The First Temple (the center of Jewish worship) is built in Jerusalem, under the reign of David and Solomon.

The expulsion of Jews from the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE by the Assyrian Empire led to forced resettlement, loss of political independence, and assimilation into the Assyrian population.

The Babylonian Exile begins after Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar destroys the kingdom of Judah and razes its capital of Jerusalem, expelling many Jews from their homeland.

The Babylonians destroy the First Temple, the holiest site in Judaism, during the Siege of Jerusalem.

The Persian conquest of Babylon and the subsequent return of Jews to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah.

After the Jews returned to Jerusalem, construction quickly began on the Second Temple, and was completed in 515 BCE.

The events that are now celebrated during the holiday of Hanukkah occur, when Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated and hellenized the Temple in Jerusalem, and violently abolished many Jewish practices. An outnumbered Jewish resistance movement led by the Maccabees won two major battles, routing the Syrians decisively and resanctifying the temple and reestablishing Jewish practice throughout the land of Judea.

The Romans conquered Judea, destroyed the Second Temple, and exiled many of the Jews, although many Jews continued to live in the land of Israel under Roman occupation.

The Bar Kokhba Revolt against Roman rule in Judea, resulting in the expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem and the renaming of the region by the Romans as Syria Palaestina, seeking to erase Jewish connection to the land by naming it after the Biblical enemies of the Jews, the Philistines.

Despite the destruction of the Second Temple, Rabbinic Judaism is formed in Roman-occupied Judea, and flourishes during this era.

The compilation of the Mishnah, the first written collection of Jewish oral traditions, is completed, preserving Jewish tradition and practices that were previously restricted to oral law.

The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem and the establishment of Muslim rule in the region, leading to periods of relative tolerance and cooperation between Jews and Muslims. However, under Muslim occupation Jews were treated as second-class citizens known as “Dhimmi”, with significant curtailment of rights and freedoms.

The First Crusade and the capture of Jerusalem by Christian forces, leading to the persecution and expulsion of Jews from the city.

The Ottoman conquest of Jerusalem and the incorporation of the region into the Ottoman Empire, leading to a period of relative stability and autonomy for Jews living in the area under Ottoman imperial rule.

This event set a precedent for the integration of Jews into European society, laying the groundwork for Jewish communities across Europe, including those with historical ties to Israel, to advocate for equal rights and protection under the law. This development would later influence Zionist thought as Jewish communities sought both equality and security in their ancestral homeland in the land of Israel.

The beginning of a 31-year period of immigration of Jews from Yemen to Ottoman Palestine, with nearly 10% of the Jewish population migrating.

The First Aliyah (literally meaning “ascent” or “rise”) was the first modern wave of Jewish repatriation, during which the Hebrew language was revived and modernized by Jews in the area.

Twenty years of pioneering culminates in the founding of the modern Zionist movement with Theodor Herzl and the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, with the goal of restoring Jews to autonomous rule in their homeland of Israel.

In December of 1917 during World War I, invading British forces captured Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire, leading to the Ottomans’ eventual surrender in 1918, and the dissolution of the empire in 1922.

The Balfour Declaration was issued by the British government, expressing support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in British Palestine. This declaration laid the foundation for the eventual establishment of the modern State of Israel.

Jewish communities in pre-state Israel experienced a cultural renaissance, with the establishment of theaters, music schools, and publishing houses, as well as institutions like the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, established in 1925.

Transjordan Partition: Under British rule, the British Mandate of Palestine is divided into two areas, named Palestine and Transjordan, today autonomously governed as Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan, respectively.

The Hebron Massacre — a violent attack by Arab residents on the Jewish community in Hebron in British Mandate Palestine, resulting in 67 Jewish deaths and numerous injuries to Jewish residents.

The Arab Revolt was a period of intense Arab resistance and rebellion against both British colonial rule and Jewish immigration in the British Mandate of Palestine.

A British policy statement, the White Paper, significantly limited Jewish immigration to British-occupied Palestine, restricting the ability of many Jews to escape the Holocaust.

UN Resolution 181 recommended the partition of British Palestine into two separate Jewish and Arab states, with the city of Jerusalem under international administration. Jewish leaders accepted the plan, while Arab states and Palestinians rejected it.

