History - Timeline of Jewish History - 1700-1917

Israel Baal Shem Tov (founder of Jewish Hasidism): 1700-1760

Jewish population in America numbers approximately 250: 1700

Jonathan Edwards (American Christian preacher): 1703-1758

John and Charles Wesley (Christian): 1703-1791 and 1707-1788

First public Jewish synagogue in Berlin: 1712

Jews build first North American synagogue in Lower Manhattan, Shearith Israel: 1730

England grants naturalization rights to Jews in the colonies: 1740

Wahhabi "fundamentalist" movement arises in Islam: ca. 1750

Parliament extends naturalization rights to Jews resident in England: 1753

First English prayer book for High Holidays is published in New York: 1761

The Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, dedicate a Sephardic synagogue, designed by leading Rhode Island architect Peter Harrison: 1763

"Father of Reform [Judaism]," Israel Jacobson: 1768-1828

Pius VI issues Editto sopra gli ebrei, "Edict over the Hebrew," suppressing the Jewish religion: 1775

Frances Salomon elected to South Carolina Provisional Congress; the first Jew to hold elected office in America: 1775

United States Declaration of Independence: 1776

America merchant and philanthropis Judah Touro, funded first New Orleans synagogue: 1775-1854

Moses Mendelssohn (Jewish "enlightenment" scholar): 1729-1786

Although usually considered more liberal than other states, Rhode Island refuses to grant Jews Aaron Lopez and Isaac Eliezer citizenship stating "no person who is not of the Christian religion can be admitted free to this colony." 1762

Portugal holds the last public Auto de Fe "Act of Faith," a ceremony where the Inquisition announces its punishments, usually a death sentence of burning at the stake: 1765

Napoleon (France): 1769-1821

American Revolution; religious freedom guaranteed: 1775-1781

Joseph II of Austria recinds the 513-year old law requiring Jews to wear distinctive badges: 1781

Haym Solomon, a Polish Jew who arrived in New York in 1772, helps raise funds to finance the American cause in the Revolutionary War: 1781.

American philanthropist Rebecca Gratz: 1781-1869

The Sultan of Morocco expells the Jews for the third time in recent years after they failed to pay an exorbitant ransom: 1783

Zionist author, journalist and and diplomat, Mordechai Manuel Noah, 1785-1851

Ratification of the U.S. Constitution means Jews may hold any federal office: 1788

French Revolution: 1789

Leading Jewish philanthropist, Sir Moses Montefiore, createed numerous agricultural settlements in Eretz Israel: 1784-1885

Gershom Mendes Seixas, minister of New York's Jewish congregation, is invited to Washington's inaugural: 1789

Jews of Newport, Rhode Island welcome President George Washington. George Washington writes letter to Jewish community proclaiming religious liberty. 1790

French Jews granted full citizenship for the first time since the Roman Empire: September 27, 1791

Tsarist Russia confines Jews to Pale of Settlement, between the Black and Baltic Seas: 1791

First American Ashkenazi synagogue, Rodeph Shalom, is established in Philadelphia: 1795

The Netherlands grants citizenship to Jews: 1796

Napoleon, battle of the Pyramids in Islamic Egypt: 1798

Napoleon's army moves from Egypt, capturing Haifa and gets as far north as Akko which is successfully defended by the British: 1799

Muslim Wahhabis capture Mecca & Medina, raid Karbala: 1801-1804

The first American Jewish orphan care society established in Charleston, South Carolina: 1801.

English Statesman Benjamin Disraeli: 1804- 1881

Polonies Talmud Torah, the first Jewish school on record in the United States established in New York: 1808

"Brains of the Confederacy," Judah P. Benjamin: 1811-1884

Prussia's Edict of Emancipation grants citizenship to Jews: March 11, 1812

Moses Hess, author, socialist and Zionist: 1812-1875

President Madison appoints Mordechai Noah as consul to Tunis and then rescinds the appointment when the Tunisians object to dealing with a Jew: 1813

King Ferdinand VII of Portugal reestablishes the Inquisition six years after it was abolished by Joseph Boneparte: 1814

Denmark grants citizenship to Jews: March 29, 1814

Although born a Jew, he converted to Protestantism and later became the father of Communism, Karl Marx: 1818-1883

Rise of the Jewish Reform movement in Europe (Abraham Geiger): mid-19th century

Rebecca Gratz establishes the first independent Jewish women's charitable society in Philadelphia: 1819

Head of the American Reform movement and founder of Hebrew Union College and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Isaac Mayer Wise: 1819-1900

A royal decree officially abolished the Spanish Inquisition: 1820 (It really ended in 1834.)

