History - Timeline of Jewish History - Modern Israel - 2000-2005

Year	Landmark Events
2000
	Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman named first Jewish vice presidential candidate of a major political party - becomes first Jew on a major party ticket.
January 3-10	Israeli and Syrian leaders convene in Shepardstown, WV to negotiate a peace deal. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara fail to make a deal.
5-Jan	Israel transfers to the PA 3% of land from Area C to Area B and 2% from Area B to PA-controlled Area A.
10-Jan	The Israel-Syria talks end after the U.S. proposes a draft agreement.
12-Jan	Israel and Jordan renew their bilateral trade agreement.
17-Jan	The U.S. announces freezing of the Israel-Syria talks due to fundamental differences.
19-Jan	Syria says it will not resume talks with Israel unless Israel pledges to withdraw to the June 5, 1967 lines.
25-Jan	Israel cancels plans to send experts to Washington, D.C. to discuss a working paper on Syria.
1-Feb	The Multilateral Steering Committee meets in Moscow.
14-Mar	Israel begins the deployment of the Arrow 2 missile system.
21-Mar	Israel and PA negotiatiors meet at Boiling Air Force Base near Washington, DC. Israel hands over 6.1% of Area B to Area A. The PA now controls 18.2% of the West Bank (Area A), and partially controls 21.8% (Area B).
March 21-26	Visit to Israel of Pope John Paul II.
26-Mar	President Clinton meets President Assad in Geneva; he later admits that the Israel-Syrian differences cannot be bridged.
11-Apr	Prime Minister Barak and President Clinton hold talks in the White House on FAPS, withdrawal from Lebanon and the Phalcon deal with China.
24-Apr	Israel is given temporary membership in the UN regional group Western European and Other Groups. Israel is allowed to take part in WEOG activities in New York, but no other UN office.
7-May	Prime Minister Barak and Arafat meet in Ramallah. Barak says that Israel will shortly cede three West Bank villages near Jerusalem to Palestinian control.
12-May	Israel and Jordan sign an agreement to proceed with plans for the construction of the Akaba-Eilat airport.
14-May	It is revealed that back channel talks between Israel and the PA took place in Stockholm. Israel was represented by Internal Security Minister Ben-Ami.
15-May	The cabinet, and later the Knesset, approve the transfer of Abu Dis, Izariyah and Sawarah al-Sharquiya to Area A.
21-May	Following attacks on Israeli civilians near Jericho, Israel suspends the Stockholm talks and postpones transfer of the three villages near Jerusalem to the PA.
	Election of Jorg Haider, leader of the ultra-right Freedom party, to Austria's parliament.
	Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. academic, is sued by Holocaust denier David Irving in England for libel. The case is ultimately dismissed.
May 23-June 1	Unilateral withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.
1-Jun	President Clinton and PM Barak meet in Lisbon. Clinton says FAPS is within reach.
	Birthright Israel is created by philanthropists Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt with the goal of sending thousands of young adults on a free trip to Israel.
	Federal judges approve $1.25 billion to settle Holocaust claims brought against Swiss banks.
10-Jun	Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad dies in Damascus. He was quickly suceeded by his son, Bashar Assad.
16-Jun	UN Secretary-General Annan certifies that Israel completed its withdrawal from Lebanon. This certification is endorsed on June 18 by the Security Council.
10-Jul	President Ezer Weizman resigns his office.
July 11-25	Camp David Summit.
12-Jul	Israel cancels the Phalcon deal with China.
25-Jul	The Camp David meeting ends in failure. President Clinton and PM Barak blame Arafat for the failure; Clinton says that Barak was much more flexible.
31-Jul	Moshe Katsav is elected Israel's eighth president.
5-Aug	UNIFIL completes its deployment along the Blue Line (border of Lebanon and Israel).
10-Sep	The PLO Central Committee votes to postpone plans to declare Palestinian statehood.
28-Sep	Visit of Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount.
29-Sep	Clashes erupt between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
1-Oct	Serious clashes in the West Bank and Gaza spread to a number of Israeli cities. 13 Israeli Arabs are killed.
4-Oct	Israeli and Palestinian negotiators agree to a limited cease-fire during talks in Paris between Prime Minister Ehud Barak, PA President Yasser Arafat and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The cease-fire only lasts a few hours before violence is renewed.
7-Oct	Destruction of Joseph's Tomb after Israeli forces withdraw.
7-Oct	Three Israeli soldiers are kidnapped by Hizbullah on the Israel-Lebanon line.
12-Oct	Lynching of Israeli reservists in Ramallah.
12-Oct	Israeli helicopters attack Palestinian targets in Gaza and Ramallah.
12-Oct	Destruction of the Shalom al Yisrael Synagogue in Jericho.
13-Oct	Oman closes its trade office in Tel Aviv. Morocco recalls its envoy from Israel.
October 16-17	Sharm El-Sheikh Summit attended by President Clinton, President Mubarak, King Abdullah, EU, and Israeli and Palestinian leaders who agree to cease-fire.
17-Oct	PM Barak and Arafat reach oral understanding on ending the uprising. President Clinton decided to appoint an international inquiry commission (letter headed by Senator Mitchell).
20-Oct	Cease-fire ends when new clashes erupt.
22-Oct	PM Barak suspends the peace process.
	In the wake of an Arab League summit decision, Tunisia demands Israel close its trade office in Tunis.
7-Nov	The U.S. names the Mitchell Commission members.
9-Nov	Qatar orders the Israel trade mission in Doha to close.
12-Nov	PM Barak meets with President Clinton in Washington, D.C.
21-Nov	Egypt recalls its ambassador from Israel.
9-Dec	PM Barak announces that he will resign on December 10 and call elections for the office of prime minister within two months. Former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, not a Knesset member, cannot run against him unless the Knesset dissolves itself, which it does not.
10-Dec	Prime Minister Ehud Barak resigns hoping to win a mandate in a new election for his peace policies.
11-Dec	Investigation into causes of Palestinian-Israeli violence allegedly sparked by Sharon visit to Temple Mount is initiated under the leadership of former U.S. Senator George Mitchell.
19-Dec	The Knesset decides not to dissolve itself, but to allow Netanyahu to run. He decides not to run.
22-Dec	President Clinton presents the Israeli and PA negotiating teams with a peace plan and demands acceptance by Barak and Arafat within five days.
25-Dec

