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Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Israel's Early Diplomatic Struggles
President Chaim Weizmann Opens the First Knesset

Armistice Agreements with Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan

Armistice Agreement with Syria

Prime Minister Ben-Gurion on Jerusalem and the Holy Places

Transferring the Knesset and Cabinet to Jerusalem

Annexation of the West Bank by Jordan

Foreign Minister Sharett on the Situation with Syria--1951

Glossary of Israel's Founding Parties and Personalities

About Major Knesset Debates

Major Knesset Debates -- Contents

 

Glossary of Israeli Parties and Personalities - 1948-1981


Abba Houshi -- See Houshi, Abba.

Abdullah Ibn el Hussain (1882-1951) -- Emir of Transjordan (1921-1946); King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (1946-1951). Born in Mecca, displaced from the Hejaz by Ibn Saud, he accepted the throne at Amman from the British Mandatory Government on a temporary basis. Subsequently attempted to broaden his influence which brought him into direct confrontation with Haj Amin el Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem. Maintained sporadic contacts with leaders of the Jewish Agency with a view to arriving at plan which would leave the Arab parts of Palestine under Hashemite rule. In May 1948 served as pro forma commander of the regular Arab forces invading Palestine. In December 1948 convened the Jericho Meeting of Arab Notables which called for the incorporation of the West Bank in his kingdom. In 1949-1950, following the signature of the Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement, conducted negotiations with Israel culminating in the initialling of a non-aggression pact. Because of internal and external opposition the pact was never signed. Assassinated by Palestinians upon leaving the Al Aksa mosque in Jerusalem.

Abu Ageila -- Important road junction and dam, in the north of the Sinai peninsula, some 45 km. southeast of El Arish. Captured by the IDF in 1949, 1956, and 1967. Returned to Egypt and demilitarized under the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979.

Acre -- Mediterranean coastal city, at northern end of the bay which bears its name. One of the most ancient populated sites in Israel. Captured by the IDF in May 1948. Mixed Jewish-Arab population.

Abdul Hamid (1842-1918) -- 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Halif of Islam from 1876 to 1909, when he was evicted from the throne by the young Turks who suspected him of conspiring against them.

Achdut Ha'Avoda-Poale Zion (Unity of Labor) -- Left wing party which merged with Mapai and Rafi in 1968 to form the Israel Labor party. Following the Six Day War many of its members, including the party's spiritual leader Yitzhak Tabenkin, supported the idea of Greater Israel; however, another leader, Yigal Allon, advocated the return of some of the administered territories which would not endanger Israel's security.

Afula -- Town in the Valley of Esdraelon, located near a road junction between the Coastal Plain and Galilee and the Jordan Valley. Founded in 1925 and planned as the comercial center of the region, it came into its own only after the establishment of the State of Israel.

Aguda, Agudath Israel (or Yisrael) (Association of Israel) -- Orthodox religious political party, founded at the Kattowitz convention of 1912, more traditional than the National Religious Party. Although not a Zionist party and not a member of the World Zionist Organization, it has been willing to cooperate with Zionists in areas of immigration, settlement and defense before the establishment of the state and has participated in all Knesset elections since 1948. It has participated in government coalitions but, except for the period of 1949-1952, has not accepted cabinet posts so as not to share responsibility for decisions concerning religious matters contrary to its beliefs.

Ahad Ha'am (Asher Ginsburg) (1856-1927) -- Zionist leader and thinker. Born in the Ukraine; immigrated to Palestine in 1922, but visited several times before. A staunch critic of both the political and practical Zionists, he insisted on giving first priority to the establishment in Palestine of a spiritual center for the Jewish people.

Aharonowitz, Z. -- See Aranne.

Akiva (Rabbi) -- One of the foremost Jewish sages in the period following the destruction of the Second Temple. Mentor and supporter of Bar Kochba (q.v.).

Al Aksa Mosque -- Silver-domed mosque at the southern end of the Temple Mount. Named Al Aksa -- the last, most remote -- because of its distance from Mecca and Medina, Islam's holy cities. Mentioned in the Qur'an and considered sacred by Muslims. Earliest remains date back to the eighth century AD.

Alexandroni -- One of the six original territorial infantry brigades, taken over at its inception by the IDF from the Hagana (q.v.). Its area of recruitment and responsibility was centerd on the coastal plain, north of Tel Aviv; its name derives from the Alexander Brook, which flows into the Mediterranean south of Hadera. Names of brigades served also as the cover names of their commanders.

Al Hamishmar -- Daily newspaper of Mapam (United Workers' party) (q.v.).

Aliya Hadasha (New Immigration) -- Political party established in 1942 by immigrants from Germany and Austria, against the background of their difficult absorption -- economic and cultural. In 1948 it joined with Haoved Hazioni, a non-socialist component of the Histadrut, and some General Zionists in the establishment of the Progressive party (q.v.).

Allenby, Field Marshal Edmund Henry (1861-1936) -- Commander-in-chief of the British and Allied forces who captured Palestine from the Ottoman Turks towards the end of World War I, in 1917-1918; subsequently British High Commissioner in Egypt until his retirement in 1925.

Allon, Yigal (1918-1980) -- Military commander, leader of the Labor movement. Born in Kfar Tavor, Lower Galilee; from an early age member of the Hagana; one of the first soldiers of the Palmach, he served as its commander from 1945 until its disbandment in 1948. Commanded some of the outstanding operations during Israel's War of Independence (1947-49). One of the founding members of Achdut Ha'Avoda (q.v.), 1946. In 1950 entered active political life; first elected to the Knesset in 1955. Served as a cabinet minister from 1961 until 1977, in the Labor (1961-67), Immigrant Absorption (1967-69), Education (1969-74) and Foreign Affairs (1974-77) portfolios. Instrumental in the formation of the first Alignment between Mapai and Achdut Ha'Avoda in 1965, he nevertheless failed to achieve a central leadership position. In 1980 he planned to contend for the leadership of the Labor party, but died before the party conference took place. Author of the Allon Plan for Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip which, calling for a differentiation between security and political boundaries, would leave strategically important areas in Israel hands, while returning to Jordan the areas most heavily populated by Arabs.

Almaliah, Avraham (1885-1967) -- Teacher, journalist, leader of the Sephardic community. Born in Jerusalem; banished to Damascus during World War I. Represented the Sephardic community in the National Committee of Palestine Jewry under the British Mandate; at Zionist Congresses; in the Jerusalem Municipal Council. Member of the First Knesset on the Sephardic List.

Altalena -- Arms ship brought by the Irgun (q.v.) to Israel in the course of the first truce, June 1948. It was sunk by IDF artillery off the coast of Tel Aviv following a controversy in which Ben-Gurion, suspecting a coup, insisted on the immediate delivery of the arms to the government, a demand rejected by the Irgun High Command.

Altman, Dr. Arieh (1902-1982) -- Revisionist leader. Born in the Ukraine, immigrated to Palestine 1925, studied in the United States where he became one of the leaders of the Revisionist Zionist movement and a close collaborator of its founder, Ze'ev Jabotinsky (q.v.). From 1937 headed the Revisionist movement in Palestine. Following the failure of its list in the elections for the First Knesset and its merger with the Irgun-based Herut (q.v.) in 1950, Altman was elected to the Knesset in 1955 and served three terms.

Amalek -- Biblical tribe, descendants of Esau, brother of Jacob. Enemies of the Jews in all generations.

Amman -- Capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Aqaba (Gulf of) (or Gulf of Eilat) -- Continuation of the Red Sea to the northeast, adjoining the eastern shore of the Sinai Peninsula, and the western shore of the Arabian Peninsula. Israel (Eilat) and Jordan (Aqaba) possess outlets at its northern end.

Arab League -- Organization of Arab states. Founded in 1945 by seven Arab states, independent or nearly independent at the time, it has come to include all independent Arab states, with and the PLO raised from observer status to full membership in 1974. Recognised as a regional organization by the UN. Its decisions are not binding on its members. In 1979, following the signature of its Peace Treaty with Israel, Egypt was suspended from the League, and its headquarters were moved from Cairo to Tunis.

Arab Legion -- Armed forces of Transjordan, and subsequently of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Commanded by a British officer, Glubb Pasha, (q.v.) until 1956.

Arava -- Long and narrow valley, part of the Great Rift, extending from the southern tip of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. The armistice line between Jordan and Israel follows its lowest points.

Aranne, Zalman (1899-1970) -- Labor leader. Born in Russia, immigrated 1926. Secretary of the Tel Aviv Labor Council; Member of the Central Committee of the Histadrut. In 1948 Secretary General of Mapai (q.v.); member of the Knesset 1949-1969; Minister of Education (1955-60; 1963-69). A stout follower of Ben-Gurion for many years, they parted ways over the Lavon Affair (q.v.).

Argov (Grabovski), Meir (1905-1963) -- Labor leader. Born in Russia; immigrated 1925. Secretary of Petah Tikva Labor Council. Member of the National Committee of Palestine Jewry under the Mandate. Joined the British Army in 1940, served in the Jewish Brigade. Among the signatories of Israel's Declaration of Independence. Member of the Knesset 1949-1961, Chairman of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Ariav, Chaim (1895-1957) -- General Zionist leader, journalist. Born Lida, Russia. Immigrated 1912. Turkish officer on the Armenian front, World War I. Director General of the Farmers'Association 1931-1951. Member of the Knesset 1951-57.

Arlosoroff, Dr. Chaim (1899-1933) -- Labor leader and ideologue. Born in the Ukraine, immigrated from Germany 1924. In 1930 appointed Head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, in which capacity he negotiated with the Nazi German authorities for the Ha'avara -- transfer of Jewish property to Palestine -- in the form of German goods. His assassination, still unsolved, on the Tel Aviv beach, has given rise to an acrimonious debate between left and right whose echo resounded loudly well into the 1980s.

Ashdod -- Port in the south of Israel. Named after an ancient Philistine city.

Asian Socialist Conference -- Bombay 1956, coincided with the Sinai campaign. Since there were no Arab Socialist parties at the time, Israel, represented by former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett, was the only participant from the Middle East.

Attlee, Clement (1883-1967) -- British Labour leader, Prime Minister from 1945 until 1951.

A-Tur -- Arab quarter in the east of Jerusalem atop the Mount of Olives.

Auja-el-Hafir (Nitzana) -- Ancient road junction, close to some wells, on the border between Sinai and the Negev.

Auster, Daniel (1893-1963) -- General Zionist. Born in Galicia, immigrated 1914. Member of the Jerusalem Municipal Council in Mandatory times. Mayor of Jerusalem 1949-1950.

Avriel (Ueberall), Ehud (1917-1980) -- Mapai, Rafi, Labor party. Born in Austria. Immigrated 1939. Active in Ha'apala (illegal immigration) and acquisition of arms. Israel's first diplomatic envoy to Prague, 1948. Subsequently Director General of the Prime Minister's Office; of the Ministry of Finance. After a short term in the Knesset, first envoy to Ghana and later to Zaire.

Azaniah (Eisenstadt), Baruch (1905-  ) -- Mapai; Kibbutz Meuhad. Born in Pinsk, Russia. Immigrated from Germany 1933. Member of Kibbutz Givat Chaim; active in the kibbutz movement. Member of the Knesset 1951-69; Chairman of Knesset (Rules and Regulations; House) Committee.

Ba'al Shem Tov (Israel of Moldavia) (ca.1700-1760) -- Jewish mystic; founder of the Hassidic movement.

Babi Yar -- Near Kiev, Ukraine. Site near which tens of thousands of Jewish inhabitants of Kiev were massacred by German Einsatzgruppen soon after the German Army captured the city in September 1941.

Bader, Dr. Yohanan (Jan) (1901-   ) -- Born in Krakov. Leader of the Revisionist party in Poland and editor of its Polish language organ. Studied law, economics, philosophy and history. Immigrated after release from Soviet camp, 1943; jailed by British authorities for membership in Irgun. Member of the Knesset (Herut) from 1949 to 1977. Chief Opposition spokesman on economic matters; Chairman of the Committee on State Control. Member of the Interparliamentary Union.

Baghdad Pact -- Informal name of the defensive alliance signed by Turkey and Iraq in 1955, subsequently joined by Great Britain, Iran and Pakistan. The U.S. participated in its committees and covered a major part of the budget, but never joined officially. Its purpose, as part of the containment strategy designed by Secretary Dulles, was the defense of the northern tier, as a link between NATO and SEATO. Iraq abandoned the organization in 1959, after which it lost its strategic significance.

Bahir, Arye (1906-1970) -- Leader of kibbutz movement. Born in Odessa, Russia. Immigrated 1924; joined Kibbutz Afikim in the Jordan Valley. Member of the Knesset for Mapai until the split in 1965, when he joined Ben-Gurion in the formation of Rafi; active mainly in committees dealing with economic affairs.

Bandung Conference (1955) -- First meeting of heads of state of non-aligned countries, at which the Non-Aligned movement was founded. Israel's invitation was aborted by a threat of an Arab boycott of the Conference.

Barash, Asher (1889-1952) -- Born Galicia; Immigrated 1914. Teacher, editor, writer. Chairman of the Hebrew Writers' Association.

Barazani, Moshe (1926-1947) -- Member of Lehi (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel). Captured by British troops in the course of an operation against an army commander; denied the jurisdiction of the Mandatory court; condemned to death. Together with Meir Feinstein (Irgun) committed suicide en route to the place of execution.

Bar Kochba (Son of the Star) (Simon Bar Kozeba) -- Leader of the revolt against Rome, 132 AD. After spectacular initial successes, the revolt was brutally suppressed by Emperor Hadrian. Betar, west of Jerusalem, was the last Jewish stronghold to be reduced (135 AD). Bar Kochba, his mentor Rabbi Akiva, and thousands of their followers were executed; many others sold as slaves. The revolt signified the virtual end of Jewish presence in Judea; Jerusalem was rebuilt as a city dedicated to Zeus.

Bar-Rav-Hai (1894-1977) -- Mapai. Lawyer. Born in Russia; immigrated after release from Soviet prison 1924. Member of the National Committee of Palestine Jewry. Delegate to various Zionist Congresses. Honorary Citizen of Haifa. Member of the Knesset 1949-65; mainly active in juridical and constitutional matters, including election proceedings.

Bar-Yehuda (Idelson), Israel (1895-1965) -- Mapam. Born Yekatrinoslav, Russia. Immigrated 1926. Member of Kibbutz Yagur. Active in Petah Tikva Labor Council; subsequently in Kibbutz movement. Member of the Knesset 1949-65. Minister of Internal Affairs (1955-59); Transport (1962-65).

Bashan (Hauran) -- Mountainous, basalt covered region, east of the Jordan, north of the Yarmuk River. Includes the Golan Heights and Gebel e-Druze.

Basle Program -- Program of the incipient World Zionist Organization, formulated and adopted at the First Zionist Congress held in Basle (1897). It states that "Zionism strives to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by Public Law." It remained unchanged until after the establishment of Israel, 51 years later.

Beduin -- Nomadic Arab.

Beersheba (Well of the Oath) -- Town in the south of Israel; capital of the Negev. Named after biblical locality, related to Abraham and Isaac. Under Ottoman and British rule, small Beduin market town.

Beer Tuviah -- Moshav (cooperative village) in the coastal plain. Founded in 1887. Abandoned following an Arab attack in 1929, it was restored in 1930.

