August 14, 1929
The Jewish Agency for Palestine was Formed
The Jewish Agency for Palestine is synonymous with efforts to rescue Jews at risk and the resettlement of the Jewish people in Israel. It played a key role in the foundation of Israel by helping to create the economic and cultural structure of the State. Today the agency concentrates on connecting Jews to one another, to their Jewish identity and to Israel.
Since 1989, the Jewish Agency has facilitated the aliyah and absorption in Israel over one million new immigrants—the equivalent of the United States absorbing the entire population of France.
The Jewish Agency’s role remains central to countless Jews, as it continues to provide vital services in Israel and serves as a link between Israel and all the Jewish communities around the world.
August 16, 1943
The Bialystok Ghetto Uprising Took Place
Soviet forces entered Bialystok, a city in northeastern Poland, in September 1939. In August 1941, the Germans ordered the establishment of the Bialystok Ghetto. Approximately 50,000 Jews from the city and the surrounding region were confined in a small area of the city. Most Jews who lived there worked in forced-labor projects, primarily in large textile factories located within the ghetto boundaries. The Germans also occasionally used Jews in forced-labor projects outside the ghetto.
In February 1943, approximately 10,000 Bialystok Jews were deported to the Treblinka extermination camp. In August 1943, German forces again rounded up Jews for deportation. Approximately 7,600 Jews were held in a central transit camp in the city. Those deemed fit to work were sent to the Majdanek camp. During the deportations, when all hope for survival within the ghetto was abandoned, the Bialystok Ghetto underground staged an uprising against the Germans. Armed Jews attacked German forces near the ghetto fence. The fighting lasted for five days; hundreds of Jews died and more than a hundred Jews managed to escape from the ghetto and join partisan groups in the Bialystok area. The Soviet army liberated Bialystok a year later.
August 30, 1966The first Knesset Building was Dedicated in Jerusalem
From the first time the Knesset convened in 1949 until 1966 it met in a variety of locations, including a movie house! The first elections to the Knesset were held in 1949. During its first year the Knesset met in Tel Aviv. The present Knesset building was dedicated in 1966, in Jerusalem. The architect was Joseph Klarwin. Besides the main chamber, where the plenum meets, and rooms for each Knesset committee, there are rooms for the parties represented in the parliament, a room for cabinet meetings, a foyer for receptions, a library, a synagogue, and a press room. On display in the building are works by artist Marc Chagall.
