50 Most Important Events in Jewish History

In my Opinion:

1. Abraham develops belief in one God.
2. Hebrews receive the Torah and the Ten Commandments.
3. The Hebrews make their Exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
4. The conquest of Canaan by Joshua.
5. The birth of Christianity.
6. The Holocaust.
7. Division of the Holy Land after Solomon into Israel and Judea.
8. Destruction of the Second Temple and the beginning of the Diaspora Period.
9. Completion of the writings of the Mishna and Talmud.
10. The Dreyfuss Case and the Rise of the Modern Zionist Movement.
11. Fall of the Israelite Kingdom to the Assyrians.
12. Destruction of the First Temple and Exile in Babylon.
13. David captures Jerusalem from the Jebusites.
14. The State of Israel is born in 1948.
15. The mass conversion of the Khazars to Judaism.
16. Jews are forced into money lending by the Christian authorities.
17. The Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and later Portugal.
18. Moses Maimonides writes the Guide to the Perplexed a leading work in modern Jewish thought.
19. Martin Luther's anti-Semitic statements ensure that 'Jew hating' continued in the Protestant World as it had in the Catholic sphere of influence.
20. Jews win religious and political freedom in Western Europe in the late 19th century.
21. The rise of Islam as a religion.
22. Solomon builds the First temple.
23. Cyrus the Great allows the Jews to return from exile in Babylon.
24. Growth of liberalism and nationalism in 19th century Europe.
25. Jews are expelled from England and France in the late 13th and early14th centuries.
26.The Hellenistic influence on Judaism in the post Alexander the Great period.
27. The Pogroms in Eastern Europe especially those of the 19th century.
28. The Growth of the Assimilation Movement in 18th and 19th century Europe.
29. Esther and Mordechai prevent the destruction of the Jews in Persia by Haman.
30. The Syrian-Greeks are driven from the Holy Land by the Macabees.
31. Formation of the Lovers of Zion Movement in Eastern Europe.
32. The US opens its doors to immigration. Growth of the American Jewish community.
33. The growth of Marxism/Communism and its role as a 'liberating' force for Jews.
34. Birth of the Reform Movement in Germany.
35. Britain issues the Balfour Declaration.
36. The discovery of oil in the Middle East and its role in the politics of the Middle East.
37. Jews are forced to settle on the Pale in Russia.
38. Oliver Cromwell allows the Jews to return to Britain.
39. Israel wins the Six Day War capturing East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Sinai Peninsula. Western Wall falls under Jewish Control.
40. Growth of Cultural Zionism.
41. Development of the Kibbutz/Moshav system of settlements in Palestine in the early 20th century.
42. The Russian Revolution and the later Stalinist Era.
43. The rebellion of Bar-Kochba against the Romans.
44. Saul becomes the first Hebrew King.
45. The Growth of Conservative Judaism.
46. State of Israel survives the Yom Kippur war.
47. Baal Shem Tov forms the Hassidic Movement.
48. The Camp David Agreement and the Peace Settlement with Egypt.
49. Israel and the PLO enter into negotiations in the early 1990's to resolve Mid East conflict.
50. The First and Second Palestinian Intifadahs.