Glossary of Terms

Aliyah
A term used in modern Judaism especially for migration (Heb., "going up") to the land of Israel. Aliyah can also be used for "going up" to the altar (bema) to read from Torah.

Am Yisrael
The people of Israel.

Anti-Semitism (antisemitism)
Literally means opposed to Semites (which would include Arabic and other semitic peoples as well), but usually applied specifically to opposition to Jews (anti-Judaism).

Arab Boycott
Formally declared by the newly formed Arab League Council on December 2, 1945. The boycott consists of the primary boycott, which prohibits direct trade between Israel and the Arab nations, the secondary boycott, which is directed at companies that do business with Israel and the tertiary boycott, which involves the blacklisting of firms that trade with other companies that do business with Israel.

Arab Higher Committee
Radical group established in 1945 by Arab League that represented Palestinian Arab interests, rejecting all compromise on rights of Jews to Eretz Yisrael.

Arab League
Organization of Arab states, founded 1945, works for common political and economic goals, often as pan-Arab opposition to Israel.

Armistice Agreements
Israel's War of Independence ended in July 1949 by armistice (cease fire) agreements with Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Ashkenazi(m)
(adj. Ashkenazic). The term now used for Jews who derive from northern Europe and who generally follow the customs originating in medieval German Judaism, in contradistinction to Sephardic Judaism, which has its distinctive roots in Spain and the Mediterranean. Originally the designation Ashkenaz referred to a people and country bordering on Armenia and the upper Euphrates; in medieval times, it came to refer to the Jewish area of settlement in northwest Europe (northern France and western Germany). By extension, it now refers to Jews of northern and eastern European background (including Russia) with their distinctive liturgical practices or religious and social customs.

Balfour Declaration
A declaration of 1917 by British Foreign Minister Balfour supporting the establishment of a "Jewish national home in Palestine."

Bar Kokhba Revolt
The second Jewish revolt against Rome (131-135 CE), lead by the warrior Bar Kokhba and the prominent sage Rabbi Akiva. The Roman emperor Hadrian promised at first to rebuild Jerusalem and the Tample, and later changed his mind and decided to establish a Roman colony there instead. After the defeat of the revolt at Betar the Romans leveled Jerusalem and exiled the population.

B’nai B'rith
World's oldest and largest Jewish organization, founded in 1843 in New York, concerned with protecting Jewish interests around the world.

British Rule
(1918-1948) In course of World War I, Great Britain defeated the Turks and drove them out of the Land of Israel. In July 1922, the League of Nations entrusted Great Britain with the "Mandate for Palestine."

Ba’al Shem Tov
(BeSHT; lit. “Master of the Good Name”). Founder of mid-18th century Jewish Hasidism (proper name was Israel).

Bar (Bat) Mitzvah
(Heb., “son (daughter)-of-the-commandment(s)”). The phrase originally referred to a person responsible for performing the divine commandments of Judaism; it now refers to the occasion when a boy or girl reaches the age of religious majority and responsibility (thirteen years for a boy; twelve years and a day for a girl). In Christianity, compare confirmation.

Baruch Habah
(masc.) Welcome.

Beit Knesset
(Lit. “house of assembly”). A Hebrew term for a synagogue.

Ben-Gurion, David
(1886-1973), The first prime minister of Israel.

Black Sabbath
On Saturday, June 29, 1946, the British began a two week dragnet searching for Jews suspected of anti-British activities and incriminating documents. The Jews nevertheless called the incident “Black Sabbath”

Bysantine Period
In 313 the Bysantine Empire was established in the eastern part of the Roman Empire after the emperor Constantine adopted Christianity. The Land of Israel had become a predominantly Christian country, and Jews were deprived of most of the little autonomy they still had.

Camp David Accords
Peace agreement reached between Israel and Egypt, the first between Israel and an Arab neighbor, signed March, 1979. Called for normalization of relations and return of the Sinai to Egypt.

Chag Sameach
A happy holiday (used as a greeting).

Chai
Hebrew word for life. Numerically it represents the number 18.

