Aug. 1, 1955 — Dimona Welcomes First Residents From Morocco
Dimona residents dig a sewer line in the development town in 1955. By Moshe Pridan, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
August 2, 1923— Shimon Peres Is Born
U.S. President Bill Clinton demonstrates a 3D camera to Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres at the White House on Dec. 11, 1995. By Tsvika Israeli, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Shimon Peres, the only Israeli to serve as prime minister and president, is born in a part of Poland that now is in Belarus. Peres and his family make aliyah in 1934, settling in Tel Aviv. He is elected secretary of the Labor Zionist youth movement in 1941. He is first elected to the Knesset in 1959 and first serves as prime minister in 1977. He shares the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for the Oslo Accords. He is president from 2007 to 2014.
August 3, 1945—Aug. 3, 1945 — U.S. Investigator Confirms Horrible Conditions in DP Camps
Earl Harrison (right) visits Germany in July 1945 with Dr. Joseph Schwartz, the director of overseas operations for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. JDC Archives.
Earl Harrison, sent by President Harry Truman to check on the conditions in displaced-persons camps, reports that rumors of poor treatment are true in many cases. After visiting 30 DP camps in Germany and Austria, he finds that “we appear to be treating the Jews as the Nazis treated them, except that we do not exterminate them.” Truman then calls for Britain to admit 100,000 Jewish refugees into Palestine.
August 4, 1920— Kaplan Plants Roots of Reconstructionism
Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan learns with students at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Courtesy of Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, publishes “A Program for the Reconstruction of Judaism” in the Menorah Journal, expanding on discussions he had with rabbis and lay leaders. Kaplan argues that Judaism in America is defined by immigrants and has shown no signs of being self-sustaining. He emphasizes Zionism as a key component in the reconstruction of American Judaism.
August 5, 1953— IDF Forms Special Forces Unit 101
Members of Unit 101, including Ariel Sharon (standing, second from left), pose with Moshe Dayan after a successful operation in 1955, by which time the unit was part of the Paratroopers Brigade instead of an independent force. Dayan had opposed Unit 101’s creation in 1953. IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
Unit 101, an independent special forces section of the Israel Defense Forces, is formed with about 20 soldiers under the command of Ariel Sharon to provide a rapid response to terrorist attacks and border infiltrations. Unit 101’s short-lived independence ends after an October 1953 raid on the West Bank village of Qibya destroys 42 buildings, kills nearly 70 civilians and draws U.N. Security Council condemnation.
August 6, 1923— 13th Zionist Congress Convenes
The 13th Zionist Congress meets in Carlsbad, Czechoslovakia.
Meeting in Carlsbad, Czechoslovakia, the 13th Zionist Congress opens to discuss details about the British Mandate for Palestine and the prerogatives of the Palestine Zionist Executive, which guides Jewish immigration and settlement. A successor to the Zionist Commission, the executive changes its name to the Jewish Agency in 1929. The Congress bars non-Zionists from joining the agency, a decision reversed in 1929.
August 7, 2002— Palestinian Cabinet OKs Second Intifada Truce
IDF troops patrol in Hebron early in the Second Intifada in October 2000. By Yael Angelhart, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Palestinian Authority Cabinet agrees to a truce proposed by Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer to withdraw the IDF from Palestinian parts of the Gaza Strip and from Bethlehem. Trying to suppress Second Intifada terrorism, Israeli troops advanced across the Gaza Strip and moved into seven West Bank cities and towns in June. Despite the proposal, the uprising continues until February 2005.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
