Aliyah The act of a Jewish person immigrating to Israel; “making Aliyah” is a basic tenet and aspiration of Zionism. Literally meaning “ascent” in Hebrew, the term implies Jews in the diaspora are beneath those who live in Israel.
Annexation The forcible acquisition of territory by one state or people at the expense of another state or people. Both the Fourth Geneva Convention and the United Nations Charter define such acquisition as a form of conquest in armed conflict situations and a prohibited form of aggression when exercised by an occupying power. (See Occupation, Law of Belligerent Occupation, below.)
Anti-Defamation League Jewish-led civil rights organization founded in the United States in 1913 to combat antisemitism and other forms of hate. In recent decades, critics have pointed to its resolutely Zionist positions and definition of a “new antisemitism” as efforts to shut down criticisms of Israel and foment Islamophobia.
Area C Area of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, designated by the 1992 Oslo Accords as temporarily under full Israeli control but intended gradually to transfer to Palestinian jurisdiction. With over 60 percent of the West Bank’s territory, Area C remains occupied and controlled by Israel; nearly 400,000 Jewish settlers have colonized the area. Palestinians have limited governance over Areas A and B.
Ashkenazi/Ashkenazim (pl.) Jews of Central and Eastern European origin who historically spoke Yiddish. The vast majority of U.S. Jews are Ashkenazi. In Israel, they are a minority but hold more power in government and other institutions than do any other group, including Jews of North African and Middle Eastern descent. (See Mizrahi/Mizrahim and Sephardi/Sephardim, below.)
Balfour Declaration A public statement contained in a letter from Lord Balfour, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, in November 1917, declaring Britain’s support for establishing a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. This was a key step in Zionist aspirations to found a Jewish state.
Bar Mitzvah Religious ceremony by which a 13-year-old Jewish boy becomes considered a man by the Jewish community.
Bat Mitzvah Religious ceremony by which a 13-year-old Jewish girl becomes considered a woman by the Jewish community.
B’nai B’rith (in Hebrew, “Children of the Covenant”) The oldest and largest Jewish service organization founded in 1843, with chapters across the globe. B’nai B’rith International is dedicated in modern times to the security and continuity of the Jewish people and the State of Israel, as well as to combating antisemitism and bigotry.
BDS The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, launched by Palestinian civil society in 2005 as a nonviolent means of pressuring Israel to comply with international law. It was inspired by the successful South African anti-apartheid movement.
Birthright Birthright Israel, a program that, since 1999, has given over 500,000 young Jews from around the world free trips to Israel in order to inculcate them with a Zionist worldview. The organization is funded by the Israeli government as well as wealthy U.S.-based donors and Zionist organizations.
Canaan Ancient region and civilization spanning parts of present-day Palestine/Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, but often used to refer to the land west of the Jordan River. In the Old Testament (Torah), God promises the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants.
COINTELPRO Shortened name of the “Counter-Intelligence Program” carried out by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1956–1971. Originally formed to combat the U.S. Communist Party, it used surveillance, infiltration, assassination, and other disruptive tactics to crush and divide left-wing groups like the Black Panthers and others, such as anti-Vietnam War, feminist, environmentalist, LGBTQ+, Puerto Rican independence, and civil rights groups.
Covenant of the League of Nations International agreement signed at the end of the First World War to promote peace and stability. The Covenant established the Mandate system by which colonies/territories of defeated Germany and the Ottoman Empire, including Palestine, would be controlled by Western powers.
Damascus Gate Also called Bab al-Amoud, one of the historic gates to the Old City of Jerusalem and a popular place for Palestinians to gather, socialize, and protest. Israel has set up checkpoints for Palestinians entering the occupied Old City, imposed heavy military restrictions, and killed scores of Palestinians there.
Deadly Exchanges Programs that connect local and federal U.S. agencies (police, ICE, border patrol, and FBI) with their Israeli counterparts to promote and exchange their worst practices, including racial profiling, massive surveillance, deportation and detention, and targeting of human rights defenders. Jewish Voice for Peace popularized the phrase with its campaign of the same name against these programs.
