Arab-Israeli Conflict

Prophet Abraham

The common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Canaan/Israel/Palestine

The same geographical area, the Southern Levant, Canaan was the ancient name for the region.

Judeo-Christian Covenant

The concept of a relationship between God and humanity.

Old Testament vs New Testament

Primarily a record of God's dealings with the Israelites, establishes foundational truths and prophecies vs the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and establishing a new covenant.

Jewish Diaspora

Refers to the Jewish communities residing outside of the Land of Israel.

Islam & the Prophet Muhammad

The final prophet in Islam, known as the 'Seal of the Prophets'.

The Koran

The central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God.

Zionism

The re-establishment and the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel.

Sykes-Picot Agreement, 1916

A secret treaty between the United Kingdom and France to define their mutually agreed spheres of influence and control in an eventual partition of the Ottoman Empire.

Balfour Declaration, 1917

A letter to Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild, a prominent figure in the British Jewish community, expressing the British government's support for the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine.

McMahon Letters, 1919

British High Commissioner in Egypt states that Britain promises to recognize and support the independence of Arabs in the mid-east region.

Palestinian Mandate

Refers to the period between 1920 and 1948 when the League of Nations assigned the British Empire the responsibility for administering the territory of Palestine.

The Holocaust

The genocide of European Jews during World War II.

United Nations Partition

Proposed dividing the British Mandate of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under international control.

Arab-Israeli War, 1948

Broke out when five Arab nations invaded territory in the former Palestinian mandate immediately following the announcement of the independence of the state of Israel on May 14, 1948. The Nakba, the disaster.

David Ben-Gurion

The primary national founder and first prime minister of the State of Israel.

Al-Nakba

Refers to the 1948 Palestinian displacement and flight during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, called ‘the disaster’.

Gamal Nasser

An Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970.

Suez War, 1956

A military and political conflict that involved Britain, France, and Israel invading Egypt.

UN Peacekeeping Force

United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Charged with monitoring ceasefires and peace agreements.

Sinai Desert

A sparsely populated desert region between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Six Day War, 1967

Israel attacked and destroyed Egypt's and Syria's air forces. Israel also defeated Jordanian attacks. The war ended with Israel in control of the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.

UN Resolution 242

Calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from territories occupied in the Six-Day War and for a just and lasting peace in the region.

Yasser Arafat

Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization from 1969 to 2004 and President of the Palestinian National Authority from 1994 to 2004.

Yom Kippur War, 1973

Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a coordinated attack against Israel on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.