March 28, 2002 — Saudi Prince Unveils Peace Plan

Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia presents what becomes known as the Arab Peace Initiative during an Arab League summit in Beirut. The plan includes an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines, the application of U.N. Resolution 194 to the Palestinian refugee problem, the establishment of a Palestinian state on all of the West Bank and Gaza, and peace with normal relations between all Arab countries and Israel.

March 29, 1967 — Sholem Aleichem’s Son-in-Law, Translator Dies

Writer and translator Yitzhak Dov Berkowitz dies at age 82. Born near Minsk, Berkowitz began to publish Hebrew stories in his late teens and became the literary editor of HaZeman in Vilna at age 19. He married Sholem Aleichem’s eldest daughter and translated all of Aleichem’s Yiddish writing into Hebrew. In his own writing, he mixed tradition and modernity and helped bring realism to Hebrew literature.

March 30, 1976 — 6 Israeli Arabs Are Killed in Land Protests

Protests over the planned government seizure of about 1,500 acres of Arab land in the Galilee turn into riots in which six Israeli Arabs are killed, while soldiers, police and Arab civilians are injured. What becomes known as Land Day represents the first widespread protests by Israeli Arabs and is commemorated annually with mostly peaceful demonstrations against Israeli land-use policies.

March 31, 2002 — Sharon Condemns Arafat After Bombings

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declares Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat “the enemy of Israel and the enemy of the free world” after two Second Intifada suicide bombings in one day: a Hamas attack that kills 16 Israelis at Haifa’s Matza restaurant and an Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade attack that injures four at a medical station in Efrat. Arafat, surrounded in his Ramallah compound, calls himself a martyr.

April 1, 1925 — Hebrew University Opens

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem officially opens on Mount Scopus, fulfilling a dream first expressed in a letter from Heidelberg University professor Herman Schapira to the newspaper HaMelitz in 1882. The 11th Zionist Congress in 1913 authorizes the university, and Arthur Ruppin purchases the land the next year. Construction begins in 1918, and the first classes in chemistry and Jewish studies are held in 1924.

April 2, 1979 — Menachem Begin Visits Egypt

Menachem Begin becomes the first Israeli prime minister to visit Egypt when he arrives in Cairo a week after signing the peace treaty with Egypt. He is greeted by a military band playing “Hatikva,” then enjoys a day of sightseeing, including the pyramids at Giza, war memorials and Cairo’s Gates of Heaven Synagogue. The next day, Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat discuss opening their borders to encourage tourism.

April 3, 1994 — 2nd Air Force Commander Dies

Maj. Gen. Aharon Remez, one of the founders of the Israel Air Force, dies in Jerusalem at age 74. A native of Tel Aviv, he served as a fighter pilot with the Royal Air Force in World War II. He smuggled Holocaust survivors into Palestine after the war, then obtained equipment and prepared bases for the new IAF. He became the second commander in chief of the IAF in July 1948 and served in that role until December 1950.

Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.