September 26, 2002 — Declaration Signer Rabbi Warhaftig Dies
Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig, shown as a Knesset member in late 1951, helped found the National Religious Party. By Teddy Brauner, National Photo Collection of Israel, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig, a founder of the National Religious Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence, dies at 96 in Jerusalem. A native of Belarus, he became involved in religious Zionism as a teen in Poland. He went to Lithuania at the start of World War II and was part of a delegation in 1940 that persuaded Japanese Consul Chiune Sugihara to issue exit visas for Jews, saving thousands from the Nazis.
September 27, 1931 — Third Maccabiah Games Open
Knesset Speaker Yosef Sprinzak attends the opening ceremonies of the Third Maccabiah Games in Ramat Gan on Sept. 27, 1950. National Photo Collection of Israel, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Third Maccabiah Games, originally scheduled for 1938 but canceled by the British over the fear of illegal immigration, begin in the 50,000-seat stadium in Ramat Gan. The first games held in an independent Israel draw 800 athletes from 20 countries. Addressing the opening, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion says, “Existence in our ancestral home requires physical might no less than intellectual excellence.”
September 28, 2008 — Oslo II Is Signed
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat shake hands in front of President Bill Clinton after signing the Oslo II agreement Sept. 28, 1995. Jordan’s King Hussein applauds them. By Ya’acov Sa’ar, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat sign the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement for Gaza and Jericho, known as Oslo II, at a White House ceremony attended by Jordan’s King Hussein as well as U.S. President Bill Clinton. The deal establishes the Palestinian Authority as an elected, self-governing body and says neither side should take unilateral action on the West Bank or Gaza Strip.
September 29, 2000 — Golan Heights Given to Syria
The foothills of the Golan Heights tower over Kibbutz Gonen in early 1967. By Moshe Milner, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Under borders drawn primarily by Britain and France after World War I, the new country of Syria gains control of the Golan Heights. The French, who hold sway over the government in Damascus, block Zionist efforts to buy large portions of the Golan over the next two decades. The French and Syrians worry that such land sales will lead the British to annex the mountains to Mandatory Palestine.
September 30, 1957 — Backdated Signature Facilitates Nuclear Program
Former French Prime Minister Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury visits Israeli Finance Minister Levi Eshkol in June 1958, less than nine months after he approved French participation in Israel’s nuclear project at Dimona. By Yaron Mirlin, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
French Prime Minister Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury backdates to today his signature on a letter granting Israel’s request for cooperation on a heavy-water nuclear reactor. He actually signs the letter Oct. 1, the day he is voted out of office, but he uses Sept. 30 to ensure the validity of his approval. The agreement emphasizes peaceful power generation, but the project is meant to support weapons programs.
October 1, 1947 — Nobel Laureate Aaron Ciechanover Is Born
Aaron Ciechanover shared the 2004 Nobel Prize in chemistry. By Amos Ben Gershom, Israeli Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Aaron Ciechanover is born in Haifa to parents who emigrated from Poland before World War II. A 1974 graduate of Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem, he becomes one of Israel’s first science Nobel laureates in 2004 when he shares the chemistry prize with Israeli Avram Hershko and American Irwin Rose for characterizing the method cells use to degrade and recycle proteins with ubiquitin.
October 2, 1187 — Saladin Captures Jerusalem
Bailin of Ibelin surrenders Jerusalem to Saladin.
Saladin, the sultan of Egypt and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, captures Jerusalem from crusaders after a siege that began Sept. 20. Saladin eventually signs a treaty with English King Richard the Lionheart to divide the Land of Israel between crusaders along the coast and Muslims in Jerusalem and the interior. Unlike the crusaders, Saladin is tolerant of Jews, and he allows them to live in the holy city again in 1190.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.