General

Question 1

How many Druze live in Israel?

Answer 1

150,000

Question 2

What are the Areas A, B, and C in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Answer 2

A: Areas A, B, and C refer to land divisions in the West Bank.

Elaboration:
* Area A: Administered by Palestinian Authority, e.g. Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus, Jennin [18%]
* Area B: Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control. Includes many Palestinian towns and villages. [22%]
* Area C: Full Israeli civil and security control. Contains Israeli settlements, most of the West Bank’s natural resources, and open land. E.g. Ariel, Beitar Illit, Modiin Ilit, Ma’aleh Adumim [60%]

Question 3

What is the population of Israel?

Answer 3

A: Approximately 9 million people (as of 2023).

Elaboration:
* Israel’s population is diverse, including Jews, Arabs, Druze, and other ethnic groups.
* The Jewish population makes up around 74%, while Arabs are about 21%.
* The population is generally young, with a median age around 30 years.

Question 4

What is the Law of Return?

Answer 4

A: A law granting Jews the right to live in Israel and gain citizenship.

Elaboration:
* Passed in 1950, it symbolizes Israel’s establishment as a Jewish state.
* Facilitates Jewish immigration from around the world.
* Reflects the Zionist principle of a homeland for the Jewish people.

Question 5

What is the proposed reform for Judicial Selection in Israel’s 2023 judicial reform?

Answer 5

A: Changing the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee to give the government control over judge appointments.

Elaboration:
* The current system includes judges, Bar Association representatives, Knesset members, and ministers.
* The reform aims to give a majority to the government, affecting the appointment of all judges, including the Supreme Court.
* This change is seen as a move to increase government influence in the judiciary​​​​​​.
* currently 9 members - 5 are legal people, 4 are politicians. Need 7 out of 9 to appoint judge for Supreme Court
* proposal …. Politically controlled - 8. Supreme Court … 3.

Question 6

What changes to Judicial Review are proposed in Israel’s 2023 judicial reform?

Answer 6

They cannot challenge basic laws

Normal laws review must be presided over by all court members and challenged by 80 percent majority

Question 7

What is the proposed ‘Knesset Override’ in the 2023 Israeli judicial reform?

Answer 7

Knesset can override a ruling of the Supreme Court. If ruling unanimous then can be overridden by a different Knesset. If NOT unanimous, can be overridden by current Knesset, simple majority.

Question 8

What changes are proposed for Legal Advisers to Government Ministries in Israel’s 2023 judicial reform?

Answer 8

to reclassify ministry legal advisers from independent authorities to politically selected counsel whose opinions are explicitly non-binding upon the government and its ministers

Question 9

What’s the judicial reform relating to “reasonableness”?

Answer 9

The reform will abolish the use of “unreasonableness” as grounds for review of administrative decisions. Although unreasonableness has its origins in British jurisprudence, the court has expanded on this doctrine since Israel’s founding in 1948

Question 10

How many changes is part of the judicial reform?

Answer 10

Five

Question 11

Describe the purpose of the judicial reform proposal

Answer 11

Curb excessive powers of the Supreme Court

Question 12

Who are the main leaders of the judicial reform?

Answer 12

The effort was led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Yariv Levin and the Chair of the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, Simcha Rothman.

Question 13

Why is Netanyahu not permitted to actively get involved in the judicial reform?

Answer 13

, due to a conflict of interest stemming from his ongoing corruption trial.

Question 14

Who is Israel’s current Attorney General?

Answer 14

Gali Baharav-Miara

Question 15

What power does the Supreme Court in Israel currently have?

Answer 15

• Legislation etc. is subject to judicial review
• Can strike down laws which are in violation of Israel’s Basic Laws

Question 16

What’s the official name of Israel’s Supreme Court?

Answer 16

Hebrew: בֵּית מִשְׁפָּט גָּבוֹהַּ לְצֶדֶק, Beit Mishpat Gavo’ah LeTzedek; also known as its acronym Bagatz, בג”ץ

Question 17

How many members does the Supreme Court of Israel have?

Answer 17

15 judges

Question 18

Who appoints judges in the Supreme Court of Israel?

Answer 18

• Supreme Court Judges are appointed by the President of Israel,
• from names submitted by the Judicial Selection Committee,
• which is composed of nine members:
• 3 Supreme Court Judges (including the President of the Supreme Court), 2 cabinet ministers (one of them being the Minister of Justice), 2 Knesset members, and 2 representatives of the Israel Bar Association.
• Appointing Supreme Court Judges requires a majority of 7 of the 9 committee members, or two less than the number present at the meeting.

Question 19

How many cases has Israel’s Supreme Court struck down?

Answer 19

22 cases (since 1992)

Question 20

When did Israel’s Supreme Court assume the authority to exercise judicial review?

Answer 20

Since 1992, when the Basic Laws empowered the Supreme Court of Israel to exercise judicial review, and particularly since the 1995 United Mizrahi Bank ruling when the Court recognized this authority

Question 21

What happened in 1992 to change the rule of the Supreme Court in Israel?

Answer 21

• Introduction of Key Basic Laws: The enactment of “Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty” and “Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation” in 1992 provided a constitutional foundation for human rights and civil liberties in Israel.
• Empowerment of Judicial Review: These laws granted the Supreme Court of Israel the authority to exercise judicial review, enabling it to invalidate Knesset legislation that contradicted the principles enshrined in these Basic Laws.
• Enhancement of Checks and Balances: The 1992 changes significantly strengthened the checks and balances in Israel’s democratic system, particularly by enhancing the judiciary’s role in protecting individual rights and maintaining the rule of law.

Question 22

How is Israel’s current system of judicial review different to that of Britain’s?

Answer 22

Constitutional Framework:

• Israel has a de facto written constitution through its Basic Laws, especially after 1992, which include explicit protection of human rights.
• The UK operates under an unwritten constitution, primarily based on statutes, conventions, and court judgments.

Judicial Review:
* Israeli courts have the power to invalidate legislation that conflicts with the Basic Laws.
* UK courts cannot overturn primary legislation but can interpret it, especially in light of human rights standards.

Parliamentary Sovereignty:
* In Israel, the Knesset’s power is constitutionally constrained by the Basic Laws.
* The UK adheres to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty, where Parliament can make or repeal any law without legal constraints.

Question 23

What links Menachem Begin to Yariv Levin?

Answer 23

Menachem Begin was the Sandek at Levin’s circumcision ceremony.

Question 24

Explain the five points of the judicial review, briefly

Answer 24

• Judicial selection — The committee which is responsible for recommending the appointment of judges currently consists of serving judges, representatives of the Israel Bar Association, Knesset members and government Ministers, and is composed as such that agreement is required between these different groups. The proposed changes seek to change the composition of the committee, giving a majority of votes to the government and thus giving the government control over the selection and dismissal of all judges, including of the Supreme Court.
• Judicial review — The proposed changes seek to curb judicial review over legislation, including by explicitly legislating against the Supreme Court’s exercise of judicial review of Basic Laws, and requiring a full bench of Supreme Court justices to preside over any case in which the legality of regular legislation passed by the Knesset is evaluated, and 80% of them to rule for invalidation of such legislation.
• Knesset override — The proposed changes seek to allow the Knesset to overrule a decision by the Supreme Court on the legality of legislation, where the Knesset votes with a majority (of 61, out of 120 Knesset members) against the court decision.
• Legal advisers to government ministries — The proposed changes seek to reclassify ministry legal advisers from independent authorities, subject to the professional oversight of the Justice Ministry, to politically selected counsel whose opinions are explicitly non-binding upon the government and its ministers, thus allowing ministers to individually select and dismiss their legal advisors and decide whether or not to adhere to legal advice.
• Reasonableness — The proposed changes seek to limit the scope of judicial review of governmental and administrative decisions, by legislating against the concept of ‘reasonableness’. This would preclude the courts from hearing petitions or appeals against governmental and administrative decisions on the basis that such decisions are ‘unreasonable’.

Question 25

What is the planned change to the Judges Selection Committee?

Answer 25

• Expanding the committee to 11 members.
• Six political members: the Minister of Justice (chair), two additional ministers, and three Knesset committee chairs.
• Three judicial members: the President of the Supreme Court and two other Supreme Court judges.
• Two public representatives: chosen by the Minister of Justice, one being a lawyer.
• The new composition would give the government and political appointees a majority on the committee.

Question 26

What are the arguments FOR reforming the Judges Selection Committee?

Answer 26

• Juges and lawyers currently have veto power
• Only 4 out of 36 OECD countries appoint constitutional judges without the elected officials (Turkey, Greece, Luxembourg, UK) … and in the latter 2 they cannot void laws
• of the 36 OECD countries, Israel’s sole companions in giving a veto to non-elected officials over judicial appointed to the highest tribunal authorized to strike down parliament’s laws, are Greece and Turkey

Question 27

What are the arguments AGAINST reforming the Judges Selection Committee?

Answer 27

• While 31 of the 36 countries in the study have public representatives selecting the judges, in 24 of them, judges are selected in consultation with the judicial system and upon its recommendation.
• Further, while in most of these countries such a recommendation carries no legal force, in practice it is binding, as the public representatives listen to the judges’ recommendations and act upon them. As noted in a study, “the political culture in these countries is such that public representatives select the judges with the consent and blessing of the judicial system — a political culture completely different than that in Israel.”[43]
• The other developed countries, in which there is no appreciable involvement of the justice system in judicial selection, are almost all countries with constitutions. Some have a federal structure of several states, each with its own additional supreme court protecting the residents of that federal state. Most have bicameral legislatures not necessarily controlled by the party controlling the executive branch, and so the government’s power is decentralized. Usually judicial selection requires the consent of the government as well as both houses of parliament, and almost always the choice in the legislative chambers requires a large majority (usually two thirds of the votes, and even an absolute majority). In other words, the coalition, which does not rule alone and cannot appoint judges on its own, needs the consent of the opposition as well. None of this exists in Israel, and that completely changes the picture.”[44]

Question 28

What’s Israel’s reform re. ministry legal advisers?

