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There is no official date for the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. Scholars debate this. C.1446 BC. God through Mosheh (Moses) leads his chosen people out of slavery in Egypt, across the Red Sea, into the desert where they wander for 40 years due to their infidelity to God. -
C. 1406 BC. Under direction of God, Yehoshua (Joshua), successor to Moses leads the 12 tribes into Canaan to conquer the land for the Jews, as well as deliver divine judgement on the brutal Canaanites. -
C. 1050 BC. As the Israelites desire for a king grows stronger, the prophet Shemuel (Samuel) crowns Shaul Ben Kish (Saul son of Kish) as the first king of Israel. -
C. 1010 BC. David Ben Yishai (David son of Jesse) after a successful musical, political and military career, most importantly having been chosen by God, becomes King of Israel. He wrote many psalms and is regarded as one of the greatest Jewish men in history. -
King David selects Jerusalem to be the capital city of the Kingdom of Israel. -
C. 970 BC. Shelomo Ben David (Solomon son of David) succeeds his father as king. His wisdom makes Israel a prosperous kingdom, constructing the First Temple, amassing wealth, and having 1000 wives and concubines. -
C. 966 BC. Receiving instructions from God, King Solomon builds the Temple, the house of God, where He would reside in the Holy of Holies and where burnt offerings would take place. -
After the death of King Solomon, the kingdom splits in two, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. -
The northern kingdom falls further and further away from God, worshipping pagan gods. The Assyrian Empire expands, conquering the northern kingdom and deporting the Jews, driving them from the land. -
The southern kingdom abandons God. The vast Babylonian Empire conquers Judah and deports the Jews to Babylon, destroying the Temple in the process. -
Returning from exile, the Jews reconstructed the Temple, dedicating it to God. -
Greek king Alexander the Great conquers Israel, meeting the High Priest. His conquests mark the beginning of the Hellenisation of the Jews, although not from Alexander himself who saw the value in letting people worship their own gods. -
Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes' repression against Jewish religion and hellenisation of Jewish culture sparks a revolt by the Maccabees, led by Judas Maccabeus. The recapture and rededication of the Temple, where a miracle with the candle oil is reported to have happened, is the origin of Hannukah. The Maccabees were victorious, with their deeds being recorded in the Bible in 1 2 Maccabees.
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Roman legions under Pompey Magnus conquer Jerusalem establishing the province of Judea. Achieving victory, Pompey entered the Holy of Holies, reserved only for the High Priest, desecrating the Temple. -
A rabbi from Galilee claiming to be the Son of God is crucified by the Roman and Jewish authorities for his supposed blasphemy. He is resurrected 3 days later, beginning the largest religion in history. -
With growing disregard for the Jewish religion, the Jews rebel against their Roman rulers leading to the destruction of the Temple, the displacement on countless Jews and much suffering.
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After a rebellion by the Jews, Roman legions commanded by Titus capture Jerusalem and destroy the Second Temple. -
Jewish communities across the Roman Empire rise up against Roman and Greek authority, attacking civilians with massacres ensuing on both sides. The revolt caused the destruction of many Jewish communities and forced their expulsion from certain locations.
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Resentment for the destruction of the Temple and the oppression of the Romans led the Jews in Judea to rebel against Lusius Quietus (known as Kitos).
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Emperor Hadrian's repression of Jewish customs and his plan to rebuild Jerusalem as a pagan city named Aelia Capitolina led to an outcry for independence, leading to the largest and most bloody of the Jewish revolts against Rome. From this came Simon Bar Kokhba who many rabbis believed to be the long awaited messiah. The uprising was crushed, Jewish massacred, Bar Kokhba killed in battle, and harsher restrictions were placed on the Jews.
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Around 200 delegates came together in Switzerland to formally organise the Zionist movement, politicising Jewish nationalism. Theodore Herzl stated, "At Basel I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today, I would be answered by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it." 51 years later, the State of Israel would be born. -
The British government issues a formal declaration that they will support the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. It galvanised support for Zionism. -
With false rumours spreading, Palestinian Arabs attacks and murdered around 67 Jews and injured 58. There were stories of brutal violence and rape but the bodies were thrown in a mass-grave by the Arabs and the authorities were unable to determine if any mutilation had taken place. -
Called the Shoah in Hebrew. Germany, pursuing Nazism, which places the Aryan German race as the superior race to all others, and the Jews as the ultimate enemy, begins a mass genocide against the Jews in Europe. 6 million Jews are killed along with other 'undesirables'. The goal of the Nazis was the complete eradication of the Jewish race from the face of the Earth. Jews were forced into ghettos and concentration camps and killed en masse.
