Timeline of Jewish History: Modern Israel & the Diaspora
(1950 - 1959)
Timeline of Jewish History: Timeline of Jewish History
Click on a Year: 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959
Other Periods: 1940's | 1960's | 1970's | 1980's | 1990's | 2000's | 2010's
Other Periods: 1940's | 1960's | 1970's | 1980's | 1990's | 2000's | 2010's
| As American Jews move to the suburbs, they build new synagogues. Joining a synagogue becomes the chief expression of Jewish identity. In 1930, a mere 20 percent of American Jewish families belong to a synagogue; by 1960, nearly 60 percent do. |
January 16 | Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg recognize Isael de jure |
January 23 | Knesset by 60-2 vote, establishes Jerusalem as Israel's capital |
April 4 | UN Trusteeship Council approves statute for the internationalization of Jerusalem. |
April 24 | Jordan annexes West Bank, including East Jerusalem |
April 28 | Britain recognizes Israel de jure |
| The Knesset moves from Tel Aviv to King George St. in Jerusalem. |
May 25 | U.S., Britain and France issue Tripartite Declaration on Middle East |
June 17 | Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen initial Collective Security Pact, calling on them to assist an Arab state under attack. |
July 5 | The Law of Return is enacted |
November 14 | First nationwide municipal elections after independence |
| The West Bank unites with Jordan. |
May 19 | Operation Ezra and Nehemiah brings Iraqi Jews to Israel |
| Fifty-fifty deal between Aramco and Saudi Arabia. |
| Trans-Arabian Pipeline completed from Eastern Province oil fields to Mediterranean coast. |
April 12 | Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Rememberence Day established on 27th of month of Nissan |
May 18 | Security Council calls on Israel to halt Huleh drainage project pending arrangements to be fixed by the Mixed Armistice Commission. Fighting erupts between Israel and Syria in demilitarized zone. |
July 20 | King Abdullah of Jordan is assassinated at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on suspicion of planning peace talks with Israel. |
July 30 | Elections held for the Second Knesset |
September 1 | Security Council calls on Egypt to end its blockade of Suez Canal to shipping to and from Israel. Egypt refuses to comply |
September 13 | Palestine Conciliation Commission opens another round of talks in Paris with Israeli and Arab delegations |
September 28 | Israel offers non-agression pacts to Arab states, calls for direct negotiations and offers compensation for Arab refugee's property |
| The Hula Valley reclamation program begins turning swamps into arable lands. |
| Egged bus transport cooperative is founded. |
October 7 | David Ben-Gurion presents his government to the Knesset |
November 21 | Palestine Conciliation Commission announces failure of the talks |
December 24 | Libya proclaims independence |
| Mossadegh nationalizes Anglo-Iranian in Iran (first postwar oil crisis) |
| Safaniya field, world's largest off shore oil field, discovered in Saudi Arabia. |
| Operation Coresh brings Iranian Jews to Israel. |
| The Israel Atomic Energy Commission is established. |
January 1 | Seven armed terrorists attacked and killed a 19-year-old girl in her home in Beit Yisrael in Jerusalem |
January 7 | Knesset summoned to approve broader negotiations with West Germany: Menachem Begin leads stormy demonstration against negotiations |
January 9 | Knesset supports negotations by 61-50 |
May 13 | The first graduating class of physicians is awarded degrees at Hebrew University. |
July 23 | Free Officers carry out Coup d'etat in Egypt; oust King Farouk |
July 28 | Egypt proclaimed Republic |
August 11 | Hussein proclaimed Crown Prince following illness of King Talal. Council of regents appointed |
August 12-13 | Yiddish writers and other Jewish cultural figures are executed in the Soviet Union on “Night of the Murdered Poets” on orders from Joseph Stalin in the basement of the Lubyanka prison in Moscow. |
August 18 | Ben-Gurion welcomes Egyptian revolution in Knesset |
September 10 | Israel and West Germany sign Reparations Agreement in Luxembourg |
November 9 | President Chaim Weizman dies |
December 8 | Yitzchak Ben-Tzvi sworn in as President, after Albert Einstein declines a request from Ben-Gurion to serve. |
| Israel participates in its first Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. |
| The Academy for Hebrew Language and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) are founded. |
| Egyptian republic proclaimed, Nasser takes over: 1953, 1954 |
| The Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Authority is established. |
February 12 | USSR breaks diplomatic relations with Israel |
| Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed for conspiring to deliver U.S. atomic bomb secrets to the U.S.S.R. |
May 13 | U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles visits Israel |
June 7 | A youngster was killed and three others were wounded in shooting attacks on residential areas in southern Jerusalem. |
June 9 | Terrorists killed a resident of Lod, after throwing hand grenades and spraying gunfire in all directions. On the same night, another group of terrorists attacked a house in Hadera. |
June 11 | Terrorists attacked a young couple in their home in Kfar Hess and shot them to death. |
July 20 | Relations with USSR restored |
August | Unit 101, an IDF special force unit, is founded and commanded by Ariel Sharon to combat ongoing terror attacks by Arab fedayeen. |
August 19 | Mossadegh falls, Shah returns in Iran. |
September 2 | Israel starts work on Jordan River project. Syria complains to Security Council |
October 15 | President Eisenhower appoints Ambassador Eric Johnston to help establish regional water development project based on Jordan River |
October 20-28 | U.S. halts economic aid to Israel until it halts work on the Jordan River project. Israel complies and aid resumed |
December 7 | Ben-Gurion resigns as Prime Minister and is replaced by Moshe Sharett as Prime Minister and Pinchas Lavon as Defense Minister |
| Yad Vashem Holocaust museum opens. |
| Stern College for Women, the first liberal arts women's college under Jewish auspices, opens in New York City. |
| The founding of the Conference of Major Jewish Organizations indicates a galvanization of Jewish lobby in the U.S. |
January 1 | “Katzner trial” opens in Jerusalem District Court. (Malkiel Greenwald was accused of libelling Dr. Rudolf Kastner regarding his alleged collaboration with Adolf Eichmann in Hungary, in 1944). |
January 22 | USSR vetoes Western draft resolutions at Security Council permitting Israel to resume work on River Jordan project. |
March 17 | Terrorists ambushed a bus traveling from Eilat to Tel Aviv at Maale Akrabim, opening fire at short range. The terrorists boarded the bus, and shot each passenger, one by one, murdering 11. |
March 20 | USSR vetoes Western draft resolution at Security Council calling on Egypt to comply with 1951 resolution on Suez Canal |
April 17 | Colonel Nasser becomes Prime Minister of Egypt |
Summer | Eleven Jews are arrested in Egypt on suspicion of planting bombs around Cairo. Two are hanged. Though Israel denies involvement, it is later learned Israeli Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon was behind the spy ring; Lavon is forced to resign over the operation, which becomes known as the “Lavon Affair.” |
September 28 | Egypt seizes Israeli ship “Bat Galim” at Port Said. |
October 6 | Israel offers at the UN non-aggression pact with Arab states |
| Soviet bloc begins first arms sales to Egypt and Syria. |
January 2 | Two hikers killed by terrorists in the Judean Desert |
February 17 | Lavon resigns as Defense Minister amidst controvery over espionage scandal involving Israeli agents who were executed in Egypt |
February 21 | Ben-Gurion returns to government as Defense Minister after Lavon's resignation. |
February 24 | Baghdad Pact signed between Turkey and Iraq. |
| Development town of Dimona is founded in the Negev by 36 immigrant families from Morocco and Tunisia. |
February 28 | Following intensified raids into Israel, IDF raids Egyptian military installations in Gaza |
March 24 | One young woman killed and 18 wounded when terrorists threw hand grenades and opened fire on a crowded wedding celebration in Patish |
April | Israel excluded from participation in Bandung Conference of Asian and African nations |
May | Bar Ilan University, with its emphasis on Jewish heritage studies, opens in Ramat Gan. |
June 22 | Dr. Israel Kastner, a Hungarian Jew, was found guilty by a district court of collaboration with the Nazis; the decision was eventually appealed and overturned for lack of evidence |
July 26 | Elections for the Third Knesset, Ben-Gurion again becomes Prime Minister |
July 27 | Bulgarian fighter pilots down an El Al civilian airline, killing 58 people |
September 27 | Egyptian-Czechoslovak arms deal announced |
October 11 | Arab League rejects Eric Johnston's Jordan River plan |
October 18 | Premier Sharett applies to U.S. for permission to purchase arms |
October 20 | Egypt and Syria sign mutual defence treaty |
November 2 | Ben-Gurion again becomes Israel's Prime Minister |
| Nasser objects to terms of Western offer to finance the building of the Aswan Dam. |
December 6 | Israel protests to Security Council, in note dated 22 November, continued Egyptian attacks from Gaza Strip |
