Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Start of Jewish migration

There had been a continuous Jewish presence in the Holy Land since Biblical times, as well as
smaller waves of immigration throughout history. In the mid nineteenth century Jewish
communities and families, mostly from Eastern Europe, fleeing increasing antisemitism and
pogroms in Europe, begin to immigrate in increasing numbers to Palestine, then a province of the
Ottoman Empire, the historic Land of Israel. (See Hovevei Zion, Bilu.) Jews were an absolute
majority in the 1880's.

1882-1903

1915

Hussein-McMahon Correspondence promises Arab state in return for revolt against the Turks.
The region of Palestine was not explicitly mentioned. Disputes between Arabs and the British
over whether Palestine was meant to be included in these documents would fuel the conflict over
nationalism.

British control
November 2, 1917

Balfour Declaration 1917: British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour sends a letter to Lord
Rothschild, President of the Zionist Federation, declaring his government would "view with
favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people".

1919-1923

In the third Aliyah, roughly 40,000 Jews arrive in Palestine, mostly from Eastern Europe.

January 18 1919

Faisal-Weizmann Agreement between Emir Faisal (son of the King of Hejaz) and Chaim
Weizmann (later President of the World Zionist Organization). "We Arabs," said Faisal,
"especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement...
We will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home."

March 1, 1920

Jewish settlements in the Upper Galilee were attacked by Arab forces. Joseph Trumpeldor was
among 8 who died defending Tel Hai.

April-June, 1920

Jerusalem pogrom of 1920 April 4-April 7. The violent 3-day riot against the Jews in Jerusalem's
Old City prompts the establishment of Haganah on June 15, 1920.

May 1-7, 1921

Jaffa riots.

May 8, 1921

British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel pardons Palestinian Jews and Arabs involved in the
1920 disturbances, including Mohammad Amin al-Husayni.

March 1922

Under Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill, Britain splits the mandate of Palestine into the
territories of Palestine (west of the Jordan river) and Transjordan. In return for leading the Arab
Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, the Hashemites are given rule over Transjordan to form an
Arab state under British supremacy. Jewish settlement is restricted to the remaining Palestine.[1].

June 3, 1922

The Churchill White Paper, 1922 clarifies the British position regarding Palestine.

July 24, 1922

The League of Nations grants Britain a mandate to administer Palestine. British express interest
in Zionism, and describe their main intent of developing a Jewish national home.

1924-1929

In the fourth Aliyah, roughly 82,000 Jews fleeing from anti-Semitism in Hungary and Poland,
arrive in Palestine.

1929-1939
In the fifth Aliyah, due in part to the rise of Nazism in Germany, approximately 250,000 Jews
arrived in Palestine during this period. However, restrictions imposed on Jewish immigration by
the British authorities in response to events such as the Great Uprising curbed Jewish
immigration in the later 1930s.

Summer 1929

The 1929 Palestine riots erupt due to a dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the
Western Wall. 133 Jews killed and 339 wounded (mostly by Arabs); 116 Arabs killed and 232
wounded (mostly by British-commanded police and soldiers).

August 23, 1929

In the 1929 Hebron massacre 67 Jews are killed, all but 8 of them foreign students from the local
yeshiva. The local residents are saved by Muslim families and neighbours. Nonetheless, the
British evacuate the Jewish communities in the Arab enclaves of Hebron and Gaza "to prevent
another massacre", ending the ancient Jewish presence in the cities. Both communities would
resume after the 1967 War.

1930-1935

The Black Hand Islamist group led by Shaykh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam uses violence against
Jewish civilians and the British.

October 20, 1930

In reaction to the disturbances of 1929, the Passfield White Paper and the Hope Simpson Royal
Commission recommend limiting Jewish immigration.

May 7, 1936 — March 1939

The Arab leadership, led by Amin al-Husayni, declares a general strike which rapidly
deteriorates into a violent rebellion, known as the Arab revolt, that lasts for three years. The
mainstream Jewish defense organization, the Haganah, maintains a policy of restraint, but the
smaller Irgun (also called Etzel) group adopts a policy of retaliation and revenge. Roughly 5000
Arabs and 400 Jews are killed.

July 1937

The Peel Commission proposes a partition plan (map), rejected by the Arab leadership as it
included a Jewish state. The Jewish opinion was divided as Jewish immigration was limited to
only 12,000, and the Twentieth Zionist Congress ultimately rejected the proposal as well.

1938-1949
Lehi (group) (also known as the Stern Gang), as well as other militant Zionist groups, attack
British and Arab targets and civilians in Palestine. 1944-1948 the Irgun and then Haganah join in
on anti-British attacks.

26 July 1938

Revisionist Zionists detonate a bomb in an Arab Melon market in Haifa, killing 53 Arabs, one
Jew and wounding at least 46 more Arabs.[2]

[edit] April — August 1938

The Woodhead Commission reverses the Peel Commission's findings, considers two alternative
partition plans, known as Plan B (map) and Plan C (map), and reports in November that partition
was impracticable. ([4])

[edit] October 2, 1938

In the 1938 Tiberias massacre, Arabs murder 20 Jews in the city of Tiberias.

February — March 17, 1939

The St. James Conference ends without making any progress as the Arab delegation refuses to
recognize or meet with its Jewish counterpart.

May 17, 1939

The White Paper of 1939 calls for the creation of a unified Palestinian state. Even though the
White Paper states its commitment to the Balfour Declaration, it imposed very substantial limits
to both Jewish immigration (restricting it to only 75,000 over the next 5 years), and their ability
to purchase land.

Between 1939-1948, the Haganah smuggles over 100,000 Jews from Europe to Palestine to
provide refuge from the Holocaust.[citation needed]

June 1940

On 19 June twenty Arabs were killed by explosives mounted on a donkey at a marketplace in

Haifa. June 29, 13 Arabs were killed in multiple shootings during one-hour period.

May 1, 1946

The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry proposes admission of 100,000 Jewish refugees into
the Mandate.

July 22, 1946

King David Hotel Bombing. Irgun members detonate bombs in the basement of the King David
Hotel in Jerusalem, where the British had brought a large amount of documents confiscated from
the Jewish Agency. The attack kills 91 people and injures 45 more, mostly civilians. The hotel
was a center of British administration at the time, although Arabs and Jews were also victims.
The Jewish National Council condemns the attack.

February 18, 1947

Great Britain announces intention to hand the Mandate to the United Nations.

UN Resolution
November 29, 1947

With a two-thirds majority international vote, the UN General Assembly passes a Partition Plan
dividing the British Mandate of Palestine into two states. The Jewish leadership accepts the plan,
but the Arab leadership rejects it.

December 30, 1947

Haifa Oil Refinery massacre. Irgun militants hurl two bombs into a crowd of Arab workers from
a passing vehicle, killing 6 workers and wounding 42, damaging the relative peace between the
two groups in Haifa. Skirmishes continue in Haifa and around the region.

November 30, 1947

Following the announcement of the Partition Plan, Palestinian Arabs react violently and fighting
broke out leading to the "first phase" of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, also known as the "civil war".

December 2-5, 1947

1947 Jerusalem riots. The Arab Higher Committee declared a strike and public protest of the
vote. Arabs marching to Zion Square on December 2 were stopped by the British, and the Arabs
instead turned towards the commercial center of the City, burning many buildings and shops.
Violence continued for two more days, with Arab mobs attacking a number of Jewish
neighborhoods. 70 Jews and 50 Arabs are killed.

Creation of Israel
May 14, 1948

Israel declares Independence from British rule, before the expiration of the British Mandate of
Palestine at midnight.

After Establishment
Winter and Spring, 1948

"Battle of the Roads". The Arab League sponsored Arab Liberation Army, composed of
Palestinian Arabs and Arabs from other Middle Eastern countries, attacked Jewish communities
in Palestine, and Jewish traffic on major roads. The Arab forces mainly concentrated on major
roadways in an attempt to cut off Jewish communities from each other. Arab forces at that time
had engaged in sporadic and unorganized ambushes since the riots of December 1947, and began
to make organized attempts to cut off the highway linking Tel Aviv with Jerusalem, the city's
only supply route. The Arab Army controlled several strategic vantage points overlooking the
sole highway linking Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, enabling them to fire at convoys going to the city,
and cutting off supply lines between the two cities. By late March 1948, the vital road that
connected Tel Aviv to western Jerusalem, where about 16% of all Jews in the Palestinian region
lived, was cut off and under siege.

February 2, 1948

1948 Ben Yehuda Street Bombing. Arabs arrange three car bombs killing 52 Jews, injuring 123,
all civilians.

April 6-12, 1948

Operation Nachshon. The Haganah decided to launch a major military counteroffensive to break
the siege of Jerusalem. On April 6 the Haganah and its strike force, the Palmach, in an offensive
to secure strategic points, took al-Qastal, an important roadside town 2 kilometers west of Deir
Yassin. But intense fighting lasted for days more as control of that key village remained
contested.

April 9, 1948

Deir Yassin massacre. IZL-Lehi forces attack Deir Yassin, as part of Operation Nachshon, killing
between 100 and 254 Palestinian villagers, mainly women, old people and children.

April 13, 1948

Hadassah medical convoy massacre. Claimed as retribution for the Deir Yassin massacre, Arab
mobs attack a large convoy, mostly of unarmed Jewish doctors set off carrying patients,
equipment, and supplies, travel from Jerusalem to the besieged hospital which treated the
majority of Jewish residents in Jerusalem. 77 Jews are killed. Road attacks continue and convoys
were unable to reach the hospital for a week.

May 15, 1948

Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Transjordan, Holy War Army, Arab Liberation Army, and local
Arabs attack the new Jewish state with the intent of destroying it. The resulting 1948 Arab-Israeli
War lasts for 13 months. By the end of the war, about 700,000 Palestinian Arabs become
refugees.[3][4][5][6] A very comparable number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands flee to Israel.[7]
June 1948

Violent confrontation between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) under the command of David
Ben-Gurion, and the paramilitary Jewish group Irgun known as The Altalena Affair results in the
dismantlement of the Irgun, Lehi, and all Israeli paramilitary organizations operating outside the
IDF.

