Conquest of Canaan under Joshua

Destruction of Jerusalem and First Temple; Mass deportation to Babylonia.

Exiles from Babylon return to rebuild Jerusalem's walls. Ezra reads the Torah

Romans destroy Second Temple. Beginning of the Exile in 70 AD.

Arabs conquer Jerusalem in 638.

Christian Crusaders capture Jerusalem - 1096

Jews of France emancipated, heralding the possibility of Jews integrating into general community

Theodor Herzl, founder of modern political Zionism, born in Budapest

First Hebrew newspaper in Russian Empire “Ha-Melits” (The Interpreter) begins publication in Odessa as a weekly

Moses Hess writes early Zionist polemic “Rome and Jerusalem”

1870 – Mikveh Israel, first Jewish agricultural school in Eretz Israel, founded

Zevi Hirsch Kalischer, ultra-Orthodox German rabbi who advocated resettlement of Eretz Israel, dies. Most rabbis held that return to Israel must await Messiah

Chaim Weizmann, Zionist statements and a driving force for Balfour Declaration, born in Motol, White Russia

Petah Tikva (10 kilometers from Tel Aviv) and Gai Oni, the first two agricultural settlements, founded

Government-inspired anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia following assassination of Tsar Alexander II

Eliezer Ben Yehuda, considered the father of Modern Hebrew, arrives in Palestine

First Bilu settlers arrive in Palestine part of wave known as the First Aliya. The pioneers want to build a new Jewish society

Rishon LeZion, the first moshava (village), founded

Zionist theoretician Leon Pinsker publishes “Auto-Emancipation”

Joseph Feinberg from Rishon LeZion meets Baron Edmond de Rothschild in Paris

Moshava of Gedera founded; Hadera and Rehovot founded in 1890

Hovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) hold first international Zionist convention in Kattowitz, Poland, November 6-8, 1884 . Leon Pinsker voted to head it

An MP since 1865, Nathan Mayer 'Natty' de Rothschild elevated to the House of Lords, becoming the first Lord Rothschild

Jewish Colonization Association incorporated in London by Baron Maurice de Hirsch of Paris

Theodor Herzl covers the Dreyfus Affair in Paris for Viennese newspaper “Neue Freie Presse”

Dreyfus court-martialed and publicly degraded after wrongful conviction

In June, Herzl visits Constantinople for first time. Meets with Khalil Rifat Pasha. Proposes to finance Turkey's debt in return for turning Palestine over to the Jews. Grand Vizier is unenthusiastic.

Herzl publishes “The Jewish State” (“Der Judenstaat”), articulating the case for modern political Zionism

Herzl sees Baron Edmond de Rothschild in Paris. The Baron unconvinced Herzl's plan is workable.

Herzl meets with Hovevei Zion representatives. Pushes for convening a Zionist congress.

First issue of Zionist newspaper “Die Welt” (The World) which will serve as Herzl's platform

Reform rabbis meeting in Montreal issue strong statement against an independent Jewish state

First Zionist Congress Basle, Switzerland August 29-31, 1897 urges "a publicly and legally assured home in ‎Palestine" for Jews

Reform Rabbi Isaac M. Wise of Cincinnati, Ohio, writes in “The New York Times”: a Jewish state nowadays "impossible"

Anglo-Jewish writer and leader Israel Zangwill (1864-1926) defends Zionist idea in “The New York Times”

Second Zionist Congress held in Basle, August 28-31, 1898

Herzl meets Kaiser Wilhelm II in Constantinople on his way to Palestine

Kaiser Wilhelm II visits the Holy Land, October 28-November 4, 1898 , dedicates three Lutheran/Protestant churches in Jerusalem

Herzl greets Kaiser Wilhelm II at the gate of Mikveh Israel Agricultural School as the entourage heads towards Jerusalem

Herzl and other members of small Zionist delegation meet Kaiser Wilhelm II at his encampment in Jerusalem ‎

US diplomats estimate Jews comprise 40,000 out of population of 200,000 in Palestine, “The New York Times” reports

Jewish Colonial Trust incorporated in London intended to be the financial instrument of the Zionist Organization

Third Zionist Congress in Basle, August 15-18, 1899

Turkey requires all visiting Jews to leave Palestine within 90 days after entering, according to “The New York Times”

Fourth Zionist Congress held in London - August 13-16, 1900

Sultan of Turkey renews decree forbidding Jews to remain in Palestine for longer than 90 days, “The New York Times” reports

New York Jews raise money for Jewish farm laborers in Palestine, “The New York Times” reports

Theodor Herzl has several audiences with Sultan Abdul Hamid II regarding Palestine colonization plan in return for Turkish debt relief

Fifth Zionist Congress held in Basle December 26-30

The Jewish National Fund is established

Mizrachi Orthodox Zionist movement founded in Vilna

Herzl meets Lord Nathaniel Meyer Rothschild to promote Zionism

Herzl testifies before Royal Commission on Alien Immigration to England; urges liberalization to allow refuge for persecuted Russian Jews

Herzl back in Turkey to lobby Ottoman officials

Herzl meets British colonial secretary Joseph Chamberlain October 22-23. Discusses Cyprus or Al-Arish in Sinai as safe havens

Herzl publishes his utopian novel “Altneuland” (The Old New Land) set in Palestine‎

New York Zionists collect $3,000 in Shekel Day campaign spearheaded by Reform Rabbi Stephen Wise

Pro- and anti-Zionist speakers address Jewish audience on New York City’s Lower East Side

Herzl sends study group to Sinai in March 1903 to explore viability of El-Arish plan

Kishinev pogrom. Between 1903 and 1906 pogroms throughout Russian Empire kill some 2,000 Jews

Herzl meets Joseph Chamberlain in London to discuss safe haven. Chamberlain raises idea of Uganda territory. Herzl presses for Palestine area.