Begin, Menahem (1913-   ) -- Herut. Born Brest-Litovsk. Studied law at Warsaw University. In 1939 appointed by Jabotinsky as Commander of the Betar movement in Poland. In 1940 condemned by Soviets to eight years hard labor; released following the Soviet-Polish agreement of 1941. Arrived in Palestine with Polish forces; after his release at the end of 1943 appointed Commander of the Irgun (q.v.). In 1944 declared revolt against the British Mandatory government; official Zionist policy, at the time called for restraint until after the end of the war except on matters of illegal immigration. British authorities put a price on his head, but he was never apprehended. Revolt continued until shortly before the end of the British Mandate, at times in direct contradiction with Hagana, which led to confrontation; for a while in cooperation with Hagana and Lehi. In 1948 present on board Altalena (q.v.). Established Herut party, based on Irgun. Member of Knesset, as leader of Herut, subsequently Gahal, and ultimately Likud, from 1949 until his resignation in 1983. Minister without portfolio 1967-1970. Prime Minister, and for one year Minister of Defense, 1977-1983. Signed Peace Treaty with Egypt 1979.

Beit Jiz and Beit Sussin -- Abandoned Arab villages near Latrun, on Burma Road (q.v.).

Ben-Aharon (Nissenbaum), Yitzhak (1906-   ) -- Mapam. Born Bucovina, Rumania. Immigrated 1928. Member of Kibbutz Givat Chaim. Secretary of Tel Aviv Labor Council. Joint Secretary of Mapai. Joined British Army at beginning of war; captured on Crete and held by Germans as prisoner of war. Detained by British authorities June 1946. Member of Knesset 1949-77. Minister of Transport 1958-62. Secretary General of the Histadrut 1969-1973. The reunification of the two workers parties (1962) was to a large extent the result of his initiative. Leader of the Labor party "dovish" wing. Retired from active political life in 1977; continues propagating his ideas orally and in writing.

Ben-Eliezer, Arye (1913-1970) -- Herut. Born Vilna. Immigrated 1920. Joined Betar (Brit Trumpeldor) 1926. Active in defense of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv during the riots of 1929 and 1936. Emissary of the Irgun in Eastern and Southern Europe 1937-39. During World War II in the U.S., active in the establishment of the Committee for a Jewish Army; the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People in Europe. Returned to Palestine 1943; joined Irgun High Command. Instrumental in appointment of Menahem Begin as Commander. Detained by British in 1944; escaped from Eritrea (1947); granted asylum by French, together with Yitzhak Shamir. Returned to Israel, June 1948. One of the founders of Herut. Member of Knesset 1949-70. Deputy Speaker.

Ben-Gurion, David (1886-1973) -- Born Plonsk (then Russia); immigrated 1906. In 1912 went to Istanbul to study law. Back in Palestine, was expelled by Ottoman authorities in 1915 as enemy (Russian) alien; moved to the U.S. where he promoted idea of Jewish Army. When U.S. entered the war, joined the American Battalion of the Jewish Legion, with which he returned to Palestine. One of the founders of the historical "Leachdut Haavoda" party (1919) and the Histadrut (1920). Secretary General of the Histadrut (1920-35). Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine (1935-48), representing Mapai which had become the predominant party in 1933. In 1937 supported Partition of Palestine as the only way towards a peaceful solution of the Palestine problem. In World War II coined the slogan: "We shall fight against Hitler as if there were no White Paper [of 1939, calling for an end to the National Home policy], and we shall fight against the White Paper as if Hitler did not exist." Was responsible for the drafting and adoption of the Biltmore program (q.v.). Once he became convinced that the new British Labour government (1945) would continue the White Paper policy, he was active in organization of the struggle in the areas of immigration (Ha'apala); settlement, and military preparations. Was the first to foresee a military confrontation with the regular armies of neighboring countries and to conceive of practical ways to prepare for the clash. Drafted and promoted Israel's Declaration of Independence. As Prime Minister and Minister of Defense (1948-53), responsible for the conduct of the War of Independence and the negotiations of the Armistice Agreements (1949); the mass immigration and absorption of the first years of the state. In 1953 retired to Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev. Recalled from retirement first as Minister of Defense and then also as Prime Minister, he was responsible for the Sinai Operation (1956), and its aftermath. Promoted the alliance with France. Against bitter opposition negotiated the Reparations Agreement with German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Resigned in 1963 in favor of Levi Eshkol. In 1964, in the wake of the Lavon Affair, split from his party to form Rafi, which gained ten seats in the elections of 1965. When his Rafi colleagues decided to merge with the Labor party, he stayed outside as the lone member of the State List. In 1969 that list won four seats. In 1970, retired from political life at the age of 84. Generally considered as the single most influential leader in the establishment of Israel and its early history.

Ben Shalom, Rafi -- Member of Kibbutz Haogen. Emissary for illegal immigration; Ambassador to Rumania.

Ben-Tov, Mordechai (1900-1985) -- Born Grodzisk, near Warsaw. Active in Hashomer Hatzair movement. Immigrated 1920. Founding Member of Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek. Member of Zionist Action Committee; Kibbutz Artzi and Histadrut Executive. Member of Knesset 1949-60, Mapam. Minister of Labor and Reconstruction (1948-49); Development (1955-61). Founder of Al Hamishmar (q.v.).

Ben-Yehuda, Eliezer (1858-1922) -- The "Father of Modern Hebrew"; principal agent in the renaissance of the Hebrew language as the living vehicle of communication among Palestinian Jews, and subsequently in Israel.

Ben-Zvi, Yitzhak (1884-1963) -- Mapai. Born Poltava, Russia. Immigrated 1907. Among the founders of the Bar Giora and Hashomer clandestine Jewish self-defense organizations. Studied law in Istanbul; expelled in 1915, went to the U.S. with Ben-Gurion. Returned as soldier in Jewish Legion. Active in community affairs; President of the National Committee (Va'ad Leumi) of Palestine Jewry from 1931. Member of First and Second Knesset. In 1952 elected second President of Israel, after the death of Chaim Weizmann; reelected 1957 and 1962. Conducted extensive research on Oriental Jewish communities. Endeavored to bring about reconciliation with Samaritans.

Berligne, Eliahu (1866-1955) -- Born Mohilev, Russia. Immigrated 1907. Industrialist. Delegate to the Representative Assembly; Member of Provisional Council of State for General Zionists. Signatory of Declaration of Independence.

Berlin, Rabbi Meir (1880-1949) -- Born Volozin, Russia. Immigrated from the U.S. 1926. Leader of Mizrachi (Religious Zionist party); member of Jewish Agency Executive; of Va'ad Leumi. Active in defense and political affairs. After 1944 partly incapacitated because of illness.

Bernadotte, Count Folke (1895-1948) -- Swedish diplomat. In May 1948 appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations as Chief of the Truce Supervision Organization, and as Mediator for Palestine. In June 1948 presented first plan, envisaging inter alia the merger of the Arab parts of Palestine with Transjordan, under the rule of King Abdullah, and the inclusion of Jerusalem as well as the Negev in that Arab state, with Western Galilee to be added to the Jewish state. Soon after signing second plan, with certain modifications, killed in Jerusalem by a group identified with Lehi (q.v.).

Bernstein, Peretz (Fritz) (1890-1971) -- Born Meiningen, Germany. Immigrated from Holland 1936. Leader of General Zionist, subsequently reconstituted as Liberal party. Member of Jewish Agency Executive, in charge of Department of Commerce and Trade. Editor of Haboker. Member of Provisional Council of State; of Knesset 1949-65. Minister of Commerce and Industry 1948-49; 1953-55.

Betar -- Acronym for Brit Josef Trumpeldor. Zionist youth movement, founded 1923, affiliated with Revisionist party. Its mentor was Ze'ev Jabotinsky; its program called for immediate Jewish statehood; military preparedness; "Hadar," a code of honor and personal behavior. Its anti-socialist stance led to clashes with Histadrut affiliated youth movements. A major recruiting ground for the Irgun, it was outlawed by the British authorities in Palestine.

Beth Guvrin (Jovrin) -- Kibbutz in the Judean foothills, 14 km. from Kiryat Gat. Named after an ancient Jewish and more recent Arab settlement on the same site.

Beth Hanoun -- Arab town in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Bethlehem -- Arab town in the Judean mountains, 7 km. south of Jerusalem. Site of the biblical town by the same name, birthplace of King David. Sacred for Christianity as site of Nativity of Jesus.

Bevin, Ernest (1881-1951) -- British Labour leader. Foreign Secretary 1945-51; played a central role in formulation and implementation of British policy on Palestine. Attaching major importance to British relations with Arab Middle East, many of his decisions and pronouncements have been perceived as anti-Zionist, at times even as anti-Semitic.

Bialik, Chaim Nachman (1873-1934) -- Born Brody, Ukraine. Immigrated from Germany 1924. Poet, author, editor and publisher. Principal poet of the Jewish renaissance.

Biltmore Program -- Resolution adopted by an extraordinary Zionist Conference, which took place at the Biltmore Hotel in New York in May 1942, after the real dimensions of the Holocaust became known. It urged that "Palestine be established as a Jewish Commonwealth integrated in the structure of the new democratic world (after World War II)." This was the first time that the Zionist organization officially demanded a Jewish state, by implication accepting the Partition of Palestine.

Bilu'im -- Movement of Palestine pioneers who spearheaded the First Aliya (1882). Acronym of "Beth Ya'akov L'khu V'nelkha" (House of Jacob, come ye and let us go -- Isaiah, ch. 2). Founded in Kharkov as a reaction to the pogroms of that year.

Bir-Hama; Bir Hasneh -- Egyptian strongholds in Eastern Sinai.

Birobidzhan -- Jewish autonomous region in Eastern Siberia. Established 1928 with the idea of providing a territorial solution to the Jewish problem in Russia, in direct competition with Zionism. In spite of considerable propaganda and pressure, its Jewish population at its peak (1934) numbered 20,000, many of whom left. It never became a cultural center and is generally considered as a failure, even by Soviet authorities.

Blood Libel -- Accusation levelled against Jews, claiming that they used Christian blood for their Passover ritual and killed Christian children for that purpose. First enunciated at Norwich, England, in 1144, it was repeated over and over again in spite of repeated condemnation and disauthorization by the highest secular and ecclesiastical authorities.

Boger, Dr. Haim (1876-1963) -- Born in Crimea; immigrated 1906. Co-founder and for many years Headmaster of the Herzlia Gymnasium, Tel Aviv, first Hebrew language secondary school. Memeber of the Second Knesset for the General Zionists.

Borochov, Ber (1881-1917) -- Founder and theoretician of the Poale Zion movement, synthesizing Socialism and Zionism.

Brandeis, Louis Dembitz (1856-1941) -- Jurist; Zionist leader. Born in Louisville, Ky. First Jewish Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. Attracted to Zionism fairly late in life, he became the uncontested leader of American Zionism. In 1917, prior to the Balfour Declaration, negotiated with American, British and French governments. Was offered, but declined, the presidency of the World Zionist Organization (1920). A split with European Zionists headed by Weizmann brought about his withdrawal from active leadership. He continued his Zionist activities, particularly with the practical work of economic development. His insistence on national funds being devoted to the development of Infrastructure, with private initiative and capital responsible for micro-economic construction, gained greater acceptance in later years.

Brest-Litovsk (Brisk) -- Town near the Polish-Russian border. Center of Jewish learning. Site of the German-Russian Peace Treaty at the end of World War I.

Bukharin, Nikolai Ivanovich (1888-1938) -- Russian Communist leader, chief theoretician after Lenin's death. Purged and executed 1938.

Bunche, Dr. Ralph Johnson (1904-1971) -- American diplomat; senior United Nations official. In 1947 served as Secretary of the UN Special Committee on Palestine. In 1948 Special UN Representative; after assassination of Count Bernadotte (q.v.), appointed Acting Mediator for Palestine. Active in the negotiation of Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbors (1949), for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1950).

Burg, Dr. Shlomo Yoseph (1909-  ) -- Born in Dresden, Germany; immigrated 1939. Leader of Hapoel Hamizrachi; Mizrachi; National Religious Party (Mafdal). Member of Knesset 1949-88. Deputy Speaker in First Knesset. From Second Knesset (1951) until 1988 held cabinet posts, with brief intervals, holding the portfolios of Health; Post and Communications; Welfare; Interior; Religious Affairs.

Burla, Yehuda (1886-1969) -- Born in Jerusalem. Teacher, writer, editor. Active in the promotion of Sephardic literature. Director of the Histadrut Department for Arab Affairs.

Cadogan, Sir Alexander -- British civil servant; Permanent Undersecretary of the Foreign Office 1938-1945; first Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Cahana (Kahana), Rabbi Kalman (1910- ) -- Born in Brody, Poland; immigrated 1938. Leader of Poalei Agudat Israel (q.v.). Member of Kibbutz Hafetz Haim. Member of Provisional Council of State, and of the Knesset 1949-81. Deputy Minister of Education and Culture 1961-66.

Chamberlain, Sir Neville (1869-1940) -- British political leader; Conservative. Prime Minister 1937-40. Issued White Paper on Palestine (May 1939) considered as betrayal of British obligations towards the Jewish National Home. Signed Munich Pact with Hitler, believing that it would bring "Peace in our time."

Circassians -- Tribe from the Caucasus whose territory was handed over to the Russians by the Ottoman Turks in 1829. After several revolts lasting until 1859, many, particularly from among the Muslim Circassians, fled to the other parts of the Ottoman Empire. Renowned for their martial and equestrian prowess. In Israel there are several hundred in two villages in Galilee.

Clayton, Brigadier Sir Illtyd Nicholl -- British officer attached to the Middle East Office in Cairo during and after World War II. Active in the formation of Arab League (q.v.) and formulation of postwar British policy in the Middle East.

Coastal Plain -- Undulating, often sandy, strip of territory running north to south parallel to the Mediterranean Coast of Israel. About 100 km. in length, its width varies from 14 to 30 km. Includes major population centers of the country.

Cohen, Idov (1909-   ) -- Born in Rumania; immigrated 1940. Leader of Haoved Hazioni (q.v.); subsequently Progressive party, and finally Liberal party. Member of Knesset (Progressive Party) 1949-63.

Cohen (Cahan), Yaakov (1881-1960) -- Hebrew writer; linguist. Born in Sluzk, Russia; immigrated 1934. Active in Revisionist, subsequently Jewish State party. President of PEN Club.

Cohen (Cagan), Rachel (1888-1982) -- Born in Odessa; immigrated 1919. President of WIZO-Women's International Zionist Organization. Member of the First Knesset on behalf of WIZO; of the Fifth on behalf of Liberal party. Active in social welfare issues and women's rights.

Cohen-Maguri, Chaim (1912-  ) -- Herut. Member of the First to the Sixth Knessets.

Cominform -- Communist Information Bureau; established 1947 by Communust parties of Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Italy. Dominated by Russia; dissolved itself in 1956 to placate Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia who had been expelled.

Conciliation Commission -- Established by UN General Assembly in 1948 to find agreed solution for Palestine question; consisted of representatives of France, Turkey and the U.S. Convened Lausanne Conference (1949) which proved futile. Dormant For many years.

Cook, Hillel (Peter Bergson) (1915-   ) -- Born in Lithuania; immigrated 1924. Member of Irgun (1931) and its Command (1937). Irgun Representative in U.S. 1940-48. Active in promotion of Committee for a Jewish Army (1941-43); Emergency Committee to Rescue the Jewish People in Europe (1943-45). Member of First Knesset (Herut); retired from political life as a result of difference of opinion with the leader of the party.

Copeland, Sir Reginald (1884-1952) -- Professor of British Colonial History. Member of the Royal Commission for Palestine (Peel Commission) 1936-37; formulated the idea of Partition of Palestine which became the majority recommendation of that Commission.

Council of State (Provisional Council of State) (14 May 1948-25 January 1949) -- Provisional representative and legislative body of Israel; replaced by the First Knesset, whose election it initiated and supervised.

