| November 17, 1969 |
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January 21, 1974
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Selected Events:
| 15.12.1969
| The 15th Government was formed, headed by Golda Meir.
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| 3.2.1970
| The House Committee decided to restrict MK Shalom Cohen from participating in five plenum sittings, following his act of tearing the nationality clause from his identity card in response to the Shalit Family affair. Binyamin Shalit, a Jewish Israeli citizen who wed a non-Jewish wife, informed the registration office that his children are Jewish. The clerk refused to list them as Jewish in their identity cards, and Shalit appealed to the Supreme Court. Its ruling had set that children to a father of Jewish nationality can be listed as Jewish, despite their mother’s religion. Following this affair, the Knesset amended the Law of Return and concluded that a Jew is “someone born to a Jewish mother or who has converted to Judaism and is not of another religion.”
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| 23.2.1970
| The Prime Minister reported on the explosion of a Swissair aircraft en-route to Israel, carrying 47 passengers and crew members. |
| 4.8.1970
| Announcements were made by the Prime Minister regarding Israel’s position on the UN special envoy Gunnar Jarring and the plans of American Secretary of State William Rogers.
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| 7.8.1970
| Ceasefire between Israel and Egypt goes into effect, following the War of Attrition. Both states have accepted the Rogers Initiative for a ceasefire, but a day after its signing, the Egyptians violated it and moved their tanks and anti-aircraft warfare in close proximity to the border. |
| 12.8.1970
| Ministers from the Herut-Liberal Bloc, headed by Menahem Begin, explained that their resignation from the Government was a result of the Ceasefire Agreement.
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| 1.11.1971
| The Government and parliamentary groups presented their assessments on the state of Syrian Jewry, due to news on the increase of oppression and the arrest of 12 community members with no trial. |
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| A Selection of Enacted Laws |
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Overview
The Seventh Knesset officiated, due to the Yom Kippur War, for more than four years. Throughout this period, a single government was formed – the 15th Government, headed by Golda Meir. It was, as its preceding government, a national unity government, until the Herut-Liberal Bloc resigned to the opposition in August 1970.
During the Seventh Knesset, MK Seif-El-Din El-Zubi was appointed Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. He was the first Arab MK in this post.
The main event during this period was the Yom Kippur War, which broke out by surprise at the Egyptian and Syrian bordrs simultaneously, during Yom Kippur of 1973 , towards the end of the Knesset’s tenure. Israel was eventually victorious, but there were many casualties, and the feeling of the state’s superiority over its neighboring countries was undermined. Furthermore, it severly damaged the civilian trust in the political and military leadership – a crisis leading to the political turnabout in 1977.
Prior to the war, there was an era of economic growth and a feeling of power. These were evident in spite of numerous aircraft hijackings, continuous terrorist attacks, and the War of Attrition, which was conducted on the Egyptian border until August 1970. Following this war, there were several peace initiatives sponsored by the UN (Jarring Mission) and the US (Rogers Plan). These, in turn, led to the resignation of the Herut-Liberal Bloc from the Government and fierce criticism on the proposed solutions of “land in return for peace.” The return of the Bloc to the opposition and the formation of gaps between the Labor Party and the National Religious Party (though the latter remained a member of the coalition), sparked renewed interest in Parliamentary work and legislation, which tends to be put on hold during times of extended coalition support.
Among the distincive terrorist attacks during this period was the hijacking of the Sabena airplane in May 1972; Sayeret Matkal (the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit) managed to overtake the hijackers after the aircraft landed at Lod Airport. Three weeks later, a terrorist attack at the airport caused the deaths of 26 tourists and Israeli citizens. In September, 11 Israeli sportsmen were murdered by the “Black September” group during the Munich Olympic games. The Knesset was unified in the condemntion of the PLO and other Palestinian terrorist organizations, and was mostly supportive of the Government’s policy not to negotiate with terrorists.