Answer 28

Instead of being under the Attorney General, each Minister can appoint their own legal adviser, and their advice is non-binding

Question 29

Who was the former Attorney General in Israel?

Answer 29

Avichai Mandelblit

Question 30

How do other countries appoint their ministerial legal advisers? Give some examples

Answer 30

• In the United States, General Counsels to department secretaries are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate, indicating a more political appointment process.
• In Canada, however, the Department of Justice provides legal advice to the government and its various ministries, and Deputy Ministers responsible for this are appointed in a manner that is essentially professional, based on the candidate’s experience and abilities.

Question 31

How are Supereme court judges appointed in the United States?

Answer 31

Supreme court judges are appointed by the president, with the confirmation of the Senate

Question 32

What is the proposed reform to Israel’s Surpreme Court’s power of judicial review?

Answer 32

• Cannot challenge Basic Laws
• Regular laws - needs full judges to preside over it, 80% majority to annul it

Question 33

What is the proposed Override clause?

Answer 33

• Simple majority can override a Supreme Court nullification (when it was done not in full consensus)
• Simple majority can override a full consensus Supreme Court nullification if done by a different Knesset

Question 34

Israel Democracy Institute: “Every country has checks and balances that set limits on the power of the political majority. In Israel, however, —- is the sole balancing mechanism”

Answer 34

The Supreme Court

Question 35

Give the landmark example example of where the US Supreme Court struck down a law passed?

Answer 35

Case Background: Marbury v. Madison (1803) involved William Marbury, who was appointed to a government position but did not receive his official papers due to a change in administration. He sued Secretary of State James Madison to deliver these documents.

Supreme Court Ruling: The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, ruled that while Marbury had a right to his appointment, the Court could not legally force Madison to deliver the documents. This was because part of the Judiciary Act of 1789, under which Marbury sought relief, conflicted with the Constitution and was therefore invalid.

Establishment of Judicial Review: This case established the principle of judicial review in the United States, giving the Supreme Court the power to declare laws passed by Congress as unconstitutional, thereby shaping the balance of power among the branches of the federal government.

Question 36

What is the landmark Mizrahi case involving the Supreme Court?

Answer 36

“United Mizrahi Bank v. Migdal Cooperative Village” case (1995):

Agricultural Debt Laws Challenged: The case involves laws passed by Israel’s Knesset (parliament) in the early 1990s to help farmers by allowing debts to be restructured or cancelled. These laws were later amended to cover more debts.

Constitutional Conflict: The laws came into conflict with a Basic Law (like a constitutional law in Israel) called “Human Dignity and Liberty.” This Basic Law protects property rights and other fundamental rights.

Supreme Court Review: The Supreme Court of Israel had to decide whether these agricultural debt laws violated the Basic Law. They considered if the Knesset had the power to pass laws that might limit its future law-making.

Judges’ Diverse Opinions: All nine judges on the Supreme Court wrote their own opinions. They discussed ideas like the Knesset’s power, the role of Basic Laws in Israel, and how to balance legislative actions with constitutional principles.

Final Decision: The Court decided that while the agricultural debt laws did impact creditors’ property rights, they were still in line with the Basic Law’s requirements. This meant some of the laws stayed, but others were changed.

Landmark as shows the hierarchy of laws: Basic Laws being the highest and the authority of the Supreme Court to uphold this.

Question 37

How many Jews live in the West Bank?

Answer 37

In total, over 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the W est Bank excluding East Jerusalem,[56][57] with an additional 220,000 Jewish settlers residing in East Jerusalem.[28][29]

Question 38

Name 5 Palestinian cities in West Bank from North to South

Answer 38

Jenin
Nablus
Ramallah
Bethlehem
Hebron

Question 39

Which Palestinian city is separated from the main area where the others are in the West Bank?

Answer 39

Jericho (on the East)

Question 40

What is “pay for slay”?

Answer 40

Payments by PA to families of individuals wounded or killed during confrontations with Israel

E.g. the families of the 200 suicide bombers share in about $1 million.
Bibi claims that $350m goes to terrorists and their families

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/03/14/does-the-palestinian-authority-pay-350-million-a-year-to-terrorists-and-their-families/

Question 41

What is the “reasonableness” idea in the Judicial Reform?

Answer 41

To stop the Supreme Court blocking administrative actions besed on them being “unreasonable”

Question 42

What has Aryeh Deri been accused of?

Answer 42

• Deri was convicted of taking $155,000 in bribes while serving as the interior minister, and was given a three-year jail sentence in 2000. He was replaced by Eli Yishai.[8][9] Due to good behavior, Deri was released from Maasiyahu Prison in 2002, after serving 22 months.[10]
• on 28 December 2014, Channel 2 released video footage in which Ovadia Yosef, the founder of Shas, attacked Deri, calling him a wicked man and a thief
• On 23 January 2022, he resigned from the Knesset as part of a plea bargain.[18] Deri admitted to underreporting the value of property sold to his brother Shlomo Deri to avoid land tax, failure to report income from the sales and evading tax on NIS 534,000 of income, by funneling payments from Green Ocean investment fund to his brother

Question 43

What recent ruling did the Supreme Court give about Aryeh Deri?

Answer 43

On 18 January 2023, the Supreme Court of Israel ruled that Deri was not allowed to hold a position as a cabinet minister due to his conviction for tax offenses.[3] As a result, Deri was consensually dismissed from the cabinet on 22 January; his dismissal went into effect on 24 January.[26] In his place, Deri chose Michael Malchieli as the acting Minister of Interior and Yoav Ben-Tzur as the acting Minister of Health.[27]

The High Court of Justice ruled on Wednesday that the appointment of Shas leader Aryeh Deri as interior and health minister was “unreasonable in the extreme” due to his criminal convictions, most recently for tax fraud in 2022.

Question 44

What’s Israel’s Defense Service Law?

Answer 44

• Passed in 1949
• All Israeli citizens at age of 18
• Drafted or perform national service
• explicit exemptions for religious, pregnant, and married
  women

Question 45

Do Israel’s minorities draft into the army?

Answer 45

• Arabs [Muslims and Christians], Bedouins - no (not through law, but through army directives)
• Druze, Circassians - yes

Question 46

How did Haredim originally get out of the draft?

Answer 46

• 1948 exemption for those who “Torato Omanuto”
• Deal between Ben-Gurion and Haredi community
• Not legislation, but Defense Ministry regulation
• Defer army service until age when draft no longer applies (technically 40, but practically 30)

Question 47

Under whose government was the cap on Haredim not serving removed?

Answer 47

Menachem Begin, Likud, 1977

Question 48

How did 1998 ruling of Supreme Court affect the Haredi draft?

Answer 48

• Rubinstein v. The Minister of Defense
• Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled that the defense minister had no legal authority to exempt Haredi men from conscription
• called on the Knesset to find a solution to the issue through legislation
• In his majority opinion, Supreme Court President Aharon Barak argued that torato omanuto violated the principle of equality, and that “the current situation, in which a significant portion of these individuals of service age do not risk their lives for the security of the State is very discriminatory.”

Question 49

What is the Tal Law?

Answer 49

• The, the Knesset passed the so-called Tal Law in July 2002
• implemented as a temporary measure that could be
  renewed by the Knesset every five years.
  The Tal Law permitted full-time yeshiva students to postpone their conscription into the IDF until age 23,
• after which they could choose to participate in a shortened, 16-month stint of IDF service; do a year of civilian national service; or continue studying full-time in yeshiva.
• The goal of this arrangement was to pave the way for Haredi men to join the workforce earlier and non-coercively encourage conscription among Haredim

Question 50

Was the Tal Law effective in getting Haredim to serve?

Answer 50

No
Less than 1500 volunteering by 2010

Question 51

Why was the Tal Law struck down in 2012?

Answer 51

Violating Basic Law: Human
Dignity

Question 52

What Haredi draft legislation was passed in 2014?

Answer 52

• Coalition including Bibi and Yesh Atid
• Sharing the burden
• 60% of men to be drafted by 2017
• If not, ALL to be drafted (and face criminal penalties if don’t)

Question 53

What is the current exemption status for Haredim?

Answer 53

Under this temporary system, Haredi men are
required to stay in yeshiva until age 26, after which they are permanently exempt from service.

Question 54

What is the current draft bill re. Haredi draft?

Answer 54

• While not yet finalized, the new draft bill is expected to lower the exemption age from 26, where it currently sits, to 23,
• meaning thatHaredim would have the option to leave yeshiva and join the workforce earlier without fear of being drafted.
• As a consolation for non-Haredi Jews, the government will also move to reduce the term of service for those who do serve to two years (men typically serve 32 months), increase benefits for conscripts, and raise salaries for those who serve beyond the minimum two-year term.

Question 55

What is the population of Israel?

Answer 55

9.73m
(definition: the CBS defines the population of Israel to also include Israeli settlers living in the Area C of West Bank and the Muslim residents of East Jerusalem and Area C, who have Israeli residency or citizenship.)

Question 56

How many Israelis live in East Jerusalem, West Bank, Golan Heights?

Answer 56

• 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem,
• with an additional 220,000 Jewish settlers residing in East Jerusalem.
• Additionally, over 20,000 Israeli citizens live in settlements in the Golan Heights.

Question 57

What is the ethnic breakdown of Israel?

Answer 57

Jews 7,181,000 – 73%
Arabs 2,065,000 – 21%
Other 549,000 – 6%
Total 9,795,000 – 100%

Question 58

What is the ethnic makeup of the Jews in Israel?

Answer 58

Mizrahi 44.9
Ashkenazi 31.8
Soviet 12.4
Beta Israel 3
Mix 7.9

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Israel

Question 59

What is religious breakdown of Jews in Israel?

