June 30, 2012 — Yitzhak Shamir Dies
Israel’s seventh prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir, dies at 96. Born Yitzhak Yzernitzky in Poland during World War I, he made aliyah in 1935 and enrolled in the Hebrew University. He joined the Irgun in 1937, then jumped to the more militant Stern Gang during World War II. He changed his name to Shamir to help hide from the British. He was first elected to the Knesset in 1973 and became prime minister at the head of Likud in 1983.
July 1, 1244 — Jews Are Granted Rights in Austria
Frederick II, the duke of Austria since 1230, issues a charter extending rights to Jews as a way to boost the economy. The charter encourages Jewish money lending and immigration to an outlying area and guarantees protection. Frederick is the first European ruler to claim Jews as his subjects, and his charter serves as a model for such documents across the continent during the Middle Ages. It remains in effect until Austria expels its Jews in 1420.
July 2, 2011 — National Trail Founder Uri Dvir Dies
Uri Dvir, a founder of Shvil Yisrael (the Israel National Trail), dies at 80 in Tel Aviv, where he was born. While working for the Ministry of Tourism in 1960, he established a school for tour guides. He later launched Beit Berl College’s department for Land of Israel studies. He planned and initiated the Israel National Trail, a 620-mile hiking path that runs from Kibbutz Dan near Lebanon to Eilat on the Red Sea.
July 3, 1982 — Jewish Theater Conference Opens
The First International Conference and Festival of Jewish Theater, a five-day gathering, opens in Tel Aviv even though many Israeli participants are serving in the Lebanon War, which began June 6 and sparked a German boycott of the festival. Sponsored by Tel Aviv University’s theater department with the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and the Kinneret Foundation, the festival includes 20 theatrical works, four workshops, films, seminars and lectures.
July 4, 1976 — Hostages Are Rescued at Entebbe
A team of 200 elite Israeli Sayeret Matkal commandos lands at the international airport in Entebbe, Uganda, to rescue 106 hostages held by the Palestinian and German terrorists who hijacked an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris on June 27. In a 35-minute battle, all seven terrorists, 20 Ugandan soldiers, three hostages and one Israeli soldier (Yoni Netanyahu) are killed. The rescued hostages are flown to freedom in Israel.
July 5, 1979 — Opera Star Edis De Philippe Dies
Israel National Opera Company founder Edis De Philippe dies at 67 after brain surgery. A New York native, De Philippe starred with the Paris Opera in the late 1930s. She made aliyah in 1945, and the Zionist Congress in Basel in December 1946 approved her plan to launch an opera company. She opened the Israel National Opera Company in 1947. She financed and managed the company and was its star as it performed across Israel.
July 6, 1989 — Bus Attack Kills 16
A Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist seizes a No. 405 bus from Tel Aviv as it passes a ravine outside Jerusalem and steers it over a cliff. Sixteen people, including one American and two Canadians, are killed, and 17 others are injured. This is often seen as the first suicide attack of the First Intifada, although the terrorist survives and is one of 1,027 Palestinians released in 2011 in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
