December 29, 1901 — JNF is Founded
The Jewish National Fund, known in Hebrew as Keren Kayemeth L’Israel, is launched after an impassioned speech from Theodor Herzl inspires the Fifth Zionist Congress to approve the idea on a 105-82 vote. The concept of a dedicated fund for land purchases goes back to Rabbi Judah Alkalai in the mid-19th century and was proposed at the First Zionist Congress in 1897. JNF becomes famous for its blue donation boxes.
December 30, 2002 — Ruling: Reservists Must Serve in Territories
The Israeli Supreme Court rules that IDF reservists may not refuse to serve in the West Bank and Gaza. Issued during the Second Intifada, the ruling finds that those who agree to military service give up the right to be conscientious objectors on where to serve. The court fears that allowing soldiers to refuse certain assignments will turn “the people’s army … into an army of peoples,” a particular danger “in a polarized society such as ours.”
December 31, 1973 — Golda Meir Wins Election
Israelis elect the eighth Knesset, and the Labor-led Alignment wins 39.6% of the votes, keeping Prime Minister Golda Meir in power. The dominant issues are the economy, which is racked by inflation, and increasing terrorism. The election was postponed from October after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. Although Meir survives criticism about the war now, the backlash and the Agranat Commission’s report force her to resign in April 1974.
January 1, 1837 — Earthquake Devastates Safed
An earthquake estimated at 6.8 on the Richter scale starts a landslide that kills thousands and causes extensive damage in the Jewish and Arab sections of the Upper Galilee mountain city of Safed (Tzfat). Most of the Jewish quarter and the synagogues are destroyed, and most of the Jewish survivors flee one of Judaism’s four holy cities, leaving only a dedicated few to rebuild the center of the practice of Kabbalah.
January 2, 2002 — Operation Targets Arms Bound for Gaza
Israeli navy commandos take off from Eilat in helicopters at night to intercept the Karine-A, a ship carrying 50 tons of Iranian weapons from Yemen to Gaza via the Red Sea. The commandos seize the shipment before dawn Jan. 3 without firing a shot. The Palestinian Authority purchased the arms, including long-range Katyusha rockets, despite Yasser Arafat’s declaration of a cease-fire in the Second Intifada in mid-December 2001.
January 3, 1919 — Faisal, Weizmann Sign Agreement
Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann and Emir Faisal, son of Sharif Husayn of Mecca, pledge mutual respect and cooperation between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. At the suggestion of the British, the two first met in Aqaba in the spring of 1918, then crafted their accord after a meeting in London in December 1918. The League of Nations’ creation of British and French mandates in the Middle East blocks the execution of the agreement.
January 4, 2006 — Sharon Suffers Massive Stroke
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, 77, has a devastating stroke en route to Hadassah Hospital at Ein Kerem after feeling ill at home in the Negev. Surgeons save his life, but he slips into a coma from which he never recovers. A cerebral hemorrhage is the immediate cause of the stroke, but blood thinners he began taking after a minor stroke Dec. 18, 2005, may have played a part. Ehud Olmert succeeds Sharon as Kadima leader and prime minister.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
