May 2, 1968 — Channel 1 Starts Broadcasting
Israel Television sends out a test transmission in March 1968 in preparation for going live May 2 that year.
Israelis view their first general-interest TV broadcasts when Israel Television goes on the air at 9:30 a.m. with the image of a menorah, soon followed by the Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day) parade. The new network is also known as General Television to distinguish it from 2-year-old Israel Educational Television. The network becomes Channel 1 in 1994 when commercial Channel 2 begins broadcasting.
May 3, 1906 — Actor Meir Margalit Is Born
Meir Margalit performs for the Ha’ohel Theatre in 1947. By David Eldan, National Photo Collection of Israel.
Stage actor Meir Margalit, a winner of the Israel Prize in 1964, is born in Poland. He begins acting at 13 and moves to the Land of Israel in 1922 with an agricultural youth group. He is admitted to the Ha’ohel Theatre’s drama school in 1925, joins as a full cast member in 1929 and spends most of his career there. He earns a reputation for comedic parts such as the title role in “The Good Soldier Schweik.”
May 4, 1939 — Birth of Writer Amos Oz
Amos Oz’s works have been translated into 41 languages. By Chanania Herman, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Author, journalist and intellectual Amos Oz is born in Jerusalem. After his mother’s suicide when he is 12, he runs away from home at 14. He changes his last name from the Yiddish Klausner to the Hebrew Oz, meaning “strength” or “courage.” He examines the “suffering, searching, conflicted Israeli soul” in such novels as “The Hill of Evil Counsel,” “My Michael” and the autobiographical “A Tale of Love and Darkness.”
May 5, 1985 — Reagan Visits Bitburg, Bergen-Belsen
President Ronald Reagan and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl visit the military cemetery in Bitburg. U.S. National Archives.
President Ronald Reagan lays a wreath and makes brief remarks outside the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, then delivers a speech focusing on German-American reconciliation at the World War II military cemetery in Bitburg, where more than 2,000 members of the Nazi SS are buried. Reagan faced criticism from American Jews, including Elie Wiesel, after announcing the Bitburg plans in April.
May 6, 1951 — Ben-Gurion Visits TVA
The Knoxville Jewish community welcomes David Ben-Gurion with a reception May 6, 1951. Courtesy of the Breman Museum.
Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion arrives in Knoxville, Tennessee, for a two-day tour of Tennessee Valley Authority dams and other facilities. The visit is part of Ben-Gurion’s 26-day U.S. trip, including two meetings with President Harry Truman, to launch the Development Corporation of Israel (Israel Bonds). Ben-Gurion is considering spending bond revenue on TVA-style public works projects.
May 7, 2002 — Bomber Kills 15 While Bush, Sharon Meet
Before learning of the bombing in Rishon LeZion, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President George W. Bush meet at the White House on May 7, 2002, to discuss how to end the Second Intifada and make progress toward peace. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
On the third anniversary of the day when Israel and the Palestinian Authority were supposed to complete negotiations under the Oslo Accords, a suicide bomber kills 15 Israelis and wounds 55 others at a pool hall in Rishon LeZion while Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington. Sharon blames PA President Yasser Arafat and flies home. Hamas claims credit.
May 8, 2007 — Herod’s Tomb Is Discovered
Joseph Chamberlain, the British secretary of state for the colonies early in the 20th century, proposed the Uganda Plan.
Hebrew University archaeologist Ehud Netzer announces that he has found the tomb of King Herod the Great at Herodium in the Judean Desert, verifying the account of the ancient historian Josephus. Netzer, a specialist in Herodian archaeology who has spent more than 30 years digging at Herodium, says a podium, some urns and a shattered limestone sarcophagus have been recovered from the burial site.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
