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Israel: A Timeline
- 1840: The Damascus Affair, a case of anti-Semitic persecution in Damascus, Syria. This incident sparks discussions among European Jews about establishing a Jewish homeland.
- 1862: Moses Hess, a Jewish philosopher, publishes “Rome and Jerusalem,” advocating for a Jewish socialist state in Palestine.
- 1882: The First Aliyah begins, marking the first significant wave of Jewish immigration to Palestine, which increases the Jewish population from 3% to 8% of the total population.
- 1896: Theodor Herzl, a leading Zionist, publishes The Jewish State, one of the most important texts of modern Zionism, which argues that the best way to avoid antisemitism in Europe is to create an independent Jewish state, and encourages Jews to purchase land in Palestine, although the possibility of a Jewish state in Argentina is also considered.
- 1897: The First Zionist Congress is held in Basel, Switzerland, and establishes the World Zionist Organization, led by Herzl.
- 1914-1918: World War I breaks out, and the Ottoman Empire (which had controlled Palestine for hundreds of years) aligns with Germany and the Central Powers.
- 1916: With the assent of the Russian Empire and Italy, the United Kingdom and France agree to divide the Ottoman Empire into spheres of influence after the war, according to the Sykes–Picot Agreement.
- 1916: The British assure Sharif Hussein of Arab independence in the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence in exchange for support against the Ottomans.
- 1916-1918: The Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire-- led by Hussein’s forces in alliance with the British, Arab forces achieve military successes against the Ottomans in the Arabian Peninsula.
- 1917: The Balfour Declaration is issued to Lord Rothschild, expressing British support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
- 1917: Shortly after the Russian revolution, the Bolsheviks release a copy of the Sykes–Picot Agreement (as well as other treaties). Following this revelation, “the British [are] embarrassed, the Arabs dismayed and the Turks delighted”. The agreement led to a legacy of resentment in the region, among Arabs in particular, but also among Kurds who were denied an independent state.
- 1918: WW1 ends in defeat for the Ottoman empire.
- 1919: The Paris Peace Conference is held, leading to the establishment of the League of Nations and the mandate system.
- 1919: Hussein refuses to ratify the Treaty of Versailles in protest of the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of British and French mandates in Syria, Iraq, and Palestine. The failure to deliver independence as promised is understood by the Arabs as an act of betrayal and a violation of the national right to self-determination for Arab peoples, which the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence had promised.
- 1920: The San Remo conference grants Britain a mandate over Palestine, creating Mandatory Palestine. The mandate includes a commitment to implement the Balfour Declaration.
- 1922: The League of Nations approves the British Mandate for Palestine, which incorporates the Balfour Declaration.
- 1924: After his continued refusal to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, the British switch their support from Hussein to Ibn Saud, who then conquers Hussein’s kingdom, and eventually forms Saudi Arabia in 1932.
- 1920s-1930s: Jewish immigration to Palestine increases dramatically, bringing the Jewish population up to over 30% of the total.
- 1936-1939: The Arab Revolt in Palestine takes place, led by Palestinians protesting the British administration of the Palestine Mandate and demanding Arab independence and the end of the policy of open-ended Jewish immigration and land purchases with the stated goal of establishing a “Jewish National Home”.
- 1941-1945: The Holocaust forces many more European Jews to flee to British Palestine and galvanizes international support for a Jewish state.
- 1944-1948: The White Paper of 1939 outlines new British policies to place restrictions on Jewish immigration and land purchases, and declares the intention of giving independence to Palestine, with an Arab majority, within ten years. In response, a successful paramilitary campaign is carried out by Zionist underground groups against British rule in Mandatory Palestine.
- 1947: The U.N. proposes a Partition Plan for separate states. The proposed allocation of territory for the Jewish and Arab states is approximately 56% and 43%, respectively, with Jerusalem to be placed under international administration. The plan is accepted by Jewish leaders but rejected by Arab leaders, who view it as unjust and unfair.
- 1947: Following the UN partition plan, violence escalates between Jewish and Arab communities in Mandatory Palestine into civil war. Both sides engage in armed conflicts, leading to widespread displacement and casualties.
- 1948: On May 14, 1948, the Jewish leadership, led by David Ben-Gurion, declare the establishment of the State of Israel. The declaration is made shortly before the expiration of the British mandate. The newly established state is recognized by some countries, but not by the surrounding Arab nations, who attack.
- 1948: Following the failure of the First Arab–Israeli War to secure Arab independence in the region, Israel’s territory expands to approximately 78% of Mandatory Palestine. The remaining territories are controlled by Jordan (West Bank, including East Jerusalem) and Egypt (Gaza Strip). In the course of this conflict, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people are forced to leave. (Known as the Nakba. Villages were destroyed, wells were poisoned, and people were massacred.
- 1967: Following the Six-Day War, Israel gains control over several territories that were previously under the administration of other entities. These territories include the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights. As a result of the territorial gains made during the Six-Day War, Israel comes to occupy and control a significantly larger percentage of Mandatory Palestine than before the war.
- 1978: Egypt agrees to The Camp David Accords with Israel. This sees the Sinai Peninsula returned to Egypt, and a general cooling of tensions between Israel and the Arab world. This also marks a shift away from conflict between Israel and neighbouring Arab states towards internal conflict between Israel and the Palestinian population. Hard-liners oppose this, and the Egyptian president who ratified them is assassinated in 1981.
- 1987-1993: Palestinians, collectively frustrated by Israel’s continued military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, launch the First Intifada.
- 1993: The Oslo Accords, which have been characterized as “the Palestinian Versailles”, are signed. These allow the Palestinians to have limited self-rule in specific, fragmented locations within the West Bank. Hard-liners on both sides oppose these accords, and a far-right Israeli assassinates the Israeli Prime Minister in 1995.
- 2000-2005: The Second Intifada takes place, resulting in increased violence and tensions between the Palestinians and the Israelis (note to matt double check). Israel shifts towards an overt, fascist police state to enforce apartheid rule instead of pursuing peace.
- 2005: Hamas takes control of the Gaza strip, breaking with the Palestinian Authority which controls the West Bank. Israel withdraws its settlements from the Gaza Strip and begins a crippling blockade which continues to this day.
- 2014: The Gaza War takes place, a major conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Additional Resources
- The Israel-Palestine conflict: a brief, simple history | Vox (2016)
- Maps: Vanishing Palestine | Al Jazeera
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