May 24, 1948 — Battle for Latrun Begins
Inexperienced Israeli soldiers, including many newly arrived Holocaust survivors, attack the Jordanian-held hilltop fortress at Latrun to relieve the siege of Jerusalem 10 miles to the east. Ordered by David Ben-Gurion against the advice of military leaders, the attack uses outdated tactics without air support and fails. Three subsequent attacks also fail. Israel does not capture Latrun until the Six-Day War in June 1967.
May 25, 2010 — Israeli Jazz Festival Opens in NYC
Anat Cohen was one of the featured performers at the inaugural Israeli Jazz Festival in New York in May 2010.
Jazz artist John Zorn hosts opening night of New York’s first Israeli Jazz Festival. The five-day festival celebrates the many Israelis who have risen to the top of the global jazz scene, including bass and oud player Omer Avital and clarinet and saxophone player Anat Cohen. According to Jazz Times, “Israel is the source of an almost miraculous outpouring of talent, a tidal surge that seemed to break over the New York scene.”
May 26, 1924 — U.S. Restricts Jewish Immigration
Congress passes the 1924 Immigration Act, which restricts immigration from any country to 2% of U.S. residents from that location in the 1890 census. The law greatly limits newcomers from Eastern and Southern Europe, from which millions of Jews emigrated from 1880 to 1920. Without the United States as a destination, Jews increasingly immigrate to Palestine, where 82,000 arrive from 1924 to 1929.
May 27, 1911 — Longtime Mayor Teddy Kollek Is Born
Teddy Kollek, Jerusalem’s mayor from 1965 to 1993, is born near Budapest. His parents name him after Theodor Herzl. He moves to Palestine in 1934 to escape Nazism. He is sent to Britain in 1938 and obtains 3,000 visas for Jews in concentration camps. He helps smuggle Holocaust survivors into Palestine from 1940 to 1947. He is mentored by David Ben-Gurion and runs for mayor at his behest.
May 28, 1999 — Submarine Dakar Found After 3 Decades
By Avishai Teicher, PikiWiki, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
The salvaged bridge and conning tower of the Dakar are on display in Haifa.
A U.S.-Israeli team discovers the Israeli diesel-electric submarine Dakar, which disappeared in January 1968, broken in half between Crete and Cyprus almost 9,800 feet beneath the surface of the Mediterranean Sea. Israel bought the World War II-era HMS Totem, along with two other subs, from the British and refurbished and renamed it. It was en route from Portsmouth, England, to Haifa with 69 sailors when it sank.
May 29, 1979 — Dayan Addresses Peace Process
Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan speaks to the Knesset about the events that culminated in the peace treaty Israel and Egypt signed two months earlier. Dayan emphasizes Israel’s commitment to peace and its strong relationship with the United States. He praises Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and expresses optimism that the three-year process to achieve normalization between Israel and Egypt will succeed.
May 30, 2009 — Former President Ephraim Katzir Dies
Ephraim Katzir, Israel’s fourth president, dies at age 93 in Rehovot. Born in Kyiv, Katzir made aliyah with his family when he was 9. He was the founding head of the biophysics department at the Weizmann Institute, received the Israel Prize and served as the chief IDF scientist. He took office as president in May 1973 and served during the Yom Kippur War that year and during Anwar Sadat’s visit to Israel in 1977.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.