Israel through the years

FROM STAFF REPORTS

This year’s “Israel Under the Stars” event Wednesday will honor the 60th anniversary of Israel’s statehood.  The following is a timeline of some of the significant events in its history

May 14, 1948 – David Ben-Gurion declares Israel’s independence.

1948-49 – Through Operation Magic Carpet, more than 50,000 Yemenite Jews are rescued. Operation Ezra brings 125,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel.

1956 – Output of Israel’s industry doubles, as does the number of employed persons.

1957 – Exports double and the GNP increases 10 percent.

1964 – Israel Education Fund (IEF) is created to supplement major gifts programs to fund capital projects, social programs and scholarships in Israel.

1965 – A permanent home for the Knesset is built. Novelist S.Y. Agnon wins the Nobel Prize for literature.

1967 – Israel wins Six-Day War; United Jewish Appeal raises more funds than ever.

1973 – Yom Kippur War last 17 days and claims 2,523 lives.

1976- IDF commandos rescue more than 100 hostages held on a hijacked plane in Entebbe.

1978 – Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat join President Jimmy Carter to draft a peace agreement.

1987 – The Jewish Agency for Israel is directed to support programs fostering religious pluralism in Israel.

1991 – Saddam Hussein launches 39 Scud missiles on Israel during Gulf War. Nearly 150,000 Jews emigrate from the former Soviet Union.

1993 – Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization sign declaration of principles on Palestinian self-rule. 

1994 – Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Yassir Arafat share Nobel Peace prize.

1995 – Prime Minister Rabin assassinated.

2002 – In response to ongoing terrorism, United Jewish Communities (UJC) and the Federations of North America launch the Israel Emergency Campaign.

2004 – Israelis Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko of the Technion share Nobel Prize in chemistry with Irwin Rose of the University of California.

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