In mid-January, the Shah left Iran and Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile in France a couple of weeks later. Following the toppling of Haile Selassie in Ethiopia in 1974, this further impaired Israel’s doctrine of the periphery – supportive states outside the Arab world.

Members of Fatah commenced military operations against Israeli settlements from bases in Jordan. On 1 January, it directed an attack on the National Water Carrier, following the Arab League’s plan to divert water from the Hasbani and the Banias. This would have reduced Israel’s water supply by a tenth. It marked the onset of planned and regular military incursions and the emergence of a solely Palestinian fighting force.

The general election held on the last day of 1973 indicated a breakthrough for the Likud which attained approximately 30 per cent of the vote compared with Labour’s 40 per cent. Together with the NRP, Menahem Begin could count on forty-nine seats compared with Labour’s fifty-one. Although Golda Meir could expect support from the Left and the liberals, Labour did not have a blocking majority of sixty-one without relying on the Communist, haredi and Arab parties. The central committee of the NRP, which was mired in bitter dispute between its factions, voted narrowly to remain within the Labour-led coalition, but this eventually took months to implement.

Black September, which had been initiated by Fatah members in 1971, was responsible for the hijacking of the Sabena flight from Vienna in May and the killing of an attaché by a letter bomb at the Israeli Embassy in London in September. Letter bombs were also posted to Israeli diplomats in various countries and to government functionaries in Jerusalem.

Despite clandestine Israeli approaches as well as public international ones to Nasser, two defendants in the trial of young Egyptian Jews for sabotage in the ‘Mishap’ affair were sentenced to death. At the end of January, Moshe Marzouk and Shmuel Azar were executed. Although this was often explained by arguing that Nasser was unable to withstand the internal political pressure – even though the efforts at sabotage were amateurish and caused no deaths – there was public outrage in Israel. It initiated a deterioration between the two sides which further sharpened the division in the cabinet between those who worked for diplomatic solutions and military restraint and those who believed in a more aggressive approach and retaliation.

Following the growing criticism of Ehud Olmert’s handling of the second Lebanon war, his government found itself mired in a series of police investigations. This followed rape and sexual harassment allegations directed at President Katsav in 2006. Katsav took a leave of absence and resigned two weeks before his seven-year term of office officially came to an end in July. Haim Ramon, the deputy prime minister, was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to one hundred hours of community service and a fine of $3,600.

In the aftermath of the Suez war, Israel finally agreed to leave Egyptian territory. During the conflict 172 soldiers had been killed and 817 injured. One hundred tanks and large amounts of ammunition had been taken from the Egyptian forces. Ben-Gurion’s government held out against the UN and the USA on a complete withdrawal until its freedom of navigation had been guaranteed in the region. It originally wished to maintain a presence in Sharm el-Sheikh to ensure free passage through the Straits of Tiran at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba.

The trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Final Solution took place in Jerusalem, following his abduction from Argentina. He was hanged in 1962.

Ben-Gurion’s party, Mapai, fragmented in 1965 and this started the decline of the Israeli Left and the rise of the Israeli Right under Menahem Begin.

In 1967, the Six Day war expanded Israel’s territory almost fourfold. Israel now controlled the Sinai desert (Egypt), the Golan Heights (Syria) and the West Bank (Jordan). Israel also controlled the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians on the West Bank.

It also saw the rise of the PLO under Yasser Arafat, replacing the previous pro-Jordanian leadership of the Palestinians and the carrying out of armed attacks by factions such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

In 1968, the Labour party was formed from Mapai and other parties.

The election at the end of July resulted in an effective equal split whereby neither the Labour Alignment nor the Likud could form a workable coalition. Both lost seats. A national coalition government was therefore established whereby Labour, the largest party, would take the premiership for the first two years and Likud for the second two years. By September, Shimon Peres had established the largest coalition in Israeli history, constituting eight parties and 97 of the 120 MKs. Shas, the party of the Mizrahi ultra-orthodox established by Ovadia Yosef, gained representation for the first time and subsequently held ministerial posts. Peres became prime minister and Rabin minister of defence.