December 26 | Cairo announces beginning of implementation of defence pacts with Syria and Saudi Arabia |
| Sudan & Tunisia gain independence, as well as Pakistan Republic. |
| Israel begins laying on oil pipeline from Eilat to Ashkelon. |
| Oil discovered in Algeria and Nigeria. |
January 18 | Nasser announces new constitution for Egypt and pledges to re-conquer Palestine |
January 25 | Ambassador Eban requests permission from Secretary Dulles to acquire arms in the U.S. |
March 12 | Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia announce plans to coordinate their defense |
April | UN Secretary General tours Middle East in an effort to reestablish armistice. Cease-fire achieved between Israel and Egypt on 19 April and with Jordan on 26 April |
April 7 | One young woman killed when terrorists threw 3 hand grenades into her house in Ashkelon. |
| Two killed when terrorists opened fire on a car at Kibbutz Givat Chaim. |
April 11 | Three children and one youth worker killed, and five injured, when terrorists opened fire on a synagogue full of children and teenagers in Shafrir (Kfar Chabad). |
April 29 | Egyptians killed 21-year-old Ro'i Rottenberg from Nahal Oz |
May 6 | Jordan and Egypt announce plans to unify their forces |
May 9 | Dulles tells NATO in Paris that the U.S. would not sell arms to Israel directly in order to avoid U.S.-USSR confrontation in the Middle East |
May 31 | Syria and Jordan sign military agreement |
May-October | France delivers arms to Israel under secret agreement with tacit U.S. approval |
June 24 | Nasser elected President of Egypt |
July 20 | U.S. refuses aid and credits for Egypt Aswan High Dam, Britain adopts similiar position |
July 26 | Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal. |
September 12 | Terrorists killed three Druze guards in Ein Ofarim. |
September 23 | Four archaeologists killed and 16 wounded when terrorists opened fire from a Jordanian position at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. |
September 24 | Terrorists killed a girl in the fields of the farming community of Aminadav, near Jerusalem. |
October 4 | Five Israeli workers killed in Sdom. |
October 8 | Egypt and USSR reject proposals for international supervision of Suez Canal |
October 9 | Two workers were killed in an orchard of the Neve Hadasah youth village. |
October 25 | Egypt, Syria and Jordan announce establishment of unified military command for “war of destruction against Israel.” |
October 29 | Sinai Campaign launched with Great Britain and France |
| Kfar Kassem massacre of 47 Arab civilians violating a curfew |
November 2 | General Assembly calls for cease-fire in Egypt, withdrawal of foreign troops, restoration of freedom of navigation |
| Tel Aviv University is opened. |
November 4-5 | End of Sinai Campaign. Gaza Strip and Sinai occupied. During the campaign, thousands of Jews are expelled from Egypt and come to Israel. |
November 5 | General Assembly establishes United Nations Emergency Force |
November 6 | Israel completes occupation of Sinai save for strip along Suez Canal |
November 7 | General Assembly calls on Britain, France and Israel to withdraw from Sinai and Suez Canal zone, President Eisenhower demands Israeli compliance. Premier Bulganin threatens Israel |
November 8 | Terrorists opened fire on a train, attacked cars and blew up wells, in the north and center of Israel. six Israelis were wounded |
December 21 | Last British and French troops leave Egypt |
December 24 | Beginning of Israeli forces withdrawal from Sinai |
| France helps Israel create nuclear research program in Dimona; a nuclear reactor is constructed. |
| National telephone dialing between Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa is introduced. |
January 5 | Eisenhower Doctrine unveiled “to deter Communist aggression in the Middle East area.” |
January 22 | Israel withdraws to mandatory border with Egypt, holds land strip to Sharm el-Sheikh and Gaza Strip |
February | U.S. pressure on Israel to withdraw from Gaza and Sharm el-Sheikh. General Assembly considers sanctions against Israel |
February 18 | Two civilians killed by terrorist landmines near Nir Yitzhak. |
February 28 | U.S.-Israel understanding on freedom of navigation and UN administration for Gaza Strip |
March 1 | Foreign Minister Meir announces to General Assembly Israel's readiness to withdraw from all Egyptian territories |
March 6 | Israel withdraws from Sinai and Gaza. UN forces (UNEF) along border |
March 8 | A shepherd from Kibbutz Beit Govrin was killed by terrorists in a field near the kibbutz |
March 10 | IDF withdraws to armistice lines |
March 11 | Egypt re-appoints military governor for Gaza |
