March 13, 1881 — Czar Alexander II Is Assassinated
Czar Alexander II’s reforms included allowing Jews who graduated from secondary school to live outside the Pale of Settlement and take government jobs.
Czar Alexander II of Russia is assassinated in St. Petersburg. He had instituted a series of reforms, including allowing Jews to live outside the Pale of Settlement. The response to the killing includes a spree of anti-Jewish pogroms. His son and successor, Alexander III, enacts new restrictions on Jews and sparks the start of the emigration of 2.3 million Russian Jews the next half-century, some to the Land of Israel.
March 14, 1473 — Jews Are Massacred in Cordoba
The Cordoba Synagogue was the heart of one of the most important Jewish centers in medieval Spain. By JP Puerta, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A massacre breaks out in Cordoba, Spain, against the city’s conversos — Jewish converts to Catholicism who are believed to practice Judaism in secret. The killing, rioting and looting start during a procession for a new association known as the Caridad, a fraternity for Christians who were not of Jewish origin. The violence continues for several days. Many of the conversos who flee are victimized in the countryside.
March 15, 1972 — Hussein Proposes Federal Plan
King Hussein visits with President Richard Nixon in Washington on March 28, 1972. Hussein failed to win any official U.S. statement on his proposed federation with the Palestinians. U.S. National Archives.
Jordan’s King Hussein proposes a Jordanian-Palestinian federation encompassing the West Bank and Jordan under his monarchy to end the Arab-Israeli conflict. The kingdom would have a regional capital in East Jerusalem and a regional and national capital in Amman. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir rejects the plan as a unilateral measure that fails to recognize Israel’s rights. Arab states and the PLO also reject it.
March 16, 1972 — MK Basel Ghattas Accepts Plea Deal
Knesset member Basel Ghattas, shown in 2013, said he was the victim of discrimination. By Orrling, own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Basel Ghattas, an Arab member of the Knesset for the Joint List, signs a plea deal to resolve charges that he used his position to smuggle cellphones and documents to prisoners in jail. Under the deal, he must resign his position, serve two years in prison and pay a fine of 120,000 shekels (about $30,000). The plea deal marks the first use of the MK Impeachment Law, enacted in July 2016. Ghattas claims discrimination.
March 17, 1921 — Mossad’s Meir Amit Is Born
Meir Amit (right) stands with Chaim Herzog in 1962, the year before he became the head of the Mossad. By Moshe Pridan, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Meir Amit, a career soldier who builds the Mossad into an internationally renowned intelligence agency, is born on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias. He joins the Haganah at age 15, serves as a battalion commander during the War of Independence and is second in command to Moshe Dayan during the 1956 Suez campaign. Appointed to head the Mossad in 1963, he stays with the organization until 1969.
March 18, 1974 — OPEC Ends Oil Embargo
The shortages caused by the OPEC embargo led some people to run out of gas, such as this man standing in line with a gas can in Portland, Oregon, in December 1973. By David Falconer via U.S. National Archives.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries lifts the oil embargo it had placed on the United States the previous fall for resupplying Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The embargo quadrupled gasoline prices and produced long lines at U.S. gas stations. The belief that a disengagement pact between Egypt and Israel would lead to a similar deal between Israel and Syria led OPEC to end the embargo.
March 19, 1999 — Hanoch Levin Premieres Last Play
Hanoch Levin (right) works with Oded Kotler on the play “The Patriot” in 1982. Dan Hadani Collection, National Library of Israel, CC BY 4.0.
Hanoch Levin’s final play, “Requiem,” opens at the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv. The play is based on three short stories by Anton Chekhov. Levin dies of bone cancer at age 56 later in 1999 after a three-decade career in which he wrote some 50 plays, 34 of which were produced. His work was generally satirical and often controversial. Prime Minister Ehud Barak praises Levin as “one of the greatest playwrights that Israel has ever had.”
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.