Council of Four Lands -- Regional Jewish self-governing authority, established towards the end of the sixteenth century, comprising four Polish provinces. Based in Lublin.

Creech-Jones, Sir Arthur (1891-1964) -- British Labour leader and cabinet member. Colonial Secretary of State, subsequently Secretary 1945-1950.

CSSR -- Czechoslovak Soviet Socialist Republic.

Cunningham, General Sir Alan Gordon (b.1887) -- Last British High Commissioner for Palestine 1945-1948.

Dahab -- Oasis and Beduin fishing village in Sinai, 150 km. south of Eilat.

Dan -- Kibbutz in Eastern Galilee, named after ancient nearby biblical town.

Dardara -- Kibbutz in the east of the Hula Valley at the foot of the Golan Heights.

Davar -- Histadrut daily newspaper, founded by Berl Katznelson in 1925.

Dayan, Moshe (1915-1981) -- Born in Kibbutz Degania. Military and political leader. Mapai and Rafi. Chief of the General Staff (1953-58); conducted Sinai Campaign. Member of Knesset 1959-81. Minister of Agriculture 1959-64. Appointed Minister of Defense on the eve of the Six Day War (1967); replaced in the aftermath of the Yom Kipur War (1974). Minister of Foreign Affairs 1977-79; played central role in the negotiation of the Camp David Accords and the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.

Dayan, Shmuel (1881-1968) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1908. Active in Moshav movemement. Member of Knesset.

Dayanim -- Judges of Jewish religious courts.

Day of Atonement -- See Yom Kippur.

DDR -- German Democratic Republic.

Defense (Emergency) Regulations -- Regulations issued by the Executive without prior Parliamentary authorization, on the basis of emergency legislation carried over from the Brirish Mandatory government.

Degania -- Kibbutz at the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee, 10 km. south of TIberias. First kibbutz in the country; scene of major battle with invading Syrian Army, 1948.

De Haan, Jacob Israel (1881-1924) -- Born in Holland; immigrated 1919. At first a Dutch Socialist; then a Zionist; ultimately a member of the ultra-Orthodox community of Jerusalem and relentless opponent of the Zionist movement. When he carried the struggle against Zionism outside of Palestine, he was killed by a group linked to the Hagana.

Dimitrov, George M. (1882-1949) -- Bulgarian Communist leader. Secretary General of the Cominform (q.v.).

Dinur (Dinaburg), Professor Ben Zion (1884-1973) -- Born in the Ukraine; immigrated 1921. Teacher, authority on Jewish history. As Minister of Education (1951-55), presented Obligatory Education Law envisaging inter alia the abolition of the different "streams" (ideological tendencies). Introduced the law establishing the Holocaust Memorial Authority (Yad Vashem), which he headed 1953-59.

Deir Yassin -- Former Arab village on the western outskirts of Jerusalem. Captured by Irgun and Lehi units in April 1948; five of the attackers lost their lives in the operation, against about 120 Arabs, many of them women and children. The "massacre" was immediately condemned by the Jewish Agency. Presented by Arab spokesmen as typical of Jewish tactics (which it was not), it spurred the Arab exodus from other locations in Palestine.

Doar Ivri -- Improvised motto on postage stamps, used in April and May 1948, after the breakdown of Mandatory Postal Services, and before those of the newly-established state were properly organized.

Dobkin, Elyahu (1898-1976) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1932. Mapai. Member of Jewish Agency Executive; Head of the Youth and Hechalutz (Pioneer) Department.

Druse -- National-religious Arabic-speaking minority, occupying mainly mountainous areas in Lebanon, Syria and Israel. Split from Islam in eleventh century, the principles of their religion are made known only to a select group of elders. In Israel they live in a number of villages and towns in Galilee and the Carmel, to which some villages in the Golan Heights have been added in 1967. They number about 1 percent of the total population. Close relations with Jews have been established over the years. In 1948, after a brief clash in which Druse troops from Syria sided with Arabs, non-aggression between Jews and Druse, subsequently cooperation, were agreed upon. Since 1957 the Druse community voluntarily adopted obligatory military service for its young men. Many Druse military and police personnel have distinguished themselves in the line of duty.

Dubnow, Simon (1860-1941) -- Born near Moghilev, Russia; shot by German soldiers in Riga, Latvia. Historian; theorist of Jewish autonomism or Galut nationalism; Founder of Folkspartei (People's party). In later years drew closer to Zionism.

Duvdevani, Yechiel (1896-1988) -- Kibbutz Meuhad activist. Member of First Knesset for Mapai.

Dunam -- Land measurement unit equivalent to 1000 sq. meters.

Dushinsky, Rabbi Josef Zvi (1868-1948) -- Born in Hungary; died in Jerusalem. Immigrated 1933, when appointed Chief Rabbi of Orthodox Jerusalem. Close to the extreme anti-Zionist faction of that community (Neturei Karta, the Guardians of the Walls), he nevertheless approved of the rabbinical decree issued during the siege of Jerusalem permitting defense preparations on the Sabbath.

Eban, Abba (Aubrey) (1915- ) -- Diplomat; leader of Mapai, subsequently Labor party; writer and lecturer. Born in South Africa. From 1946 member of Jewish Agency Political Department; Permanent Representative to the UN 1948-59; Ambassador to Washington 1959-60. Member of Knesset 1961-87. Minister of Education and Culture 1960-63; Deputy Prime Minister 1963-66; Foreign Minister 1966-74. Chairman of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committe of the Knesset 1984-87. One of the best known Israel political leaders worldwide, his books and articles have been translated into many languages.

Economic Union -- Arrangement envisaged under the Partition Resolution of 29 November 1947 by which the three successor states in Mandatory Palestine -- the Arab state, the Jewish state, and the international enclave -- would continue with one currency and within a customs and tariff union.

Edom -- Mountainous country, also called Mt. Se'ir, given to Esau and his descendants. Extended from Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.

Ehrenburg, Ilya (1891-1967) -- Russian Jewish novelist and journalist. Extreme opponent of Zionism. Active in the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee in World War II.

Eilat -- Port at the head of the synonymous Gulf. Mentioned in the Bible under different names, including Etzion Gever, where King Solomon equipped and dispatched his fleet. Part of the Jewish state under Partition, it was occupied by the IDF in March 1949.

Ein Gedi -- Kibbutz near an oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea, 17 km. north of Massada.

Ein Gev -- Kibbutz on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 10 km. northeast of Zemach junction. Site of heavy fighting against Syrian invaders in 1948 when it constituted the only Jewish outpost to the east of the Sea.

Ein Harod -- Two kibbutzim by the same name, close to each other, in the Valley of Esdaelon near the Afula-Baisan Road.

Ein Kerem -- Quarter in the southwest of Jerusalem. Formerly an Arab village. Identified with biblical Bet Hakerem.

El-Arish -- Mediterranean coastal town in Sinai. Center of local administration. At the beginning of the twentieth century its region was considered suitable for Jewish settlement by some British officials. Thorough investigations and lengthy negotiations had negative results. In 1949 IDF troops reached its outskirts in the course of Operation Horev designed to dislodge the Egyptians from Palestine. Captured by the IDF in 1956 and again in 1967.

El-Gafgafa (Bir) -- Road junction and communications center in the center of the Sinai Peninsula.

El-Hamah -- Ancient baths in the Yarmuk riverbed in the south of the Golan Heights, 10 km. southeast of Zemach. Demilitarized under Israel-Syrian Armistice Agreement 1949.

Eliash, Dr. Mordecai (1892-1950) -- Born in the Ukraine; immigrated 1919. Lawyer and diplomat. First Israel Minister to the Court of St. James, 1949.

Eliashar, Elyahu (1899-1981) -- Born in Jerusalem. First President of the Sephardic Community Council in Jerusalem. Member of First and Second Knesset for Sephardic List.

Es-Salt -- Town in Transjordan; regional center, near Hijaz Railway.

Emes Publishing House -- Official Yiddish language publishing house in the Soviet Union.

Erem, Moshe (1896-1978) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1924. Leader of left wing Poalei Zion. Member of Knesset for Mapam.

Eritrea -- Former British colonial territory in East Africa where camps for Palestinian Jewish detainees were established in the 1940s.

Etrog -- Citrus fruit used for liturgical purposes during the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles).

Etzion Bloc -- Group of four Jewish settlements in the Hebron mountains, 20 km. south of Jerusalem. Captured by the Arab Legion following prolonged battle on 14 May 1948.

Even Yehuda -- Village in the Sharon Valley, 8 km. southeast of Netanya.

Faisal, Ibn Abd el-Aziz (1905-1975) -- King of Saudi Arabia 1964-1975.

Faluja Pocket -- Enclave near the Faluja road junction in the Judean foothills in which an Egyptian brigade was besieged from October 1948 until its release under the Armistice Agreement. Gamal Abd el-Nasser served as operations officer of the Brigade.

Farouk, King (1920-1965) -- King of Egypt 1936-52, when ousted by Free Officers.

FDR -- Federal Republic of Germany.

Fedayeen (Fedayun) -- Moslem commando soldiers, literally: suicide squads. In the 1950s, until the Sinai Campaign, Palestinian guerillas and terrorists, were trained and directed against Israel by Egyptian Intelligence, primarily from the Gaza Strip.

Feinstein, Meir (1927-1947) -- Member of Irgun; wounded and captured in the course of an operation against the Jerusalem railway station. Condemned to die, committed suicide together with Moshe Barazani (q.v.).

Fellaheen -- (Arabic) Farmers.

Fishman (Maimon), Rabbi Judah-Leib Hacohen (1876-1962) -- Born in Bessarabia; immigrated 1913. Leader of Mizrachi. Member of Jewish Agency Executive from 1935. Minister of Religious Affairs in Provisional Government and several subsequent governments until 1961. A political activist, served on several occasions as mediator between Hagana, Irgun and Lehi.

Flavius, Josephus (37-95?) -- Jewish historian and soldier; chronicler of the Jewish revolt against the Romans and the destruction of the Second Temple 71 AD.

Frank, Yaacov Israel (1925-   ) -- Member of Eighth Knesset.

Friedmann-Yellin, Nathan (1913-1978) -- Born in Russia; immigrated during World War II. Engineer. Member of Lehi Command; condemned to imprisonment after the killing of Bernadotte. Member of First Knesset heading the list of Fighters for the Freedom of Israel. In 1958 initiated short-lived Semitic Movement for Arab-Jewish reconciliation; henceforth advocated dovish positions.

Garin (literally nucleus) -- Group organized for the purpose of establishing a new agricultural settlement.

Gahal (Acronym: Gius Hutz Laaretz; recruiting from abroad) -- IDF soldiers in the War of Independence who immigrated mainly from DP camps in Europe and detention camps on Cyprus during the war.

Galilee, Sea of -- Part of the Jordan Rift Valley, bordering on Lower Galilee. Lowest freshwater lake on earth.

Galili, Israel (1910-1986) -- Born in the Ukraine; immigrated 1914. Leader of Achdut Ha'Avoda; subsequently Mapam; Labor party. Chief of the Hagana Command 1946-48. Deputy Minister of Defense 1948. Member of Knesset 1949-77. Minister without portfolio 1966; 1974-77.

Gaon of Vilna (Gaon Rabbi Elijah) (1720-1803) -- Jewish scholar; rationalist. Opponent of Hassidism, whose perceived superstitions he condemned. At the height of the controversy (1781), he excommunicated the Hassidim and forbade intermarriage with them.

Gaza Strip -- Southernmost section of the coastal plain of former Palestine, held by Egyptians at the end of the War of Independence. Forty km. long; varies in width from 6 to 13 km.

Gemara (Talmud) -- Formulation and codification of the oral exegesis of Jewish law, finalized in the sixth century in Jerusalem and Babylon.

General Zionists -- During the first decades of the Zionist Organization, a vague term applied to all those who did not have a specific (such as socialist or religious) agenda in addition to the Basle Program. Subsequently organized as a separate group, including the majority of diaspora members of the Organization, they were still relatively weak in Palestine where they came to represent middle class interests. In the 1940s they split into two groups -- A and B -- over the twin issues of more or less activist, combative attitudes towards the Mandatory government and its policies, on the one hand, and the Socialist-dominated Histadrut, on the other. In the elections for the First Knesset, group A constituted the Progressive party; group B, the General Zionists. United for a number of years after 1961 under the name of Liberal party, they split again when one part, basically former group B, joined Herut in 1965, in the formation of a joint list (Gahal). The former Progressives continued as Independent Liberals.

Geneva Convention -- In fact, conventions: a series of international conventions signed in Geneva designed to alleviate human suffering, particularly at the time and in the aftermath of war. The first convention, signed in 1864, initiated the Red Cross.

Genihowski, Eliahu Moshe (1903-1971) -- Born in Poland; immigrated 1932. Hapoel Hamizrachi. Member of First and Second Knesset.

Gerar -- Ancient settlement in the southwest of Israel near the synonymous Valley.

Gesher -- Kibbutz in the Jordan Valley, 10 km. south of Zemach, near the confluence of the Jordan and Yarmuk Rivers. Site of heavy fighting against the invading Iraqi Army in 1948.

Gil, (Lifshitz) Yaakov (1908-   ) -- Born in Tiberias. Military chaplain, Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Brigade Group during World War II. Member of First Knesset for General Zionists.

Gilboa -- Mountain range between the Esdraelon and Beisan Valleys, some 18 km. long and 9 km. wide.

Gilead -- Mountainous region to the east of the Jordan River, some 105 km. in length, from the Yarmuk River to the Heshbon River, north of the Dead Sea.

Glubb (Pasha), Sir John Bagot (1897- ) -- British officer; Deputy Commander of the Arab Legion 1930-38; Commander-in-chief 1938-56.

Goebbels, Josef (1897-1945) -- German National Socialist Propaganda Minister 1933-45.

Gold, (Rabbi) Wolf (1889-1956) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1924. Mizrachi Leader. Co-founder, American Union of Orthodox Rabbis; Member of Provisional Council of State.

Goldmann, Nahum (1894-1982) -- Born in Lithuania; immigrated 1964. Co-founder of World Jewish Congress; Jewish Agency Representative in Geneva; President of the World Zionist Organization. Active in soliciting support for Partition in 1947; instrumental in negotiation of German Reparations. Later extremely critical of Israel and its policies, advocating mutual Palestinian-Israel recognition.

Goldrat, Avraham (1911-1980) -- Born in Poland; immigrated 1933. Young Agudat Israel activist in Poland; member of First Knesset on behalf of Religious Front.

Goshen -- Fertile part of Egypt, probably in the northeast of the Delta, occupied by Israelites according to Bible.

Gottwald, Klement (1896-1953) -- President of Czechoslovakia 1948-1953.

Govrin, Akiba (1902-1980) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1922. Mapai; Labor party. Member of Knesset 1949-69; Minister without portfolio 1963-64; Tourism 1964-66.

Grabowsky, Meir -- See Argov.

Granowsky (Granott), Dr. Abraham (1890-1962) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1922. Active in Jewish National Fund (KKL); Chairman of the Board 1945; President 1960. Member of the First Knesset on behalf of the Progressive party.

Greenberg, Uri Zvi (1895-1981) -- Born in Galicia; immigrated 1924. Hebrew and Yiddish poet. Poet of the pioneers at one time, he later developed a mystical nationalist philosophy. Member of First Knesset for Herut.

Gromyko, Andrei Andreyevich (1909-1988) -- Russian diplomat; Permanent Delegate to the UN 1946-48; Deputy Foreign Minister 1949-52; Foreign Minister 1957.

Grotewohl, Otto (1894-1964) -- Communist party leader and Prime Minister of the DDR (1949-64).

