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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 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, Joshua 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. God chooses Saul of the tribe of Benjamin to become the first king of Israel after the people beg God for a king. -
C. 1010 BC. 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. Solomon, son of David by Bathsheba succeeds his father as king. God blesses him with wisdom making him the wisest man to ever live. He constructs the Temple, makes Israel bountiful, but sadly falls to lust, 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. -
After a rebellion by the Jews, Roman legions commanded by Titus capture Jerusalem and destroy the Second Temple. -
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. -
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. -
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.