Challah
The portion of bread dough which is burned entirely as a sacrifice to God; today, however, the term is used to refer to a braided loaf of white bread used to celebrate the sabbath.

Chometz (chametz, hametz)
Leavened food, which is forbidden during Pesach.

Chosen People
According to the Torah, Jews were chosen by God to receive the Torah and given the special responsibility (or duty) to be “A Light Unto The Nations,” thereby, spreading the word of God.

Concentration Camps
Immediately upon their assumption of power on January 30, 1933, the Nazis established concentration camps for the imprisonment of all “enemies” of their regime: actual and potential political opponents (e.g., communists, socialists, monarchists), Jehovah's Witnesses, gypsies, homosexuals, and other “asocials.” Beginning in 1938, Jews were targeted for internment solely because they were Jews. Before then, only Jews who fit one of the earlier categories were interned in camps. The first three concentration camps established were Dachau (near Munich), Buchenwald (near Weimar) and Sachsenhausen (near Berlin).

Conservative Judaism
A modern development in Judaism, reacting to early Jewish Reform movements in an attempt to retain clearer links to classical Jewish law while at the same time adapting it to modern situations. Its scholarly center in the U.S. is the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

Crusader Period
In 1092 the pope Urban II called on Christians to recover the Holy Land and the Sepulcre of Jesus from the Moslems. Mobs of enthusiastic peasants and feudals called the Crusaders moved towards the Land of Israel, destroying Jewish communities on their way. In 1099 they seized Jerusalem and massacred most of its non-Christian population.

Days of Awe
Ten days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, a time for introspection and considering the sins of the previous year.

Declaration of Independence
Proclamation read in Tel Aviv by David Ben Gurion on May 14, 1948, declaring Eretz Yisrael, the historical and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people, an independent state, to be known as the State of Israel.

Declaration of Principles (DOP)
Agreement signed September 13, 1993, between Israel and the P.L.O., affirming mutual recognition and legitimacy. The P.L.O. agreed to end the intifada and terrorist activity and to amend its charter calling for the destruction of Israel. Israel agreed to grant the P.L.O. civil autonomy over the majority of Gaza and the West Bank.

Deicide
The killing of God, an accusation hurled against Jews throughout the centuries, blaming them for having killed the divine son of God and thereby God.

Diaspora
Greek “scattering.” Often used to refer to the Jewish communities living among the gentiles outside the “holy land.”

Dreidel
Four-sided, top-like toy used during Chanukah.

Druze
A religio-political sect deriving from Islam with communities in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Eretz Yisrael/Israel
(Heb., “land of Israel”). In Jewish thought, the special term for the land promised to the Jewish people by God in the ancient covenant.

Essenes
The name of a Jewish sub-group in the 1st century CE according to Josephus, Philo and other sources.

Etrog
A citron; “the fruit of goodly trees” (Leviticus 23.40) carried in procession in the synagogue with the lulav during the festival of Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles).

Fatah
The largest and most important of the organizations that make up the PLO. Fatah, which means "conquest" in Arabic, was founded in secret in the late 1950s and appeared publicly on the scene in 1965. In 1968 it took over the PLO, and its leader, Yasir Arafat became the organization's chairman.

Fedayeen
In 1955, Egyptian President Nasser introduced a new form of warfare to the Arab-Israeli conflict, terrorists called fedayeen (“one who sacrifices himself”). Nasser trained and equipped the fedayeen to engage in hostile action on the border and infiltrate Israel to commit acts of sabotage and murder. The fedayeen operated mainly from bases in Jordan so that country would bear the brunt of Israel’s retaliation, which inevitably followed. The terrorist attacks violated the armistice agreement provision that prohibited the initiation of hostilities by paramilitary forces.

Gaza Strip
Narrow, 25-mile long strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea that Israel captured from Egypt in the 1967 War. A hotbed of anti-Israeli terrorism for many years, the region is home to 750,000-800,000 Palestinian Arabs, in addition to about 4,000 Jews. The Cairo Agreement of May 4, 1994, has led to autonomy for the Gaza Strip's Palestinian residents within the framework of an Israeli military withdrawal from the region.

