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First Zionist Congress
Organized by Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism,
the congress officially announced Zionism’s goal of establishing a
legally assured home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and
created an umbrella organization to promote this goal. Convinced that
the long history of oppression and persecution of Jews would not stop
until Jews could live in a land of their own, these early Zionists
committed themselves to a return to their ancient homeland. -
McMahon-Hussein correspondence
Sharif Hussein 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. -
Balfour declaration
The British Balfour Declaration promised to create a Jewish homeland
in the region comprising the ancient Land of Israel. "His Majesty's Government view with favour the
establishment in Palestine of a national home for the
Jewish people," -
Yom Kippur war
Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the
Jewish year. After initial Arab military successes, the Israelis managed
to push back the attack. For many Israelis, the 1973 war reinforced the
strategic importance of the buffer zones gained in 1967. Syrian troops
were stopped ten miles from the Israeli town of Tiberias; many Israelis
felt that the heartland of Israel could have been overrun if not for the
time it took the invading forces to move through the West Bank. -
Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty
As a result of intense diplomatic efforts by the United States, Egypt
became the first Arab country to recognize and enter into a peace
treaty with Israel. Egypt’s President, Anwar Sadat realized that a
continuing state of war with Israel was harming the Egyptian economy
and the well-being of his people. For its part, Israel returned to Egypt all
of the Sinai that had been captured during the 1967 war and removed
Jewish families from the homes they had established there. This
agreement be -
Lebanon War / 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. This conflict is known as the 1982 Lebanon War
or the First Lebanon War. Israeli troops advanced as far as Beirut and
succeeded in expelling the PLO leadership from Lebanon to Tunisia.
This costly struggle drew Israel into the increasingly complicated
Lebanese civil war and generated domestic and international
opposition to its i
