July 21, 1973 — Mossad Kills Wrong Man in Norway
Mike Harari, shown as a young agent, was one of the Mossad leaders in charge of the botched Lillehammer operation in 1973
A Mossad team targeting the terrorists responsible for the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre fatally shoots a Moroccan waiter, Ahmed Bouchiki, in Lillehammer, Norway. The Israelis mistake the waiter for PLO official Ali Hassan Salameh, believed to be the massacre’s mastermind. Five people working for the Mossad are convicted in the killing; a sixth is acquitted. Nine others escape. Salameh is killed by a car bomb in Beirut in 1979.
July 22, 1939 — Actress Gila Almagor is Born
Gila Almagor, shown in 1969, starred on stage, in film and on television. National Library of Israel.
Gila Almagor, the “queen of the Israeli cinema and theater,” is born in Haifa four months after a sniper killed her policeman father. She makes her debut for the Habima Theatre at age 17 in “The Skin of Our Teeth.” She establishes herself as a leading lady at Tel Aviv’s Cameri Theatre beginning in 1958. She appears in 10 TV series and more than 40 films, including “Munich” and “The Debt,” and writes two autobiographical novels.
July 23, 1984 — Israel Elects 11th Knesset
A cab adorned with Likud posters drives through Tel Aviv on Election Day, July 23, 1984.
Israel holds the election for the 11th Knesset. Shimon Peres’ Labor-led Alignment wins 44 seats, while the ruling Likud, led by Yitzhak Shamir, receives 41 seats in the 120-person parliament. Rather than try to form a coalition with some of the smaller parties, Labor and Likud agree to create a national unity government. Peres serves as prime minister for the first two years of the government, and Shamir takes over for the next two years.
July 24, 1920 — Congresswoman Bella Abzug is Born
Bella Abzug joins other politicians and dignitaries on the podium for a pro-Israel rally outside New York City Hall in October 1973.
Bella Abzug, the first Jewish woman elected to Congress, is born in the Bronx to Orthodox Jewish parents from Russia. A member of the Zionist youth group Hashomer Hatzir (The Young Guard), she gains experience for her future career in politics by lecturing about Zionism at subway stops to raise money for Jewish settlement in Palestine. She serves three terms in the U.S. House after first being elected in 1970.
July 25, 1992 — Nightclub Owner Aris San Dies
Aris San (left) performs with his band in 1973. By Moshe Milner, National Photo Collection of Israel.
Aris San, who helped popularize the Greek sound in Israeli music, dies under mysterious circumstances in Budapest at age 52. The Greek native followed a woman to Israel at age 17 and found an audience for his bouzouki-driven music among Greek and Mizrahi Jews. His hybrid music, known as laika, set the stage for the rise of Mizrahi music in the 1970s. He opened Greek nightclubs across Israel, then repeated the success in New York.
July 26, 1967 — Allon Presents West Bank Plan
A map from Time magazine details the Allon Plan.
Yigal Allon, a member of the government and a retired general, presents a strategic proposal for Israel’s retention of the Jordan Valley after the Six-Day War. The Allon Plan calls for a series of settlements and military installations as a buffer against an attack from the east. The plan includes peace with the Arabs, the preservation of Israeli security, the maintenance of a Jewish majority in Israel and the opportunity for Palestinian independence.
July 27, 1656 — Philosopher Spinoza is Excommunicated
Baruch Spinoza survived excommunication to be remembered as one of the most important philosophers of the Enlightenment.
The Amsterdam Jewish community excommunicates 23-year-old Baruch Spinoza after he refuses to take a payment to be silent about his views on Judaism. Particularly offensive to communal leaders are his questioning of the Torah’s divine nature, his denial of the immortality of the soul and his rejection of a providential God. Spinoza nonetheless becomes one of the most influential philosophers of the European Enlightenment.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
