May 3, 1882 — Russia Institutes May Laws
Russian Czar Alexander III continues tightening restrictions on Jews by enacting a series of laws known as the May Laws. Part of an anti-Jewish crackdown that followed the assassination of Alexander II in March 1881, the laws toughen the requirements for Jews to live within the Pale of Settlement, ban ownership or management of real estate and block the operation of businesses on Sundays or Christian holidays.
May 4, 1994 — Israel, PLO Sign Gaza Autonomy Pact
Israeli and Palestine Liberation Organization officials sign an autonomy agreement for the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area during a ceremony in Cairo. The agreement, part of the Oslo process, is the first to grant the Palestinians some degree of autonomy. Under the deal, the Israeli military withdraws from those areas, and the Palestinian Authority is created three weeks later, headed by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.
May 5, 1818 — ‘Communist Manifesto’ Author Marx is Born
Karl Marx, best known for writing “The Communist Manifesto” and “Das Kapital,” is born in Trier in what is now Germany to a Jewish mother and a Protestant father who converted from Judaism a year earlier. Marx and his siblings are baptized and converted when he is 6. In 1844 he writes “The Jewish Question,” in which he calls for the abolition of all religion and associates Judaism with all the evils of capitalism.
May 6, 1986 — Israel Helps U.S. with ‘Star Wars’
Israel and the United States sign a secret agreement that calls for Israel to participate in research for the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative. The program, commonly referred to as “Star Wars,” aims to develop a space-based system to destroy nuclear ballistic missiles after launch. One of a series of 1980s security agreements, this one facilitates Israel’s development of the Arrow and Iron Dome anti-missile systems.
May 7, 1983 — Abu Musa Revolts Against Arafat
Abu Musa leads four other senior Palestine Liberation Organization officers in declaring a revolt in Lebanon against PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. The uprising comes amid Israel’s war in Lebanon against the PLO while Arafat is in Tunisia. Abu Musa complains that Arafat is neglecting the fight against Israel while considering an American peace plan that would not give the Palestinians an independent state.
May 8, 1936 — Haile Selassie Arrives in Haifa
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, who fled his country six days earlier as Italian invaders approached Addis Ababa, reaches Haifa aboard a British warship, the Enterprise. Selassie spends two weeks in British Mandatory Palestine, mostly in Jerusalem, before leaving for London. He regains his throne after World War II, and Ethiopia in 1956 becomes the second African country to recognize Israel.
May 9, 1942 — Zionist Congress Meets in New York
Chaim Weizmann, the president of the Jewish Agency, delivers opening remarks at a special Zionist Congress held under the auspices of the American Emergency Committee for Zionist Affairs at the Biltmore Hotel in New York. Weizmann urges the delegates from 17 nations to press the Allied powers to open Palestine to Jewish immigrants. World War II prevented the regular congress in 1941.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.