Jewish National Fund takes ownership of 200 dunams in Hadera from Yitzhak Goldberg of Vilna in May; it becomes the first parcel of land owned by the Zionist movement

Herzl travels in Russian Empire during August visiting Jewish communities and meeting tsar's interior minister, Vyacheslav Plehve, suspected of organizing pogroms

Uganda proposal for settlement in East Africa splits the Sixth Zionist Congress

Sixth Zionist Congress held in Basle

President Theodore Roosevelt accepts Jewish flag from the Zionists of Baltimore, according to “The New York Times”

Herzl meets Cardinal Merry del Val, Vatican’s Secretary of State

Herzl sees Italian King Victor Emanuel III, who is sympathetic to the Zionist idea

Herzl meets with Pope Pius X requesting support for the Zionist enterprise. Says the pope: "As long as the Jews deny the divinity of Christ we certainly cannot make a declaration in their favor; not that we have any ill will towards them"

Zionists send study group to Transjordan in February

Stormy Zionist meetings over Uganda refuge plan in April

Anglo-Palestine Bank opens in Jaffa

Theodor Herzl dies in Austria

Start of Second Aliyah, which lasts until 1914, bringing some 40,000 mostly Russian Jews into Ottoman-controlled Palestine

Aliens Act in England aimed at limiting Jewish immigration championed by Balfour despite his sympathy for persecuted Russian Jewry

Weizmann, newly arrived in England, introduced by Charles Dreyfus to Conservative Prime Minister Arthur James Balfour

Seventh Zionist Congress in Basle formally rejects Uganda project; David Wolffsohn elected president

In a letter to English Zionist Federation Prime Minister Balfour expresses horror over massacres of Jews in Russia

Press reports of many Jews going to Palestine because of ongoing persecution in Russia

David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben Zvi establish Poale Zion, Marxist-Zionist Jewish workers union in Palestine

Hebrew high school established in Jaffa; Bezalel art school founded in March

Helsingfors (Helsinki) All Russian Congress of Zionist organizations meets to unify and strategize

Weizmann holds conversation with Balfour on Zionism

Leo Tolstoy writes against the Zionist idea; pleads for common humanity, “The New York Times” reports

Eighth Zionist Congress meets in The Hague. Decides to open Palestine branch in Jaffa led by Arthur Ruppin to facilitate agricultural settlement and development

First Hebrew-language weekly Ha'Olam under Nahum Sokolow's editorships is published in Germany

David Wolffsohn visits Constantinople and meets Grand Vizier Farid Pasha

Zionist movement plans bank whose profits will be used to develop Palestine industries, “The New York Times” reports

David Wolffsohn, president of the Zionist movement, visits Palestine

Jewish banker and philanthropist Jacob H. Schiff does not believe a Jew can be a true American and a good Zionist at the same time

Chaim Weizmann makes first visit to Palestine Arrives in Jaffa. He returned to England on 10 October 1907

David Wolffsohn, president of the Zionist movement, visits Constantinople again for meetings with Turkish officials

Violence breaks out between Arabs and Jews in Jaffa

Joseph Cowen, Zionist leader pleads for aid to found a state in Palestine

Young Turk Revolution restores constitutional era and raises Zionist hopes for cooperation

Herbert Samuel becomes first Jewish cabinet minister after appointment by Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith

Young Judaea, a Zionist youth movement, founded

Kibbutz Deganya, first communal settlement, founded in the Jordan Valley just south of the Sea of Galilee

Tel Aviv founded on sand dunes near Jaffa

First Jewish self-defense group, HaShomer, organized in Tel Aviv. Bar Giora, secret guard society, founded in September 1907 was later a founding component of Hashomer.

British Chief Rabbi Hermann Adler: Since destruction of Temple, Jews no longer constitute a nation and are exclusively a religious community

In June, David Wolffsohn back in Constantinople on his third visit . Ze'ev Jabotinsky was appointed the editor of four Zionist journals in Constantinople.

Young Turk Revolution the previous year gives Zionists hope, “The New York Times” reports

A Jewish visitor to Turkey reports Young Turks even less friendly to Zionism than Sultan Abdul Hamid

Ninth Zionist Congress, held in Hamburg, promotes idea of cooperative settlements

In Jerusalem four-fifths of the population of 100,000 are Jewish, according to “The New York Times”

10th Zionist Congress in Basle; Otto Warburg elected president. Sessions conducted in Hebrew for first time. Headquarters relocated from Berlin to Cologne

Palestinian Jews create the nucleus of a health system (Kupat Holim Clalit)

Henrietta Szold establishes women's Zionist organization Hadassah in New York

Dedication in Haifa of what will one day become the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

Rabbi Judah Leon Magnes (Reform) addresses the Federation of American Zionists at Cooper Union in NYC, encourages all Jews to settle in Palestine

US Jewish philanthropist Nathan Straus embraces Zionism after visiting Palestine

News reports suggest Turkey willing to grant Palestinian Jews autonomy

“The Times” correspondent in Constantinople cautions against sympathy for Zionism or else goodwill of Arabs will be lost

Writing from London in “The New York Times” Dr. Max Nordau, argues European powers should embrace the Zionist scheme for resettling the Jews in Palestine

Central Union of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith issues resolution dissociating from Jewish nationalism

Chaim Weizmann, speaking at the 11th Zionist Congress 2-9 September 1913 in Vienna, announces raising $100,000 to establish a Hebrew University in Jerusalem

Nahum Sokolow arrives in England as member of Zionist Executive. He and Weizmann form strong partnership

Baron Edmond de Rothschild visits Palestine for the first time in 15 years and praises Zionist achievements

Nafik Bey Hakim, Arab nationalist writing in “Al-Muqattan,” Cairo, says Arab public opinion opposes creation of a Jewish state

Most Jewish schools in Palestine now teach in Hebrew, not German, according to Prof. Boris Schatz of the Bezalel School of Arts

Plans for Palestinian Jews and Arabs to hold a joint conference outside Beirut with Nahum Sokolow to lead the Zionist delegation. The meeting does not take place

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, assassinated in Sarajevo setting off a series of events that will lead to World War I

Henry Morgenthau, US Ambassador in Constantinople, makes extensive trip through Palestine escorted by Turkish officials

Outbreak of World War I. Britain declares war on Germany. US President Woodrow Wilson declares neutrality. Jewish world geographically divided among warring parties. Zionists paralyzed

US Zionists organize aid relief to Palestinian Jews said to be starving as a result of Turkey's cutting financial relations with Europe

Fate of foreign nationals in Turkey thrown into doubt, leaving Palestinian Jews fearing deportation

Weizmann writes telling Ahad Ha'am that Manchester “Guardian” editor C.P. Scott is willing to champion Zionism

Turkey enters the war on the side of the Central Powers. Mass exodus of Jews from Palestine

Britain declares war on Turkey. Dismemberment of Turkey is a war aim, says PM Asquith in a speech at the Guildhall in London on 9 November

Herbert Samuel talks to Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey about Palestine's fate should Ottoman Empire collapse. Samuel raises idea of "re-establishing a Jewish state"

“Guardian” editor C.P. Scott writes to Weizmann: "There are so few people who have the courage of an ideal and at the same time the insight and energy which make it possible"

C.P. Scott to Weizmann: I saw Lloyd George on Friday and spoke about the Palestine question. It was not new to him, as he had been reading the “New Statesman” and talking to Herbert Samuel

Chaim Weizmann meets Herbert Samuel in London

Chaim Weizmann meets Arthur Balfour who is now a member of the War Council

Turkey cracks down on Jews but agrees to allow relief aid raised in US Jewish community for 100,000 Palestinian Jews to enter the country

Weizmann writes to Ahad Ha'am about the interview with Balfour, who admired Weizmann's assertiveness on Zionism

