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THE
TEN
MAJOR
EVENTS
OF THE
PAST
YEAR

T

he Jewish calendar year
5750 was one of extraor-
dinary change, from the
fall of the Berlin Wall to
the rise of Saddam Hussein. In
Eastern Europe, governments
— and ideologies — toppled.
Israel's unity government col-
lapsed; then, after months of
political jockeying, a new, more
right-wing government was
formed. The rift between
Washington and Jerusalem
widened. By year's end, the
Middle East equation had been
turned on its head, perhaps per-
manently. For the first time,
American troops had been
mobilized and sent to the
region, and the specter of war
loomed large.
What follows is a summary of
the most important news
stories and trends of the past
tumultuous 12 months.

GARY ROSENBLATT

Editor

46

FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 21, 1990

American troops to the Persian Gulf: Tens of thousands of Americans are now in Saudi Arabia, but no one knows for how long.

Palestinians
aligned with
Saddam
Hussein in the
Gulf crisis.
Palestinian
youths wave
Iraqi and
Palestinian
flags during a
pro-Iraq
demonstration
on Israel's West
Bank.