Barak says he is prepared to accept the Clinton plan with no reservations as long as the PA does the same.
27-Dec

Arafat says he cannot accept the Clinton plan without additional clarifications.
28-Dec	President Clinton says he will not agree to further talks unless Arafat accepts his plan.

2001
6-Jan	CIA Director Tenet holds talks on security issues with Israeli and PA officials.
January 21-27

Peace talks are held at Egyptian town of Taba, but break up after Arafat gives a vitriolic speech to an international forum accusing Israel of being "fascist."
6-Feb	Election of Ariel Sharon as Prime Minister of Israel.
20-Mar	Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House.
21-May	The Mitchell Commission issues its report.
12-Jun	U.S. CIA Director George Tenet negotiates a cease-fire, but Palestinians break it within a few hours of its announcement.
26-Jun	Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House.
15-Jul	Israel insists on seven days of calm before it will resume peace talks with Palestinians, but violence continues to escalate.
23-Jul	Israel approves construction of a security fence to improve security and prevent terrorism.
9-Aug	One of the worst of a serious of suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks occurs when a Palestinian blows himself up at a downtown Jerusalem pizzeria, Sbarro, killing 15 and wounding more than 130.
August 31-September 8	The UN World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Durban, South Africa.
6-Sep	U.S. diplomats walk out of UN conference in Durban when organizers attempt to equate Zionism with racism.
11-Sep	Terrorists crash airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Thousands of Palestinians take to the streets to celebrate while most of the world mourns and expresses outrage.
18-Sep	Arafat declares a cease-fire under pressure from the United States and Israel withdraws forces it had moved into Palestinian-controlled territories.
17-Oct	Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi is assassinated by Palestinian terrorists from the PFLP. Israel responds by sending troops into six Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
10-Nov	President Bush addresses U.N. General Assembly and for the first time an American president formally lays out a vision of a Palestinian state living in peace beside Israel.
26-Nov	President Bush sends Anthony Zinni to try to mediate an Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire.
2-Dec	Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House.
10-Dec	President Bushh becomes the first American president to host a reception celebrating Chanukah in the White House residence.
12-Dec	Israeli cabinet declares Arafat "no longer relevant" after a series of horrific Palestinian terrorist attacks.
15-Dec	U.S. vetoes UN Security Council draft resolution that would have established an international monitoring force in Israel.
16-Dec	Again under pressure from the United States, Arafat issues a call for a cease-fire, but various Palestinian factions ignore him.
22-Dec	Israel confines Arafat to his Ramallah office until he arrests the killers of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi.

