A brief history of Zionism, 1860-1949

1860

• November 3 The first Jewish neighborhood outside of the Old City of Jerusalem was dedicated.

1869

• April 16 The cornerstone of the first private home erected outside the walls of Jerusalem laid.

1870

• February 15 Mikveh Yisrael, the first Jewish agricultural school in pre-State Israel, was founded.

1878

• August 8 Petach Tikva, the “mother of settlements,” was founded in pre-State Israel.
• December 22 Naftali Herz Imber wrote “Hatikvah,” which eventually became the national anthem of Israel.

1881

• October 13 Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and his friends began speaking Hebrew exclusively.

1882

• January 25 Russian students in Kharkiv, Ukraine, formed BILU, which advocated settlement of Israel.
• July 6 The first 14 members of Bilu reached Jaffa in pre-State Israel.
• July 31 10 Bilu pioneers established Rishon Lezion, kicking off the First Aliyah.
• December 12 Rosh Pina, the first Jewish settlement in the Galilee, was founded.

1884

• November 6 Chovevei Zion, the pioneer Zionist movement, was founded at the First International Zionist Convention.

1891

• March 5 A petition was sent to president Benjamin Harrison requesting US aid to establish a Jewish state in Israel.

1896

• February 14 Der Judenstaat was published in Vienna by Theodor Herzl.

1897

• August 27 The World Zionist Organization was founded at the first World Zionist Congress in Basel.

1898

• October 26 Theodor Herzl arrived in Jaffa on his only visit to the Holy Land.

1900

• March 30 The Histadrut was founded in Jaffa.

1901

• December 29 The land redemption fund, the Jewish National Fund (JNF), “Ha Fund Haleumi,” later Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (KKL), was established.

1902

• January 28 Sha’arei Tzedek Medical Center opened in Jerusalem.
• March 5 The Mizrachi religious Zionist organization was founded in Vilna.

1903

• August 23 Herzl proposed using Uganda as a temporary shelter for Jews fleeing Europe and Russia.

1905

• October 22 The first Hebrew High School in the world, Gymnasium Herziliya, was founded in Tel Aviv.

1906

• January 16 The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design was founded in Jerusalem by artist Boris Schatz.

1907

• May 7 First meeting of Jewish National Fund (JNF).
• September 29 Bar Giora, a Jewish self-defense organization, was formed to protect pioneers in Israel.

1908

• June 7 Kinneret, the first workers’ settlement in pre-State Israel, was founded.

1909

• April 4 Bar Giora was reorganized into HaShomer, which eventually became the Hagana.
• April 11 Tel Aviv, the first modern Jewish city, was founded on the sand dunes north of Jaffa.
• May 7 Construction began on the first 100 houses to be built in Tel Aviv.
• December 1 The first kibbutz, Deganya Alef, was founded in pre-State Israel by members of Bilu.

1912

• March 3 The Women’s Zionist Organization, now known as Hadassah, was founded.
• April 11 The cornerstone for the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology was laid in Haifa.

1915 

• March 23 The Zion Mule Corps, a unit of the British Army consisting of Jews from Israel, was formed.
• August 23 The Jewish Brigade was established in London at the initiative of Ze’ev Jabotinsky.

1917

• October 9 Sarah Aronson, a spy from Nili, shot and killed herself rather than betraying her people.
• November 2 The Balfour Declaration, supporting the establishment of a Jewish State in Israel, issued.

1918

• July 24 The cornerstone of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was laid.

1919

• March 3 Emir Faisel, son of the sharif of Mecca, expressed support for the Zionist cause in a letter to Chaim Weizman’s associate Felix Frankfurter
• April 25 Hashomer Hatza’ir, socialist Zionist youth organization, was founded.
• December 20 The SS Ruslan (Israel’s Mayflower) reached Jaffa from Russia with 671 passengers aboard.

1920

• March 1 Joseph Trumpeldor, a founder of the Jewish Legion, was killed while defending Tel Chai.
• April 24 The Supreme Council at San Remo assigned Britain the mandate over Palestine.
• April 24 Sir Herbert Samuel, a prominent Jew, was appointed the first High Commissioner of Palestine.
• June 15 Achdut Ha’avoda passed a resolution to establish the Hagana, predecessor to the IDF.
• July 22 Keren Hayesod (Palestine Foundation Fund) was established.
• August 10 Turkey renounced its sovereignty over Palestine and recognized the British Mandate.
• December 12 The Histadrut Ha’ovdim (General Labor Federation) was founded in pre-state Israel.

