Israel history

From Weizmann computers to start-up nation: How Israel grew to become a high-tech powerhouse

Meir Valman traces the connections among prestate universities, military innovation, global experience, and life sciences that built Israel’s high-tech sector.

Israeli Tech
The Irgun's dismantled Altalena ship is seen off the coast of Tel Aviv, 1948. (Archive)

The Altalena’s enduring lesson: Israel must choose unity over division - opinion

Soldiers praying at the Kotel in 2013.

Will we forever live by the sword? - opinion

Henry Morgenthau, Jr., U.S. Treasury Secretary during World War II, visits Jerusalem in 1951

75 years of investing in Israel: The Man Behind the Concept


Israel's first ally: The forgotten Paris-Jerusalem alliance - opinion

If the UK, US, and USSR had no desire to become Israel’s military ally, it was not too long before Paris filled the vacuum.

 THEN-PRIME MINISTER David Ben-Gurion has his first meeting with France’s president Charles de Gaulle at the Palais de L’elysee in Paris, during his official visit to France in 1960.

Archaeologists discover at least 50 ancient skeletons in Negev

Archaeologists have found a burial site in the Negev containing ancient skeletons that may have belonged to trafficked women.

 Avdat ruins in the Negev Desert

Israel is like the Titan submersible: Frail and fragile - opinion

Ben-Gurion was warned repeatedly that should he carry out his pledge to declare statehood, we would be cast into a hostile sea of enemies who would determinedly bang against our hull.

 TITANIC MUSEUM in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Israel’s future: A tale of two (or three?) Zionisms - opinion

Jews should be able to decide to live in the best way possible, and the best place possible, without compromising on their beliefs – secular or religious.

 Mordechai (Moti) Kahana.

Teddy Kollek, the father of modern Jerusalem

SECURITY AND DEFENSE: Kollek’s personality helped him push through policies that would likely have been defeated if he had been just righteous.

The late Teddy Kollek, mythical Mayor of Jerusalem, talks on a public phone

Moshe Dayan: Israel’s flawed hero

Dayan’s public and private faults do not eclipse his greatness, and maybe his shortcomings make for a more representative hero of his era and his country.

 THEN-DEFENSE minister Moshe Dayan surveys the western side of the Suez Canal with Maj.-Gen. Ariel Sharon, in October 1973. When Egypt and Syria surprised Israel on Yom Kippur, Dayan feared destruction.

'The Ballad of Baruch Jamili': Forgotten story of an unsung Israeli hero

A simple, modest yet courageous fellow, Jamili was one of thousands of quiet unsung Israeli heroes who laid the foundations of Israel.

 Baruch Jamili (The Dan Hadani Archives, the Pritzker Family Photographic Collection at the National Library of Israel)

Israel Independence Day: Making the next generation of Jews better - opinion

ON THE 75th anniversary of the State of Israel, all of us should heed the words of Shalom Dror. We have an opportunity and responsibility to make sure we are building for tomorrow.

 SHALOM DROR in Jerusalem with Aly and Marci Robinson.

Upstart Ideas: Firm dedicated to preserving Israel's history

Based in Jerusalem and founded in 2001, the company specializes in unique educational initiatives and campaigns. Among those is this year’s 75th anniversary of the foundation of Israel.

 THE FRONT page of the ‘NYT’ on May 15, 1948.

Israel Independence Day: Reconnecting our core values after 75 years - opinion

Israel’s 75th anniversary is a milestone, a moment to look backward and forward, to savor the victories of the past and plan the triumphs of the future, even amid considerable internal debate.

 STANDING TOGETHER at the US Capitol in support of Israel, in 2002.