On September 11, 1952, at a secret, silent ceremony that lasted just 13 minutes, Israel and Germany signed a pact under which the Federal West German government agreed to pay 3450 million marks for war reparations to compensate for Jewish property stolen by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The agreement followed 18 months of negotiations between then Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett and then West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. The Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany entered in force on March 27, 1953.
On September 14, 1973, the Israel Air Force shot down 13 Syrian Mig 21 jets. The Post reported that a group of Syrian planes attacked Israeli patrol planes north of Haifa, 25km from Syria. The pilot of an Israeli plane that was hit ejected himself and spent two hours in the water waiting to be rescued. Several Syrian Migs attempted to interfere with the rescue and were shot down within four-five minutes. The Post highlighted Syria's loss of 13 aircraft was "the largest in one day since the Six Day War." The following month the Yom Kippur War broke out.