Timeline: Concise Chronology of Israel, Zionism and Jewish History - Draiman

Timeline: Concise Chronology of Israel, Zionism and Jewish History

1800? BCE	Abraham migrates to Canaan according to Jewish tradition.
1300? BCE	Migration and conquest of Canaan by the Philistines and Israelite tribes. Map of Canaan.
1000? BCE	Jewish conquest of Jerusalem; reign of David (maps); After the death of David's son, Solomon, the kingdom split into two: Israel in the north, Judea in Jerusalem and the south (maps).   Brief History of Early Palestine in maps.
721 BCE	Fall of Israel (Northern Kingdom) to Assyria
586 BCE	Fall of Judea (Southern Kingdom) to Babylon and destruction of the first temple
About 539 BCE	Fall of Babylon. Jews allowed to return to Judea. Tradition has it that Ezra and Nehemia led this return, and later rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, but the walls were apparently not built until 100 years later.
About 519 BCE	Rebuilding of the Second Temple under Persian rule.
331 BCE	Alexander the Great conquers Persia. The land was subject to Egyptian rule after his death, followed by Seleucid Syrian rule.
166 BCE	Revolt of Judah Maccabee against Syrian Hellenic dynasty; Simon. 164 - Liberation of Jerusalem. Judah is named Friend of the Roman Senate and People; Rule of the Maccabees: 166 - Judah 160 -Jonathan 143
66-73 AD	First Jewish revolt. Fall of the Jewish Second Temple to Romans in 70 AD.
133-135	Second Jewish revolt under Bar Kochba  crushed. Judea renamed Palestina. Jews are banned from Jerusalem by Hadrianus Caesar.
614	Persians conquer Judea and Jerusalem..
628	Emperor Heraclius defeats Sassanid Persians, reconquers Jerusalem..
About 638	Arab conquest of Jerusalem (slightly earlier or later according to different sources). CaliphOmar provides the Christians of Jerusalem with a Covenant guaranteeing their protection. Land  divided into the Jund of filastin, in the south (capital in Al-Lod and later in Ramlah), and the Jund of Urdunn in the north, with capital in Tiberias (Tabariyeh).
1099	Crusaders conquer Jerusalem, slaughter most Jewish and Moslem inhabitants, expel Jews.
1187	Saladin (Salah-al-din) reconquers Jerusalem
1291	Crusaders defeated at Acre and evicted from Palestine.
1517	Ottoman Turkish conquest of Palestine.
1740	Ottoman Sultan invites Rabbi Haim Abulafia (1660-1744),  Kabbalist and Rabbi of Izmir, to come to rebuild the city of Tiberias; thousands of Jews immigrate to the land in a wave of Messianic fervor, including  Rabbi Moses Haim Luzzatto (1707-1746).
1799	Napoleon conquers Jaffa but retreats before Acco (Acre); 1799 - Napoleon's Proclamation of a Jewish State was stillborn, and his declaration of equal rights for Jews was repealed in part in 1806.
1831	Egyptian Conquest of Palestine area by Mehmed Ali of Egypt, who rebelled against the Ottomans. He was forced to withdraw in 1840 under pressure by European allies.
1843	First Zionist writings of Rabbi Alcalay and of Rabbi Kalischer, Emuna Yeshara.
1844	First census in Jerusalem shows 7120 Jews, 5760 Muslims, 3390 Christians.
1856	Ottoman reforms (Tanzimat) - including requirement to register ownership of land in Palestine and pay taxes on it.
1860	First Jewish settlement (Mishkenot Sha'ananim) outside Jerusalem walls.
1878	First Zionist Settlement - Petah Tikwa.
1870s	Formation of Hovevei Tzion in Russia
1881-1885	Wave of Russian pogroms catalyzes First Aliya (wave of immigration to Israel)..
1882	Russian May Laws; Leon Pinsker writes Auto-Emancipation in 1882; formation of BILU; beginning of the First Aliya (wave of immigration).
1897	First Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland.
1903	Kishinev Pogrom and Russian Pogroms of 1905 catalyze Second Aliya
Nov 2, 1917	British issued the Balfour Declaration,  promising a “National Home” for the Jews in Palestine.
August, 1929	Arab Riots and Massacres in Hebron, Jerusalem, Safed, Haifa, Motza and elsewhere. The Jews had set up a dividing screen at the Wailing Wall in Yom Kippur of 1928 to separate men and women worshippers, prompting rumors that the Jews wanted to build a synagogue at wall, which were spread deliberately by Hajj Amin El Husseini.
