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| 1950 |
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| Passage of the LAW OF RETURN, which guaranteed unimpeded entry and citizenship to all Jews who wished to immigrate to Israel. | 1 |
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| 1952, Nov. 9 |
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| Death of CHAIM WEIZMANN, one of the founding fathers of the Zionist movement in Palestine and the first president of Israel. | 2 |
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| 1953, Sept |
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| Passage of the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction Law, which placed all matters pertaining to marriage and divorce under the jurisdiction of rabbinical courts. All Jews, regardless of personal beliefs, were subject to the new law. | 3 |
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| 1954 |
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| Appointment of Moshe Sharrett of Mapai as prime minister. He lost his position to Ben-Gurion the following year. | 4 |
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| 1956 |
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| Suez War (See 1956, Oct. 29). | 5 |
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| 1959 |
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| Riots broke out among Moroccan Jews in Haifa, protesting chronic unemployment and economic neglect. This episode typified the divisions among Jews within Israeli society. Jews of European descent (Ashkenazim) tended to be wealthier and better educated than “Oriental” Jews of Middle Eastern extraction (Sephardim). The latter, on the whole, had lower status and less influence within the wider society. | 6 |
| Creation of the National Land Authority, which received all the land formerly held by the Jewish National Fund. The new organization, which was operated by the state, managed 92 percent of Israel's land. | 7 |
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| 1961, April 11 |
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| The trial of Nazi war criminal ADOLF EICHMANN opened in Jerusalem after his abduction in Argentina. He was convicted (Dec. 15) of crimes against Jews during World War II and later executed (May 21, 1962). | 8 |
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| 1963 |
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| Appointment of Levi Eshkol of Mapai as prime minister. | 9 |
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| 1964 |
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| Formation of GAHAL, a conservative alliance built around Herut and the Liberal Party. It quickly emerged as the principal opposition party. In 1973, it became known as LIKUD. | 10 |
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| 1966 |
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| S. Y. Agnon received the Nobel Prize for literature. He was the first writer of fiction in Hebrew to win the award. | 11 |
| End of West German war reparations, which had provided $125 million per year to the economy. | 12 |
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| 1967 |
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| Six-Day War (See 1967, June 5). | 13 |
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| June 28 |
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| Formal ANNEXATION OF EAST JERUSALEM, which was predominantly Arab. | 14 |
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