February-July 1949

Israel concludes Armistice Agreements with neighbouring countries. The territory of the British
Mandate of Palestine is divided between the State of Israel, the Kingdom of the Jordan (changed
from Transjordan) and Egypt. Israel continues to provide for Jewish refugees from different
countries. Arab refugees in neighboring states are left unrelieved.

1948-1956

Infiltration by fedayeen from Egypt across Israeli border resulting in many minor skirmishes,
raids and counter-raids, resulting in hundreds of casualties on both sides, including many
civilians.

1951

The State of Israel is confronted by a wave of Palestinian infiltrations. In 1951, 137 Israelis,
mostly civilians, are killed by such infiltrators.

1952

162 Israelis, mostly civilians, are killed by Palestinian infiltrators.

1953

160 Israelis, mostly civilians, are killed by Palestinian infiltrators.

1953

Qibya massacre. Responding to earlier Palestinian infiltrations, Ariel Sharon in command of Unit
101 carries out a raid in the village of Qibya. Over 60 Arabs are killed, two thirds of which were
women and children.

Suez Crisis
October 29, 1956

Israel invades Egypt's Sinai Peninsula with covert assent from France and Britain. The European
nations had economic and trading interests in the Suez Canal, while Israel wanted to reopen the
canal for Israeli shipping and end Egyptian-supported guerrilla incursions and attacks.
Kafr Qasim massacre. 48-49 Arab civilians are killed by Israel Border Police as they return to
their village from work.

Egypt expels its Jewish population and confiscates their property.

March 1957

Israel withdraws its forces from the Sinai Peninsula, ending the Suez Crisis.

Creation of the PLO

February 3, 1964

The Palestine Liberation Organization is founded in Cairo by the Arab League with Ahmad
Shuqeiri as its leader. Even though Ahmad Shuqeiri is the official leader, the organization is more
or less controlled by the Egyptian government. The PLO states their goal as the destruction of
the State of Israel through armed struggle, and replacing it with an "independent Palestinian
state" between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Six-Day War
June 1967

The Six-Day War. Israel launches a pre-emptive strike against the Egyptian Air Force on
suspicion that Egypt and Syria are planning to invade. There had been an Egyptian naval
blockade and military buildup in the Sinai Peninsula as well as Syrian support for Fedayeen
incursions into Israel. Israel defeats the combined forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and their
supporters and captures the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, East Jerusalem and
the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Jewish settlements form and re-
form in the territories. After the annexation, Jews and Christians were permitted to enter the Old
City and its holy sites, which they (except for some Christians under limited conditions) were
forbidden from under Jordanian rule.

September 1, 1967

The Khartoum Resolution issued at the Arab Summit with eight Arab countries adopts the "three
nos": 1. No peace with Israel, 2. No recognition of Israel, 3. No negotiations with Israel.

Post Six-Day War

1968-1970

Egypt wages the War of Attrition against Israel.

February 2, 1969
Yasser Arafat, head of the Fatah party, is appointed chairman of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, replacing Ahmad Shukeiri, after Fatah becomes the dominant force in the PLO.

May 8, 1970

Avivim school bus massacre. Palestinian militants originating in Lebanon, attack a school bus,
killing 12 (mostly children) and wounding another 19.

September, 1970

After Black September in Jordan, the PLO was driven out to Lebanon.

May 8, 1972

Sabena airplane hijacked and liberated in Lod Airport 4 commercial jets were taken to Jordan
and blown up.

May 30, 1972

Lod Airport Massacre. On behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Japanese
Red Army members enter the waiting area of Lod Airport in Tel Aviv and fire indiscriminately at
airport staff and visitors. 24 people killed, and 78 injured.

September 5, 1972

Munich Massacre of Israeli Olympic team by Palestinian militant group, Black September.

April 9, 1973

Israeli commando raid against PLO targets in Beirut, the Lebanon (Operation Spring of Youth)

Yom Kippur War

October 1973

The Yom Kippur War. Syria and Egypt surprise-attack Israeli forces in the Golan Heights and the
Sinai Peninsula on the holiest day of the Hebrew calendar. Jordan, Iraq, and other Arab nations
join in and/or support the Arab war effort.

Post Yom Kippur War

April 11, 1974
Kiryat Shmona massacre, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command
cross the border into Israel from Lebanon. They enter an apartment building and kill all eighteen
residents, half of which are children.

May 15, 1974

Ma'alot massacre. Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack a van killing two
Israeli Arab women, enter an apartment and kill a family, take over a local school and hold at
least 90 students and teachers hostage. 26 Israelis killed, 60 wounded.

October 26-29, 1974

The Arab League recognizes the PLO as sole representative of the Palestinians. On November
13, Yassir Arafat addresses the UN General Assembly.

March 4, 1975

Savoy Operation. Eight Palestinian terrorists in two teams landed by boat in Tel Aviv. Shooting
and throwing grenades, they capture the Savoy Hotel and take the guests as hostages. Five
hostages were freed and eight were killed. Three Israeli soldiers were also killed.

July 4, 1975

A "refrigerator bomb" in Jerusalem kills 15 Israelis and wounds 77.

July 4, 1976

Operation Entebbe. Air France Flight 139, originating in Tel Aviv, Israel took off from Athens,
Greece, heading for Paris, France, is hijacked by four terrorists (two from the Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine \u2014 External Operations and two from the radical German militant
group "Revolutionäre Zellen"). Israel performs a rescue mission to free the 248 passengers and
12 crew members held hostage at the Entebbe Airport in Uganda. The rescue is only partially
successful, with one Israeli fatality. Nevertheless, it is the first successful rescue mission over
2000 miles.

May 1977

Menachem Begin of Likud is elected Prime Minister, ending nearly 30 years of rule by the left
wing Mapai/Alignment.

March, 1978

Coastal Road Massacre. Fatah Palestinians kill an American photographer, hijack a loaded bus
and kill 36 more Israelis and wound 76.
Operation Litani. Israel, in alliance with the mostly Christian South Lebanon Army, launches a
limited-scope invasion of Lebanon and attempts to push Palestinian militant groups away from
the Israel border. The 7-day offensive results in about 285,000 refugees created and between 300
and 1200 Lebanese and Palestinian militants and civilians killed.

September 17, 1978

Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat sign the Camp David Accord, with Israel
agreeing to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for peace and a framework for future
negotiation over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

March 26, 1979

Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Egypt becomes the first Arab country to officially recognize Israel.

April 22, 1979

Samir Kuntar from the Palestine Liberation Front kills 4 Israelis including a four year-old girl in
the Israeli town of Nahariya.

July 17, 1981

Israel bombs PLO headquarters, which had been located in a civilian area of Beirut and caused
more than 300 civilian deaths. This led the United States to broker a shaky cease-fire between
Israel and the PLO.

1982 Lebanon War

June 6, 1982

Israel launches Operation Peace for Galilee into southern Lebanon. Israel claims the invasion
was in order to remove PLO forces after several violations of a cease-fire, most notably an
assassination attempt against Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, by the
Abu Nidal Organization. Israel is allied with the Lebanese Christian army against the PLO,
Syria, and Muslim Lebanese. As a result of the war, the PLO leadership is driven from Lebanon
and relocates to Tunis.

[edit] September 1982

Sabra and Shatila massacre. Lebanese Phalangists massacre between 700-3500 Palestinians in
the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, almost all civilians. While no Israeli soldiers were
present in the fighting, Israeli Defense Minister, Ariel Sharon, was found to be indirectly
responsible by negligence for the massacre by the Kahan Commission, and was asked to resign
his position. The commission's conclusions are controversial and remain a subject of debate.[8]

August 1983
The Israeli Army withdraws from most of Lebanon, maintaining a self-proclaimed "Security
Zone" in the south.

April 9, 1985

Sana'a Mouhadlyof the Syrian Social Nationalist Party detonates herself in an explosive-laden
vehicle in Lebanon, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring two more, becoming the first
reported female suicide bomber.

October 1, 1985

After three Israeli civilians were killed on their yacht off the coast of Cyprus by Force 17 PLO,
the Israeli Air Force carries out Operation Wooden Leg and strikes the PLO base in Tunis, killing
60 PLO members.

October 7, 1985

The Palestine Liberation Front hijacks the Achille Lauro, redirecting the cruise ship to Syria and
holding its passengers and crew hostage, demanding the release of 50 Palestinians in Israeli
prisons. One man was murdered; Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish American, was celebrating his 36th
wedding anniversary with his wife upon the Achille Lauro. At the age of 69 he was shot in the
forehead and chest while sitting in his wheelchair.

December 27, 1985

Intending to hijack El Al jets and blow them up over Tel Aviv, Fatah - Revolutionary Council
gunmen open fire with rifles and grenades at the international airports in Rome and Vienna,
killing 18 civilians and wounding 138. 6 of the 7 terrorists were either killed or captured.

First Intifada
[edit] December 8, 1987

First Intifada begins. Violence, riots, general strikes, and civil disobedience campaigns by
Palestinians spread across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces respond with tear gas,
plastic bullets, and live ammunition.

After the outbreak of the First Intifada, Shaikh Ahmed Yassin creates Hamas from the Gaza wing
of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Until this point the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza had
enjoyed the support of the Israeli authorities and had refrained from violent attacks, however,
Hamas quickly began attacks on Israeli military targets, and subsequently, Israeli civilians.

November 15, 1988

An independent State of Palestine was proclaimed by the Palestinian National Council meeting
in Algiers, by a vote of 253 to 46.
July 16, 1989

First Palestinian suicide attack inside Israel's borders: Tel Aviv Jerusalem bus 405 massacre.

October 30, 1991

Madrid Conference.

June 1992

Yitzhak Rabin of the Labour Party elected Prime Minister.

Peace Process
Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Part of the Arab-Israeli conflict)

August 20, 1993

Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin sign the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government in Oslo. This event
is also seen by many people as the definitive end to the First Intifada[9] (although some argue it had effectively ended
by 1991-1992). By 1993, the violence of the Intifada had claimed the lives of 1162 Palestinians and 160 Israelis. The
IDF criticized these numbers from not distinguishing combatants and non-combatants.