Gematria
An interpretative device in rabbinic Judaism that focuses on the numerical value of each word.

Gentile(s)
(Latin for people, nation). In pre-Christian times, used to refer to non-Jewish peoples; thereafter, for non-Jewish and non-Christian (roughly synonymous with "pagan").

Golan Heights
Militarily and strategically important region that Israel captured from Syria in the Six-Day War. Prior to 1967, Syria terrorized Israeli farmers in the Galilee by shelling them from the Heights. The late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin indicated his willingness to give up parts of the Golan as part of a peace treaty with Syria.

Great Revolt
(66-73CE)- The massive revolt of Jews against the Roman tyranny, supported also by Messianic beliefs. Vespasian suppressed the revolt in the Galilee, and his son Titus captured Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in 70 CE.

Hadassah
Jewish women's Zionist organization headquartered in the United States.

Haggada(h)
(Heb., “narration”). In a general sense, in classical Jewish literature and discussion, what is not halaka (legal subject matter) is (h)aggada (pl. haggadot). Technically, "the Haggada(h)" is a liturgical manual used in the Jewish Passover Seder.

Hamas
Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, a fundamentalist group that rejects all discussion of peace with Israel, including the current Israeli-PLO negotiations. Responsible for many terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and Palestinian so-called “collaborators” with Israel, Hamas states in its covenant that “[t]he Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees.” Recent evidence has indicated that Hamas carries out substantial fundraising and organizational work in the United States.

Hanukkah/Chanukah
(Heb., “dedication”) A Jewish festival ("of lights") that commemorates the rededication of the Jerusalem temple to more traditional modes of Jewish worship by Judah the Maccabee around 164 B.C.E. See also calendar.

Hanukiah
Menorah used on Chanukah, a nine branched candelabra

Haredi
Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel.

HaShem
("the name"). Commonly used to refer to God, while avoiding casual use of His name in conversation.

Hasidim, Hasidism
(Heb., “pious ones”). The term may refer to Jews in various periods: (1) a group that resisted the policies of Antiochus Epiphanes in the 2nd century B.C.E. at the start of the Maccabean revolt; (2) pietists in the 13th century; (3) followers of the movement of Hasidism founded in the first half of the 18th century by Israel Baal Shem Tov.

Hasmonean Revolt
(167-164 BCE) -the revolt against the Seleucide Greeks ruling the land of Israel. The revolt was prompted by the ban on practicing the Jewish religion and the desecration of the Temple. It was led by Matthatias of the priestly Hasmonean family and later by his five sons, the most prominent warrior of them Judah the Maccabee. In 164 the rebels liberated Jerusalem and purified the Temple.

Hatikvah
National anthem of Israel. The words were written by Naftali Herz Imber (about 1870). The melody is a folk song based on a tune which is known in many European countries in various forms.

Herzl, Theodor
Hungarian Jewish author of the German book Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) in 1896, which served as a catalyst to the development of modern Zionism.

Hezbollah (Party of God)
Iranian-backed Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organization, based in predominantly Shi'ite areas of southern Lebanon, that has launched numerous attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians.

High Holy Days
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and frequently used to refer to the 10-day period between them, as well.

Holocaust
(from Greek, entire burnt offering). A term used in recent times to refer to the Nazi German policy to exterminate the Jewish people during World War II.

Holocaust Denial
The attempt to "disprove" that the Holocaust actually happened by means of spurious evidence and historical analysis, often by neo-fascists posing as academics or experts.

IDF
Acronym for Israeli Defense Forces.

Interim Agreement (“Oslo II”)
Agreement signed between Israel and the PLO on September 28, 1995, which stipulated the redeployment of Israeli forces out of Palestinian cities in the West Bank and handing over to the Palestinian Authority civilian control in the West Bank's Palestinian villages in conjunction with Palestinian commitments to Israeli security.

Intifada
(Arabic, lit. “shaking off.”). Palestinian civil uprising.

