Palestine & Israel History Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards based on lecture notes covering the history of Palestine and Israel, the origins of Abrahamic religions, and key political terms.

Monotheism

The belief that there is only one god.

Abrahamic religions

The monotheist traditions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam which all reference "Abraham" as a character with a direct link to God.

Judaism

A religion that started approximately $2000-1800\,BCE$ in ancient Canaan.

Christianity

A religion that started approximately $30-33\,CE$ in the Roman province of Judea, originating as a reform movement and offshoot of Judaism.

Islam

A religion founded in $610\,CE$ in the Arabian Peninsula (Mecca, in modern-day Saudi Arabia).

Israel

A country founded in $1948$.

Palestine

A region made of the separated West Bank and Gaza Strip, recognized as a country by $157$ members ($81\%$) of the UN.

Canaan

An ancient region promised by God to Abraham and his followers, located in modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and southwestern Syria.

Nationalism

An ideology and political movement that asserts one's nation is superior to all others and emphasizes aggressive promotion of its culture and interests.

Patriotism

A proud, affectionate dedication to one's country.

Intractable

Very difficult or impossible to control, manage, or solve.

Zionism

The movement that advocates for the political and legal freedom of the Jewish people and the establishment of a Jewish national state in their ancestral homeland.

United Nations (U.N.)

A global organization of $193$ member states established in $1945$ after WWII to maintain peace and protect human rights.

Secular

Attitudes or activities that have no religious or spiritual basis.

Balfour Declaration

A $1917$ statement by the British promising "The establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."

1948 Arab-Israeli War

For Israelis, the beginning of their nation; for Palestinians, it represents the Nakba or "The catastrophe."

Nakba

The word used by Palestinians to describe the $1948$ war, meaning "the catastrophe," as they became stateless.

Palestinian

The word used to describe the ethnic identity of those who have historically lived in Palestine before the creation of Israel.

Intifada

A protest against Israeli occupation characterized by boycotts of Israeli products and services and refusing to pay Israeli taxes.

Hamas

An organization that gained support in Gaza through militancy and social welfare projects such as building schools, mosques, and clinics.