The West Bank refers to the territory of what was once Judea and Samaria, west of the Jordan River.  When proposed plans for Jewish and Arab states were drawn up in 1947, a green pencil was used to draw the border of the territory, thus the “Green Line” demarcates the border between the West Bank […]

Gaza is a territory that is today controlled 100% by Hamas, a recognized Islamist terror organization.  Though there has been Jewish history in Gaza from Biblical times, in modern history, it was largely settled by Arab communities.  In 1949, when the dust settled after the War of Independence, Gaza was occupied by Egyptian military forces. […]

The word “Palestine” has referred to several different entities, at different times. The word likely derives from the “Philistine” people who lived in the territory of what is today Israel, during Biblical times, though the Philistines have no connection to modern-day Palestinians. In about 135CE, the Romans began to refer to the region of what […]

The Holocaust refers to the systemic destruction of the Jewish community of Europe which took place during World War II. From about the year 1941 to 1945, over six-million Jews across Europe were murdered, either by mass-shootings, gassings, or being herded into concentration, labour, or death camps, by the Nazi regime. During the Holocaust, about […]

Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, who sought to restore their freedom and independence in their ancestral homeland in the Land of Israel.  The Jewish people trace its ancestry back to the Land of Israel. And though they were dispossessed through successive imperial conquests, always maintained a connection to its historic […]

Rainbow washing is the allegation that Israel uses the fact that it is the most gay-friendly country in the Middle East to whitewash its alleged negative human rights record. There is no question that Israel is the most liberal country in the Middle East. There is a significant LGBTQ+ population in Israel, particularly in Tel […]

On May 14, 1948, Israel declared its independence. The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq invaded the young state to destroy it. Israel, however, prevailed, and has thrived ever since.  On that day, Israel took its cue from Resolution 181 of the UN General Assembly, which approved the partition of Palestine into as […]

Intifada is an Arab word referring to a rebellion, uprising, or resistance movement. In the context of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, it refers to two popular uprisings in recent decades. The First Intifada: Started in 1987, and lasting until approximately the time of the Madrid Conference in 1991, the First Intifada was a violent uprising by […]

BDS stands for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel. It is a well funded and well organized, global propaganda campaign with a focus on negatively impacting Israel via economic, diplomatic, legal, and cultural warfare – its goal is to undermine support for Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, and ultimately to cause […]

The working definition of antisemitism In the spirit of the Stockholm Declaration that states: The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial is made up of international experts from a variety of fields. The committee called the IHRA Plenary in Budapest 2015 to adopt the following working definition of antisemitism. On […]