February 25, 1994

Cave of the Patriarchs attack, Baruch Goldstein opens fire on a group of Palestinian Muslims worshipping at a
Mosque, killing 29 and injuring 125. He is subsequently overpowered and beaten to death by survivors.

April 6, 1994

Hamas carries out their second suicide bombing, in Afula, Israel, killing 8 people. The first suicide bombing was on
April 1, 1993 near Bet El killing 2 people.

May 18, 1994

Israeli forces withdraw from Jericho and Gaza City in compliance with the Oslo accords.

July, 1994

Arafat returns from exile to head Palestinian National Authority.

October 19, 1994

22 Israelis are killed after a suicide attack on a bus in Tel Aviv. This was the first major suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

October 26, 1994

Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty

[edit] December 10, 1994

Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

January 22, 1995

A double suicide bombing by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaves 21 killed in one of the biggest attacks which
further divides the Israeli public over the peace process.

September 28, 1995

Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also known as Oslo II, signed in Washington, DC.

November 4, 1995

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated in Tel Aviv by Jewish extremist Yigal Amir. Shimon Peres assumes the
position of acting Prime Minister.

February 25 - March 4, 1996

A series of suicide attacks in Jerusalem (Jerusalem bus 18 suicide bombings and in the French Hill), Tel Aviv and
Ashkelon leave more than 60 Israeli dead. These events are said to have had a major impact on the Israeli elections
in May.

May 1996

Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud is elected Prime Minister.

January 15-17, 1997

Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron was signed.

July 30, 1997

16 Israelis are killed in a double suicide attack in the major market of Jerusalem. This was the worst killing during
Netanyahu's time which is regarded as a relatively quiet period, attributed by Netanyahu to his tit-for-tat policy and
his objection to the Palestinian revolving door policy. A nearby attack on September 4, 1997 killed four Israelis and
led to Chicago's Persian heritage crisis.

October 23, 1998

Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat sign the Wye River Memorandum at a summit in Maryland hosted by Bill
Clinton.

May 17, 1999

Ehud Barak of the Labour Party is elected Prime Minister under the One Israel banner.

May 24, 2000

The Israeli Army withdraws from southern Lebanon, in compliance with U.N. Resolution 425. Syria and Lebanon
insist that the withdrawal is incomplete, claiming the Shebaa Farms as Lebanese and still under occupation. The UN
certifies full Israeli withdrawal.

July 2000

The Camp David Summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser
Arafat aimed at reaching a "final status" agreement collapses after Yasser Arafat would not accept a proposal drafted
by American and Israeli negotiators.

Second Intifada begins

September 28, 2000

Right wing Israeli Opposition Leader Ariel Sharon visits the Temple Mount which is administered by a Waqf (Under
Israeli law, each religious group is granted administration of their holy sites). The day after the visit, violent
confrontations erupt between Muslims and Israeli Police. Arafat names the second intifada the Al-Aqsa Intifada after
Sharon's visit, for the Al-Aqsa Mosque contained within the Temple Mount (holy also to Jews and Christians). This
event is considered by some to be one of the possible catalysts of the second intifada, however, it is commonly
accepted in most circles that there had been numerous underlying causes.

September 29, 2000

Violent confrontations erupt between Muslims and Israeli Police outside a mosque.

October 1-9, 2000

October 2000 events in Israel. Solidarity demonstrations held by Palestinian citizens of Israel escalate into clashes
with Israeli police and Israeli Jewish citizens. 13 Palestinian civilians (12 with Israeli citizenship) are shot and killed
by Israeli police and one Jewish civilian is killed by an Arab citizen.

November 22, 2000

Two Israeli women killed and 60 civilians were wounded in a car bomb attack in Hadera.

October 12, 2000

The lynching in Ramallah.

December 10, 2000

Prime Minister Ehud Barak resigns.

January 21-27, 2001

Taba Summit. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority aimed to reach the "final status" of
negotiations. Ehud Barak temporarily withdraws from negotiations during the Israeli elections, subsequently Ariel
Sharon refused to continue negotiating in the face of the newly erupted violence.

February 6, 2001
Ariel Sharon of Likud is elected Prime Minister and refuses to continue negotiations with Yasser Arafat at the Taba
Summit.

June 1, 2001

Dolphinarium massacre. A Hamas suicide bomber exploded himself at the entrance of a club. 21 Israelis killed, over
100 injured, all youth.

Five months prior to the bombing, there was a failed terrorist attempt at the same spot.

August 9, 2001

Sbarro restaurant massacre. A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt weighing 5 to 10 kilograms, containing
explosives, nails, nuts and bolts, detonated his bomb. In the blast 15 people (including 7 children) were killed, and
130 wounded. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad initially claimed responsibility.

August 27, 2001

Abu Ali Mustafa, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is assassinated by an
Israeli missile shot by an Apache helicopter through his office window in Ramallah.[citation needed]

October 17, 2001

Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi is assassinated in Jerusalem by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

March 13, 2002

The U.S. pushes through the passage of U.N. Resolution 1397 by the Security Council, demanding an "immediate
cessation of all acts of violence" and "affirming a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side
by side within secure and recognized borders".

March 14, 2002

Israeli forces continue the raid on Ramallah and other West Bank towns. A helicopter attack near Tulkarm kills
Mutasen Hammad and two bystanders. A bomb in Gaza City destroys an Israeli tank which was escorting settlers,
killing 3 soldiers and wounding 2. A taxi in Tulkarm explodes, killing 4 Palestinians. Palestinians execute two
accused collaborators in Bethlehem, planning to hang one of the corpses near the Church of the Nativity until
Palestinian police stop them.

March 27, 2002

Passover massacre. The Park Hotel in Netanya held a big Passover dinner for its 250 guests. A Palestinian suicide
bomber enters the hotel's dining room and detonates an explosive device. Thirty people are killed and about 140
injured, all civilians. Hamas claims responsibility.

March 28, 2002

The Beirut Summit approves the Saudi peace proposal.

March 29, 2002

Israeli forces begin Operation Defensive Shield, Israel's largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967
Six-Day War.

March 30, 2002

A suicide bomber explodes in a Tel Aviv café at around 9:30 PM local time, wounding 32 people. President George
W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell (USA) call on Yasir Arafat to condemn the wave of suicide bombings
in Arabic, to his own people. Israeli spokespeople make similar demands. Arafat goes on television and swears in
Arabic that he will "die a martyr, a martyr, a martyr". Members of Arafat's personal Al-Aqsa brigade state that they
will refuse any form of cease-fire, and that they will continue suicide bombings of civilians in Israel.

March 31, 2002

Matza restaurant massacre. A Palestinian Hamas bomber blows himself up in an Arab-owned restaurant in Haifa,
killing 15 (including 2 whole families) and injuring over 40 people.

Israeli troops exchange gunfire with guards of Yasir Arafat in Ramallah. In the past 18 months, according to the
Associated Press, 1262 people have been killed on the Palestinian side and on 401 on the Israeli side; in March, 259
Palestinians and 130 Israelis were killed. The stats do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.

April 2, 2002

Israeli troops occupy Bethlehem. Dozens of armed Palestinian gunmen, many of whom Israel has identified as
terrorists, occupy the Church of the Nativity and hold the church and its clergy.

April 12, 2002

The Battle of Jenin, as part of Operation Defensive Shield, Israeli forces enter a Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin
where about a quarter of suicide bombings since 2000 had been launched from. The battle cost the lives of 23 Israeli
soldiers and 52 Palestinians, of which 30 were militants and 22 were civilians. This particular event sparked a great
deal of controversy.

May 9, 2002

Muhammad al-Madani, governor of Bethlehem, leaves the Church of the Nativity.

Israel calls up additional reserve forces and moves tanks into position for an expected incursion into the Gaza Strip
in retaliation for the most recent suicide bombing.

May 18, 2002

Israeli Shin Bet officials announce they have arrested six Israelis for conspiring to bomb Palestinian schools in
April, including Noam Federman, a leader of the Kach movement of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, and Menashe
Levinger, son of Rabbi Moshe Levinger. Membership to the Kach group is illegal in Israel and punishable by law.

June 2002

Israel begins construction of the West Bank Fence. Palestinian terror attacks on Israelis subsequently drop by
90%.[10]

June 18, 2002

Patt junction massacre. A Hamas Palestinian Islamic law student explodes himself with a belt filled with metal balls
for shrapnel. 19 Israelis killed, and over 74 wounded.

June 24, 2002

US President George W. Bush proposes a Palestinian state under new leadership.

[edit] July 23, 2002

An Israeli warplane fires a missile at an apartment in Gaza City, killing the top of their most wanted list, Salah
Shehadeh, top commander of Hamas' military wing, the Izzadine el-Qassam. The apartment building is flattened and
14 civilians are killed (nine children).[5]

July 31, 2002

A Hamas member leaves a bag containing a bomb in the cafeteria of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, killing 9
Jewish students (four Israeli, five foreign), and injuring 85 others (different nationalities, some Arab). Palestinians
rally in Gaza waving Hamas flags to celebrate the attack. On August 17, Israeli Security Forces expose a terrorist
cell of Hamas operatives in East Jerusalem that had been responsible for the attack. The members had been planning
another attack until arrested by Israel.[6][7][8]

November 21, 2002

Jerusalem bus 20 massacre. Hamas Palestinian suicide bomber explodes himself on a crowded bus, killing 11
people, and wounding over 50.

April 30, 2003

The Quartet on the Middle East announces the Road map for peace.

August 19, 2003

Jerusalem bus 2 massacre. A Hamas Palestinian disguised as a Haredi Jew detonates himself with a bomb spiked
with ball-bearings on a bus crowded with children. 23 Israelis killed, over 130 wounded, all civilians.