Well-known physician and early Zionist, Leon Pinsker: 1821-1891

The Monroe Doctrine closes the American continent to foreign colonization: 1823

The first American Jewish periodical, The Jew, published in New York: 1823.

Society of Reformed Israelites is established in Charleston: 1824

Mordechai Emmanual Lassalle led a failed movement to colonize New York's Grand Island for Jewish refugees: 1825

In the last known Auto Da Fe, in Valencia, Spain, a poor school master was executed for adhering to Judaism: 1826

Reinterpretation of Russia's Conscription Law mandates 31 years of military service for Jews, beginning at age 12: 1827

French occupation of Muslim Algiers: 1830

German Jews begin to immigrate to America in substantial numbers: 1830.

Greece grants citizenship to Jews: November 30, 1830

Jewish Impressionist painter, whose works focused on the streets of Paris and landscapes, Camille Pissarro: 1830-1903

Louis Philippe of France grants state support to synagogues: 1831

Belgium grants citizenship to Jews: 1831

Although Jews had been living in Jamaica since 1655, they are finally given the right to vote: 1831

Banker and philanthropist, who donated millions of dollars to Jewish organizations and attempted to resettle Eastern European and Russian Jews by estabishing the Jewish Colonial Association (JCA), Baron De Hirsch: 1831-1896

Canada grants Jews political rights:1832

The first book by an American Jewish woman, Penina Moise's Fancy's Sketch Book, published in South Carolina: 1833

An earthquake in Tzfat and Tiberias kills four thousand people and damages monuments and archeological sites: 1837

First Passover Haggadah printed in America: 1837.

Rebecca Gratz establishes Hebrew Sunday School in Philadelphia: 1838

Jews are accused of murdering a Franciscan friar in the Damascus blood libel: 1840

First organized movement by American Jewry to protest false accusations of blood libel in Damascus, Syria: 1840

The first Hebrew printing press in India is established: 1840

The use of the word "Jew" as a verb comes into popular parlance in North America. "To Jew" means to strike a bargain or employ questionable business practices, according to this prejudicial usage: 1840's

David Levy Yulee of Florida elected to the United States Senate, the first Jew in Congress: 1841.

B'nai B'rith is organized, the first secular Jewish organization in the United States: 1843

Lewis Charles Levin was the first Jew elected to the U.S. House of Representatives: 1844

Isaac Leeser publishes his translation of the Pentateuch from the Hebrew into English: 1845

Zionist leader Baron Edmond James de Rothschild: 1845-1934

David Levy Yulee of Florida is the first Jew elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served until 1861. Yulee resigned at the beginning of the Civil War to become a member of the Confederate Congress: 1845

London elects its first Jewish member of Parliament, Baron Lionel Nathan Rothschild. However, he cannot be seated as a member of Parliament because he will not swear the oath of office, which affirms Christianity as the true faith: 1847

Author, scholar and leader of the American Conservative movement, Solomon Schechter: 1847-1915

In every part of Germany, excluding Bavaria, Jews had been granted granted civil rights, allowing Gabriel Riesser, a Jewish advocate, to be elected vice-president of the Frankfurt Vor Parliament and to become a member of the National Assembly. The civil rights, however, existed on paper only and were not enforced: 1848

American poet whose "New Colossus" was inscribed on the Statue of Liberty: Emma Lazerus: 1849-1887

Mount Sinai, the first Jewish Hospital in the United States is founded by a group of mostly German Jewish immigrants: 1852

The Ghetto of Prague is officially abolished: 1852

Reign of Napoleon III of France: 1852-1870

Isaac Leeser publishes his translation of the Bible into English, the first complete Anglo-Jewish translation of the Pentateuch: 1853

First acknowledged non-Muslim visitor permitted to enter Temple Mount since 1187 CE: 1855

Sabato Morais, rabbi of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, denounces the evils of American slavery from his pulpit: 1856.