1921

• March 24 Rabbis Abraham Kook and Yaakov Meir were elected the first chief rabbis of Israel.
• May 2 Arab riots broke out in Jaffa, killing 40 Jews and wounding 200.
• May 21 Arabs massacred 34 Jews in Jaffa and Tel Aviv, including Hebrew literary pioneer Yosef Haim Brenner.
• September 11 Nahalal, the first moshav, was established in the Jezreel Valley.

1922

• July 24 The League of Nations tasked Britain with establishing a “Jewish National home” in Palestine.
• September 21 US president Warren G. Harding signed resolution supporting “the establishment of a Jewish National home.”

1923

• September 29 The British Mandate in Palestine began.

1924

• June 13 The town of Bnei Brak was founded.

1925

• April 1 The first Jewish university, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU), was inaugurated by Lord Balfour.

1929

• August 11 The Jewish Agency was created at the 16th Zionist Congress in Zurich.
• August 13 After Friday prayers, 2,000 Arabs attacked Jews praying at the Western Wall. August 23 67 Jews, including children, were slaughtered by their Arab neighbors in Hebron.

1930

• October 20 British White Paper, which restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine, was published.

1932

• March 28 The first Maccabiah games opened in Tel Aviv, with representatives from 14 countries.

1933

• January 30 The Society for Youth Aliyah was established in Berlin.
• June 16 Haim Arlosoroff, Zionist Labor leader, assassinated on the beach in Tel Aviv.
• August 25 “Transfer Agreement” signed between the World Zionist Organization and Germany.

1934

• February 10 SS Vallos, the first ship to break the British blockade, landed its “illegal” immigrants.

1935

• January 11 Hakibbutz Hadati (the religious kibbutz movement) was founded.

1936

• April 21 Arab riots began in pre-state Israel, in which 100 Jews were murdered and 308 wounded.
• December 10 Nir David, the first of the tower and stockade settlements, was erected.
• December 26 The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) was founded, under the direction of Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini.

1937

• July 7 The Peel Commission recommended reducing annual Jewish immigration to Palestine to 12,000.

1938

• June 29 Shlomo Ben-Yosef of Betar sentenced to death by the British for alleged terrorist activities.

1939

• May 17 The British White Paper limited Jewish immigration to 15,000 per year.

1940

• February 28 The restriction of the sale of Arab land to Jews in Palestine went into effect.
• June 26 Lehi split from the Irgun, aka Etzel, which wanted to cease attacks against the British during World War II.
• November 25 The Patria was mistakenly bombed in Haifa and sunk, killing 257 immigrants.

1941

• May 19 The Palmach commando units were established by Yitzhak Sade.

1942

• February 24 The Struma was torpedoed by Russia, killing 768 of the 769 Jewish refugees aboard.

1944

• September 20 The Jewish Brigade Group was formed by the British High Command with over 5,000 Jewish volunteers, incorporating 15 battalions.

1945

• August 27 1,310 Jewish refugees who had been forcibly transferred to Mauritius were allowed into Israel.

1946

• June 16 “Night of the Bridges,” during which the Hagana blew up 11 bridges on Israel’s borders.
• June 29 British forces arrested 2,718 Jews and killed four, in what became known as “Black Sabbath.”
• July 22 The wing housing the British headquarters at the King David Hotel was bombed by the Irgun and partially destroyed.
• August 13 Britain ordered the removal of all “illegal” immigrants bound for Palestine to Cyprus.
• October 5 Using the stockade and tower method, 11 new settlements were erected within one night.

1947

• January 10 The immigrants from ships Independence and Ingathering were sent to Cyprus for internment.
• February 7 Official founding of the Jewish Agency, dedicated to the establishment of the Jewish State.
• May 4 The Etzel broke into the British prison fortress at Acre, freeing 41 Jewish prisoners.
• June 19 Status quo agreement between David Ben-Gurion and Agudat Yisrael re: the Jewish State. Under this agreement, the chief rabbinate had authority regarding kashrut, Shabbat, Jewish burial, marriage, divorce, and conversions.
• July 18 The Exodus with 4,500 Holocaust survivors on board was forced to return to Germany.
• November 29 UN voted in favor of the establishment of Israel as national homeland for Jewish People.
• November 30 Arabs attacked a bus near Lod, beginning the Israeli War of Independence. December 15: The Arab Legion of Jordan laid siege to Jerusalem and isolated it from the rest of Israel.
• December 29 The 29th of November, carrying Jewish immigrants, was driven off the coast by the British.

