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The State of Israel (Hebrew: מדינת ישראל‎, Medinat Yisrael) was established on May 14, 1948 after nearly two thousand years of Jewish dispersal, and after 55 years of efforts to create a Jewish homeland (Zionism). The 60 years since Israeli independence have been marked by conflict with neighbouring Arab states and the Palestinian-Arabs. There have also been many negotiations, and peace has been achieved with Egypt and Jordan. Israel's democracy has survived under difficult circumstances and the country has prospered despite war, ethno-religious conflict, boycotts, mass immigration and terror attacks. Since the creation of the Jewish state, the percentage of the world's Jews in Israel has grown; at present, about 40% of the world's Jewish population are Israeli residents.

Readers should note that this section uses BCE ("Before Common Era") in preference to BC ("Before Christ"). CE ("Common Era") is used instead of AD ("Anno Domini": Latin for "Year of Our Lord"). Orthodox Jews use a Jewish calendar which is traditionally regarded as dating back to the creation of the universe.
Main articles: History of ancient Israel and Judah, Jewish history, Land of Israel, History of the Jews in the Land of Israel, and History of Palestine

Evidence of Jewish presence in Israel dates back 3,400 years, to the formation of the religion. The name "Jews" derives from their origin in Judah. Over the course of this long history, the Jews have several times been dispersed and then returned from exile.

Birth of Judaism and Israel 1400 BCE - 586 BCE

The origins of Judaism are uncertain. The Israelites are thought to have come into existence between 1400 and 1100 BCE in Canaan, developing an independent kingdom around 1050 BCE. Around 950 BCE, the kingdom split into the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel. The Israelites were exiled by Assyria around 720 BCE, becoming the Lost Tribes of Israel.

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Babylonian, Persian and Greek rule 586 BCE - 150 BCE

In 586 BCE King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon conquered the Kingdom of Judah and exiled the population to Babylon. The Bible recounts how, in 538 BCE Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon and issued a proclamation granting the people of Judah their freedom. 50,000 Judeans, led by Zerubabel returned. A second group of 5000, led by Ezra and Nehemiah, returned to Judea in 456 BCE.

In 333 BCE Alexander the Great conquered Judea and sometime thereafter, the first translation of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint) was begun in Alexandria.

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The restoration of Jewish rule 174 BCE - 64 BCE

In the second century, Antiochus IV Epiphanes tried to eradicate Judaism in favor of Hellenism leading to the 174 - 135 BCE Maccabean Revolt. The success of this revolt is celebrated in the Jewish festival of Hanukka. The Books of the Maccabees documented the uprising.

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Roman rule 64 BCE - 330
See also: Jewish-Roman wars and Herod the Great

In 64 BCE the Roman General, Pompey conquered Judea. The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem became the only religious structure in the Roman Empire which did not contain an effigy of the emperor and was one of the largest religious structures in the world.

From 37 BCE - 92 the Herodian dynasty, Jewish-Roman client kings ruled Judea.

In 66 CE the Jews broke free of Rome, naming their short-lived kingdom variously "Israel" and "Zion"[3] (see also First Jewish Revolt coinage). Israel's unsuccessful revolt against Roman domination and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Titus in the year 70 were described by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus, including the famous last stand at Massada. The Jewish revolt led the Christians, at this time a sub-sect of Judaism, to completely disassociate themselves from Judaism. This was reflected in the Gospels.

A second Jewish revolt in 135 also renamed the country "Israel",[4] (see coins at http://www.amuseum.org/book/page19.html) and its defeat led the Emperor Hadrian to rename Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina. Jews were banned from living there and the Roman province, until then known as Iudaea Province, was renamed to Palaestina; no other revolt led to a province being renamed.[5] The names "Palestine" (in English) and "Filistin" (in Arabic) derive from this name.

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Byzantine (Christian Roman) rule 330 - 631
See also: Development of the Jewish Bible canon, Rabbinic literature, and Byzantine Empire

In 330 the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its official religion and the capital was moved to Byzantium, later renamed Constantinopole (and now called Istanbul). There was another Jewish revolt in 351–352.[6]

Despite persecution, key Jewish religious texts were compiled in Israel between the years 200 and 1000. In the second century Israeli Rabbis decided which books could be regarded as part of the Hebrew Bible. The Jewish apocrypha were left out (including the Books of the Maccabees). Sacred Jewish texts written in Israel in this period include the Mishnah (200), the Gemara (400) and the Talmud (500).

In 614 a Jewish revolt against Byzantine Emperor Heraclius with Persian support failed, leading to an edict expelling the Jews from Palestine.

According to Muslim tradition, in 620 Muhammed flew from Mecca to the "farthest mosque", whose location is considered to be the Temple Mount, returning the same night. In 631, the Arabs defeated Heraclius and conquered the area. Over the next few centuries, Islam became the dominant religion in the area.

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Arab rule 636 - 1099
See also: Byzantine–Arab Wars and Muslim Conquests

From 636 until the Crusades, Palestine was ruled by the Medinah based Rashidun Caliphs, then the Damascus based Umayyad Caliphate and after that the Baghdad-based Abbasid Caliphs. In 691, Ummayad Caliph Abd al-Malik (685-705) constructed the Dome of the Rock shrine on the Temple Mount. Many Jews consider it to contain the Foundation Stone (see also Holy of Holies) which is the holiest site in Judaism. A second building, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was erected on the Temple Mount in 705.

Between the 7th and 11th centuries, Jewish scribes, called the Masoretes and located in the Galilee and Jerusalem, established the Masoretic Text, the final text of the Hebrew Bible.

