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ABSENTEE PROPERTY LAW - The law that states that land that was abandoned by Arabs in Palestine before the creation of the State of Israel, now belongs to the State of Israel.

ABU MAZEN (Mahmoud Abbas) - Following the death of Yasser Arafat, Abbas was elected President of the Palestinian Authority on January 9, 2005, with 62% of the vote.  He was sworn in on the 15th.

ABU MAZEN-BEILIN PLAN - An agreement drawn up by Abu Mazen of the PLO and Israeli deputy FM Yossi Beilin. The plan proposed Israel's annexation of 4-5% of the West Bank and transfer of Israeli territory to form a Palestinian state. Abu-Dis, an Arab neighborhood in Jerusalem was to be the capital of the new state.

ADHAN - (Arabic) A call to prayer for Muslims made five times a day. It is traditionally shouted by a man from a minaret (spire) of a mosque (a muezzin or muadhdhin in Arabic), but today is often broadcast from loudspeakers.

ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION - When a prisoner is arrested and kept without trial or charge for up to six months.

AL-AMAL - ("Hope"). A Shi'ah political movement cum-militia. It developed originally as the military arm of the Movement of the Disinherited, the radical organization formed by Imam Musa al-Sadr, the religious leader who transformed Lebanon's Shi'ah politics in the 1970s. After his disappearance, he was replaced by Nabih al-Beri and the movement was taken over by al-Amal.

AL-AQSA INTIFADA - An uprising by the Palestinians, sometimes called the second intifada, which escalated into a war. The Palestinians blame a visit by Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount in September 2000 for sparking the violence, but the Palestinian Authority Communications Minister admitted the uprising had been planned after the failure of the Camp David summit in July 2000.

AL-AQSA MOSQUE - Third holiest shrine in the Muslim world, situated on the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem.

AL HAQ - (Arabic, "The truth or the right"). Ramallah-based Palestinian human rights organization founded in 1979 under the name Law in the Service of Man.

AL QUDS - (Arabic, "The holy"). Arabic name for Jerusalem.

ALAWIS (or Nusayris) - A Muslim sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam. Most of the Alawis live in Syria, where they form some 12 percent of the population. Once a marginal, rural, underprivileged community, Syrian Alawis have undergone a dramatic transformation in the past twenty years as members of the community advanced through the army and the Ba'thi party to positions of dominance (including the current President Hafez Assad).

ALIYA (or aliyah) - (Heb., "going up") -A term used in Judaism especially for immigration to the land of Israel. Aliya can also be used for "going up" to the altar (bema) to read from Torah.

ALLAH - The Arabic term for God. The word was used for local gods in Arabia before Muhammad began to use it for the one God that revealed His messages to him. Arab Christians and Jews also use the term. Arabs frequently use the word inshallah, meaning "if God wills," which suggests that whatever happens in life will be a result of God's will.

ALLAHU AKBAR - (Arabic) "God is great," "God is the greatest."

ALLIANCE ISRAELITE UNIVERSELLE - International Jewish organization, founded in Paris, 1860, to protect Jewish rights as citizens and to promote education and professional development among Jews around the world.

ALLON PLAN - A plan devised by Yigal Allon after the Six Day War that involved a partial withdrawal from the disputed territories. Adopted by the Israeli government in 1968.

AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE - (popularly known as the JDC or the "Joint"). American Jewry's overseas relief and rehabilitation agency founded in 1914.

AMIR - (Arabic).  Leader, commander. (Hebrew) Mighty, strong, sheaf of corn.  Used as a name.

AMMAN - Capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS - Israel has one of the broadest anti-discrimination laws of any country.  The law prohibits discrimination of the basis of sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, religion, political beliefs, and age. 

ANTI-SEMITISM (antisemitism) - Literally means opposed to Semites (which would include Arabic and other semitic peoples as well), but usually applied specifically to opposition to Jews (anti-Judaism).