Answer 59

In 2022:
* 45% of Israel Jews self-identified as “secular”;
* 10% as haredi (ultra-orthodox);
* and 12% as dati (lit. ’religious’ or ‘orthodox’, including religious zionist).
* 33% as masorti (lit. ’traditional’);

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Israel#:~:text=In%202022%2C%2045%25%20of%20Israel,’%2C%20including%20religious%20zionist).

Question 60

What percentage of Israel are Haredim?

Answer 60

• 13% of Israel population
• expected to grow to 16% by 2030
• The growth rate of the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) population in Israel is the highest of any of the populations in developed countries, at around 4% per year

https://en.idi.org.il/haredi/2022/?chapter=48263

Question 61

Who argued that the Basic Laws should be treated as Israel’s constitution?

Answer 61

Aharon Barak
The Israeli Supreme Court President Aharon Barak ruled that the Basic Laws should be considered the state’s constitution, and that became the common approach throughout his tenure (1995-2006)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Laws_of_Israel

Question 62

What is the Harari Resolution?

Answer 62

• Harari is best known as initiator of the Harari Resolution (הַחְלָטַת הֲרָרִי‎; also referred to as the Harari Proposal) of 13 June 1950, a landmark in Israeli constitutional law.
• According to this proposal “the First Knesset assigns to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee the preparation of a proposed constitution for the state.
• The constitution will be made up of chapters, each of which will constitute a separate basic law.
• The chapters will be brought to the Knesset, as the Committee completes its work, and all the chapters together will constitute the constitution of the state.”
• Following the passing of this resolution, the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee set up a sub-committee on the Constitution.
• Several Basic Laws have been enacted since, and yet Israel still has no formal constitution.[2]

Question 63

How many Basic Laws are there?

Answer 63

14

Question 64

How do you say Basic Lasws in Hebrew?

Answer 64

חוקי היסוד

Question 65

Which political party ruled for around the first 30 years of the State of Israel?

Answer 65

Until the 1977 Knesset election, Israel was ruled by successive coalition governments led by Mapai or the Mapai-dominated Alignment.
Mapai (Hebrew: מַפָּא”י, an acronym for מִפְלֶגֶת פּוֹעֲלֵי אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל‎, Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael, lit. “Workers’ Party of the Land of Israel”) was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the modern-day Israeli Labor Party in 1968

Question 66

Which party won the elections in 1977 Israel?

Answer 66

Menachem Begin’s centre-to-right Revisionist Zionist Likud bloc

Question 67

In what way was 1977 a significant year in Israeli politics?

Answer 67

Likud’s landslide victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country’s political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. In addition, it was the first time in Israel that a right-wing party won the plurality of the votes

Question 68

Likkud ruled from 1977 until when?

Answer 68

After ruling the country for most of the 1980s, the party lost the Knesset election in 1992.

Question 69

Who founded Likkud?

Answer 69

It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing parties

Question 70

List the Prime Ministers of Israel

Answer 70

30 years of the left…
* David Ben-Gurion (Mapai) - 1948–1954
* Moshe Sharett (Mapai) - 1954–1955
* David Ben-Gurion (Mapai) - 1955–1963
* Levi Eshkol (Mapai, later the Alignment) - 1963–1969
* Golda Meir (Alignment) - 1969–1974
* Yitzhak Rabin (Alignment) - 1974–1977

The right takes the reigns
* Menachem Begin (Likud) - 1977–1983
* Yitzhak Shamir (Likud) - 1983–1984
* Shimon Peres (Alignment) - 1984–1986
* Yitzhak Shamir (Likud) - 1986–1992

Labour are back
* Yitzhak Rabin (Labor Party) - 1992–1995
* Shimon Peres (Labor Party) - 1995–1996

But not for long…
* Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) - 1996–1999
* Ehud Barak (Labor Party) - 1999–2001
* Ariel Sharon (Likud, later Kadima) - 2001–2006
* Ehud Olmert (Kadima) - 2006–2009
* Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) - 2009–2021
* Naftali Bennett (Yamina) - 2021–2022
* Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) - 2022
* Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) - 2022-23

Question 71

What number Israeli government are we currently on?

Answer 71

37th

Question 72

Who are the 7 parties of the coalition?

Answer 72

• Likud (32) Netanyahu
• Shas (11) Aryeh Deri
• United Torah Judaism (7) Moshe Gafni
• Religious Zionist Party (7) Betzalel Smotrich
• Otzma Yehudit (6) Itamar Ben-Gvir
• Noam (1) Avi Maoz
  …..
• National Unity (12) Benny Gantz

Question 73

Who is Israel’s National Security Adviser?

Answer 73

Tzahi Hanegbi

Question 74

2 settlements to the south of Jerusalem

Answer 74

Gilo
Har Homa

Question 75

1 settlement in the East of East Jerusalem?

Answer 75

East Talpiyot

Question 76

5 settlements in the north of East Jerusalem?

Answer 76

• Ramat Shlomo
• Ramat Eshkol
• Ramot
• Pisgat Zev
• Neve Yaakov

Question 77

What large Jewish city is to the East of Jerusalem?

Answer 77

Maale Adumim

Question 78

What were the original names of Israel’s first four PMs?

Answer 78

David Ben-Gurion had been born David Gruen. Moshe Sharett was born Moshe Shertok; Levi Eshkol was originally Levi Shkolnik. Golda Meir (Israel’s first female prime minister) had been Golda Meyerson.

Gordis, Daniel. Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn (p. 5). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Question 79

In Russia in the 1800s, Jews were confined to live mostly in which area?

Answer 79

The Pale of Settlement
…
The Pale of Settlement[a] was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (de facto until 1915) in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed and beyond which Jewish residency, permanent or temporary,[1] was mostly forbidden

Question 80

What was the haskalah?

Answer 80

A movement that began in the 1770s and lasted until the 1880s, the haskalah sought to reform the Jewish emphasis on tradition and collectivism and to import into Jewish society a more rational, analytical, intellectual, and individualistic way of life.

Gordis, Daniel. Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn (p. 13). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Question 81

When and where was the first Zionist Congress?

Answer 81

Basel, 1897

Question 82

Which journalist / novelist came to the defense of Dreyfus?

Answer 82

Emile Zola in J’Accuse (accusing the government of both flagrant anti-Semitism and of unfairly jailing Dreyfus)

Question 83

What was Herzl’s best known book?

Answer 83

The Jewish State

Question 84

Who published the first modern Hebrew novel in 1853?

Answer 84

Avraham Mapu
(The Love of Zion, was set in ancient biblical Israel, during the period of the prophet Isaiah.)

Question 85

Who wrote the Zionist work Rome and Jerusalem in 1862?

Answer 85

Moshe Hess
…
he argued that for Jews, Europe’s welcome would forever be tenuous. “We shall always remain strangers among the nations. They may tolerate us and even grant us emancipation, but they will never respect us as long as we place the principle ubi bene ibi patria [wherever things go well, there is one’s homeland] above our own great national memories,” he wrote.27 Jews should return to Palestine, he said—the ancestral homeland of which they had dreamed and spoken for millennia—where they should work the land and create a socialist society.

Question 86

A year after the 1881 pogroms he wrote Auto-Emancipation, which he subtitled “A Warning to His Fellow People, from a Russian Jew” and in which he urged Jews to seek a national rebirth and independence.

Who wrote it?

Answer 86

Leon Pinsker

Question 87

When was the Al-Aqsa mosque built?

Answer 87

691–692 CE

Gordis, Daniel. Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn (p. 35). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Question 88

From 733 to 732 BCE, which Assyrian king annexed the Galilee and Transjordan, deporting a large portion of the inhabitants?

Answer 88

Tiglath-Pileser III

Question 89

Which two rivers flow through Iraq and into the Persian Gulf?

Answer 89

Euprhates and Tigris

Question 90

Who was the son of Solomon, under whom the kingdom divided?

Answer 90

Rehoboam

Question 91

When was the first Temple destroyed?

Answer 91

586 BCE

Question 92

Which prophet witnessed the fall of Jerusalem and the first Temple?

Answer 92

Jeremiah

Question 93

In 130 CE, the emperor Hadrian announced plans to rebuild Jerusalem. What name did he call it?

Answer 93

Aelia Capitolina

Question 94

When was Bar Kokhba’s revolt?

Answer 94

132-5 CE

Question 95

When and where was the Protocols of the Elders of Zion published?

Answer 95

Imperial Russia, 1903

Question 96

When did the Kishniev pogrom take place?

Answer 96

1903

Question 97

What plan was mooted at the 6th Zionist Congress?

Answer 97

Uganda Plan

Question 98

Asher Zvi Ginzberg is better known by his pen name …

Answer 98

Ahad Ha’am

Question 99

In what way did Ahad Ha’am argue with Herzl?

Answer 99

State would be a mistake
Focus should be on setting up a colony that can provide spirtual influence

Question 100

Who was Arthur Ruppin?

Answer 100

An economist who held a senior position in the Jewish Agency

Question 101

Who founded Revisionist Zionism?

Answer 101

Ze’ev Jabotinsky

Question 102

What is the name for Revisionist Zionim’s youth movement?

Answer 102

Betar

Question 103

Which leader stressed the importance of working the land?

Answer 103

A.D. Gordon
Philosopher of Labour Zionism

Question 104

Which leader stressed the importance of a Jew being strong/physical (aligned with Jabotinsky)?

Answer 104

Max Nordau

Question 105

Who wrote the poem “City of Slaughter” about the Kishniev massacre?

Answer 105

Chayam Nachman Bialik

Question 106

Who argued that Zionism needed to be a revolt against Judaism?

Answer 106

Micha Josef Berdyczewski

Question 107

What was religious Zionim’s first significant organization?