Chaim Weizmann meets Baron Edmond de Rothschild in Paris

Zionist leaders Nahum Sokolow and Jehiel Tschlenow in London join forces with Weizmann

Herbert Samuel presents memorandum to Lloyd George arguing for British protectorate in Palestine and Jewish ‎immigration, distributed at Cabinet on 25 January

Key Zionist activists in Palestine including Joseph Trumpeldor, David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben Zvi are forced to leave the country by Turkish authorities

Jewish National Fund given to understand Turkey is willing to sell land to Jews in Palestine

Herbert Samuel to Chaim Weizmann: "Mr. Lloyd George… would be very glad if you would breakfast with him next Friday"

Weizmann and Samuel breakfast with Lloyd George

Persecuted by Turkey, Palestinian Jews flee to Egypt; 6,000 to Alexandria

Turkey said to be inciting Arabs to attack Jews

Herbert Samuel revamps memo now entitled ‘Palestine’ distributes to Cabinet March 1915. He asks Zionists to prepare memo which became precursor of Balfour Declaration

Weizmann meets Balfour in March.

Ze'ev Jabotinsky arrives in Alexandria, Egypt, and joins Joseph Trumpeldor in planning to create a Jewish Legion to fight the Turks in March

US diplomats report Jews in Palestine as "naturally inconvenienced" but perfectly safe

Edwin Montagu, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Herbert Samuel’s cousin writes a detailed critique of Samuel's pro-Zionist memo to PM Hebert Asquith

Weizmann writes to Samuel about C.P. Scott's view that "events are shaping in favour of a British Palestine"

Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild dies. Apparently the first Lord Rothschild was converted to Zionism shortly before his death

Avshalom Feinberg and Aaron Aaronsohn organize Palestinian Jewish NILI espionage ring to aid British war effort against Ottomans

Secret agreement between Britain, France, Russia and Italy to divide up the Ottoman Empire

RMS “Lusitania” sunk by German submarines ‎

Coalition government formed by British premier Herbert Asquith as tensions rise over his handling of the war

Lloyd George interviews Weizmann for position in Ministry of Munitions; he is tasked with developing economical way to produce acetone

Sir Henry McMahon writes to Sharif Hussein bin Ali of Hashemite family of Mecca pledging British support for Arab independence in return for uprising against Turks. No reference to Palestine

US Consul in Jerusalem reports plague of locusts has devastated Palestine

Sir Mark Sykes and Francois Georges-Picot begin their negotiations over post-war division of Mashriq (Middle East excluding North Africa) Parts of Palestine would be international zone

Manchester “Guardian” leader argues friendly Palestine is in Britain’s strategic interest

Weizmann writes to C.P. Scott saying his position in munitions ministry becoming untenable and his experiments mishandled

The “New York Morning Journal” reports eight members of the British Cabinet favor establishment of a strong Jewish settlement in Palestine after the war

Reform Rabbi Stephen Wise says: "I know I can be a loyal American.. and still insist I am a Jew… Zionism is not a religion… but it is touched by the spirit of religion"

US President Woodrow Wilson endorses charity campaign to aid Jewish war sufferers, designating this "Jewish Relief Day"

President Wilson announces nomination of Louis D. Brandeis, a key Zionist leader, to the US Supreme Court

Shipment of medicines sent to Palestine aboard the US warship Collier Sterling by the Central Committee for the Relief of Jews Suffering Through the War

The Distribution Committee of the Jewish Relief Fund sends $142,000 for Palestine relief work

Sir Mark Sykes writes to Herbert Samuel: "I imagine that the principal object of Zionism is the realization of the ideal of an existing centre of nationality rather than boundaries or extent of territory"

Weizmann at Mrs. Waldorf Astor's luncheon; sees Balfour

Jews plan a demand for rights after war; national union in London organized to secure the rights of Jews

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov viewed the settlement of the Jews in Palestine with sympathy

Merchants in New York give to war relief; Jewish bazaar raises $150,000 in goods

Louis D. Brandeis to address Philadelphia Zionist meeting on Jewish rights

Tens of thousands participate in NYC Jewish Fair for war relief, which nets $75,000. Palestine Street scene is a feature

British disband Zion Mule Corps after the Gallipoli campaign. Jabotinsky persists in efforts to create Jewish Legion

Sykes-Picot Agreement France and Britain concur on division of Ottoman Empire. In Palestine France controlling Galilee; Britain Haifa; Jerusalem under international control. Talks had begun Oct. 1915

In a process beginning in 1915, Britain offers in the McMahon-Hussein correspondence to give Arabia to the Arabs if the Arabs fight the ‎Turks. Palestine is excluded

Weizmann meets British Jewish figure Lucian Wolf at the home of James de Rothschild; accepts he will not win Wolf over to the Zionist cause

Turkish governor expels Arthur Ruppin, head of Zionist office in Palestine; he works with the British from Egypt.

Sokolow is charged by the executive committee of the English Zionist Federation with the writing of a document which will eventually be presented to the British government.

Aaron Aaronson arrives in London and offers the British the services of NILI

Sokolow presents ‘Outline of Programme for the Jewish Resettlement of Palestine' to the English Zionist Federation executive

Battle of the Somme ends; with approximately 1.5 million casualties, it will be remembered as one of the bloodiest military operations in history

First non-zeppelin bombing of central London by a fixed-wing aircraft; German biplane drops six bombs near Victoria station

Asquith resigns; Lloyd-George becomes Prime Minister

Mark Sykes begins a pro-Zionist initiative due to a more interested government coalition in power, headed by Lloyd George and Balfour.

Lloyd George establishes a War Cabinet

James de Rothschild meets Sykes

Weizmann meets Mark Sykes for the first time

Weizmann meets Sykes accompanied by “Jewish Chronicle” editor Leopold Greenberg and James Malcolm, who is campaigning on behalf of the Armenians

Moses Gaster, Hakham of Spanish Portuguese congregation records in diary: Sykes urges Zionists have men on ground when British enter Jerusalem

Mark Sykes given a redrafted memorandum of Zionist views

Sykes meet Zionist leaders which include CW, Sokolow, James de Rothschild. Lord Walter Rothschild and Herbert Samuel also attend.

Meeting with Sykes at home of Moses Gaster; attending are Zionist leaders Herbert Samuel, Weizmann, Sokolow, Lord Rothschild, James de Rothschild, Joseph Cowen, Harry Sacher and Herbert Bentwich

Sokolov meets Georges-Picot at Mark Sykes’s residence.

Sykes introduces Sokolow to Picot, who tells him the future of Palestine will have to be decided between France, Russia and Britain

Sykes, Sokolow and Weizmann meet at Sykes’s residence to review the situation.

Weizmann and Sokolow discuss the latter's meeting with Picot

Weizmann elected president of the English Zionist Federation. James de Rothschild pledges 500 pounds.

