Preface

With the contentious ArabIsraeli conflict being the most widely

written-about subject in the world, why another dictionary? As an
outsider to the Middle East, I have approached the whole conflict
with sympathy to none and compassion to all. There is no overall bias
in favor or against any party to the conflict. For example, I see and
recognize the city of Jerusalemwhere most of the dictionary was
compiledas holy and sacrosanct to all three major religions of the
region: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
I primarily see the conflictespecially the IsraeliPalestinian conflict
as two intense rival nationalisms fighting over the same piece of
territory. Aware of my ethno-cultural baggage, I have sought to present
an outsiders view of the conflict and tried to avoid any value judgment
or prescription.
Some might question the selection of entries or the choice of expres-
sion. With each passing day, a dictionary like this would have to ac-
commodate new entries, data, and at times new interpretations. While
most of the entries are contemporary in nature, the dictionary traces as
the major milestone the Jewish immigration to Palestine, the Aliya that
began in the late 19th century.
Military operations undertaken by Israel are referred to here by their
specific titles because they are widely known and present a better un-
derstanding. Thus for example, Operation Peace for Galilee rather
than Israeli Invasion of Lebanon. At the same time, neutral expres-
sions are used to refer to specific ArabIsraeli wars; for example, the
ArabIsraeli War of 19471948, as opposed to the War of Indepen-
dence or al-Naqba as it is commonly known among Israelis and
Palestinians, respectively. With sufficient cross-references, the entries
have been kept reasonably short. The basic idea is to provide the reader,

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