Israel Accepts German Reparations
January 9, 1952 The Knesset ends three days of debate by voting 61-50 to accept more than $800 million in Holocaust reparations from the Western German government over 14 years. The decision sparks protests and…
Knesset Declares Jerusalem Capital of Israel
By a vote of 60-2, with members of Mapam and Herut abstaining, the Knesset adopts a proclamation declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
Shin Bet Head Ami Ayalon Is Born
June 27, 1945 Ami Ayalon, who leads the Shin Bet and the Israeli navy, is born in Tiberias. He serves in the navy from 1963 to 1996. He volunteers for the Shayetet 13 commando unit,…
Politician Zevulun Hammer Is Born
May 31, 1936 National Religious Party politician Zevulun Hammer is born in Haifa. Hammer participates in the Zionist youth group Bnei Akiva and serves in the Israel Defense Forces’ Armored Corps with the Nahal program,…
Meretz Founder Shulamit Aloni Is Born
November 29, 1928 Shulamit Aloni, the lawyer and politician who founds the Meretz party, is born in Tel Aviv. From a young age, Aloni is involved with politics and is relentless in working to bring…
Israeli Spymaster Rafi Eitan Is Born
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…
Tehiya Founder Geulah Cohen Is Born
December 25, 1925 Politician and activist Geulah Cohen, the founder of the Tehiya party, is born in Tel Aviv. Cohen becomes involved with political movements in Mandatory Palestine when she is young, and she joins…
Diplomat, Historian Abba Eban Is Born
Israeli politician, diplomat, historian, and writer Abba Eban is born in Cape Town, South Africa.
Politician Ya’akov Hazan Is Born
June 4, 1899 Ya’akov Hazan, a leader in socialist politics through Israel’s first four decades, is born in Brest Litovsk, Russia. He is a founder of the Hashomer Hatzair scouting movement in Poland in 1915…
Avraham (Granot) Granovsky Is Born
Avraham (Granot) Granovsky, a signatory of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and Director-General of the Jewish National Fund, is born in Moldova.
Future Knesset Speaker Sprinzak Is Born
Yosef Sprinzak, who would serve as the first Speaker of the Knesset and twice as Interim President, is born in Moscow.
