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Der Judenstaat
Der Judenstaat (German, "The State of the Jews", also sometimes translated as "The Jewish State") is a book written by Theodor Herzl and published in 1896. It is subtitled with "Proposal of a modern solution for the Jewish question". It is considered one of the most important texts of early Zionism. As expressed in this book, Herzl envisioned the founding of a future independent Jewish state during the 20th century, whiche argued that the best way to avoid anti-Semitism in Europe. -
McMahon-Hussein Correspondence
Sharif Husein was the ruler of the Muslim holy city of Mecca. During World War I, British High Commissioner Henry McMahon promised him that Britain would grant independence to most Arab areas in the Ottoman Empire. After the war, Arab and British representatives
disagreed over the borders that were promised. -
Sykes-Picot Agreement
The Sykes–Picot Agreement, officially known as the Asia Minor Agreement, was a secret agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and France, with the assent of Russia, defining their proposed spheres of influence and control in Western Asia should the Triple Entente succeed in defeating the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The negotiation of the treaty occurred between November 1915 and March 1916. The agreement was concluded on 16 May 1916. -
Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration (dated 2 November 1917) was a letter from the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, -
Start of British Mandate in Palestine
Geopolitic polity under British administration, carved out of Ottoman Syria after World War I. British civil administration in Palestine operated from 1920 until 1948. This administration was formalised with the League of Nations' consent in 1923 under the British Mandate for Palestine which covered two administrative areas. -
WWII and the Holocaust
Nazi Germany attacked and conquered most of Europe. Preceding and during the war, the Nazis persecuted Jews, eventually carrying out a genocide known as the Holocaust. This resulted in the murder of 6 million Jews. Although the Jewish population of the Palestine Mandate gave military support to Britain during the war, the British refused to allow the Jews to flee Nazi persecution and enter the Palestine Mandate. After the war, Jewish resistance in the Mandate was conducted against British... -
Creation of the Arab League
The Arab League (Arabic: الجامعة العربية al-Jāmiʻa al-ʻArabiyya), officially called the League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية Jāmiʻat ad-Duwal al-ʻArabiyya), is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia (Middle East). It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. It currently has 22 members. -
The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry
The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry was a joint British and American attempt in 1946 to agree upon a policy as regards the admission of Jews to Palestine. The Committee was tasked to consult representative Arabs and Jews on the problems of Palestine, and to make other recommendations 'as may be necessary' to the British and American governments. The Committee's recommendations addressed the matter of immigration and the future government of Palestine. -
Palestinian Diaspora
Palestinian diaspora (Arabic: الشتات, al-shatat) is a term used to describe Palestinians living outside of historic Palestine - an area today known as Israel and the Palestinian territories or the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Of the total Palestinian population worldwide, estimated at between 9 to 11 million people, roughly half live outside of their homeland. -
UN Partition Plan for Palestine
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a plan to replace the British Mandate for Palestine with "Independent Arab and Jewish States" and a "Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem" administered by the United Nations. On 29 November 1947 the General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending the adoption and implementation of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union as Resolution 181 (II). -
1948 Palestine War (Israeli War of Independence)
The 1948 Palestine war refers to the war that occurred in the former British Mandate for Palestine between the United Nations vote on the partition plan on November 30, 1947, and the official end of the first Arab-Israeli war on July 20, 1949. The 1948 Arab–Israeli War after May 15, 1948, marking the end of the British Mandate and the birth of Israel, in which Transjordan, Egypt, Syria and Iraq intervened and sent expeditionary forces that fought the Israeli army. -
End of British Mandate in Palestine
Early in 1948, the United Kingdom announced its firm intention to end its mandate in Palestine on 14 May. In response, President Harry S. Truman made a statement on 25 March proposing UN trusteeship rather than partition, stating that "unfortunately, it has become clear that the partition plan cannot be carried out at this time by peaceful means... unless emergency action is taken, there will be no public authority in Palestine on that date capable of preserving law and order..." -
Egyptian Revolution
The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 (Arabic: ثورة 23 يوليو 1952), also known as the 23 July Revolution, began on 23 July 1952, with a military coup d'état by the Free Officers Movement, a group of army officers led by Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser. The revolution was initially aimed at overthrowing King Farouk. The revolutionary government adopted a staunchly nationalist, anti-imperialist agenda, which came to be expressed chiefly through Arab nationalism, and international non-alignment. -
