Middle East Modern Timeline

Balfour Declaration

Nov 2, 1917

Declaration from the British foreign secretary that recognized the establishment of a Jewish state in the Middle East. It said that Great Britain would support the emigration of the Jewish community to Palestine. It also said they would have their own area of land.

Palestine Becomes British Mandate

Jul 24, 1922

The mandate recognized the historical connection of the Jewish people to Palestine. Palestine was split into an area for a Jewish national home , one part Arab and the the other half was to be Transjordan which was governed by Britain. The mandate ended in 1948.

Holocaust

Jan 30, 1933

The Holocaust was the result of harsh anti-semitism in European countries. Anti-semitism also caused the Zionist movement which was the movement of Jewish people back to Palestine. In this way the Holocaust and World War II actually caused the Jewish people to move back to the holy land.

Jimmy Carter Becomes President

Jan 20, 1977

Jimmy Carter was president during the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. He also was president during the Iran Hostage Crisis and made sveral attempts at peace with the Middle East. President Carter was the one who met with Israel and Egypt at Camp David to make peaceful ammends between the two.

Camp David Accords

Sep 17, 1978

Jimmy Carter, Israeli Prime Minister, and Egyptian President met at Camp David to discuss a peace offering. Egypt recognized Israel's right to exist independently and Israel agreed to return Sindi Penninsula to Egypt. The both promised to have peaceful relations after this meeting.

Iran Hostage Crisis

Nov 4, 1979

Militant Islamic students invaded the US Embassy in Tehran and took them hostage (444 people) for what was only going to be a short time but after gaining support from the people and government they kept them for over a year. President Carter offered economic sanction and sent out Operation Eagle Claw which failed. When Carter's term ended the people of Iran agreed to give back the hostages.

Soviets Invade Afghanistan

Dec 24, 1979

Soviets invade Afghanistan to ensure that there would not be a revolution. However, Reagan began training the Afghans to defend themselves. Soviets lose and US send troops into Afghanistan to help recreate their government system.

Ronald Reagan Becomes President

Jan 20, 1981

Ronald Reagan was president when the Iran hostages were brought back to America. He made many attempts at peace with the Middle East while in office and came up with the Reagan Doctrine as an anti-communist resistance.

Centrazbat 1997

Sep 15, 1997

Military exercise including Turkey, US and Russia. The purpose was to strenghten the ties with the central asian states for military purposes. NATO helped create and fund Centrazbat so when NATO stopped funding the program it ceased to exist. However, the countries involved continued peacekeeping forces also known aas CSTO.

Embassy Bombing in Kenya

Aug 7, 1998

A mass killing planned by Al Qaeda where a truck bomb bombed the US Embassies and killed hundreds. Osama Bin Laden led Al Qaeda and this put him in the Top Ten Most Wanted with the FBI. This was the first time Al Qaeda was brought to America's attention as a large threat.

George W. Bush Becomes President

Jan 20, 2001

George W. Bush was president during important events in US history. He was president when the World Trade Center was bombed for the second time and destoyed. He had to make decisons as to how to deal with the new issues of terrorism and how to solve issues with the Middle East over all.

World Trade Center 2001

Sep 11, 2001

Two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center that were later discovered to be part of Al Qeada. Al Queda was lead by Osama Bin Laden and was a group of Mujihadeen that wanted to get rid of all non-muslim people after the Soviets were removed from Afghanistan. They crashed the planes into the World Trade Center killing nearly 3,000 people and wounding around 10,000.