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SW Asia - Unit 2 Study Guide
Vocabulary: COMPLETE definitions.
1.
Anti-Semitism-hostility toward or prejudice against Jews
2.
Zionism- nationalist movement whose goal was to establish a homeland for Jews
3.
Balfour Declaration-a declaration (in the form of a letter) from Britain showing support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland
in Palestine (later called Israel)
4.
United Nations-organization that helped establish the State of Israel after WWII. World-wide peace-keeping organization
5.
Persian Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm)-war fought in 1991 resulting from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The United States
interest was the oil that they get from the region. The US (w/many others) attacked Iraq in Kuwait and drove Iraq out of Kuwait.
6.
Saddam Hussein-dictator of Iraq that was tried and hung in 2006. Responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi
citizens – mostly Kurds. He was feared to have connections to al-Qaeda and to possess Weapons of Mass Destruction.
7.
Osama bin Laden- leader of Al Qaeda and mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Killed by US military in May of 2011
8.
PLO-Palestinian Liberation Organization; organization of several Arab groups devoted to regaining Palestine from the Jews
9.
OPEC- Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries-controls the supply of oil; sets and controls the price of oil.
10. Taliban- Fundamentalist Theocratic Islamic government that ruled Afghanistan. Allowed Osama bin Laden and members of Al Qaeda
to train and hide in Afghanistan. Overthrown by the United States in the Invasion of Afghanistan. (Muslim fundamentalist group)
11.
Sunni -90% of Muslims who believe you do NOT need to be related to Muhammad to be supreme leader. Less strict of the two groups
12. Shia- 10% of Muslims who DO believe you need to be related to Muhammad. Stricter of the two groups.
13. polytheistic-belief in more than one god
14. al Qaeda-fundamentalist Islamic terrorist organization responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks
15. monotheistic-belief in one god
16. Holocaust-Hitler’s killing of over 6 million Jews during WWII; mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi Concentration camps-WWII
17. Ottoman Empire-Turkish Empire: 1299-end of WWI. Responsible for the spread of Islam; once covered three continents. Chose the
losing side of WWI. Its break up and partitioning are the cause of many problems in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
18. desalinization-expensive process of removing salt from salt water for drinking water and irrigation
19. scarce- insufficient; very little; not a lot of. In SW Asia, fresh water is scarce
20. water rights- the right to use water from a given source. Disputes/conflicts arise when countries disagree over who has the rights to
take water from bodies of water for drinking and irrigation
21. Arab/Israeli Conflict: an on-going conflict between Jews that live in the state of Israel and the (Palestinian) Arabs that were forced
from Palestine in order to create the state of Israel. Both groups feel the land is rightfully theirs. Conflict over the establishment
of the State of Israel
1.
What was the movement whose main goal was to establish a Jewish homeland in the land of Palestine (modern day Israel)? Zionism
2.
What organization helped to establish the modern state of Israel in 1948? The United Nations
3.
What European country controlled Palestine after WWI? Britain
4.
What was anti-Semitism? How did this lead to the Holocaust? Prejudice and hostility toward Jews. People like Adolf Hitler blamed
Jews for their financial problems
5.
What was the final solution? Hitler’s plan to rid the earth of Jews
6.
In 1991 war broke out between Iraq and the United States. What was the name of this war and what events led up to it? a. The Persian
Gulf War. b. Iraq invaded Kuwait over false claims that Kuwait was stealing oil. The United States and other United Nations
member countries attacked Iraq.
7.
Who carried out the 9-11 attacks? Who is the leader of this group? al Qaeda. Osama bin Laden
8.
What was Zionism? a Jewish nationalist movement whose goal was to establish a homeland for Jews in Palestine
9.
What is the PLO? What is the main goal and of this organization? a. Palestinian Liberation Organization b. Their goal is to take
back Palestine for the Palestinian Arabs.
10. What is OPEC? What does this organization control? a. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries –b. Controls the supply of oil.
Controls and sets the price of oil.
11. What is desalinization? expensive process of removing salt from salt water for drinking water and irrigation
12. What is the significance of oil in Southwest Asia (Middle East)? Countries that have oil are wealthier and tend to have a higher
standard of living. Gives the region LOTS of power
13. What are the main ethnic groups found in Southwest Asia? Arabs, Kurds, Persians, and Jews
14. Who are the Shia and the Sunni? What are the differences between the two groups? a. The two sects (groups) of Islam. b. They do
not agree on who can be in Supreme Leadership. Shia = believe you must be related to Muhammad; Sunni = larger of the 2 groups
– don’t believe you must be related to Muhammad to be Supreme Leader.
15. What does the term polytheism mean? Belief in more than one god.
16. Who are the Taliban? Fundamentalist theocratic Islamic government that ruled Afghanistan during the September 11 attacks. Has
since been over-thrown after the US invaded Afghanistan.
17. What was the Balfour Declaration? Declaration (in letter form) from British showing support for the establishment of Israel
18. What year did Israel become a nation for the Jews? 1948
19. What group of people made Israel a nation for the Jews? United Nations
20. What happened the very NEXT day after Israel became a nation? Five Arab countries attacked Israel. Israel counter-attacked and
the Arabs lost even more of their land.
21. What 3 monotheistic religions originated in the Middle East? Judaism, Christianity, and Islam