Gaza Strip
A small strip of land on the southeast corner of Israel that was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
Green Line
Also known as the 1949 Armistice border, it marks the border between Israel and its neighbors (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria). It was named the Green Line after the color of the ink used to draw the line on the map in 1949.
Hatikvah
Literally, “The Hope.” It is the national anthem of Israel. The lyrics speak of the 2,000-year hope that Jews will return to their land; the lyrics are adapted from a poem written by Naftali Herz Imber in 1877 in present-day Ukraine.
M’dinat Yisrael
Literally, “State of Israel.” The modern State of Israel was founded in 1948.
Yisrael
The Hebrew word for “Israel,” it refers to the Land (Eretz Yisrael), people (Am Yisrael), and the modern State of Israel (M’dinat Yisrael).
West Bank
An area of land on the west bank of the Jordan River that was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Conservative Judaism
A denomination of Judaism started in Germany and developed in the North America. Conservative Judaism sees Jewish law (halachah) as both binding and subject to historical development.
Orthodox Judaism
A denomination of Judaism that believes the Torah is of Divine origin and that Jews are bound to keep Jewish law (halachah).
Reconstructionist Judaism
A denomination of Judaism started by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan in New York in the 1920s.
Reform Judaism
A denomination of Judaism that started in Germany in the mid-1800s and has flourished in the United States from the 1880s and on. Reform Judaism developed as a Jewish response to modernity and sought to answer questions of how to be both Jewish and modern in an increasingly complex world.