The Racah Institute of Physics is on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Aug. 28, 1965 — Physicist Giulio Racah Dies
Physicist Giulio Racah, a winner of the Israel Prize, dies at 56 during a visit to the city of his birth, Florence, Italy. Racah studied under Enrico Fermi, the creator of the first nuclear reactor in the United States. He left Italy for the Land of Israel in 1939 to escape Fascist Italy’s anti-Jewish laws. His work on atomic spectroscopy earned himself and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem international recognition.
úàåãåø äøöì ðåàí á÷åðâøñ äöéåðé äøàùåï àå äùðé ááæì – ùðú 1897-1898
Theodor Herzl addresses the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland
Aug. 29, 1897 — First Zionist Congress Starts
Spearheaded by “The Jewish State” author Theodor Herzl, the First Zionist Congress opens in Basel, Switzerland, for three days of meetings with roughly 200 attendees. Herzl invites Jews and non-Jews who support the cause. The congress unanimously adopts the Basel Program, which declares that “Zionism aims at establishing for the Jewish people a publicly and legally assured home in the Land of Israel.”
Photo credit: Matson Photo Service via U.S. Library of Congress
Harold MacMichael, the high commissioner for Palestine, poses in the sunken garden of his official residence
Aug. 30, 1944 — Commissioner MacMichael Ends Term in Palestine
Rattled by attempts on his life and fearing for the safety of his family, Harold MacMichael resigns as Britain’s fifth high commissioner to Palestine after more than six years, a period of increasing restrictions on Jewish immigration. His actions that angered the Jewish population included his refusal to allow entry to the refugees on the Struma, which then sank in the Black Sea, and his focus on Arabs’ economic needs.
Photo credit: Hans Pinn, National Photo Collection of Israel
Members of the U.N. Special Committee on Palestine visiting in June 1947 include Enrique Fabregat of Uruguay and Chairman Emil Sandstroem of Sweden
Aug. 31, 1947 — Last Meeting for Special Panel on Palestine
The U.N. Special Committee on Palestine, formed four months earlier to investigate violence and recommend the next political steps for the British-administered region, meets for the final time. Its majority report, endorsed by eight of the 11 nations on the panel, calls for Palestine’s partition into two states with an economic union. The minority report from Iran, India and Yugoslavia calls for a federation of Jewish and Arab states.
Photo credit:Bibliotheca Alexandria
(From left) King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, President Abdullah al-Sallal of Yemen, Emir Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah of Kuwait and President Abdul Rahman Arif of Iraq meet in Sudan for the Arab League summit Aug. 29, 1967.
Sept. 1, 1967 — Arab League Says No, No, No
The Arab League summit in Khartoum, Sudan, a response to Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War in June, ends with the signing of the Khartoum Resolutions, best known for the conclusions known as the “Three Nos”: no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel and no peace with Israel. The Khartoum declaration shocks Israeli officials, who had expressed a willingness to negotiate after the war.
After halting its Jordan River water project under international pressure, Israel launched the National Water Carrier with Sea of Galilee water in 1956
Sept. 2, 1953 — Israel Begins Jordan River Project
Israel starts work on a project to divert some of the water of the Jordan River at the B’not Yaakov (Daughters of Jacob) Bridge in the north to irrigate the Negev and in the process generate electricity. The project is halted within weeks, however, after Syria claims that the work violates its 1949 armistice agreement with Israel. Years of negotiations follow before Israel decides to take water from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) instead.
Photo credit: Gilabrand, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nechama Leibowitz was a nationally treasured Torah scholar and teacher
Sept. 3, 1905 — Scholar Nechama Leibowitz Is Born
Scholar, teacher and biblical commentator Nechama Leibowitz is born in Riga, Latvia, where she grows up competing with her brother, future Israeli philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz, in their father’s Bible quizzes. She makes aliyah in 1930 and teaches at yeshivas, seminaries and Tel Aviv University. Starting in 1942, she gains renown for her weekly “Pages” dispatches posing Torah portion questions for students.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
