EARLY TIMES Sites of prehistoric man were found in Israel all around, the earliest are half a million years before our time. With time we can see progress in human culture and technology.About ten thousand years ago the first villages were established as man started to cultivate plants and animals The Agricultural Revolution.

In the beginning of history, early Bronze Age, about 6000 years ago, the forming of organized societies and the first cities. Israel during the Bronze Age was populated by many cities, villages and nomads. The name of this county at that time was CANAAN. It was not one kingdom but divided among different peoples and many cities states with kings.EARLY TIMES The origin of the Jews was in Mesopotamia. Our fathers came to Canaan as nomads. After a few generations they moved to Egypt, where they became slaves. Four hundred years they lived in Egypt and became a nation of twelve tribes. Around the 13th century they moved from Egypt and captured most of Canaan.

THE FIRST TEMPLEThe first two centuries they had some leaders that were called Judges but without unity form. Towards the end of the 11th century the tribes were united under the first king Saul. King David, the second king was very powerful. He expanded his kingdom much beyond Canaan, captured Jerusalem and made it the capital of Israel . King Solomon, his son, built the First Temple in Jerusalem.

In the times of Rehoboam, son of king Solomon, there was a war among the tribes. Ten tribes withdrew from Rehoboam kingdom and formed the kingdom of Israel. King Rehoboam was left with his faithful tribe Judea. For about 150 years these two kingdoms lived side by side, sometimes in peace and sometimes at war.THE FIRST TEMPLE40000--10001500--3003063670-100800-40000-110012911920193019481917

THE FIRST TEMPLEIn the year 722b.c Israel fell to the Assyrians. The kingdom of Judea stayed independent while the ten tribes of Israel were lost till this day. All Jews today are descendants of Judea. In the year 586b.c the Babylonians ended more than 500 years of Judea's freedom, destroyed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and exiled the people to Babylon.

THE SECOND TEMPLESeventy years later the Persians captured Babylon, and the Jews were allowed to return to their homeland. Jerusalem was rebuilt and so was the second Holy Temple.In the year 330b.c came a new ruler to the Middle East, Alexander the Great. Judea became part of the Hellenistic Empire. The Greek forced their culture and religion throughout the empire and put their gods in the Jewish Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

THE SECOND TEMPLEThis annoyed the Jews, and in 167b.c a revolt broke out. The Hasmonean family led the revolt and freed Judea from the Greek.The Hasmonean kingdom lasted about a century. In 63b.c Pompeius , the Roman warlord, conquered Judea and ended the second time of Jewish independence.

THE SECOND TEMPLEDuring the Roman time there were different religious ideas among the Jews. One was led by Jesus that was crucified in Jerusalem. His followers organized his ideas and formed the new religion Christianity.

1300-

The Jews revolted against the Romans (66-73A.D). This brought a disaster to the Jewish people. Many were killed or became slaves. Jerusalem and the Holy Temple were destroyed, and most of the Jews dispersed in the world.THE SECOND TEMPLEThe Romans changed the name of the land from Judea to Palestine.

FOREIGN RULERSIn 636A.D the Arabs conquered Palestine bringing the newly formed religion the Islam. The Moslems built the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and ruled for more than 450 yearsThe Romans become Christians in the fourth century the Byzantine Empire. In 1099A.D the Crusaders conquered Palestine and formed the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem. From then on, this land became known for the Christians as the Holy Land.

In 1517 the Turks captured Palestine from the Mamluk. This land was now part of the Ottoman Empire for another four hundred years. Suleyman the Magnificent built the walls of Jerusalem.

FOREIGN RULERSIn 1291 the Crusaders were driven from this land by the Mamluks. The Mamluk Empire was governed from Egypt.

Jews were dreaming for two thousand years about the return to their home land. Jews pray, facing Jerusalem, every day all over the world. One of the prayers end by the wish: "Next year in Jerusalem". In the middle of the 19th century, as modernization support national movements, it also appealed to the Jews. The Jewish national movement is called Zionism (Zion is another name for Jerusalem and the land of Israel).

1300-FOREIGN RULERS

In 1881 started the First Immigration of Jews from Russia. The Jews bought vacant land and established agricultural villages. In the beginning of the 20th century, another wave of immigrants from Russia. This time the Jews emigrated not as families, but most of them came alone or in organized groups young students that devoted their lives to ideology. They brought the social and communist ideas that was the origin of agricultural settlement the Kibbutz and the Moshav.

FOREIGN RULERS

The growing economy and the need for workers caused also Arabic immigration to Palestine. These two communities were on the way of collision. Violence started many times, initiated by the Arabs.FOREIGN RULERSAt the end of World War I (1918), the British took control over Palestine. Jewish immigrations continued and the land was developed rapidly.

In 1947, after work of some committees since the mid thirties, the U.N. decided to divide Palestine between Jews and Arabs, and form two independent states. The Jews were happy and on the 15th of May 1948, the first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, declared Israel. The Arabs refused to accept the partition and started a war. Israel stood against seven Arab armies and won. Jordan and Egypt annexed part of Palestine.

THE STATE OF ISRAEL