1948

• January 15 Arabs ambushed and killed 35 Hagana fighters trying to rescue besieged Gush Etzion.
• March 11 The Jewish Agency in Jerusalem bombed by Arabs, killing 13 Jews and wounding scores.
• March 17 Jewish Sea Service, forerunner of the Israeli Navy, was organized.
• March 28 Arabs begin siege of Jewish quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, cutting it off from new Jerusalem. 
• April 1 Three large convoys broke through Arab siege of Jerusalem, bringing arms and food.
• April 13 77 doctors and nurses on their way to Hadassah hospital were murdered by Arabs. 
• April 19 The Hagana captured Tiberias. 
• April 22 The Hagana took control of Haifa.
• May 5 Israel Post (Doar Israel) established.
• May 11 The city of Safed and the port of Haifa liberated by the Hagana.
• May 13 The city of Jaffa surrendered to Hagana forces.
• May 14 Independence of the State of Israel was declared by David Ben-Gurion. • The provisional government of Israel repealed the British White Paper of 1939. • The US granted Israel de facto recognition. • The last three settlements of Gush Etzion fell to the Arabs.
• May 15 British mandate expired per UN resolution establishing Jewish and Arab states. • The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded Israel.
• May 17 Russia recognized Israel.
• May 18 The army of Saudi Arabia joined the other Arab armies in their invasion of Israel.
• May 19 The provisional government of Israel proclaimed a state of emergency.
• May 22 The UN Security Council ordered a ceasefire in the Israeli-Arab war.
• May 23 Kibbutz Ramat Rachel was recaptured by Israeli forces. • Israel was victorious in the battle for control of the Jordan Valley.
• May 27 The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) was established by law. • Jordanians blew up the historic Hurva synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem.
• May 28 Old City of Jerusalem surrendered to Jordan to save the lives of its 2,000 elderly Jews.
• May 29 In a first, IAF planes strafed an Egyptian armored column, stopping their advance.
• June 1 The Arab states and Israel agreed to a ceasefire.
• June 11 US Col. David Daniel (“Mickey”) Marcus was accidentally killed by a Jewish sentry at Abu Ghosh. • The first truce in Israel’s War of Independence went into effect.
• June 21 Ben-Gurion ordered the Altalena to be fired upon, killing 18 Jews and wounding 10.
• June 30 The last British armed forces left Israel.
• July 11 Jerusalem was bombed from the air for the first time in its history.
• August 13 Arab forces blew up the Latrun pumping station, cutting off Jerusalem’s water supply.
• September 14 The Supreme Court of Israel was inaugurated in Jerusalem.
• September 17 Count Folke Bernadotte, the United Nations mediator on Palestine, was assassinated.
• October 9 Egypt opened a large-scale offensive in the Negev.
• October 10 The second truce in the War of Independence came to an end.
• November 8 First census by Israel taken, totaling 712,000 Jews and 68,000 Arabs.
• December 7 “Road of Valor,” connecting besieged Jerusalem with the rest of the Yishuv, was opened.
• December 16 “Operation Magic Carpet,” flying the 49,000 Jews of Yemen to Israel, commenced.

1949

• January 25 Elections for the first Knesset of the State of Israel were held.
• February 14 The Knesset opened its first session in Jerusalem.
• February 17 Chaim Weizmann was elected the first president of Israel.
• February 24 Armistice Agreements signed, ending the war between Israel and Egypt.
• March 4 The Security Council recommended the admission of Israel into the United Nations. • First permanent government of Israel, headed by David Ben-Gurion, assumed office.
• March 9 The Israeli army reached Eilat, rounding out the boundary lines of the Negev.
• March 20 Capture of Ein Gedi by Israel, the last military engagement of the War of Independence.
• March 23 Israel and Lebanon signed an armistice agreement.
• April 3 Israel and Jordan signed an armistice agreement.
• April 22 Hebrew University reopened in temporary quarters in Jerusalem.
• May 11 Israel admitted as the 59th member nation of the United Nations.
• July 20 Israel and Syria signed an armistice agreement.
• September 8 The Knesset passed Israel’s obligatory draft law.
• September 12 Compulsory education law passed in Israel.
• November 2 Weizmann Institute of Science dedicated in Rehovot, Israel.
• November 20 The Jewish population of Israel reached one million. 

This selection from Dust and Stars: Today in Jewish History was specially compiled for The Jerusalem Post.

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