October 20, 2013 — Buses Promoting Women of the Wall are Attacked
Haredi men hurl rocks at and slash the tires of buses bearing ads promoting female worship at the Western Wall. The ads, depicting women with prayer shawls and Torahs, are posted by Women of the Wall, a group of mostly religiously observant Jews who believe that women should be allowed to pray at the Wall with the same access and rights as men. WOW members bring a miniature Torah to the Wall for a bat mitzvah in 2014.
October 21, 1967 — Warship Eilat is Sunk
Egyptian Komar-class missile boats within the harbor at Port Said fire Soviet-made missiles at the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat on a routine patrol in the Mediterranean in international waters. The ship is almost cut in half and sinks within minutes. Of the 199-man crew, 47 sailors are killed, and more than 100 others are wounded. The Eilat was the HMS Zealous, a World War II British destroyer that Israel bought in 1955.
October 22, 1979 — High Court Rules Against Settlement
The Israeli Supreme Court rules that the Gush Emunim settlement of Elon Moreh must be dismantled because of a lack of evidence that it was established for security reasons. The decision, on an appeal by Arab landowners, marks the first time the high court has ruled against Jewish settlers in nine years of such cases. The settlers have 30 days to evacuate. The military government must cover the trial costs of the Arab residents of Rujeib.
October 23, 1998 — Wye River Memorandum is Signed
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton sign a memorandum recommitting to the Oslo II agreement of September 1995 after nine days of negotiations at the Wye River Plantation in Maryland. Implementation of Oslo II has lapsed since Netanyahu’s election in 1996. Both sides want the United States to play a larger role in the Oslo process.
October 24, 1940 — Israel’s ‘Moral Compass’ is Born
Yossi Sarid, a two-time Cabinet minister known as “Israel’s moral compass,” is born in Rehovot. He becomes the Mapai spokesman at age 24 and serves as a spokesman, a speechwriter and an adviser for David Ben-Gurion, Levi Eshkol and others. He serves in the Knesset from 1973 to 1983 with the Alignment, Mapai’s successor. He is part of the Meretz party when it forms in 1992 and serves as its leader from 1996 to 2003.
October 25, 1976 — World Chess Olympiad Opens in Haifa
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the president of the International Chess Federation, Max Euwe, open the 22nd men’s and seventh women’s Chess Olympiad in Haifa despite a Soviet-led boycott. Only 48 of the 90-plus nations in the federation send teams, but 450 players compete, including many Russian Jews who have earned strong reputations since leaving the Soviet Union. In the absence of the Soviets, the Americans win the title.
October 26, 1994 — Israel, Jordan Sign Treaty
More than 4,500 people, including President Bill Clinton, witness Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordanian King Hussein sign a peace treaty at the Wadi Araba crossing between Eilat and Aqaba. It is Israel’s second such treaty with an Arab neighbor. Sporadic, secret talks with Jordanian leaders took place as early as pre-state Palestine in the 1930s because both sides saw the value in peaceful relations.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.