November 14, 2012 — Airstrike Launches Operation Pillar of Defense
IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, whose kidnapping in 2006 was masterminded by Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabbari, embraces his father, Noam, at Tel Nof Air Force Base shortly after his release Oct. 18, 2011. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Ahmed Jabbari, the Hamas military chief, is killed in an IDF airstrike on Gaza that marks the start of Operation Pillar of Defense, which aims to destroy rocket launchers that have been persistently firing on southern Israel. The operation lasts until Hamas and Israel reach a ceasefire Nov. 21. Jabbari is considered the mastermind behind almost every Hamas attack from Gaza for years, including the abduction of Gilad Shalit in 2006.
November 15, 1948 — El Al Is Founded
A military DC-4 is repainted as the first El Al commercial aircraft to transport Chaim Weizmann from Geneva, where he had an eye operation, to Israel in September 1948. El Al Archives.
El Al, whose name comes from a Book of Hosea phrase meaning “to the skies,” is formally established as Israel’s national airline. A military plane had first flown under the El Al name at the end of September to bring President Chaim Weizmann and his wife home from Switzerland, where he had an eye operation. The first regular commercial service begins in July 1949 with weekly flights between Lod and Paris.
November 16, 1947 — Immigrant Ship Kadima Reaches Haifa
British soldiers arrest the passengers of the aliyah ship Kadima in Haifa to send them to Cyprus on Nov. 16, 1947. By Hans Pinn, National Photo Collection of Israel.
The ship Kadima, carrying 781 Jewish refugees trying to reach the Land of Israel despite a British ban, arrives in Haifa under escort by a British destroyer after being intercepted en route from Palestrina, an island south of Venice. The would-be immigrants, including 70 from the ship Exodus, are arrested and locked up in a camp in Cyprus. Israel uses the Kadima as a merchant ship from independence until 1951.
November 17, 2012 — Fashion Queen Leah Gottlieb Dies
Leah Gottlieb works with swimsuit model Tami Ben Ami at Gottex in 1980. By Ya’acov Sa’ar, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Leah Gottlieb, known as the queen of Israeli fashion, dies at 94 in her Tel Aviv home. A native of Hungary and a Holocaust survivor, she and her husband founded the swimsuit manufacturer Gottex, for which she was the chief designer. They wanted to re-create the raincoat company they ran in Hungary before World War II, but the lack of Israeli rain led them to turn to swimsuits in 1953. Gottex became one of Israel’s top exporters.
November 18, 1951 — Rock Star Yoni Rechter Is Born
Yoni Rechter receives the Emet Prize, honoring achievements in art, science or culture, from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in October 2008. By Amos Ben Gershom, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Yoni Rechter, considered one of Israel’s greatest musicians, is born in Tel Aviv. He joins the Artillery Corps band in the military, then becomes the keyboardist for Kaveret, which represents Israel in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. He forms a progressive rock duo, 14 Octaves, with Avner Kenner, and they have success writing songs for other performers. Rechter’s career takes off when he releases his first solo album, “Intending,” in 1979.
November 19, 1977 — Sadat Visits Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin welcomes Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Israel on Nov. 19, 1977. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat arrives to a 21-gun salute at Ben Gurion Airport and is driven to Jerusalem for a historic 36-hour visit. Sadat made a speech Nov. 9 in which he offered to speak about peace to the Knesset, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin replied with an invitation Nov. 15. The visit launches the process that produces the Camp David Accords in September 1978 and a peace treaty in March 1979.
November 20, 1944 — Nazis Kill Palmach Paratrooper Haviva Reik
Haviva Reik is shown before her mission to Slovakia in 1944. Moreshet Mordechai Anilevich Memorial via Holocaust Encyclopedia.
Haviva Reik and two other paratroopers from Mandatory Palestine are among 40 Jewish fighters executed by the Nazis in Slovakia. Reik, a native of Slovakia who joined the Palmach after making aliyah in 1939, was left behind when the British dropped three other Jews into enemy territory amid an uprising, so she flew in with U.S. pilots and joined her comrades Sept. 21 for rescue and relief. They were caught by the end of October.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.