Glossary:
"O"

Olam Ha-ba

The world to come. It is the place where the righteous will be after life on earth.

Olam Ha-ze

This world; the world in which we now live.

Olbricht, General Friedrich

Chief of the OKW General Army Office in Berlin from 1941- 44. Developed plans for Operation Valkyrie with Beck, Stauffenberg and others. General Olbricht gave the signal to launch Operation Valkyrie after Stauffenberg's bombing of the Wolf's lair.

Old Testament

The name traditionally given by Christians to the Jewish biblical writings that together with “the New Testament” constitute the Christian Bible. For most Protestant Christians, the Old Testament is identical to the classical Jewish Bible, while for classical (Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, etc.) Christianity, the Old Testament also includes “the Apocrypha.”

Oleh

Immigrant to Israel. See also, Aliyah.

Olei Ha-Gardom

(Heb. Those who went to the Gallows) The term refers to the 12 Jews sentenced to death by the British Mandatory Government for their underground activities against the British Government. Two of the twelve individuals escaped the hangman by taking their own life while awaiting their fate on death row. The members of the group were affiliated with either the Irgun or the Lehi, with Shlomo ben Yosef, who was hung prior to the establishment of the underground organizations, being the only exception.

Omega Operation

After failure of the Alpha Plan and concern over Nasser and the Soviet Union’s growing contact and connection, the Omega Plan was an Anglo-American attempt to harm Egyptian interests in 1956.

Omer

(Heb. sheaf) In Judaism, the sheaf of grain offering brought to the temple during Passover, on Nisan 16; thus also the name of the seven-week period between Passover/Pesach and Shavuot also known as the Sephirah. See also calendar.

Onkelos

2nd-century translator of the Hebrew Bible into its official Aramaic version.

Oom-Shmoom

Deprecatory phrase for the United Nations.

Open Bridges Policy

Policy adopted by Moshe Dayan after the Six Day War to provide access and contacts for the Arabs who just came under Israeli rule to reach other Arabs.

Operation Accountability

In July 1993, Hezbollah and Palestinian groups in Southern Lebanon were firing Katyusha rockets into Israel’s security zone and into northern Israel. On July 25, Israel launched Accountability Operation aimed at pressuring the Lebanese government to take action against the militants in Lebanon. This drove numerous civilians to leave southern Lebanon for Beirut. The campaign ended when the US managed to get Syria and Hezbollah to stop attacking northern Israel. However, attacks against Israel’s security zone resumed soon after.

Operation Agatha

British military operation carried out in the Palestine Mandate on Saturday, June 29, 1946. Thousands of British troops were sent around the country to try and contain Jewish paramilitary development. During the operation, several underground weapons storehouses were uncovered and the Jews of the Palestine Mandate were placed under strict curfew. Additionally, close to 3,000 Jews were arrested, among them were future Israeli Prime Ministers David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Sharett

Operation Barbarossa

The code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union which began on June 22, 1941.

 

Operation Ben Ami

Israeli operation during the 1948 War of Independence aimed at capturing the town of Acre.

Operation Blue-White

Massive Israeli mobilization of troops and calling of reserve troops in response to misinformation from the double agent Son-in-Law in Egypt who falsely informed Israel that Egypt would attack on May 15, 1973. Indeed, Egypt was mobilizing troops. But, they lacked the long-range scud missiles that the Son-in-Law had previously said were required for any Egyptian attack. The operation, implemented on April 19, was aimed at crystallization military operations and speeding military purchases. When the Egyptian attack failed to materialize, the troops were dispersed on August 3, just seven weeks before the attack on Yom Kippur. The foiled operation cost the government $45 million and thus drew much criticism about the use of tax payers’ money. The plan was pushed by Chief of Staff David Elazar and defense Minister Moshe Dayan however was opposed by Chief of the Military Intelligence Eliahu Zaira.

Operation Brosh

During the fourth stage of the War of Independence, "Operation Brosh" was only partially successful in reducing the Syrian bridgehead near Mishmar Ha-yarden. After a month long truce arranged by the United Nations, Israel launched a counteroffensive on July 9, 1948 against Syrian forces threatening from the eastern Galilee. The fighting continued until July 18 when a second truce came into effect. However, Israel was unable to dislodge the Syrian positions at the entrance to the Jordan River.

Operation Camelion

An unsuccessful cover operation launched by the CIA to arrange a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser.

Operation Defensive Shield

Israeli military operation launched in 2002 in response to an increase in terror attacks, specifically the bombing of a Netanya hotel on Passover Eve which killed 29 civilians. The operation involved the infiltration of Palestinian towns in the West Bank in an effort to quash local terrorist groups. It also restricted Palestinian movement, particularly in regards to PA Chairman Yasser Arafat who was kept in his Ramallah compound by Israeli troops. The siege of Arafat's home was ended when he agreed to arrest those responsible for the assassination of Israeli cabinet minister Rahavam Ze'evi in 2001.