The Suez Canal, Straits of Tiran and the Gulf od Aqaba
On the same day that the Egyptians nationalized the Suez canal, the country closed the canal to Israeli shipping. Egypt also closed the Straits of Tiran and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba, in contravention of the Constantinople Convention of 1888. Many argued that this was also a violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreements. -
Nationalization of the Suez Canal
On 26 July 1956, in retaliation for the loss of funding and to help pay for the Aswan project, Nasser gave a speech in Alexandria where he denounced Western influence in the Arab world and announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, in breach of the agreement he had signed on 19 October 1954. The official reason given was that funds from the Suez Canal would be used for the construction of the dam in Aswan. -
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggressio, was a diplomatic and military confrontation in late 1956 between Egypt on one side, and Britain, France and Israel on the other, with the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Nations playing major roles in forcing Britain, France and Israel to withdraw. -
Creation of the Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a multi-party confederation. Though it is on the left wing of Palestinian politics, its character is primarily nationalist rather than social democratic. Fatah is generally considered to have had a strong involvement in revolutionary struggle in the past and has maintained a number of militant/terrorist groups, closely identified with the leadership of Yasser Arafat, its founder. -
Creation of the PLO
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is a political and paramilitary organization. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed observer status at the United Nations since 1974. -
Six Day War
The Six-Day War was fought by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt (known at the time as the United Arab Republic), Jordan, and Syria. After a period of high tension between Israel and its neighbors, the war began on June 5 with Israel launching surprise air strikes against Arab forces. -
Attrition Battles
Egypt began small-scale attacks against Israeli positions which continued until Anwar Sadat came to power in 1970. During this same period, the PLO attacked Israeli military personnel and civilians from bases in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. It also carried out airplane hijackings and terrorist attacks... -
October War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. The war began when the coalition launched a joint surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, which happened to occur that year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated massive resupply efforts to their respective allies during the war. -
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter. -
Egypt-Israeli Peace Treaty
The 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty (Arabic: معاهدة السلام المصرية الإسرائيلية, Mu`āhadat as-Salām al-Misrīyah al-'Isrā'īlīyah; Hebrew: הסכם השלום בין ישראל למצרים, Heskem HaShalom Bein Yisrael LeMitzrayim) was signed in Washington, D.C. on the 26th of March 1979, following the 1978 Camp David Accords. The Egypt-Israel treaty was signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter -
First Lebanon War
PLO units in southern Lebanon increasingly attacked communities in northern Israel. In response, Israel launched an attack on PLO militants stationed in Lebanon. -
The First Intifada
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank engaged in an uprising, or intifada, against Israeli control of these territories. Palestinians attacked Israelis with improvised weapons and firearms supplied by the PLO, which organized much of the uprising. Suicide attacks against civilians in Israel began at this time. Israel used military force to contain the... -
The Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords were a set of agreements that began in 1993 when Israel and the PLO signed a Declaration of Principles (DOP). The Oslo Accords led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority, which had responsibility for administering the territory under its control. It also called on Israel to gradually withdraw its military presence from the Gaza Strip and a small area around Jericho. It left Israel the right to defend itself and its citizens, including those in the territories. -
Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace
As with the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the United States led a difficult but successful diplomatic process to help Jordan and Israel achieve peace. In 1994, Jordan became the second Arab country to recognize Israel. Trade, business relations, tourism, cultural exchanges, and scientific cooperation between the two nations have increased since the agreement was signed, but at a slower pace than hoped for initially. -
The Second Intifada
In September 2000, Israeli General Ariel Sharon visited the Jewish Temple Mount, a site revered by Jews that is also of major importance to Muslims. There was widespread frustration at the lack of progress in the peace process. Many Palestinians claimed that Sharon’s visit was provocative and began to riot. Many Israelis claimed that Sharon's visit...
