FROM OUR ARCHIVES
65 YEARS AGO
On March 12, 1952, The Jerusalem Post reported that a set of principles to cover fund-raising abroad was recommended to the plenary of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem by Eliahu Dobkin of the Keren Hayesod Directorate. Based on decisions of the directorate, which was the fund-raising arm of the Jewish Agency, the recommendations called for exclusive Israel drives in all countries except for the US, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and Venezuela.
In London, foreign minister Moshe Sharett said that Israel was eager to reach an agreed settlement with its Arab neighbors. Israel was not in the least anxious to “perpetuate its loneliness.”
In what was described as a “Purim miracle,” six persons escaped serious injuries when the floor of the room they were sleeping in the Musrara neighborhood of Jerusalem collapsed into the cellar. The Jerusalem fire brigade rushed to the scene and together with the police and neighbors dug away the debris and rescued the victims, who were given first aid by Magen David Adom.
50 YEARS AGO
On March 12, 1967, The Jerusalem Post reported that in London, Jon Kimche, the editor of the British Zionist Federation’s newspaper, had been dismissed following disputes with the proprietors over articles unfavorable to the Israeli government. Swiss-born, Kimche had edited the Jewish Observer and Middle East Review for 15 years. The newspaper failed to appear the previous week, after the Zionist Federation objected to a planned article on unemployment in Israel.
The Israeli and Australian foreign ministers, Abba Eban and Paul Hasluck, had agreed that “while it is necessary to maintain security by resistance to aggression when it occurs, it is no less vital to have positive measures, both national and international, to raise living standards and promote economic stability.”
Two 18-year-olds from the village of Usfiya were detained on suspicion of spying for Egyptian intelligence.
The Syrians had begun work on what appeared to be an anti-tank trench, along the road connecting their fortified positions of Khirbet Dika and Hill 62, in the Almagor sector.
25 YEARS AGO
On March 12, 1992, The Jerusalem Post reported that waves several meters high, whipped by strong easterly winds, crashed over retaining walls and breakwaters of Lake Kinneret into downtown Tiberias, and along the western shores of the lake. At least one hotel and a number of privately owned beaches were flooded. Five soldiers of the South Lebanese Army (loyal to Israel) were wounded in two separate Hezbollah attacks inside the Israeli security zone in South Lebanon. SLA heavily bombed Hezbollah areas.
In Washington, Israel was strongly protesting the PLO’s decision to present a copy of the Palestinian proposal for the self-government to the UN secretary-general.
Eight bills calling for restrictions in the number of deferrals and exemptions regarding military service granted to yeshiva students were defeated in the Knesset after one of the most emotional debates of the session. The bills were defeated 23-21, with the Likud backing the haredim. Only a handful of Labor MKs attended the session. — Alexander Zvielli