C.P. Scott writes to Weizmann that Foreign Office is pessimistic about French willingness to renounce claims to Palestine

Jewish Workmen for Peace National Committee meeting at “Forward” newspaper building in NY adopts anti-war appeal to President Wilson

British troops largely complete capture of Sinai Peninsula

The British fail to take Gaza twice in offensives in March and April 1917.

March 8- 15, 1917 'February revolution' in Russia which overthrows Tsar. Kerensky becomes new political leader of a democratic state.

British troops capture Baghdad

Chaim Weizmann breakfasts with C.P. Scott; asks for help in getting to see Lloyd George

Russian Revolution (part one). Tsar Nicholas II abdicates

Discriminatory Pale of Jewish Settlement in Russia abolished by new Russian revolutionary regime

Weizmann to C.P. Scott: "The Zionist negotiations with Sir Mark Sykes are entering upon their final stages…"

Churches in England warn medications in short supply in Palestine, the “New York Times” reports

Weizmann has serious practical talk with Balfour, now Foreign Minister, on Zionism and a possible French or American role in Palestine

British troops make failed attempt to capture the Gaza Strip. As a result, Turks order Jews in Jaffa to evacuate northwards

Turkish authorities expel Jews from Jaffa and Tel Aviv

“Daily Chronicle” leader: "The project for constituting a Zionist state under British protection has much to commend it"

British Battle for Gaza under way against 20,000 Turkish troops

Weizmann meets Lloyd George for breakfast. Premier opposes arrangement with France, suggests joint control of Palestine between Britain and USA

Lloyd George tells Weizmann and C.P. Scott that the British Army's advance into Palestine was the one really interesting part of the war

Lloyd George and Lord Curzon meet Sykes on the eve of his departure for Mideast tell him no pledges should be given to the Arabs concerning Palestine

British churches appeal for funds to stave off civilian starvation in Palestine

Sykes to Weizmann: Be ready to leave London for Egypt as soon as Gaza Strip is captured from Turks

Weizmann writes to Sokolow that Lloyd George is "emphatic on the point of British Palestine"

Zionist view is that fall of Russian tsar simplifies Big Power contest in Palestine favoring Britain over France

Russian Jews granted equality by Russian revolutionary Kerensky government

The United States declares war on Imperial Germany

British troops make another failed attempt to capture Gaza

Sykes sees Picot in Paris and begins to break news that England wants suzerainty over Palestine.

Weizmann writes Brandeis updates him on meetings with Balfour and Lloyd George asks he lobby US to support Zionism

Sokolow meets high ranking French officials in Paris reports that Zionist project is welcomed enthusiastically.

Sokolow tells Alliance Israelite (which opposes political Zionism) that the Zionists do not desire a state and would be satisfied to be subjects of the protecting power

In mid-April 1917 Chaim Weizmann becomes aware of the hitherto secret Sykes-Picot agreement.

Yet another British assault on Gaza is repelled

Sub-committee of war cabinet meets to consider British territorial claims at the end of the war. Lord Curzon suggests that Palestine should be included in a British protectorate.

Sokolow writes Weizmann about meeting with French. "I was told they accept in principle the recognition of Jewish nationality in terms of a national home, local autonomy..."

Lloyd George says the French will have to accept a British protectorate in Palestine as Britain shall be there by conquest, and shall remain

Armenian lobbyist James Malcolm writes to Weizmann

Balfour arrives in the US following its entry into the Great War.

Balfour arrives in Washington

Weizmann sends a memorandum to Philip Henry Kerr, a member of Lloyd George's secretariat.

British War Cabinet fatefully decides to carry on campaign to bring Palestine permanently under British control

Foreign Minister Balfour in Washington; discussions by envoys raise Zionist hopes

Lord Robert Cecil, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, tells Weizmann he would like to see world Jewry speak out for British control in Palestine

Turkish troops halt British advance in Palestine, “The New York Times” reports

Weizmann tells Sokolow to drop talks with the French

Sokolow received at the Vatican by Monsignor Pacelli (future Pope Pius XII) and questions him about Zionist attitudes towards the holy places

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Gasparri tells Sokolow: "I assure you… you may count on our sympathy. We shall be glad to see the land of Israel"

During May 1917 British forces attack Beersheba

Sokolow meets Pope Benedict XV who expresses his sympathy with the idea of the Jews returning to Palestine

Sokolow has audience with Pope Benedict XV. Sokolow asks for pope's support: "Yes, yes – I believe that we shall be good neighbors," the pope replies

Balfour meets President Wilson and informs him about Lloyd George's sympathy for Zionism.

May 7 and 10 May 1917, Brandeis meets Balfour twice during his visit to the US

Sokolow is received warmly by the Italian Prime minister but the Italians are non-committal in their response to Zionism.

Sykes tells Aaronson British reinforcements are on the way to Palestine

Letter from Lord Rothschild in the Times which responded to anti-Zionism of Claude Montefiore and D. L. Alexander

Chief Rabbi Dr. Hertz writes to the “The Times” to dispel "the misconception" that the anti-Zionist Conjoint speaks for British Jewry

In June 1917, Balfour asks Weizmann to submit a draft of a British government declaration on Palestine that would be satisfactory to the Zionists.

Jules Cambon writes to Sokolov expressing the sympathy of the French government with Zionism.

Opening of the all-Russian Zionist Conference in St. Petersberg – the first since the February revolution.

Board of Deputies of British Jews votes 56 -51 to condemn statement of anti-Zionism of Montefiore and Alexander in the Times

In a meeting with Chaim Weizmann and Lord Rothschild, Balfour promises a formal declaration of support for the Zionist venture.

July 1917 - T. E. Lawrence leads Arab force that capture Aqaba/Eilat from the Ottomans

Sokolow sends a draft of the declaration to Lord Rothschild, asking that it be sent on to Mark Sykes.

A small group of Zionists meet to consider a shorter version of the declaration sent on 12 July.

Balfour sends his own version of the Declaration based on previous Zionist drafts, to Lord Rothschild

Weizmann meets with Gen. Jan Smuts, War Cabinet member, who supported the Zionist cause

Brandeis cables London that President Wilson is sympathetic to the Zionist project

Brandeis and Stephen Wise meet Colonel House at White House

Balfour reads out the Cambon letter to Sokolow to the cabinet

At the cabinet meeting Balfour tells his colleagues that he is in favour of ‘a Jewish national focus in Palestine’ as well as the assimilation of those Jews who will stay in the Diaspora

In cabinet, Lord Curzon opposes the Zionist project. He does not believe that many Jews will go to such a barren place and asks what will happen to the Muslims there.

Letter from Lord Rothschild in the Times which responded to anti-Zionism of Claude Montefiore and D. L. Alexander

Mark Sykes given a redrafted memorandum of Zionist views

War Cabinet Secretariat invites Jewish proponents and opponents to submit memoranda on the declaration draft.

