Glossary - Israel: An Introduction - page 333

Histadrut — Israel's trade union federation, established in 1920. It owned many enterprises and
institutions.
Hizballah — Iranian-fi nanced and Syrian-backed organization based in Lebanon that is committed to a
Shi'a Islamist Lebanon and Israel's destruction.
Intifada — Palestinian uprising against Israel. The fi rst was from 1987 to 1991; the second, from 2000 to
2005.
Islamic Jihad — A Palestinian Islamist organization backed by Iran and Syria. Formed in the 1970s and
committed to the destruction of Israel, it has carried out many terrorist attacks.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF)— Israel's “people's army.” Conscription is mandatory with the exception of
Haredim and Arabs. The IDF has defended Israel in conventional and nonconventional warfare.
Jewish Home (HaBayit HaYehudi)— A religious Zionist right-wing political party formed in 2008 from
a merger of the National Religious Party and Tkuma, a right-wing party. It won three seats in the
Knesset in the 2009 elections.
Judea and Samaria — The historical Jewish name for the area now known as the West Bank.
Kach — Extremist right-wing political party founded by Meir Kahane in the 1980s that advocated the
deportation of Israel's Arabs. It was banned from participating in elections in 1988.
Kadima — Centrist party founded by Ariel Sharon in 2005. It became the fi rst party other than Labor or
Likud to form a government.
Kashrut — Jewish dietary laws.
Khartoum Resolution — The 1967 declaration by Arab states in which they agreed not to make peace
with, recognize, or negotiate with Israel.
Kibbutz (plural: kibbutzim)— Communal farm or agricultural community.
Kibbutz galuyot — Literally, “ingathering of the exiles”; the idea that Jews can immigrate to Israel and be
integrated into a nation.
Kinneret — Hebrew name for the Sea of Galilee, located in Israel's northeast.
Kippa (plural: kippot)— Also called yarmulke. Skullcap worn by religious Jewish men — the size and
color are identifi ers of religious orientation.
Knesset — Israel's legislative body; parliament.
Labor — Liberal-social-democratic political party with socialist roots that dominated Israeli politics from
the 1930s until 1977. It has often led the government or been in government coalitions.
Labor Zionism — Ideology that espouses the creation of a Jewish state through socialist ideals; the domi-
nant Zionist ideology from the 1930s to 1977.
Land Day — Annual commemoration by Arab Israelis of the events of March 30, 1976, when Arab Israeli
protests against land expropriation turned violent, and six people were killed.
Law of return — Israeli law that is the basis for Israel's immigration policy. According to the current law,
which has been changed several times, any Jewish person (later defi ned as someone born of a
Jewish mother or someone who has converted to Judaism and who is not a member of another
religion) who does not endanger the public has the right to immigrate to Israel. Article 4A of the
law lists as eligible for immigration the “child and a grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the
spouse of a child of a Jew and the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew, except for a person who has been
a Jew and has voluntarily changed his religion.”
Likud — Conservative political party formed from Herut and three other small groups in 1973 that fi rst
gained control of the government in 1977 and has held control sporadically since then.
Ma'abara (plural: ma'abarot)— Temporary residential camps set up for immigrants until permanent
living arrangements are made. The term usually refers to those established for Jews arriving from
Middle Eastern countries in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Ma'ariv — Israel's second-largest daily newspaper.
Madrid Conference — International peace conference held in 1991 including Israeli, Syrian, Lebanese,
and Jordanian-Palestinian delegations.