2002
3-Jan	Israel captures Karine-A, a ship laden with 50 tons of weapons from Iran bound for the Palestinian Authority.
7-Jan

Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House.
27-Jan	A suicide bomber kills one man and injures more than 100 other people in Jerusalem in the latest of a series of terrorist incidents. This one is distinct because it is the first case of a female suicide bomber.
18-Feb	Israel rejects Saudi peace plan.
14-Mar	Zinni returns for a third attempt to achieve a cease-fire. This follows a decision by Sharon to drop his demand for seven days of quiet before he will enter negotiations and a period of Israeli restraint in reaction to a number of terrorist attacks.
27-Mar	Twenty-eight people are killed and 134 injured when a suicide bomber blows himself up at a Passover seder in a Netanya hotel.
March 28-April 17	“Operation Defensive Shield.”
29-Mar	Sharon delcares Arafat an "enemy" of Israel and sends troops to root out the terror infrastructure in the Palestinian Authority. Israeli forces surround Arafat's office and keep him in “isolation.”
2-Apr	Terrorists take over St. Mary's Church grounds in Bethlehem and hold the priest and a number of nuns there against their will. The terrorists used the Church as a firing position, from which they shot at IDF soldiers in the area. That same day, Palestinian gunmen entered the Church of the Nativity.
6-May	Palestinian officials say deal is reached to expel six to nine Palestinian terrorists holed up in the Church of the Nativity to Italy, and transfer more than 30 others to a Gaza prison guarded by American and British jailers.
7-May	Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House.
9-May	After another plan falls through, a breakthrough in the Bethlehem siege is announced when Italy and Spain agree to take some of the terrorists, while Austria, Greece, Luxembourg and Ireland taking the rest.
10-May	Palestinians leave the Church of the Nativity, bringing an end to the standoff.
June	“Operation Determined Path” is a new military operation to root out terrorists in the territories following three major terrorist attacks. Israel begins to erect security fence to prevent terrorist infiltration into Israel and major settlements.
June	Nefesh b'Nefesh, a new organization founded to encourage North American aliya (immigration to Israel), launches first chartered flight of 400 North Americans making aliya at one time - a first in Israel's history. Nefesh b'Nefesh flight is also first time in history that Israel's Interior Ministry (Misrad HaPanim) processes olim (immigrants) on the flight to Israel. In 2003, Nefesh b'Nefesh brings approximately 1,000 new immigrants to Israel from North America.
10-Jun	Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House.
17-Jun	President Bush chooses to exercise waiver to avoid moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem as called for in the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act. He argues that it would interfere with the president’s authority to formulate foreign policy.
24-Jun	President Bush calls on the Palestinians to elect new leaders, eradicate terrorism and create institutional reforms, with the vision of a Palestinian state by 2005. In the speech, Bush also calls for Israel to withdraw to its September 2000 borders and to end its settlement activity as progress is made toward security.
Sept. 30	President Bush chooses to exercise waiver to avoid moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem as called for in the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act. He argues that it would interfere with the president’s authority to formulate foreign policy.
October	Drafts of the road map” for Israeli-Palestinian peace, crafted by the Quartet — the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia — are leaked to the media. The plan calls for a three-staged approach to peace, leading to an interim Palestinian state after elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the creation of a permanent state at the end of the road. Israelis argue that progress on the road map is based on a timeline, rather than measuring compliance with the plan.
16-Oct	President Bush and Ariel Sharon meet in Washington. Sharon agrees to release $400 million in Palestinian tax revenue that had been frozen, and Bush gives Sharon a draft version of the road map. The two leaders also work to coordinate the right to retaliate if attacked by Iraq.



2003
28-Jan	Elections for the 16th Knesset.
10-Mar	Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is appointed the new Palestinian prime minister.
19-Mar	U.S.-led war against Iraq commences.
30-Apr	The road map is officially delivered to Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas.
1-May	Allied military operations in Iraq end.
17-May	Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas hold first summit meeting.
23-May	After White House officials acknowledge Israel’s concerns about the road map in a statement, Ariel Sharon officially accepts it.
25-May	Israeli Cabinet approves road map.
3-Jun	President Bush meets with Arab leaders in Egypt. He says Israel “must deal with the settlements” and make sure there is a contiguous Palestinian state. Arab leaders endorse the road map and agree to crack down on terrorism and its sources of funding.
4-Jun	President Bush meets in Aqaba, Jordan, with Ariel Sharon, Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah. Abbas calls for an end to the Palestinian “armed intifada” and Sharon says that he understands the Palestinians’ need for “territorial continuity” in the West Bank. Bush names John Wolf as a new Middle East envoy, charged with monitoring implementation of the road map.
19-Jun	The first Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) conference on anti-Semitism takes place in Vienna.
29-Jul