October 4, 2003

Maxim restaurant suicide bombing. A 28-year-old Palestinian female suicide bomber, Hanadi Jaradat, explodes
herself inside the Maxim restaurant in Haifa. 21 Israelis, Jews and Arabs were killed, and 51 others were wounded.
The restaurant is co-owned by Jewish and Christian Arab Israelis, and was a symbol of co-existence.

February 25, 2005

Young Israelis arrive for a surprise birthday party at the Stage Club in Tel Aviv. A teenage suicide bomber detonates
himself at the entrance to the club. 5 Israelis killed, and about 50 wounded. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.[11]

[edit] July 9, 2004

The International Court of Justice rules in a non-binding advisory opinion that the West Bank wall is illegal under
international law,[12] the United Nations has also condemned the construction of the wall as "an unlawful act of
annexation". The United States and Australia defend the security fence saying the wall is a counter-terrorism
protective measure and that the onus is on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism. The U.S., Canada, Israel and
some 30 other democratic states objected to the ICJ consideration of the UN General Assembly request, finding the
request loaded and prejudicial, and expressing concern of the ICJ's credibility.[13][14][15]

July 12, 2005

2000-2006

The death toll both military and civilians of the entire conflict in 2000-2006 is estimated to be 4,046 Palestinians and
1,017 Israelis.[16] Note that these numbers do not differentiate between combatants and civilians. At least 223
Palestinians were also killed by fellow Palestinians.

Recent developments

June 24, 2002

US President George W. Bush calls for an independent Palestinian state living in peace with Israel.

In a major speech, Bush states that Palestinian leaders must take steps to produce democratic reforms, and fiscal
accountability, in order to improve the negotiations with Israel. He also states that as Palestinians show control over
terrorism, Israel must end operations in the West Bank, and in areas which it entered under Operation Defensive
Shield. [17]

August 14, 2002

Marwan Barghouti, captured April 15, was indicted by a civilian Israeli court for murdering civilians and
membership in a terrorist organisation.

March 16, 2003

Rachel Corrie, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement is crushed by an IDF bulldozer,
becoming the first ISM member to die in the conflict. Members of the group who witnessed her death allege murder,
while Israel calls it a "regrettable accident".

March 19, 2003

Mahmoud Abbas appointed Prime Minister.

March 24, 2003

Hilltop 26, an illegal Israeli settlement near the city of Hebron, is peacefully dismantled by the IDF.

[edit] April 30, 2003

The details of the Road map for peace are released.

May 27, 2003

Ariel Sharon states that the "occupation" of Palestinian territories "can't continue endlessly."

June 2, 2003
A two-day summit is held in Egypt. Arab leaders announce their support for the road map and promised to work on
cutting off funding to terrorist groups.

June 29, 2003

Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah agree to a three-month cease-fire.

August 19, 2003

Islamic Jihad and Hamas claim joint responsibility for a suicide bombing that kills twenty Israelis. Mahmoud Abbas
pledges a crackdown on militants.

September 6, 2003

Mahmoud Abbas resigns from the post of Prime Minister.

October 16, 2004

Israel officially ended a 17-day military operation, named Operation Days of Penitence, in the northern Gaza Strip.
The operation was launched in response to a Qassam rocket that killed two children in Sderot. About 108-133
Palestinians were killed during the operation, of whom one third were civilians.

November 11, 2004

Yasser Arafat dies at the age of 75 in a hospital near Paris, after undergoing urgent medical treatment (since October
29, 2004).

February 25, 2005

On Friday evening, young Israelis arrive for a birthday party at the Stage Club in Tel Aviv. A teenage suicide bomber
detonates himself at the entrance to the club. 5 Israelis killed, and about 50 wounded. Islamic Jihad claims
responsibility.[11]

August 7, 2005

An individual IDF deserter and member of the banned Kach group in Israel, Eden Natan-Zada, opens fire on a
crowded bus in the Arab town of Shfaram, killing 4 Palestinians and wounding twenty-two. When he runs out of
bullets, the bus is stormed by Arab bystanders and Zaada is beaten to death. PM Ariel Sharon and several Israeli
leaders condemn the attack and offer condolences to the families.

August 17, 2005

A Asher Weissgan shoots and kills 4 Palestinians in the West Bank as a protest against the disengagement plan.[18]

[edit] September 12, 2005

Completion of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan. Israel removes all Jewish settlements, many Bedouin
communities, and military equipment from the Gaza Strip. Although there is no permanent Israeli presence or
jurisdiction in Gaza anymore, Israel retains control of certain elements (such as airspace, borders and ports), leading
to an ongoing dispute as to whether or not Gaza is "occupied" or not. Since the disengagement, Palestinian militant
groups have used the territory as a staging ground from which to launch rocket attacks and build underground
tunnels into Israel.
October 14, 2005

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora announces Lebanon will be the last Arab country to have any peace with
Israel.

January 25, 2006

Hamas wins by landslide the majority of seats after the Palestinian legislative election, 2006. Israel, the United
States, European Union, and several European and Western countries cut off their aid to the Palestinians; as they
view the Islamist political party who rejects Israel's right to exist as a terrorist organization.

June 9, 2006

Following the Gaza beach blast, in which seven members of one family and one other Palestinian were killed on a
Gaza beach, the armed wing of Hamas calls off its 16-month-old truce. Israel claims it was shelling 250m away
from the family's location; Palestinians claimed that the explosion was Israeli responsibility.[19] [20] Reports have
concluded Israel had not been responsible for the blast.[21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] An Israeli internal investigation report
claims the blast was most likely caused by an unexploded Israeli munition buried in the sand and not by shelling.

June 13, 2006

Israel kills 11 Palestinians in a missile strike on a van carrying Palestinian militants and rockets driving through a
densely civilian populated area in Gaza.[27] Nine among those killed are civilian bystanders.

July 5, 2006

First Qassam rocket of increased strength is fired into the school yard in the Southern Israeli coastal city of
Ashkelon. This has been the first instance of an increased distance Qassam rockets can reach and the first time a
significantly large city has been attacked. No one was injured in this attack.[28]

July 26, 2006

Israel launches a counter-offensive to deprive cover to militants firing rockets into Israel from Gaza. 23 Palestinians
killed, at least 16 are identified militants, 76 wounded.

June 25, 2006

After crossing the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel, Palestinian militants attack an Israeli army post. The
militants kidnapped Gilad Shalit, killed two IDF soldiers and wounded four others. Israel launches Operation
Summer Rains.

July 12, 2006

Hezbollah infiltrates Israel in a cross-border raid, kidnaps two soldiers and kills three others. Israel attempts to
rescue the kidnapped, and five more soldiers are killed. Israel's military responds, and the 2006 Israel-Lebanon
conflict begins.

August 14, 2006

2006 Fox journalists kidnapping. Palestinian militants kidnap Fox journalists Olaf Wiig and Steve Centanni,
demanding the U.S. to release all Muslims in prison. The two are eventually released on August 27, after stating they
have converted to Islam.
[edit] September 2006

Violence and rivalry erupts between Fatah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud Abbas tries to prevent civil
war.[29][30] President Mahmoud Abbas and his moderate party advocate a Palestinian state alongside Israel, while
Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and his Islamist party reject Israel's right to exist.[31]

September 26, 2006

A UN study declares the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip "intolerable", with 75% of the population
dependent on food aid,[32] and an estimated 80% of the population living below the poverty line.[33] The Palestinian
economy had largely relied on Western aid and revenues, which has been frozen since Hamas's victory. The situation
can also be attributed to Israeli closures, for which Israel and the EU cite security concerns, specifically smuggling,
possible weapons transfers and uninhibited return of exiled extremist leaders and terrorists; as well as an extremely
high birth rate.[34][35][36][37]

October 11-14, 2006

In the midst of an increase of rocket attacks against Israel, the Israeli Air Force fires into the Gaza Strip over a three-
day period. 21 Palestinians are killed (17 Hamas militants, 1 al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades militant, and 3 civilians).
The two dozen wounded include gunmen and passersby.[38][39][40] Israel says the offensive is designed to track down
the kidnapped soldier and to stop militants firing rockets into Israel. Spokesman Abu Ubaida for Hamas's military
wing issued a statement vowing "we will bombard and strike everywhere" in response to the attacks. Make-shift
rockets are immediately shot into Israel.

[edit] October 17, 2006

In separate gunbattles in Nablus, Israeli troops kill 2 al-Aqsa Martyrs's Brigades militants, 2 rock-throwers, and 1
Islamic Jihad militant. Israeli forces discover 13 tunnels apparently used to smuggle weapons into Gaza in the last 3
months. [41]

October 20, 2006

Brokered by Egyptian mediators, Fatah reaches a deal to end fighting between the Hamas and Fatah factions, both
groups agreeing to refrain from acts that raise tensions and committing themselves to dialogue to resolve
differences. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas brushes off comments by President Mahmoud Abbas, head of
Fatah, who indicated he could dismiss the Hamas-led cabinet. Abbas unsuccessfully urges Hamas to accept
international calls to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.

Palestinian gunmen (presumably of the Fatah faction) open fire at the convoy of Prime Minister Haniyeh as it passed
through a refugee camp in central Gaza.[42]

October 27, 2006

3 Palestinians in the West Bank are killed by Israeli troops. The relatives were not present but say at least one of the
two men in Al Faraa may have been throwing rocks at army jeeps. Israeli soldiers say the two had approached them
with a handgun and an axe. The gunman was killed, while the man with the axe was wounded in the leg and taken to
an Israeli hospital. In Yamoun, a man was shot and killed on the roof of his home. Relatives say he had gone on the
roof to watch the army raid and two other brothers were also wounded. The Israeli army says troops hit at least two
armed Palestinians. Islamic Jihad later admitted the man killed on his rooftop was a member of the militant group
who died in a gunbattle with Israelis.[43]

November 8, 2006
Beit Hanoun November 2006 incident. Amidst ongoing rocket fire, Israel shells Beit Hanoun, killing 19 Palestinian
civlians (seven children, four women) during the Gaza operations. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apologises,
saying the incident had been an accidental "technical failure" by the Israeli military.