Gruenbaum, Yitzhak (b.1879) -- Zionist Leader in Poland; Member of the Siem 1919-1930, one of the organizers of the Minorities Bloc; immigrated 1933. Member of the Zionist Executive (General Zionists); Minister of Internal Affairs in Provisional Government (1948-49).

Guildhall Speech -- Speech delivered by Sir Anthony Eden (later Lord Avon), British Foreign Secretary, on 9 November 1955, calling for a compromise adjustment between Israel's borders at the time and those assigned it under the UN Partition Resolution.

Gulf of Solomon -- See Eilat.

Ha'aretz -- Israeli daily newspaper, founded as Hadashot Haaretz in 1919. For many years the only morning paper not affiliated with any political party.

Habibi, Emil (1922-  ) -- Palestinian, later Israel Communist Arab leader. Member of the Knesset representing Maki and Rakah.

Hacohen, David (1897-1984) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1907. Mapai, Labor. First Ambassador to Burma. Member of the Knesset; Chairman of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Hadar Hacarmel -- Commercial center of Haifa, on the western slope of Mount Carmel halfway between the lower city and the peak.

Hadassah -- Women's Zionist Organization of America. Founded by Henrietta Szold, it first dispatched medical personnel to Palestine in 1913. Directs a network of humanitarian institutions in Israel, the most important being the Hadassah Hospital Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Hadera -- Town in the north of the Sharon; originally an agricultural settlement founded in 1890.

HaDor -- Hebrew daily newspaper, owned by Mapai.

Hagana -- Clandestine Jewish self-defense organization in Palestine, founded at the initiative of the Histadrut in 1920 for the purpose of protecting Jewish life and property against attacks by Arabs as a result of the inadequacy of protection provided by British authorities. Following the establishment of the state it was converted into the IDF.

Hager, (Rabbi) Menachem Mendel (1889-1954) -- Born in Bukovina; immigrated 1943. Mizrachi member of Provisional Council of State.

Haifa -- Port and industrial center in the north of Israel.

Haj (Mohamed) Amin el-Husseini (1895-1974) -- Grand Mufti of Jerusalem; radical Palestinian and Muslim leader. Active in anti-Jewish riots of 1920-21; 1929; 1936-39. During World War II recruited Muslims for Nazi Germany, and declared a war criminal. Opposed Partition in 1947 and headed violent Palestinian resistance to its implementation in its early phase.

Hakim, (Bishop) George (1908-   ) -- Born in Egypt. Head of the Greek Catholic community in the north of Israel.

Halakhah -- Jewish religious law.

Hamashbir (or Hamashbir Hamerkazi) -- Central cooperative sales organization for productive enterprises linked with or owned by the Histadrut.

Hamizrachi -- Religious Zionist party established in 1902 with the aim of securing "Eretz Israel for the people of Israel according to the Torah of Israel." It envisages, in the ultimate stage, a Jewish state governed according to Halakhah, but considers the present day secular state as a precursor of that state. Participated in most government coalitions from 1956 as a part of the National Religious Party.

Hammarskjold, Dag (1905-1961) -- Swedish economist and diplomat. Secretary General of the United Nations from 1953 until his death in an accident. Active in connection with the Suez Crisis in 1956, and instrumental in establishment of the UN Emergency Force (UNEF).

Ha'Oved Hatzioni -- Non-socialist workers party, merged with the Progressive party in 1948.

Hapoel Hamizrachi -- Religious labor organization, established in 1921. Cooperated with Mizrachi on political matters; merged with it in 1956 to form the National Religious Party.

Harari, Yizhar (1908-1978) -- Born in Jaffa. Progressive; subsequently Independent Liberal; ultimately Labor party. Lawyer. Member of the First to the Eighth Knesset. Active in Foreign Affairs, and Law and Constitution Committees. In 1951 proposed the formula that Israel would have a written constittution developed gradually, which has been accepted since.

Harzfeld, Abraham (b.1888) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1914. Mapai, Labor. Active in land purchases and settlement. Member of Knesset 1949-65.

Hashemite -- Arab clan, from which sprang the Prophet Mohamed, according to tradition. The Sharif of Mecca was one of its descendants.

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan -- Since 1949, the territory on both banks of the Jordan River controlled by the Hashemite King Abdullah (until 1951); by Tallal (1951-52); by Hussain (1952-  ).

Hashomer Hatzair -- Jewish youth movement formed in 1913 when various local Zionist groups in Galicia (then under Austro-Hungarian rule, and Poland (then under Tsarist Russian rule) combined. Subsequently spread to other diaspora countries, and established a series of kibbutzim in Palestine, federated in Kibbutz Artzi. During World War II members of the organization stood out in partisan and resistance units. In 1946 Hashomer Hatzair formally became a political party in Palestine, and in 1948 it participated in the formation of Mapam.

Hasmoneans (Maccabees) -- Jewish family of the second and first century BCE which led the opposition to Syrian dominance and Hellenizing tendencies and in the restoration of Jewish political and religious life.

Hassan Beck -- Quarter of Jaffa, named after the synonymous mosque.

Hassan Hanifas, Salah (1918-   ) -- Born in Shefaram. Druse leader. Member of Second and Third Knessets, heading an Arab list linked with Mapai.

Hatikva (The Hope) -- Anthem of the Zionist movement and national anthem of the State of Israel. Written by Naftali Herz Imber about 1880. The melody is based on a Moldavian folk melody.

Hatzohar -- See Revisionists.

Hayarkon Street -- North-south artery parallel to the shore of Tel Aviv. In 1948 seat of the Hagana High Command; central committee of Mapai, subsequently Labor party.

Hazan, Yaakov (b.1899) -- Born in Russia. Hashomer Hatzair, Mapam Leader. Knesset Member 1949- . Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Hebron -- Ancient town in Judean mountains, 36 km. south of Jerusalem. Believed to have been the seat of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Its Jewish community was massacred or expelled in 1929. Captured by IDF in 1967, a new community was subsequently established in nearby Kiryat Arba.

Heletz -- Moshav in the Lahish region; nearby is the first modest oilfield discovered in Palestine.

Hermon (Mount) -- Highest mountain range in the Levant, on the borderline between Israel and Syria. Scene of heavy fighting in the course of the Yom Kippur War. Its peak, in Syria, reaches 2814 m.

Herut (party or movement) -- Israel political party founded by the Irgun in 1948. Advocates the unification of Eretz Israel within its historic boundaries and the promulgation of a written constitution. In 1965 entered a parliamentary and electoral bloc with the Liberal party (Gahal); in 1977 Gahal joined with two more groups -- the Free Center and the Movement for Greater (literally: the complete) Israel -- to form the Likud bloc, which won a plurality in the elections of 1977. Its undisputed leader from 1948 until his retirement in 1983 was Menahem Begin.

Herzl, Benjamin Zeev (Theodor) (1860-1904) -- Born in Budapest; died in Vienna. Prophet of the Jewish state; father of political Zionism and founder of the World Zionist Organization. Originated the Basle Program. In accordance with his will, his remains were transferred to Jerusalem after the establishment of the state in 1949.

Hibat Zion (Hovevei Zion) -- Movement established in 1882 in reaction to pogroms in Russia, for the purpose of encouraging Jewish settlement in Palestine and achieving a Jewish national revival there.

Histadrut -- General Federation of Labor, founded 1920 in Haifa. In 1985 close to 1.5 million members. The Histadrut is at one and the same time a trade union, a mutual aid society, a productive economic system and a center of cultural and sports activities. The Histadrut Conference, its supreme institution, is elected once every four years by proportional representation. Mapai, and subsequently the Labor party or Alignment, have been in control throughout, and all Secretaries General have come from its ranks.

Horeb (Operation) (22 December 1948-7 January 1949) -- One of the last operations undertaken by the IDF in the course of Israel's War of Independence, designed to expel the remaining Egyptian invading forces from Israeli territory.

Horthy, Nicholas (1886-1957) -- Hungarian admiral and statesman. Headed counterrevolutionary forces during Bela Kun regime; regent of Hungary 1920-44; forced by Germans to resign.

Hosni Zaim (1889-1949) -- Born in Aleppo; Kurdish descent. Syrian Army officer; appointed Chief of Staff May 1948. Undertook first military coup in Syria in March 1949; in June of the same year elected President; in August 1949 toppled in another coup, condemned to death and executed.

Hoter-Yishai, Aharon (1905-   ) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1913. Lawyer. Active in Hagana. Served in Jewish Brigade during World War II. IDF Advocate General.

Abba Houshi (1898-1969) -- Mapai-Labor leader. Born in Eastern Galicia; immigrated to Palestine 1920. Secretary of Haifa Labor Council 1931-51; Mayor of Haifa 1951-69. Member of Arab Department of Histadrut; maintained close relations with Arab and Druse population of Haifa and the North.

Husan -- Arab village in the Judean mountains, 7 km. west of Bethlehem.

Hussain, Ibn Tallal (1935-  ) -- King of Jordan since 1952.

Husseinis -- Followers of Haj Amin el Husseini, Mufti of Jerusalem (q.v.).

Hyat, Victor -- Christian Arab businessman and leader in Haifa. In 1948 member of the Arab Emergency Committee, attempted to prevent the exodus from the city.

Hyrcanus (Jochanan) -- Son of Simeon the Hasmonean; ruled from 135-105 BCE.

Ibn-Saud, Abdel-Aziz (1880-1953) -- Chief of the Wahabi Sect; captured Mecca and Medina 1924, Jedda and the rest of the Hejaz 1925; proclaimed King 1926. In 1932 changed name of his Kingdom to Saudi Arabia.

Ichilov, Ezra (1907-1961) -- Born in Petah Tikva. Leader of Farmers Union; General Zionists. Member of Second to Fourth Knessets.

Idelson, Beba (1895-1975) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1926. Active in Women Workers' Organization; its Secretary General from 1930. Member of the Provisional Council of State and of the Knesset on behalf of Achdut Ha'Avoda, later Mapai. Deputy Speaker.

IDF -- Israel Defense Forces.

IL -- Israel Pound.

Ilyushin -- Soviet-made military airplane, fighter bomber.

Immigration Ordinance (1941) -- British Mandatory decree drastically limiting Jewish immigration into Palestine.

Iraq el-Manshya -- Arab village, military outpost in the South; towards the end of the War of Independence part of the Faluja Pocket.

Iraq Suedan -- British police fortress, of the type designed by Teggart and named after him, in the southern coastal plain. Fulfilled a central role in the battle for the besieged Negev in 1948; attacked seven times by IDF before its capture from Egyptians.

Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organization) -- Clandestine military organization founded in Jerusalem in 1931 following a disagreement within the Hagana. From 1936 linked politically with the Revisionist movement. Dissolved upon the establishment of the IDF in May 1948, it continued its existence in Jerusalem until September. In June 1948 its last commander, Menahem Begin, established the Herut movement adopting the IZL's emblem.

Isaac -- Son of Abraham. Biblical figure; forefather of the Jews.

Isaiah -- Son of Amoz. One of foremost prophets. Lived in Judea at the time of the First Temple.

Ismailya -- Town in Egypt; halfway station along the Suez Canal and administrative center of the region. Named after the Khedive Ismail, during whose reign the Canal was inaugurated.

Iton Rasmi -- Official Gazette of British Mandate. Renamed Reshumot in Israel.

IZL -- See Irgun Zvai Leumi.

Jabotinsky, Vladimir (Ze'ev Yona) (1880-1940) -- Born in Odessa, Russia. Political leader; writer; journalist. Immigrated as a soldier in the Jewish Legion towards the end of World War I; jailed in 1920 by British authorities. Released in 1921, he joined the Zionist Executive in London. Died in U.S. in 1940. Founder of Betar movement; of New Zionist Organization (Zohar, the Revisionists). Considered ideologue and precursor of Herut.

Jacob -- Son of Isaac. Biblical figure; forefather of the Jews.

Jaffa -- Ancient port on the Mediterranean Coast, south of Tel Aviv. Part of the municipal area of Tel Aviv.

Jaljulya -- Arab village in the Sharon Valley, 4 km. east of Kfar Saba.

Jarjoura, Amin (b.1894) -- Member of Knesset.

Jarrah (Sheikh) -- Arab quarter in the northeastern part of Jerusalem, astride the road to Mount Scopus. Scene of heavy fighting in 1948 and of the liquidation of a convoy of Jewish medical personnel in April 1948.

Jebel Libneh -- Mountain in the northern part of the Sinai peninsula; site of battles in 1956 and 1967.

Jenin -- Arab town on the border of Samaria and the valley of Esdraelon.

Jericho -- Ancient city in Palestine north of the Dead Sea.

Jerusalem -- City in the Judean mountains, selected by King David as capital of his united kingdom, ca.1000 BCE. Holy city of the three monotheistic religions; capital of Israel.

Jewish Agency (for Palestine) -- Recognized under the Mandate as a public body for the purpose of advising and cooperating with the administration of Palestine in matters related to the establishment of the Jewish National Home. Until 1929 it was the World Zionist Organization which acted in that capacity; subsequently non-Zionists were also incorporated. In 1948 the functions of the Jewish Agency were taken over by the Israel government. In 1952 it was reconstituted with responsibility for immigration and absorption.

Jezreel Valley -- Elongated, fertile valley between Galilee and Samaria.

JNF -- Jewish National Fund.

Johnston Plan -- Plan for distribution of the waters of the Jordan and its tributaries among Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel, formulated by Eric Johnston (1896-1963) at the request of President Eisenhower in 1953.

Jordan -- River, 250 km. in length, running from north to south along the Syrian-African rift.

Jordania -- Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Joseph, Dr. Bernard Dov (1889-1980) -- Born in Canada; came to Palestine in 1918 as soldier in Jewish Legion. Lawyer. Mapai. From 1936 Legal Adviser to the Jewish Agency. Military Governor of Jerusalem 1948-49. Member of First, Second and Third Knessets. Minister of Supply and Rationing 1949-50; subsequently Communications; Trade; Development. Minister of Justice 1961-65.

Josiah (640-609 BCE) -- King of Judah.

Judah -- Jacob's third son, forefather of the tribe of the same name.

Judea Capta -- Name given to the province of Judea after its subjugation by the Romans in 70 AD.

Kafr Qasem -- Large Arab village on the border of the Sharon Valley and Samaria, 8 km. northeast of Petah Tikva.

Kahane, Kalman -- see Cahane.

Kalkilya -- Arab town on the border of the Sharon and Samaria, about three km. east of Kfar Saba.

Kaplan, Eliezer (1891-1952) -- Born in Minsk; immigrated 1923. Labor leader. Engineer. Treasurer of the Jewish Agency from 1933; Israel's first Minister of Finance, from 1948 until shortly before his death.

Keren Hayessod (Palestine Foundation Fund) -- One of the major fund-raising and financial institutions of the World Zionist Organization; founded in London 1923.

Kartiya -- Abandoned Arab village in the South, located near the Egyptian-occupied belt separating the Negev from the rest of Israel.

Kasher (Kosher) -- Proper; food which complies with Jewish dietary laws; hence Kashrut.

Kattowitz Conference -- Conference of Hovevei Zion (q.v.), held in Kattowitz in 1884.

Katznelson, Dr. Abraham (1888-1956) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1924. Physician. Mapai. Member of the Provisional Council of State from Jerusalem. First Director General of the Ministry of Health.

Kaukji, Fauzi el -- Arab military commander. Born in Tripoli, Lebanon. Graduate of Ottoman Military Academy. Commander of volunteer units from neighboring countries during Palestine riots 1936; Commander of Arab Liberation Army 1948.