1936-1939	Arab Revolt led by Haj Amin Al-Husseini. Over 5,000 Arabs were killed according to some sources, mostly by British. Several hundred Jews were killed by Arabs. Husseini fled to Iraq and then to Nazi Germany. British White Paper (1939) severely restricts Jewish immigration.
May 9, 1942	Biltmore Program - Zionist leaders, headed by Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion, convene at the Biltmore Hotel in New York and declare their postwar program (known as the Biltmore Program).  The program recommended an end to the British Mandate and demand Jewish control over immigration to Palestine with the aim of founding a Jewish "Commonwealth." wish history, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Timeline, Zionist movement, Israel history, Middle East history
May 15, 1948	Israel War of Independence  (1948 War). Declaration of Israel as the Jewish State; British leave Palestine; Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia declared war on Israel. Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian invasion began.
April 3, 1949	Armistice - Israel and Arab states agree to armistice. Israel gained about 50% more territory than was originally allotted to it by the UN Partition Plan.
Oct. 29, 1956	Suez Campaign. In retaliation for a series of escalating border raids as well as the closure of the straits of Tiran and Suez canal to Israeli shipping, and to prevent Egyptian use of newly acquired Soviet arms in a war, Israel invades the Sinai peninsula and occupies it for several months, with French and British collaboration.
May, 1964	PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) founded with the aim of destroying Israel. ThePalestinian National Charter (1968) officially called for liquidation of Israel.
May, 1967	Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser closes the straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and dismisses UN peacekeeping force. Negotiations with US to reopen the Straits of Tiran fail.
June 5-10,1967	Six day war - Israel destroys the Egyptian air force on the ground, conquers and occupies Sinai and Gaza, then conquers the West Bank from Jordan, and Golan Heights from Syria.UN resolution 242 called for  Israeli withdrawal, establishment of peace.
June 19, 1967	Israeli Cabinet decides on secret offer, to be delivered to Syrians and Egyptians though American diplomats, calling for return of territories conquered in the Six day war  in return for peace.
Oct. 6, 1973	Yom Kippur War (October War). In a surprise attack on the Jewish day of atonement, Egypt retook the Suez canal and a narrow zone on the other side. Syria reconquered the Golan Heights. Following massive US and Soviet resupplying of the sides, Israel succeeded in pushing back the Syrians and threatening Damascus. Ariel Sharon was instrumental in the successful crossing of the Suez Canal, which cut off the Egyptian Third Army. Israeli casualties were unacceptably high however, and both Syria and Egypt celebrate the anniversary of the war as a victory.
March 26, 1979	Peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel.
June 7, 1981	Israel destroys Iraqi nuclear reactor in daring raid.
Oct. 6, 1981	Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated while on the reviewing stand of a victory parade.
June 6, 1982	Massive Israeli invasion of Lebanon to fight PLO.
Sept. 13, 1993	Oslo Declaration of Principles - Israel and PLO agree to mutual recognition.
Sept 28, 1995	Oslo Interim Agreement signed. Palestinian Authority to be established.
Nov. 4, 1995	Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin assassinated by right-wing Israeli fanatic Yigal Amir. Rabin is replaced by Shimon Peres
June, 1996	Right-Wing Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu elected Prime Minister in Israel, replacingShimon Peres.
Sept, 1996	Al-Aqsa tunnel riots - Arab sources spread the false rumor that a gate opened in an underground tunnel tourist attraction by the Israeli government, endangered the foundations of the Al-Aqsa mosque. This caused several days of rioting and numerous casualties.
Jan 18, 1997	Israel and Palestinians reach agreement on Israeli redeployment in the West-Bank city of Hebron
Oct. 1998	Wye River Plantation talks result in an agreement for Israeli redeployment and release of political prisoners and renewed Palestinian commitment to correct its violations of the Oslo accords including excess police force, illegal arms and incitement in public media and education.
May 17, 1999	Israel elects Labor party leader and Former General Ehud Barak as Prime Minister in a landslide. Barak promises rapid progress toward peace.
March, 2000	Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations fail when Hafez Assad rejects an Israeli offer relayed by US President Clinton in Geneva.
Sept. 28, 2000	Palestinians initiated riots after Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon  visited the Temple Mount, which is also the location of the Haram as Sharif holy to Muslims.
Feb 6, 2001	Right-wing Likud leader Ariel Sharon elected Prime Minister in Israel replacing Ehud Barak and promising "peace and security."
Mar.-Apr. 2002	Israel conducts operation Defensive Wall in the West Bank, following a large number of Palestinian suicide attacks on civilian targets. Saudi peace initiative adopted at Beirut summit.
