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Aristide, Jean-Bertrand

(Encyclopedia)Aristide, Jean-Bertrand zhänˈ bĕrträndˈ äˌrēstēdˈ [key], 1953–, president of Haiti (1991, 1994–96, 2001–4). A radical Catholic priest who defended liberation theology, he worked among ...

Ashqelon

(Encyclopedia)Ashqelon ăshˈkəlŏn [key], city, SW Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a beach resort in an area of citrus groves and cotton plantations. Ashqelon's industries pro...

Masada

(Encyclopedia)Masada məsāˈdə [key], ancient mountaintop fortress in Israel, the final outpost of the Zealot Jews in their rebellion against Roman authority (a.d. 66–73). Located in the Judaean Desert, the for...

Safdie, Moshe

(Encyclopedia)Safdie, Moshe mōshāˈ säfˈdē [key], 1938–, Israeli-Canadian architect, b. Haifa. He grew up in Israel, moved to Canada with his family at 15, studied architecture at McGill Univ. and with Louis...

Richler, Mordecai

(Encyclopedia)Richler, Mordecai, 1931–2001, Canadian novelist, b. Montreal. He fled his native city in the early 1950s and lived mainly in London, returning to Canada in 1972 and from then on spending part of his...

Romans

(Encyclopedia)Romans, letter of the New Testament, written by St. Paul, probably from Corinth before his last trip to Jerusalem, c.a.d. 58. It is a treatise addressed to the Christian church at Rome, apparently to ...

debt

(Encyclopedia)debt, obligation in services, money, or goods owed by one party, the debtor, to another, the creditor. When contested, debts are collected by a civil suit upon which the judge renders a judgment, and ...

Exodus

(Encyclopedia)Exodus ĕkˈsədəs [key], book of the Bible, 2d of the 5 books of the Law (the Pentateuch or Torah) ascribed by tradition to Moses. The book continues the story of the ancestors of Israel in Egypt, n...

Begin, Menachem

(Encyclopedia)Begin, Menachem mĕnäˈkhĕm bāˈgĭn [key], 1913–92, Zionist leader and Israeli prime minister (1977–83), b. Russia. He became (1938) leader of a Zionist youth movement in Poland, where he also...

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

(Encyclopedia)Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), multinational organization (est. 1960, formally constituted 1961) that coordinates petroleum policies and economic aid among oil-producing nations...