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Biography of Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl was a journalist, born in 1860 in Budapest, who was not a religious Jew, but became known as the father of modern-day Zionism. While working as a journalist, Herzl observed the Dreyfus Affair in France, which showed him that Anti-Semitism could occur anywhere in the world, even in a supposed haven like France. Herzl wrote about his new idea: a Jewish state to prevent incidents of Anti-Semitism. In 1897, Herzl was the forefront of the First Zionist Congress, in Basel, Switzerland, and although he never lived to see his dream fulfilled, his actions were the catalyst for the founding of the State of Israel in 1948.
Dreyfus Trial
The Dreyfus Trial, commonly known as the Dreyfus Affair, was the trial of a Jewish French army captain, Captain Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was falsely accused of being a German spy, and passing information to the Germans. Through the streets of Paris, Theodor Herzl was horrified to see people calling for death to the Jews, and decided that this was cause for a Jewish homeland. While it was certainly a low point in Jewish history, if it hadn't happened, Herzl wouldn't have had the inspiration to fight for a Jewish state.
https://israelforever.org/programs/myherzl/who_was_theodor_herzl/

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Biography of David Ben-Gurion
Born in 1886 as David Green in Poland, Ben-Gurion was a Zionist from the start, and even got himself into trouble with Ottoman authorities for his views. Starting during World War II, Ben-Gurion became more politically active in favor of a Jewish state, and his continued activism led to him being selected as the first prime minister of the Israel. He kept his position until 1963, but remained active within political parties until his death in 1973.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/david-ben-gurion

Partition Plan
The Partition Plan was a resolution passed by the United Nations in November 1947 as an effort to create a ceasefire between the Arabs and the Zionists. It resulted in the land being split, nearly evenly, with land being given to both groups. Although there were a few communities from each population that ended up living on the other side of the partition, the groups mostly were isolated from each other. Additionally, Jerusalem and Bethlehem were declared neutral zones, belonging to neither side. Although this provided a temporary solution, the Zionists were looking to push the borders of their new territory.
https://lsa.umich.edu/content/dam/cmenas-assets/cmenas-documents/unit-of-israel-palestine/Section1_UnitedNationsPartitionPlan.pdf

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Law of Return
In July of 1950, the Israeli Knesset passed a law stating that any Jew may come to Israel with the intent of living their, with the only exception being someone who the Minister of Immigration is concerned will be a danger to the security of the state. The law would also apply to anyone who had been in the state prior to its passing, as well as anyone who came to Israel to visit and decided to stay.
https://www.knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/return.htm

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PLO
The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) is a terrorist organization that claims to speak for all who lived in Palestine prior to its establishment as the state of Israel. Prior to its official formation, there were several activist (read: radical) groups throughout Israel that were each independent of each other. Soon after Israel defeated several Arab states in the Six Day War, Yasser Arafat became the chairman of the PLO, his role being organization attacks against Israel. Although the PLO eventually made peace with Israel, their leadership continues to be corrupt, and an enemy of the state of Israel.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Palestine-Liberation-Organization

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Biography of Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres was an Israeli politician, and one of the first Israelis to win a Nobel Peace Prize (he shared it with Yitzhak Rabin). Peres was born in 1923 in Russia, but due to rising antisemitism his family emigrated to Tel Aviv, then a part of British Palestine, in 1934. Peres was involved in local militias prior to the founding of the state, but also became known for his writing and debating skills. He traveled around the world, promoting the new state of Israel after it was founded, and eventually rose up to become the general of the Ministry of Defense. He continued to climb his way up through the Israeli government, and became the Prime Minister after Yitzhak Rabin resigned. Peres, following his stint as Prime Minister,  negotiated for peace with Arab countries eventually earning a Nobel Peace Prize for his work. After Rabin's assassination in 1995, Peres became Rabin's successor once again, and was named Prime Minister once again. When Peres died in 2016, he was the last of the founding members of the state of Israel.

"Optimists and Pessimists die the exact same deaths, but live very different lives."
- Shimon Peres
https://achievement.org/achiever/shimon-peres/

Six Day War
The Six Day War was the war that was fought between Israel and several Arab countries for control of over land. Leading up to the war, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria were gathering forces to launch attacks on Israel. In response, Israel attacked Egypt's air force, then launched a ground attack that lasted three days and resulted in the capture of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, and the East Bank of the Suez Canal. On the eastern front, they captured the Old City of Jerusalem and much of the West Bank from Jordan, and by the end of the war had taken the Golan Heights from Syria.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War

