Understood by some as the first intifada ("shaking off"), this Palestinian Arab uprising was the longest sustained movement of opposition to Zionism during British mandatory control of Palestine. The riots followed a massive influx of Jews to Palestine who were seeking to flee the rise of Nazism in pre-war Europe. By 1936 the increase in Jewish immigration and land acquisition in Palestine, the growing power of Hajj Amin al Husseini, and colonial rule over local Arab populations prompted Palestinian Arabs to act. The goals of the revolt were to shift British policy against Zionism by limiting or ceasing the influx of Jews, to ban land transfers to Jews, and to enable Arabs to establish their own representative national government. Due to the impending war in Europe, and British reliance on Middle Eastern oil, these goals were nominally addressed. Britain's 1937 Peel Commission emerged to quell the revolt, by proposing a two-state solution with an altered British mandate. The Commission was accepted at the 20th Zionist Congress, but rejected by the Arab Higher Committee (AHC), which led to a resumption of riots. They were ultimately suppressed by harsh British measures, including the exiling of many Palestinian Arab leaders. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html#il0026
Glossary
Just Vision's glossary is gleaned from terms used with frequency by interviewees in our Visionaries section. In defining terms, we strive to provide insight into the varying narratives surrounding issues, figures, historical events, and locations, as these differences in definition reflect the conflict itself. Each definition has been reviewed by both Arab and Jewish scholars of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The year 1948 is often referenced on account of a series of historical events that have impacted both Palestinians and Israelis. Notably, the war between Israel and Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan (known as Transjordan at the time). 1948 is remembered in Israel as the year of independence and in the Arab world as Al-Nakba, the catastrophe. 1948 saw the establishment of the State of Israel and the continued flight and expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians (most estimates fall between 700,000 and 800,000) from the territory previously known as the British mandate of Palestine. See also War of 1948, Al-Nakba, and Haatzmaut/Independence Day.
Refers to the borders of Israel with Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria prior to the War of 1967. The war is referred to by Palestinians as the "June War" and by Israelis as the "1967 War" or the "Six-Day War" on account of its duration. Israel captured the Egyptian Sinai, the Syrian Golan Heights, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip, then under respective Jordanian and Egyptian control. See also War of 1967.
January 16, 1991-February 28, 1991: Military action by a US-led coalition of 32 states to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, and claimed it as an Iraqi province. See "Gulf War" World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. CDL UC Berkeley. 19 December 2004. Also see, Edward W. Said. "The Intellectuals and the War," Middle East Report, no. 171, vol. 21. No. 4 (July/August 1991) pp. 15-20.
Known in Lebanon as the July War and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War, this military conflict began 12 July 2006 when Hezbollah, a Lebanese radical Shi'a movement crossed the Israeli border kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing three others. The attack partially related to Hezbollah's ongoing campaign to reclaim the Sheba'a Farms, a small stretch of land bordering Israel, Syria and Lebanon, for Lebanon (See Sheba'a Farms). Hezbollah spokespersons, however, described the kidnapping as a strategy to secure the release of Lebanese and Arab prisoners in Israeli jails. Five more Israeli soldiers died in an operation to rescue the abducted soldiers. Both sides officially waged war immediately following the incident. The 33-day war that followed involved Hezbollah rocket attacks on Northern Israel and an Israeli Army ground invasion and air strike campaign, targeting Lebanese infrastructure and Hezbollah bases, but also greatly affecting civilian areas. Israel also implemented a blockade of the entire Lebanese coast. A UN brokered ceasefire went into effect on 14 August 2006. The conflict ended in earnest 8 September 2006 when Israel lifted its naval blockade of Lebanon. The War between Hezbollah and Israel claimed over a thousand lives, most of them Lebanese, and displaced 974,184 Lebanese and 300,000-500,000 Israelis, almost all of whom eventually returned to their homes. See Achcar, Gilbert. The 33-day war: Israel's war with Hezbollah in Lebanon and its consequences. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2007 and Cossali, Paul. "Arab-Israeli Relations1967-2006." Europa Regional Surveys of the World: The Middle East and North Africa 2007. 53rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2007. See online "Timeline of the July War 2006." The Daily Star Lebanon. 2007. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/July_War06.asp and "Hizbullah attacks northern Israel and Israel's response." Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2007. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terrorism+from+Le...
