February 27, 1928 — Ariel Sharon Is Born
Ariel Sharon visits the Suez Canal in 1982. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Ariel Sharon, Israel’s 11th prime minister, is born in K’far Malal, near Hod Hasharon. He serves in the military from the War of Independence through the Yom Kippur War and oversees the first war in Lebanon as defense minister in 1982. He becomes prime minister as the Likud leader in 2001, disengages from Gaza in 2005, forms Kadima for the 2006 election, then suffers a stroke from which he never recovers.
February 28, 1942 — Justice Dorit Beinisch Is Born
Justice Dorit Beinisch speaks at her swearing-in ceremony as the Supreme Court president Sept. 14, 2006. By Avi Ohayon, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Dorit Beinisch, the ninth president of Israel’s Supreme Court and the first woman to hold the post, is born in Tel Aviv. With legal degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Beinisch in 1967 goes to work for the State Attorney’s Office. She becomes Israel’s first female state attorney in 1989 and is appointed to the Supreme Court in 1995. She succeeds Aharon Barak as the court president in 2006 and remains in the position until 2012.
March 1, 1922 — Yitzhak Rabin Is Born
Yitzhak Rabin, seen in his Palmach uniform in early 1948, was the first native of the Land of Israel to serve as prime minister. National Photo Collection of Isr
Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s fifth prime minister and the first who’s a native of the Land of Israel, is born in Jerusalem. He serves in the Palmach, leads the defense of Jerusalem during the War of Independence, is the military chief of staff during the 1967 Six-Day War, spends five years as Israel’s U.S. ambassador, becomes premier in 1974, and reaches the Oslo Accords and Jordan peace treaty during his second term as prime minister.
March 2, 1983 — Doctors Begin 4-Month Strike
Only nurses are available to treat patients at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital in May 1983 during the national doctors strike that started in March. By Nati Harnik, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Israel Medical Association launches a lengthy labor action to protest the government’s refusal to grant doctors a substantial pay raise after nearly 11 months of negotiations. Starting with the establishment of private clinics, the strike escalates to hospital walkouts and eventually a hunger strike before the government reaches a settlement June 26 that includes a raise and arbitration over work conditions.
March 3, 1939 — Mufti Rejects Majority-Arab State
The mufti of Jerusalem, though known to avoid most engagement with the British authorities, leaves a meeting at the offices of the Palestine Royal Commission in 1937. U.S. Library of Congress.
The mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, rejects a British proposal to severely limit Jewish immigration while working toward the establishment of a single state of Palestine with an Arab majority and a Jewish minority within a decade. The proposal has the support of the entire Arab Higher Committee, but the mufti refuses to accept any plan that includes a continuing Jewish presence in the Land of Israel.
March 4, 1996 — Hamas Suicide Bomber Strikes on Purim Eve
A memorial to the victims of the suicide bombing stands outside the Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv. By Dr. Avishai Teicher, PikiWiki, CC BY-SA 2.5.
A Palestinian from Ramallah detonates a 45-pound bomb packed with nails outside Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Center on the eve of Purim, when the mall is crowded with children in costumes. The Hamas-affiliated bomber and 13 Israelis, including five children 13 or younger, are killed. The attack is the fourth terrorist act in nine days, combining to kill more than 60 Israelis amid a Knesset election campaign.
March 5, 1891 — Blackstone Petitions President for Jewish Home
William Blackstone believed that restoring the Jewish people to the Land of Israel would help usher in the return of Jesus.
William Blackstone, a Methodist lay leader, evangelist and real estate investor, submits a petition to President Benjamin Harrison and Secretary of State James Blaine that calls for creating “a home for these wandering millions of Israel” in Palestine. The Blackstone Memorial Petition follows a conference of Christians and Jews in Chicago in November 1890 and Blackstone’s visit to Palestine with his wife in 1888.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.