Jewish Agency
Organization formed in 1929 as the formal representative of the Jewish community vis-a-vis the British mandatory government. It gradually acquired the attributes of a proto-government for the Jewish community. After the establishment of the State of Israel, the Jewish Agency shifted its focus to issues common to the State and to Jewish communities abroad.

Jihad
Centuries-old Arabic term translated literally as “holy war” or “endeavor.” In recent years, Muslim fighters, especially in the Arab-Israeli conflict, have used the term almost solely to mean “holy war,” often waged through terrorist attacks on civilians. PLO chairman Yasir Arafat caused a stir when he called for a “jihad to liberate Jerusalem,” even after renouncing the use of violence against Israel. Arafat later said he was using the term to refer to a peaceful religious campaign for Israel's capital.

Josephus or Flavius Josephus
Jewish general and author in the latter part of the 1st century CE who wrote a massive history (“Antiquities”) of the Jews and a detailed treatment of the Jewish revolt against Rome in 66-73 CE (and his involvement in it).

Judaism, Jew
From the Hebrew name of the patriarch Judah, whose name also came to designate the tribe and tribal district in which Jerusalem was located. Thus, the inhabitants of Judah and members of the tribe of Judah come to be called “Judahites” or, in short form, “Jews.” The religious outlook associated with these people after about the 6th century B.C.E. comes to be called “Judaism,” and has varying characteristics at different times and places.

Kibbutz
(pl. kibbutzim). A communal settlement in modern Israel.

Kiddush
(Heb., “sanctification”; derived from kadosh (qadosh), “holy”). A ritual of Jewish sabbath and other holy days, usually accompanied by a cup of wine, which proclaims the holiness of the day.

Kippah
A Jewish head covering worn for worship, religious study, meals, or at any other time; also called yarmulke.

Knesset
The parliament of the State of Israel. Its name and the number of its members are based on the “Knesset Hagdola” of the early Second Temple period. It is composed of 120 representatives of different political parties, elected for a four-year term.

Labor Party
Israeli political party formed by the union of three parties: Mapai, Achdut Ha'avoda, and Rafi. It is aligned with a fourth party, Mapam, in the Labor Alignment. Until the 1977 electrons, the Labor party (under different names) had held power since independence and had dominated Jewish public and political life in mandatory Palestine.

Lebanon War (Operation Peace for Galilee)
June 1982 conflict in which the Israel Defense Forces conducted a military operation in Lebanon to drive out the PLO, which had been shelling northern Israeli towns. The majority of Israel's forces withdrew in 1985.

Likud
Israeli political alignment, including the nationalist populist Herut party and the centrist Liberal party, plus several smaller parties.

Lulab(v)
The palm branch used with other plants in the Jewish Sukkot (Tabernacles) celebration.

Magen David
(Heb., “shield of David”). The distinctive six-pointed Jewish star, used especially since the 17th century.

Masada
Jewish fortress of ancient Israel situated on a butte west of the Dead Sea; the last stronghold of the Zealots who committed suicide rather than surrender to the Romans.

Matzah
Jewish unleavened bread used at Passover.

Menorah
Jewish candelabrum with special religious significance; a nine-branched menorah is used at Hanukkah, while the seven- branched was used in the ancient Temple.

Meretz
Left of center Israeli party that has called for the dismantling of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Mezuzah
(pl. mezuzot; "doorpost"). A parchment scroll with selected Torah verses (Deuteronomy 6.4-9; 11.13-21) placed in a container and affixed to the exterior doorposts (at the right side of the entrance) of observant Jewish homes (see Deuteronomy 6.1-4), and sometimes also to interior doorposts of rooms. The word shaddai (almighty) usually is inscribed on the back of the container.

Moshav Ovedim
("workers' moshav"). Agricultural village in Israel whose inhabitants possess individual homes and holdings but cooperate in the purchase of equipment, the sale of produce, mutual aid, etc.

Moslem Conquest
Arab (Moslem) tribes conquered the land of Israel in 636 CE, soon after establishment of Islam. Jewish settlement in Jerusalem resumed; later the Jewish community diminished under burden of new taxes and limitations.

