June 28, 1919 — Poland Provides Legal Protections for Jews The Republic of Poland, reconstituted as an independent country after World War I, adopts its Minorities Treaty to protect various groups. In addition to general assurances, the treaty specifically...

Jan. 29, 2005 — Filmmaker, Writer Ephraim Kishon Dies Israeli writer, playwright and filmmaker Ephraim Kishon dies at 80 in Switzerland. His works often focus on the daily struggles of regular Israelis and the state bureaucracy. His films include...

Dec. 30, 1990 — Weizman Is Fired Over PLO Contacts Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir drops Science Minister Ezer Weizman from the Cabinet after accusing him of meeting with a senior PLO official in 1989 and corresponding with PLO head Yasser Arafat through...

July 30, 1992 — Yael Arad Wins Israel’s First Olympic Medal Tel Aviv native Yael Arad, 25, becomes the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal, taking the silver in judo in the half-middleweight (61-kilogram) class at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona....

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...

May 29, 1979 — Dayan Addresses Peace Process Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan speaks to the Knesset about the events that culminated in the peace treaty Israel and Egypt signed two months earlier. Dayan emphasizes Israel’s commitment to peace and its...

Jan. 27, 2006 — U.N. Holds First Holocaust Remembrance Day The first U.N.-recognized International Holocaust Remembrance Day is held on the 61st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The president of the U.N. General Assembly, Jan Eliasson, says...

Aug. 29, 1897 — First Zionist Congress Starts Spearheaded by “The Jewish State” author Theodor Herzl, the First Zionist Congress opens in Basel, Switzerland, for three days of meetings with roughly 200 attendees. Herzl invites Jews and non-Jews...

July 18, 1290 — England Expels Its Jews King Edward I orders the expulsion of the Jews from England, where they had settled in significant numbers only in the 11th century. Despite gaining legal protections early in the 12th century, Jews suffer massacres...

June 27, 1967 — Israel Annexes East Jerusalem After capturing the roughly 2.3 square miles known as East Jerusalem from Jordan during the war in early June, Israel formally annexes that area and some surrounding West Bank land — a total of 27 square...

May 14, 1947 — Soviet Envoy Backs 1-State Solution Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko addresses a special U.N. General Assembly session on Palestine and calls for the British Mandate to give way to one state shared by Jews and Arabs. But after...

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...