The State of Israel was established following the United Nations Partition Plan for British Palestine, leading to the declaration of Israel’s independence and the subsequent Arab-Israeli War. For Israelis, it’s their war of independence and a time for celebration; and for many Palestinians it is described as the Nakba, which translates to “catastrophe” in Arabic.

850,000 Jews were expelled from their homes in Arab countries as a reaction to the establishment of modern Israel. The vast majority of these Jews emigrated to Israel, where their descendants live today and are known as Mizrahi Jews.

Israel developed modern drip irrigation used extensively today by farmers around the world.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1964 during an Arab League Summit in Cairo, Egypt, to represent Palestinian aspirations for self-determination, the destruction of Israel, and a Palestinian state.

June: The Six-Day War, during which Israel gained control of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights, is fought against the Arab nations of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.

September: The Arab League summit in Khartoum, Sudan, ends with the signing of the Khartoum Resolutions, best known for the conclusions that become known as the “Three Nos”: No recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel, and no peace with Israel.

Golda Meir was elected as Israel’s first female head of state, and the world’s third female head of state.

Yom Kippur War (October War): Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism.

Israel won its first Eurovision Song Contest in 1978 with the song “A-Ba-Ni-Bi” by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Including 1978, Israel has won Eurovision four times, most recently in 2018.

The history-making Camp David Accords — Israel and Egypt signed a landmark peace treaty, leading to Israel’s withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula and a period of peace and cooperation between the two former enemy nations.

The First Lebanon War, also known as the 1982 Lebanon War, was a military conflict in 1982 between Israel and various Lebanese factions, mainly the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Israel’s main objective was to remove PLO forces from southern Lebanon, which had been launching attacks against Israel.

The First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, marked by widespread protests and violence.

The Oslo Accords, which aimed to establish a framework for peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, were signed by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Order leader Yasser Arafat.

The signing of the historic Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty, establishing formal diplomatic relations and peace between Israel and Jordan.

The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a leading advocate for peace and signer of the Oslo Accords, by a Jewish extremist opposed to the peace process.

The outbreak of the Second Intifada, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence and unrest, during which 1,083 Israelis were killed. Although the violence of the Second Intifada ended in 2005, it set the stage for the rise of Hamas in Gaza.

Israeli windsurfer Gal Fridman won the country’s first Olympic gold medal.

Israel, overcoming political pushback domestically, withdrew from the Gaza Strip, dismantling its settlements and military installations.

The Second Lebanon War erupts between Israel and the Iranian-backed terrorist group, Hezbollah, in Lebanon. This followed an ambush of Israeli soldiers along the border that killed three soldiers, with two being taken hostage.

In the Palestinian legislative election of January 2006, Hamas gained a large majority of seats in the Palestinian Parliament, defeating the ruling Fatah party. In June 2007, Hamas completed taking control of the Gaza Strip following violent clashes with Fatah, known as the Battle of Gaza.

The Annapolis Conference was a Middle East peace conference held at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The goal was to revive the Israeli–Palestinian peace process and implement the “Roadmap for peace”. Both Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert presented each other with competing peace proposals. Ultimately no agreement was reached.

Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense to target Hamas terrorists and rocket launchers in Gaza, in response to increased rocket attacks from Gaza into nearby Israeli communities.

Iran agreed to a long-term deal on its nuclear program with a group of world powers known as the P5+1 — the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. The plan is formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Israel campaigned against the JCPOA and viewed it as an existential threat, believing it would clear Iran’s path to developing a nuclear weapon.

The United States recognized the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory and moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem.

The signing of the Abraham Accords, a series of historic normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.

Hamas fired a barrage of rockets into Israel in May, sparking a brief conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as violence in mixed cities in Israel.

On October 7, thousands of Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel and brutally attacked kibbutzim, communities, and a large music festival in southern Israel. More than 1,200 people were killed in the attack, and an additional 250 were kidnapped. As of October 2024, nearly 100 hostages still remain in Gaza in Hamas captivity. Learn more about the October 7 terrorist attack and its impact.