The Blogs: "War and Peace" - Past September Highlights | Michael J. Lewis

Looking back at past September “Highlights;” certain events jump to the forefront: The aftermath of the First Zionist Congress…Neville Chamberlain’s Appeasement at Munich…The Munich Massacre…The Sadat/Begin/Carter Camp David Accords…September 11th…The Oslo Accords and Arafat and Rabin at the White House..Sabra and Shatilla …The “Three Nos of Khartoum”…The start of the Second Intifada. And of course entering the second September in which there have been Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

PRE-ISRAEL ZIONISM

1897: In the aftermath of the just-concluded First Zionist Congress, Theodor Herzl wrote his famed comment in his Diary: “Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word – which I shall guard against pronouncing publicly – it would be this: At Basel I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today l would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it”

TERRORISM

For the United States: Nothing of course can be compared to the heinous September 11 attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001. There was the 1984 Bombing of US Embassy embassy annex in Beirut.

For Israel, one can select almost any month from any year and find instances of Palestinian terrorism against Israel. But Black September’s 1972 “Munich Massacre” of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich will live on in infamy…1970: Multiple Plane Hijackings by Black September – including Leila Khaled’s failed attempt to hijack an El-Al airliner which saw her released by the British authorities…..1973: Palestinian Terrorists Seize Hostages & Demand Austria Close Schonau Transit Camp for Soviet Jews ...1986: Neve Shalom Synagogue massacre in Istanbul, Turkey.

PEACE MAKING

1950: UN Middle East Peace Negotiator, Ralph Bunche wins the Nobel Peace Prize for achieving Armistice Agreements between Israel and its Arab Neighbors…1975: Israel-Egypt Sinai II Disengagement after Henry Kissinger’s “Shuttle Diplomacy”….1978 – Egyptian President Sadat and Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign the Camp David Accords at the White House – the precursor to the Egypt-Israel peace treaty….1993: The Oslo Accords – Israel PLO mutual recognition
Video: Rabin, Arafat and Clinton at the White House…1995: Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo II Accords signed

WAR MAKING

1967: The “Three Nos Of Khartoum” – Arab leaders “No peace with Israel. No negotiations with Israel. No recognition of Israel.” 1970: Jordan Civil War. Syria invades Jordan/Israel back up. Ceasefire. Then Egypt’s President Nasser dies from a heart attack (Anwar Sadat replacing him)…1973: Just weeks before the “Yom Kippur War,” Israel shoots down 13 Syrian Migs

The US – Israel relationship  

1969: Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir’s first visit as Prime Minister to meet with President Nixon at the White House. (Wonderful video)…1970: PM Golda Meir’s White House Meeting with President Nixon…

1 982: In the aftermath of the Lebanon War; President Reagan offered The Reagan [Peace] Plan (It was “before my time”at the organization; but AIPAC’s then head,Tom Dine famously (and controversially) offered partial support for the Reagan plan even as the Government of Israel rejected the plan “LEADING PRO-ISRAELI LOBBYIST SEES ‘A LOT OF VALUE’ IN REAGAN’S PLAN

1991: As supporters of Israel lobbied on the Hill on behalf of Loan Guarantees; President Bush made the famed comment about being “ One Lonely Guy Against a 1,000 Lobbyists”. “…And I’m up against some powerful political forces, but I owe it to the American people to tell them how strongly I feel about the deferral.And we’re up against a very strong and effective, sometimes, groups that go up to the Hill. I heard today there was something like a thousand lobbyists on the Hill working the other side of the question. We’ve got one lonely little guy down here doing it. ….”

[Then-AIPAC Executive Director, Tom Dine subsequently declared at AIPAC’s April 1992 Policy conference. . .”September 12 will be a day that lives in infamy for the American pro-Israel community. . . There are those who dismiss us with four-letter vulgarities who think somehow we will be intimidated and just go away. But we are not going away.”]

      HOLOCAUST ERA and World War II

1935: Nazi Adoption of The Nuremberg Laws…1938: Neville Chamberlain meets with Adolf Hitler at Munich and declares “Peace For Our Time.” One year later: 1939: World War II- In the aftermath of Germany’s invasion of Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany…1941: Charles Lindbergh’s “America First” speech in Des Moines, Iowa “…The three most important groups who have been pressing this country toward war are the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration….1945: Japan signs surrender…

OTHER “Highlights”

1946: Ben Hecht’s “A Flag Is Born” with Marlon Brando debuts on Broadway…1948: UN’s Count Bernadotte assassinated     by the Israeli “Stern Gang….1950: End of “Operation Magic Carpet”….1982: Sabra and Shatilla….2000: Then opposition leader, Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount…and immediately after the, outbreak of “Second Intifada” …1969: Coup in Libya/ColonelGadaffi–Overthrow King Idris…1980: The Outbreak of the 8 Year long Iran-Iraq War…

Addendum

As this series of monthly “Flashback Highlights” concludes: A couple of personal September flashbacks: One year ago this month (2024): I left AIPAC after almost 40 years – and had my first piece in the the Times of Israel blog: “Saying Goodbye to AIPAC but not to the Cause.” And in 1974, my father, Bernard Lewis having relocated from the the University of London’s School or Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) started life in the United States with his joint appointments at Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Studies. The rest was history!

The “complete set” of my Times of Israel blogs monthly series of “Historic Flashbacks”

January –Januaries Past for Israel and Jews

February – Some Past February Events Impacting on Jews or Israel

March – A few March moments in Israeli and Jewish history

April –In Retrospect: Some Past April Events for Israel, Jews and the US in the World

May – Past May Events for Israel and World Jewry  

June –Looking Back at Past June Highs and Lows for Israel and World Jewry

July – Some Past July ‘Highlights’ and Low Points in Israeli and Jewish History

August – The Guns Of August’ – Past August Highlights

October – October: A Month of Hope and Despair for Jews

November – Novembers Past: Highs and Lows for Israel and Zionism

December – Some Past December Highs and Lows