May 8, 1936 — Haile Selassie Arrives in Haifa
G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, U.S. Library of Congress
The family of exiled Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie arrives in Haifa aboard the HMS Enterprise on May 8, 1936.
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, who fled his country six days earlier as Italian invaders approached Addis Ababa, reaches Haifa aboard a British warship, the Enterprise. Selassie spends two weeks in British Mandatory Palestine, mostly in Jerusalem, before leaving for London. He regains his throne after World War II, and Ethiopia in 1956 becomes the second African country to recognize Israel.
May 9, 1979 — Post-Shah Iran Executes Jewish Leader
Habib Elghanian was in the United States when the shah fled Iran, but he returned to Iran in March 1979 because he was confident he had nothing to fear.
Habib Elghanian, a Tehran businessman and leader of Iran’s Jewish community, is executed by the revolutionary Islamic government after his conviction in a 20-minute trial of being a Zionist spy and “corrupter on Earth.” He was a frequent visitor to Israel who built the Shimshon Tower in Tel Aviv with his brothers and purchased the house that became Israel’s embassy in Tehran. His execution accelerates Iranian Jewish emigration.
May 10, 1994 — Arafat Calls for Jihad to Free Jerusalem
By Ya’acov Sa’ar, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat greets Israeli President Ezer Weizman in front of Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg the day before Arafat’s jihad speech. Both are in South Africa for Mandela’s inauguration as president.
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat greets Israeli President Ezer Weizman in front of Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg the day before Arafat’s jihad speech. Both are in South Africa for Mandela’s inauguration as president.
In an address at a mosque in Johannesburg, Yasser Arafat declares that the Oslo Accords, signed eight months earlier, are just a step toward Islam’s conquest of Jerusalem. The Palestine Liberation Organization leader compares Oslo to a treaty that Muhammad signed in 628 with the tribe that controlled Mecca, only to declare the treaty void at the first opportunity and conquer the city. The speech undermines Oslo progress.
May 11, 1965 — Israel Museum Opens
By Moshe Pridan, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0
Israeli first lady Rachel Shazar cuts the ribbon at the opening of the Israel Museum on May 11, 1965. Beside her is Teddy Kollek, then the chairman of the museum’s board of governors and later in 1965 to be elected Jerusalem’s mayor.
The Israel Museum, the state’s largest, opens in Jerusalem with more than 500,000 items. The museum had long been discussed and gained momentum in the early 1960s with support from foreign benefactors, including the U.S. government, and through the efforts of Teddy Kollek, who became the head of the museum’s board in 1964. The museum includes the Shrine of the Book, home to some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
May 12, 1992 — First Israeli Scales Mount Everest
Courtesy of Doron Erel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Israel21c
Doron Erel waves an Israeli flag atop Mount Everest on May 12, 1992.
Doron Erel, 33, the son of Holocaust survivors and a former member of the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit, becomes the first Israeli to reach the summit of Mount Everest in an expedition with 13 other climbers. Having gained experience climbing in the Sinai and Alaska, where he was the first Israeli to summit Mount McKinley, he goes on to complete the Seven Summits, reaching the top of the highest peak on each continent.
May 13, 1934 — Archaeologist Ehud Netzer Is Born
By Avi Deror, own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A memorial on Ussishkin Street in Jerusalem marks the spot where Alexander Rubowitz was abducted.
Archaeologist Ehud Netzer is born in Jerusalem to two teachers. He earns a degree in architecture, then turns to archaeology after joining Yigael Yadin for summer digs at Masada, whose restoration he leads after Yadin’s death. He devotes much of his career to Herodium, the desert fortress built by Herod the Great. He also excavates ancient winter palaces and a first century B.C.E. synagogue near Jericho.
May 14, 1948 — Israel Declares Independence
By Zoltan Kluger, National Photo Collection of Israel
David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, reads the state’s Declaration of Independence at the Tel Aviv Museum on May 14, 1948.
David Ben-Gurion, the chairman of the Provisional State Council, reads Israel’s Declaration of Independence on a Friday afternoon in Tel Aviv. In many ways paralleling the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the Israeli document includes a synopsis of Jewish history, expresses intentions toward inhabitants (Jewish and non-Jewish) and neighbors, and makes the case for a Jewish state under international law.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