The Times” carries story headlined "Palestine for the Jews" reporting on a manifesto by British Jewish groups in support of Zionism

Brandeis cables London that President Wilson is sympathetic to the Zionist project.

Leader in “The Times” headlined ‘The Jews and Palestine’ calls on government to take action

War Cabinet approves final text (Alfred Milner-L.S.Amery version) for Balfour Declaration

November 1917 British-led Arab forces advance northwards up the Judean Hills towards Jerusalem defeating Ottomans at Tel el Khuweilfe, Hareira and Sheria, and at Mughar Ridge.

British make still another assault on Gaza Strip.

November 1917 – Australian and New Zealand Army Corps Mounted Division liberates Jaffa

November 1917 – Battle of Jerusalem begins

Balfour Declaration issued: Britain promises a national home for the Jews in Palestine

At an impromptu dinner party at the Weizmann residence Chaim Weizmann, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, and Tolkowsky do a Hassidic dance around the table in Weizmann's study.

Beer Sheva captured by British

Gaza conquered by the British

Communists under Lenin overthrow Kerensky's Russian government

Newspapers report on Balfour Letter to Rothschild favoring Zionism. ‘A State for the Jews’ (“Daily Express”); ‘Palestine for the Jews’ (“The Times”)

“The Times” reports from Washington on American Jewish enthusiasm for Balfour Declaration. The newspaper says 90 percent of US Jews support Zionism

Montagu, a leading anti-Zionist, writes in his diary: "The Government has dealt an irreparable blow at Jewish Britons

League of British Jews founded to protect the interests of British Jews and oppose defining Jews as a nationality. They opposed the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of the Hebrew University.

League of British Jews founded to protect the interests of British Jews and not oppose defining them as a nationality. They opposed the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of the Hebrew University.

Board of Deputies thanks the Government for their "sympathetic interest in the Jews as manifested by" the Balfour Declaration. Anglo Jewish Association also identifies with Declaration. Jews in Poland and Russia rejoice

The Manchester “Guardian” publishes text of Sykes-Picot Agreement, leaked by Russian communists

December 1917/January 1918 - The pro-Zionist American Jewish Congress holds founding elections

Lord Robert Cecil declares: "Our wish is that Arabian countries shall be for the Arabs, Armenia for the Armenians, and Judaea for the Jews"

Lord Robert Cecil tells House of Commons: "Our wish is that Arabian countries shall be for the Arabs, Armenia for the Armenians and Judaea for the Jews."

British capture Jerusalem from the Turks on Hanukkah eve

General Allenby enters Jerusalem on foot out of respect for the Holy City and quickly posts guards to protect all the sites held sacred by the Christian, Muslim and Jewish religions

Turks hang Palestinian Jewish NILI spies Naaman Belkind and Joseph Lishansky who've been working for the British

Vatican signals Britain its concern that the Jews might gain direct control over Palestine to the detriment of Christian interests

Rabbi Stephen Weiss at rally NY: "We rejoice over nothing more than a 'scrap of paper,' but that scrap of paper is written in English. It is signed by the British Government and therefore is sacred and inviolable"

In January 1918, (Evreiskii Komissariat; EVKOM), the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs is established to win Jewish support for the Bolshevik regime

Founding assembly of the Yishuv, in Jaffa.

President Woodrow Wilson declares his 14 points as the path to permanent world peace. Self-determination promised for national minorities

The Zionist Commission is established by the Middle East Committee of the War Cabinet

Georges Clemenceau of France meets Sokolow and issues communique announcing agreement between French and British governments concerning Jewish Palestine

Russian Communist commissar for Jewish Affairs vows to combat Zionism

Semion Diamanshtein, first commissar for Jewish Affairs, former Lubavitcher hassid.

Weizmann has an audience with King George V who appears to be sympathetic to Zionist aims

Trotsky signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk which cedes territory to Germany and takes Russia out of the war.

Zionist Commission out for Paris en route to Palestine

Zionist Commission arrives in Alexandria.

Ukrainian mobs massacre the Jews of Seredino Buda

Zionist Commission, led by Chaim Weizmann, arrives in Palestine

First meeting of the Zionist Commission in Jaffa

Weizmann meets two Muslim leaders in Jerusalem, Ismail Bey al-Husseini and Kamel Bey al-Husseini.

Weizmann meets General Edmund Allenby and presents him with a Torah scroll.

Chaim Weizmann meets Feisal in Aqaba

The 38th Battalion (Jewish forces) arrives in Samaria and prepares to confront Turkish forces

Weizmann returns to Cairo to meet Lawrence of Arabia

US Central Conference of Reform Rabbis opposes Zionist aims and Jewish nationalism in Palestine

Chaim Weizmann and General Allenby participate in cornerstone-laying ceremony at Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem

Hadassah medical relief team arrives in Jerusalem

Wilson to Wise: "I welcome an opportunity to express the satisfaction I have felt in the progress of the Zionist movement in the US… since the declaration by Mr. Balfour…"

All of Palestine liberated from Turks with participation of Jewish forces under British command

The 38th battalion of the Royal Fuseliers is part of other battalions known collectively as the Jewish Legion

Jewish Legion participates in the battle of Megiddo 19-25 September 1918

Turkey surrenders

Zionists around the world celebrate first anniversary of Balfour Declaration

At eleven o’clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the World War ends as Germany and Allies sign an Armistice

Polish soldiers organize a pogrom against Jews of Galicia, Poland

21 December 1918 Lord Rothschild give dinner for Faisal which is attended by senior political figures.

Third Aliya, Russian Revolution, fighting between Reds and Whites, ‎1919-1920,‎ leaves 150,000-250,000 Jews killed triggers massive exodus of Jews, many to Palestine

Weizmann meets Feisal in London prior to Paris Peace Conference

Newspapers report Weizmann meeting Woodrow Wilson on sidelines of the year-long Paris Peace Conference

February 1919 – US Zionists join worldwide Jewish delegation, headed by Chaim Weizmann and Nahum Sokolow, to Paris Peace Conference at Versailles

3 February 1919 Zionists present statement to the peace conference.

March 1919 – Ben-Gurion in Palestine forms Socialist Zionist Achdut Ha'avodah Party, a precursor to today's Israeli Labor Party

Feisal writes to US Zionist leader Felix Frankfurter affirming that Arab and Jewish national movements have common interests: "We will wish the Jews a hearty welcome home"

“The Tablet” reports Church denying pope ever expressed support for Zionism: He offered good wishes to Jewish home in Palestine, but opposed a state

Wilson: "I am persuaded that the Allied nations, with the fullest concurrence of our Government and people, are agreed that in Palestine shall be laid the foundations of a Jewish Commonwealth"

The pope expresses his growing concern over the Jewish ("infidels”’) role in Palestine

