Humanities israel palestine

Aliyah

Jewish immigration to Palestine, especially in waves during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Anti-Semitism

Prejudice or discrimination against Jewish people.

Diaspora

A people living outside their ancestral homeland; often refers to Jews living outside Palestine/Israel.

Ethnicity

A group sharing common culture, ancestry, language, or history.

Haganah

Main Jewish defense organization in Mandatory Palestine; later became the basis of the Israeli army (IDF).

Intifada

Palestinian uprising or protest against Israeli control.

Irgun

Militant Jewish paramilitary group active in Mandatory Palestine.

Mandate system

League of Nations system where victorious powers governed former Ottoman and German territories after WWI.

Nakba

“Catastrophe” in Arabic; refers to the displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Nation-State

A state governed by and for a particular nation or people.

Nationalism

Belief that a people or nation should have its own independent state.

Paramilitary

Armed group organized like a military but not officially part of a state army.

Partition

Division of land into separate political regions or states.

PLO

Palestine Liberation Organization; founded in 1964 to represent Palestinians and seek Palestinian self-determination.

Pogroms

Violent attacks against Jewish communities, especially in Eastern Europe and Russia.

Self-determination

The right of people to choose their own political future and government.

Sovereignty

Supreme authority of a state over its territory and population.

Zionism

Movement supporting the creation and support of a Jewish homeland/state in Palestine.

Hussein-McMahon Correspondence

1915–16 exchange where Britain promised Arab independence in return for revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

Sykes-Picot Agreement

1916 secret agreement between Britain and France dividing Ottoman territories into spheres of influence.

Balfour Declaration

1917 British declaration supporting a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

League of Nations Mandate for Palestine

1922 agreement giving Britain control of Palestine after WWI.

Arab General Strike

1936 Palestinian Arab protest against British rule and Jewish immigration.

Peel Commission

1937 British commission proposing partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.

Arab Revolt

1936–39 Palestinian Arab uprising against British rule and Zionism.

White Paper

1939 British policy limiting Jewish immigration and promising eventual Palestinian independence.

Biltmore Conference

1942 Zionist meeting calling for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.

UNSCOP Partition Plan

1947 UN plan to partition Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.

Civil War in Mandatory Palestine

1947–48 fighting between Jewish and Arab communities before Israeli independence.

First Arab-Israeli War

1948–49 war after Israel declared independence; resulted in Israeli victory and Palestinian displacement.

Armistice Agreements

1949 ceasefire agreements ending the First Arab-Israeli War and creating the Green Line borders.

Suez Crisis / Second Arab-Israeli War

1956 conflict where Israel, Britain, and France attacked Egypt after nationalization of the Suez Canal.

Six-Day War

1967 war where Israel defeated Egypt, Syria, and Jordan and captured major territories including the West Bank and Gaza.

Yom Kippur War

1973 war launched by Egypt and Syria against Israel to regain territory lost in 1967.

Camp David Accords

1978 peace agreement framework between Egypt and Israel.

Oslo Peace Accords

1993 agreements between Israel and the PLO establishing mutual recognition and limited Palestinian self-rule.

Second Intifada

Violent Palestinian uprising beginning in 2000 after breakdown of the peace process.

Green Line

Armistice boundary established after the 1949 agreements between Israel and neighboring Arab states.

Mandatory Palestine

Territory governed by Britain under the League of Nations Mandate from 1922–1948.

Palestinian nationalism

Movement seeking self-determination and an independent Palestinian state.

Jewish nationalism

Nationalist movement supporting a Jewish homeland; closely connected to Zionism.

Self-rule

Ability of a people to govern themselves without outside control.

Refugee

Person forced to leave their home because of war, persecution, or conflict.

Two-state solution

Proposal for independent Israeli and Palestinian states existing side by side.

Holocaust

Genocide of six million Jews by Nazi Germany during WWII.

David Ben-Gurion

Zionist leader who became the first Prime Minister of Israel in 1948.

Gamal Abdel Nasser

President of Egypt associated with Arab nationalism and the Suez Crisis.

Yasser Arafat

Leader of the PLO and major figure in Palestinian nationalism.

UN Partition Plan reaction

Jewish leaders mostly accepted the plan while Arab leaders rejected it.

Main cause of Arab Revolt

Opposition to British rule and increasing Jewish immigration.

Main result of Six-Day War

Israel gained control of the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Sinai, and Golan Heights.

Main result of Camp David Accords

Egypt recognized Israel and Israel later returned Sinai to Egypt.

Main purpose of Oslo Accords

Create peace through mutual recognition and limited Palestinian self-government.

Main issue after 1948 War

Palestinian refugee crisis and disputed borders.

Cause of Zionism

Jewish nationalism influenced by anti-Semitism and pogroms in Europe.

Why Balfour Declaration was controversial

Britain supported a Jewish homeland while Arabs also expected independence.