Today in Israeli History: March 8 – March 14

March 8, 1969 — War of Attrition Begins

Israeli soldiers fill a sandbag for use in the fortification of the Bar-Lev Line in 1970. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Egyptian forces launch a major offensive against Israeli positions on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, starting the War of Attrition, which lasts until August 1970. The offensive is part of Egyptian President Gamel Abdel Nasser’s strategy of straining Israel’s military capabilities and taxing its economy by forcing it to fight continually. Israel responds by building the fortified Bar-Lev Line, named for IDF Chief of Staff Chaim Bar-Lev.

March 9, 1932 — Naharayim Power Plant Opens

The Naharayim power plant was positioned to take advantage of the flow of two rivers while controlling the level of the Sea of Galilee. Library of Congress.

Pinhas Rutenberg and the Palestine Electric Co. open a hydroelectric plant at Naharayim. It supplies much of the electricity in Palestine until Iraqi troops destroy the facility during the War of Independence. Naharayim, meaning “two rivers,” sits at the junction of the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers. Rutenberg chooses the site because of the rivers’ strong flow and the ability to regulate the Sea of Galilee’s water level.

March 10, 1960 — Ben-Gurion Visits Eisenhower

Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion meets with President Dwight Eisenhower for more than two hours March 10, 1960. U.S. News & World Report Magazine Collection, Library of Congress.

Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower meet for more than two hours at the White House about issues tied to the U.S.-Israel relationship. American Nazis and Arabs protest outside, mixing anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages. Afterward, Ben-Gurion avoids reporters’ questions about the Suez Canal, arms sales and a possible meeting with West Germany’s chancellor.

March 11, 1911 — Justice Haim Herman Cohn is Born

Haim Herman Cohn, shown in 1952, was a founder of the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Judaism. By Theodore Brauner, National Photo Collection of Israel, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Haim Herman Cohn, a strong opponent of capital punishment who serves on Israel’s Supreme Court for 21 years, is born in Lubeck, Germany. Having practiced law in Palestine since 1933, he is asked at the founding of the State of Israel to create the legal system, which he does by taking pieces of Jewish, Ottoman, Roman and British traditions. He serves as state attorney before joining the high court in 1960.

March 12, 2004 — Poet Natan Yonatan Dies

Natan Yonatan was a farmer active in the kibbutz movement before turning to poetry. Courtesy of enacademic.com.

Natan Yonatan, one of Israel’s greatest poets, dies at age 80. A native of Kyiv who grew up in Palestine, Yonatan almost immediately gained recognition after he started writing poetry in 1940. His poems featured strong lyrical qualities and folk imagery, and he was well known for his exploration of the human cost of war. He won the Bialik Prize and served as the president of the Hebrew Writers’ Union.

March 13, 1881 — Czar Alexander II is Assassinated

Czar Alexander II’s reforms included allowing Jews who graduated from secondary school to live outside the Pale of Settlement and take government jobs.

Czar Alexander II of Russia is assassinated in St. Petersburg. He had instituted a series of reforms, including allowing Jews to live outside the Pale of Settlement. The response to the killing includes a spree of anti-Jewish pogroms. The czar’s son and successor, Alexander III, enacts new restrictions on Jews and sparks the start of the emigration of 2.3 million Russian Jews over the next half-century.

March 14, 1473 — Converted Jews Are Massacred in Cordoba

The Cordoba Synagogue was the heart of one of the most important Jewish centers in medieval Spain. By JP Puerta, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A massacre breaks out in Cordoba, Spain, against the city’s conversos — Jewish converts to Catholicism who were believed to practice Judaism in secret. The killing, rioting and looting start during a procession for a new association known as the Caridad, a fraternity for Christians who were not of Jewish origin. The violence continues for several days. Many of the conversos who flee are victimized in the countryside.

Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.