The election of Donald Trump brought unexpected opportunities for Benjamin Netanyahu and for the Israeli Right in general. Trump was an admirer of Netanyahu and had endorsed him for prime minister in 2013. The Transition Team had wanted him to attend Trump’s inauguration. Netanyahu, through his American network, had been friendly with Jared Kushner and his family for many years. But most important, the restrictions of the Obama White House were lifted and the personal acrimony dissipated.

Cartoonists with their accompanying biting wit have always been feared by dictators. The Nazis hated British cartoonists such as David Low who ridiculed them and their anti-Semitism. Goebbels sponsored a travelling exhibition, Der Ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew) replete with cartoons.

These difficult times also brought many German Jews into the world of caricatures and cartoonists. Jews were disproportionately represented in the fraternity of cartoonists internationally.

In the Soviet Union where cartoons often assumed an anti-Semitic perspective, Jewish cartoonists often Russified their names to disguise their origins.

In the US, Superman, Batman, Captain America and many other superheroes were the work of Jewish illustrators. This has often been the response to persecution. Mad magazine in the 1950s introduced nonsense words based on Yiddish.

Following the founding of Israel in 1948, local cartoonists such as Ross and Navon charted the return of the Jews after 2000 years in exile. In more recent years, Israeli cartoonists have charted the Netanyahu years - most notably the ease with which he disposed of all challengers and the corrupt practices at the heart of government which he was believed to have initiated.

While the armed conflict between Israel and the Arab states had formally ended in 1949, Ben-Gurion warned at a rally in Ein Harod in May that there would be a second round. The Egyptians installed military structures on the islands of Tiran and Sanafir at the southern entrance to Aqaba, allowing for the potential blocking of maritime passage to Eilat. The Egyptians told the US Embassy in Cairo that they had no intention of interfering with shipping.

The increase in number and sophistication of rockets fired at Israel was a dominant feature of attacks both in the north and in the south of the country. Several missiles were now being manufactured in local Gaza workshops, such as the M-75 which could reach Tel Aviv, while missile sections were being smuggled in via tunnels from Egypt or being transported by sea.

Twenty years after the start of World War II, Israelis still felt strongly about any association with Germans and Germany. In early January, a showing of a German film about Israel, entitled Paradise and Pressure Cooker, had to be cancelled for fear of protests – regardless of its very positive approach to the country.

At the beginning of the year, the Knesset debated the government’s desire to move forward with negotiations with West Germany about reparations for Nazi war crimes conducted against the Jews. This sensitive issue divided the Knesset. While the General Zionists, Herut, Mapam and the Communists were vehemently opposed, many parties including some in the ruling Mapai had similar misgivings. A Gallup poll, published in Ma’ariv, indicated that 80 per cent were opposed to any negotiations with Adenauer’s Germany.

Netanyahu was prime minister for the entire decade, becoming the longest serving prime minister in Israel’s history despite being accused of bribery, breach of trust and moral turpitude.He was able to outmanoeuvre and dispose of many potential rivals and adversaries.

There were repeated military clashes with Hamas and its allies in Gaza in which the air force was utilised, amidst targeted killings of Islamist leaders and civilian casualties.

Israel had developed the Iron Dome system which neutralised any incoming missiles from Gaza. However Iranian forces progressively embedded itself in Syria, aided by its ally, Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu who was close to the US Republicans and President Obama repeatedly clashed over questions such as peace and negotiations with the Palestinians. John Kerry’s shuttle diplomacy came to nothing.

The election of Donald Trump allowed Netanyahu to promote the West Bank settlements. Trump authorised the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem. The Trump Plan which would have allowed Israel to annex part of the West Bank was side-lined by the Abraham Accords. Diplomatic relations were established between Israel and the UAE and other states in the Arab world and beyond. The decade ended with Netanyahu’s court cases and the advent of the coronavirus. Israel became a world leader in vaccine manufacture and roll-out.

The central event of the year was the Six Day War in June, during which the territory controlled by Israel expanded almost fourfold. It proved to be a watershed in the history of Israel and broadly indicated a breaking with the political philosophy and ideology that had characterised the first two decades of the state’s existence.