January 19, 2007

Israel transfers $100 million in tax revenues to cover humanitarian needs to the office of the Palestinian Authority
president, Mahmoud Abbas, as part of a plan to bolster him and keep money out of the hands of the Hamas
government.[44]

[edit] May 4, 2007

The United States sets a timetable for easing Palestinian travel and bolstering Israeli security. Israel including steps
like removing specific checkpoints in the West Bank and deploying better-trained Palestinian forces to try to halt the
firing of rockets into Israel from Gaza and the smuggling of weapons, explosives and people into Gaza from Egypt.
Israel is wary over certain proposals so long as Palestinian militants continue to fire rockets at Israel.[9] The Hamas-
led Palestinian government rejected the initiative, in part because it favored Mahmoud Abbas.[10]

May 14, 2008

Tony Blair announces new plan for peace and for Palestinian rights, based heavily on the ideas of the Peace Valley
plan.

Notes
1. ^ Archive Editions
2. ^ Palestine Post, 26 July 1938. http://jic.tau.ac.il/Archive/skins/PalestineP/navigator.asp?AW=1169534055109
3. ^ The Palestinian Refugees
4. ^ Arab Refugees from Israel
5. ^ Palestinian Refugees, invited to leave in 1948
6. ^ Timeline for Israel
7. ^ Arab-Israeli conflict - Basic facts
8. ^ Sabra and Shatila massacres - Britannica Concise Encyclopedia - The online encyclopedia you can trust!
9. ^
http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~irouva/conferences/vics/guides/ArabLeague.pdf#search=%22timeline%20of%20first%20intifada%20e
nd%20site%3A%3A.edu%22
10. ^ Townhall.com::Israel's fence, with all its implications, is an absolute necessity::By Jack Kemp
11. ^ a b Suicide bombing at Tel Aviv Stage Club
12. ^ ICJ advisory opinion summary/ Separation barrier - Summary - Press release (9 July 2004)
13. ^ [1][dead link]
14. ^ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/icjruling.pdf
15. ^ House Denounces UN Misuse Of International Court On Security Fence
16. ^ "Intifada statistics", B'Tselem (2006-07-29).
17. ^ George Bush Speech on Israel-Palestinian Settlement June 2002
18. ^ After Gaza, fear rises of West Bank violence - The Boston Globe
19. ^ Hamas breaks truce with rockets, BBC Online, June 10, 2006
20. ^ CHRONOLOGY-Key events in the Gaza Strip, Reuters, July 4, 2006
21. ^ Gaza Beach Libel
22. ^ IDF not responsible for Gaza blast | Jerusalem Post
23. ^ Gaza beach blast: Possible scenarios - Israel News, Ynetnews
24. ^ Der Krieg der Bilder, Süddeutsche Zeitung, June 16, 2006
 25. ^ German paper doubts Gaza beach reports - Israel News, Ynetnews
26. ^ Human Rights Watch switches stories
27. ^ Israeli missile kills 11 Palestinians in Gaza - Turkish Daily News Jun 14, 2006
28. ^ PA Rocket Slams Into the Heart of Ashkelon - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Arutz Sheva
29. ^ In Gaza, the Rule by the Gun Draws Many Competitors
30. ^ Amid civil war fears, Hamas and Fatah stockpile arms
31. ^ [2][dead link]
32. ^ BBC NEWS | Middle East | UN says Gaza crisis 'intolerable'
33. ^ BBC NEWS | Middle East | Palestinian despair as donors meet
34. ^ Defense Update News Commentary: 01/01/2005 - 01/31/2005
35. ^ Microsoft Word - RC CRT 2005-Entire S Version-4 27.doc
36. ^ Defending Israel's Positions in Rafah
37. ^ S/PV.4972 of 19 May 2004
38. ^ "Security: Six Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel - Hamas claims will take revenge". Israelinsider (2006-10-12). Retrieved on
2008-06-30.
39. ^ Death toll reaches eight in Israeli raid on Gaza Strip
40. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061014/ts_nm/mideast_dc]
41. ^ [3][dead link]
42. ^ "Gunmen fire on Palestinian PM's convoy in Gaza", CBC News (2006-10-20).
43. ^ "Israeli troops kill 3 Palestinians", AP via Gulfnews (2006-10-27).
44. ^ "Israel releases withheld tax funds to Abbas's office", International Herald Tribune (January 19, 2007).
45. ^ Israel may ease grip in Tony Blair deal to revive West Bank, The Times May 14, 2008

[Collapse]
Wikipedia needs you. Support the largest non-profit project on the web.
$5,779,997
Our Goal: $6 million
Donate Now »
Learn More...
[Expand]
Support Wikipedia: a non-profit project.
Donate Now »
[Expand]
Support Wikipedia: a non-profit project. — Donate Now

Zionism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about Zionism as a movement, not the History of Israel. For other uses, see Zion
(disambiguation).
See also: History of Zionism, Timeline of Zionism, and World Zionist Organization
State of Israel
 Geography

Land of Israel
Districts · Cities · Transport
Mediterranean · Red Sea
Sea of Galilee
Jerusalem · Tel Aviv · Haifa
History
Jewish history (timeline)
History of Zionism · Aliyah · Herzl
Balfour · British Mandate
1947 UN Plan · Independence
Austerity · History of Israel
Arab-Israeli conflict
History of the Arab-Israeli conflict
1948 War · 1949 Armistice
Jewish exodus
Suez War · Six-Day War
War of Attrition · Yom Kippur War
1982 / 2006 Lebanon War
Peace proposals
Treaties with Egypt / Jordan
International law
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
History · Timeline
1948 Palestinian exodus
Occupation
Peace process · Peace camp
First Intifada · Oslo
Second Intifada · Barrier
Disengagement
Economy
Agriculture · Companies · Diamonds
Science and technology
Tourism · Wine
Israel Weapon Industries
Israel Aerospace Industries
Demographics · Culture
Religion · Israeli Arabs · Kibbutz
Music · Archaeology · Universities
Hebrew · Literature · Sport · Israelis
 Laws · Politics
Law of Return · Jerusalem Law
Referendums · Parties · Elections
Prime Minister · President
Knesset · Supreme Court · Courts
Foreign affairs
UN · US · Arab League
Security forces
Israel Defense Forces
Intelligence Community
Security Council
Police · Border Police
Prison Service
Portal · Category
WikiProject
v•d•e

Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the reestablishment of a

homeland for the Jewish People in Palestine (Hebrew: Eretz Yisra'el, "the Land of Israel"), and
continues primarily as support for the modern state of Israel.[1]

Zionism is partly based upon strong historical ties and religious traditions linking the Jewish
people to the Land of Israel, where the concept of Jewish nationhood first evolved somewhere
between 1200 BCE and the late Second Temple era (i.e. up to 70 CE).[2][3] The modern movement
was mainly secular in its origins, beginning largely as a response by European Jewry to
antisemitism across Europe.[4] It is a branch of the broader phenomenon of modern nationalism.[5]
At first one of several Jewish political movements offering alternative responses to the position
of Jews in Europe, Zionism grew rapidly, and after the Holocaust became the dominant Jewish
political movement.

The political movement was formally established by the Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor
Herzl in the late 19th century.[6] The movement seeks to encourage Jewish migration to the
Promised Land and was eventually successful in establishing Israel in 1948, as the homeland for
the Jewish people. Its proponents regard its aim as self-determination for the Jewish people.[7]

About 40% of the world's Jews now live in Israel.[8]

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Terminology
• 2 Organization
 • 3 Types of Zionism
o 3.1 Labor Zionism
o 3.2 Liberal Zionism
o 3.3 Nationalist Zionism
o 3.4 Religious Zionism
• 4 Particularities of Zionist beliefs
• 5 History
• 6 Opposition, critics and evolution of Zionism
• 7 Non-Jewish Zionism
o 7.1 Marcus Garvey and Black Zionism
o 7.2 Christian Zionism
o 7.3 Muslims supporting Zionism
• 8 See also
o 8.1 Types of Zionism
o 8.2 Zionist institutions and organizations
o 8.3 History of Zionism and Israel
o 8.4 Other
• 9 Footnotes
• 10 References

• 11 External links

[edit] Terminology
The word "Zionism" itself is derived from the word Zion (Hebrew: ‫ציון‬, Tzi-yon). This name
originally referred to Mount Zion, a mountain near Jerusalem, and to the Fortress of Zion on
it. Later, under King David, the term "Zion" became a synecdoche referring to the entire city of
Jerusalem and the Land of Israel. In many Biblical verses, the Israelites were called the people,
sons or daughters of Zion.

"Zionism" was coined as a term for Jewish nationalism by Austrian Jewish publisher Nathan
Birnbaum, founder of the first nationalist Jewish students' movement Kadimah, in his journal
Selbstemanzipation (Self Emancipation) in 1890. (Birnbaum eventually turned against political
Zionism and became the first secretary-general of the anti-Zionist Haredi movement Agudat
Israel.)[9]

Certain individuals and groups have used the term "Zionism" as a pejorative to justify attacks on
Jews. According to historians Walter Laqueur, Howard Sachar and Jack Fischel among others,
the label "Zionist" is in some cases also used as a euphemism for Jews in general by apologists
for antisemitism.[10]

Zionism can be distinguished from Territorialism, a Jewish nationalist movement calling for a
Jewish homeland not necessarily in Palestine. During the early history of Zionism, a number of
proposals were made for settling Jews outside of Europe, but ultimately all of these were rejected
or failed. The debate over these proposals helped to define the nature and focus of the Zionist
movement.

[edit] Organization
Members and delegates at the 1939 Zionist congress, by country (Zionism was banned in
Russia)[11]
Country Members Delegates
Poland 299,165 109
USA 263,741 114
Palestine 167,562 134
Romania 60,013 28
United Kingdom 23,513 15
South Africa 22,343 14
Canada 15,220 8
The Zionist movement is structured as a representative democracy. Congresses are held every
four years (they were held every two years before the second World War) and delegates to the
congress are elected by the membership. Members are required to pay dues known as a "shekel,"
At the congress, delegates elected a 30-man executive council, which in turn elects the
movement's leader. The movement was democratic from its inception and women had the right
to vote (before they won the right in Great Britain). Until 1917 the WZO pursued a strategy of
building a homeland through persistent small-scale immigration and the founding of such bodies
as the Jewish National Fund (1901 - a charity which bought land for Jewish settlement) and the
Anglo-Palestine Bank (1903 - provided loans for Jewish businesses and farmers).