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Crusader rule 1099 - 1291
Main articles: Crusades and Kingdom of Jerusalem

The name Palestine fell out of use under the Crusaders, who called the kingdoms they established there "Outremer" (overseas). During the Crusades, Jews in Israel were massacred or sold into slavery.[7] The murder of Jews began during the Crusaders' travels across Europe and continued in the Holy Land.[8] Ashkenazi orthodox Jews still recite a prayer in memory of the destruction caused by the Crusades. From 1260 to 1291 Israel became the frontier between Mongol invaders (occasional Crusader allies) and the Mamluks of Egypt. The conflict impoverished the area and severely reduced its population. Sultan Baybars of Egypt eventually expelled the Mongols and eliminated the last Crusader Kingdom of Acre in 1291, thereby ending the Crusades.

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Mamluk (Egyptian - Islamic) rule 1260 - 1517

The Egyptian Mamluks governed the area 1260 - 1517.

The collapse of the Crusades was followed by widespread expulsions of Jews in Europe, beginning in England (1290) and followed by France (1306).[9] In the 15th century the large and well integrated Jewish communities in Spain (the Alhambra decree 1492) and Portugal (1497) were expelled or forced to convert. Many of these Jews moved to the New World (see History of the Jews in Latin America) and to Poland. Persecutions usually also led to movement of Jews to Israel.

In 1267 the Mamluk Sultan, Babybars conquered Hebron and Jews were banned from worshipping at the Cave of the Patriarchs (the second holiest site in Judaism) until its conquest by Israel 700 years later.[10]

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Ottoman (Turkish - Islamic) rule 1517 - 1917

Under the Ottomans (1517—1917) the area was part of the province of Syria.

During the 1648—1654 Khmelnytsky Uprising in the Ukraine over 100,000 Jews were massacred in Eastern Europe, leading to further migration. The Jewish population of Israel was concentrated in the Four Holy Cities.

In 1799 Napoleon briefly occupied the coast and prepared a proclamation offering to create a Jewish state but did not issue it.[11]

By the 19th century, the Land of Israel was populated mostly by Muslim and Christian Arabs, as well as Jews, Greeks, Druze, Bedouins and other minorities. In 1844, Jews constituted the largest population group in Jerusalem and by 1890 an absolute majority in the city, although as a whole the Jewish population made up far less than 10% of the region.[12][13]

When the British conquered the area in 1917, they named it "Palestine" and defined boundaries including modern Israel, the West-Bank and Gaza and Jordan.

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The Zionist Movement

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1897–1917: The Zionist Revolution

For a full account of the emergence of the Zionist movement see the History of Zionism.
See also: Napoleon and the Jews, Racial antisemitism, Persecution of Jews, Aliyah, May Laws, and Category:Antisemitic canardsAliyah to Israel and settlement

Pre-Zionist Aliyah
The Return to Zion • The Old Yishuv 
Prior to the founding of Israel
First Aliyah • Second Aliyah • During WWI • Third Aliyah • Fourth Aliyah • Fifth Aliyah • During and after WWII • Berihah 
After the founding of Israel
Operation Magic Carpet • Operation Ezra and Nehemiah • Jewish exodus from Arab lands • Polish aliyah in 1968 • Aliyah from the Soviet Union in the 1970s • Aliyah from Ethiopia • Aliyah from the Commonwealth of Independent States in the 1990s • Aliyah from Latin America in the 2000s 
Concepts
Judaism • Zionism • Law of Return • Jewish homeland • Yerida • Galut • Jewish Messianism 
Persons and organizations
Theodor Herzl • World Zionist Organization • Knesset • Nefesh B'Nefesh • El Al 
Related topics
Jewish history • Jewish diaspora • History of the Jews in the Land of Israel • Yishuv • History of Zionism • History of Israel • Timeline of Zionism • Revival of Hebrew language • Religious Zionism • Haredim and Zionism • Anti-Zionism 
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The French Revolution and the associated spread of Enlightenment ideals led to Jewish emancipation across Europe. Many Jews actively embraced the enlightenment and assimilated as ways to attain equal rights. This led to a counter-reaction by European reactionaries who sought to prevent Jews from being granted citizenship and who saw them as an alien, morally inferior non-European community. Opponents of Jewish civil rights called themselves antisemites. Scientific racism became increasingly popular as the century wore on and what had been religious prejudice now became racial prejudice. In Tzarist Russia, the government actively encouraged pogroms in an effort to divert popular resentment at the government and to drive out the Jewish population. As part of the campaign the Russian government alleged a Jewish-Zionist conspiracy to achieve world domination.

A small percentage of the millions of Jews who fled Russia headed for Palestine. Mikveh Israel was founded in 1870 by Alliance Israelite Universelle, followed by Petah Tikva (1878), Rishon LeZion (1882), and other agricultural communities founded by the members of Bilu and Hovevei Zion.

Antisemitism, pogroms and the growth of nationalism in Europe led to an increase in the number of Jews who considered the possibility of re-establishing themselves as an independent nation. Left-wing antisemitism and the desire to preserve their identity led some socialist Jews to seek solutions within their own community.

In 1897, the First Zionist Congress proclaimed the decision "to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law."[14] The movement made little political progress before the First World War and was regarded with suspicion by the Ottoman rulers of the Holy Land.

Zionism attracted religious Jews, secular nationalists and left-wing socialists. Socialists aimed to reclaim the land by working on it and formed collectives. This was accompanied by Revival of the Hebrew language.

During World War I, the British sought Jewish support in the fight against Germany. This and support for Zionism from Prime-Minister Lloyd-George[15] led to foreign minister, Lord Balfour making the Balfour Declaration of 1917, stating that the British Government "view[ed] with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people"..."it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine".

The British invasion force, led by General Allenby, included a force of Jewish volunteers (mostly Zionists), known as the Jewish Legion.[16]