1861 - The Zion Society is formed in Frankfurt, Germany.
1870 - 1890 - Russian group Hovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) sets up 30 Jewish farming colonies in Palestine, financially aided by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild. They were populated by European Jews with no common language; Eliezer ben Yehuda labored to revive Hebrew as a common spoken language. (Hovevei Zion)
1881 - 1884 - Russian pogroms kill tens of thousands of Jews. Hundreds of thousands of Jews flee.
1880 - 1920 - Two million Russian Jews migrate to the US.
1896 - Herzl writes Der Judenstaat (The State of Jews) advocating the creation of a Jewish state.
1896 - 1904 Herzl unsuccessfully approaches world leaders for assistance in the creation of a Jewish National Home.
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).
1901 - Fifth Zionist Congress establishes the Jewish National Fund.
1902 - Herzl publishes the novel Altneuland (Old-New Land), which takes place in Palestine.
1933 - 1945 - Jews flee Germany because of persecution under the Nazi government. Jews are turned away because of the British limit on immigrants.
1936 - The British propose a partition between Jewish and Arab areas. It is accepted by the Zionists, but rejected by the Arab parties (See Jewish Defense Organizations).
1939 - The British government issues the 'White Paper' setting an absolute limit of 75,000 on future Jewish immigration to Palestine (See The White Paper).
1947 - On November 29, the United Nations approves partition of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. It is accepted by the Jews, but rejected by the Arabs (See [1][1].
1947 - November 30, guerrilla war starts between Jewish forces, centered around the Haganah and Palestinian Arab forces.
