Feb. 29, 1948 — Lehi Bombs Cairo-Haifa Train
Lehi militants use mines to bomb train cars carrying British troops on the Cairo-Haifa rail line north of Rehovot, killing at least 27 soldiers. Targeting the troop cars in back spares the civilians in the front. Lehi says the attack, the deadliest train bombing targeting British troops in Palestine, is meant as retaliation for the Ben Yehuda Street bombing in Jerusalem a week earlier, in which British deserters helped kill 58 Jewish civilians.
March 1, 1922 — Yitzhak Rabin Is Born
Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s fifth prime minister and the first native to the Land of Israel, is born in Jerusalem. He serves in the Palmach in the pre-state era, leads the defense of Jerusalem during the War of Independence, is the military chief of staff during the 1967 Six-Day War, spends five years as Israel’s U.S. ambassador, and reaches the Oslo Accords and Jordan peace treaty during his second term as prime minister.
March 2, 1983 — Doctors Begin 4-Month Strike
The Israel Medical Association launches a lengthy labor action to protest the government’s refusal to grant doctors a substantial pay raise after nearly 11 months of negotiations. Starting with the establishment of private clinics, the strike escalates to hospital walkouts and eventually a hunger strike before the government reaches a settlement that includes a raise and arbitration over work conditions June 26.
March 3, 1939 — Mufti Rejects Majority-Arab State
The mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husayni, rejects a British proposal to severely limit Jewish immigration while working toward the establishment of a single state of Palestine with an Arab majority and a Jewish minority within a decade. The proposal has the support of the entire Arab Higher Committee, but the mufti refuses to accept any plan that includes a continuing Jewish presence in the Land of Israel.
March 4, 1996 — Hamas Suicide Bomber Strikes Tel Aviv
A Palestinian from Ramallah detonates a 45-pound bomb packed with nails outside Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Center on the eve of Purim, when the mall is crowded with children in costumes. The Hamas-affiliated bomber and 13 Israelis, including five children age 13 or younger, are killed. The attack is the fourth terrorist act in nine days, combining to kill more than 60 Israelis amid a Knesset election campaign.
March 5, 1934 — Nobel Laureate Kahneman Is Born
Daniel Kahneman, who wins the 2002 Nobel economics prize, is born in Tel Aviv. He grows up in Paris until the Nazis defeat France in 1940, and he makes aliyah in early 1948. With cognitive psychologist Amos Tversky, Kahneman in 1979 writes the foundational text of his prize-winning prospect theory, which holds that humans often make decisions based on biased personal evaluations of gains and losses.
March 6, 1948 — Clifford Opposes State Dept. on Israel
Clark Clifford, a trusted adviser to President Harry Truman, writes two detailed memoranda arguing for the United States to support the partition of Palestine and lift an arms embargo on Jewish forces. In opposing the State Department’s policy staff and leadership, Clifford helps ensure Truman’s continued backing of the November 1947 U.N. partition resolution and recognition of Israeli independence in May.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
