August 29, 1967—Fourth Arab League Summit Starts
The Fourth Arab League Summit convenes in Khartoum, Sudan, and runs until Sept. 1, mostly under the leadership of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Participants agree that all measures should be taken to regain lands controlled by Israel after the Six-Day War and that the oil-rich countries will finance an increased Arab military presence in the region. The summit ends with the famous three nos: no peace, no recognition and no negotiations with Israel.
August 30, 1987—Cabinet Halts Lavi Production
On a 12-11 vote, Israel’s Cabinet decides to end production of the Lavi fighter jet, a program that began in 1980 and first flew a prototype in 1986. The delta-wing Lavi (“Young Lion”), similar to the American F-16, was meant to be a homegrown mainstay of the Israeli Air Force but was doomed by high costs and a promise to the United States not to sell the plane to other countries. As many as 6,000 people lose their jobs.
August 31, 2004—Bus Bombings in Beersheba Kill 16 Israelis
Bombs explode on a pair of buses 100 yards apart along Beersheba’s main street, Ranger Boulevard, shortly after they leave the central bus station. Sixteen Israelis, including a 3-year-old, are killed, and 100 others are injured. The death toll of the Second Intifada attack might have been worse, but the driver of the second bus gets most of the passengers out before it explodes after seeing the blast on the first bus.
September 1, 1915— Weizmann Joins British Admiralty
Chaim Weizmann, who is credited with playing a key diplomatic role in the issuance of the Balfour Declaration more than two years later, is appointed as an honorary technical adviser to the British Admiralty on the supply of acetone, an important ingredient in the manufacture of the military explosive cordite. Weizmann, a chemist in Manchester, England, has developed an improved process for acetone production.
September 2, 1935—80,000 Turn Out for Rabbi Kook’s Funeral
Mourners crowd the streets of Jerusalem for the funeral of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook.
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, 1905—Scholar Nechama Leibowitz Is Born
Scholar, teacher and biblical commentator Nechama Leibowitz is born in Riga, Latvia, where she grows up competing with her brother, future Israeli philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz, in their father’s Bible quizzes. She makes aliyah in 1930 and teaches at yeshivas, seminaries and Tel Aviv University. Starting in 1942, she gains renown for her weekly “Pages” dispatches posing Torah portion questions for students.
September 4, 1985—New Shekel Is Introduced
Israel rolls out the new Israeli shekel as the official state currency. The original Israeli shekel was launched in 1980 to replace the Israeli pound with a currency using a biblical Hebrew name. Because of hyperinflation in the first half of the 1980s, the Knesset passed the 1985 Israel Economic Stabilization Plan, which included the introduction of the new shekel, worth 1,000 of the old shekels. Confusion ensues.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.