Mossad
(Heb. Hamossad Le’mode’in U’le’tafkidim Meyuchadim) The Israeli government's intelligence agency. Like the CIA, it uses agents to collect intelligence, conduct covert operations and counterterrorism. Its primary focus is on terrorist organizations and the Arab nations.

Negev
The southern, mostly arid region of Israel.

Oleh, Olim
Immigrant to Israel

Operation Moses
The code name for the airlift of 7,800 black Jews from Ethiopia to Israel, rescuing them from famine and oppression. The operation began on November 18, 1984, ended six weeks later on January 5, 1985.

Operation Nahshon
Initiated on April 6, 1948, and lasting until April 15, this operation succeeded in opening the road to Jerusalem long enough to push through three large convoys stuffed with food and weapons. One of the largest operations of the War of Independence, 1,500 soldiers fielded by the Haganah attacked five different locations. The name “Operation Nachshon” was derived from the biblical personage Nachshon Ben Aminadav who was the first to jump into the Red Sea when the Jews fled Egypt.

Operation Sheba (Joshua)
When news of Operation Moses leaked, it was abruptly halted by the Sudanese. Almost immediately plans were made to resume the rescue, but the Sudanese president would agree only to a quick, one-shot operation carried out secretly by the United States. The CIA then planned the operation codenamed “Sheba” (also called Joshua), which began on March 28, 1985, with Ethiopian Jews from Israel working for the Mossad identifying the Ethiopian Jews in the camps and taking them by truck to an airstrip. Planes designed to hold ninety passengers each were prepared at the American base near Frankfurt, West Germany. These camouflaged U.S. Hercules transports landed at twenty-minute intervals to pick up their passengers. Instead of going to an intermediate destination, the planes flew directly to an Israeli air force base outside Eilat. The organizers had prepared to airlift as many as two thousand Ethiopian Jews from the camps, but they found only 494, so three planes returned from Sudan empty.

Operation Solomon
On May 24, 1991, a total of 34 El Al jumbo jets and Hercules C-130s — seats removed to accommodate the maximum number of Ethiopians — began non-stop flights that continued for 36 hours to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel from Addis Ababa before the capital fell to rebel forces. A total of 14,324 Ethiopian Jews were rescued and resettled in Israel. The Likud government of Yitzhak Shamir authorized a special permit for the Israeli airline, El Al, to fly on the Jewish Sabbath.

Orthodox
From the Greek for “correct opinion/outlook,” as opposed to heterodox or heretical. The judgment that a position is “orthodox” depends on what are accepted as the operative “rules” or authorities at the time. Over the course of history, the term “orthodox” has come to denote the dominant surviving forms that have proved themselves to be “traditional” or “classical” or “mainstream” (e.g., rabbinic Judaism, the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Christian churches, sunni Islam), although new, relative “orthodoxies” constantly emerge (and often disappear).

Oslo
Capital of Norway, site of secret talks in 1993 between Israel and the PLO that led to mutual recognition and the signing of the Declaration of Principles. Refers generally to the multi-stage agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Ottoman Empire Rule
(1517-1917) The land of Israel was conquered by the Turkish Ottoman Empire and divided into four districts. It was attached to the Province of Damascus and ruled from Istanbul.

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
Umbrella organization, a coalition of groups including the Fatah, the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and several others. The PLO was formed in 1964 by the first Arab summit conference as the embodiment of the notion of a Palestinian entity. It was originally controlled by the Arab states but after the 1967 war was taken over by genuine Palestinian nationalist groups and became autonomous.

Palestine National Council (PNC)
The PLO's highest decision-making body. Composed of nearly 600 members from all PLO factions, it meets once every few years to set the organization's long-term goals and policies.

Palestinian Authority (PA)
The Palestinian autonomous government in the West Bank and Gaza areas from which the Israeli Defense Forces have redeployed since the 1994 Gaza-Jericho agreement and the 1995 Interim Agreement (“Oslo II”).

Passover
(Pesach). The major Jewish spring holiday (with agricultural aspects) also known as hag hamatzot (festival of unleavened bread) commemorating the Exodus or deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt (see Exodus 12-13). The festival lasts eight days, during which Jews refrain from eating all leavened foods and products. A special ritual meal called the Seder is prepared, and a traditional narrative called the Haggadah, supplemented by hymns and songs, marks the event.