ARAB BOYCOTT - Formally declared by the newly formed Arab League Council on December 2, 1945. The boycott consists of the primary boycott, which prohibits direct trade between Israel and the Arab nations, the secondary boycott, which is directed at companies that do business with Israel and the tertiary boycott, which involves the blacklisting of firms that trade with other companies that do business with Israel.

ARAB HIGHER COMMITTEE - Radical group established in 1945 by Arab League that represented Palestinian Arab interests, rejecting all compromise on rights of Jews to Eretz Yisrael.

ARAB LEAGUE - The League of Arab States or Arab League was formed in Cairo March 22, 1945, for the purpose of securing Arab unity. Today, the League has 22 members.

ARAB NATIONS - Those countries where Arabic is the principal language spoken. Islamic nations are those non-Arabic speaking countries where Islam is the dominant religion and often the source of the government's legitimacy. All the Arab nations have Islam as their official religion. This book focuses on one Islamic nation, Iran, and the Arab nations of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen. Other Arab states in the Middle East are Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

ARAB REVOLT - The Arab uprising from 1916-1920 against the Ottoman Empire.

ARAFAT, YASSER (1929-2004) - Arafat is a symbol of the Palestinian national movement.  He directed high-profile terrorist attacks in order to gain international attention and sympathy for the Palestinian cause.  In 1994, he became the leader of the newly formed Palestinian Authority, created by the Oslo Accords.  On January 20, 1996, he was elected president of the PA, and although he was only supposed to serve for three years, no other presidential elections were held until his death.  In the Camp David negotiations in 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Barak offered the Palestinians the most generous peace proposal to date, which he rejected.  Both the United States and Israel were of the opinion that in order for the peace process to continue, Arafat needed to be replaced.  Under international pressure, Arafat appointed Abu Mazen as Prime Minister of the PA, but did not yield any power to him.  After being ill for many years, Yasser Arafat died on November 11, 2004.  His unwillingness to seriously work towards peace brought his people decades of suffering and prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state. 

ARAVA - ("steppe," "desert"). a stretch of depressed ground between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Eilat.

AREAS A, B, C - The Oslo II agreement signed by Israel and the Palestinians in 1995 divided the West Bank into three areas. Area A is controlled by the Palestinian Authority; Area B is under joint Palestinian/Israeli control; Area C is under Israeli control.

ARMISTICE AGREEMENTS - Israel's War of Independence ended in July 1949 by armistice (cease fire) agreements with Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

ASHKENAZI(M) - (adj. Ashkenazic). The term now used for Jews who derive from northern Europe and who generally follow the customs originating in medieval German Judaism, in contradistinction to Sephardic Judaism, which has its distinctive roots in Spain and the Mediterranean (see Sephardim). Originally the designation Ashkenaz referred to a people and country bordering on Armenia and the upper Euphrates; in medieval times, it came to refer to the Jewish area of settlement in northwest Europe (northern France and western Germany). By extension, it now refers to Jews of northern and eastern European background (including Russia) with their distinctive liturgical practices or religious and social customs.

ASSALAMU ALAIKUM - (Arabic) Standard Muslim greeting that means "Peace be upon you." It is usually answered with "Wa 'alaikumus salam," which means, "And upon you is the peace."

ASSOCIATION FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISRAEL (ACRI) - The largest civil rights organization in Israel, which was founded in 1972.

AUTONOMY PLAN - At the time Israel and Egypt were negotiating a peace treaty, Israel opposed the creation of a Palestinian state and proposed instead, as part of the Camp David Accords, to give Palestinians in the disputed territories control over most of their affairs (security and foreign policy were exceptions), while Israel retained control over the land. The transfer of power was to take place during a five-year transition period. By the thrid year, negotiations were to begin on the final status of the territories. The Palestinians rejected the plan and it was never implemented.

AYATOLLAH - An honorific title of honor given to outstanding jurists of the Shiite sect of Islam. The word is derived from the Arabic term Ayat Allah, meaning "miraculous sign of God." The title has primarily been used in Iran, where it also is associated with political leadership. The Ayatollah Khomeini was the spiritual leader and founder of Iran's Islamic Republic.