Timeline of Zionism - After The First Zionist Congress

After The First Zionist Congress

1897

The First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, urges "a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine" for Jews and establishes the World Zionist Organization (WZO).

1897

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is founded under the name Federation of American Zionists.

1898 January 13

The French writer Émile Zola exposed the Dreyfus affair to the general public in a famously incendiary open letter to President Félix Faure to which the French journalist and politician Georges Clemenceau affixed the headline "J'accuse!" (I accuse!). Zola's world fame and internationally respected reputation brought international attention to Dreyfus' unjust treatment.

1898

Sholom Aleichem writes an Yiddish language pamphlet Why Do the Jews Need a Land of Their Own?

1899

Henry Pereira Mendes publishes Looking Ahead: twentieth century happenings, the premise of which is that the restoration of Jewish sovereignty over historic Israel is essential to the world's peace and prosperity.

1901

Fifth Zionist Congress establishes the Jewish National Fund.

1902

Herzl publishes the novel Altneuland (The Old New Land), which takes place in Palestine.

1903–1906

More pogroms in Russian Empire. Unlike the 1881 pogroms, which focused primarily on property damage, these pogroms resulted in the deaths of at least 2,000 Jews and an even higher number of non-Jews.

1903

Uganda Proposal for settlement in East Africa splits the 6th Zionist Congress. A committee is created to look into it.

1904–1914

The Second Aliyah occurs. Approximately 40,000 Jews immigrated into Ottoman-occupied Palestine, mostly from Russia. The prime cause for the aliyah was mounting anti-Semitism in Russia and pogroms in the Pale of Settlement. Nearly half of these immigrants left Palestine by the time World War I started.

1909

Tel Aviv is founded on sand dunes near Jaffa. Young Judaea, a zionist youth movement, is founded.

1910–1916

Antisemitic Zionist conspiracy theories regarding the Ottoman Young Turk ruling elite are fuelled within the British government through diplomatic correspondence from Gerard Lowther (British Ambassador to Constantinople) and Gilbert Clayton (Chief of British intelligence in Egypt)

1915 January

Two months after the British declaration of war against the Ottomans, Herbert Samuel presents a detailed memorandum entitled s:The Future of Palestine to the British Cabinet on the benefits of a British protectorate over Palestine to support Jewish immigration

1915 October–1916 January

McMahon-Hussein Correspondence, agreeing to give Arabia to Arabs, if Arabs will fight the Turks. The Arab Revolt began in June 1916.

1916 May 16

Britain and France sign the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement which details the proposed division of Arabia at the conclusion of World War I into French and British spheres of influence.

1917 August

The formation of the Jewish Legion (Zion Mule Corps), initiated in 1914 by Joseph Trumpeldor and Zeev Jabotinsky.

1917

T.E. Lawrence leads Arab militias to defeat various Turkish Garrisons in Arabia.

1917 November 2

The British Government issues the Balfour Declaration which documented three main ideas:

• First, it declared official support from the British Government for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people", and promised that the British Government would actively aid in the these efforts.
• Second, it documented that the British Government would not support actions that would prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish residents of Palestine.
• Finally, it confirmed that Jews living in any other country would, similarly, not be prejudiced.