Since Hamas forcibly took over Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in 2007, the terrorist organization has repeatedly attacked Israeli cities and towns in the Southern and Central parts of the country using an arsenal of missiles, rockets and other projectiles. In 2008, 2012 and 2014 Israel launched military operations in Gaza after it determined it had no choice but to respond to intensifying rocket and missiles attacks launched by Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza. During…

There have been two major wars between Israel and Lebanon in 1982 and 2006. In 1982, Israel’s longest and most controversial wars began when Israel sought to wipe out PLO positions in Southern Lebanon.  The First Lebanon War did not officially come to an end until May 2000 when Israel unilateral withdrew its forces from Southern Lebanon.  The so-called Second Lebanon War between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah was sparked by Hezbollah’s July 12, 2006, cross border…

What You Need to Know Background: The Status Quo Arrangement The Temple Mount / Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem is the holiest site in Judaism and third holiest in Islam. Two Jewish Temples have stood on the site, which is believed to be the place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac. It has served as a major symbol of Jewish identity towards where Jews have prayed throughout the millennia. Muslims, who refer to Jerusalem as “al-Quds” (the holy place), believe the holy…

Since 2008, there have been repeated attacks carried out by extremist Israeli Jews against Israeli Arabs and Palestinians, often in reprisal for Israeli government action against illegal settlement activity. These attacks, which are frequently labeled “price tag” incidents, target mosques, churches, Arab and Jewish homes and property, Israeli military bases and vehicles, as well as other Israeli Jews. They involve the desecration of property with anti-Arab and anti-government…

Gaza is a 25-mile long, 7-mile wide densely populated coastal strip between Israel and Egypt which is today home to approximately 1.9 million Palestinians. In ancient times, Gaza was considered a strategic area due to its central location for trade between Asia, European and North Africa. Gaza has significance for Jews, though far less than the West Bank, and is mentioned in in the books of Joshua and Judges. From biblical times until 1948, the West Bank and Gaza Strip were occupied by the…

For more than 30 years, Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI), has been a notable extremist figure, railing against Jews, white people and the LGBT community. In recent years, Farrakhan has embarked on a wide-ranging campaign specifically targeting the Jewish community, a campaign that has featured some of the most hateful speeches of his tenure as head of NOI. Farrakhan has alleged that the Jewish people were responsible for the slave trade and that they conspire to control…

Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the British assumed control of Palestine. In November 1917, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, announcing its intention to facilitate the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." In 1922, the League of Nations granted Britain a mandate over Palestine which included, among other things, provisions calling for the establishment of a Jewish homeland, facilitating Jewish immigration and…

Though some present-day bigots have flocked to newer ideologies such as denial of the Holocaust, much antisemitism still revolves around the basic conspiratorial ideas expressed by older antisemitic texts. By offering older texts at their Web sites, today's haters demonstrate the longevity of their beliefs, thereby legitimizing them to both dedicated followers and potential recruits. Due to the fame of its publisher, Henry Ford Sr., The International Jew, a four-volume antisemitic work first…

For centuries, antisemitic propaganda has demonized the Jew as a conspiratorial, manipulative outsider, often with powers and designs of world domination. From the Middle Ages through the Holocaust, fabricated accusations against Jews as poisoners and corrupters have led to horrendous suffering for the Jewish people. In more recent years, the antisemitic notion that "the Jews" dominate and command the U.S. Federal Reserve System and in effect control the world’s money has surfaced…

"The Kosher Food Tax is the biggest consumer fraud existing in America." The bizarre claim by right wing extremists that kosher certification markings on food product labels ("U" "K," etc.) cost consumers extra money and represent, in effect, a "kosher tax" to make rabbis rich, is a striking example of the propaganda used by anti-Semites to trick the uninformed into accepting conspiracy charges and stereotypes about Jews. Other anti-Semitic allegations regarding kosher designation on…

In the early 1950s, Egypt violated the terms of the Egyptian-Israeli armistice agreement and blocked Israeli ships from passing through the Suez Canal, a major international waterway. It also began to block traffic through the Straits of Tiran, a narrow passage of water linking the Israeli port of Eilat to the Red Sea. This action effectively cut off the port of Eilat -- Israel's sole outlet to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Closure of the Suez Canal and the Tiran Straits damaged Israel's trade…

In 1913, the Jewish community in the United States faced rampant antisemitism and overt discrimination. Books, plays and, above all, newspapers, depicted Jews with crude stereotypes. Against this backdrop of bigotry and intolerance, an attorney from Chicago named Sigmund Livingston, put forward a bold idea—to create an organization with a mission “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all…” The Anti-Defamation League…