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On 14th May 1948 , David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv. This marked the end of the British Mandate for Palestine and the beginning of Israel as an independent nation. After countless centuries of persecution with no land to call their own, the Jewish people began returning to the land their ancient ancestors once dwelt in. -
Following the announcement of the creation of the State of Israel, the next day the surrounding Arab nations with support from other Muslim countries invaded the land, seeking to prevent the birth of a Jewish state. They failed but Jordan managed to annex the West Bank. -
Adolf Eichmann, one of the main perpetrators of the Holocaust, is found in Argentina after being in hiding for nearly 20 years. Knowing a diplomatoc extrzction would be unlikely, Mossad agents kidnapped Eichmann and brought him back to Israel to face charges. By the end of his trial, it was decreed he would be executed via hanging. Although Eichmann appealed the verdict, and the government wondered if this would make him a Neo-Nazi martyr, the execution was carried out on the 15th December 1961. -
Border clashes, rising tensions with the Arab nations, and the closure of the Straits of Tiran, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike destroying Egypt's air force. Surrounding Muslim nations joined Egypt, however Israel dominated the war, taking over the entire Sinai Peninsula, West Bank and Golan Heights. The intervention of the UN ended the war, returning borders to the status quo, but the war was a major Israeli victory. -
On Yom Kippur, a coalition of Arab countries launched a surprise attack against Israel, seeking to regain lost territory in the Six-Day War. Whilst initially successful, the Israelis pushed them back, coming close to Damascus and crossing the Suez. It was a reminder for Israel that it was not invincible. -
A group of Palestinian militants hijacked a bus on the Coastal Highway of Israel and murdered its occupants; 38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children. -
In response the Coastal road massacre, Israeli forces invaded and occupied south Lebanon. Only after the UN's intervention did IDF forces pull back. -
When gunmen from the Abu Nidal Organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, it is used as a casus belli for an invasion of Lebanon, seeking to end Palestinian attacks from the country. The war saw the emergence of Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim Iranian-backed Islamist militant group. -
With the frustration and anger of the Palestinian people reaching its boiling point, mass protests, riots, and terrorist attacks occur across the country. The Israeli army is deployed and conflict ensues.
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A set of agreements between Israel and Palestine hoping for long-term peace and ending the conflict of the First Intifada. Parties on both sides rejected and felt bitter at the signing of the accords, for instance, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by Israelis. -
Baruch Goldstein, an American ultra-Zionist of the Kach party, opened fire at Palestinians praying at Ibrahimi Mosque, murdering 29 people, including children as young as 12, and wounded 125 others. Goldstein was overpowered and beaten to death by survivors. The event sparked protests and clashes which led to more deaths. Israel formally denounced Goldstein and branded Kach as a terrorist organisation. -
A meeting at Camp David between United States president Bill Clinton, Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat, sought to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict however it ultimately failed due to irreconcilable differences on the status of Jerusalem. -
Sparked by the failure of the Camp David Summit and the visitation of Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount, Palestinians led an uprising against Israel which descended into violence.
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Hamas carries out a suicide bombing against Israeli civilians during Passover seder at the Park Hotel in Netanya, killing 30 and injuring 140. -
A brief skirmish between Israel and Palestine, with either side blaming the other for attacking civilians. -
After Hamas kidnaps Israeli teenagers, Israel carries out a military retaliation with Palestine doing the same in turn turning into a short conflict between the 2. -
A series of agreements between Israel and Arab nations normalising diplomatic relations. -
Hamas launches a surprise attack against Israel, killing civilians. Israel in turn vows the destruction of Hamas, launching a full military invasion of the Gaza Strip. The destruction unleashed on Gaza is unprecedented from precious conflicts with the entire population displaced, no way to get out of the Strip, and blockades preventing humanitarian aid reaching civilians.