Jan. 3, 2004 — Sharon Orders 2 Outposts Dismantled
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon orders the Israel Defense Forces to remove two illegal Jewish outposts, Tal Binyamin and Havat Maon, from the West Bank. Sharon’s critics on the right say the outposts are part of the “struggle for the future of Zionism.” His critics on the left call the action a meaningless gesture that falls short of a promise to dismantle 100 illegal outposts. But the decision reflects Sharon’s shift away from the settler movement.
Jan. 4, 1935 — Mosul-Haifa Pipeline Opens
A 590-mile pipeline from Kirkuk, Iraq, to Haifa begins carrying oil from the Mosul fields to the Mediterranean Sea. Crude oil takes about 10 days to travel the full route through the 12-inch-diameter pipe, then is refined and stored in Haifa until it can be shipped to Europe. The pipeline is important as a Suez Canal alternative for the oil-fueled British navy and remains in operation until Israeli independence in 1948.
Jan. 5, 1996 — Phone Kills Hamas Bomb Maker Yahya Ayyash
Hamas bomb maker Yahya Ayyash is killed in Gaza City when his cellphone explodes during his weekly call to his father in the West Bank. The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, intercepts the call and confirms Ayyash’s identity before detonating the explosives it planted in his phone. Nicknamed “The Engineer,” Ayyash created bombs that killed more than 80 Israelis and maimed 400 others after he joined Hamas in 1992.
Jan. 6, 1909 — Communist Leader Moshe Sneh Is Born
Moshe Sneh, a doctor known for his left-wing politics and resistance to British rule in Palestine, is born in Poland. A former World Zionist Congress delegate, he makes aliyah in 1940 and leads the Haganah general staff from 1941 to 1946. He is elected to the Knesset in 1949 and 1951 with Mapam, then forms the Left Faction in 1953. Except for four years, he represents the Communist Maki party in the Knesset from 1954 to 1972.
Jan. 7, 2010 — Early Hebrew Inscription Is Deciphered
University of Haifa professor Gershon Galil announces that he has deciphered an inscription found on a pottery shard from the 10th century B.C.E. at Khirbet Qeiyafa in 2008. Written in ink in a proto-Canaanite script, the inscription is the earliest-known Hebrew writing yet discovered. The text calls for the protection of slaves, widows and orphans, the rehabilitation of the poor, and the support of strangers.
Jan. 8, 1978 — Hadassah Leader Rose Halprin Dies
Rose Luria Halprin, a two-time national president of Hadassah who held numerous leadership positions in the Jewish Agency during the British Mandate, dies in New York at age 83. A New York native, she led Hadassah from 1932 to 1934 and from 1947 to 1952 and served as a liaison to the Hadassah Medical Organization while living in Jerusalem during the construction of the Mount Scopus hospital in the late 1930s.
Jan. 9, 1952 — Israel Accepts German Reparations
The Knesset ends three days of debate by voting 61-50 to accept more than $800 million in Holocaust reparations from the West German government over 14 years. The decision, opposed by Menachem Begin and his Herut party as an acceptance of blood money, sparks protests and rioting. But after Israel and West Germany formalize the arrangements in an agreement eight months later, the payments prove vital to the new state’s economy.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.