Today in Israeli History: November 10 – November 16

November 10, 1975 — U.N. Defines Zionism as Racism

“The United States rises to declare before the General Assembly of the United Nations and before the world that it does not acknowledge, it will not abide by, it will never acquiesce in this infamous act,” the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, tells the U.N. General Assembly after its passage of Resolution 3379 on Nov. 10, 1975. “The lie is that Zionism is a form of racism. The overwhelmingly clear truth is that it is not.” YouTube screen grab.

The U.N. General Assembly passes Resolution 3379, defining Zionism as a form of racism and racial discrimination, on a vote of 72-35 with 32 abstentions. The resolution grows out of a propaganda effort by the Soviet Union and gains the support of Arab, Muslim-majority and Soviet bloc nations. The resolution is revoked in December 1991 as part of an agreement to launch the Madrid peace conference.

November 11, 1973 — Israel, Egypt Sign Kilometer 101 Deal

Israeli Gen. Aharon Yariv arrives for the signing of the Kilometer 101 Six-Point Agreement on Nov. 11, 1973.

Gens. Mohamed el-Gamasy of Egypt and Aharon Yariv of Israel complete 12 days of talks after the Yom Kippur War — the first direct negotiations between their countries — and sign the Kilometer 101 Six-Point Agreement. The deal addresses a continuing military cease-fire, the movement of nonmilitary supplies, U.N. supervision and POW exchanges. The deal leads to the First Egyptian-Israeli Disengagement Agreement in January 1974.

November 12, 2000 — Leah Rabin Dies

Leah and Yitzhak Rabin serve Israel in Washington in 1968 during his time as ambassador to the United States. By Fritz Cohen, Israeli Government Press Office.

Leah Rabin, a peace activist since the assassination of her husband, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, five years earlier, dies at 72 a few days after a mild heart attack. Born in 1928 in Konigsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia), she made aliyah with her family in 1933 and married Rabin in 1948. She was at the heart of a scandal involving a U.S. bank account that led her husband not to seek re-election as prime minister in 1977.

November 13, 1949 — Shagar is Born

Rabbi Shimon Gershon Rosenberg published at least 18 books.

Shimon Gershon Rosenberg, the Orthodox rabbi and Zionist philosopher known by the acronym Shagar, is born in Jerusalem to two Holocaust survivors. Before being ordained in 1976, he serves in the IDF as a paratrooper and tank crewman and is seriously wounded during the 1973 war. He takes a holistic approach to applying Torah to all aspects of life and provides answers to perceived contradictions in Torah values and expectations.

November 14, 2012 — Airstrike Launches Operation Pillar of Defense

IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, whose kidnapping in 2006 was masterminded by Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabbari, embraces his father, Noam, at Tel Nof Air Force Base shortly after his release Oct. 18, 2011. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office.

Ahmed Jabbari, the Hamas military chief, is killed in an IDF airstrike on Gaza that marks the start of Operation Pillar of Defense, which aims to destroy rocket launchers that have been persistently firing on southern Israel. The operation lasts until Hamas and Israel reach a cease-fire Nov. 21. Jabbari is considered the mastermind behind almost every Hamas attack from Gaza for years, including the abduction of Gilad Shalit in 2006.

November 15, 1948 — El Al is Founded

A military DC-4 is repainted as the first El Al commercial aircraft to transport Chaim Weizmann from Geneva, where he had an eye operation, to Israel in September 1948. El Al Archives.

El Al, whose name comes from a Book of Hosea phrase meaning “to the skies,” is formally established as Israel’s national airline. A military plane had first flown under the El Al name at the end of September to bring President Chaim Weizmann and his wife home from Switzerland, where he had an eye operation. The first regular commercial service begins in July 1949 with weekly flights between Lod and Paris.

November 16, 1947 — Kadima Reaches Haifa

British soldiers arrest the passengers of the aliyah ship Kadima in Haifa to send them to Cyprus on Nov. 16, 1947. By Hans Pinn, National Photo Collection of Israel.

The Kadima, a ship carrying 781 refugees trying to reach the Land of Israel despite a British ban, arrives in Haifa under escort by a British destroyer after being intercepted en route from Palestrina, an island south of Venice. The would-be Jewish immigrants, including 70 from the ship Exodus, are arrested and locked up in a camp in Cyprus. Israel uses the Kadima as a merchant ship from independence until 1951.

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