Arab Crisis - Collapse of the Soviet Union

PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization)

A group founded in 1964 to represent Palestinians and work for an independent Palestinian state. It was led for many years by Yasser Arafat.

Six-Day War

A 1967 war in which Israel fought Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and won major territories in only six days.

UN Resolution 242

A UN resolution calling for Israel to withdraw from occupied territories and for peace between Israel and Arab states after the Six-Day War.

Yom Kippur War

A 1973 war when Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur to regain lost land.

Camp David Accords

Agreements signed in 1978 by Egypt and Israel that led to peace between the two countries.

Balfour Declaration

A 1917 British statement supporting the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Prague Spring

A period in 1968 when Czechoslovakia tried to create more political freedom before the Soviet Union crushed the movement.

Ronald Reagan

U.S. president from 1981–1989 known for strong anti-communist policies during the Cold War.

Glasnost

A policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev that allowed more openness and freedom of speech in the Soviet Union.

Perestroika

Economic and political reforms introduced by Gorbachev to improve the Soviet economy and government.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The last leader of the Soviet Union who introduced glasnost and perestroika and helped end the Cold War.