Abraham• Abraham is known as the
father of the Jews• Around 1700 B.C. he was
born in Ur in Mesopotamia (Along the Euphrates in modern day Iraq).
• According to the Torah he made a covenant with God that he and the Hebrew people to worship only one God (Yahweh).
• He left Mesopotamia and settled in Canaan because he believed God promised the Hebrews that land.
First Temple
• Somewhere are 1000-900 BC King Saul built a temple and dedicated to the Jewish people.
• Later the Babylonians took control of the area and in 586 B.C. they destroyed the Jewish temple.
• Many Jews were forced to leave this area and this would become known as the 1st Diaspora.
• The Hebrews later gained control back around 167 B.C.
2nd Diaspora• When the Hebrews gained back control of the land
they rebuilt the temple. • The Romans would come in and take control over the
land. • Around 70 A.D. the Romans destroyed the 2nd temple. • Many Jews were forced to flee and wound up in
different parts of the world.• This became known as the 2nd Diaspora.• A small piece of the temple remained it would
continue to be a place of significance for the Jews even today.
Anti-Semitism• Many Jews had found
their way into Europe.• During the 1800’s Anti-
Semitism (hostility or prejudice against Jews) started to take hold throughout Europe.
• Because Germans seemed the most tolerant of the Jews many would settle in Germany in the 1800’s.
Zionism• During the 1800’s a
political movement began called Zionism.
• A man named Theodore Herzl called for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine (Zionism).
• Jews figured that having a homeland would give them a way to avoid persecution.
• Theodore Herzl
The Holocaust• After WWI Germany was
suffering economically.• A man named Adolf Hitler rose
to power and blamed the Jews for what was going wrong with Germany.
• Hitler began rounding up Jews throughout Europe and placing them in concentration camps.
• At the end of the war it was discovered that 12 million people were killed in these concentration camps and 6 million of them were Jews.
The Creation of Israel• During the Holocaust people starting settling in
Palestine to escape persecution. • Palestine is the modern day country of Israel• At the time Great Britain controlled Palestine and tried
to partition Palestine into 2 countries; one part of Jews and one for the Palestinian Muslims that lived there.
• The Muslims rejected the idea. • The British then handed over Palestine to the U.N to
oversee. • On May 15, 1948 Israel was declared a country and the
U.N. formally recognized their right to exist.