz Givat Brenner Is Established
Originally working as laborers in surrounding agricultural communities, the founding members of Givat Brenner establish agricultural and industrial infrastructure for the kibbutz, quickly making it financially stable and self-sustaining.
British White Paper Restricts Jewish Immigration and Land Purchase
The 1939 White Paper signaled Britain’s readiness to relegate the Jews in Palestine to minority status in a future majority-Arab state.
Kfar Ruppin Is Founded
Kibbutz Kfar (Village) Ruppin is established under the framework of the “Tower and Stockade” movement in Zionism, which takes place primarily between 1936-1939.
Zionist Leaders Debate Land Purchase Strategies
Zionist leaders debate how to confront proposed British restrictions on Jewish land purchase in Palestine.
Restrictive U.S. Immigration Act of 1924 Boosts Jewish Immigration to Palestine
Unable to immigrate to the US, many European Jews immigrate to the land of Israel. Between 1924 and 1929, the period known as the Fourth Aliyah, 82,000 Jews arrive in Palestine.
Syria Gains Control of Golan Heights
In border designations for states drafted primarily by Britain and France after WWI, the new state of Syria gains control of the Golan Heights.
Moshav Nahalal Is Founded
Nahalal, the first moshav ha’ovdim (workers settlement), is founded in the northwest Jezreel Valley, about halfway between Haifa and Afula.
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