Glossary
Agnon, Shmuel Yosef (1880â1970)
Israeli Hebrew novelist who won the 1966 Nobel Prize for literature.
Agudat Yisrael
International ultraorthodox political and religious movement founded in 1912. Originally opposed to the establishment of the State of Israel, it later became one of Israelâs political parties. The small minority among the ultraorthodox that refuses to recognize the State of Israel condemns Agudat Yisrael for having âsold outâ to the Zionists.
Alignment (Labor Alignment)
Alliance of the Israel Labor Party and the left-wing socialist Mapam, formed in 1969. It was the ruling alliance of the State of Israel until its defeat in the election of 1977.
Alton, Yigal (1918â80)
Israelâs minister of Labor under Premier David Ben-Gurion and foreign minister under Premier Yitzhak Rabin.
Almogi, Yosef Aharon (1910â )
Former Israeli cabinet minister and mayor of Haifa, past chairman of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization.
Altennan, Natan (1910â70)
Hebrew poet and translator whose poetry had a powerful impact during the period of Palestine Jewryâs struggle against British rule.
Amidar
Israeli national housing company, founded in 1049 to construct housing for new immigrants.
Ashkenazim
Jews of German and Eastern European descent.
Bar Kochba, Shimon (died A.D. 135)
Leader of a revolt in Judea against the Roman emperor Hadrian. He was lolled when his last stronghold fell.
Betar
Formerly the international youth movement of the Revisionist Party, now the youth branch of the Herut Party; founded in 1923. The major tenets of Betarâs founders included military preparedness for self-defense, a strict code of personal behavior, and the primacy of the Zionist idea without the admixture of any other political ideology.
Bloc (Hebrew gush)
A political group (as in âGush Emunimâ) or a cluster of settlements (as in âthe Tel Mond blocâ).
Bnai Akiva
International religious Zionist youth movement founded in Palestine in 1922.
Buber, Martin (1878â1965)
Internationally known religious philosopher, a member of a small group of Jewish intellectuals who advocated a binational Arab-Jewish state in Palestine.
Bubkes (Yiddish)
âA big nothing.â
Burg, Shlomo Yosef (1909â )
Longtime Knesset member and cabinet minister. The small minority among the ultraorthodox that refuses to recognize the State of Israel regards Burg and his National Religious Party as little better than apostates.
Chich
Popular nickname for Shlomo Lahat, the mayor of Tel Aviv.
Ein Hilweh
Arab refugee camp in Sidon, Lebanon, that was largely leveled by Israeli artillery fire in June 1982.
Eitan, General Raphael (1929â )
Chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 1978 to February 1983, when he retired in the wake of criticism following the massacre at Sabra and Shatilla, Lebanon.
Eliav, Arie (Lyova) (1921â )
Former secretary-general of the Labor Party who advocated Arab rights and insisted that there is room in Palestine for both the State of Israel and a Palestinian-Jordanian Arab state.
Eretz Yisrael
Land of Israel.
Etzel
See Irgun Zvai Leumi.
Etzion Bloc Yeshiva
One of Israelâs foremost Talmudical academies.
Ceva, Eli
Israeli colonel who asked to be relieved of his command during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon (1982) because he was opposed to the armyâs taking Beirut by force.
Golani Brigade
One of the seven brigades of the Israel Defense Forces during the War of Independence.
Gordon, Aharon David (1856â1922)
Ideological leader of the Jewish workersâ movement in Palestine, who believed that labor, particularly the tilling of the soil, held the essence of Jewish and universal values.
Goyim naches (Yiddish)
âGentilesâ delightââactivities or amusements considered un-Jewish or more typical of gentiles than Jews.
Greater Land of Israel Movement
Movement advocating Israelâs retention and annexation of Arab territories occupied during the Six-Day War of 1967.
Green Line
The armistice lines between Israel and its Arab neighbors, 1948â67.
Greenberg, Uri Zvi (1895â1981)
One of Israelâs greatest poets, regarded as a nationalist extremist.
Grunzweig, Emil (1950?â83)
Young scholar killed in Jerusalem in February 1983 when a grenade was thrown into a group of Peace Now demonstrators calling for the dismissal of Defense Minister Ariel Sharon.
Gur, Mordechai (âMotteâ) (1930â )
Chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 1974 to 1978, later a Labor member of the Knesset.
Gush Emunim
Spiritual-political movement that seeks to build Jewish settlements throughout the Israeli-occupied territories.
Haddad, Major Saad
Leader of Christian military formations in southern Lebanon.
Haganah
Semiunderground, semiofficial self-defense force of Palestine Jewry from 1920 to 1948, when it was transformed into the Israel Defense Forces.
Hammer, Zevulun (1936â )
Minister of Education and Culture, one of the leaders of the National Religious Party.
Hasidim
Adherents of a Jewish religious movement founded during the eighteenth century in opposition to ritual laxity and what was considered the arid, hairsplitting study of the Talmud among other Orthodox Jews. They rallied around rebbes and tzaddikim (ârighteous onesâ), whom they regarded almost as intermediaries between themselves and God.
Hazaz, Hayim (1898â1973)
Hebrew novelist whose works dealt in part with Palestine Jewryâs underground struggle against British rule, and the life and customs of the Yemenite Jews.
Hazon Ish (Hebrew âMan of Visionâ)
Name given to Abraham Yeshayah Karelitz (1878â1953), an influential rabbi who settled in Palestine in 1935 and was widely consulted on questions of Jewish law. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion once met the Hazon Ish on the position of Jewish religious law regarding the conscription of young women.
Herat
The right-wing party led by Prime Minister Menachem Begin, which in 1973 became part of the right-wing Likud bloc.
Histadrut
Israelâs general federation of labor and the countryâs most powerful organization.
Huleiqat
Abandoned Arab village on Israelâs southern coastal plain, near the site of Israelâs first oil field.
Irgun Zvai Leumi (also known as Etzel)
Palestine Jewish underground military organization active from 1937 to 1948, led most of the time by Menachem Begin, originally founded to retaliate against Arab attacks. It was opposed to the Haganah.
Jabotinsky, Vladimir (Zeev) (1880â1940)
Russian-born writer, orator, and Zionist leader whom Prime Minister Menachem Begin considered his spiritual mentor.
Jewish Agency for Israel
Originally the intermediary between Palestineâs Jewish community and the British Mandatory government and now synonymous with the World Zionist Organization, working as a liaison between the State of Israel and world Jewry.
Jewish Legion
Jewish military units formed during World War I to f...