June 30, 1937 — Religious Kibbutz Tirat Zvi is Founded
Kibbutz Tirat Zvi sits in the Beit She’an Valley in May 1943, almost six years after its founding. Zoltan Kluger, Israeli National Photo Collection.
German, Polish and Russian Jews establish Kibbutz Tirat Zvi in the Beit She’an Valley as one of the first religious kibbutzim. It is just west of the Jordan River and north of what becomes the Jordanian-controlled West Bank. Its name honors Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, a 19th century Zionist leader. The kibbutz is part of the Tower and Stockade movement, an effort to expand the borders of a future Jewish state.
July 1, 1244 — Jews are Granted Rights in Austria
Frederick II, duke of Austria, was known as Frederick the Belligerent or Frederick the Warlike.
Frederick II, the duke of Austria since 1230, issues a charter extending rights to Jews as a way to boost the economy. The charter encourages Jewish money lending and immigration to an outlying area and guarantees protection. Frederick is the first European ruler to claim Jews as his subjects, and his charter serves as a model for such documents across the continent during the Middle Ages. It remains in effect until Austria expels its Jews in 1420.
July 2, 2011 — National Trail Founder Uri Dvir Dies
The 620-mile Israel National Trail runs from Kibbutz Dan near Lebanon to Eilat on the Red Sea.
Uri Dvir, a founder of Shvil Yisrael (the Israel National Trail), dies at age 80 in Tel Aviv, where he was born. While working for the Ministry of Tourism in 1960, he established a school for tour guides. He later launched Beit Berl College’s department for Land of Israel studies. He planned and initiated the Israel National Trail, a 620-mile hiking path that runs from Kibbutz Dan near Lebanon to Eilat on the Red Sea.
July 3, 1904 — Theodor Herzl Dies
Theodor Herzl, shown in Switzerland in 1901, organized and led the Zionist Organization from 1897 until his death. Central Zionist Archive.
Theodor Herzl, known as the “father of modern Zionism,” dies of cardiac sclerosis at age 44 in Edlach, Austria, seven years after he organized the First Zionist Congress. His will calls for no speeches, flowers or pomp at his funeral, but 6,000 people follow his hearse to the cemetery. The will also requests that the Jewish people bring his remains to Israel, and his body is reburied on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem in 1949.
July 4, 1975 — Refrigerator Bomb Kills 14 in Jerusalem
Emergency workers and volunteers help the wounded after a refrigerator bomb exploded at Jerusalem’s Zion Square on July 4, 1975. National Photo Collection of Israel.
Fourteen people are killed and 62 others are wounded when a bomb built with mortar shells and hidden inside a refrigerator explodes in Jerusalem’s Zion Square. The PLO’s Fatah faction claims responsibility. Arab newspapers praise the attack. Ahmad Ibrahim Jbara, known as Abu Sukar, is convicted of the bombing in 1977 after confessing to its planning and implicating Bassam Tbila, a Nablus resident, as the bomb maker.
July 5, 1950 — Law of Return is Enacted
Avraham Burg, then the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, welcomes immigrants to Israel in 1995.
The Knesset passes the Law of Return on the Jewish anniversary of the death of Theodor Herzl. The law offers an open immigration door to all Jews, formalizing a policy in place since the provisional government revoked the British limits on Jewish immigration in May 1948. The law is modified in 1954 to exclude those with criminal pasts who could endanger public welfare and in 1970 to try to define who qualifies as a Jew.
July 6, 1973 — Conductor Otto Klemperer Dies
Otto Klemperer, shown in 1947, had to flee Germany for the United States with his family in 1933. U.S. State Department.
Otto Klemperer, a German Jewish conductor and composer, dies at age 88 in Zurich. He was an acclaimed conductor for a quarter-century before the Nazis came to power in 1933. His conversion to Catholicism (he returned to Judaism late in life) and marriage to a Lutheran didn’t protect him, and he fled to the United States. Having visited pre-state Palestine, Klemperer first performed in the State of Israel in 1970 and gained Israeli citizenship.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