Answer 107

Mizrahi
(joined the Fifth Zionist Congress)

Question 108

Who argued that religion was the cancer that had destroyed the Jew

Answer 108

Bialik

Question 109

What was the area called where Jews lived pre-State?

Answer 109

Yishuv

Question 110

Since when did the Ottomans control Palestine?

Answer 110

1517

Question 111

Describe Jewish life in Israel in 1870

Answer 111

• twenty-seven thousand Jews already living in Palestine,
• concentrated primarily in Jerusalem, where they constituted a majority.
• These Jews were almost exclusively poor, deeply religious, and committed to having as little to do as possible with people outside their community
• Old Yishuv

Question 112

What was the First Aliyah?

Answer 112

Wave of immigration to Israel, began in 1882 and continued, with breaks, until 1903.

Question 113

Which two organizations were central to the First Aliyah?

Answer 113

The first was Hovevei Zion (“Lovers of Zion”), which Pinsker had helped create. The second, known as Bilu, was composed of a tiny group of university students (called Biluim), who in spite of their small numbers—and relatively minimal accomplishments—became legendary for their passion and fervor and for the settlement they helped establish, Gedera.

Question 114

When did Rav Kook die?

Answer 114

1935

Question 115

Who is the father of modern Hebrew?

Answer 115

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda

Question 116

Who won Israel’s first Nobel prize?

Answer 116

Shmuel Yosef (Shai) Czaczkes,

aka Shai Agnon

Question 117

Who was the “Benefactor” who gave money to the early settlments of the Yishuv?

Answer 117

Baron Edmond de Rothschild
(By the turn of the century, his monetary assistance totaled $6 million, equivalent today to almost $150 million.)

Question 118

How many came on the First Aliyah?

Answer 118

Twenty to thirty thousand Jews to Palestine. Yet some 60 to 90 percent of these early immigrants ended up leaving just a few years after they arrived.

Question 119

When was the Second Aliyah?

Answer 119

Second Aliyah (1904–1914) began. During this period, approximately forty thousand Jewish immigrants made their way to the Land of Israel, mostly from eastern Europe.

Question 120

What were some of the acheivements of the Second Aliyah?

Answer 120

• First Kibbutz - Degania
• First self-defence org
• Founding of Tel Aviv

Question 121

Who was the main cultural icon of the Second Aliyah?

Answer 121

Yosef Chaim Brenner

Question 122

When was the peak of kibbutzim? (in terms of % of population working there)

Answer 122

At its peak in 1947, the kibbutzim accounted for only 7 percent of the Jews living in the Yishuv.

Question 123

When was Tel Aviv founded, and what’s the significance of the name?

Answer 123

• In 1909, Tel Aviv was born. “Tel Aviv” was the title of the Hebrew translation of Herzl’s utopian novel, Altneuland.
• Some sixty modest professionals decided to create the first “Jewish suburb” in Palestine just north of Jaffa.
• For some it was to be a Palestinian Odessa. For others it was to be Vienna on the Mediterranean.

Question 124

Who was Menachem Ussishkin?

Answer 124

Russian-born Zionist leader and head of the Jewish National Fund.

Question 125

What was the first Hebrew speaking city?

Answer 125

Tel Aviv

Question 126

His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.

Who said this?

Answer 126

Balfour
1917

Question 127

Who said: “The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.”

Answer 127

Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary, about WW1

Question 128

What was the Zion Mule Corps? Name two members

Answer 128

Jewish military unit on the side of the British, fighting against the Turks WW1
Members: Jabotinsky, Trumpledor

Question 129

What is the Armenian Genocide?

Answer 129

• Time and Location: Occurred during World War I (1915-1923) in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey).
• Victims and Scale: Targeted the Armenian population, resulting in the death of approximately 1.5 million Armenians through mass killings and forced marches.
• Legacy and Recognition: Recognized as genocide by numerous countries and entities, it remains a contentious issue with some denial, notably by Turkey. Commemorated annually on April 24th as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

Question 130

Who were Nili?

Answer 130

• Spy ring in WW1, to assist the British against the Turks
• Led by Aaronsohn family

Question 131

How did Weizmann have such good access to British Government officials?

Answer 131

• Director of British admirality laboratories
• Developed acetone, ingredient for explosives and important for WW1

Question 132

What political change in UK happened in 1916 to help the Zionist cause?

Answer 132

David Lloyd George became Prime Minister
…
“And Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, and future hopes of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land. In my opinion that is right.”

Question 133

Who was Edmund Allenby?

Answer 133

• British Campaign in the Middle East: Allenby was the commander of the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force during World War I.
• Conquest of Jerusalem: He is most renowned for his successful campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the region, which culminated in the capture of Jerusalem in December 1917. This was a significant military and symbolic victory for the Allies.
• Impact on the Region: Allenby’s victories in this region were pivotal in the eventual dismantling of the Ottoman Empire and the reshaping of the Middle East, including the area that would become the State of Israel. His actions had far-reaching consequences for the post-war political landscape in the Middle East.

Question 134

When and where was Hebrew University set up?

Answer 134

1918, Mount Scopus

Question 135

When was the 3rd Aliyah?

Answer 135

Palestine. The Third Aliyah (1919–1923) brought 35,000 people to Palestine.

Question 136

When did the Yishuv hold its first election?

Answer 136

1920
…
Continuing the voting tradition of the World Zionist Organization from Herzl’s day, parties were allocated seats proportionally, based on the percentage of the vote that they received. A party that received 30 percent of the vote would be awarded 30 percent of the seats, and so forth.
In fact, no party would ever win an outright majority in any subsequent vote, either in the Yishuv’s Assembly of Representatives or in the Israeli parliament, which would replace it after independence.

Question 137

What was the Council of Four Lands?

Answer 137

• Time Period: Existed from the 16th to the 18th century (approximately 1580 to 1764).
• Geographical Scope: It was based in Poland, which at the time included parts of present-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania.
• Jewish Autonomy: The Council was a central body of Jewish autonomy in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, governing Jewish communities.
• Function: It handled internal Jewish matters, including religious affairs, education, and taxation, and represented the Jewish community to the Polish monarchy and nobility.
• Composition: The “Four Lands” referred to in its name were Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, Volhynia, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, each sending representatives to the Council.

Question 138

By the early twentieth century, European Jews had been voting, legislating, and taxing themselves for some 350 years. How is this true?

Answer 138

The Council of Four Lands was democratically elected, started 1580 approx

Question 139

What happened at San Remo? What was the Arab response?

Answer 139

• 1920 - WW1 victors (Britain, France, Japan, Italy) recognised Balfour Declaration
• Arab riots - Jerusalem 1920 killing six, Jaffa 1921 killing four dozen (including Yosef Chaim Brenner)

Question 140

How did Churchill harm Zionist aspirations in 1921?

Answer 140

As Secretary of State for Colonies he redraw the map of the middle East, and created Transjordan (later Jordan)
Three quarters of expected future Jewish state thus given away

Question 141

Who said: “[T]he only way to obtain such an agreement, is the iron wall, which is to say a strong power in Palestine that is not amenable to any Arab pressure. In other words, the only way to reach an agreement in the future is to abandon all idea of seeking an agreement at present.”

Answer 141

Jabotinsky

Question 142

What is the Temple Mount in Arabic?

Answer 142

al-Haram al-Sharif

Question 143

What happened in the 1929 Arab riots?

Answer 143

133 dead; 67 in Hebron
August 1929, on the Jewish Sabbath, Arab mobs, wielding clubs, knives, and axes, began to surround the Jewish community of Hebron. Arab women and children threw stones at the Jews, while men ransacked Jewish homes and destroyed Jewish property.
…
The Hebron massacre was the killing of sixty-seven or sixty-nine Jews on 24 August 1929 in Hebron, then part of Mandatory Palestine, by Arabs incited to violence by rumors that Jews were planning to seize control of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The event also left scores seriously wounded or maimed.

Question 144

What policy was the watchword of the early Haganah?

Answer 144

halvagah - restraint
(They could prevent attacks to the best of their abilities, but they were not to initiate any actions before they learned that an attack was being planned.)

Question 145

In 1931, which group broke away from the Haganah? They would take battle to the enemy

Answer 145

Haganah Bet
later: Irgun Tzve’ai Le’umi
Supreme Commander was Jabotinsky

Question 146

What was David Ben Gurion’s first job on arriving in Palestine?

Answer 146

Working the orange groves of Petach Tikvah

Question 147

What was the name of the Yishuv’s labour union?

Answer 147

The Histadrut

Question 148

Who was one of the heads of the Jewish Agency’s political departments, effectively its foreign minister (during the time of the Yishuv)?

Answer 148

Chaim Arlosoroff

Question 149

What was the pre-WW2 plan that moved 20,000 Jews from Germany to Palestine as well as $30m?

Answer 149

Ha’avarah (transfer agreement)

Question 150

What was the backlash within Palestine over the ha’avarah?

Answer 150

Strong opposition from Jabotinsky (revisionists), leading to assassination of Arlosoroff in 1933

Question 151

What anti-Jewish policies were passed in Germany in 1935?

Answer 151

The Nuremberg Laws

Question 152

What cultural event was set up by the Yishuv in 1932?

Answer 152

Maccabiah Games

Question 153

What was the Arab Revolt in the 30s?

Answer 153

1936-9
Violence to resist the Yishuv’s development and Jewish immigration

Question 154

What was the Peel Commission?

Answer 154

1936-7
Led by Lord William Robert Peel
To survey the land and hear from both sides
Report suggest partition: 20% to Jews, 70-75% to Arabs

Question 155

What was the name of the mufti of Jerusalem?

Answer 155

Haj Amin al-Husseini

Question 156

What happened on Kristallnacht?

