Refugee Ship Patria Is Sunk
November 25, 1940 A Haganah bomb does more damage than intended to the immigrant transport ship SS Patria, which sinks within 16 minutes in Haifa’s harbor, killing 267 people, including members of the British crew,…
Kibbutz Givat Brenner Is Established
Originally working as laborers in surrounding agricultural communities, the founding members of Givat Brenner establish agricultural and industrial infrastructure for the kibbutz, quickly making it financially stable and self-sustaining.
British White Paper Restricts Jewish Immigration and Land Purchase
The 1939 White Paper signaled Britain’s readiness to relegate the Jews in Palestine to minority status in a future majority-Arab state.
Kfar Ruppin Is Founded
Kibbutz Kfar (Village) Ruppin is established under the framework of the “Tower and Stockade” movement in Zionism, which takes place primarily between 1936-1939.
British Parliament Debates Future of Palestine
In the midst of the 1936-1939 Arab revolt, a debate over British policy in Mandatory Palestine is held in the House of Commons.
Zionist Leaders Debate Land Purchase Strategies
Zionist leaders debate how to confront proposed British restrictions on Jewish land purchase in Palestine.
Recha Freier Establishes Youth Aliyah in Germany
The same day that Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul Von Hindenburg, Recha Freier establishes the Committee for the Assistance of Jewish Youth.
Restrictive U.S. Immigration Act of 1924 Boosts Jewish Immigration to Palestine
Unable to immigrate to the US, many European Jews immigrate to the land of Israel. Between 1924 and 1929, the period known as the Fourth Aliyah, 82,000 Jews arrive in Palestine.
Keren Hayesod Is Founded
December 24, 1920 The World Zionist Congress in London launches Keren Hayesod (Hebrew for the Foundation Fund, now known in English as the United Israel Appeal) to raise money for the Zionist movement and fulfill…
Kupat Holim Clalit Is Established
At the urging of Berl Katznelson, a proposal is passed among Zionist leadership creating the Kupat Holim Clalit (General Sick Fund), a still present healthcare organization in Israel.
David Ben-Gurion Arrives in Jaffa
David Gruen, who in 1910 would change his name to David Ben-Gurion, and his girlfriend Rachel Nelkin arrive in Jaffa with a group of other young adults from Plonsk, Poland.
British Make the Uganda Proposal
British Secretary of State for the Colonies Joseph Chamberlain and Theodor Herzl meet to discuss Jewish settlement. At this meeting, Chamberlain proposes that the Jewish state be created in Uganda.
Israel Museum Founder Eliyahu Dobkin Is Born
December 31, 1898 Eliyahu Dobkin, a signer of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and the founder of the Israel Museum, is born in Bobruysk, Belarus. Dobkin is raised in a religious Zionist family. His father,…
Future Knesset Speaker Sprinzak Is Born
Yosef Sprinzak, who would serve as the first Speaker of the Knesset and twice as Interim President, is born in Moscow.
BILU Forms, Laying Groundwork for First Aliyah
The groundwork for the First Aliyah is laid with the formation of the BILU group at a meeting in the home of Israel Belkind in Kharkov, Ukraine.
Joseph Trumpeldor Is Born
Known for dying while defending the Jewish settlement of Tel Hai in 1920, Joseph Trumpeldor, a Zionist political activist and military hero, is born in Pyatigorsk, Russia.
Petah Tikvah Is Founded
Petah Tikvah (Gateway of Hope), today Israel’s fifth largest city, is established by a group of religious Jews wishing to leave Jerusalem and establish an agricultural moshav.
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