July 19, 1999 — Top Officer Stella Levy Dies
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Stella Levy, who commanded the Israel Defense Forces’ Women’s Corps from 1964 to 1970, dies. She was born in Syria in 1924 and moved to Haifa in 1929. She participated in the IDF’s first officer training course for women. During her military service, she oversaw the transit camps for new immigrants. She unsuccessfully ran for the Knesset in 1977, then was appointed to fill a vacancy in 1981. But she lost the seat that year.
July 20, 1951 — Jordan’s King Abdullah is Assassinated
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Palestinian nationalists assassinate Jordan’s first king, Abdullah I, at the entrance to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Abdullah established Transjordan as an emirate under the British Mandate for Palestine in 1921 and made it a kingdom upon independence in 1946. He discussed peace before Israel declared independence but chose to bring his British-trained Arab Legion into the 1948 war and captured the area known as the West Bank.
July 21, 1948 — U.S. Opposes Stationing Troops in Israel
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Responding to a request from the U.N. mediator in Israel for U.S. Marines to be stationed temporarily in Jerusalem to support a truce, Philip Jessup writes a seven-point memo to Secretary of State George Marshall on why the United States should say no. Jessup, the acting U.S. representative to the United Nations, argues among other points that the U.S. public would oppose such a use of the military, and it would hurt U.S.-Arab relations.
July 22, 1946 — Irgun Bombs King David Hotel
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The militant Jewish organization Irgun bombs Jerusalem’s King David Hotel, the British administrative headquarters in Palestine, as part of a violent campaign to drive the British out of the Land of Israel. Despite warnings called in to the hotel and to the Palestine Post, the King David is not evacuated, and 91 people are killed, including 41 Arabs, 28 Britons and 17 Jews. David Ben-Gurion is among those who condemn the bombing.
July 23, 2002 — Knesset Enacts Tal Law on Haredi Draft
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On a 51-41 vote, the Knesset approves the Tal Law, an effort to address the growing problem of Haredi yeshiva students receiving exemptions from military service. The law allows Haredim to defer service until age 22, when they must choose vocational training and 16 months in the military or a year of civilian service. The Supreme Court rules the law unconstitutional in 2012, and the issue of ultra-Orthodox military service remains unresolved.
July 24, 1920 — Congresswoman Bella Abzug is Born
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Bella Abzug, the first Jewish woman elected to Congress, is born in the Bronx to Orthodox Jewish immigrant parents from Russia. A member of the Zionist youth group Hashomer Hatzair (The Young Guard), she gains experience for her future career in politics by lecturing about Zionism at subway stops to raise money for Jewish settlement in Palestine. She serves three terms in the U.S. House after first being elected in 1970.
July 25, 1973 — Gold Medalist Keren Leibovitch is Born
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Keren Leibovitch, considered Israel’s greatest Paralympian, is born in Hod Hasharon near Tel Aviv. Leibovitch does not swim competitively until after she is paralyzed from the waist down in an accident while training to be an Israel Defense Forces officer at 18. A coach spots Leibovitch’s potential when she swims as part of her rehabilitation, and she goes on to win four gold medals, two silvers and a bronze in Paralympic swimming in 2000 and 2004.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.