October 27, 2018 — Israel Strikes 80 Gaza Targets
After an overnight barrage of roughly 30 rockets from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli border towns, the Israeli Air Force strikes 80 Gaza targets, including Hamas weapons production and military facilities, training sites, and observation posts. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for the rocket attacks, saying they are in retaliation for the killing of four protesters during a demonstration at the Gaza border fence.
October 28, 1948 — Israel Adopts State Flag
The iconic banner with two blue stripes and a blue Star of David at its center becomes the official Israeli flag more than five months after the establishment of the state. The flag, adopted by the First Zionist Congress in 1897, had become accepted by Jewish communities throughout the world as the emblem of Zionism. The decision to make it the flag of the state reflects the power of the Zionist movement.
October 29, 1973 — Israeli-Egyptian Military Talks Start
After the Yom Kippur War, despite several miscommunications, the first talks between Israeli and Egyptian generals take place in Israeli-controlled territory 101 kilometers (63 miles) east of Cairo. Led by Egypt’s Mohamed Abdel Ghani el-Gemasy and Israel’s Aharon Yariv, the talks last more than three weeks and go beyond such military matters as disengagement and the exchange of POWs to address political issues.
October 30, 1957 — Violinist Shlomo Mintz is Born
Shlomo Mintz, a violinist and conductor, is born in Moscow. When Mintz is 2, his family moves to Israel, and he begins to learn the violin at 3½. By 18, he is touring Europe, playing with prominent conductors and building his capacity as a conductor. Mintz has conducted the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.
October 31, 1917 — Australians Capture Beersheba
The Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade surprises the Turkish defenders and captures Beersheba in a single day, breaking the Ottoman defensive line near Gaza and providing the advancing troops under British Gen. Edmund Allenby with needed supplies and water from the city’s wells. The rapid victory, supported by attacks by three British divisions, prevents the Turks from destroying parts of the city in retreat.
November 1, 1945 — Jewish Resistance Blows Up Rails Across Palestine
The newly formed Jewish Resistance Movement sets off explosions at more than 150 sites along the railway system of British Mandatory Palestine and blows up three British gunboats in the Jaffa and Haifa harbors in the Night of the Trains. Palmach units carry out most of the sabotage, but Irgun and Lehi fighters are among an estimated 1,000 men involved. Killed are two Jews, four Arabs and two Britons.
November 2, 1917 — Balfour Declaration is Released
The British foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, reveals his government’s endorsement of “the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish national home” in a letter to Lord Rothschild, the head of the British Zionist Organization. The Balfour Declaration is discussed during the 1919 Paris peace conference and the 1920 San Remo Treaty talks, and its contents are included in the Articles of the Palestine Mandate, ratified by the League of Nations in 1922.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.