Dec. 20, 1976 — Rabin’s First Government Collapses
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (center) attends the opening of the World Chess Olympiad in Haifa with Education Minister Aharon Yadlin and Haifa Mayor Yeruham Zeisel on Oct. 24, 1976, less than two months before the collapse of his governing coalition. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s Labor-led coalition falls apart as he fires two members of the National Religious Party, Religious Affairs Minister Yitzhak Rafael and Welfare Minister Zevulum Hammer, from his Cabinet and sees a third, Interior Minister Yosef Burg, resign. Rabin drops the NRP’s 10 Knesset members from the government, leaving him with 57 of 120 seats, and he calls for an election in the spring.
Dec. 21, 1973 — Peace Conference Begins in Geneva
Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban addresses the opening session of the Geneva peace conference Dec. 21, 1973. By Ya’acov Sa’ar, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
A Middle East peace conference opens in Geneva under the auspices of the United States and the Soviet Union, although U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger keeps the Soviets in the dark about progress made by Israel and Egypt toward their 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Syria skips the conference because Israel refuses to recognize the PLO as the Palestinians’ representative. The conference ends Dec. 29 and never reconvenes.
Dec. 22, 1938 — Rambam Hospital Opens
The Rambam Health Care Campus opened in 1938 as the British Government Hospital of Haifa. By Alfred Bernheim, Israel Museum.
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.
Dec. 23, 1789 — France Debates Citizenship for Jews
Count Stanislas de Claremont-Tonnerre argued that Jews as individuals but not as a people deserved the rights of French citizens. Painting by Adolf Wurtmuller.
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.
Dec. 24, 1920 — Keren Hayesod Is Founded
This early Keren Hayesod poster was used to raise money for Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel. National Photo Collection of Israel.
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.
Dec. 25, 1918 — Anwar Sadat Is Born
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat addresses the Knesset during his November 1977 visit to Jerusalem. By Ya’acov Sa’ar, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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.
Dec. 26, 1864 — Land Buyer Hankin Is Born
Yehoshua Hankin’s land deals included Rehovot, Hadera and much of the Jezreel Valley. Courtesy of the Israel Land Development Corp.
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.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.