“The Times” reports from Rome the pope saying "It would be for us and all Christians a bitter grief if unbelievers [Zionist Jews] in Palestine were put into a superior or more privileged position"

Palestine's temporary British military governor, Major-General Sir Arthur Wigram Money, lobbies government in London against carrying out Balfour Declaration. He is backed by General Clayton

King-Crane US study group visiting Palestine to gather information for Paris Peace Conference come to anti-Zionist conclusion and advocate Palestine’s incorporation into Greater Syria

Balfour writes to US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis: "We are consciously seeking to reconstitute a new community and definitely building for a numerical majority in the future"

July 1919 – Christian Arab nationalists are Zionism’s most implacable foes. Syrian Congress in Damascus rejects idea of Jewish commonwealth and Jewish immigration to Palestine

Brandeis arrives in Palestine

August 1919 – Weizmann and Brandeis meet in London. Discuss and disagree about structure and operation of Jewish Agency

Balfour memo: "I do not think Zionism will hurt the Arabs, but they will never say they want it"

King-Crane, an official commission established by the US government, did not oppose Jewish settlement in Palestine but opposed the notion of a Jewish state. The report is not published for several years.

Balfour writes: "Rooted in age-old traditions… Zionism… has… far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land"

Lord Curzon succeeds Lord Balfour as Foreign Secretary

Weizmann meets Faisal in London

France tries to torpedo Balfour Declaration saying it never officially approved it

To counteract opposition from within the British military, the British government instructs General Bols to state that HMG intends to honour the Balfour Declaration. This leads to the first Arab protests and disturbances

Arabs attack Tel Hai in Galilee. Joseph Trumpeldor and five other defenders killed

Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi proclaimed as king of Greater Syria.

Arabs attack Jews in Jerusalem following Islamic religious festival (Nebi Musa) which coincided with Passover.

After organizing a defence force, Jabotinsky is arrested and sentenced to 15 years hard labour on 19 April.

The San Remo Conference of the Allied Supreme Council in Italy endorses a Palestine Mandate based on Balfour Declaration

Haganah is founded

French argue that the waters required by the Zionists in southern Lebanon should now be allocated to Syria. This is eventually agreed to by the British

Sir Herbert Samuel, a British Jewish Zionist, becomes High Commissioner for Palestine. He was actually appointed after the San Remo conference and arrived in Palestine on 30 June 1920.

The Treaty of Sevres which enshrines the principles of the Balfour Declaration regarding Palestine is signed in France

Arab-Jewish violence kills 47 Jews and 48 Arabs during December 1920

Histadrut labor union formed

Brandeis-Weizmann split, nominally over Keren ha-Yesod agency but in fact about what Zionism would mean for American Jews

Disbanding of the Jewish Legion -- the five battalions of Jewish volunteers in the British Army that fought against the Ottoman Empire during WWI

Albert Einstein visits US with Chaim Weizmann on a fundraising tour for Hebrew University

Transjordan established under Crown Prince Abdullah after Britain grants the Eastern part of Mandatory Palestine to the Arabs

Deadly Arab riots in Jaffa, Petah Tikva, Hadera and Rehovot claim 47 dead between May 1-6, 1921

Haj Amin al-Husseini takes office as Mufti of Jerusalem, his selection was engineered in 1921 by the British. He served until 1937

British declare moratorium on Jewish immigration

The pope laments that the "new civil arrangement" [British Mandate] has weakened Christianity and strengthened Judaism

Weizmann becomes new President of the WZO at the 12th Zionist Congress (the first ‎since World War I) which meets in Carlsbad, Czechoslovakia

“Hadoar,” the first Hebrew daily newspaper, begins publication

Ben-Gurion returns to Palestine after a year in London on Zionist business

British establish Supreme Muslim Council with Haj Amin al-Husseini as President

Palestinian Arab delegation visits London to protest Balfour Declaration

Cardinal Gasparri, strengthened by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Monsignor Aloysius Barlassina, denounces Jewish settlements in Palestine as boosting communism

Churchill White Paper calls for a limitation of Jewish immigration in order to reduce Arab resentment

Mandate’s terms finalized and unanimously approved by the League of Nations

In October 1922, Mandatory administration conducts census in Palestine. There are 757,000 residents; 84,000 are Jews and 673,000 are Arabs and others. Jews make up 11 percent of population

Jabotinsky resigns from Executive to protest Weizmann's soft line vis-a-vis British refusal to formalize Zionist national council in Palestine

Britain cedes strategic Golan Heights to French Mandate of Syria

Herzl's comrade Max Nordau dies in Paris

13th Zionist Congress held in Carlsbad, Czechoslovakia. Weizmann re-elected president

Mandate for Palestine comes into effect

Betar, the Jabotinsky youth movement, formed in Riga, Latvia

Fourth Aliyah brings 82,000 Jews to Eretz Israel, result of economic crisis and anti-Jewish policies in Poland and stiff immigration quotas by the US

Palestine Jewish Colonization Association founded in 1924

In 1924, Weizmann opposes urban development in Palestine, apparently referring to places such as ultra-Orthodox B'nei Brak, founded in May

Ze'ev Jabotinsky establishes Revisionist Zionist opposition party at a meeting in Paris in 1925

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem officially opened by Lord Balfour, dressed in the robes of the Chancellor of Cambridge, before 2,500 guests seated in an amphitheatre and thousands of spectators

Balfour tours Palestine for three days

Balfour arrives in Damascus to protests outside his hotel

14th Zionist Congress meets in Vienna

By August 1925, Tel Aviv's population reaches 40,000

Keren ha-Yesod moves its headquarters from London to Jerusalem in 1926

Max Nordau’s remains reinterred in Tel Aviv

Economic depression in Palestine

Ahad Ha'Am, founder of cultural Zionism, dies

Chaim Weizmann and US Jewish non-Zionist leader Louis Marshall of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) meet about strengthening ties between Diaspora and Zionists

15th World Zionist Congress meets in Basle

Muslim religious leaders seek to limit Jewish worship at Western Wall in Jerusalem

Arab riots break out after Jews place temporary dividers near Western wall to separate Jewish men and women during Yom Kippur prayers

Sir Ronald Storrs, governor of Jerusalem, rules all buildings in the city be faced with white Jerusalem stone

16th Zionist Congress held in Zurich

Arabs riot throughout Palestine; massacres in Jerusalem, Hebron (67 killed) and Safed

British Shaw Commission sent to study reasons for Arab rioting and violence

Mapai Labour Party formed; becomes dominant left-wing party under Ben-Gurion and a precursor of today's Israeli Labor Party

League of Nations forms commission to examine Arab-Jewish violence and rights to Jewish prayer at Western Wall

Arthur James Balfour dies in Woking. Weizmann is among the last to see him

Lucien Wolf, English Jewish journalist, historian, opponent of political Zionism, and advocate of Jewish rights, dies in 1930

