Lehi Founder Avraham Stern Is BornCIE+
December 23, 1907 Avraham Stern, who becomes one of the leading fighters against British rule in Palestine, is born into a Zionist family in Suwalki, Poland. He immigrates to the Land of Israel in 1925…
David Ben-Gurion Arrives in JaffaCIE+
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.
Kibbutz Pioneer Yitzchak Ben-Aharon Is BornCIE+
July 17, 1906 Yitzchak Ben-Aharon, a pioneer of the kibbutz movement, is born Yitzhak Nussboim in Bukovina, Romania, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He joins several Zionist organizations as a teenager, then walks and rides a…
Theodor Herzl DiesCIE+
July 3, 1904 Theodor Herzl, the “father of modern Zionism,” dies of cardiac sclerosis at age 44 in the village of Edlach, Austria. His will calls for no speeches, flowers or pomp at his funeral,…
Pope Pius X Rejects Herzl’s AppealCIE+
During a two-week trip to Italy, Theodor Herzl meets with Pope Pius X in an effort to gain his support for the Zionist cause.
Max Nordau Is Victim of Assassination AttemptCIE+
While attending a Hanukkah Ball arranged by Mevasseret Zion, a Paris Zionist Society, Max Nordau is the victim of an assassination attempt. Nordau, who together with Theodor Herzl had co-founded the World Zionist Organization, escapes unharmed.
Sixth Zionist Congress BeginsCIE+
The Sixth Zionist Congress, the last to be presided over by Theodor Herzl, convenes in Basel, Switzerland. It is the largest Zionist Congress held to date, with approximately 600 delegates in attendance.
British Make the Uganda ProposalCIE+
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.
Jewish National Fund Is FoundedCIE+
At the Fifth Zionist Congress, after the delegates again vote to table the idea of a national fund, Theodor Herzl delivers an impassioned address to the delegates, urging them to act immediately. The motion passes by a vote of 105 to 82.
Labor Politician Aharon Zisling BornCIE+
February 26, 1901 Aharon Zisling, one of Israel’s founding fathers, is born in the Russian Empire in Minsk, now the capital of Belarus. He immigrates to Palestine in 1914 during the Second Aliyah and emerges…
Politician Ya’akov Hazan Is Born
June 4, 1899 Ya’akov Hazan, a leader in socialist politics through Israel’s first four decades, is born in Brest Litovsk, Russia. He is a founder of the Hashomer Hatzair scouting movement in Poland in 1915…
Israel Museum Founder Eliyahu Dobkin Is BornCIE+
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,…
Second Zionist Congress ConvenesCIE+
The Second Zionist Congress convenes in Basel, Switzerland. 400 delegates, including Theodore Herzl’s father, participate in the Second Congress, which is nearly double the size of the First Congress held the previous year.
First Conference of Russian Zionists Is Held in WarsawCIE+
Held a few weeks before the Second Zionist Congress was set to convene in Basle, Switzerland, 160 Russian Zionists from ninety-three cities and towns in Russia meet secretly in Warsaw, Poland.
Orthodox Union Is Founded, Expresses Support for Zionism
The Orthodox movement created the Orthodox Union, and adopted a constitution and by-laws at their meeting at Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in New York.
Golda Meir Is Born in Kyiv
Golda Meir, Israel’s first female prime minister, is born Golda Mabovitch in Kyiv, Ukraine, then part of czarist Russia.
Gershom Scholem Is BornCIE+
Gershom Scholem, the pre-eminent scholar of Jewish mysticism, is born in Berlin. He immigrates to the Land of Israel in 1923.
First Zionist Congress OpensCIE+
August 29, 1897 Spearheaded by Theodor Herzl, the First Zionist Congress opens in Basel, Switzerland, for three days of meetings with roughly 200 attendees. Herzl invites allies in the Zionist cause — Jews and non-Jews…
Theodor Herzl Publishes “The Jewish State”CIE+
“Der Judenstaat” (The Jewish State), subtitled, “An Attempt at a Modern Solution to the Jewish Question,” by Theodor Herzl is first published in Vienna. 500 copies are originally printed and distributed.
Leading Zionist Nahum Goldmann Is Born in LithuaniaCIE+
Nahum Goldmann is born in Visznevo, Lithuania. He is later a founder of the World Jewish Congress and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, as well as President of the World Zionist Organization.
Prime Minister Moshe Sharett Is BornCIE+
Moshe Sharett is born as Moshe Shertok in Kherson, Ukraine. Sharett’s parents were early Zionists, having been involved in the BILU movement in the early 1880’s.
Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway Line DebutsCIE+
The first passenger train arrives in Jerusalem from Jaffa as part of the first railroad project in the Ottoman-controlled Levant, the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway line.
Blackstone Memorial Is Presented to President HarrisonCIE+
William E. Blackstone, a Methodist lay leader and real estate investor, petitions President Benjamin Harrison on behalf of creating “a home for these wandering millions of Israel.” The Blackstone Memorial was the name of the signed petition.
Avraham (Granot) Granovsky Is Born
Avraham (Granot) Granovsky, a signatory of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and Director-General of the Jewish National Fund, is born in Moldova.
