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Naphtali

(Encyclopedia)Naphtali năfˈtəlī [key], in the Bible, son of Jacob and Bilhah and eponymous ancestor of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. His land allotment lay NW of the Sea of Galilee. The tribe traditionally ha...

Hadassah, organization

(Encyclopedia)Hadassah, women's Zionist organization of the United States founded (1912) by Henrietta Szold. It has done important work in Israel in medical service, child welfare, and aid to refugees. Hadassah pro...

Hartman, David

(Encyclopedia)Hartman, David, 1931–2013, Israeli rabbi and philosopher, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. The son of Hasidim who immigrated to the United States from Israel, he trained as a rabbi at Yeshiva Univ., New York City,...

Benedictus

(Encyclopedia)Benedictus bĕnədĭkˈtəs [key], hymn of Zachary, taken from Luke 1.68–79. It begins in Latin, “Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel” [blessed be the Lord God of Israel]. It is used at funerals and ...

Shamir, Yitzhak

(Encyclopedia)Shamir, Yitzhak yētzˈäk shämērˈ [key], 1915–2012, Zionist activist and Israeli politician, b. Poland. Emigrating (1935) to Palestine, he was twice arrested by the British for participating in ...

Hamas

(Encyclopedia)Hamas hämäsˈ [key] [Arab., = zeal], Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization that was founded in 1987 during the Intifada; it seeks ...

Obadiah, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Obadiah, short prophetic book of the Bible. The prophet is otherwise unknown. The oracle which comprises this book dates from after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 b.c. The prop...

Aijalon

(Encyclopedia)Aijalon ăˈjəlŏn, īˈ–, āˈ– [key], in the Bible. 1 Town, on the border between Philistia and Israel, the modern Yalo (Israel), NW of Jerusalem. In the Tell el Amarna letters it is called Aia...

Haifa

(Encyclopedia)Haifa hīˈfä [key], city, NW Israel, a port on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of Mt. Ca...

Dayan, Moshe

(Encyclopedia)Dayan, Moshe mōˈshə dīänˈ, däyänˈ [key], 1915–81, Israeli military leader, b. Palestine. After attending Senior Agricultural School in Nahalal, Dayan fought with the Haganah (Jewish militia...