Answer 156

Marked the beginning of the Holocaust
November 9-10, 1938
Across Germany and Austria, Jewish homes, synaogogues, and businesses destroyed
26,000 Jews sent to concentration camps

Question 157

Where did the term “Shoah” come from?

Answer 157

• Used in the Yishuv a month after Kristallnacht
• From the book of Zephania
• Unprecedented calamity

Question 158

What was the White Paper?

Answer 158

1939 British policy, that accepted most of the Arab demands from the 1936-39 Arab Revolt:
* Jewish immigration restricted (75,000 over 5 years)
* Restriction of Jewish purchase of land in many areas
* 10 year plan for Palestine to become a state (with Arab majority)

Question 159

What was Ben-Gurion’s policy towards the British at the time of WW2?

Answer 159

“We will fight with the British against Hitler as if there were no White Paper; we will fight the White Paper as if there were no war.”

Question 160

What were the illegal immigrants to Israel known as?

Answer 160

ma’apilim

Question 161

Where was the biggest detainment camp for illegal immigrants?

Answer 161

Atlit
(South of Haifa)

Question 162

How many people from the Yishuv joined the British army?

Answer 162

30,000

Question 163

What strike force did the Haganah set up in 1941 to protect the yishuv?

Answer 163

Palmach

Question 164

What was the Nazi conference in 1942 to discuss the Final Sollution?

Answer 164

Wannsee Conference

Question 165

Where did Field Marshall Rommell reach in 1942?

Answer 165

El Alamein (Egpyt)

Question 166

Who was the head of Betar in Poland?

Answer 166

Menachem Begin

Question 167

Who was the leader of the revolt against the British in Palestine during WW2?

Answer 167

Menachem Begin (as head of the Irgun)

Question 168

What extermist group splintered from the Irgun in 1940?

Answer 168

Lechi (Lochamei Cherut Ysirael)
Stern Gang
Led by Avrham Stern

Question 169

What was the Saison (Nov 44 - March 45)?

Answer 169

Hunting Season
Palmach searched for members of Irgun and Lechi, and handed them over to the British

Question 170

What was Begin’s position during the Saison?

Answer 170

Continued fighting the British
Would not fight against the Haganah
(1944-45)

Question 171

Why did the 3 armed forces in Israel come together in 1945?

Answer 171

Haganah, Irgun, Lechi come together to fight against British who were upholding the White Paper (and restricted immigration)

Question 172

What was Black Sabbath?

Answer 172

1946
Jewish cities under lockdown
Raids by British
2,700 Jews arrested

Question 173

What major attack was carried out in Palestine in 1946?

Answer 173

Bombing of King David Hotel
By the Irgun
HQ for British command
91 people died

Question 174

Why did Weizmann lose his reputation in the World Zionist Congress of 1946?

Answer 174

He argued for peace with the British, but he lost the vote to Ben Gurion who aruged for resistance

Question 175

How many soldiers were guarding the Mandate after WW2?

Answer 175

100,000
(one tenth of army)

Question 176

What was UNSCOP?

Answer 176

United Nations Special Committee on Palestine - representation from 11 countries - charged in 1947 to find a solution for Palestine

Question 177

Compare UNSCOP vs. Peel Report? What was better for the Jews?

Answer 177

UNSCOP better (55% vs. 45%, although much of it desert)
as opposed to Peel Report (20% vs. 80%)

Question 178

What is UN Resolution for Israel to withdraw from its captured territories in 1967?

Answer 178

Resolution 242

Question 179

What resolution was discussed by the UN to set up the State of Israel?

Answer 179

Resolution 181

Question 180

What arguments did th USA consider against the setting up of the State?

Answer 180

George Marshall, Secretary of State, was staunchly anti a Jewish state
CIA warned that it could only last 2 years, and then the USA would get sucked into a war

Question 181

Who were the Lamed Hey?

Answer 181

• Siege of Etzion bloc in early 1948
• Thousand Arab villagers against hundreds of Jewish men
• Jan 16 1948, 35 men, brightest of Hebrew U, set out to provide relief (from the Palmach)
• They were ambushed and killed

Question 182

What were the 2 phases of the War of Independence?

Answer 182

• November 1947 to May 1948 (more like civil war)
• May 1948 to early 1949 (war involving armies)

Question 183

What were the hidden stashes of weapons and ammunition in War of Indpendence called?

Answer 183

“slicks”
1500 of them by 1948
Those who knew about them were sworn to secrecy

Question 184

What was the impact of Ben Gurion’s Plan Dalet in March 1948?

Answer 184

By Declaration of State, some three hundred thousand Arabs had left Palestine (Jewish state area)
…
Plan Dalet (Hebrew: תוכנית ד’, Tokhnit dalet “Plan D”) was a Zionist military plan executed in the civil war phase of the 1948 Palestine war for the conquest of territory in Mandatory Palestine in preparation for the establishment of a Jewish state.[1] The plan was requested by the Jewish Agency leader and later first prime minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion, and developed by the Haganah and finalized on March 10, 1948.

The plan was a set of guidelines to take control of Mandatory Palestine, declare a Jewish state, and defend its borders and people, including the Jewish population outside of the borders, “before, and in anticipation of” the invasion by regular Arab armies.[2][3] According to the Israeli Yehoshafat Harkabi, Plan Dalet called for the conquest of Arab towns and villages inside and along the borders of the area allocated to the proposed Jewish State in the UN Partition Plan.[4] In case of resistance, the population of conquered villages was to be expelled outside the borders of the Jewish state. If no resistance was met, the residents could stay put, under military rule.[qt 1][5][6][7]

Plan Dalet specifically spoke of gaining control of areas outside the borders of the Jewish state wherever Yishuv populations existed.[8] The issue is subject to much controversy, with some historians asserting that it was defensive, while other historians assert that the plan aimed at the expulsion, sometimes called an ethnic cleansing, on the grounds that this was an integral part of a planned strategy.

Question 185

Which country supplied the Jews with arms in April 1948 to help turn the tide of war in their favour?

Answer 185

Czechoslovakia
(one of the few countries willing to violate the international arms embargo)

Question 186

Arms delivered to Israel by Czechoslovakia, in 1948, was signed by their Foreign Minister, called…

Answer 186

Jan Masaryk
…
Son of Thomas Masaryk (a great friend and supporter to Israel)

Question 187

What’s the significance of Deir Yassin in the War of Independence?

Answer 187

• Fought by Irgun and Lechi
• April 9th 1948
• Arabs using this village to shoot onto roads into Jerusalem
• Loudspeakers, not heard, giving choice: leave or surrender
• Panic - Arabs killed - 100-250
• Claims of rape, denied
• Part of claim by Arabs that Israel “born in sin”

Question 188

What happened to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus during the War of Independence?

Answer 188

• April 13, 1948
• Caravan of vehicles headed to hospital ambushed
• Two buses remained trapped
• Massacre of 78 Jewish people
• Closed until reopening in 1967

Question 189

Who was the King of Jordan at the time of Independence?

Answer 189

King Abdullah

Question 190

When did the British Mandate of Palistine end?

Answer 190

May 14, 1948

Question 191

How much did the Jewish poppulation increase under the British?

Answer 191

Tenfold
From 56K to 600K

Question 192

What day of the week was the State established?

Answer 192

Friday (14 May, 1948)

Question 193

Who said the she’he’cheyanu blessing at the State’s declaration?

Answer 193

R’ Yehuda Leib Fishman-Maimon

Question 194

Who was the IDF’s head of operations during the War of Independence?

Answer 194

Yigal Yadin

Question 195

Who conqured the Old City in the War of Independence?

Answer 195

Arab Legion
Jordanians

Question 196

What were the mortar weapons used by Israel in the War of Indpendence called and what was their best quality?

Answer 196

Davidka
Loud noise and bright flash (causing panic and fleeing in local Arab populations such as in the battle for Safed in May 1948)

Question 197

How was beseiged Jerusalem supplied during the War of Independence?

Answer 197

Burma Roud route

Question 198

What was ironic about the Czech arms delivered to Israel in War of Independence?

Answer 198

some of the arms and uniforms had swastikas on (they were previously produced for the Nazi regime)

Question 199

Which planes were used by Israel to help turn the tide of the war of Independence?

Answer 199

Messerschmitts

Question 200

What was the Altalena?

Answer 200

• June 1948
• Weapons on ship, organized by Irgun
• IDF demand weapons
• Fight between IDF and Irgun
• 19 men in total died
• Potential civil war
• Begin calls for restraint

Question 201

How many Arab towns and villages did the Jews conquer during the 1948 War?

Answer 201

400

Question 202

How many Jews were forced to leave Arab countries after its founding?

Answer 202

more than 850,000 Jews were forced to leave their homes in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Morocco, and several other Arab countries in the 20 years that followed the Arab-Israeli war of 1948

Question 203

How many Arabs were forced to flee from Israel in the 1948 War?

Answer 203

700,000

Question 204

Who was the UN Lead Negotiator on the 1948 War?

Answer 204

Folke Bernadotte (Swedish dimplomat)
…
On September 17, 1948, four Lechi members, taking the matter into their own hands, donned IDF uniforms and assassinated Bernadotte, with the yet-unpublished draft of his plan in hand, in west Jerusalem.

During the summer of 1948, Count Folke Bernadotte was sent by the UN to Palestine to mediate a truce and try to negotiate a settlement. Bernadotte’s plan called for the following:

That the State of Israel surrender the Negev to the Arab State;
That international Jerusalem with a large Jewish majority be turned over to the Arabs;
That the port of Haifa, belonging to Israel, become a “free” port;
That the airport of Lydda, belonging to Israel, also become “free”;
That immigration to Israel be limited or suspended, depending on the desire of the Arabs in their neighboring state, after two years of free immigration.
The Arabs were expected to trade Western Galilee, occupied by Israeli troops, for the larger Negev. They were not asked to make any concessions from the rights allotted to them by the partition plan. They were asked merely to recognize the State of Israel, which, according to the plan of the mediator, would no longer be independent, since he envisaged economic union between the Arab and Jewish States of Palestine, a common defense or military union, and dependence of Jewish immigration to Israel on Arab consent. The Israelis were expected to extend the same courtesy and recognize the Arab State in Palestine.