Kesse, Yona (1907-1985) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1926. Hapoel Hatzair and Mapai. Secretary General of Mapai in the early 1940s. Member of the Knesset 1949- .

Kfar Saba -- Town in the south of the Sharon Valley, founded 1903.

Kfar Szold -- Kibbutz northeast of the Hula Valley, founded 1942.

Kfar Vitkin -- Moshav in the Sharon, 6 km. north of Netanya, founded 1930.

Kinot -- Elegies, normally in a religious liturgical context.

Kiryat Anavim -- Collective settlement in the Judean mountains, 10 km. west of Jerusalem. Founded 1920.

Klausner, (Prof.) Josef (1884-1958) -- Born in Lithuania; immigrated 1919. Historian, editor and publicist. From ideological standpoint close to Revisionism, yet never officially member of the Revisionist party.

Klivanov, Jacob (1887-1966) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1921. Lawyer. Member of the Second and Third Knessets for General Zionists.

Knesset Record -- Record of Knesset Plenary Proceedings, equivalent of British Hansard.

Kol (Kolodny), Moshe (1911-1989) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1932. Founder of Hanoar Hatzioni; Progressive party, which developed into Liberal party. Head of Youth Aliya (Immigration) Department of the Jewish Agency 1947-64. Member of Provisional Council of State; signed Declaration of Independence. Member of First to Eighth Knessets; Minister of Development and Tourism 1965; Minister of Tourism 1969-74.

Kosoi (Kosoy), Yona -- See Kesse.

Kulturkampf -- German: Conflict of Cultures, 1873-87. Conflict between the German government and the Roman Catholic Church. Applied to the potential conflict between the government of Israel and Jewish religious authorities.

Kunteila -- Road junction in eastern Sinai, about 45 km. northwest of Eilat.

Kuseima (El-Kuseima; Kuzeima) -- Oasis, road junction and Beduin settlement on the border between Sinai and the Negev, 25 km. southwest of Nitzana.

Lake Success -- Resort in southeast of New York State; temporary headquarters of the United Nations 1946-1951.

Lamm, Josef Michael (1899-1976) -- Born in Galicia; immigrated 1939. Lawyer. Labor Zionist leader in Austria. Detained in Dachau 1938-39. Organized immigrants from Central Europe. Member of the Knesset for Mapai. Judge.

Landau, Haim (1916-1981) -- Born in Cracow; immigrated 1935. Engineer. Irgun Chief of Staff 1945-48. Member of First to Ninth Knessets for Herut. Active in Foreign Affairs and Defense. Minister of Development 1967-70; Transport 1977-81.

Land Transfer Regulations -- Mandatory regulations limiting or prohibiting the transfer of land to Jews in most of Palestine.

Lankin, Eliahu (1914-   ) -- Born in Russia; immigrated (from China) 1933. Member of Irgun. Detained in Eritrea 1944. Irgun Commander in Europe 1947. Commander of the Altalena (q.v.). Member of the First Knesset for Herut.

Latrun Road -- Section of Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road passing beneath the Latrun monastery and police fortress.

Lausanne (Conference) -- Israel-Arab Conference convened in the summer of 1939 by the UN Palestine Conciliation Commission.

Lavon (Lubianiker), Pinchas (1904-1976) -- Born in Eastern Galicia; immigrated 1929. Lawyer. Founder of the Gordonia Youth Movement. Co-Secretary of Mapai 1938-39. Secretary General of the Histadrut 1949-51, 55-61. Minister of Agriculture 1950-52; Minister of Defense in Moshe Sharett government 1953-55, when he was replaced by Ben-Gurion. In 1961 raised the question of responsibility for the "Mishap," the activation of an underground cell in Egypt, known as the Lavon Affair. Forced to resign, he abandoned Mapai to found the "Min Hayesod" movement.

Law and Administration Ordinance (1948) -- One of the first items of legislation adopted by the Provisional Council of State, regulating governmental processes, also known as the "Little Constituton."

Law of Return -- Law permitting Jews anywhere to immigrate to Israel and become Israeli citizens; adopted in 1949.

Lawrence, Thomas Edward (Lawrence of Arabia) (1888-1935) -- Born in Wales; British Intelligence officer, credited with guiding the Arab uprising against the Turkish government in the Hejaz in June 1916.

Lehi -- Hebrew acronym of Lohamei Herut Israel, Fighters for the Freedom of Israel. Underground resistance group in pre-state Israel referred to as the Stern gang, after its founder Abraham (Yair) Stern. Was formed by breakaway Irgun members in 1940, in the aftermath of the Irgun decision to cease its attacks against the British administration for the duration of the war against Hitler.

Lemberger, S. -- Member of the Knesset for Aguda.

Levin, Isaac Meir (Rabbi) (1894-1971) -- Born in Poland; immigrated 1940. Head of Aguda in Israel and Chairman of World Aguda Executive. President of the Jewish community of Warsaw. Minister of Welfare in First Government 1949-51. Member of the Knesset until his death.

Litvinov (Wallach), Maxim Maximovich (1876-1952) -- Soviet Foreign Commissar 1930-39; Ambassador to the U.S. 1941-43.

Livneh (Liebenstein), Eliezer (1902-1975) -- Born in Lodz, Poland; immigrated 1920. Journalist. Ahdut Ha'Avoda, later Mapai. Secretary of Haifa Labor Council 1923; Editor of Hagana clandestine weekly 1942-47. Member of Knesset for Mapai 1949-55. Criticized for building a "villa," deemed unworthy of a Labor leader, left the party. After Six Day War of 1967 one of the founders of Greater Israel Movement.

Lod (Lud; Lydda) -- Town on the border between the Shefela and the coastal plain. Mentioned in the Bible as part of the territory of Benjamin. Major Jewish center of learning after the fall of Jerusalem (70 AD). Under British Mandate, regional center and railway junction. Captured by IDF in July 1948.

Lod Airport -- International airport of Palestine and subsequently Israel, named after nearby town. Today Ben-Gurion Airport.

Lowenstein, Meir David (b.1901) -- Merchant and importer. Aguda leader. Member of Provisional Council of State and of First Knesset.

Lubyanka -- KGB headquarters and prison in Moscow, associated with torture and terror.

Lulav -- Palm branch used for liturgical purposes during the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles).

Luria (Lurie), Zvi (1906-1968) -- Born in Poland; immigrated 1925. Hashomer Hatzair; subsequently Mapam. One of the founders of Kibbutz Ein Shemer and leader of Kibbutz Artzi -- the kibbutz movement linked with Hashomer Hatzair. Member of Va'ad Leumi, National Committee of Palestine Jewry; of the People's Directorate; of Provisional Council of State. Subsequently Member of Jewish Agency Executive, with seat in New York.

Luz (Luzinsky), Kadish (1895-1972) -- Born in Bobruisk, Russia; immigrated 1920. Co-founder of Deganya B in the Jordan Valley. Secretary General of Hever Hakevutzot (Organization of Kevutzot, small collective settlements). Member of Knesset for Mapai 1951-69; Minister of Agriculture 1955-59; Speaker of the Knesset 1959-69, in later years elected unanimously.

Ma'abarot -- (literally: transit camps.) Temporary, makeshift settlements established in the early 1950s to house massive immigration, consisting of tents, barracks made of wood, asbestos, or corrugated iron. Some survived for decades, constituting a social, ecological, economic and ultimately a political problem.

Machpela (Cave of) -- Cave in Hebron, identified as the burial place of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; sacred for Jews and Muslims.

Magen David (Shield of David) -- Six-cornered star; Jewish symbol incorporated into the flag of the Zionist movement and subsequently that of Israel. Sometimes used as abbreviation for Magen David Adom (Red Magen David), Israel equivalent of Red Cross.

Maimon (Rabbi) -- See Fishman.

Maimonides (Rambam-Moses ben Maimon) (1135-1204) -- Rabbi, physician, philosopher. Born in Cordova, Spain; died in Cairo. Codified Jewish law; provided spiritual guidance to the perplexed. Foremost religious leader and thinker.

Majdal (literally: tower, in Arabic) -- Normally refers to Arab town abandoned in 1948, near which Migdal Ashkelon was established in the 1950s.

Maidanek (Majdanek) -- Near Lublin, Poland. Major German concentration and extermination camp (1942-45) in which about 360,000 persons, mostly Jews, perished through "gradual annihilation" or immediate extermination.

Maki (Acronym for Israel Communist Party) -- Established in 1948 through merger of several groups, both Jewish and Arab. Recognized the new state, its flag and anthem; denied bond between Israel and diaspora; insisted on Arab right to establish state in territory allotted under UN Partition Resolution. In elections from 1949 to 1965 gained 3-6 seats out of 120. In 1965 split between primarily Jewish group inclining to Zionist views and opposing Soviet all-out anti-Israel stance, which retained the name "Maki," and the remainder of the party, consisting primarily of Israel Arabs: Rakach (Acronym for New Communist List). In 1965 and 1969 Maki gained one seat; in 1973 it merged with Moked.

Malaya -- Former British Crown Colony in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula; population mostly Moslem; since 1963 part of the Federation of Malaysia.

Manara -- Kibbutz in Upper Galilee, near the Lebanese border, 2 km. west of Kiryat Shmona.

Manasseh -- In the Bible, younger son of Josef; also applied to the area allotted to that tribe: partly in the Carmel, partly in Transjordan.

Mandate -- Instrument created by the League of Nations in 1919 under which "advanced nations" could be entrusted with the administration of territories, formerly controlled by Germany or Turkey, "inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world." Palestine came under a British Mandate in 1920 with the responsibility for giving effect to the Balfour Declaration in favor of the "Establishment of a National Home for the Jewish people in Palestine."

Mandatory Government -- The British government administering Palestine and Transjordan under the Mandate (q.v.).

Mandelbaum House -- House in Jerusalem which under the Armistice Agreement of 1949 remained in no-man's land, on the border between Israel-controlled and Jordan-controlled territory; near it was the Mandelbaum Gate, the only authorized entry point from the one to the other. The meetings of the Mixed Armistice Agreements took place nearby.

Ma'oz Haim -- Kibbutz in the Beit Shean Valley, 5 km. to the east of the city of Beit Shean (Beisan).

Mao Tse Tung (1893-1976) -- Leader and a founder of Chinese Communist Party; first Chairman of Chinese People's Republic.

Mapai (Acronym for Mifleget Poalei Eretz Israel-the Party of Eretz Israel Workers) -- Socialist Zionist party. Founded upon the merger of Achdut Ha'Avoda and Hapoel Hatzair in 1930, it constituted the the central and dominant political force in the Labor movement, in the Yishuv of Palestine, in the Zionist movement and later in the State of Israel. In 1965 joined with the reconstituted Achdut Ha'Avoda-Poalei Zion to form the first Alignment, which in 1968 merged with Rafi to form the Israel Labor party. As long as Mapai existed, all the Prime Ministers, all Presidents but one, all Knesset Speakers but one, all Secetaries General of the Histadrut belonged to that party.

Mapam (Acronym for Mifleget Poalim Meuhedet-United Workers' party) -- Zionist Socialist party formed in 1948, through merger of Hashomer Hatzair and Achdut Ha'Avoda (q.v.). In the early years followed a pro-Moscow policy, which it disavowed after Stalin's death. For many years a partner of Mapai in the Knesset and government, it advocated a more Marxist socio-economic program; greater neutrality in foreign policy; greater restraint in defense; a more forthcoming attitude to Palestine Arab demands.

Mareshah (Tel) -- Ancient settlement in the Shefela, 2.5 km. south of Beit Govrin.

Marlin, Shmuel (1910-   ) -- Born in Kishinev; Secretary of Revisionist Party Executive 1933-38. During World War II cooperated with Hillel Cook (q.v.) in the U.S. Immigrated 1948. Member of the First Knesset for Herut.

Marshall, George C. (1880-1959) -- American Army officer and statesman. Chief of Staff 1939-45; Secretary of State 1947-49, during which time initiated the Marshall Plan for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Secretary of Defense 1950-51.

Massada -- Ruins of castle overlooking the Dead Sea. Founded by the Hasmoneans and fortified by Herod, it was held by Jewish Zealots from 66 to 73 CE, three years after the fall of Jerusalem. They preferred suicide to surrender, and thus became a symbol in Jewish history.

Mazor, Eliahu (1889-1973) -- Born in Poland; immigrated 1940. President, Jewish community of Warsaw 1933-38. Industrialist. Member of First Knesset for Religious Front (Agudat Israel).

Megiddo -- Kibbutz in the west of Esdraelon Valley; near ancient Tel, remains of one of the earliest and most important fortified towns in the country, located at the mouth of the Valley of Iron (Wadi Ara), at a junction of the Via Maris linking Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.

Megillat Hamedina -- Name proposed but not used for the Official Gazette of the newly established State of Israel.

Mekor Haim -- (literally: source of life) -- Jewish quarter in the southwest of Jerusalem; originally an agricultural settlement. Surrounded by Arab quarters, it was isolated during several months at the beginning of 1948 until relieved in the course of a Hagana operation at the end of April of that year.

Menora (literally: candelabrum) -- The seven-branched candelabrum used in the Temple of Jerusalem, symbolically included in the official emblem of the State of Israel.

Meridor, Ya'acov (1913-   ) -- Born in Poland; immigrated "illegally" in 1932 through Lebanese border. Commander of the Irgun 1941-43. Member of the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Knessets for Herut. After years of intensive economic activity, elected to the Tenth Knesset in 1981; Minister of Development in the first Begin government 1977-81.

Meteor -- French-made fighter plane, utilized by Israel Air Force from 1955.

Metulla -- Rural settlement in Upper Galilee, on the border with Lebanon, at the northern tip of the finger of Galilee, founded in 1896 by immigrants from Russia.

Mevo Betar -- Cooperative moshav, smallholder settlement, 10 km. southwest of Jerusalem; established 1950 by Herut.

Meyerson (Meir), Golda (1898-1978) -- Born in Russia; educated in the U.S.; immigrated 1921. Labor leader; fourth Prime Minister of Israel. Active in the Histadrut; Secretary Women Workers' Council 1928; Head of Histadrut Political Department 1936. In 1946 appointed acting Head of Jewish Agency Political Department when Sharett (Shertok) (q.v.) detained by British authorities. Met, in vain, with King Abdullah of Jordan to achieve an agreement. First Israel Ambassador to Moscow 1948. Member of the Knesset 1949-74. Minister of Labor 1949-56; of Foreign Affairs 1956-66. In 1966 appointed Secretary General of Mapai. Upon the death of Levi Eshkol in 1969 was elected Prime Minister. Although Mapai retained a reduced plurality in the Knesset in elections of 1974, and even though the Commission of Inquiry did not find her personally responsible for the surprise at the beginning of the Yom Kippur War, she resigned from the government and from the Knesset in the wake of that war in 1974.

Migs -- Soviet-made fighter planes, used increasingly by Arab air forces from 1955 onwards, upgraded over the years from the MiG-15 to the MiG-23 model.

Michoels, S. -- Soviet Jewish writer. Active in the Anti-Fascist Committee during World War II, was accused of cosmopolitanism and executed in 1953.

Mikunis, Shmuel (1903-1982) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1921. Actor and co-founder of the Haohel Theater. Trained as an engineer in France. From 1939 Secretary General and leader of the Palestine Communist party; retained that position after most Arab members abandoned the party in 1943. Member of the People's Council, and the Provisional Council of State in 1948. Member of the Knesset from First to Sixth Knessets, heading the Israel Communist List.

Mindszenty, Josef (Cardinal) (1892-1975) -- Catholic Primate of Hungary. Imprisoned for anti-German activities during World War II. Opposed Communist regime in Hungary; arrested on charges of treason 1948. Released in October 1956, took refuge in the American Embassy; ultimately permitted to emigrate to Austria.

