Middle East

Arab

The Middle East is primarily made up of this ethnic group.

Islam

The religion that most Arabs are members of.

Abraham

The founding father/religious figure that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam trace their origins in.

Israel.

The Jewish nation, in the midst of the Arab-Muslim dominated Middle East.

Canaan

According to the Jewish faith, God called the descendants of Abraham, the "chosen people" and gave them this area of land as their "promised homeland."

Diaspora

The movement of fragmented Jewish populations.

Anti-Semitic

Feelings that lead to discrimination or persecution of the Jews.

Zionism

The political movement that promoted a Jewish national home in Palestine.

Balfour Declaration

In 1918, a British leader stated "His Majesty's government views in favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."

Mandate

Territory given to a European nation by the League of Nations to oversee the politics, economics, and future of the region until it can stand on its own.

UN

The peacekeeping organization that partitioned Palestine in 1948.

Arab League

Loose organization of Arab states including Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Suez Canal

Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized this important place in July of 1956.

Refugee Camps

Palestinians were forced to live in these in places in Lebanon and Jordan.

Yasir Arafat

The leader of the PLO that launched raids against Israel.

Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)

The Arab League created this organization that established groundwork for a future Palestinian state.

Six Day War in 1967

Arab states lost the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights of Syria, the West Bank of Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, and Old City during this conflict with Israel.

Britain

This country controlled Palestine after WWI.

Anwar Sadat

An Egyptian President that made peace with Israel when signing the Camp David Accords.

Camp David Accords

Ended 30 years of hostilities between Egypt and Israel and became the first signed agreement between Israel and an Arab country.

Jimmy Carter

The U.S. President that encouraged the signing of the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt.

Intifada

The Palestinian uprising; a widespread campaign of civil disobedience.

Hamas

An Islamic terrorist group that promotes the Palestinian cause.

Oslo Peace Accords

An agreement in 1993 that granted the Palestinians self-rule in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.