FROM OUR ARCHIVES
50 YEARS AGO
On March 11, 1965, The Jerusalem Post reported that the West German envoy, Dr. Kurt Birenbach, had left Israel for Bonn after his extensive talks with prime minister Levi Eshkol and other Israeli leaders, and was expected to return here on March 14, 1965, with a message from chancellor Ludwig Erhard on the outstanding points with regard to Bonn’s proposal for the establishment of diplomatic relations between West Germany and Israel. Birenbach was whisked out of Israel with the same closely guarded secrecy that surrounded his arrival and five-day stay. Israel’s refusal to agree to the establishment of consular relations with Germany, following the refusal to commute the arms agreement in financial aid, was seen in Jerusalem as an important factor in the Erhard’s sudden decision to establish full diplomatic relations. In Bonn, the West German Bundestag, in a preliminary vote, gave an overwhelming majority to proposals to abrogate the Statute of Limitations on prosecution of Nazi crimes. Eighty thousand Germans had already been convicted of war time crimes, more than 6,100 of them in German courts. Prosecutions against 14,000 others were pending or would be initiated before the May 8, 1965, deadline. In Cairo, Egyptian premier Gamal Abdul Nasser declared that should West Germany establish diplomatic relations with Israel, Egypt would recognize the East German regime. The Israel-US talks in Washington on security issues had so far been inconclusive. Eshkol told the Knesset that there would be a military parade on Independence Day in Jerusalem that year, but it would be kept within the limits permitted by the Armistice agreements. A synagogue in Montevideo, Uruguay, was hit by bullets.
25 YEARS AGO
On March 11, 1990, The Jerusalem Post reported that in some of the worst rioting in east Jerusalem since the beginning of the intifada, two Palestinians were shot dead and 15 were wounded. Three Palestinians were reported killed in the territories over the weekend. In Washington, US secretary of state James Baker hoped for a tripartite meeting of foreign ministers of Israel, Egypt and the US within days. Both Labor and Likud were pessimistic that an agreement could be reached on national unity in the current peace process, and labor was expected to leave the coalition. The management of Mekorot, the national water company, announced that water might be rationed for agriculture that year.
10 YEARS AGO
On March 11, 2005, The Jerusalem Post reported that prime minister Ariel Sharon promised to dismantle all illegal West Bank outposts. Israel approved the deployment of 750 Egyptian policemen on the Philadelphi route to halt weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip. Jericho casino owners bet that Israelis would return to gamble there. Due to the activity of some rebel Likud party members, Sharon had to postpone the vote on country’s yearly budget.