This was similar to the boundaries that had been proposed prior to the partition vote and had been rejected by all sides. Bernadotte offered the proposal after the Arabs had gone to war to prevent partition and a Jewish state had been declared. The Jews and Arabs both rejected the plan.

Ironically, Bernadotte found little enthusiasm among the Arabs for independence. He wrote in his diary:

The Palestinian Arabs had at present no will of their own. Neither have they ever developed any specifically Palestinian nationalism. The demand for a separate Arab state in Palestine is consequently relatively weak. It would seem as though in existing circumstances most of the Palestinian Arabs would be quite content to be incorporated in Transjordan.

Bernadotte was subsequently assassinated by members of the Lehi Jewish underground group.

Question 205

Who was David Remez?

Answer 205

Minister of transportation (at declaration of State) and Signatory on Declaration of Independence

Question 206

How many Jews died in the 1948 War?

Answer 206

6,000
About 1% of the population

Question 207

What do Palestinian Arabs refer to 1948 as?

Answer 207

The Nakba

Question 208

What party did Begin lead at the beginning of the State?

Answer 208

Herut

Question 209

Which 2 parties did Ben-Gurion refuse to have as part of his coalition?

Answer 209

Communists
Menachem Begin

Question 210

Robert Frost: “Home is the place where, when you have to go there,…

Answer 210

they have to take you in”

Question 211

What is the law of Return?

Answer 211

Passed in 1950
Every Jew has the right to emigrate to Israel
and another law: they get full citizenship immediately

Question 212

What was the largest single migration in 20th century (relative to the size of the population)

Answer 212

First 3 years of State, population doubles

Question 213

In 1948, 6% of Jews lived in Israel, by 2015 it was…

Answer 213

46%

Question 214

Between 1948 and 1951, a period of merely three years, over XX percent of the Jews from Islamic countries immigrated to Israel.

Answer 214

37%

Question 215

How did Iraq stop mass migration to Israel after founding of State?

Answer 215

from 1951
Freezing assets
forbidding taking of assets with them to Israel

Question 216

What was Operation Magic Carpet?

Answer 216

Entire Yemen Jewish community flown to Israel between June 1949 and September 1950 (~50k Jews)

Question 217

Israel developed —, designed to alleviate the terrible conditions of the immigrant camps and to serve as temporary dwelling places until “real” housing was available.

Answer 217

ma’abarot (“transit camps”)

Question 218

Why did Ben Gurion delay ratifying a constitution?

Answer 218

Israel’s Declaration of Independence, for example, had stipulated that the Knesset would ratify a constitution by October 1, 1948. But Ben-Gurion was anxious to avoid the battles between the fledgling state’s religious and secular powers, a political and cultural conflict that might derail his efforts at state-building. Ben-Gurion also understood that a constitution might well create a judiciary that could strike down laws, would entrench the electoral system of proportional representation that made it impossible for a party to win a majority, and could, in myriad ways, curtail the powers of the prime minister.* For the long run, he favored a role for the prime minister that would be governed by standard democratic limits, but for the time being, he felt that he needed the broad powers that not defining his role allowed him.* So he delayed the adoption of a constitution—a document that to this day Israel has never ratified.

Gordis, Daniel. Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn (pp. 207-208). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Question 219

What was Ben Gurion’s focus on statehood culture called?

Answer 219

mamlachtiyut

Question 220

What religious state laws were enacted from the beginning? Israel

Answer 220

The Sabbath would be a public day of rest,
government and army kitchens would be kosher,
religious law would govern matters of personal status such as marriage, divorce, and conversion,
and the religious communities would maintain their autonomy in matters of education.

Question 221

What concessions did the haredim get at the beginning of the state by being part of the coalition?

Answer 221

(1) to establish an independent school system (in which students were taught virtually no non-religious subjects) and (2) to procure an exemption from military service for their sons so that the young men could continue studying in yeshivot and be spared exposure to the secular Jews they would undoubtedly encounter during military service.

Question 222

How many Haredi draft exemptions are given each year - beginning of State vs. 2010?

Answer 222

Whereas in Ben-Gurion’s time, 400 exemptions from military service were given each year, by 2010, the number of Haredim excused from military service through the same arrangement would reach 62,500 annually

Question 223

After the War of Independence, what % of Israel was Arab?

Answer 223

About 20%

Question 224

How were Arabs in Israel treated at the beginning?

Answer 224

Until 1966, they were under martial law…
Under the military government, Israel’s Arabs were tried by military courts and their freedom of movement was restricted (they had to obtain permission to leave their villages), opportunities for higher education were de facto severely limited, and employment in the center of the country was difficult to find. Even elementary education was affected; under the military administration, the security services determined who could teach in Arab schools, and not always on the basis of their pedagogical skills.

Question 225

Which Diaspora community irked Ben Gurion?

Answer 225

USA
Only 2,000 migrated in the early years

Question 226

Who led Unit 101?

Answer 226

Ariel Sharon

Question 227

Why was Unit 101 set up?

Answer 227

Set up in 1953
Small elite force
Swift and ruthless punishment on Israel’s enemies; reprisals, raids etc

Question 228

What’s the Arabic name for infiltrators

Answer 228

Fedayeen (self-sacrificers)

Question 229

What was the Qibye massacre?

Answer 229

1953
Retaliation agains the murder of Kanias family by infiltrators
(in Yehud)
Unit 101 took retribution by striking West Bank village of Qibye
Killing around 60

Question 230

What was Sabra and Shatilla?

Answer 230

1982
Killing of Muslims by Christians in Lebanon
Ariel Sharon held accountable

Question 231

What happened in Egypt in 1952?

Answer 231

Coup by Gamal Abdel Nasser
Against King Farouk

Question 232

When did the Suez canal open?

Answer 232

1869

Question 233

What are the locations at the beginnig and end of Suez Canal?

Answer 233

Port Said (North)
Suez (South)

Question 234

Who was Israel’s Prime Minister at the time of the Sinai Campaign?

Answer 234

Ben Gurion

Question 235

What happened at Kfar Kassem?

Answer 235

In preparation for Sinai Campaign (1956), curfew imposed on Arab villages for 5pm. Laborers who were out after this time (unwittingly) were shot be Israel military, killing 47, mostly women and children. Kfar Kassem is in the North - the little triangle.

Israel has officially apologised for this since (e.g. Shimon Peres, Reuven Rivlin).

Question 236

In the wake of Kfar Kassem massacre, what phrase was developed to frame the tension between military order and morality?

Answer 236

פקודה בלתי חוקית בעליל
Manifestly illegal order

Question 237

Where is the Straits of Tiran?

Answer 237

Narrow passage between Sinai and Arabian Peninsula

Question 238

President Dwight Eisenhower said that there was not much point in selling arms to Israel inasmuch as 1.7m Jews could not possibly defend themselves agasint….

Answer 238

40m Arabs

Question 239

What is Israel’s relationship with African countries?

Answer 239

• Originally positive - Israel helped emerging countries with technology, agriciulture, hydration
• Turned negative - bloc is one of Israel’s largest foes in the United Nations

Question 240

When was Eichmann captured by the Mossad?

Answer 240

1960

Question 241

Which PM was behind the White Paper?

Answer 241

Neville Chamberlain

Question 242

Who was Konrad Adenaur, and what is his significance re. Israel?

Answer 242

Postwar German Chancellor
Reparations with Israel (1951)

Question 243

Who was Rudolf Kasztner?

Answer 243

• Head of Zionist Rescue Committee in Hungary
• Made deal with Nazis to provide trucks in exchange for Jews leaving
• 1700 Jews
• Critics called it “blood for goods”
• Accusations made against him in 1952
• After court case in which he was declared to have “sold his soul to the devil”
• Assassinated in 1957 outside his home in Tel Aviv

Question 244

Why did France agree to help Israel set up nuclear weapons capabilities in the mid-1950’s?

Answer 244

• anti-Arab sentiment (see 1956 Suez Campaign)
• Obligtaion due to pro-Nazi Vichy government

Question 245

What agreement did Golda Meir reach with Nixon in 1969 re. nuclear weapons?

Answer 245

Israel could purse its nuclear goals
but not reveal it had the weapon (to not goad the Arab nations into seeking weapons of their own)

Question 246

Who was the mayor of Jerusalem in 1967?

Answer 246

Teddy Kollek

Question 247

In what ways did the International powers renege on agreements to Israel in the build up to the 1967 War?

Answer 247

They had agreed 11 years earlier in 1956 (Sinai Campaign) that b/c of Israels’ withdrawal from the Sinai, they will have the right to self-defence in the case of an Egyptian blockade of the Straits of Tiran.

now the message to Israel was “don’t shoot first”

Question 248

Who were the main people in the Six Day War?

Answer 248

Egypt: Gamal Abdel Nasser
Jordan: King Hussein
Israel: Levi Eshkol (PM), Yitzchak Rabin (IDF), Abba Eban (FM), Moshe Dayan (DM)
International: Lyndon Johnson, Charles de Gaulle, Harold Wilson, Brezhnev

Question 249

What was the cuases of the six day war?

Answer 249

Egyptian troop build up in the Sinai
Blocking of the Straits of Tiran

Question 250

What is the “Stammering Speech” in connection with the Six Day War?

Answer 250

Levi Eshkol’s radio address to calm the nation, full of stammering and “errs”

Question 251

When was Israel’s first unity government made?