Edgar Mortara, an Italian Jewish child, is abducted by Papal Guards and placed in a monastery: 1858

"Yiddish Mark Twain," famed novelist, Shalom Alechem Rabinowitz: 1859-1916

Kaiser William II of Germany: 1859-1941 (Reign 1888-1918)

First neighborhood, Mishkenot Sha'ananim, built outside Jerusalem's walls: 1860

Frenchman Adolohe Cremieux launches the Alliance Israelite Universelle to defend Jewish rights and establish worldwide Jewish educational facilities: 1860

Father of Zionism, Theodore Herzl: 1860-1904

Major modern Jewish composer of nine symphonies, Gustav Mahler: 1860-1911

Henrietta Szold, founder of Hadassah, the Amerian Woman's Zionist Organization: 1860-1945

Morris Raphall is the first rabbi to offer prayers at the opening session of Congress: 1860

Norway allows Jews to enter the country: 1851

Judah Benjamin becomes attorney general of the Confederacy, the first Jew to hold a cabinet-level office in any American government: 1861

1,200 Jews fought for the Confederacy and 6,000 for the Union, including nine generals and 21 colonels in the American Civil War: 1861-1865

Essayist and publicist who headed the Jewish and Zionist Organization during the 1930s, was editor of He-Tsefriah and published a history of Zionism, Nahum Sokolow: 1861-1936

Moses Hess writes Rome and Jerusalem: 1862

General Ulysses S. Grant expels Jewish civilians issues General Order No. 11 expelling the Jews "as a class" from the area under the jurisdiction of the Union army in his military department: 1862

Jacob Frankel is appointed first Jewish chaplain in the United States Army: 1862

Judah P. Benjamin is appointed Secretary of State of the Confederacy: 1862

Leon Pinsker writes Autoemancipation and argues for creation of a Jewish state: 1864.

Jews become a majority in Jerusalem: 1866

Switzerland, a hotbed of anti-Jewish edicts grants Jews equal rights only after threats by the United States, France and Britain: 1866

First rabbinical school in America, Maimonides College, is founded in Philadelphia: 1867

The original Ku Klux Klan is organized to maintain "white supremacy": 1867

Hungary passes legislation emancipating the Jews: 1867

German journalist Wilhelm Marr publishes a popular book, The Victory of Judaism over Germanism. He coins the word "antisemitism" so that Judenhass, or Jew-hatred, can be discussed in polite society: 1867

Benjamin Disraeli becomes prime minister of Great Britain — and the first prime minister of Jewish descent in Europe: 1868

Suez Canal opens: 1869

Italy grants emancipation to Jews: 1869

Sweden grants citizenship to Jews: 1870

Ghettos abolished in Italy: 1870

The Edict of Pope Nicholas III which required compulsory attendance of Jews at conversion sermons since 1278 is abolished: 1870

First Yiddish and Hebrew newspaper in America is published: 1871

The the first American kosher cookbook, Jewish Cookery Book, by Esther Jacobs Levy is published: 1871

Great Britain grants full emancipation to Jews: 1871

A new German constitution gives German Jews full legal equality: January 12, 1871

Reform Judaism in U.S. establishes Union of American Hebrew Congregations: 1873

Poet laureate of the Jewish national movement, authored "In City of Slaughter," "El Ha Tsippor-To the Bird" and "Metai Midbar-Dead of the Desert, Hayim Nahman Bialik: 1873-1934

Leading theologian of the Reform movement, refused to escape Nazi Germany and spent five years in Terezin (Theresienstadt) concentration camp, Leo Baeck: 1873-1956

Jews in Switzerland receive full rights of citizenship under the new constitution: 1874

Eric Weiss, better known as Harry Houdini, the master escape artist, was born into an orthodox home: 1874-1926

Young Men's Hebrew Associations in New York and Philadelphia become prototypes for the more than 120 YMHAs established throughout the US in the next 15 years. In the 20th century, many of these evolve into Jewish Community Centers.