The 28th Zionist Congress, meeting in Jerusalem 1968, adopted the five points of the "Jerusalem
Program" as the aims of Zionism today. They are:[12]

1. The unity of the Jewish People and the centrality of Israel in Jewish life;
2. The ingathering of the Jewish People in its historic homeland, Eretz Israel,
through Aliyah from all countries;
3. The strengthening of the State of Israel which is based on the prophetic vision of
justice and peace:
4. The preservation of the identity of the Jewish People through the fostering of
Jewish and Hebrew education and of Jewish spiritual and cultural values;
5. The protection of Jewish rights everywhere.

Since the creation of Israel the role of the movement itself has become far less important,
however the ideology remains a critical part of Israeli and Jewish political thinking.

[edit] Types of Zionism

 This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be
challenged and removed. (May 2007)

Over the years a variety of schools of thought have evolved with different schools dominating at
different times. In addition Zionists come from a wide variety of ethnic groups and at different
times Jews of Russian, Polish, American or Moroccan backgrounds have exercised strong
influence on the movement's agenda.

[edit] Labor Zionism

Main article: Labor Zionism

See also: Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz

Labor Zionism originated in Russia. Socialist Zionists believed that centuries of being oppressed
in anti-Semitic societies had reduced Jews to a meek, vulnerable, despairing existence which
invited further anti-Semitism. They argued that Jews could escape their situation by becoming
farmers, workers, and soldiers in a country of their own. Most socialist Zionists rejected religion
as perpetuating a "Diaspora mentality" among the Jewish people and established rural communes
in Israel called "Kibbutzim". Socialist and Labor Zionists are usually atheists or opposed to
religion. Consequently, the movement has often had an antagonistic relationship with Orthodox
Judaism.

Labor Zionism became the dominant force in the political and economic life of the Yishuv
during the British Mandate of Palestine and was the dominant ideology of the political
establishment in Israel until the 1977 election when the Labor Party was defeated. The Labor
Party continues the tradition (although it has weakened) and has in recent years taken to
advocating creation of a Palestinian State in the West-Bank and Gaza.

[edit] Liberal Zionism

Main article: General Zionists

General Zionism (or Liberal Zionism) was initially the dominant trend within the Zionist
movement from the First Zionist Congress in 1897 until after the First World War. General
Zionists identified with the liberal European middle class (or bourgeois) to which many Zionist
leaders such as Herzl and Chaim Weizmann aspired. Liberal Zionism, although not associated
with any single party in modern Israel, remains a strong trend in Israeli politics advocating free
market principles, democracy and adherence to human rights.

[edit] Nationalist Zionism

Main article: Revisionist Zionism

Originating from the Revisionist Zionists led by Jabotinsky who, before independence,
advocated the formation of a Jewish Army in Palestine that would force the Arab population to
accept mass Jewish migration and promote British interests in the region.

Revisionist Zionism evolved into the Likud Party in Israel, which has dominated most
governments since 1977. It advocates Israel maintaining control of the West-Bank and East
Jerusalem and takes a hard-line approach in the Israeli-Arab conflict.

[edit] Religious Zionism

Main article: Religious Zionism

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Zionism an Affirmation of Judaism

In the 1920s and 1930s Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (the first Chief Rabbi of Palestine) and his
son Rabbi Zevi Judah Kook saw great religious and traditional value in many of Zionism's
ideals, while rejecting its anti-religious undertones. They sought to forge a branch of Orthodox
Judaism which would properly embrace Zionism's positive ideals and serve as a bridge between
Orthodox and secular Jews.

While other Zionist groups have tended to moderate their nationalism over time, the gains from
the Six Day War have led religious Zionism to play a significant role in Israeli political life. Now
associated with the National Religious Party and Gush Emunim, religious Zionists have been at
the forefront of Jewish settlement in the West Bank and efforts to assert Jewish control over the
Old City of Jerusalem.

Religious Zionism is largely Modern Orthodox but increasingly includes (more traditional)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews. Although the Sephardi party Shas is not directly associated with the
Zionist movement, the party generally pursues an Ultra-Orthodox Zionist agenda.

[edit] Particularities of Zionist beliefs

Main article: The "Negation of the Diaspora" in Zionism

According to Eliezer Schweid the rejection of life in the Diaspora is a central assumption in all
currents of Zionism.[13] Underlying this attitude was the feeling that the Diaspora restricted the
full growth of Jewish national life.

Main article: Revival of the Hebrew language

See also: Yiddish and Ladino

Zionists preferred to speak Hebrew, a semitic language that developed under conditions of
freedom in ancient Judah, modernizing and adapting it for everyday use. Zionists sometimes
refused to speak Yiddish, a language they considered affected by Christian persecution. Once
they moved to Israel, many Zionists refused to speak their (diasporic) mother tongues and gave
themselves new, Hebrew names.

Main article: anti-semitism

Zionism is dedicated to fighting anti-semitism. Some Zionists believe that anti-semitism will
never disappear (and that Jews must conduct themselves with this in mind[14]) while others
perceive Zionism as a vehicle with which to end anti-semitism.

[edit] History
Main articles: History of Zionism and History of Israel

Since the first century CE most Jews have lived in exile, although there has been a constant
presence of Jews in the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel). According to Judaism, Eretz Israel, or Zion,
is a land promised to the Jews by God according to the Bible. Following the 2nd century Bar
Kokhba revolt, Jews were expelled from Palestine by the Romans to form the Jewish diaspora. In
the nineteenth century a current in Judaism supporting a return grew in popularity. Even before
1897, which is generally seen as the year in which practical Zionism started, Jews immigrated to
Palestine, the pre-Zionist Aliyah.[15]
Population of Palestine by religions[16]
Jewish immigration to Palestine year Muslims Jews Christians Others
started in earnest in 1882. Most 1922 486,177 83,790 71,464 7,617
immigrants came from Russia, 1931 493,147 174,606 88,907 10,101
escaping the frequent pogroms and 1941 906,551 474,102 125,413 12,881
state-led persecution. They founded 1946 1,076,783 608,225 145,063 15,488
a number of agricultural settlements
with financial support from Jewish philanthropists in Western Europe. Further Aliyahs followed
the Russian Revolution and Nazi persecution.

In the 1890s Theodor Herzl infused Zionism with a new ideology and practical urgency, leading
to the first congress at Basel in 1897, which brought the World Zionist Organization (WZO) into
being.[17] Herzl's aim was to initiate necessary preparatory steps for the attainment a Jewish state.
Herzl’s attempts to reach a political agreement with the Ottoman rulers of Palestine were
unsuccessful and other governmental support was sought. The WZO supported small scale
settlement in Palestine and focused on strengthening Jewish feeling and consciousness and
building a world-wide federation.

The Russian Empire, with its long record of state organized genocide and ethnic cleansing
("pogroms") was widely regarded as the historic enemy of the Jewish people. As much of its
leadership were German speakers, the Zionist movement's headquarters were located in Berlin.
At the start of the First World War most Jews (and Zionists) supported Germany in its war with
Russia.
Lobbying by a Russian Jewish immigrant, Chaim Weizmann and fear that American Jews would
encourage the USA to support Germany culminated in the Balfour Declaration of 1917 by the
British government. This endorsed the creation of a Jewish Homeland in Palestine. In addition a
Zionist military corps led by Jabotinsky were recruited to fight on behalf of Britain in Palestine.

In 1922, the League of nations adopted the declaration in the Mandate it gave to Britain:

The Mandatory (…) will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in
the preamble, and the development of self-governing institutions, and also for safeguarding the
civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion.[18]

Weizmann's role in obtaining the Balfour Declaration led to his election as the movement's
leader. He remained in that role until 1948.

The British Mandate resulted in increased Jewish migration to Palestine and massive Jewish land
purchases from feudal landlords, which created landlessness and fueled unrest (often led by the
same landlords who sold the land). There were riots in 1920, 1921 and 1929, sometimes
accompanied by massacres of Jews. Massacred Jews were sometimes from local non-Zionist
orthodox communities. Britain supported Jewish immigration in principle, but in reaction to Arab
violence imposed restrictions on Jewish immigration.

In 1933 Hitler came to power in Germany and, in 1935, the Nuremberg Laws, made German
Jews (and later Austrian and Czech Jews) stateless refugees. Similar rules were applied by Nazi
allies in Europe. The subsequent growth in Jewish migration and impact of Nazi propaganda
aimed at the Arab world led to the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. The British established
the Peel Commission to investigate the situation. The commission (which did not consider the
situation of Jews in Europe) called for a two-state solution and compulsory transfer of
populations. This solution was subsequently rejected by the British and instead the White Paper
of 1939 implemented. This planned to end Jewish immigration by 1944 and to allow no more
then 75,000 further Jewish migrants. The British maintained this policy until the end of the
Mandate.

Growth of the Jewish community in Palestine and devastation of European Jewish life sidelined
the World Zionist Organization. The Jewish Agency for Palestine under the leadership of David
Ben-Gurion increasingly dictated policy with support from American Zionists who provided
funding and influence in Washington.

After WWII and the Holocaust the Jewish community in Palestine were universally supported by
Jews, especially Holocaust survivors. The British were attacked in Palestine by Zionist groups
because of their restrictions on Jewish immigration and eventually forced to refer the issue to the
newly created United Nations.

In 1947, the UNSCOP recommended the partition of western Palestine into a Jewish state, an
Arab state and a UN-controlled territory (Corpus separatum) around Jerusalem.[19] This partition
plan was adopted on November 29th, 1947 with UN GA Resolution 181, 33 votes in favor, 13
against, and 10 abstentions. The vote led to celebrations in the streets of Jewish cities.[20]
The Palestinian Arabs and the Arab states rejected the UN decision, demanding a single state and
removal of Jewish migrants. On 14 May 1948, at the end of the British mandate, the Jewish
Agency, led by Ben-Gurion, declared the creation of the State of Israel, and the same day the
armies of seven Arab countries invaded Israel.