Answer 251

01 June 1967

Question 252

What were the stats of soldiers and weapons in the Six Day War? For the opposing sides

Answer 252

In total, Israel faced a potential force of 207,000 soldiers and 1,600 tanks. With full mobilization, Israel could muster 264,000 soldiers but had only 800 tanks. When it came to planes, the situation was even worse. The Arabs had 700 combat aircraft, while Israel had only 300.

Question 253

Who was the Commander of the 55th Paratrooper Brigade that took back the Old City in 1967?

Answer 253

Motta Gur

Question 254

When Israel captured which area, did Syria agree to a ceasefire in 1967?

Answer 254

Kuneitra

Question 255

How many Israeli soldiers died in 1967?

Answer 255

679 (later revised by some to 800)

Question 256

How much did Israel grow - land-wise - in 1967?

Answer 256

Tripled in size
(Captured Sinai, Gaza, West Bank and East JLM, Golan Heights)

Question 257

How many Palestinians were under Israeli control in 1967 (in West Bank and Gaza)?

Answer 257

1.25m

Question 258

How many Jews moved from America in the year after the 6-day-war?

Answer 258

16,000
More than the total that had moved from America since Israel’s founding

Question 259

Who was the leader of the settler movement

Answer 259

Chanan Porat

Question 260

Where was Chanan Porat born (and exiled from in 1948)?

Answer 260

Kfar Etzion

Question 261

What was the political party of the settlers?

Answer 261

Gush Emunim

Question 262

Who was Yigal Allon?

Answer 262

Founder of Palmach
Later deputy PM and minister for immigration absorption (in 1970)
Developed the Allon Plan for what to do with captured terrirtories (giving back most, keeping some for security reasons)

Question 263

After 1967, what changed in Palestinian political landscape?

Answer 263

Yasser Arafat becomes Chairman of PLO (1968)

Question 264

What was the confident mindset called, that followed the 6 day war? (of trust in the superiority of the IDF)

Answer 264

conceptzia

Question 265

What was Israel’s military defence line along the Suez Canal called (in 1973)? Acting as an early warning system to invasion

Answer 265

Bar-Lev line
In use 1969-73
(Chaim Bar-Lev was the IDF’s Cheif of Staff)

Question 266

What is the War of Attrition?

Answer 266

Between 1969-70
Along the Egypt-Israel border
Border did not move but many casualties
Israel lost around 920 people, Egypt 10k

Question 267

What is the Twelfth Grade Letter?

Answer 267

Letter from 58 high school students
Questioning Golda Meir, if enough is being done for peace
Why should they fight in fruitless wars
In 1970

Question 268

How did the Egypt led pan-Arab project end?

Answer 268

With death of Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1970

Question 269

Where was Yasser Arafat born?

Answer 269

Cairo

Question 270

How did Arafat put the Palestinian cause on the world’s agenda?

Answer 270

Starting in mid 1960’s he waged terror both in Israel and against Israeli/Jewish targets in Europe
Through Fatah and the PLO

Question 271

What is Black September? And how did PLO cause chaos in Jordan?

Answer 271

PLO based in Jordan from 1970
Try to bring down Hashemite monarchy through terrorist acts
Leads to civil war between PLO and Jordanian army (1970-1)
Thousands of PLO’s and Palestinians die
PLO expelled to Lebanon - leading to civil war (1975)

Question 272

How did the Soviets help the Arab countries in the early 1970’s?

Answer 272

Providing ammunition to Syria and Egypt

Question 273

Who were the leaders of Israel’s enemies in 1973?

Answer 273

Egypt: Anwar Sadat
Syria: Hafez al-Assad (father of Bashar)

Question 274

Who was Israel’s IDF’s Cheif of Staff for the YK War?

Answer 274

David “Dado” Elazar

Question 275

Who was Israel’s Mossad agent in Egypt in the YK War?

Answer 275

Ashraf Marwan (son in law of Nasser)
He warned Israel in October 1973 that attack imminent, but this report did not make its way to PM’s Office

Question 276

What did Golda Meir do on eve of YK War?

Answer 276

• Refused to strike first (ignoring request of David Elazar)
• Denied full mobilization; only did a limited one

Question 277

Despite mobilizing 200,000 soldiers in the YK war, Israel was outnumbered by enemy soldiers by how much?

Answer 277

6:1

Question 278

What was the english date of the YK War?

Answer 278

6th October 1973

Question 279

How long did the YK War last?

Answer 279

16 days

Question 280

What was America’s role in the YK War?

Answer 280

After some waiting around they agreed to supply Israel with weapons (on day 5), to be carried on El Al planes, changed later to allow US planes to carry the weapons

Question 281

What was the tide of the battle in the YK War?

Answer 281

Israel taken by surprise, attacked and overrun by both Egypt and Syria
Israel then takes on Syria and pushes them back to Damascus
Then turns attention to Egypt and crosses the Suez Canal

Question 282

How many casualties were there in the YK War?

Answer 282

Arab: 8k-15k
Israel: 2,656

Question 283

How did Israel feel towards outside countries at the time of the YK War?

Answer 283

Negatively
USA - Kissinger was slow in giving weapons
France - supported Arabs
Britain - trained Eyptian pilots
Third World Countries - cut off ties with Israel

Question 284

What oil organization was created during the YK War?

Answer 284

OPEC

Question 285

What song did Naomi Shemer compose in the wake of YK War?

Answer 285

Lu heyi

Question 286

What was the investigation called in the wake of the YK War and what did it say?

Answer 286

Agranat Commission
Assigned most of the blame to the army (rather than the politicians)

Question 287

Who was PM after Golda Meir (1974)?

Answer 287

Yitzchak Rabin

Question 288

How was Rabin a “new” type of leader for Israel?

Answer 288

He was born in C20
He was educated entirely in Israel
He was born in Israel
He rose up through the army

Question 289

What other blow shook Israel after the YK War?

Answer 289

Death of Ben Gurion

Question 290

What is UN’s Resolution 3379, passed in 1974?

Answer 290

“Zionism is … racism”
(passed by a vote of 72 to 35)

Question 291

Who was the Attorney General that prosecuted against Eichmann?

Answer 291

Gideon Hausner

Question 292

Who was the uncontested king of Israeli rock in the 1960s?

Answer 292

Arik Einstein

Question 293

What was muzikat ha-kasetot?

Answer 293

In 1970’s
Mizrachi musicians distributing their songs via casette, starting off in Tel Aviv

Question 294

Who was one of the original stars of mizrachi music?

Answer 294

Zohar Argov

Question 295

What was the mahapach?

Answer 295

The 1977 election of Menachem Begin
Giving voice, finally, to the mizrachi segment

Question 296

Who were the main players in the Israel-Egypt peace?

Answer 296

Menachem Begin
Anwar Sadat
brokered by Jimmy Carter

Question 297

What were the terms of the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel?

Answer 297

Israel withdrew from Sinai
But kept onto West Bank (did not give into Sadat’s demands on this to give it to the Palestinians)

Question 298

What was Arab response to the Egypt-Israel Peace?

Answer 298

• Arab League closed its Egypt headquarters in Cairo
• Expulsion of Egyptian students studying in Arab countries abroad
• Sadat’s assassination in 1981 by soldiers of his own army (associated with Egyptian Islamic Jihad)

Question 299

Which settlement in the Sinai (near Gaza) was dismantled after peace with Egpyt (in 1982)?

Answer 299

Yamit

Question 300

Which settlement in the West Bank did Begin and Sharon visit in 1977 and say: “there will be many more ….”

Answer 300

Elon Morehs

Question 301

Wher is Elon Moreh?

Answer 301

East of Nablus (Shechem)

Question 302

What military action did Israel take in 1981 to protect itself from enemy countries?

Answer 302

Bombing of nuclear reactor in Iraq

Question 303

Although US were cirtical of Israel’s bombing of nuclear reactor in Iraq, in 1991 they changed their tune. Provide evidence.

Answer 303

Dick Cheney (Sec. Defence) sent a picture of the bombed reactor in Osirak, with a note of thanks to Israel

Question 304

What is the Begin doctrine?

Answer 304

Israel will not stand for any of its enemies developing / acquiring weapons of mass destruction

Question 305

What PLO high profile terrorist acts were committed in the 1970’s?

Answer 305

1972 - Munich Olympics, Israel team taken hostage, botched rescue operation, 11 die
1976 - Air France flight hijacked and taken to Entebbe, Uganda, over 100 hostages; Special Forces rescue mission rescues hostages; 3 die in the fighting + Yoni Netanyahu

Question 306

What is Land Day 1976?

Answer 306

• Protests by Israeli Arabs, at appropriatioin of some of their land (in North, around Haifa)
• 6 died

Question 307

What was the triggers for Operation Peace for Galillee - both immediate and big-picture?

Answer 307

Big-picture: rockets being fired from PLO (Arafat) in Lebanon, raining down on Galil
Immediate: Shooting in 1982 of Ambassador to London, Shlomo Argov

Question 308

What happened in Sabra and Shatilla?

Answer 308

Following killing of Beshar Gemayal (Christian) and the chaos that followed, IDF secured the two refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla. Palestinian refugee camps where PLO operatives were hiding

Christian Phalangists were let in and committed a massacre (800 killed)

Question 309

When did Israel leave Lebanon and under which PM?

Answer 309

2000 under Ehud Barak

Question 310

What happened to Begin in the end?

Answer 310

Resigned in the wake of the 1982 War, the next year - poor health, depressed, alone after death of his wife - did not leave his house (pretty much) for a decade, died in 1992

Question 311

What was the outcome of the 1982 war?

Answer 311

ended up serving as a base for Hezbollah - terrorist threat to Israel

Question 312

What was Begin’s watchword?

Answer 312

Hadar
(dignity)

Question 313

Where did Deri’s family come from and when?

Answer 313

Morocco, post 1967 persecution

Question 314

At what age and when did Deri become interior minister?

Answer 314

Age of 29
In 1988

Question 315

What does Shas (political party) stand for?