Jan 28, 2003	Elections in Israel give wide margin (40 seats) to right wing Likud party, returning PM Ariel Sharon for another term.
July 9, 2004	International court of Justice (ICJ) rules that the Israeli security barrier violates international law and must be torn down.
Nov 11, 2004	Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat dies.
Jan 9, 2005	Mahmoud Abbas elected President of the Palestinian National Authority.
Jan 2006	On January 4, Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke, leaving the leadership of Israel and the new Kadima party in the hands of Ehud Olmert
Jan 26, 2006	On January 26, the radical Islamist Hamas movement won an upset victory in Palestinian Legislative Council elections, threatening to end about 40 years of Fateh-PLO leadership of the Palestinians and to completely ruin hopes for peace with Israel. Hamas spokesmen sent mixed signals, but vowed never to recognize Israel and never to give up their claim to all of Palestine.
March 28	Ehud Olmert elected PM of Israel, heading Kadima party coalition
July 12	Second Lebanon War - Hezbollah terrorists cross the blue line border with Lebanon, attack an Israeli patrol, killing 3 and capturing 2 soldiers. Additional soldier dies the following day and several are killed when a tank hits a mine, pursuing the captors. At the same time, Hezbollah began a series of rocket attacks on northern Israel. In subsequent days, Israel carried out massive but selective bombing and artillery shelling of Lebanon, hitting rocket stores, Hezbollah headquarters in Dahya quarter of Beirut (see Beirut Map and al-Manara television in Beirut, and killing over two hundred persons, many civilians. Hezbollah responds with several hundred rocket attacks on Haifa, Tiberias, Safed and other towns deep in northern Israel, killing 13 civilians to July 18 (See Map of Hezbollah Rocket Attacks) , and a Hezbollah Iranian supplied C-802 missile hits an Israeli missile cruiser off the cost of Beirut, killing 4. Hezbollah rocket also sinks at least one foreign neutral ship and damages an Egyptian one. G-8 meeting calls for cessation of violence, return of Israeli soldier and disarmament of Hezbolla in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and UN Security Council Resolution 1680.
Aug 14, 2006	Cease fire, based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701
Feb. 2007	Israeli renovations near the Mughrabi gate of the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem spark widespread unrest in the Arab world, over false charges that Israel is destroying the mosque.
Feb. 8, 2007	Palestinian Unity Agreement in Mecca. Hamas and Fatah agree to share power, based on vaguely worded agreement. Hamas officials reiterate that they will never recognize Israel. US and Israel insist that the new government must recognize right of Israel to exist, disarm terrorist groups and agree to end violence.
Feb. 19, 2007	Trilateral Israeli-Palestinian-American summit with Secretary of State Rice, PM Ehud Olmert and President Abbas ended with no visible result.
March 17, 2007	Palestinian unity government sworn in.
June 2007	Hamas ousts Fatah from Gaza in bloody coup.
Nov. 26-28	US convenes peace summit at Annapolis, Md. with participation of Arab nations, Quartet, EU members, GCC and others including South Africa. Israelis and Palestinians are forced to agree on a joint statement that vows to implement the quartet roadmap in parallel, with US monitoring performance and the sides negotiating continuously with the aim of concluding an agreement by the end of 2008. See: Joint Israeli-Palestinian Declaration, and its meaning
Jan. 2008	President Bush visit to Middle East; Hamas "breakout" into Egypt at Rafah Crossing.
Feb. 12, 2008	Hezbollah "militant" Imad Moughniyeh killed by car bomb in Damascus. Moughniyeh was a "militancy" mastermind, responsible for attacks on U.S. embassy and US marines in Lebanon in the 80s, for kidnapping of American nationals, for explosions in Israel Embassy and Jewish Center in Argentina and apparently for planning the kidnappings that triggered the second Lebanon War. FBI had a $5 million dollar reward out for Moughniyeh. Israel denies any involvement in the killing of Moughniyeh.
Dec 27, 2008-Jan 18, 2009	Operation Cast Lead - Israeli operation in Gaza to stop Hamas rocket attacks. Over 1,000 Palestinian casualties.
April 1, 2009	Following elections,  Likud party head Benjamin Netanyahu becomes Prme Minister.
June 4, 2009	Address by President Obama in Cairo, June 4, 2009 - Historic speech of rapprochement with the Arab and Muslim world also has direct implications for Israeli-Palestinian conflict, since the President calls for an end to Israeli construction of settlements in the occupied territories, as well as Arab recognition of Israel and a two state solution.