Mintz, Benjamin (1903-1961) -- Born in Lodz, Poland; immigrated 1925. One of the founders of Poalei Agudat Israel (q.v.), and its leader for many years. Member of the Provisional Council of State. Member of the First to the Fourth Knessets. Deputy Speaker. Joined government as Minister of Posts in 1960, against strong opposition and violent, often very personal, attacks.

Mishmar Haemek -- Kibbutz in the west of the Esdraelon Valley, 6 km. northwest of Megiddo junction. Founded 1936. Scene of heavy fighting in April 1948.

Mishmar Hayarden -- Rural settlement in Upper Galilee, on the West Bank of the Jordan River, near the Bridge of the Daughters of Jacob. Founded 1890. Captured by Syrians in 1948. Reestablished in 1949, in demilitarized zone.

Mitle -- Strategic mountain pass in the western part of the Sinai Peninsula.

Mizrachi -- See Hamizrachi.

Moab -- Ancient nation in hilly region east of Dead Sea, sporadically at war with the Hebrews.

Moetzet Hamedina -- Hebrew for (Provisional) Council of State.

Morgenthau, Henry Jr. (1891-1967) -- U.S. Secretary of Treasury 1934-45; Author of plan for converting German economy after World War II. Initiated War Refugee Board to rescue victims of Nazi oppression. Opposed U.S. arms embargo against Israel. General Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal 1947-50; Honorary Chairman 1950-53.

Morrison Grady Plan (Cantonization Plan) -- British proposal for a solution of the Palestine problem, presented by Herbert Morrison in July 1946, calling for federalization under overall British Trusteeship.

Moses -- Lawgiver of Israel; the leader who led his people out of bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan.

Mosque of Omar -- Erroneous name for the Dome of the Rock, on the site of the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. According to both Jewish and Muslim tradition it was here that Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son. Present structure established after Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 638; converted successively into a basilica and again a Muslim holy site.

Motza -- Jewish settlement 5 km. west of Jerusalem, on the Tel Aviv highway. Founded 1860. Scene of masscare of Jews by Arabs in 1929, and of heavy fighting in 1948.

Mount of Olives -- East of the Old City of Jerusalem; site of major Jewish cemetery whose beginning dates back to ancient times. In Christian tradition Gethsemane is located on its slope.

Mount Scopus -- Northeast of Jerusalem, on continuation of Mount of Olives ridge. Traditionally observation point of attacking Roman legions in 70 AD. After World War I, the Hebrew University was established there. Remained behind Arab Legion lines until after the War of 1948.

Mufti (of Jerusalem) -- See Haj Amin el Husseini.

Munich -- Capital of Bavaria. Site of Hitler's party headquarters. Scene of Munich Pact (September 1938), signed by Germany, Italy, Great Britain and France, permitting Grmany to occupy the Czech Sudetenland. Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister proclaimed that the Pact had brought his countrymen "peace in our times"; it is generally considered as nadir of European and especially British appeasement of Hitler.

Myerson, Golda -- See Meyerson.

Mystere -- Advanced French-made fighter plane, delivered to Israel in the 1950s; characterized by its high ceiling and radius of action.

Nablus (Neapolis) -- Large Arab town north of Jerusalem, near the site of the Hebrew city of Shechem. Built by Emperor Hadrian in the second century AD.

Nahal -- IDF formation, whose soldiers combine military training and operations with agricultural work. Responsible for the initial stage of establishment of many new rural settlements.

Namir (Nemirovsky), Mordechai (1897-1975) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1924. Secretary of Achdut Ha'Avoda 1926-29; later Mapai. Member of First to Sixth Knessets 1951-69. Secretary General of Histadrut 1951-56; Minister of Labor and Housing 1956-59. Mayor of Tel Aviv 1959-69.

Naphtali, Peretz (Fritz) (1888-1961) -- Born in Berlin; immigrated 1933. Active in German Socialist party; Chairman of German League for Labor Palestine. Economist. Represented Mapai in the first three Knessets. Minister without portfolio 1951-52; Minister of Agriculture 1952-55; Minister of Social Welfare 1959, when he retired from government and Knesset because of ill health.

Nazareth -- Arab town in Lower Galilee; sacred to Christianity as site of Jesus' childhood and annunciation.

Nebi Daniel -- Site sacred for Muslims in Judean mountains, 6 km. southwest of Bethlehem, near Hebron Road. Scene of heavy battle between Jewish convoy and Arabs in March 1948, culminating in the surrender of the convoy defenders.

Nebo -- Mountain in Transjordan from which Moses saw the Holy Land; adopted name of an IDF officer in 1948.

Nebuchadnezzar -- King of Babylonia (605-562 BCE). In 597 BCE he quelled revolt of Judea and set Zedekiah on throne. In 586 BCE he destroyed the First Temple in Jerusalem and took king and notables captive, thus beginning the Captivity.

Necho (Pharaoh) -- King of Egypt (609-593 BCE), of 16th Dynasty. After fall of Nineveh in 612 BCE, he took Palestine and Syria after battle of Megiddo.

Negba -- Kibbutz in the southern coastal plain, 12 km. east of Ashkelon. Founded 1939. Site of heavy battle in 1948 when Egyptian troops tried repeatedly to subdue it in the effort to open the road to the north.

Negev -- Southernmost and largest region in Israel, mostly arid, comprising about one-half of the country.

Nes Ziona -- Town, formerly village, in the center of the coastal plain; founded in 1883. In 1948 headquarters of the southern front.

Netanya -- Coastal town in the Sharon, named after philanthropist Nathan Strauss. Founded 1928.

Nir (Rafalkes), Nahum (1884-1968) -- Born in Warsaw; immigrated 1925. Lawyer. Member of Provisional Council of State. Member of the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Knessets representing first Mapam and later Achdut Ha'Avoda. Deputy Speaker throughout, he served briefly as Speaker (1959) owing to rare joining of forces of opposition parties at both ends of the House.

Nirim -- Kibbutz in the western Negev, founded 1946. Attacked and nearly destroyed by Egyptian invading forces in 1948.

Nisanov, Ezekiel (1886-1911) -- Born in Caucasian Mountains; immigrated 1905. Co-founder of Bar Giora and Hashomer, Jewish clandestine self-defense organizations.

Nitzana (Auja el-Hafir) -- Oasis near the Negev-Sinai border; administrative center under Ottoman and British rule. Captured by IDF in December 1948. Demilitarized under Israel-Egypt Armistice Agreement; seat of the Mixed Armistice Commission until 1956.

NKVD -- Soviet secret police; forerunner of the KGB.

Nordau, Max (1849-1923) -- Born in Hungary; died in Paris. Author, physician and Zionist leader. One of the earliest and most effective supporters of Theodor Herzl.

Nukrashi (Pasha) (1888-1948) -- Prime Minister of Egypt 1945-1948. Outlawed Moslem Brotherhood; assassinated by one of its members in December 1948.

Nurock, (Rabbi) Mordechai (1884-1962) -- Born in Latvia; immigrated 1947. Leader of Latvian Jewry; for a while Prime Minister of Latvia. Member of the Knesset 1949-62, representing Mizrachi (United Religious Front); beginning in 1952 served for some time as Minister of Posts.

The Observer -- British daily newspaper.

Og -- King of Bashan; giant, conquered by Israelites.

Olmert, Mordechai (1911- ) -- Born in Russia; immigrated via China 1933. Head of Settlement Department of the Herut movement. Member of the Third and Fourth Knessets.

Omar (581-644) -- Second Caliph; converted to Islam in 618, in his reign Islam became an imperial power.

Oren, Mordechai (1905- ) -- Born in Galicia; immigrated 1929. Left wing Mapam leader. Detained and condemned by Czechoslovak authorities. His trial had major impact on pro-Soviet orientation of Mapam.

Orenstein, Mordechai -- See Oren.

ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training) -- Jewish vocational training agency, founded in Russia 1880, for purpose of ameliorating condition of Jewish masses through modern vocational training. Eventually established branches in Israel (1949); in many European, North African and Asian, and more recently Latin American countries. Although dedicated primarily to Jews, has been active also among the general population.

Palmach (Hebrew acronym for shock troops) -- Hagana formation, established in 1941 to prepare for the eventuality of British evacuation of Palestine under Axis military pressure. Based on full-time service, dedicated partly to agricultural work, hence its emblem: two ears of wheat and a sword. Subsequently served as the reserve force at the disposal of the Hagana High Command; also comprised specialized units, including nuclei of clandestine Air Force and Navy. During War of Independence consisted of three brigades involved in some of the heaviest fighting. Its headquarters dissolved in October 1948, by order of Ben-Gurion.

Partition Plan -- Plan for the partition of Palestine, adopted by the General Assembly of the UN on 29 November 1947.

Pasha (Glubb) -- See Glubb Pasha.

Passfield (Lord) (former Sidney Webb) -- British Colonial Secretary. In the wake of the Arab riots of 1929, and pursuant to the Hope-Simpson Report which concluded that the economic absorptive capaacity of Palestine had been exhausted, issued White Paper, reinterpreting Balfour Declaration and drastically arresting the development of the Jewish National Home.

Peel Commission -- Royal commission appointed by British government in May 1936 under the chairmanship of Viscount Peel. The majority recommended the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, with Jerusalem and a corridor leading to it remaining under British rule. The Jewish state was to comprise all of Galilee, the Valley of Esdraelon, and part of the coastal plain; altogether 1,000 sq. mi. (2,500 sq. km.).

People's Council -- Representative Assembly established in Palestine in May 1948, comprising 37 members drawn from Jewish Agency and from National Committee; upon the declaration of independence became Provisional Council of State.

Peri, Eliezer (1902-1970) -- Born in Galicia; immigrated 1926. Co-founder of Kibbutz Merhavia. Mapam representative in First and Second Knessets; abandoned the party following the establishment of the Alignment between Mapam and Israel Labor party.

Persitz, Shoshana (1893-1969) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1925. Publisher, educator. Member of Tel Aviv Municipality. Member of the First to Third Knessets representing General Zionists; chairperson of Education and Culture Committee.

Petah Tikva -- City in the central coastal plain, 10 km. east of Tel Aviv. Founded 1878 as first Jewish agricultural settlement in modern times. City since 1937.

Petlyura -- Ukrainian nationalist leader, responsible for widespread atrocities against Jews in the aftermath of Russia's defeat in World War I.

Pharaoh Necho -- See Necho.

Pinkas, David Zvi (1895-1952) -- Born in Hungary; immigrated 1925. Mizrachi. Member of Provisional Council of State and of the First and Second Knessets. Chairman of Finance Committee. In 1952 Minister of Communications.

Pisga (literally: peak) -- Mountain east of the Jordan.

PKP (Hebrew acronym for Palestine Communist party) -- See Maki.

Plehve, Vyacheslav K. (1864-1904) -- Russian Minister of Interior; responsible for repressive and anti-Semetic policies; met with Herzl to discuss Zionist solution for Jewish problem.

Poalei Agudat Israel -- Aguda (q.v.) Workers' Organization, set up in Poland in 1922; initiated activities in Palestine in 1925. While identified with Aguda on religious matters, advocates cooperation with secular workers' organization and service in the IDF. In most elections ran on joint list with Aguda. In 1960 joined Coalition against the advice of the Aguda Council of Sages.

Poalei Zion -- Hebrew for Workers of Zion. Jewish Socialist-Nationalist Workers' party which first emerged in 1901 when widespread associations of Zionist workers met in Minsk. After several splits and mergers with other parties, joined with others to set up Mapai in 1930.

Port Said -- Port in Egypt, on the Mediterranean, at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal, founded 1859.

Pogromchik (Russian) -- Participant in attack on Jews.

Praesidium (of the Knesset) -- Knesset body comprising the Speaker and his deputies.

Procopius (d.562) -- Byzantine historian.

Progressives -- Political party in Israel, established in October 1948 through unification of Haoved Hatzioni, Aliya Hadasha and the Union of General Zionists (A) (q.v.).

Provisional Council of State -- Legislature of Israel from 14 May 1948 to 14 February 1949.

Provisional Government (Cabinet) -- Government of the State of Israel from 14 May 1948 to 7 March 1949.

Raab (Family) -- Co-founders of Petah Tikva (q.v.).

Rachel's Tomb -- Tomb of Jacob's favorite wife, near Bethlehem.

R.A.F. -- Royal Air Force.

Rafael, Yitzhak (1914-   ) -- Born in Poland, immigrated 1935. Hapoel Hamizrachi, Mafdal (National Religious Party). Head of Jewish Agency Immigration Department 1948-54; member of the Second to the Eighth Knessets. Deputy Minister of Health 1961-65; Minister of Religious Affairs 1974-77.

Rafah (Rafiach) -- Arab town in the south of the Gaza Strip, astride the Egyptian border.

Ramallah -- Arab town in the northern Judean mountains, 13 km. north of Jerusalem.

Ramat Rachel -- Kibbutz in the south of Jerusalem; founded 1926. Destroyed by Arab attackers in 1929; suffered during the riots of 1936-39; captured by Egyptian irregular troops and destroyed, subsequently recaptured, in 1948; rebuilt in 1952.

Ramle -- Town on the border of the Shefela and the coastal plain; established in 717 as the center of Muslim rule.

Ras al-Nakab -- Promontary, 10 km. northwest of Eilat (q.v.).

Ras Natzrani -- Bulge on the coast of the Gulf of Eilat, opposite the island of Tiran; Egyptian stronghold from which navigation in the Tiran Straits was interdicted.

Rathenau, Walter (1867-1922) -- German Jewish industrialist and statesman; Minister of Reconstruction 1921, and Foreign Minister 1922. Assassinated by German nationalists.

Raziel-Na'or, Esther (1911-  ) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1923. Active in IZL. Member of First to Eighth Knessets.

Recanati, Abraham (1888-1980) -- Born in Saloniki, Greece; immigrated 1934. Active in Revisionist movement. Member of First Knesset, Herut.

Rehavia -- Jewish quarter in west Jerusalem, founded 1921.

Rehoboam (King) (932-914 BCE) -- Son of Solomon; under him the northern tribes revolted and formed the new Kingdom of Israel.

Reilly (General) -- American soldier, head of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine.

Remez, Aharon (1919-   ) -- Born in Palestine; first Commander of the Israel Air Force. Member of the Third Knesset.

Remez, David (1886-1951) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1913. Achdut Ha'Avoda, subsequently Mapai. Secretary General of the Histadrut 1935-45; first Minister of Transportation; subsequently Minister of Education.

Repetor, Berl (1902-1989) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1920. Achdut Ha'Avoda, later Mapai, then Mapam. Active in Histadrut. Member of the Provisional Council of State and of the First Knesset for Mapam.

Revivim -- Kibbutz in the northern Negev, 25 km. south of Beersheba; established 1943.

Rhee, Singman (b.1875) -- President of the Republic of (South) Korea 1948-60.

Rhodes Lines -- Armistice lines established by the Armistice Agreements signed on the island of Rhodes in 1949.

Ribbentrop, Joachim von -- German Foreign Minister under Hitler 1938-45.

Riftin, Ya'akov (1907-1978) -- Born in Poland; immigrated 1929. Hashomer Hatzair and Mapam. Member of the Knesset 1949-65. Upon the establishment of the Alignment with the Labor party left Mapam and established Independent Zionist left-wing party, which failed in Histadrut elections.

Rimalt, Dr. Elimelech (1907-1987) -- Born in Galicia; immigrated 1939. Educator. General Zionist. Member of the Knesset 1951-77. Chairman of the Education and Culture Committee, active in promoting educational reform. Minister of Posts 1969.