Deir Yassin Palestinian village whose residents were massacred by Jewish terrorist groups, Haganah and the Stern Gang, on April 8, 1948. The massacre, in which over one hundred unarmed Palestinians were slaughtered, is thought to have initiated the Nakba (see below) and the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. It was intended by Jewish military planners to intimidate Palestinians into fleeing historic Palestine en masse.
Eid al Fitr Major Muslim holiday, the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” that marks the end of the month of Ramadan.
Fatah Secular, democratic, socialist Palestinian national liberation movement founded in 1959, which became a political party in 1965 and the dominant faction within the Palestinian Liberation Organization (see PLO, below) under Yasser Arafat. Today, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, is also Chairman of Fatah.
Great March of Return Weekly nonviolent protests that took place in Gaza, 2018–2019, spurred by youth from Gazan civil society (not Hamas). Tens of thousands of Palestinians protested against the blockade of Gaza and demanded the right to return to their homes in historic Palestine. Israel responded brutally, killing 214 and injuring over 36,000 Gazans.
Green Line The de facto border of Israel from 1949 to 1967, delineating the boundaries of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Since the 1967 War, Israel has pushed its military control, settlement-building, and apartheid wall (see Separation Wall, below) far past the Green Line, which now exists in imagination only.
Hadassah Charitable organization also known as the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, which operates hospitals and youth programs. Also the largest supporter of the Jewish National Fund (see below), which “reclaimed” land seized from its Palestinian owners. Currently implicated in funding West Bank settlements.
Haganah A Zionist militia formed during the British Mandate period that carried out terrorist attacks against both Palestinians and the British. In 1948, it was reconstituted as the official army of the state of Israel, known as the Israeli Defense Forces. (See IDF/IOF, below.)
Hamas Palestinian nationalist-Islamic movement founded in 1987 and political party that rules Israeli-besieged Gaza. Hamas moderated its religious-fundamentalist and classically antisemitic positions after winning popular elections in Gaza in 2006. As an organized military force that resists Israeli aggression, Hamas has long been considered a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, and, of course, Israel.
Haredi Fundamentalist, ultra-conservative, often right-wing Jews who reject secularism and modernity and self-segregate in their own communities. They are exempt from military service, and Haredi men receive state subsidies for full-time Torah study. Some sects hold staunchly anti-Zionist beliefs and, as a result, refuse both to accept this money and to cooperate with the Israeli government in any way.
Hasbara Literally “explanation” in Hebrew. In ordinary usage, the word refers to Israeli government propaganda that works to whitewash the occupation and shape Western public opinion, thereby foreign policy. Israel maintains a Ministry of Hasbara which operates, in part, via NGOs and numerous social media “influencers.”
IDF/IOF Israel Defense Forces, the U.S.-funded Israeli military responsible for carrying out the occupation and policing of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza. Often referred to by Palestinians and allies as the “Israel Occupation Forces” to indicate their offensive purposes.
Iftar The evening meal, eaten after sunset, with which Muslims break their daily fasts during the month of Ramadan.
IHRA (regarding definition of antisemitism) In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance put out a working definition whose examples of “hatred toward Jews” include “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” This has been interpreted by Zionists to mean that criticisms of Israel and of Zionism are intrinsically antisemitic. U.S. national and state officials and media corporations such as Facebook have used this definition to shut down critics of Israel and deny funding to critics of Israel. (See Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, below).
Intifada (First and Second) Popular Palestinian uprisings across the Occupied Territories and Israel, 1987–1993 and 2000–2005. The First Intifada consisted largely of nonviolent demonstrations and boycotts, but the Second was far bloodier, including suicide bombings and rocket fire. Both were brutally and disproportionately repressed by Israel, which meted out collective military punishment on civilians.
Iron Dome Israel’s U.S.-funded aerospace defense system to shoot down short-range rockets fired by Hamas into Israel.
