1861 - The Zion Society
is formed in Frankfurt, Germany.
1870 - 1890
- Russian group Chovevei Tzion (Lovers of Zion) sets up 30 Jewish
farming colonies in Palestine,
financially aided by Baron Edmond
James de Rothschild. They were populated by European Jews with no common
language; Eliezer ben Yehuda labored to revive Hebrew
as a common spoken language. ([1])
1881 - 1884
- Russian pogroms kill
tens of thousands of Jews. Hundreds of thousands of Jews flee.
1880 - 1920
- Two million Russian Jews migrate to the US.
1896 - Herzl writes Der
Judenstaat (The State of Jews) advocating the creation of a Jewish
state.
1896 - 1904
Herzl unsuccessfully approaches world leaders for assistance in the creation
of a Jewish National Home.
1897 - The First Zionist
Congress in Basel, Switzerland,
urges "a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine" for Jews and establishes
the World Zionist Organization (WZO).
1901 - Fifth Zionist
Congress establishes the Jewish National Fund.
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1902 - Herzl publishes
the novel Altneuland (Old-New Land), which takes place in Palestine.
1939 - The British government
issues the 'White Paper' setting a limit of 75,000 on future Jewish immigration
to Palestine (See [1]).
1947 - On November 29,
the United
Nations approves partition of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state.
It is accepted by the Jews, but rejected by the Arabs (See [1][1].
1947 - November 30, guerrilla
war starts between Jewish forces, centered around the Haganah
and Palestinian Arab forces.
1948 - May 14. The State
of Israel declares itself as an independent nation.