Pharisees
(Heb., perushim, lit. “separatists” (?); adj. pharisaic). The name given to a group or movement in early Judaism, the origin and nature of which is unclear. Many scholars identify them with the later sages and rabbis who taught the oral and written law; others see them as a complex of pietistic and zealous separatists, distinct from the proto-rabbis. According to Josephus, the Pharisees believed in the immortality of souls and resurrection of the dead, in a balance between predestination and free will, in angels as active divine agents and in authoritative oral law. In the early Christian materials, Pharisees are often depicted as leading opponents of Jesus/Joshua and his followers, and are often linked with “scribes” but distinguished from the Sadducees.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
Leftist, Syrian-based PLO faction, led by George Habash that rejects the current Israeli-PLO peace process. The PFLP is responsible for many terrorist acts, including airline hijackings and attacks on foreign airports.

Purim
A Jewish festival commemorating the deliverance of Jews in Persia as described in the biblical book of Esther. Held in late winter (between Hanukkah and Passover), on the 14th of Adar.

Qumran or Khirbet Qumran
The site near the northwest corner of the Dead Sea in modern Israel where the main bulk of the Jewish “Dead Sea Scrolls” were discovered around 1946. The “Qumran community” that apparently produced the scrolls seems to have flourished from the 3rd century B.C.E. to the 1st century CE, and is usually identified with the Jewish Essenes, or a group like them.

Qur’an (Koran)
Arabic Al Qur'an, “The Recitation.” The sacred scriptures of Islam, believed by Muslims to have been dictated to Muhammed by the Archangel Gabriel.

Rabbi
(adj. rabbinic, Heb., “my master”). An authorized teacher of the classical Jewish tradition (see oral law) after the fall of the second Temple in 70 CE. The role of the rabbi has changed considerably throughout the centuries. Traditionally, rabbis serve as the legal and spiritual guides of their congregations and communities. The title is conferred after considerable study of traditional Jewish sources. This conferral and its responsibilities is central to the chain of tradition in Judaism.

Rabbinical Judaism
A general term encompassing all movements of Judaism descended from Pharisaic Judaism; that is, all movements in existence today.

Reconstructionist Judaism
Founded by Mordecai M. Kaplan (1881-1982), this represents a recent development in American Judaism, and attempts to focus on Judaism as a civilization and culture constantly adapting to insure survival in a natural social process. The central academic institution is the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in the Philadelphia suburbs. See also Reform and Conservative Judaism.

Reform Judaism
Modern movement originating in 18th century Europe that attempts to see Judaism as a rational religion adaptable to modern needs and sensitivities. The ancient traditions and laws are historical relics that need have no binding power over modern Jews. The central academic institution of American Reform Judaism is the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, and it is represented also by the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Compare Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism.

Rosh Hashanah
(Heb., “beginning of the year”). Jewish New Year celebration in the fall of the year, the month of Tishri.

Sabbath
The seventh day of the week (Shabbat), recalling the completion of the creation and the Exodus from Egypt. It is a day symbolic of new beginnings and one dedicated to God, a most holy day of rest. The commandment of rest is found in the Bible and has been elaborated by the rabbis. It is a special duty to study Torah on the Sabbath and to be joyful. Sabbaths near major festivals are known by special names.

Sabra(s)
(Heb.) Native-born Israeli(s). The word comes from the name of a cactus plant that is prickly on the outside and soft and tasty on the inside. The Israeli character is often said to resemble this fruit.

Samaritans
Another of the numerous sub-groups in early Judaism and residents of the district of Samaria north of Jerusalem and Judah in what is now Israel. They are said to have recognized only the Pentateuch as scripture and Mt. Gerizim as the sacred center rather than Jerusalem. There was ongoing hostility between Samaritans and Judahites. Samaritan communities exist to the present.

Second Temple Period (520 B.C.-70 A.D.)
A time of crucial development for monotheistic religions; ended with the