Statesman and scientist Chaim Weizmann: 1874-1952

Isaac Mayer Wise founds Hebrew Union College, the rabbinical seminary of the Reform movement, in Cincinnati: 1875

New Hampshire becomes the last state to offer Jews political equality: 1877

Petah Tikvah (Gate of Hope) founded as agricultural colony by orthodox Jews. Although it was abandoned in 1881 after Arab attacks, it was reestablished in 1883 after the First Aliyah: 1878

The antisemitic German Christian Social Party is founded by Adolf Stoecker, a court chaplain. The party demands that Jews convert to Christianity: 1878

Zionist, physicist, Nobel Prize winner and discoverer of the special and general theory of relativity Albert Einstein: 1879-1955

Zionist leader Joseph Trumpeldor: 1880-1920

Zionist leader, founder of the New Zionist Organization, Haganah, Jewish Legion, Irgun, Betar, Revisionist Party,Vladimir Jabotinsky: 1880-1939

Ottoman government announces permission for foreign (non-Ottoman) Jews to settle throughout Ottoman Empire: 1881.

Start of mass migrations of eastern European Jews: 1881

French occupation of Muslim Tunisia: 1881

Samuel Gompers founds the Federation of Unions, the forerunner of the American Federation of Labor: 1881

May Laws restricting the movements and conduct of Jews are enacted in Russia: 1881

The word "pogrom" enters the English language, as Russian mobs begin a series of violent attacks against Jews and their property: 1881

British occupation of Muslim Egypt: 1882

First halutz (pioneering) movement, Bilu, founded in Kharkov Russia: 1882.

Ottoman government adopts policy to allow Jewish pilgrims and business-people to visit Palestine, but not settle: 1882.

Hibbat Tzion societies founded: 1882

Czar Alexander III issues the May Laws banishing Jews from rural areas in an effort to " cause one-third of the Jews to emigrate, one-third to accept baptism and one-third to starve." 1882

Leo Pinsker published "Autoemanicipation" suggesting a Jewish homeland: 1882

First Aliyah (large-scale immigration), mainly from Russia: 1882-1903

First Conference of Hovevei Zion Movement: 1884

Ottoman government closes Palestine to foreign (non-Ottoman) Jewish business, but not to Jewish pilgrims: 1884

Reform Jewish Pittsburgh Platform: 1885

Scientist who developed the theory on the nature of the atom, rescued from Nazi Germany, Neils Bohr: 1885-1962

Sir Nathaniel Meyer Rothschild becomes the first Jew in England's in the House of Lords. The Christian oath was amended so that non-Christians could also serve in the House of Lords: 1885

Philosopher, author, helped create the Free Jewish House of Study in Frankfurt, Franz Rosenweig: 1886-1929

Etz Chaim, the first yeshiva for Talmudic studies in the United States, established in New York: 1886.

Statesman David Ben-Gurion: 1886-1973

Jewish Theological Seminary opens in New York and, later, becomes the intellectual center of the Conservative movement: 1887

Famous artist Marc Chagall: 1887-1990

Jewish Publication Society of America is founded to publish English books of Jewish interest: 1888

European powers press Otooman government to allow foreign (non-Ottoman) Jews to settle in Palestine provided they do not do so en masse: 1888.

Hebrew novelist and Nobel prize winner, Samuel Joseph Agnon:1888-1970

The Educational Alliance founded on the Lower East Side to assist Eastern European immigrants: 1889.

Adolf Hitler is born in Braunau am Inn, Austria: April 20, 1889

Grand Duke Segai orders the expulsion of 14,00 Jewish families living in Moscow. Those who refuse to convert or become prostitutes are sent to the Pale of Settlement: 1891

Christian Zionist William E. Blackstone and 413 prominent Americans petition President Benjamin Harrison to support resettlement of Russian Jews in Palestine: 1891

Baron de Hirsh donates 2 million pounds and establishes the Jewish Colonial Association in order to resettle 3 million Russian Jews in agricultural areas in other countries:1891

Workmen's Circle established to promote Yiddishist and socialist ideas among the masses of Jewish laborers: 1892

American Jewish Historical Society established: 1892.

Ottoman government forbids sale of state land to foreign (non-Ottoman) Jews in Palestine: 1892.

National Council of Jewish Women founded in Chicago: 1893.

