December 22, 1938 — Rambam Hospital Opens
The British Government Hospital of Haifa, now the Rambam Health Care Campus, opens with 225 beds at the foot of Mount Carmel. The British high commissioner for Palestine, Harold MacMichael, hails the hospital as the “finest medical institution in the Middle East.” Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Erich Mendelsohn-designed building, MacMichael says the hospital reflects Haifa’s growth and multicultural mix.
December 23, 1789 — France Debates Citizenship for Jews
The French National Assembly spends three days debating Jewish rights without a decision. Abbe Jean Siffrein Maury declares that Jews form a separate nation with their own laws. Count Stanislas de Claremont-Tonnerre says, “The Jews should be denied everything as a nation but granted everything as individuals.” Robespierre argues for the rights of Jews. Sephardim gain emancipation in January 1790; Ashkenazim must wait until September 1791.
December 24, 1920 — Keren Hayesod is Founded
Meeting in London, the World Zionist Congress launches Keren Hayesod (The Foundation Fund) to raise money for the Zionist movement and help fulfill the Balfour Declaration’s promise of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Now known in English as the United Israel Appeal, the organization collects enough money to help tens of thousands of Jews fleeing Europe reach British-controlled Palestine over the next two decades.
December 25, 1918 — Anwar Sadat is Born
Anwar Sadat, the president who leads Egypt into the 1973 Yom Kippur War and signs a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, is born in Mit Abu al-Kum, Egypt. He is part of the Free Officers Movement, which overthrows the monarchy in 1952. He becomes vice president in 1964 and president in 1970. Peace with Israel follows his November 1977 visit to Jerusalem. Muslim extremists assassinate him during a military parade Oct. 6, 1981.
December 26, 1864 — Land Buyer Hankin is Born
Yehoshua Hankin, who personally buys 30% of the land owned by the State of Israel at independence in 1948, is born in Ukraine. He and his father make aliyah in 1882, and he makes his first land buy for the Yishuv (the area of Jewish settlement) in 1890 when he purchases a plot that becomes the town of Rehovot. His knowledge of Turkish bureaucracy, land law, and Arabic language and culture is key to his land-buying success.
December 27, 2008 — Operation Cast Lead Begins
Israel launches Operation Cast Lead in Gaza after Hamas breaks a 6-month-old, Egyptian-brokered cease-fire. Nearly 12,000 rockets have been fired into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip in eight years, including roughly 3,000 in 2008 alone, before Israel launches the 22-day operation with three goals: to stop rocket fire at civilians; to stop Hamas terrorist attacks; and to stop weapons smuggling into Gaza.
December 28, 1917 — Britain Picks Arab Advocate as Jerusalem Governor
Ronald Storrs, a veteran of the British Foreign Service in Egypt and the British campaign against the Ottoman Turks in World War I, is named the military governor of recently captured Jerusalem by Gen. Edmund Allenby. A weak supporter of Zionism who advocates Arab interests, Storrs survives Jewish calls for his resignation in 1921 and serves as the civil governor of Jerusalem and Judaea until 1926.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.