March 15 | Egypt announces Israel not permitted to navigate through newly reopened Suez Canal |
April 14 | Eilat-Beersheba oil pipeline inaugurated |
April 16 | Two guards at Kibbutz Mesilot are killed by terrorists who infiltrated from Jordan. |
May 20 | A terrorist opened fire on a truck in the Arava region, killing a worker. |
May 29 | One killed and two wounded when their vehicle struck a landmine in Kibbutz Kisufim. |
| Ben-Gurion announces in Knesset Israel's acceptance of “Eisenhower's Doctrine.” |
June | Serious border clashes on Israel-Syria border |
| Arab boycott of all firms selling goods in Israel. |
| United States attains world's largest Jewish population. |
August 23 | Two guards of the Israeli Mekorot water company killed are killed in Kibbutz Beit Govrin. |
October 29 | Mentally deranged man throws a hand grenade into the Knesset. Five ministers are injured |
October 31 | Huleh swamp drainage project completed |
November | Israel completes Huleh reclamation project |
December 21 | A member of Kibbutz Gadot was killed in the kibbutz fields. |
| The first supermarket opens in Tel Aviv on Ben-Yehuda Street. |
| The Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University opens in Jerusalem. |
| Immigration from Eastern Europe starts to grow, primarily from Romania. |
January 15 | Supreme Court verdict in Kastner trial |
February 1 | United Arabic Republic established through merger of Egypt and Syria. |
February 11 | Terrorists killed a resident of Moshav Yanov near Kfar Yona. |
February 14 | Jordan and Iraq form Arab Federation |
March 8 | Yemen joins United Arab Republic |
March 20 | Syria fires at Israeli workers engaged in widening Jordan River bed |
| The Knesset passes the first Basic Law to established and define the electoral system. |
April 5 | Terrorists lying in ambush shot and killed two people in Tel Lachish. |
May 26 | Four Israeli police officers and a UN officer killed in a Jordanian attack on Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem. |
July 14 | Iraqi monarchy is overthrown in revolution, King killed. Civil war in Lebanon. Jordan and Lebanon appeal for U.S. military aid. |
July 15 | U.S. marines land in Beirut; British paratroopers land in Jordan |
August 2 | Arab Federation dissolved by Hussein |
August 4 | First International Bible Quiz held in Jerusalem |
October 25 | U.S. ends its military intervention in Lebanon |
November 7 | Syrian artillery shell Israeli settlements in Huleh Valley |
November 17 | Ambassador Eban again proclaims Israel's readiness to compensate Arab refugees even before peace settlement. |
| Syrian terrorists killed the wife of the British air attache in Israel, who was staying at the guesthouse of the Italian Convent on the Mt. of the Beatitudes. |
December 3 | A shepherd killed and 31 civilians wounded in an artillery attack on Kibbutz Gonen. |
| Heichal Shlomo - seat of the Chief Rabbinate - is inaugurated. |
| The Carmelit subway is inaugurated in Haifa. |
| The USSR officially declares it will not allow Soviet Jews to immigrate to Israel. |
January | Fatah is established by Yasser Arafat and associates. |
January 23 | A shepherd from Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan was killed. |
February 1 | Three civilians killed by a terrorist landmine at Moshav Zavdiel. |
February 26 | Egypt detains Liberian Ship Captain Manolis in Suez Canal with cargo from Israel to Ceylon and Malaya. |
March 13 | Egypt detains German ship Lialot in Suez Canal with Israeli cargo to Malaya and Phillipines. |
March 24 | Iraq withdraws from Baghdad Pact. Pact is re-named CENTO on August 18. |
April 15 | A guard was killed at Kibbutz Ramat Rahel. |
April 27 | Two hikers shot and killed at close range at Masada. |
May 21 | Egypt detains Danish ship Inge Toft, confiscates cargo destined from Israel to Hong Kong and Japan |
September 6 | Bedouin terrorists killed a paratroop reconnaissance officer near Nitzana. |
September 8 | Bedouins opened fire on an army bivouac in the Negev, killing an IDF officer, Captain Yair Peled. |
October 3 | A shepherd from Kibbutz Heftziba was killed near Kibbutz Yad Hana. |
October 5 | Egypt tells UN that Israel will be permitted to use Suez Canal after Palestine refugee problem is settled |
November 3 | Elections for the Fourth Knesset |
December 19 | Egypt detains Greek ship Astypalea in Suez Canal. Nasser disavows previous promises to UN Secretary General to allow passage of Israeli cargo on non-Israeli ships. |
| A series of riots with an ethnic-socio-economic basis takes places in a Haifa suburb, Wadi Salib. |
| The Navy's first submarine, the Tanin (crocodile), arrives in Haifa. |
| Habima is declared the national theater of Israel. |