French general staff officer Alfred Dreyfus is sentenced to life on Devil's Island in the Dreyfus Affair: 1894

Sholem Aleichem begins writing the first episode of the life of Tevye the Dairyman: 1894

Last Russian Czar, commissioned what became the anti-Semitic "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," Nicholas II: 1894-1917

Artist known for his passionate and often disturbing use of color and form, Chaim Soutine (Smiliouchi): 1894-1943

Lillian Wald founds Henry Street Settlement: 1895

Theodor Herzl publishes Der Judenstaat, The Jewish State (Zionism): 1896

First Jewish Zionist congress convened by Theodor Herzl in Basle, Switzerland, Zionist Organization Founded: 1897

Yiddish Socialist Labor party (the Bund) is founded in Russia: 1897

Abraham Cahan founds leading Yiddish newspaper, Jewish Daily Forward in New York: 1897

The Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), later part of Yeshiva University, begins training Orthodox rabbis: 1897.

Eastern European immigrants organize a Union of Orthodox Congregations, whose viewpoint clashes with that of the Reform movement's Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC): 1898.

Perhaps the greatest composer of the 20th century, whose works include "Rhapsody in Blue," George Gershwin: 1898-1936

Fourth Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir: 1898-1978

Acting on behalf of Col. Dreyfus, Emile Zola publishes J'Accuse: 1898

A section of the Old City Wall is removed to facilitate the entrance of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and his entourage on his visit to Jerusalem: 1898.

The term "concentration camp" is coined by the British during the Boer War to denote holding areas for potentially threatening Afrikaners (descendents of Dutch who immigrated to South Africa in the mid-1800s): 1899-1902

Emile Zola wins a new trial for Alfred Dreyfus, and despite new charges, Dreyfus is aquitted and promoted to Major: 1899

Theodor Herzl establishes the Jewish Colonial Trust, the financial arm of the Zionist movement: 1899

American composer and conductor best known for "Appalachian Spring," "Billy the Kid" and "Rodeo," Aaron Copland: 1900-1990

Founding of the Modern Jewish Orthodox movement: early 20th century.

The Industrial Removal Office, organized by several Jewish organizations, relocate Jewish immigrants from the Lower East Side to communities across the United States: 1901.

The Fifth Zionist Congress decides to establish Keren Kayemet LeIsrael (KKL) - The Jewish National Fund: 1901.

Theodor Herzl publishes a romantic utopian novel, Altneuland, Old-New Land, a vision of the Jewish State: 1902

Russian Jews organize U.S.-based Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society to serve as counselors, interpreters, attorneys, etc.: 1902

Composer and partner of Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960), known for "Oklahoma!" and" South Pacific," Richard Rogers: 1902-1979

Solomon Schechter comes from England to America to head the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Conservative Judaism's rabbinical seminary: 1902

British Government proposes "Uganda Scheme," rejected by the Sixth Zionist Congress: 1903.

Kishinev massacre increases Jewish exodus from Russia: 1903

Oscar Straus is appointed Secretary of Commerce and Labor by President Roosevelt, the first Jew to serve in the U.S. Cabinet: 1903

500,000 Jews flee Russia, 90% go to the United States: 1903-1907

Second Aliyah, mainly from Russia and Poland, 1904-14

Gimnazia Herzilia, the first Hebrew high school, opens in Tel Aviv: 1905

Zionist Labor Party (Poale Zion) formed in Minsk in an effort to combine Zionism and Socialism: 1905

American Jewish Committee is founded to safeguard Jewish rights internationally: 1906

Sholem Aleichem comes to New York from Russia to write for the American Yiddish theater. The musical Fiddler on the Roof is based on his story Tevye's Daughters.

First Hebrew high school founded in Jaffa and Bezalel school founded in Jerusalem: 1906

Physicist Albert A. Michelson is first American Jew to win Nobel Prize: 1907

Adolf Hitler is rejected for study at the Vienna Academy of Art: 1907

Revolution by "young Turks" depose Sultan Abdul Hamid the Damned under Ottoman: 1908

Turkey grants Jews political rights: 1908

Hijaz Railway from Damascus to Medina: 1908

Julius Rosenwald, American merchant and philanthropist, converts Sears, Roebuck and Co. into the largest mail-order house in the world: 1909.

Second Yemenite Aliyah: 1908-1914

First kibbutz, Degania, founded: 1909

Founding of Tel Aviv as Hebrew speaking Jewish city: 1909

Hashomer, the first Jewish self-defense organization is founded to replace Arab guards protecting Jewish settlements: 1909

Russian neurologist Sikowsy testifies thet Jews use Christian blood for ritual purposes in the Beilis Trial (Russia): 1911-1913

Hall of Fame baseball player Hank Greenberg: 1911-1986

A tragic fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York's Lower East Side kills 146 women, mostly Jews: 1911

Palestinan journalist Najib Nasser publishes first book in Arabic on Zionism entitled, "Zionism: Its History, Objectives and Importance." Palestinean newspaper "Filatsin" begins addressing its readers as "Palestineans" and warns them about Zionism: 1911.

