March 6, 1975 — PLO Attacks Savoy Hotel
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin visits Margalit Ben Ezra, one of the survivors of the Fatah attack on Tel Aviv’s Savoy Hotel, at Ichilov Hospital. By Ya’acov Sa’ar, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
An eight-man amphibious PLO raid hits the beach in Tel Aviv around 11 p.m. and, after being spotted by police, attacks the Savoy Hotel and seizes hostages during a brief shootout. Sayeret Matkal commandos led by a former commander, Uzi Yairi, storm the hotel the next day. They kill seven terrorists and capture the eighth. The final death toll for Israel: three soldiers, including Yairi, and eight civilians.
March 7, 1965 — Egypt Discusses Captured Spy
President Zalman Shazar welcomes Wolfgang Lotz (second from right) and his wife, Waldrud, back to Israel after their release in a prisoner exchange in 1968.
Egyptian authorities release details about the arrest Feb. 22 of Israeli spy Wolfgang Lotz and his wife, Waldrud. Lotz is implicated in sending letter bombs to foreign scientists working in Egypt. Although Lotz made aliyah in the 1930s and began working for Israeli military intelligence in the 1950s, Egypt wrongly thinks he is a German businessman recruited in Berlin to spy for money shortly before visiting Egypt in 1960.
March 8, 1969 — War of Attrition Begins
Israeli soldiers fill a sandbag for use in the fortification of the Bar-Lev Line in 1970. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Egyptian forces launch a major offensive against Israeli positions on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, starting the War of Attrition, which lasts until August 1970. The offensive is part of Egyptian President Gamel Abdel Nasser’s strategy of straining Israel’s military capabilities and economy by forcing it to fight continually. Israel responds by building the fortified Bar-Lev Line, named for IDF Chief of Staff Haim Bar-Lev.
March 9, 1914 — Ruppin Buys Land for Hebrew U.
The Hebrew University campus is seen on Mount Scopus in 1937.
Arthur Ruppin, the head of the World Zionist Organization’s Palestine Office, purchases the estate of Sir John Gray Hill atop Mount Scopus for what becomes the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Hill and his wife, Caroline, bought the land in 1890 and built a summer home there. Ruppin was tasked with finding a location after the 11th Zionist Congress in 1913 endorsed the construction of a Jewish university.
March 10, 1960 — Ben-Gurion Visits Eisenhower
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion meets with President Dwight Eisenhower for more than two hours March 10, 1960. U.S. News & World Report Magazine Collection, Library of Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower meet for more than two hours at the White House about issues tied to the U.S.-Israel relationship. American Nazis and Arabs protest outside, mixing anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages. Afterward, Ben-Gurion avoids reporters’ questions about the Suez Canal, arms sales and a possible meeting with West Germany’s chancellor.
March 11, 1911 — Justice Haim Herman Cohn Is Born
Haim Herman Cohn, shown in 1952, was a founder of the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Judaism. By Theodore Brauner, National Photo Collection of Israel, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Haim Herman Cohn, a strong opponent of capital punishment who serves on Israel’s Supreme Court for 21 years, is born in Lubeck, Germany. Having practiced law in Palestine since 1933, he is asked at the founding of the State of Israel to create the legal system, which he does by combining Jewish, Ottoman, Roman and British traditions. He serves as the state attorney before joining the high court in 1960.
March 12, 1947 — Truman Delivers His Doctrine
President Harry Truman urges Congress to provide aid to Greece and Turkey to block the spread of communism into the eastern Mediterranean on March 12, 1947.
In a speech to a joint session of Congress, President Harry Truman lays out what becomes known as the Truman Doctrine: The United States will provide assistance to any democratic nation under threat from totalitarian forces. While the speech aims to win passage of $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey, the policy helps provide Truman with a justification for U.S. recognition of Israel’s independence 14 months later.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.