The conflict led to an exodus of about 711,000 Arab Palestinians[21] and the exodus of 850,000
Jews from the Arab world, mostly to Israel.

Since the creation of the State of Israel, the WZO has functioned mainly as an organization
dedicated to assisting and encouraging Jews to migrate to Israel. It has provided political support
for Israel in other countries but plays little role in internal Israeli politics.

The movement's major success since 1948 has been in providing logistical support for migrating
Jews and, most importantly, in assisting Soviet Jews in their struggle with the authorities over the
right to leave the USSR and to practice their religion in freedom.

[edit] Opposition, critics and evolution of Zionism

Main articles: Anti-Zionism, Non-Zionism, Post-Zionism, Neo-Zionism, and New
Antisemitism
See also: Stalin's antisemitism and Karl_Marx#Marx_and_antisemitism

In the twenties the growing secularization of the Zionist movement led to opposition from some
Orthodox Jewish groups. The movement was also opposed by some Marxists, by Islamic and
Arab nationalist organizations, by some assimilated Jews and by British Imperialists who feared
it would undermine Britain's relations with its many Moslem subjects.

Since the creation of the state of Israel, anti-Zionism has increasingly become associated with
anti-Semitism and this has led to claims that there is a New Anti-Semitism associated with anti-
Zionism.

In Israel the Canaanite movement led by poet Yonatan Ratosh in the 1930s and 1940s argued that
"Israeli" should be a new pan-ethnic nationality.

During the last quarter of 20th century, the decline of classic nationalism in Israel lead to the rise
of two antagonistic movements: neo-Zionism and post-Zionism. Both mark the Israeli version of
a worldwide phenomenon: the ascendancy of globalization and with it the emergence of a market
society and liberal culture, on one hand, and a local backlash on the other.[22] The traits of both
neo-Zionism and post-Zionism are not entirely foreign to "classical" Zionism but they differ by
accentuating antagonist and diametrically opposed poles already present in Zionism. "Neo
Zionism accentuates the messianic and particularistic dimensions of Zionist nationalism, while
post-Zionism accentuates its normalising and universalistic dimensions".[23]

[edit] Non-Jewish Zionism

Political support for the Jewish return to the Land of Israel predates the formal organization of
Jewish Zionism as a political movement. In the nineteenth century, advocates of the Restoration
of the Jews to the Holy Land were called Restorationists. The return of the Jews to the Holy
Land was widely supported by such eminent figures as Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, John
Adams, the second President of the United States, General Smuts of South Africa, President
Masaryk of Czechoslovakia, Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher and historian, Henry Dunant,
founder of the Red Cross and author of the Geneva Conventions, Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian
scientist and humanitarian.

The French government through Minister M. Cambon formally committed itself to “the
renaissance of the Jewish nationality in that Land from which the people of Israel were exiled so
many centuries ago".

In China, Wang, Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared that "the Nationalist government is in full
sympathy with the Jewish people in their desire to establish a country for themselves."[24]

[edit] Marcus Garvey and Black Zionism

Zionist success in winning British support for formation of a Jewish National Home in Palestine
helped inspire the African-American Nationalist Marcus Garvey to form a movement dedicated
to returning Americans of African origin to Africa. During a speech in Harlem in 1920 Garvey
stated that

other races were engaged in seeing their cause through—the Jews through their Zionist
movement and the Irish through their Irish movement—and I decided that, cost what it might, I
would make this a favorable time to see the Negro's interest through.[25]

Garvey established a shipping company, the Black Star Line, to ship Black Americans to Africa,
but for various reasons failed in his endeavour. His ideas helped inspire the Rastafarian
movement in Jamaica, the Black Jews[26] and The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem who
initially moved to Liberia before settling in Israel.

W. E. B. Du Bois was an ardent supporter of Zionism, and the NAACP endorsed the creation of
Israel in 1948. Paul Robeson, Bayard Rustin, and Martin Luther King, Jr. also supported
Zionism.[27]

[edit] Christian Zionism

Main article: Christian Zionism

Evangelical Christians have a long history of supporting Zionism. Famous evangelical supporters
of Israel include British Prime Ministers David Lloyd George and Arthur Balfour, President
Woodrow Wilson and Orde Wingate whose activities in support of Zionism, led the British Army
to ban him from ever serving in Palestine. According to Charles Merkley of Carleton University,
Christian Zionism strengthened significantly after the 1967 Six-Day War, and many
dispensationalist Christians, especially in the United States, now strongly support Zionism.
Christian Arabs publicly supporting Israel include US author Nonie Darwish, creator of the
Arabs for Israel web site, and former Muslim Magdi Allam, author of Viva Israele,[28] both born
in Egypt. Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese-born Christian US journalist and founder of the American
Congress For Truth, urges Americans to "fearlessly speak out in defense of America, Israel and
Western civilization".[29]

[edit] Muslims supporting Zionism

Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi, the leader of Italian Muslim Assembly and a co-founder of the
Islam-Israel Fellowship, and Canadian Imam Khaleel Mohammed find support for Zionism in
the Qur'an.[30][31] Other Muslims who have supported Zionism include Pakistani journalist
Tashbih Sayyed[32] and Bangladeshi journalist Salah Choudhury. Choudhury has been imprisoned
since 2003 and is facing a death sentence.[33]

On occasion, some Muslims yet non-Arabs such as some Kurds and Berbers have also voiced
support for Zionism.[34][35]

[edit] See also

Religion portal

[edit] Types of Zionism

• Christian Zionism
• Cultural Zionism
• General Zionists
• Labor Zionism
• Reform Zionism
• Religious Zionism
• Revisionist Zionism
• Muslim Zionism

[edit] Zionist institutions and organizations

• Histadrut
• The Jewish Agency for Israel
• Jewish National Fund
• Vaad Leumi
• World Zionist Organization

[edit] History of Zionism and Israel

• History of Zionism
• History of Israel
 • History of Palestine
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• List of Zionist figures
• Timeline of Zionism

[edit] Other

• Anti-Zionism
• Jewish Autonomism
• Jewish Emancipation
• Christian Zionism in the United Kingdom