In Russia, Menahem Mendel Beilis, a Jew, is put on trial for the ritual murder of a Christian boy. After two years followed by a "show trial," Beilis is acquitted: 1911-1913

United States abrogates treaty of 1832 with Russia because of Russia's refusal to honor passports of Jewish Americans: 1912

Henrietta Szold founds Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization: 1912

Haifa's Technion is founded: 1912

Agudah (Agudat Israel) formed as the World Organization of Orthodox Jewry at Katowitz: 1912

12 of the 100 members of the Reichstag (German parliament) are Jewish: 1912

Trial of Leo Frank in Atlanta leads to the founding of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith: 1913

Solomon Schechter, president of the Jewish Theological Seminary, founds the United Synagogue of America (later the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism): 1913

First Arab Nationalist Congress meets in Paris: 1913

Commander of the Etzel, statesman and Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin: 1913-1993

Joint Distribution Committee of American Funds for the Relief of Jewish War Sufferers is established: 1914

World War I: 1914-1918

Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo prompting World War One: 1914

During First World War, Russian forces in retreat drive 600,000 Jews from their homes: 1914

American Jewish Relief Committee established to distribute funds to needy Jews; it later combined with other Jewish relief organizations to become the Joint Distribution Committee: 1914

The Ottoman empire enters the war on the side of Germany: 1914

Moses Alexander elected Governor of Idaho - the first Jew to win the governorship of an American state: 1915

MacMahon-Hussein correspondence: 1915

Zion Mule Corps established by Yosef Trumpeldor in British army: 1915

Avshalom Feinburg and Aaron Aaronsohn form NILI (Netzah Israel Lo Yeshaker), recruited to spy on the Turks for the British: 1915

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is created in the wake of the Leo Frank Affair: 1915

Moshe Dayan, Haganah fighter, Israeli minister of Defense: 1915-1981

Leo Frank, a southern American Jew falsely convicted of murdering a 14 year-old girl is hung by a lynch mob: 1915

Arthur Miller, American playwright whose works include, "Death of a Salesman," The Crucible" and "A View From the Bridge." 1915-

Sykes-Picot Agreement divides Middle East into spheres of British and French influence: 1916.

Start of Arab revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule: 1916

Louis Dembitz Brandeis is first Jew appointed to the Supreme Court: 1916

Germany accuses Jews of evading active service in WWI, despite 100,000 Jews serving, 12% higher than their population ratio: 1916

France and Britain divide up the Middle East in the Sykes-Picot Agreement: 1916

British capture Baghdad: 1917

Jewish Telegraphic Agency is founded: 1917

Four-hundred years of Ottoman rule ended by British conquest: 1917

The Balfour Declaration favors Jewish Palestinian State: 1917

As WWI comes closer to Tel-Aviv and Jaffa, the Turkish Governer of Jaffa orders all Jews to leave Tel-Aviv and Jaffa: 1917

Jews granted full rights in Russia: 1917

Russian Revolution breaks out, heavy fighting in the South and West, where over 3 million Jews live. Over 2000 pogroms took place, claiming the lives of up to 200,000 Jews in the next three years: 1917

The United States declared war on Germany. Appoximately 250,000 Jewish soldiers (20% of whom were volunteers) served in the U.S. Army, roughy 5.7% while Jews only made up 3.25% of the general American population: 1917

The Jewish Welfare Board is created and serves the social and religious requirements of Jewish soldiers; expands after the war: 1917

355,000 people chose representatives for the first American Jewish Congress:1917

Over 2,700 men volunteer for the new Jewish Legion of the British Army which fought in Transjordan, among other places: 1917

Vladamir Ilyich Lenin and Leon Trotsky ousted Kerensky and took over the Russian government: 1917

The United States declares war on Germany: April 6, 1917

Surrender of Ottoman forces in Jerusalem to Allied Forces under General Sir Edmund Allenby: 1917

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