British Hope-Simpson committee proposes moratorium on Jewish immigration and a settlement freeze

British White Paper on Palestine, issued by Colonial Secretary Lord Passfield, limits the establishment of Jewish agricultural settlement. Weizmann protests

Haganah splits during 1931 over how to respond to British backtracking on Balfour Declaration. Jabotinsky-inspired Irgun formed

17th Zionist Congress held in Basle. Nahum Sokolow elected President of World Zionist Organization in place of Weizmann, who is seen as too close to the British. Hayim Arlosoroff heads Jewish Agency political bureau

Ben-Gurion camp wins 40 percent of seats to Palestinian Jewish assembly against 20 percent for supporters of Jabotinsky

Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (1929-1935, Labour) writes to Weizmann affirming that: "His Majesty’s Government will continue to administer Palestine in accordance with the terms of the mandate…

Jews now comprise 17 percent of population

From 1932 until 1939 the Fifth Aliyah (or immigration wave) brings nearly 250,000 Jews arrive into British-Mandate Palestine

In January Hitler becomes German Chancellor; beginning of anti-Jewish persecution

Arlosoroff assassinated in Tel Aviv

Haifa Harbor opened

In August, Nazis determined Jews emigrate from Germany enter into Haavara Agreement with Zionists. Some 60,000 German Jews arrive in Palestine 1933-1939

Meetings between Jewish Agency head David Ben-Gurion and Palestinian Arab leaders Awni Abd al-Hadi, Musa al-Alami and George Antonius, a Lebanese-Egyptian Christian now resident in Jerusalem

18th Zionist Congress in Prague

Zionist groups in Palestine organize "illegal" immigration circumventing British policies

Ben-Gurion and Jabotinsky try unsuccessfully to iron out their differences in London

Nuremberg Laws institutionalize anti-Semitism in German legal system

By 1935, Jews now compromise 30 percent of Palestine's population

19th Zionist Congress meets in Lucerne, Switzerland; Weizmann returns as president of WZO

Jabotinsky's New Zionist Organization meets in Vienna

Arab Revolt riots and strikes in Palestine. Lebanese irregulars join fighting in Palestine. Violence will continue until 1939

In May 1936, Ad-hoc group of Jewish elders tries and fails to reach an accommodation with the Arabs

Jewish Agency and Haganah continue policy of "Havlagah" or passive defense, rejecting retaliation against Arab civilians

British establish Palestine Radio which includes first ever Hebrew-language radio broadcasts heard throughout the region

In November 1936, Peel Commission arrives in Palestine to examine causes of Arab violence

Palestine Symphony Orchestra established. Arturo Toscanini conducts

Peel Commission proposes partition of eastern Palestine (territory between Jordan and Mediterranean) into Jewish and Arab states. Jews divided on offer; Arabs reject it

Armed Arab revolt against British. Mufti flees to Lebanon

Settlements build watchtowers to defend against Arab infiltrators

Orde Wingate trains Jewish self-defence forces

By April, Nazis troubled Jewish emigration from Germany is slowing due to Arab riots. Too many German Jews are adjusting to second-class status

Sir Henry McMahon writes in the “The Times”: "It was not intended by me giving this pledge to [the Sharif] to include Palestine in the area in which Arab independence was promised”

20th Zionist Congress - Zurich, Switzerland (1937)

20th Zionist Congress convenes in Zurich

British forces recapture major Arab population centers in Palestine from Mufti's men

Militant anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem establish Neturei Karta say Jews forbidden to have state until the Messiah

In May 1938, Palestinian Jews construct security barrier in Galilee to deter Arab infiltrators

In June 1938, British authorities execute Irgun member Shlomo Ben-Yosef

Kristallnacht: economic ruin and rioting against Germany's Jews November 9-10, 1938

Nazis weigh deporting German Jews to Madagascar

Weizmann sees Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain asks that 10,000 Jewish children be allowed to enter Palestine PM says no

Between 1939 and 1944 dozens of ships and thousands of Jewish refugees seek to break British maritime blockade of Palestine

In February 1939, British try to bring Jews and Arabs together in London. Arabs refuse to negotiate

Death of Moses Gaster, Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish congregation in London

In April 1939, Jews double down on "illegal" immigration to Palestine. New settlements created

21st Zionist Congress held in Geneva. Eve of World War II

Nazis - Communists sign non-aggression pact

World War II begins when Germany invades Poland

British naval vessel off Palestine coast fires at the “Tiger Hill,” a ship bringing asylum seekers to Palestine. Two refugees on board killed

Britain and France declare war on Germany

The 1939 MacDonald White Paper issued by Neville Chamberlain's government declares Britain will not allow a Jewish state to be created in Palestine. Limits Jewish immigration to 75,000 for five years (until 1944)

Palestinian Arabs, led by Mufti of Jerusalem, reject White Paper which promises Arabs control over Jewish immigration

The Irgun splits. Breakaway Stern Gang (Freedom Fighters for Israel) AKA Lechi commits to armed struggle against British policies

Jewish underground (including Haganah) shifts away from Havlagah or restraint and retaliates against Arab interests for killings of Jews

United Jewish Appeal founded to raise money for Zionist settlement and development

David Ben-Gurion declares: "We shall fight the war against Hitler as if there were no White Paper, and the White Paper as if there were no war."

Haganah makes its forces available to the British. Irgun calls halt to revolt against British to concentrate against Nazis

Nazi Einsatzgruppen mobile killing squads active in Poland

Weizmann meets First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill in London

Imposition of White Paper against Jews buying land and against immigration

Spring-Summer 1940 – Syria/Lebanon under pro-Nazi French (Vichy) administration. Italian Fascists based in Rhodes

Western Europe under German occupation. Jews in Poland herded into ghettos

Churchill becomes British Prime Minister

Italian Fascist planes bomb Haifa; 50 dead

Ze'ev Jabotinsky, exiled by British, dies in New York

Italian Fascist planes bomb Tel Aviv; 100 dead

In an effort to block British from returning ship carrying 1,700 asylum seekers, Haganah sinks ship. More than 200 refugees drown

Haganah organizes elite Palmach fighting unit to prepare for Nazi invasion

Chaim Weizmann in US for war effort March 1941

In April 1941, fear of Nazis invading Palestine is palpable. German General Rommel at Libyan-Egyptian border

In Iraq, pro-Nazi government set up by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani

British-led Haganah sabotage team disappears at sea May 1941

In May 1941, David Raziel, a founder of the Irgun, killed in Iraq while on a commando mission for the British Army

British forces capture Baghdad

Germany forbids Jews to emigrate

Britain, aided by Haganah, takes Lebanon and Syria from Vichy control

Italy bombs Haifa and Tel Aviv from air June 10-12, 1941 in campaign that began in 1940