Ringelblum, Dr. Emanuel (1900-1944) -- Born in Galicia. Educator, historian. Poalei Zion leader and an organizer of the Warsaw Ghetto revolt. Killed by Gestapo.

Rishon Lezion -- Town in central coastal plain, 8 km. south of Tel Aviv, founded 1882.

Rude Pravo -- Czech daily newspaper; official organ of Czech Communist party.

Rokach, Israel (1889-1959) -- Born in Jaffa. Electrical engineer. General Zionist. Mayor of Tel Aviv 1936-53. Member of First to Third Knessets. Minister of Interior 1953-55. Deputy Speaker 1957-59.

Rosen (Rosenblueth), Pinhas (Felix) (1887-1978) -- Born in Germany; immigrated 1931. Lawyer. President of German Zionist Organization. Leader of Progressive party, subsequently Liberal, ultimately Independent Liberal Party (q.v.). Member of the First to the Sixth Knessets. First Minister of Justice.

Rosenberg, Ethel and Julius -- Condemned to death for conspiring to transmit atomic secrets to the USSR during World War II; executed June 1953.

Rosh Ha'ayin -- Urban settlement, 4 km. east of Petah Tikva, established in 1950.

Rosh Hanikra -- Promontory on the Mediterranean, on the border between Israel and Lebanon.

Rothschild, (Baron) Edmond de (1845-1934) -- Banker, philanthropist, patron of scientific and cultural projects and supporter of settlement projects in Palestine.

Rubin, Reuven (b.1893) -- Born in Rumania; immigrated 1912. One of Israel's foremost painters. Israel's first Ambassador to Romania.

Rubin, Dr. Hanan (1908-1962) -- Born in Germany; immigrated 1933. Hashomer Hatzair, then Mapam. Member of the First to the Fifth Knessets.

Rutenberg, Pinchas (1879-1942) -- Born in Ukraine; immigrated 1919. Electrical engineer. Participated in aborted attempt at revolution in Russia 1905. Active in Jewish self-defense; commander of Tel Aviv during riots of 1921. In the same year obtained concession for utilization of kinetic energy of the Yarmuk-Jordan catchment area. Founder of Palestine Electrical Corporation 1923. Maintained close contact with Emir Abdullah.

Safed -- City in Upper Galilee; one of the three main Crusader fortresses. In the sixteenth century, center of Jewish mysticism (Kabala). Its Jewish quarter was attacked by Arabs in 1929, and again in 1936. Besieged at the beginning of the War of 1948, it was relieved by the Palmach, in an operation which resulted in the capture of the Arab parts of the city.

Sa'id Nuri (1888-1958) -- Iraqi officer and statesman. Trained in Turkish Military Academy, joined Arab revolt under Faisal 1916; first chief of staff of Iraqi Army 1921. From 1930 served 14 times as Prime Minister. Negotiated treaty with Great Britain ending the British Mandate and establishing Iraqi independence. Conceived the Fertile Crescent concept calling for the unification of Syria, Iraq, Transjordan and Palestine under Hashemite rule, with a measure of autonomy for Palestine Jews. Autocrat; anti-Communist; assassinated in the course of the 1958 revolt which brought Hashemite rule in Iraq to an end.

Salame -- Arab village, on the eastern outskirts of Tel Aviv. Served as base for attacks against the city in 1947-48; subsequently abandoned.

Samaria -- Northern section of the central highlands of Palestine, named after the city of Samaria (Shomron, later Sebastia), capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel. From 1949 to 1967 mostly in Jordanian territory; in the wake of the Six Day War came under Israel military government.

Samuel, Herbert (Sir, later Viscount) (1870-1963) -- Leader of British Liberal party; first Jewish member of British Cabinet. First British High Commissioner for Palestine 1920-25. During World War I contributed to the formulation of Balfour Declaration. As High Commissioner laid foundations of Mandatory administrative system. Appointed Haj Amin al-Husseini (q.v.) as Mufti of Jerusalem. During his tenure the quota system for Jewish immigrants, based on the economic absorptive capacity of the country, was introduced by the Mandatory government.

Sanhedrin (Hagedola, the Great) -- Supreme Jewish juridical and legislative body in Jerusalem, during the period of the Second Temple; perished with the destruction of the Temple.

Sapir, Josef (1902-1972) -- Born in Jaffa. Agronomist. Active in Farmers' Union, leader of Jewish Citrus Growers. Leader of the "bourgois" center-right, and their representative on Hagana High Command. Mayor of Petah Tikva 1940-51; Member of the Knesset for General Zionists, later Gahal, from 1949 until his death. Minister of Transport 1952-55; Minister without portfolio 1967-70.

Sapir (Koslowsky), Pinchas (1909-1975) -- Born in Poland; immigrated 1929. Mapai. Active in Mekorot (water company). Director General of Ministry of Defense 1948-53; of Finance 1953-55. Minister of Commerce and Industry 1955-64; of Finance 1964-74.

Sarafand (Zerifin) -- Major British, subsequently IDF military base in the coastal plain, 3 km. northeast of Ramle.

Saris (Shoresh) -- Arab village about 19 km. east of Jerusalem, astride the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road. Base for several attacks against Jewish convoys to the besieged city; captured by Hagana in May 1948. Cooperative Jewish settlement since end of that year.

Saud (Ibn Abdel Aziz) (1901-1969) -- King of Saudi Arabia, following his father's death, from 1953 until his ouster and expulsion from the Kingdom in 1964.

Scopus -- See Mount Scopus.

Second Temple -- Temple built in Jerusalem at the end of the fifth century BCE by exiles returned from Babylon; enlarged by Maccabees in the second century BCE; rebuilt completely by Herod at the beginning of the Common Era; destroyed by Romans following the capture of Jerusalem in 70 CE.

Sefer Torah -- Scroll containing the handwritten Hebrew text of the five books of Moses, the Pentateuch, used by Jews for liturgucal purposes.

Sejera (Ilania) -- Cooperative village in Lower Galilee, near vital road junction. Founded 1899 as an agricultural estate; served as transit station for many young immigrants, including David Ben-Gurion, and birthplace of Hashomer (q.v.). In 1948 site of heavy fighting with Arab Liberation Army, which attempted to isolate Galilee from the rest of the country.

Sephardim -- Descendants of Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal at the end of the fifteenth century.

Serlin, Joseph (1906-1974) -- Born in Bialistok, Poland; immigrated 1933. Lawyer. General Zionist, then Liberal. Member of the Knesset 1949-74. Deputy Speaker of Second, Fifth and Sixth Knessets. Minister of Health 1952-55.

Seventh Brigade -- Armored infantry brigade, established in May 1948, to serve as strategic reserve; involved soon afterwards in heavy fighting against the Arab Legion (q.v.) for the road to Jerusalem.

Sha'ag (Zwebner), Abraham Chaim (Rabbi) (1883-1958) -- Born in Jerusalem. Co-founder of Mizrachi in Palestine. Member of National Committee of Palestine Jewry, active in social welfare. Member of First Knesset, National Religious Front.

Sha'ar Hagai (Bab el-Wad) -- Entrance from the Shefela going up the Judean mountains to Jerusalem.

Sha'ar Hagolan -- Kibbutz in the Jordan Valley, about 2 km. southeast of the Zemach junction.

Shapira, Moshe (Chaim) (1902-1970) -- Born in Grodno, Russia; immigrated 1926. Leader of Hapoel Hamizrachi; subsequently President of National Religious Party, established in 1956. Deputy member, later member of the Executive of the Jewish Agency from 1935 to 1948, responsible for immigration. Minister of Immigration and Health in Provisional Government. Member of the Knesset 1949-70. Member of Cabinet almost continuously, holding at various times the portfolios of Minister of Interior, Social Welfare, and Religious Affairs.

Sharef, Ze'ev (1906-1984) -- Born in Romania; immigrated 1925. Secretary of the Cabinet 1948-57; Director General, Prime Minister's Office 1957-59; Member of the Knesset 1965-74; Minister of Commerce and Industry 1966; concurrently Minister of Finance as of 1968; Minister of Housing 1969-74.

Sharett (Shertok), Moshe (1894-1965) -- Born in Kherson, Russia; immigrated 1906. Mapai. Studied law in Constantinople, served briefly in Turkish Army 1915; after World War I continued his studies in London. Head of Political Department of the Jewish Agency 1933-48. Member of the Provisional Council of State. Member of the Knesset 1949-65. First Foreign Minister of Israel 1948-56. Prime Minister 1953-55. Resigned following disagreements with Ben-Gurion. Chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive 1961-65.

Sharm el-Sheikh (Ophira) -- Southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, controlling the Straits of Tiran. From 1971 to 1982 site of urban Jewish settlement.

Shattner, Mordechai (1904-1964) -- Born in Galicia; immigrated 1924. Mapai. Member of Kibbutz Ein Harod. Active in Va'ad Leumi.

Shazar (Robashov), Zalman (1889-1974) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1924. Third President of Israel. Poalei Zion; Achdut Ha'Avoda; later Mapai. Historian and journalist. Subeditor, later editor of Davar. Member of the Knesset 1949-59; Minister of Education and Culture 1949-50; President 1963-73.

Shechem (Nablus) -- Arab city in the Samarian mountains; settled continuously from Canaanite period.

Sheffer, Ze'ev (1891-1964) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1913. Mapai. Member of Kibbutz Ayelet Hashachar. Member of the Hagana Command. Deputy Speaker of the Second Knesset.

Sheikh Jarrah -- Arab quarter in northeast Jerusalem, astride the road to Mount Scopus; site of massacre of passengers of Jewish convoy in April 1948, and of heavy fighting thereafter, as well as in 1967.

Shenhavi, Mordechai (1900-   ) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1919. Mapam. Member of Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek. Active in Development of kibbutz industry.

Shertok, (Shertock) Moshe -- See Sharett.

Shofman, Josef (1903-1978) -- Born in Warsaw, Poland; immigrated 1940. Lawyer, industrialist. Revisionist party; Herut. Member of the Knesset 1955-69; Ambassador to Venezuela 1970.

Sheinkin, Menahem (1871-1924) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1906. Early Zionist leader. One of the founders of Tel Aviv.

Shimoni, David (1886-1956) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1909. Hebrew poet.

Shishak (Sheshonk I) -- Egyptian king of the 22nd Dynasty, died ca.924 BCE.

Shitrit, Bekhor Shalom (1895-1967) -- Born in Tiberias. Mapai. Police officer under the British Mandate. Lawyer. Chief Magistrate of Tel Aviv 1945. Minister of Police and Minorities in Provisional Government. Member of the Knesset from 1949 until his death; Minister of Police 1948-66.

Shofar -- Ram's horn used by Jews for liturgical purposes.

Shostak, Eliezer (1911-  ) -- Born in Poland. Immigrated 1935. Herut; subsequently Merkaz Hofshi, La'am, Likud. Secretary General of National Workers' Union, linked with Revisionist party. Member of the Knesset since 1951. At various times Deputy Speaker. Minister of Health 1977-84.

Shulhan Arukh -- Codification of Jewish law, completed in the sixteenth century by Rabbi Josef Karo of Safed.

Sinai -- Peninsula and land bridge betweem Asia and Africa.

Slansky, Rudolf -- Leader of Communist party and Vice Premier of Czechoslovakia; tried in 1952 for "Trotskyite, Titoist and Zionist" activities, found guilty and executed.

Sneh (Kleinbaum), Moshe (1909-1972) -- Born in Radzyn, Poland; immigrated 1940. General Zionist, subsequently Mapam, ultimately Communist. Physician. Head of Hagana High Command, 1942-46. Director of Jewish Agency European Office 1946-47. Member of the Knesset 1949-65, and again from 1969 until his death, representing Mapam until the Prague Trials (see Slansky) in 1953; subsequently the Communist party; ultimately the New Communist Party (Maki; q.v.) which considered Israel's actions in the Six Day War as legitimate self-defense.

Sobibor -- Major Nazi concentration and extermination camp in Poland 1942-45.

Sodom -- Biblical city, at the southern end of the Dead Sea. Site of major mineral extraction plant. In 1948 isolated for over six months. Used figuratively as incarnation of evil, particularly parsimoniousness.

Sokolov, Nahum (1859-1936) -- Early Zionist leader; founder and editor of the Zionist movement weekly 1907; President of the World Zionist Organization 1931-36.

Solomon's Gulf -- see Eilat, Gulf of.

Sprinzak, Joseph (1885-1959) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1910. Leader of the Hapoel Hatzair, moderate left wing politiical party; subsequently one of the founders and leaders of Mapai (q.v.). Chairman of the Zionist Action Committee. Secretary General of the Histadrut 1945-49. Speaker of the Provisional Council of State. First Speaker of the Knesset 1949-59. Largely responsible for the Knesset rules of procedure and conduct.

Stamper, Joshua (1852-1908) -- Born in Hungary; immigrated 1869. Co-founder of Petah Tikva 1878.

Stamper, Shlomo Yitzhak (1877-1961) -- Son of Joshua. Born in Jerusalem. Chairman of the Petah Tikva Local Council and its first Mayor.

Star of David -- Six-cornered star; since Middle Ages a Jewish symbol used in synagogues and cemeteries; subsequently utilized in the distinctive badge, the yellow star, to differentiate between Jew and non-Jew. Constitutes part of the flag of the Zionist movement and the State of Israel.

Sten gun -- Submachine gun developed in Great Britain during World War II for relatively cheap mass production; one of the first products of Israel's fledgeling arms industry.

Sternberg, Benzion (1894-1962) -- Born in Bukovina (later Romania); leader of Revisionist party in Romania; immigrated 1940. Member of Provisional Council of State.

Stuermer, Der -- Virulent anti-Semitic and pornographic weekly, published in Nuremberg, Germany from the early 1920s to 1945, by Julius Streicher, executed as war criminal following Nuremberg trial.

Success (Lake) -- See Lake Success.

Sudanese (Cushites in the Bible) -- Citizens of the Sudan; some participated in the War of 1948 in the ranks of the Egyptian Army.

Sukenik, Elazar (Professor) (1889-1953) -- Born in Poland; immigrated 1912. Archeologist. In 1947 identified Dead Sea Scrolls and purchased some of them. Father of Yigael Yadin (q.v.).

Sutzkever, Abraham (1913-   ) -- Born in Lithuania; immigrated 1947. Yiddish poet. During World War II active in the Vilna Ghetto; escaped and joined partisans.

Tabib, Abraham (1889-1950) -- Born in Yemen; immigrated 1907. Active in Organization of Yemenites. Member of Va'ad Leumi, representing Yemenites, and from 1944 Mapai. Member of First Knesset.

Tallit -- Prayer-shawl, made of white cloth with dark stripes, with tassels at the four corners, worn by Jews during prayer.

Tamad (Bir) -- Oasis in western Sinai.

Targum Yonatan -- Translation of the Bible into Aramaic.

Tashah -- The year 5708 of the Hebrew calendar, coinciding mostly with 1948.

Tel-al-Muteila -- Hill northwest of the Sea of Galilee, near the mouth of the Jordan River. In May 1951 site of bitter battle with Syrian forces trying to establish a foothold to the east of the river.

Tel Aviv -- Coastal city in the center of Israel, founded in 1909. First Jewish city; name taken from the Hebrew translation of Theodor Herzl's utopian novel Altneuland. In 1950 merged with neighboring Jaffa.

Templars -- Fundamentalist Protestant religious sect; took its name from a medieval monastic order active at the time of the Crusades. During the second half of the nineteenth century Templars from southern Germany immigrated to Palestine where they established a series of agricultural settlements and urban quarters.

