This is a Timeline of modern Israeli history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Israel and its predecessor entities from 1881 onward, along with important events in Jewish history and the history of Zionism from that year on.
1800-1900 Year Date Event188113 MarchTsar Alexander II of Russia is assassinated, triggering multiple waves of Jewish pogroms after some blamed "agents of foreign influence", a term often directed at Jewish communities.1881-1903The First Aliyah describes the initial major wave of Jewish immigration to Palestine motivated by persecution and economic hardship. 1882 15 May The Russian emperor Alexander III issued the May Laws, severely restricting the rights of Jews in the Pale of Settlement, and intensifying Jewish emmigration.1894DecemberThe Dreyfus Affair was a political scandal in France that involved the wrongful conviction of Jewish army officer, Alfred Dreyfus. It is one of the most notable examples of antisemitism and miscarriage of justice. 1896 February Theodor Herzl published Der Judenstaat, arguing for the establishment of an independent Jewish state.1897 29 August The First Zionist Congress constituted 218 delegates of Zionist organizations, most from Eastern Europe, convened in Basel. It was instrumental in the formation of the Zionist platform, founding of the World Zionist Organization, and helped unify the Zionist movement.
1900-2000