[edit] Footnotes
1. ^ "An international movement originally for the establishment of a Jewish national or
religious community in Palestine and later for the support of modern Israel." ("Zionism,"
Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary). See also "Zionism", Encyclopedia Britannica,
which describes it as a "Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation
and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews,"
and The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, which
defines it as "A Jewish movement that arose in the late 19th century in response to
growing anti-Semitism and sought to reestablish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Modern
Zionism is concerned with the support and development of the state of Israel."
2. ^ "...from Zion, where King David fashioned the first Jewish nation" (Friedland, Roger
and Hecht, Richard To Rule Jerusalem, p. 27).
3. ^ "By the late Second Temple times, when widely held Messianic beliefs were so
politically powerful in their implications and repercussions, and when the significance of
political authority, territorial sovereignty, and religious belief for the fate of the Jews as a
people was so widely and vehemently contested, it seems clear that Jewish nationhood
was a social and cultural reality". (Roshwald, Aviel. "Jewish Identity and the Paradox of
Nationalism", in Berkowitz, Michael (ed.). Nationalism, Zionism and Ethnic
Mobilization of the Jews in 1900 and Beyond, p. 15).
4. ^ Largely a response to anti-Semitism:
o "A Jewish movement that arose in the late 19th century in response to growing
anti-Semitism and sought to re-establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine."
("Zionism", The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth
Edition).
o "The Political Zionists conceived of Zionism as the Jewish response to anti-
Semitism. They believed that Jews must have an independent state as soon as
possible, in order to have a place of refuge for endangered Jewish communities."
(Wylen, Stephen M. Settings of Silver: An Introduction to Judaism, Second
Edition, Paulist Press, 2000, p. 392).
o "Zionism, the national movement to return Jews to their homeland in Israel, was
founded as a response to anti-Semitism in Western Europe and to violent
 persecution of Jews in Eastern Europe." (Calaprice, Alice. The Einstein Almanac,
Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004, p. xvi).
o "The major response to anti-semitism was the emergence of Zionism under the
leadership of Theodor Herzl in the late nineteenth century." (Matustik, Martin J.
and Westphal, Merold. Kierkegaard in Post/Modernity, Indiana University Press,
1995, p. 178).
o "Zionism was founded as a response to anti-Semitism, principally in Russia, but
took off when the worst nightmare of the Jews transpired in Western Europe
under Nazism." (Hollis, Rosemary. The Israeli-Palestinian road block: can
Europeans make a difference?PDF (57.9 KiB), International Affairs 80, 2 (2004), p.
198)
5. ^ A.R. Taylor, 'Vision and intent in Zionist Thought', in 'The transformation of Palestine',
ed. by I. Abu-Lughod, 1971, ISBN 0-8101-0345-1, p. 10
6. ^ Walter Laqueur (2003) The History of Zionism Tauris Parke Paperbacks, ISBN
1860649327 p 40
7. ^ A national liberation movement:
o "Zionism is a modern national liberation movement whose roots go far back to
Biblical times." (Rockaway, Robert. Zionism: The National Liberation Movement
of The Jewish People, World Zionist Organization, January 21, 1975, accessed
August 17, 2006).
o "The aim of Zionism was principally the liberation and self-determination of the
Jewish people...", Shlomo Avineri. (Zionism as a Movement of National
Liberation, Hagshama department of the World Zionist Organization, December
12, 2003, accessed August 17, 2006).
o "Political Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people,
emerged in the 19th century within the context of the liberal nationalism then
sweeping through Europe." (Neuberger, Binyamin. Zionism - an Introduction,
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, August 20, 2001, accessed August 17, 2006).
o "The vicious diatribes on Zionism voiced here by Arab delegates may give this
Assembly the wrong impression that while the rest of the world supported the
Jewish national liberation movement the Arab world was always hostile to
Zionism." (Chaim Herzog, Statement in the General Assembly by Ambassador
Herzog on the item "Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination", 10
November 1975., Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 11, 1975,
accessed August 17, 2006).
o Zionism: one of the earliest examples of a national liberation movement, written
submission by the World Union for Progressive Judaism to the U.N. Commission
on Human Rights, Sixtieth session, Item 5 and 9 of the provisional agenda,
January 27, 2004, accessed August 17, 2006.
o "Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people and the state of
Israel is its political expression." (Avi Shlaim, A debate : Is Zionism today the real
enemy of the Jews?, International Herald Tribune, February 4, 2005, accessed
August 17, 2006.
o "But Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people." (Philips,
Melanie. Zionism today is the real enemy of the Jews’: opposed by Melanie
Phillips, www.melaniephilips.com, accessed August 17, 2006.
 o "Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, brought about
the establishment of the State of Israel, and views a Jewish, Zionist, democratic
and secure State of Israel to be the expression of the common responsibility of the
Jewish people for its continuity and future." (What is Zionism (The Jerusalem
Program), Hadassah, accessed August 17, 2006.
o "Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people." (Harris, Rob.
Ireland's Zionist slurs like Iran, says Israel, Jewish Telegraph, December 16,
2005, accessed August 17, 2006.
8. ^ [1] Nissan Ratzlav-Katz, Percentage of World Jewry Living in Israel Steadily
Increasing, Arutz Sheva, November 26, 2008
9. ^ De Lange, Nicholas, An Introduction to Judaism, Cambridge University Press (2000),
p. 30. ISBN 0-521-46624-5.
10. ^ Misuse of the term "Zionism":
o "... behind the cover of "anti-Zionism" lurks a variety of motives that ought to be
called by their true name. When, in the 1950s under Stalin, the Jews of the Soviet
Union came under severe attack and scores were executed, it was under the
banner of anti-Zionism rather than anti-Semitism, which had been given a bad
name by Adolf Hitler. When in later years the policy of Israeli governments was
attacked as racist or colonialist in various parts of the world, the basis of the
criticism was quite often the belief that Israel had no right to exist in the first
place, not opposition to specific policies of the Israeli government. Traditional
anti-Semitism has gone out of fashion in the West except on the extreme right.
But something we might call post-anti-Semitism has taken its place. It is less
violent in its aims, but still very real. By and large it has not been too difficult to
differentiate between genuine and bogus anti-Zionism. The test is twofold. It is
almost always clear whether the attacks are directed against a specific policy
carried out by an Israeli government (for instance, as an occupying power) or
against the existence of Israel. Secondly, there is the test of selectivity. If from all
the evils besetting the world, the misdeeds, real or imaginary, of Zionism are
singled out and given constant and relentless publicity, it can be taken for granted
that the true motive is not anti-Zionism but something different and more
sweeping." (Laqueur, Walter: Dying for Jerusalem: The Past, Present and Future
of the Holiest City (Sourcebooks, Inc., 2006) ISBN 1-4022-0632-1. p. 55)
o "In late July 1967, Moscow launched an unprecedented propaganda campaign
against Zionism as a "world threat." Defeat was attributed not to tiny Israel alone,
but to an "all-powerful international force." ... In its flagrant vulgarity, the new
propaganda assault soon achieved Nazi-era characteristics. The Soviet public was
saturated with racist canards. Extracts from Trofim Kichko's notorious 1963
volume, Judaism Without Embellishment, were extensively republished in the
Soviet media. Yuri Ivanov's Beware: Zionism, a book essentially replicated The
Protocols of the Elders of Zion, was given nationwide coverage." (Howard
Sachar: A History of the Jews in the Modern World (Knopf, NY. 2005) p.722
o See also Rootless cosmopolitan, Doctors' Plot, Zionology, Polish 1968 political
crisis
11. ^ Source: A survey of Palestine, prepared in 1946 for the Anglo-American Committee of
Inquiry, Volume II page 907 HMSO 1946.
12. ^ http://www.hagshama.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=497&subject=43
13. ^ E. Schweid, ‘Rejection of the Diaspora in Zionist Thought’, in ‘’Essential Papers
onZionsm, ed. By Reinharz & Shapira, 1996, ISBN 0-8147-7449-0, p.133
14. ^ For an example of this view see The New Anti-Zionism and the Old Antisemitism:
Transformations By: Raphael Jospe at
http://www.hagshama.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=2095 accessed 16/11/2008
15. ^ C.D. Smith, 2001, 'Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict', 4th ed., ISBN 0-312-20828-
6, p. 1-12, 33-38
16. ^ Anonymous (1947-09-03). "REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, VOLUME 1".
UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON PALESTINE. Retrieved on 2008-06-
30.
17. ^ Zionism & The British In Palestine, by Sethi,Arjun (University of Maryland) January
2007, accessed May 20, 2007.
18. ^ League of Nations Palestine Mandate, July 24, 1922, sateofisrael.com/mandate
19. ^ UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON PALESTINE; REPORT TO THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, A/364, 3 September 1947
20. ^ Three minutes, 2000 years, Video from the Jewish Agency for Israel, via YouTube
21. ^ GENERAL PROGRESS REPORT AND SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT OF THE
UNITED NATIONS CONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR PALESTINE, Covering the
period from 11 December 1949 to 23 October 1950, GA A/1367/Rev.1 23 October 1950
22. ^ Uri Ram, The Future of the Past in Israel - A Sociology of Knowledge Approach, in
Benny Morris, Making Israel, p.224.
23. ^ Steve Chan, Anita Shapira, Derek Jonathan, Israeli Historical Revisionism: from left to
right, Routledge, 2002, p.58.
24. ^ Palestine: The Original Sin , Meir Abelson [2]
25. ^ Negro World 6 March 1920, cited in
http://www.international.ucla.edu/africa/mgpp/lifeintr.asp (accessed 29/11/2007).
26. ^ BlackJews.org - A Project of the International Board of Rabbis
27. ^ Why Don’t Jews Like the Christians Who Like Them by James Q. Wilson, City Journal
Winter 2008
28. ^ ISBN 9788804567776
29. ^ anonymous (unknown). "Mission/Vision". American Congress for Truth. Retrieved on
2008-04-17.
30. ^ Glazov, Jamie. "The Anti-Terror, Pro-Israel Sheikh" FrontPage Magazine, September
12, 2005. "I find in the Qur'an that God granted the Land of Israel to the Children of
Israel and ordered them to settle therein (Qur'an 5:21) and that before the Last Day He
will bring the Children of Israel to retake possession of their Land, gathering them from
different countries and nations (Qur'an 17:104). Consequently, as a Muslim who abides
by the Qur'an, I believe that opposing the existence of the State of Israel means opposing
a Divine decree."
31. ^ Cobb, Chris (February 6, 2007). "The scathing scholar", The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved
on 26 March 2008. "despite what Muslims are taught, Islam's holy book, the Koran,
supports the right of Israel to exist and for Jews to live there."
32. ^ Neuwirth, Rachel. "Tashbih Sayyed ― A Fearless Muslim Zionist", The
American Thinker, June 24, 2007.
 33. ^ Freund, Michael (2008-08-08). "Pro-Israel editor goes on trial in Bangladesh".
Jerusalem Post. Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
34. ^ "Islam, Islam, Laïcité, and Amazigh Activism in France and North Africa" (2004
paper), Paul A. Silverstein, Department of Anthropology, Reed College
35. ^ WHY NOT A KURDISH-ISRAELI ALLIANCE? (Iran Press Service)

[edit] References
• Taylor, A.R., 1971, 'Vision and intent in Zionist Thought', in 'The transformation of
Palestine', ed. by I. Abu-Lughod, ISBN 0-8101-0345-1, Northwestern university press,
Evanston, USA
• David Hazony, Yoram Hazony, and Michael B. Oren, eds., "New Essays on Zionism,"
Shalem Press, 2007.

[edit] External links

• http://www.hagshama.org.il/en/ WZO website

• Works related to Zionism at Wikisource

• Jewish State.com Zionism, News, Links
• Exodus1947.com PBS Documentary Film focusing on the secret American involvement
in Aliyah Bet, narrated by Morley Safer
 [show]
v•d•e
Zionism
 [show]
v•d•e
Jews and Judaism
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism"
Categories: Nationalism | National liberation movements | Zionism | Jews and Judaism-related
controversies | Religion and politics | Jewish history | History of Israel
Hidden category: Articles needing additional references from May 2007

Views

• Article
• Discussion
• Edit this page
• History

Personal tools

• Log in / create account

Navigation

• Main page
• Contents
• Featured content
• Current events
• Random article

Search

Interaction

• About Wikipedia
• Community portal
• Recent changes
• Contact Wikipedia
• Donate to Wikipedia
• Help

Toolbox

• What links here

• Related changes
• Upload file
• Special pages
• Printable version
• Permanent link
• Cite this page
Languages

• ‫العربية‬
• Aragonés
• ‫مصرى‬
• Bân-lâm-gú
• Bosanski
• Български
• Català
• Česky
• Cymraeg
• Dansk
• Deutsch
• Eesti
• Ελληνικά
• Español
• Esperanto
• Euskara
• ‫فارسی‬
• Français
• Galego
• 한국어
• Hrvatski
• Bahasa Indonesia
• Íslenska
• Italiano
• ‫עברית‬
• ქართული
• Kurdî / ‫كوردی‬
• Latviešu
• Lietuvių
• Magyar
• Македонски
• മലയാളം
• ‫مزِروني‬َ
• Bahasa Melayu
• Nederlands
• 日本語
• Norsk (bokmål)
• Norsk (nynorsk)
• Polski
• Português
• Română
• Русский
• Simple English
• Slovenčina
• Slovenščina
• Српски / Srpski
• Suomi
• Svenska
• ไทย
• Türkçe
• Українська
• Walon
• ‫יידיש‬
• 中文

• This page was last modified on 30 December 2008, at 22:26.

• All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See
Copyrights for details.)
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S.
registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity.
• Privacy policy
• About Wikipedia
• Disclaimers