Temple Mount -- Site of the First and Second Temple in Jerusalem; since the Arab conquest of the city in the seventh century partly occupied by the Dome of the Rock and the Mosque of el-Azhar.

Tewfik Toubi (1922-  ) -- Born in Haifa. One of the leaders of the National Liberation League-Palestine Arab Communist organization in the 1940s; joined Israel Communist party in August 1948. Member of the Knesset since its inception representing Israel Communist party, subsequently the New Communist List (Rakach); ultimately Hadash-Front for Democraecy and Peace. Member of World Peace Council. Publisher of Communist weekly.

Tiberias (Lake of) -- See Sea of Galilee, also known as Kinneret or Lake of Galilee, after the main town on its shores.

Tiran (Straits of) -- Waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Eilat.

Tirat Zvi -- Kibbutz in the Beisan Valley. Founded in 1937; named after Rabbi Zvi Kalisher, early proponent of religious Zionism. Scene of heavy fighting in 1938 and 1948.

Titoists -- Followers of Josip Broz Tito, leader of Yugoslavia after the World War II; proponent of Marxism independent of the Soviet Union.

Titus (ca.40-81 CE) -- Roman emperor who captured and destroyed Jerusalem 70 CE.

Titus' Arch -- Erected in Rome by Titus' successor to commemmorate his triumph over the Jews.

Tnuva -- Cooperative marketing organization for agricultural products sponsored by the Histadrut.

Torah -- Hebrew name for the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible; also used to denote the sum total of Jewish religious teachings.

Toubi, Tewfik -- See Tewfik Toubi.

Transition Act -- One of the first laws adopted by the Provisional Council of State, to regulate the constitutional arrangements of the new state of Israel; also known as the "Little Constitution."

Transjordan -- Area of Palestine east of the Jordan River.

Triangle -- Heartland of Samaria, including the towns of Tulkarm, Kalkilya and Nablus.

Trotskyites -- Followers of Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), Communist leader who advocated "permanent revolution," or "pure Communism."

Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) -- Organization established by resolution of the United Nations Security Council, in May 1948, to supervise the truce in Palestine; subsequently charged with similar tasks concerning armistice, separation of forces and other arrangements. Its first chief was Count Bernadotte (q.v.).

Tuchazevsky, Marshall -- Russian general during World War II.

Tulkarm -- Arab town on the border between the Samarian mountains and the Sharon Valley, 14 km. east of Netanya.

Tzemah -- Town at the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee; near junction of road coming from the south, following the Jordan River, and one following the circumference of the lake.

UJA (United Jewish Appeal of America) -- Fund-raising arm of organized North American Jewry, for the development of the Jewish National Home in Palestine, later Israel, and the relief and reconstruction of distressed Jewish communities throughout the world.

Um el Fahm -- Arab town, between Hadera and Afula, overlooking the Iron Valley.

UN Emergency Force -- Military force established by the United Nations in November 1956, to facilitate and supervise the withdrawal of British, French and Israeli forces from Egypt; its firt chief was the Canadian General E.L.M. Burns.

Ussishkin, Menahem (1863-1942) -- Born in Mogilev, Russia; immigrated 1919. Engineer. Active in Hovevei Zion (q.v.) from 1885, joined Zionist movement at its inception. Spokesman of Russian Zionists, participated in all Congresses. Leader of practical Zionists who emphasized importance of practical work in Palestine over political and diplomatic work elsewhere. Led revolt against Herzl over Uganda (1904); major opponent of Partition in 1937. From 1919-23 presided over the representative body of Palestine Jewry. Chairman of Jewish National Fund 1923-42.

Va'ad Leumi (National Committee) -- Executive of the statutory Jewish community in Palestine, recognized by the British Mandatory government as the official spokesman of the community; elected by the annual sessions of the elected assembly (Asefat Hanivcharim), its composition reflected the relative strength of the political parties.

Vampire -- British-made jet fighter-bomber, supplied to Egypt in considerable quantities from 1949 to 1956.

Vardi (Rosenblum), Herzl Naftali (1903- ) -- Attorney, journalist. Born in Kovno, Lithuania; immigrated 1935. Joined Zionist Revisionist party at its inception; member of Provisional Council of State; signatory of Declaration of Independence.

Vilenska, Esther (1918-1975) -- Born in Vilna, Lithuania; immigrated 1938. Active in Palestine, later Israel Communist party from 1940; editor of its organ "Kol Ha'am" (Voice of the People). Member of the Second, Third and Fifth Knessets.

Vilna (Vilnius) -- Capital of Lithuania from 1323. Held at different periods by Russia, Germany, Poland. Its large Jewish population was virtually exterminated in the Holocaust.

Vilna Gaon (1720-1797) -- Rabbi Elijah, the Gaon (Genius) of Vilna. Outstanding Jewish scholar; founder and leader of the Mitnagdim (opponents), who decried the mysticism, and what they perceived as the superstition and primitiveness of the Hassidic movement, restoring learning to its traditional central place, while trimming from it some of its overly scholastic aberrations.

Wadi Ara -- Narrow valley connecting the coastal plain with the Valley of Esdraelon; part of the historical Via Maris linking Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia. At its northern end is Megiddo (q.v.). Occupied by Iraqi troops in 1948, it was transferred to Israel under the Armistice Agreement of 1949.

Warhaftig, Zerah (1906-   ) -- Born in Volkovisk, Byelorussia; immigrated via Poland, Lithuania, Japan and the U.S. in 1947. Attorney and scholar. Hapoel Hamizrachi; National Religious Front. Member of Va'ad Leumi; head of its Legal Department. Member of Provisional Council of State, and of the First to the Ninth Knessets 1949-81. Minister of Religios Affairs 1962-74.

War of Independence -- First Israel-Arab War, waged in Palestine from the morrow of the UN Partition Resolution (29 November 1947) to the signature of the last Armistice Agreement, between Syria and Israel (20 July 1949). Local Arabs were soon joined by volunteers from neighboring countries; after Israel's Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948 regular Arab forces invaded the country. The original Arab objective was the prevention of the establishment of a Jewish state; subsequently its elimination, and when that proved blatantly impossible, the reduction of its size; none of these was achieved.

Wehrmacht -- Armed forces of the German Reich.

Weinstein, Baruch (1898-1982) -- Born in Balta, Russia; immigrated 1923. Journalist. Revisionist party; after 1948 joined General Zionists.

Weizmann, Dr. Chaim (1874-1952) -- Born in Motel, Russia; immigrated 1949. Professor of Chemistry. Joined Zionist movement in 1901; active in Democratic Fraction. Became British citizen in 1910. During World War I, working for British Admiralty, created synthetic acetone vital for production of explosives. Helped to procure the Balfour Declaration (q.v.). President of the Zionist Organization 1920-31, 1935-46. During World War II, advocated the establishment of a Jewish military formation to fight in Allied ranks. After the war opposed active resistance to British presence and policy in Palestine. His influence waned as Great Britain ignored its obligations towards the Jewish National Home. In 1948 invited to join the Provisional Council of State as its President; elected first President of Israel in February 1949, an office he occupied until his death.

Weizsaecker, Richard von -- President of the Federal Republic of Germany; previously Mayor of Berlin; Member of the Bundestag representing Christian Democratic Union; President of the Evangelical Church. Active in the German-Israel Parliamentary Group, has maintained his interest in Israeli and Jewish matters also while holding the office of President.

Western Land of Israel (Cisjordania) -- Part of Palestine lying west of the Jordan River.

White Paper (1939) (MacDonald White Paper) -- Statement on policy on Palestine issued by the British government on 17 May 1939, so called after the then Colonial Secretary Malcolm MacDonald. It provided for drastic reduction in Jewish immigration, with a total of 75,000 over five years after which further immigration would require Arab consent; prohibition of the sale of lands to Jews in some, and its severe limitation in other parts of the country, and the establishment of an independent Palestine with a two-thirds Arab majority after an interim period of 10 years. Rejected by Jews unanimously as a betrayal of solemn undertakings, and by most Arabs as not going far enough, it nevertheless served as a basis for British policy during the crucial years of the Holocaust and World War II.

Wiedergutmachung (Reparations) -- German term used to denote the material reparations made to Jewish and other victims of Nazi brutality and greed.

Wilenska, Esther -- See Vilenska.

Wilna -- See Vilna.

Wilner, Meir (1918-  ) -- Born in Vilna, Poland; immigrated 1938. Joined Palestine Communist party in 1939; elected to the Central Committee in 1944. Member of the Provisional Council of State and cosignatory of Declaration of Independence. Member of the Knesset since 1949, representing Israel Communist party; after split in 1965, joined the mainly Arab New Communist List (Rakach), together with Tewfik Toubi. As Secretary General he headed the party's parliamentary list. Only continuously serving member from 1948 to 1989.

WIZO -- Women's International Zionist Organization, founded in London in 1920, with the aim of uniting Jewish women for the purpose of establishing and maintaining social welfare, child care and educational institutions in Palestine, later in Israel. Active in Israel and throughout the Jewish world, with the exception of the U.S.

Wolfson, David (1856-1914) - Born in Lithuania; died in Hamburg, Germany. Merchant. An advocate of ideas akin to those of Hovevei Zion, became one of Herzl's early adherents and trusted lieutenants. Second President of the World Zionist Organization 1905-11. Founder and Chairman of the Jewish Colonial Trust, the financial instrument of the WZO 1899-1914.

Ya'ari (Wald), Meir (1897-1987) -- Born in Galicia; immigrated 1920. Member of Kibbutz Merhavia and foremost formulator of the principles of the Kibbutz Artzi, calling for a far-reaching collectivist approach in all spheres of life 1927. Together with Ya'akov Hazan (q.v.), leader of movement for over 50 years. Co-founder of Mapam (q.v.), and for many years its Secretary General. Member of the Knesset 1949-73. Advocating Zionist Marxism, he qualified his outright pro-Soviet orientation only following the Jewish doctors' trials in Moscow and the Oren trial (q.v.) in Prague in the mid-1950s.

Yad Mordechai -- Kibbutz in the southern coastal plain, named after Mordechai Anilevitz, commander of the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto. Founded 1943; capture by Egyptian Army after heavy fighting in May 1948; subsequently recaptured and rebuilt.

Yadin (Sukenik), Yigael (1917-1984) -- Born in Jerusalem. Professor of Archeology; second Chief of the General Staff of the IDF 1949-52; politician. Active in the Hagana (q.v.) from early youth; Chief of Operations during War of Independence (q.v.); much of the time Acting Chief of Staff. Formulated and implemented the principles of Israel's reserve system-citizens' army. Resigned as Chief of Staff following differences with Ben-Gurion over budgetary allocations 1952. As archeologist was responsible for the excavation at Massada and Hatzor, as well as the purchase and partial deciphering of the Dead Sea scrolls. In 1976 one of the founders of the Democratic Movement for Change, as a centrist political force. Having won 15 seats, Yadin joined Begin's first government as Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee on Welfare; participated in peace negotiations with Egypt. DMC disintegrated, and in 1981 Yadin returned to his archeological pursuits.

Yad Vashem (Heroes' and Martyrs' Authority) -- Israel official authority for the commemoration of victims of the Holocaust, established in Jerusalem in accordance with a law adopted in 1953.

Yaffe, Bezalel (1868-1925) -- Born in Grodno, Russia; immigrated 1909. Early adherent of Zionist movement in Russia; head of the Jewish Community Board of Jaffa-Tel Aviv; member of the Va'ad Leumi (q.v.).

Yariv, S. Sh. (Saba shel Yariv-Yariv's grandfather) -- Nom de plume used by Ben-Gurion, after his first grandson.

Yarkon River -- River crossing the coastal plain, 30 km. in length, flowing into the Mediterranean north of Tel Aviv.

Yarmuk River -- Largest river in Transjordan; separates Golan from the Gilead, it flows into the Jordan south of the Sea of Galilee.

Yasif (Kufr) -- Large Arab rural settlement, 8 km. east of Acre.

Yassin (Dir) -- See Dir Yassin.

Yehuda, Zvi (1888-1964) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1906. Co-founder of first kibbutz, Degania, and later of first moshav, Nahalal. Member of First Knesset, Mapai.

Yellin-Mor (Friedmann), Nathan (1913-1979) -- Born in Poland; immigrated 1941. Leader of Lehi: Fighters for the Freedom of Israel; detained by British authorities. After the murder of Bernadotte (q.v.) detained by Israel. Amnestied, elected to First Knesset heading the Freedom Fighters' List. While most former members of Lehi subsequently joined Herut, Yellin-Mor advocated a pro-Soviet orientation and close cooperation with Palestinians.

Yemenites -- Jews originating from the Yemen, in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula.

Yemin Moshe -- Jewish quarter in Jerusalem; first to be established in the mid-nineteenth century outside the Old City walls. Named after its sponsor Sir Moses Montefiore. In 1948 scene of heavy fighting.

Yeshiva -- Jewish religous institution of higher learning; while authorized to ordain Orthodox rabbis, frequented by many to study for study's sake, in accordance with Orthodox precepts.

Yevsekzia (Yevrei Sekzia) -- Jewish section of the Soviet secret police (NKVD; KGB). Manned largely by Jews, who were widely condemned as renegades.

Yishuv -- Jewish population of Palestine. Yisrael (Agudat) -- See Agudat Israel.

Yivo -- Jewish scientific organization, dedicated to humanities and social sciences, including the history of Jews in Eastern Europe. Originally in Poland, it managed to transfer some of its archives and personnel to the U.S.

Yekaterinoslav -- City in Russia.

Yotvata -- Kibbutz in the Arava, 40 km. north of Eilat; established by Nahal (q.v.) in 1951; handed to civilian settlers in 1957.

Yunichman, Shimshon (1907-1961) -- Born in Poland; immigrated 1935. Physician. Revisionist, subsequently Herut. Member of the Third and Fourth Knessets.

Za'im, Hosni -- See Hosni Za'im.

Zebulun -- Tribe of Israel, descendent from fifth son of Jacob; believed to have settled on the Mediterranean coast, in the vicinity of the Bay of Acre.

Zhid -- Pejorative term applied to Jews in Russia and Poland.

Zichron Ya'akov -- Town in the southern part of Mount Carmel; founded in 1882 by immigrants from Romania, and named after Baron James de Rothschild. In 1902 venue of the first representative assembly of the Yishuv (q.v.); during World War I center of NILI, a small clandestine organization active on behalf of the British behind Ottoman lines.

Zimri -- Army commander in ancient Israel, who killed his king and inherited him (1 Regum, Chapter 16); prototype of hypocrisy and ingratitude.

Zion, Hovevei -- See Hovevei Zion.

Zion, Poalei -- Movement which sought to combine political Zionism with the class interests of the Jewish proletariat and the realization of socialism. Originated at the end of the nineteenth century and soon spread throughout the then Jewish world. After several splits and mergers combined with other parties to establish Mapai (q.v.) in 1930. Ben-Gurion and Ben Zvi (q.v.) were among its early adherents.

Zion Square -- Square in the center of the Jewish part of Jerusalem.

Zionist Congress -- Parliament of the Zionist movement created by Herzl. At first it met every year (1897-1901); then every second year (1903-13; 1921-39); after World War II at irregular intervals.

Zionist Executive -- Elected by Zionist Congress to carry on the day to day operations of the movement.

Zisling, Aharon (1901-1964) -- Born in Russia; immigrated 1904. Member of Kibbutz Ein Harod. Mapai; after split in 1944 leader of Achdut Ha'Avoda, then Mapam. Minister of Agriculture in Provisional Government and cosignatory of Declaration of Independence. Member of First and Second Knessets.

Zwebner (Sha'ag), A.H. -- See Sha'ag.