With Operation Barbarossa, Germany invades Russia engulfing millions more Jews in its web of destruction

Louis Brandeis dies in Washington, DC

In November, Weizmann appeals to British to create Jewish fighting force

In November, Ben-Gurion in US on Zionist business

Germany ends improvised killing of Jews and at Wannsee Conference, outside Berlin, sets stage for "Final Solution" – the systemic, industrialized genocide of European Jews

British police kill Jewish militant Avraham Stern

“Struma” sunk in Black Sea after Britain refuses to allow its 770 passengers to land in Palestine. All but one passenger killed

Death camps at Auschwitz, Maidanek and Treblinka function at full capacity. Transports from ghettos to death camps run at capacity

Zionists adopt Biltmore program that Palestine be established as a Jewish Commonwealth

Summer 1942 – Fresh fears that Rommel will advance into Palestine. General call-up of Palestinian Jews to prepare for Nazi invasion

General Montgomery pushes Rommel back at Battle of El Alamein and removes Nazi threat over Palestine

By November, Palestinian Jews become increasingly aware of the genocide being committed against the Jews of Europe by the Nazis and their enablers

Bermuda Conference, April 19-30, 1943, British and American representatives fail to come up with approach to save European Jews from Hitler.

Small units of Palestinian Jewish commandos under British command operate behind German lines in occupied Europe

Telegram from Himmler, SS chief to Mufti now in Berlin on anniversary of Balfour Declaration proclaiming admiration for Mufti's struggle against the Jews

"Kill the Jews wherever you find them. It would please God, history and religion,” exhorts Haj Amin al-Husseini in Arabic broadcast on the Nazi Berlin Radio

Roosevelt administration dissociates from White Paper

Both Lehi and Irgun now attack British targets in Palestine

Irgun’s Menachem Begin declares Jewish Revolt against the British

By September 1944, British agree to create Jewish Brigade, which sees combat briefly in northern Italy in February 1945

In October 1944, Haganah demands Irgun end operations against the British

Weizmann meets Churchill, who says he supports creation of Jewish state

Lehi assassinates Lord Moyne, responsible for implementing White Paper, in Cairo. Moyne believed Palestine should go to the Arabs as their race was "purer" than the "mixed" Jewish race

Arab League of States formed in Cairo

There are 554,329 Jews in Palestine (30 percent of the population)

British allow "illegal" Jewish emigrants (Holocaust survivors) who have been held on Mauritius to enter Palestine

With Six million Jews exterminated by Germans and their collaborators, WWII ends in Europe. Death camps liberated.

Foreign Secretary Bevin declares immigration of Holocaust survivors to Palestine illegal

By October 1945, the three Jewish underground branches Haganah, Irgun and Lehi agree to pursue joint military campaign against British

First branch of Muslim Brotherhood formed in Jerusalem

Thousands of Tel Aviv residents gather on beach to welcome an "illegal" refugee boat and clash with British security forces

Irgun attacks Acre prison; releases dozens of prisoners

Egypt’s King Farouk hosts the first Arab summit to create front against establishment of Jewish state

In June 1946, the combined Jewish underground destroys bridges connecting Palestine to neighboring countries

Massive crackdown by British forces on Zionist leadership

Irgun and Lehi blow up British military headquarters in wing of King David Hotel. Haganah and Jewish Agency condemn attack

Four-day curfew on Tel Aviv as British search for terrorists

Britain redirects Holocaust survivors seeking entry to Palestine to Cyprus

Truman administration calls for allowing 100,000 Jewish refugees to enter Palestine

22nd Zionist Congress meets in Basle in the hall where the First Congress was convened in 1897. Ben-Gurion warns it may be necessary to take up arms for statehood

Discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls, biblical era manuscripts, in Judean Desert

Britain calls on the UN to decide Palestine's fate. Ben-Gurion returns to Palestine. Clashes with British soldiers continue

US backtracks on support for Jewish state

Britain hangs four captured Irgun fighters. Two others facing death sentences commit suicide

UN Special Committee on Palestine set up

Arabs and Jews agree on truce between June 11-July 9, 1947

Irgun hangs three British soldiers in retaliation for the hanging of Irgun men. British soldiers in Tel Aviv respond by killing five and wounding many in Tel Aviv shooting spree

British seize the “Exodus” carrying 4,000 refugees to Palestine and send them back to Displaced Person camps in Germany

UN Special Committee on Palestine calls for partition into two independent states, one Arab and one Jewish

Britain announces its intention to end the Mandate

In October, Arab League pledges to finance Palestinian Arab military campaign against creation of Jewish state

UN General Assembly votes 33-13, with 10 abstentions (including Britain), to adopt a resolution requiring the establishment of Jewish and Arab states in Palestine. Palestinian Arabs reject decision

December 1947 ends with massive Arab riots; hundreds of Jews killed

“The Palestine Post,” a Zionist newspaper (now “The Jerusalem Post”) is bombed

Road to Jerusalem cut by Arab forces. Jewish Jerusalem besieged

British Mandate for Palestine ends. British troops evacuate country

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, on Shabbat Eve, Zionist leaders led by Ben-Gurion declare in Tel Aviv the establishment of a Jewish state. (Hebrew date: 5 Iyar 5708.)

Arabs declare Israel's creation a “Nakba” or catastrophe. Transjordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon invade and join battle on the side of Palestinian Arab irregulars.

Vatican newspaper editorializes that "modern Zionism is not the true heir of Biblical Israel… Christianity [is] the true Israel"

US grants Israel de-facto recognition

Israel's Declaration cites the Balfour Declaration as the first in a series of international affirmations that underpin the right of the Jewish people to rebuild its National Home.

Chaim Weizmann elected Chairman of the Provisional State Council of Israel. David Ben-Gurion is prime minister

The Soviet Union recognizes Israel

Saudi Arabia joins Arabs fighting Israel

“Drive the Jews into the sea… and never accept the Jewish state,” exhorts Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, reported by “The New York Times”

There are 782,000 Jews and 69,000 Arabs in newly declared Jewish state

Arabs flee fighting; some are expelled. Some 600,000 become permanent refugees. Arab world rejects absorption and resettlement of refugees

First Knesset elections held. Mapai wins first Israel elections; David Ben-Gurion is prime minister - but no party gains majority requiring coalition government.

Britain recognizes Israel

First Knesset (parliament) opens

Weizmann elected president

Irgun chief Menachem Begin creates opposition Herut Party in 1949.

Israel admitted into UN

Between January and July 1949, Armistice Agreements were signed with Egypt, Lebanon, Transjordan and Syria under UN auspices in Rhodes.

Theodor Herzl's remains reinterred in Jerusalem

After about 18 months of independence there are 1 million Jews in Israel

In December 1949, Jordan annexes West Bank

The Knesset votes to transfer Israel's capital to Jerusalem, rejecting a UN call for the city's internationalization