Answer 315

Shomrei Sefarad

Question 316

In what year was Shas founded?

Answer 316

1984
…
It got 4 seats in the Knesset that year

Question 317

Which Islamic movement rose in prominence in the 1970’s and 80’s?

Answer 317

Muslim Brotherhood

Question 318

When was Hamas founded?

Answer 318

1987

Question 319

What sparked the first intifada?

Answer 319

Israeli truck driver accidentally ran over 4 Arab workers in the Gaza strip

Question 320

What did Joran do after the start of the first Intifada?

Answer 320

1988 - renounced claims to West Bank (did not want spillover of Palestinian violence)

Question 321

What were the dates for the first Intifada?

Answer 321

1987-1993

Question 322

What was Shranksy’s party called, founded in 1996?

Answer 322

Yisrael Ba’aliyah

Question 323

What was Operation Solomon?

Answer 323

1991 rescue of Jews of Ethiopia (14,000 Jews)
Israel had already started doing this in 1984, with the help of the Mossad

Question 324

What name is given to Ethiopian Jews?

Answer 324

Falashas

Question 325

Why did Sadaam Hussein fire rockets at Israel in 1991?

Answer 325

In retaliation for the US-led invasion (following Iraq’s attack of Kuwait)

Question 326

Who was appointed PM in 1992?
(Israel)

Answer 326

Yitzchak Rabin

Question 327

What were the Oslo Accords?

Answer 327

• 1993: Mutual recognition of Israel and the PLO, Arafat and fighters allowed to return
• 1995: Dividing West Bank into A, B, C

Question 328

How many Arabs did Baruch Goldstein kill in 1994?

Answer 328

29 in Hebron

Question 329

What happened between Israel and Jordan in 1994?

Answer 329

They made peace

Question 330

When was Rabin assassinated?

Answer 330

1995

Question 331

What did Israel do after Rabin’s assassination?
Re Palestinians

Answer 331

In 1995…
Pulled out of major West Bank cities (other than Hebron)
Elections held
Arafat/Fatah elected

Question 332

Who was elected after Shimon Peres (in 1996)? and why?

Answer 332

Benjamin Netanyahu
Shift to the right due to security concerns
….
Palestinian terrorists changed that, however, with two attacks in Jerusalem, one in Tel Aviv, and another in Ashkelon, killing almost sixty Israelis in the heart of Israel’s cities within nine days. Israelis were outraged and frightened, and Peres was voted out of office a mere seven months after he had assumed Rabin’s place.

Question 333

Who came after Netanyahu in 1999?

Answer 333

Ehud Barak
(centrist)

Question 334

When did Israel leave Lebanon?

Answer 334

2000

Question 335

Who runs Lebanon?

Answer 335

Sectarian Political System: Lebanon has a unique political system based on sectarian power-sharing. Key political positions are reserved for members of specific religious groups: the President must be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of Parliament a Shia Muslim.

Political Parties: Various political parties, often based on sectarian lines, play significant roles. These include the Future Movement (Sunni), the Free Patriotic Movement (Christian), and Hezbollah (Shia).

Hezbollah’s Influence: Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militant group, has substantial influence in Lebanon. It operates independently of the Lebanese state and has its own armed wing.

Foreign Influence: Lebanon is subject to significant foreign influence, particularly from countries like Iran (supporting Hezbollah) and Saudi Arabia (supporting Sunni groups), as well as Western nations.

Economic and Social Entities: Various non-political entities, like business elites and civil society groups, also influence Lebanon’s governance, particularly in economic and social spheres.

Internal Instability: The country faces internal challenges such as economic crises, sectarian tensions, and governance issues, which affect its stability and control.

Question 336

What happened in Camp David in 2000?

Answer 336

Barak offers 92% of West Bank and parts of Jerusalem, and all of Gaza
Arafat refuses, doesn’t even give a counter-offer.

Question 337

What triggered the second Intifada in 2000?

Answer 337

Ariel Sharon (leader of the opposition) goes up to the Temple Mount; the next day 20,000 Palestinians riot … violence escalates

Question 338

What did Ariel Sharon do in 2002 in response to escalating Palestinian violence (part of the Second Intifada)?

2 things

Answer 338

• Launched Operation Defensive Shield (to take control and root out terrorits infrastructure from major West Bank cities) - largest West Bank Operation since 1967
• Building of wall in West Bank - took 5 years - reduced suicide attacks by 84%

Question 339

Yossi Klein Halevi later commented that the years of 2000 to 2004 turned Israelis into…

Answer 339

Centrists
…
They agreed with the Left that creating a Palestinian state was critical for Israel, so that Israel would not continue to rule over millions of Palestinians. Yet they also agreed with the Right that creating a Palestinian state would put Israel in grave danger.21 They were stuck.

Question 340

What did Jabotinsky advocate in his 1923 paper?

Answer 340

Iron Wall
…
that the Arabs would never end the conflict until they understood that the Israelis would not budge

Question 341

Where was Abbas born?

Answer 341

Safed
…
Fled during 1948 war

Question 342

What was Abbas’s PhD thesis about?

Answer 342

Zionism and Nazism
Number of victims of Holocaust exaggerated

Question 343

What did Sharon announce about Gaza in 2003?

Answer 343

Unitateral withdrawal of soldiers and settlements
Took place in 2005

Question 344

How much land and people were in the Gaza settlements at the end?

Answer 344

8,800 settlers
(surrounded by a million Arabs)
20% of land area

Question 345

Who argued with Sharon about the disengagement?

Answer 345

His party (Likud)
Particularly Netanyahu (Finance Minister) resigned

Question 346

How did Sharon betray the settlers of Gaza?

Answer 346

Ran election promising not to disengage, and then did!

Question 347

What happened to Sharon four months after Gaza disengagement?

Answer 347

Massive stroke, falls into coma

Question 348

Which party did Sharon set up for centrists from both Labour and Likud?

Answer 348

Kadima

Question 349

What was Sharon’s nickname?

Answer 349

The Bulldozer

Question 350

Who came after Sharon?

Answer 350

Ehud Olmert (former mayor of Jersualem)
2006-2009

Question 351

What was Olmert’s plan?

Answer 351

Handing over majority of West Bank territories to PA
Paving way for state
Negotiations to follow after that

Question 352

What happened on the day that Olmert announced his plans to give back the West Bank?

Answer 352

Hamas elected by a landslide (2006)

Question 353

What attack did Hamas achieve in 2006?

Answer 353

Tunnelled under Gaza border and captured Gilad Shalit

Question 354

When was the second Lebanon War?

Answer 354

2006

Question 355

Despite Hamas having won the elections in 2006, Fatah did not give up power; in response, what did Hamas do?

Answer 355

Violent coup
Blew up Fatah headquarters in Gaza
Threw Fatah personnel off buildings

Question 356

By 2010, though the national religious community represented no more than 10 percent of Israel’s population, they made up some …. percent of soldiers in combat units.

Answer 356

25-30%

Question 357

Who said about the UN:
“If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.”

Answer 357

Abba Eban

Question 358

Prior to 2023, what two wars did Israel have with Hamas?

Answer 358

• 2008-09: Cast Lead - Oferet Yetzukah
• 2014: Protective Edge - Tzuk Eitan

Question 359

What are the main aims of the BDS movement?

Answer 359

• Give back occupied lands
• Right of return for Palestinian refugees to Israel
• Equal rights for Israeli Arab citizens

Question 360

What is the income gap between Jews and Arabs in Israel?

Answer 360

Median monthly income (U.S. dollars) $4,652 $3,048
in 2019
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-know-about-arab-citizens-israel#:~:text=Arab%20citizens%20have%20the%20same,experts%20attribute%20to%20structural%20discrimination.

Question 361

Since the year 2000, what’s the average immigration to Israel?

Answer 361

27K
(https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/total-immigration-to-israel-by-year)

Question 362

What did Israel do against Syria in 2007?

Answer 362

Ehud Olmert ordered a hit on their nuclear reactor, completely destroying it

Question 363

Who was Uri Zohar? Who did his children marry?

Answer 363

Israeli comedian, turned rabbi in 1977
His two sons married two daughters of Israeli secular rockstar Arik Einstein

Question 364

What threat emerged from Iran in 2015?

Answer 364

JCPOA agreement between Iran and the USA (Obama), allowing them NOT to dismantle their arsenal, and restrictions would be in place for only 10 years; and many sanctions lifted

Question 365

Which Israeli musical family reflects the cultural shift of Israel from secularism to religion?

Answer 365

Banai family - started off secular musicians, but two generations later they are religious.
…
The Banai family, the first “Israeli musical family,” illustrated the pattern best. The first generation of Banai performers, Yossi and Gavri Banai, were staunch secularists. In the next generation, first cousins Ehud and Yuval Banai were in bands that brought East-West fusion into Israeli culture, a reflection of the spiritual search that often took Israelis abroad. Still later, in the 1990s, Ehud and Evyatar (also first cousins) became religious and were soon bringing overt Jewish themes into their music. It was one family, with several stages of spiritual searching that represented Israeli life at large.

Question 366

What Zionist phrase effectively excluded the Rabbinic tradition from Israeli life?

Answer 366

“From Tanach to the Palmach”

Question 367

Who wrote a 1943 short story “The Sermon,” in which he declared that he was opposed to Jewish history.

Answer 367

Haim Hazaz

Question 368

What is the birth rate for Haredi vs. non-Haredi Jewish women in Israel?

Answer 368

the average fertility rate for Haredi women was 6.2 children, while for the non-Haredi Jewish population it was 2.4

Question 369

How m

Who are the hilltop youth?

Answer 369

• Grew out of Gush Emunim
• Want the whole of land of Israel
• Under Jewish law monarchy
• (rejection of secular zionism)
• Follow R’ Yitzchak Ginsburgh (an admirer of Baruch Goldstein)