Overview of Significant Dates in Modern History of Israel

1891

William Eugene Blackstone, a premillennial dispensational evangelist, led a petition drive, signed by 413 prominent Christian and a few Jewish leaders in the United States. Blackstone personally gathered the signatures of men such as John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Cyrus McCormick, senators, congressmen, religious leaders of all denominations, newspaper editors, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and others for the "Blackstone Memorial." He presented the "Memorial" to President Harrison in March of 1891, calling for American support of Jewish restoration to Israel.

2 November 1917

The Prime Minister of Britain, speaking for the British government, declared that Britain would establish a Jewish national homeland in what was then called Palestine.

9 December 1917

The governing Turks were driven from Jerusalem by British troops under General Edmond Allenby and put under British rule.

June 1922

The League of Nations issued a legal mandate for Britain to govern the land of Palestine.

23 May 1939

Britain declared a White Paper Policy calling for an independent nation governed by Arabs and Jews in 10 years. It also limited Jewish immigration to Israel to 75,000 Jews during the next five years. The Jewish population at the time of the Paper was 450,000 living in the entire mandated area. The British White Paper of 1939 was issued to satisfy mounting Arab pressure against further Jewish immigration to Palestine.

24 October 1945

United Nations began.

29 November 1947

The United Nations, acknowledged Britains’ belief that their mandate was no longer feasible: therefore, they divided Palestine into the Arab State, the Jewish State, and the city of Jerusalem – governed by UN trustees. The United Nations declared the British mandate to end on 15 May 1948.

14 May 1948

Jewish leaders in the Jewish State, recognizing the effect of the end of the mandate, declared Israel to be a nation.

15 May 1948,

The Arab state began war with the newly formed Israel with their stated goal “to drive Jews into the sea.”

The United States, directed by President Harry Truman, fully recognized the new state of Israel. At the time of its beginning as a nation, there were 806,000 Jews in Israel and 156,000 Arabs living in the state who chose to be citizens of the new nation. 700,000 Arabs chose to leave Israel and migrate to other Arab nations where they were treated as refugees and placed into refugee camps – they were not assimilated into the other Arab cultures.

11 May 1949

The nation of Israel was admitted to the United Nations.

5 - 10 June 1967

During this 6-day War Israel defeated three Arab armies (Egypt, Syria, and Jordan), gained territory four times its original size, and became the preeminent military power in the region. These areas were the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.

6 – 25 October 1973

Called the Yom Kippur War, Israel was attacked on its most holy day of the year, the Day of Atonement, by Egypt and Syria. To prevent the complete defeat of the Arab forces, the United States stopped Israel from fighting on 25 October.

1979

Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt, that continues to this day.

1980

Israel declared Jerusalem its capital.

1994

Israel signed a peace treaty with Jordan, that continues to this day.

2005

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip.

6 December 2017

President Donald Trump declared the United State’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

2020

Israel signed a normalization agreement with Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Morocco.

2021

Israel signed a normalization agreement with Sudan.