In early 1970 an amendment (no. 2) was introduced to the Law of Return, in which the term “Jewish” was defined as “a person who born to a Jewish mother or converted, and is not of another religion.” This definition did not state the identity of the converter. During this time, the Soviet Union began peresecuting its Jewish community that identified with Israel, and the Leningrad Process began, in which Russian Refuseniks were accused of hijacking an aircraft for purposes of Aliyah. Large numbers of Jewish-Soviet immigrants created a shortage in housing. At the same time, the Knesset debated the actions of the Jewish Defense League, established by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the US, and aimed to encourage minorities to emigrate from Israel. Another deabte at the Knesset related to Meyer Lansky – an American-Jewish gangster seeking refuge in Israel who was denied political sanctuary in Israel.
The Seventh Knesset dealt frequently with the socioeconomic gaps in Israel and was the first to use the term “poverty threshold.” The “Black Panthers” protest movement, which consisted mostly of Israelis of Moroccan origin, held a series of violent protests in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Meir’s referral to the movement, “They are not nice people,” had intensified the Sephardic public’s revulsion of the Labor Party. In the Seventh Knesset, only 13 MKs had originated from Muslim countries, two of which were Moroccans.
A subcommittee of the Economics Committee was appointed for inquiry on the subject of traffic accidents, as the annual death toll in accidents reached 400 at the end of 1960’s.
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| 31.1.1972
| The Knesset debated the state of Israeli culture, on the occasion of the Knesset’s anniversary. |
| 9.2.1972
| Motions for the agenda were raised regarding the urgent developments in Kiryat Arba.
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| 16.3.1972
| Prime Minister Golda Meir notified the Knesset regarding the speech made by King Hussein of Jordan, in which Jordan was instituted as a Unified Arabic Kingdom consisting of Jordan and Palestine. |
| 27.3.1972
| A special debate was held on the subject of the settlements in the Gaza Strip and Rafah. |
| 10.5.1972
| Announcements were made by the Government and the various factions regarding the suffering of the Soviet Jewry who wish to immigrate to Israel. |
| 31.5.1972
| The government made an announcement regarding the terrorist attack at Lod Airport. Three Japanese terrorists opened fire on bypassers, killing 25 and injuring 71.
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| 12.9.1972
| A special memorial sitting was held for the 11 victims of the Munich Olympic Massacre, committed by the “Black September” organization. |
| 30.10.1972
| The Government reported on the release of three terrorists who participated in the Munich Massacre, following to the hijacking of a Lufthansa airplane in demand for their release. |
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| Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee at the Suez Canal | Knesset Speaker, Yisrael Yeshayahu | MK Esther Raziel-Naor |
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| 26.2.1973
| Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan publicized the circumstances leading to the interception of a Libyan aircraft over Sinai, which ignored the prior warnings. The Israeli Air Force brought it down, killing its 105 passengers and crew members.
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| 29.4.1973
| The Knesset marked the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Rememberance Day, and commemorated the 30th anniversary of the rebellion in the ghettos.
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| 12.6.1973
| The Knesset debated the persecutions against the Jewish communities in Syria, Iraq, and the Soviet Union. |
| 11.9.1973
| The Likud was formed, uniting the Herut-Liberal Bloc, the Free Center, the National List, and the Movement for Greater Israel. |
| 24.9.1973
| Ratz – the Civil Rights Movement was formed, intending to run in the elections for the Eighth Knesset. |
| 1.10.1973
| The Government announced the Austrian Government’s decision to cut back on humanitarian services given to immigrants from the Soviet Union en-route to Israel. |
| 6.10.1973
| The Yom Kippur War broke out.
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| 13.11.1973
| A special memorial sitting was held for the IDF casualties of the Yom Kippur War. |
| 14.11.1973
| The Speaker of the Knesset praised the volunteers of the nation. |
| 18.11.1973
| The Government decided to establish a national inquiry commission to investigate the events leading to the Yom Kippur War and the first days of fighting. The commission was headed by Supreme Court Justice Shimon Agranat.
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| 10.12.1973
| The Knesset held a special plenum sitting in memory of David Ben Gurion. |
| 20.12.1973
| The Speaker of the Knesset spoke of the terror attacks at the airports of Rome and Athens; the Government announced its participation in the Geneva Peace Convention.
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