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Biography of Golda Meir
Golda Mabovitch was born in 1898, in Kiev, Ukraine, to a family that had managed to remain Jewish and somewhat through many years in the diaspora. In 1906, her family moved to America, where Golda attended school through high school. During a dispute with her parents, Golda went to live with her sister in Denver, where she met a group of Zionists and became involved with them, while also meeting her future husband. In 1917, she married Morris Myerson and emigrated to Palestine, and they lived on a Kibbutz, where she became the Kibbutz's representative in the labor federation. Golda, who changed her last name to Meir, soon became involved in Histadrut, a women's organization, and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming involved in the World Zionist Organization. She negotiated with politicians, lobbying for their support, then worked in the Israeli government for some time, as a the Minister of Labor, and finally on as the Foreign Minister. After Prime Minister Levi Eshkol died of a heart attack in 1969, Meir became the Prime Minister. In October 1973, Arab countries launched a surprise invasion on Yom Kippur, an invasion that Meir was unprepared for, despite warnings that the Arabs might attack. Overall, the country blamed her for their losses in the war, and she resigned in April 1974. Although her political reputation was somewhat marred because of mistakes late in her career, she was, regardless, a trailblazer for women in Middle Eastern politics, and the only woman to ever hold the top position of leadership in the Middle Eastern. Additionally, she was tough, strategic, and a natural leader, and was instrumental in the creation of the State of Israel.
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/meir-golda

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Biography of Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin was an Israeli soldier and politician who is best known for his instrumental part in the Oslo Accords. Although Rabin fought for the British in WWII, he was quick to fight against them for the state of Israel. He spent 20 years in the Israeli military, and retired as the Chief of Staff. After a brief stint as the US ambassador, Rabin became involved in the Labor Party, and became Prime Minister in 1974. Rabin wanted to strengthen the IDF in his time as Prime Minister, and was the mastermind behind the Entebbe Raid. Following the next election, he was a part of the Israeli Knesset, and in 1992 he once again became Prime Minister, while simultaneously being the Minister of Defense, Labor, Religious Affairs, and Social Affairs. After he made peace with the PLO with the Oslo Accords, Rabin received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, which he shared with Defense Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian Terrorist mastermind Yasser Arafat. There were Israelis, however, who were upset by the Oslo Accords, and Rabin was assassinated in 1995. Although his political career was cut short, Rabin was extremely influential, and managed to do what none had done before him - make peace with the Palestinians.
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1994/rabin/facts/

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Second Lebanon War
The Second Lebanon War occurred in July 2006, and was a conflict between Israel and Lebanon-based terrorist organization Hezbollah. When Israel commenced air strikes as a response to an attack on IDF soldiers on the Northern border, Hezbollah launched missiles into Israel, killing over 150, forcing over 400,000 to flee from their homes, and costing Israel $1.5 billion in damages. While Israel was targeting specific areas of activity by Hezbollah operatives, Hezbollah was indiscriminately firing rockets into civilian areas. In Lebanon, over 800,000 people were displaced, and over 1000 were killed, but it is suspected that many of these were Hezbollah terrorists. In August 2006, the United Nations passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire. In 2008, as part of the ceasefire, Hezbollah released the bodies of two Israeli soldiers who were originally attacked at the Northern Border, and Israel was forced to release terrorists. The Second Lebanon War was the biggest conflict of the 21st century in Israel at the time, and showed that even though they had defeated their enemies time and time again, they would just keep coming.
https://www.adl.org/resources/glossary-term/second-lebanon-war-2006

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Biography of Binyamin Netanyahu
Binyamin Netanyahu is an Israeli politician who spent many years as the Prime Minister of Israel. Born in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu spent his high school and college years in America, eventually graduating from MIT and serving in the IDF. From 1984 to 1988 he was Israel's UN ambassador, and from there he joined the Knesset as a part of the right wing Likud party. In 1993, he was elected as the chairman of the opposition, and in 1996 he became the Prime Minister, where he worked to try and make peace with the Palestinians and reduce terrorism. When his term ended in 1999, he became a business consultant until 2002, serving in various positions in the government. In 2005, he once again became the chairman of the opposition, and in 2009 became Prime Minister once again, a position he held until 2021, and he once again became the leader of the opposition. Although he was criticized for his long term as Prime Minister, Netanyahu was undoubtedly a powerful force at Prime Minister, having been Prime Minister during Operation Protective Edge and countless attacks from Gaza and leading Israel through it all.
https://main.knesset.gov.il/en/MK/APPS/mk/mk-personal-details/90

Operation Protective Edge
Operation Protective Edge, also known as Operation Tzuk Eitan,  was an IDF ground operation in the Gaza Strip. In June 2014, three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered by terrorist organization Hamas, and in response Israel invaded Gaza with the intent of restoring peace in Israel and entirely destroying the Hamas terrorist network. Hamas, however, was firing countless rockets into Israel every day. During the operation that lasted 50 days, 64 IDF soldiers were killed and close to 500 were injured, and four civilians were injured, while around 1000 Hamas terrorists were killed. The IDF destroyed 32 Hamas tunnels that were used by Hamas to sneak into Israel, seized supplies from the terrorists, and discovered plans for future attacks. Hamas kept indiscriminately firing rockets, and violated no less than eleven UN-regulated ceasefires. The war ended on August 26, 2014, via a ceasefire organized by Egypt, the US, and Qatar. Although this war was another one in the long line of attacks on Israel, this was the most major conflict with the Gaza Strip and Hamas ever since they were given control of the strip in 2007.
https://www.ict.org.il/Article/1262/Operation-Protective-Edge-A-Detailed-Summary-of-Events#gsc.tab=0