Israel Nation-State Law Passed in 2018 by the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), this ethno-nationalist, anti-democratic law enshrines Jewish supremacy in Israel. Among other things, it declares that Jews are “uniquely” entitled to self-determination; that settlements are a legitimate form of national development; that the sole official state language is Hebrew; and, contrary to international and U.N. agreements, that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism Document released in 2021 by a large group of international scholars in response to the IHRA definition of antisemitism (see above). In contrast, this declaration offers a more nuanced approach, saying that anti-Zionism and criticisms of Israel are not automatically antisemitic, and distinguishing between these criticisms and acts of hatred or disrespect toward Jews as Jews (whether in Israel or elsewhere).
Jewish National Fund (JNF) Powerful nonprofit organization founded in 1901 as an arm of Jewish settler colonialism in Palestine. Since 1948, with the assistance of the Israeli government, the JNF has raised and funneled enormous sums of money to secure Israeli control over Palestinian land and property (often under the pretext of “planting trees in Israel”). A law enacted in1960 gave the JNF control over 70 percent of Israel’s public land.
Kibbutz/Kibbutzim (pl.) Jewish-only agricultural collectives established in Palestine, beginning in 1910, on land secured by the JNF. Collective and socialist in philosophy and in their social arrangements (for example, children live in separate quarters from their parents), they are nevertheless an integral part of Zionist colonial settlement of Palestine.
Land Day Annual holiday to honor the Palestinian struggle to hold on to their land. It commemorates six Palestinians murdered by Israel during mass protests against land expropriation plans on March 30, 1978.
League of Nations Mandate for Palestine International agreement in 1919 that established British mandatory control of Palestine. The Mandate was a paternalistic form of control that only “provisionally recognized” Palestine as an independent nation.
Maqam Centuries-old musical tradition of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, based on a system of scales, rhythms, ornamentation, melodic phrases, and improvisational conventions.
Mizrahi/Mizrahim (pl.) Jews of North African, Middle Eastern, or Central Asian background. The Mizrahi identity originates with the founding of Israel and the waves of immigration from the region that followed. Mizrahim have been historically marginalized in Israel, though they comprise the majority of the country’s population. (See Ashkenazi/Ashkenazim, above and Sephardi/Sephardim, below.)
Mossad Israel’s national intelligence agency, which not only infiltrates Palestinian organizations such as the PLO, but also carries out undercover operations, including assassinations worldwide, in service of Israel’s foreign policy and its allies (e.g., the United States).
Muezzin The crier who gives the call to prayer at a mosque, keeping faithful Muslims on their correct schedule of worship.
Nakba “Catastrophe” in Arabic, the word for the Israeli dispossession and ethnic cleansing of Palestine beginning in 1948, in which Israeli forces expelled 750,000 Palestinians, killed many hundreds, and destroyed over five hundred Palestinian villages.
Nationality Law of 1952 Israeli law that allowed all Jews from anywhere in the world to acquire Israeli citizenship, while at the same time formally forbidding the right of Palestinian refugees who fled or were expelled in 1948 to return and become citizens. This law relegated Palestinian refugees in neighboring countries to statelessness.
Nebi Musa Festival Annual Muslim festival that erupted into skirmishes between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in Nablus, Jerusalem, and elsewhere in April 1920.
Occupation, Law of Belligerent Occupation International law, Article 42 of the Hague Regulations, defining what constitutes an occupation: a temporary state during which one state’s military exerts control over another state without declaring formal sovereignty.
Operations Cast Lead, Pillar of Defense, Protective Edge Israeli military’s code names for IDF invasions and bombings of Gaza, 2008–2009, 2012, and 2014, respectively.
Orientalism The Western depiction or study of aspects of the Eastern World; later, a word used by Palestinian scholar Edward Said to refer to the prejudiced views of Westerners toward the East, shaped by centuries of imperialism. Said’s foundational 1978 book Orientalism became a major text in the field of post-colonial cultural studies.
Oslo Accords Internationally moderated agreements, begun in 1993, between Israel and the PLO. The two sides officially recognized each other, and the PLO renounced armed resistance and sketched a path toward a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. However, the Accords, which created the unequal division of the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C (see Area C, above), were weak, unpopular, and ineffective in securing Palestinian self-determination.