(1935-) PNA President, also known as Abu Mazen. He has been a leading figure in the Fatah movement (aside from a brief resignation from the Central Committee in 2003) and the PLO since the 1960's. He has been involved throughout his career in negotiations between Palestinians and the Israeli government, most notably as the leading Palestinian negotiator of the Oslo Accords and as the signatory of the Declaration of Principles in September 1993 on behalf of the PLO. For a brief biography see http://www.passia.org.
A Palestinian neighborhood within the municipal boundary of Jerusalem. Abu Dis is divided by the separation barrier.
A town located 13 kilometers west of Jerusalem, estimated population is 5,500, the vast majority of whom are Palestinian citizens of Israel.
(Akko in Hebrew and Akka in Arabic) A city in Israel on the Mediterranean coast north of Haifa. Its population is an estimated 45,000, including Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Founded in 1986 in memory of Emil Greenzweig, an Israeli peace activist killed by a grenade by a fellow Israeli while marching against the war in Lebanon, this nonprofit organization develops and implements programs to promote democracy, peace and civic education as well as methods of conflict resolution. See: the Adam Institute for Peace and Democracy.
A small city of about 150,000 residents located in the Jezreel valley in northern Israel.
A Haredi-Hassidic political party in Israel founded in 1912, Agudat Yisrael has served in the 2nd through 16th Knessets (excluding the 3rd and 15th) either as its own group or part of a larger religious parliamentary group. The party largely focuses on the domestic welfare of its constituents in areas such as housing, educational institutions, and exemption from military service as well as the Jewish religious character of the State of Israel.
An Islamic movement founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in the latter half of the 19th century in India. In the early 20th century, the Ahmadiyya movement split into two groups (The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propogation of Islam) predominantly over the claim as to whether Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a prophet and/or The Mahdi (Messiah). For information on the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community see http://www.alislam.org/. For information on the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propogation of Islam see http://ahmadiyya.ws/index.shtml. For recent news on the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan see Aamer Ahmed Khan. "Rare Attack on Pakistan Ahmadis," BBC News Online, 7 Oct 2005, at .
Established in 1950, Aida Camp is located between Bethlehem and Beit Jala. http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/westbank/aida.html. It's population is 4,456.
An American lobby group located in Washington, DC seeking to promote the passing of American legislation and government budgetary allocations that are favorable to Israeli government policy, The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was founded in the 1950s. According to its website, AIPAC has "100,000 members across all 50 states who are at the forefront of the most vexing issues facing Israel," such as terrorism, peace, and Israel's overall security. AIPAC takes credit for "help[ing] pass more than 100 pro-Israel legislative initiatives a year" in the United States Congress. Critics of AIPAC contend that its powerful political clout among Washington policymakers and elected officials has biased United States involvement in dealing with Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and affairs See the AIPAC website at http://www.aipac.org/documents/whoweare.html.
is the National Association for the Habilitation of the Mentally Handicapped in Israel. AKIM Israel is the national association that represents 30,000 mentally challenged people and their families. AKIM was founded in 1951 by a group of parents to mentally handicapped children. See: http://www.akim.org.il/
A mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem, adjacent to the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary). The structure was completed in the 7th century, destroyed by an earthquake in the 8th century, and restored to its current structure in the 11th century. While the Dome of the Rock was constructed as a mosque to commemorate the Muslim prophet Mohammad's Night Journey, the building known as Al-Aqsa Mosque became a center of worship and learning, attracting great teachers from all over the world. The mosque is currently under the supervision and authority of the Waqf (Islamic Endowment). See http://www.noblesanctuary.com/index.html
International news organization broadcast in Arabic with a primary focus on the politics and society of the Arab World. See Al Jazeera's homepage in English at http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage.
Arabic for "the catastrophe." It refers to the uprooting and displacement of hundreds of thousands Palestinians (most estimates fall between 700,000 and 800,000) following, and due largely to, the creation of the State of Israel on most of the lands of pre-1948 Palestine. The establishment of the Jewish State of Israel led to the creation of a large, displaced, impoverished Palestinian refugee population scattered throughout the world, especially in the Arab Middle East. The razing and appropriation of many Palestinian villages and properties by Israeli forces and the seizure of remaining territories by Jordanian and Egyptian forces in the war of 1948, all contributed to the coining of the term al-Nakba, in contrast to the Israeli celebration of Independence Day. It is commemorated annually on the 15th of May. See also, 1948, the War of 1948, and Independence Day. See http://www.stanford.edu/group/cjip/nakbafaq.htm and PRIME's "Learning Each Other's Historical Narrative," March 2003.
President of Syria, 2000-Present.
