September 1, 1967 — Arab League Signs 3 ‘Nos’
The Arab League summit in Khartoum, Sudan, a response to Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War in June, ends with the signing of the Khartoum Resolutions, best known for the conclusions called the “Three Nos”: no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel and no peace with Israel. The Khartoum declaration shocks Israeli officials, who had expressed a willingness to negotiate after the war.
September 2, 1935 — Rabbi Kook’s Funeral
An estimated 80,000 mourners, roughly a quarter of the Jewish population of the Land of Israel, line the streets of Jerusalem for the funeral of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, who died the previous day. Kook, who arrived from Latvia in 1904, was appointed the British Mandate’s first Ashkenazi chief rabbi in 1921. Unlike many Orthodox leaders then, he supported the Zionist movement as a step toward divine redemption.
September 3, 2011 — March of the Million is Held
More than 450,000 Israelis take to the streets in the then-largest demonstration in Israel’s history, billed as the March of the Million. It is part of a summer of social justice demonstrations focused on affordable housing and relief from the high cost of living. Under the slogan “The government only understands the numbers,” march leaders demand changes from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
September 4, 1975 — Israel, Egypt Disengage
Israel and Egypt in Geneva sign the Second Disengagement Agreement (Sinai II), brokered by U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The deal includes Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai’s Abu Rudeis oil fields and Mitla and Gidi passes and the creation of a U.N.-monitored buffer zone. The First Disengagement Agreement, signed in January 1974, led both sides to pull troops back from the Suez Canal.
September 5, 1972 — 11 Olympians are Killed in Munich
Palestinian terrorists with Black September kill two Israeli team members and take nine others hostage during the Summer Olympics in Munich. The terrorists demand the release of 236 prisoners and a plane to Egypt. The nine hostages and five of the eight terrorists are killed during a botched German rescue attempt at the Munich airport. The other three are released the next month after the hijacking of an airliner.
September 6, 1840 — 9 Jews are Freed after Damascus Blood Libel
The nine surviving Damascus Jews falsely accused of killing a Franciscan Capuchin friar and his servant to harvest the blood are freed by order of Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman pasha. Four other Jewish prisoners have died in prison. Known as the Damascus Affair, the case caused an international furor and marked the first organized American Jewish effort to support fellow Jews overseas.
September 7, 1907 — Ben-Gurion Arrives in Jaffa
Three years before changing his last name to Ben-Gurion, David Gruen arrives in Jaffa to make aliyah with his girlfriend, Rachel Nelkin, and other young adults from Plonsk, Poland. Gruen, a member of the Poalei Zion (Workers of Zion) socialist group, settles in Petah Tikvah to work in agriculture. In his first postcard home, written the day of his arrival, he declares that he is “full of courage and full of faith.”
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.