Ottoman Empire One of the major historical world empires, with Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) as its capital. From the fourteenth century until the early twentieth, the Ottomans controlled a vast territory including Southeast and Central Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. Palestine was under Ottoman rule from 1516 until its demise at the end of the First World War.
Oud A type of lute from the Middle East and North Africa.
Payot Long sidelocks worn by many ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and boys.
PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization, founded in 1964 under the leadership of Yasser Arafat with the goal of achieving Palestinian self-determination through resistance. It has also served as an umbrella organization for different Palestinian factions and parties. In 1993, the PLO and Israel mutually recognized each other with the Oslo Accords, and Israel considers the PLO to be the sole representative of the Palestinian people.
Ramadan The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed from sunrise to sunset in fasting, prayer, reflection, and community by Muslims throughout the world.
Separation Wall Enormous barrier that Israel began constructing in 2003, after the Second Intifada, for alleged security purposes to separate Israel ’48 from the West Bank. In reality, the Wall, expected to reach a length of 440 miles upon completion, serves as a tool of apartheid and annexation, ghettoizing Palestinians into Bantustans while protecting Israeli settlements inside the West Bank.
Sephardi/Sephardim (pl.) Jews who trace their ancestors to the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal. (See Ashkenazi/Ashkenazim, and Mizrahi/Mizrahim, above.)
Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan Neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem where dozens of Palestinian families, who fled there during the Nakba in 1948, faced new expulsion and demolition orders in May and June of 2021. These threats of another displacement of Palestinians from their homes and businesses provoked massive protests and social media campaigns (#FreeSheikhJarrah, #FreeSilwan) not only in East Jerusalem but also the West Bank, Gaza, and across the globe. Israeli forces countered with stun grenades, teargas, rubber-coated bullets, and mass arrests.
Shujaiyya A densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City indiscriminately shelled by Israel in July 2014. The massacre killed dozens of civilians, possibly more, and buried many under the rubble of their own homes.
Six Day War (or 1967 War) Conflict begun when Israel attacked its neighbors and took over the Egyptian Sinai, the Syrian Golan Heights, Egyptian-controlled Gaza, the Jordanian-controlled West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Three hundred thousand Palestinians were exiled, and all remaining Palestinians were placed under Israeli occupation.
Sumud Literally “steadfastness” in Arabic, this is a Palestinian cultural value and political strategy of resilience and resistance in the face of the ongoing violence of oppression and colonialism.
Tatreez Traditional Palestinian embroidery, one of the most distinctive art forms practiced by Palestinian women and incorporated into their customary dress.
Tent of Nations Palestinian educational and environmental farm near Bethlehem with the mission of building connections among people and between people and the land.
Tikkun Olam Literally “repair the world” in Hebrew. Tikkun Olam is a Kabbalistic concept referring to the observance of Jewish law as a means of restoring the universe. Many American Jewish community organizations use the term to describe their social justice work.
UN Resolution 194 A resolution passed by the United Nations in 1948 establishing the Palestinian right of return to their land and, in cases where such return is impossible or undesirable, providing that appropriate compensation be paid to the refugees. This resolution has never been implemented or enforced.
UN Resolution 242 Passed by the United Nations Security Council in 1967 in the aftermath of the Six Day War, this resolution called on Israel to withdraw from the Arab territories it had taken over in that war, in exchange for long-standing peace with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Vague in its details and failing even to mention the Palestinians, this resolution, too, remains an unimplemented piece of paper.
UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, established by UN General Assembly Resolution 302 in 1949, continues to run refugee camps and schools for children and to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. Dependent on voluntary contributions from member states and perceived as one-sided by pro-Israel groups, the agency often operates with inadequate funds.
Yom Kippur War (1973) In 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in order to regain land taken over by Israel in the Six Day War. While they had early military successes, eventually the conflict ended with a ceasefire and little change of territory. The power demonstrated by the Arab coalition paved the way for the eventual peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1979, which returned the Sinai to Egypt.