History of Israel

 

The folloing was taken from the Information Division, Israel Foreign Ministry at http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il gopher://israel-info.gov.il

Anything in blue has been added by the host of this website

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS (BCE - Before the Common Era; CE - Common Era) 

17TH-6TH C. BCE -BIBLICAL TIMES

 c. 17th C. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - patriarchs of the Jewish people and bearers of a belief in One God - settle in the Land of Israel; Famine Forces Israelites to migrate to Egypt.

c. 13th C. Moses leads Israelites from Egypt, followed by 40 years of wandering in the desert; Torah, including the Ten Commandments, received at Mount Sinai

13th-12th C. Israelites settle in the Land of Israel c. 1020 Jewish monarchy established; Saul, first king

c. 1000 Jerusalem made capital of David's kingdom

c. 960 First Temple, national and spiritual center of the Jewish people, built in Jerusalem by King Solomon

c. 930 Divided kingdom: Judah and Israel 722-720 Israel crushed by Assyrians; 10 tribes exiled (Ten Lost Tribes).

586 Judah conquered by Babylonia; Jerusalem and First Temple destroyed; most Jews exiled

538-142 Persian and Hellenistic periods

(533 BCE Jubilee Year)

538-515 Many Jews return from Babylonia; Temple rebuilt

(333 BCE Jubilee Year Mede and Persian rule ended)

332 Land conquered by Alexander the Great; Hellenistic rule

166-160 Maccabean (Hasmonean) revolt against restrictions on practice of Judaism and desecration of the Temple

142-129 Jewish autonomy under Hasmoneans

129-63 Jewish independence under Hasmonean monarchy

63 Jerusalem captured by Roman general Pompey

63 BCE- 313 CE - ROMAN RULE ----------------------------

63-4 BCE Herod, Roman vassal king, rules the Land of Israel; Temple in Jerusalem refurbished

c. 20-33 Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth

66 Jewish revolt against Romans

(67 Jubilee Year)

70 Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple

73 Last stand of Jews at Masada

132-135 Bar Kokhba uprising against Rome

c. 210 Codification of Jewish oral law (Mishnah) completed

313-636 - BYZANTINE RULE ---------------------------

 

c. 390 Commentary on the Mishnah (Jerusalem Talmud) completed

614 Persian invasion

636-1099 - ARAB RULE ---------------------

691 On site of First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock built by Caliph Abd el-Malik

1099-1291 Crusader domination (Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem)

1291-1516 Mamluk rule ended

(1517 Jubilee Year)

1517-1917 - OTTOMAN RULE ---

1564 Code of Jewish law (Shulhan Arukh) published 1860 First neighborhood built outside walls of Jerusalem 1

882-1903 First Aliyah (large-scale immigration), mainly from Russia

(1867 Jubilee Year)

1867 The final emancipation of the Jews from Austria and Hungry

1897 First Zionist Congress convened by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland; Zionist Organization founded

1904-14 Second Aliyah, mainly from Russia and Poland

1909 First kibbutz, Degania, and first modern all-Jewish city, Tel Aviv, founded

(1917 Jubilee Year)

1917 400 years of Ottoman rule ended by British conquest; British Foreign Minister Balfour pledges support for establishment of a "Jewish national home in Palestine".

1918-48 - BRITISH RULE ------------------------

1919-23 Third Aliyah, mainly from Russia

1920 Histadrut (General Federation of Labor) and Haganah (Jewish defense organization) founded; Vaad Leumi (National Council) set up by Jewish community (yishuv) to conduct its affairs

1921 First moshav, Nahalal, founded

1922 Britain granted Mandate for Palestine (Land of Israel) by League of Nations; Transjordan set up on three fourths of the area, leaving one fourth for the Jewish national home; Jewish Agency representing Jewish community vis-a-vis Mandate authorities set up

1924 Technion, first institute of technology, founded in Haifa

1924-32 Fourth Aliyah, mainly from Poland

1925 Hebrew University of Jerusalem opened on Mt. Scopus

1929 Hebron Jews massacred by Arab militants 1931 Etzel, Jewish underground organization, founded

1933-39 Fifth Aliyah, mainly from Germany

1936-39 Anti-Jewish riots instigated by Arab militants

1939 Jewish immigration severely limited by British White Paper

1939-45 World War II: Holocaust in Europe

1940-41 Lehi underground movement formed; Palmach, strike force of Haganah, set up

1944 Jewish Brigade formed as part of British forces

1947 UN proposes establishment of Arab and Jewish states in the Land;

The Spoken Commandment to restore went forth on NOVEMBER 29, 1947; UN Resolution # 181. The 100-fold fulfillment of Dan. 9:25.

1948 - THE STATE OF ISRAEL BORN-----------

1948 End of British Mandate (14 May); State of Israel proclaimed (14 May); Israel invaded by five Arab states (15 May); Israel Defense Forces (IDF) formed; War of Independence (May 1948-July 1949)

1949 Armistice agreements signed with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon; Jerusalem divided under Israeli and Jordanian rule; First Knesset (parliament) elected; Israel admitted to United Nations as 59th member

1948-52 Mass immigration from Europe and Arab countries

1956 Sinai Campaign

1961-62 Adolf Eichmann tried and executed in Israel for his part in the Holocaust

1964 National Water Carrier completed, bringing water from Lake Kinneret in the north to the semi-arid south

(1967 Jubilee Year)

1967 Six-Day War; Jerusalem reunited

1968-70 Egypt's War of Attrition against Israel

1973 Yom Kippur War

1975 Israel becomes an associate member of European Common Market

1977 Likud forms government after Knesset elections; end of 30 years of Labor rule; Visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem

1978 Camp David Accords include framework for comprehensive peace in the Middle East and proposal for Palestinian self-government

1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty signed; Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat awarded Nobel Peace Prize

1981 Israel Air Force destroys Iraqi nuclear reactor just before it is to become operative

1982 Israel's three-stage withdrawal from Sinai peninsula completed; Operation Peace for Galilee removes PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) terrorists from Lebanon

1984 National unity government (Likud and Labor) formed after elections; "Operation Moses", immigration of Jews from Ethiopia

1985 Free Trade Agreement signed with United States

1987 Widespread violence (intifada) starts in Israeli-administered areas

1988 Likud government in power following elections

1989 Four-point peace initiative proposed by Israel; Start of mass immigration of Jews from former Soviet Union

1991 Israel attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles during Gulf War; Middle East peace conference convened in Madrid; "Operation Solomon", airlift of Jews from Ethiopia

1992 Diplomatic relations established with China and India; New government headed by Yitzhak Rabin of Labor party

1993 Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements for the Palestinians signed by Israel and PLO, as representative of the Palestinian people

1994 Implementation of Palestinian self-government in Gaza Strip and Jericho area; Full diplomatic relations with the Holy See; interest offices established in Morocco and Tunisia; Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty signed; Rabin, Peres, Arafat awarded Nobel Peace Prize

1995 Broadened Palestinian self-government implemented in West Bank and Gaza Strip; Palestinian Council elected; Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin assassinated at peace rally; Shimon Peres becomes prime minister

1996 Fundamentalist Arab terrorism against Israel escalates; Operation Grapes of Wrath, retaliation for Hizbullah terrorists' attacks on northern Israel; Trade representation offices set up in Oman and Qatar; Likud forms government after Knesset elections; Omani trade representation office opened in Tel Aviv.

(2017 Jubilee Year - The 120th One)