November 7, 1878 — Talmud Scholar Karelitz Is Born
Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, known as the Chazon Ish, appears in 1952.
Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, who becomes known as the Chazon Ish as one of the 20th century’s greatest Talmud scholars, is born into a family of rabbis in Kosava in what is now Belarus. His passion and diligence for Torah study are noticed at an early age. He and his wife, Bashe Bei, who works while her husband studies and writes day and night, make aliyah in 1933. He helps build a strong Haredi community in Israel.
November 8, 1936 — Maccabi Tel Aviv Completes U.S. Tour
Founded in 1906, Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club is three years older than its home city.
Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club finishes an 11-match soccer tour of the United States with a 4-1 loss to an American all-star team in front of 20,000 people at Yankee Stadium. The Federation of Polish Jews in America arranged the tour to raise money for the relief of Polish Jewry. Proceeds also promote sports in Jewish settlements in Mandatory Palestine. The tour includes St. Louis, Boston and Chicago.
November 9, 1952 — President Chaim Weizmann Dies
Chaim Weizmann, shown in 1949, played an important role in obtaining the Balfour Declaration and became Israel’s first president. By Hans Pinn, National Photo Collection of Israel, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, dies at his Rehovot home after a yearlong illness. Born in the Polish shtetl of Motol in 1872, he left home at 18 to study biochemistry in Germany and became involved in Zionism in Berlin. In 1904 he moved to England, where his scientific contributions helped the country in World War I. He developed friendships with political leaders that contributed to the Balfour Declaration in 1917.
November 10, 1975 — U.N. Equates Zionism and Racism
U.S. Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan (left), shown in 1976, responded to Resolution 3379 by saying, “The lie is that Zionism is a form of racism. The overwhelmingly clear truth is that it is not.” By Bernard Gotfryd, Pictorial Parade, Bernard Gotfryd Photograph Collection, Library of Congress.
The U.N. General Assembly passes Resolution 3379, defining Zionism as a form of racism and racial discrimination, on a vote of 72-35 with 32 abstentions. The resolution grows out of a propaganda effort by the Soviet Union and gains the support of Arab, Muslim-majority and Soviet bloc nations. The resolution is revoked in December 1991 as part of an agreement to launch the Madrid peace conference.
November 11, 1902 — Air Force Founder Yisrael Amir Is Born
Yisrael Amir died just 10 days short of his 100th birthday. By Ya’acov Sa’ar, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Yisrael Amir, the first commander in chief of the Israeli Air Force, is born in Vilna in the Russian Empire. Amir makes aliyah in 1923 and soon begins to rise through the ranks of the Haganah while studying agriculture. Despite his lack of aviation experience, David Ben-Gurion names him the air force commander in May 1948. Within two months, Amir expands the force from eight light planes to 60 aircraft, including heavy bombers.
November 12, 2000 — Leah Rabin Dies
Leah and Yitzhak Rabin serve Israel in Washington in 1968 during his time as ambassador to the United States. By Fritz Cohen, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Leah Rabin, a peace activist since the assassination of her husband, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, five years earlier, dies at 72 a few days after a mild heart attack. Born in 1928 in Konigsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia), she made aliyah with her family in 1933 and married Rabin in 1948. She was at the heart of a scandal involving a U.S. bank account that led her husband not to seek re-election as prime minister in 1977.
November 13, 1893 — Artist Reuven Rubin Is Born
Reuven Rubin paints a portrait of his son in 1951. By Yair Talmor.
Acclaimed Israeli painter Reuven Rubin is born Rubin Zelicovici into a poor, religious family in Galatz, Romania. He gains attention with his drawings in his teenage years, then sells his bicycle in 1912 to afford to travel to Jerusalem and enroll in the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts. He also studies in Paris and travels around Europe and to the United States before settling in Tel Aviv in 1922.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.