November 28, 1945 — British Report: Arabs Keep Selling Land to Jews
A map from March 31, 1945, shows Jewish-owned areas in red, while more than half the remaining land is state-owned or lacks title deeds.
The British Land Transfer Committee issues a report on the effectiveness of restrictions on Jewish land purchases under the 1939 White Paper for Palestine. The investigatory panel, which includes no Zionists, finds that Arabs willingly continued to sell land to Jews in the early 1940s. Those purchases helped connect previously isolated settlements. “The remedy lies in the hands of the Arabs themselves,” the report says.
November 29, 1947 — U.N. Approves Partition of Palestine
People in front of the Mugrabi Cinema in Tel Aviv celebrate the U.N. partition vote Nov. 29, 1947. By Hans Pinn, National Photo Collection of Israel.
On a vote of 33-13 with 10 abstentions, the U.N. General Assembly passes Resolution 181, which calls for the partition of Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states linked by an economic union and a special international status for Jerusalem. Resolution 181 follows the recommendation of the majority of the 11-nation U.N. Special Committee on Palestine. A five-member commission is appointed to implement the partition plan.
November 30, 1947 — Jews Are Attacked in Arab Cities
The Great Synagogue of Aleppo is in ruins after a mob broke in Nov. 30, 1947, and destroyed Torah scrolls and badly damaged the thousand-year-old Aleppo Codex.
The U.N. partition vote the previous day not only sparks violence between Jews and Arabs in Palestine — the first phase of Israel’s War of Independence — but also leads to riots against Jews in such cities as Damascus, Cairo, Beirut and Aden. A 1,000-year-old Torah manuscript is badly damaged in an attack on Aleppo’s Great Synagogue. The leaders of Cairo’s Al-Azhar University declare a holy war against Zionists.
December 1, 1932 — Palestine Post Prints First Edition
The first edition of The Palestine Post features a front-page announcement about the newspaper. The Jerusalem Post.
The Palestinian Post, the precursor of The Jerusalem Post, distributes 1,200 copies of its first, eight-page edition. Founded by Gershon Agron, a Ukrainian-born immigrant from the United States, The Post launches in Jerusalem to meet the demand for an English-language newspaper in Mandatory Palestine. The Post nearly quadruples its circulation within a year. Arab terrorists bomb the newspaper Feb. 1, 1948, but it continues to publish.
December 2, 2010 — Carmel Fire Breaks Out
A hot easterly wind stokes the Carmel forest fire in December 2010. Israel Police via Wikimedia Commons.
Israel’s deadliest forest fire begins in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa when a teenager discards a piece of charcoal from a water pipe outside the Druze village of Usfiyye. The fire consumes more than 8,000 acres and 5 million trees in four days and kills 44 people, including 37 prison service officers dispatched to help evacuate Damon prisoners. Israel receives firefighters, aircraft and fire suppressant from 24 countries to stop the blaze.
December 3, 1995 — Begin Adviser Shmulevitz Dies
Matityahu Shmulevitz (left, with beard) and fellow Lehi leader David Yellin stand outside the Acre prison after their pardon in February 1949.
Matityahu Shmulevitz, a member of the underground Lehi (the Stern Gang) in the 1940s and the director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office under Menachem Begin in the late 1970s, dies at 75 one day after collapsing during a chess game in Tel Aviv. Born in Lodz, Poland, he made aliyah with the Beitar youth group at age 17 in 1938. He was arrested multiple times while fighting the British Mandate and once was sentenced to death.
December 4, 2004 — Shinui Leaves Government
Tommy Lapid expresses opposition to the proposed government budget during a Knesset debate Dec. 1, 2004.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dismisses five Shinui lawmakers from his Cabinet because of the secular party’s opposition to his proposed budget, which includes 290 million shekels for ultra-Orthodox education but, according to Shinui leader Tommy Lapid, lacks money for basic needs. Shinui, whose name means “change,” is the Knesset’s third-largest party with 15 seats and supports Sharon’s plan to disengage from Gaza.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.