December 12, 1920 — Histadrut Labor Federation Is Founded
A 1950 poster declares that an immigrant worker’s place is in the Histadrut.
The General Federation of Jewish Labor, known as the Histadrut, is founded in Haifa as a neutral, independent trade union representing all Jewish workers in Palestine. David Ben-Gurion is elected its secretary-general in 1921. By 1927 it has 25,000 members, or 75% of the Jewish workforce in Palestine. The Histadrut’s services for its members include banking and health insurance. It remains a major force in the Israeli economy.
December 13, 1961 — Prosecutor Urges Death for Eichmann
Prosecutor Gideon Hausner cross-examines Adolf Eichmann on June 21, 1961. Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
After the two-day reading of a 100,000-word verdict finding Adolf Eichmann guilty of 15 charges, including murder, crimes against the Jewish people and crimes against humanity, Israeli prosecutor Gideon Hausner pleads with the three judges overseeing the trial to order death for the architect of the Nazi Final Solution. The court accepts the recommendation Dec. 15. Eichmann is hanged May 31, 1962, in Israel’s only use of capital punishment.
December 14, 1981 — Israel Annexes Golan Heights
A day after surgery on a broken hip, Prime Minister Menachem Begin arrives in a wheelchair for the Knesset vote on annexing the Golan Heights on Dec. 14, 1981. By Chanania Herman, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Knesset votes 63-21 to pass surprise legislation to annex the Golan Heights and apply Israeli law there in place of military administration. The Labor Party boycotts the vote because of the bill’s hasty introduction and one-day debate, and the United States joins international condemnation of the law. The move is linked to anti-Israel comments by Syrian President Hafez Assad and to the planned U.S. sale of military aircraft to Saudi Arabia.
December 15, 1999 — U.S. Fund Buys Stake in Israeli Water
An American investment helped Eden Springs water reach far beyond Israeli grocery shelves.
San Francisco-based venture fund Aqua International Partners buys a 25% stake in Israeli bottled water company Mayanot Eden (Eden Springs) for $47.5 million, financing the company’s expansion into the European market. Eden Springs becomes Europe’s leading provider of water in the workplace. The company sells its Israeli and European operations to New York-based Rhone Capital for almost $95 million in 2013.
December 16, 1984 — Activist Abie Nathan Aids Ethiopia
Abie Nathan, shown in 1961, launched an international fundraising campaign for famine victims after visiting Ethiopia in November 1984. By Hans Pinn, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Israeli peace activist Abie Nathan arrives in Ethiopia with $300,000 worth of relief supplies for a country in the middle of a drought-driven famine that kills an estimated 1.2 million people over two years. The shipment, funded through donations by Jews around the world, includes equipment to build a camp that can house and feed 8,000 refugees. Ethiopia cut off diplomatic relations with Israel after the October 1973 Middle East war.
December 17, 1975 — Kissinger Discusses Israel With Iraqi Envoy
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger meets with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Washington on Sept. 11, 1975. Three months later Kissinger floated the idea of an Israel much smaller than the country that emerged from the 1967 war. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger meets with Iraqi Foreign Minister Saddun Hammadi in Paris and tells him that although the United States will not negotiate over Israel’s existence, it is willing to see Israel “reduce its size to historical proportions.” The vision of Israel as small and nonthreatening like Lebanon may have been U.S. policy, Kissinger’s view or simply an effort to tell Hammadi what he wanted to hear.
December 18, 1911 — Health Care Fund Is Created
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett helps open a Clalit Health Services vaccination services complex at Cinema City in Jerusalem in August 2021. By Haim Zach, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
At the urging of Berl Katznelson, a special convention of Jewish agricultural workers in Ottoman Palestine approves a proposal to create Kupat Holim Clalit (General Sick Fund) to handle the health care needs of immigrants to the Land of Israel. The Histadrut labor federation, upon its creation in 1920, takes over the health fund. Its modern successor, Clalit Health Services, covers the health care for 60% of Israelis.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.