Operation Dekel

Israeli military operation to capture the lower Galilee in July 1948, after the second cease-fire of the Israeli War of Independence.

Operation Determined Path

Israeli military operation carried out in 2002 after a rise in suicide bombings and shortly after Israel ended Operation Defensive Shield, it sent Israeli troops back into Palestinian towns.

Operation Entebbe (Also known as: "Operation Thunderbolt", "Operation Thunderball", and "Operation Yoni")

Israeli rescue operation carried out on July 4, 1976 to free the 257 people taken hostage aboard an Air France plane that was redirected to Entebbe, Uganda. Lacking world efforts to free the hostages, Israel sent a team assembled from its most elite units who flew covertly across Africa and carried out what is considered one of the most daring rescue operations ever carried out. The mission resulted in few civilian casualties and only one Israeli soldier, Yoni Netanyahu commander of the mission and brother of former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, was killed.

Operation Fact

In May 1949, towards the end of Israel’s War of Independence, Israeli forces reached the port city of Eilat, thus acquiring access to the Red Sea.

Operation Flash

An early attempt by General Tresckow and other resisters in Army Group Center to Kill Hitler. One of Treskow's collaborators convinced another staff officer to ferry a package supposedly containing brandy to a comrade, the package was actually a bomb. The officer carrying the package was flying with Hitler. The bomb failed to detonate and Hitler subsequently survived . Fortunately, for the plotters, the package was retrieved before the bomb was ever discovered.

Operation Grapes of Wrath

An Israeli attack on Lebanon in 1996 in response to an increase in suicide bombings and Hezbollah rocket attacks from southern Lebanon. attacks.

Operation Hiram

Israeli military operation during the 1948 War of Independence in which Israeli forces penetrated Lebanon and occupied territories extending as far north as the Litani River. Israel later withdrew from these territories in accordance with the 1949 Armistice Agreement which brought an end to the 1948 War.

Operation Horev

Israeli military operation carried out during the 1948 War of Independence in the southern region of Israel against Egypt. During the operation Israel shot down five British reconnaissance planes spying on behalf of Egypt, drawing much criticism from British officials and making Egypt more willing to negotiate directly with Israel. Operation Horev also marked the first time Israeli forces crossed the international border into Egypt.

Operation Kinneret

Operation commanded by Colonel Ariel Sharon on December 11, 1955 in which Israel launched a short and powerful raid against Syrian positions on the eastern bank of the Kinneret. Israel destroyed all Syrian fortifications and captured the entire shore

Operation Litani

Military operation by Israel in March 1978 in retaliation against a PLO attack on a bus near Haifa. Israel attempted to push PLO positions away from the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Operation Maccabee

Israeli military operation carried out on May 1, 1948 to secure safe passage along the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road.

Operation Moses

The code name for the airlift of 7,800 black Jews from Ethiopia to Israel, rescuing them from famine and oppression. The operation began on November 18, 1984, ended six weeks later on January 5, 1985.

Operation Nachshon

Initiated on April 6, 1948, and lasting until April 15, this operation succeeded in opening the road to Jerusalem long enough to push through three large convoys stuffed with food and weapons. One of the largest operations of the War of Independence, 1,500 soldiers fielded by the Haganah attacked five different locations. The name “Operation Nachshon” was derived from the biblical personage Nachshon Ben Aminadav who was the first to jump into the Red Sea when the Jews fled Egypt.

Operation Peace for the Galilee

Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 aimed at ending PLO threats to citizens in northern Israel and forcing the PLO out of the country.

Operation Rainbow

Following the killing of 13 Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2004 Israel launched a military operation to remove the underground tunnels the Palestinians used to smuggle weapons from Egypt

Operation Reinhard (or Aktion Reinhard)

The code name for the plan to destroy the millions of Jews in the General Government, within the framework of the Final Solution. It began in October 1941, with the deportation of Jews from ghettos to extermination camps. The three extermination camps established under Operation Reinhard were Belzec, Sobibór, and Treblinka.

Operation Scissors

The code name of the operation to capture Haifa during the War of Independence. It occurred immediately after British withdrawal from the city.

Operation Sheba (Joshua)

When news of Operation Moses leaked, it was abruptly halted by the Sudanese. Almost immediately plans were made to resume the rescue, but the Sudanese president would agree only to a quick, one-shot operation carried out secretly by the United States. The CIA then planned the operation code named “Sheba” (also called Joshua), which began on March 28, 1985, with Ethiopian Jews from Israel working for the Mossad identifying the Ethiopian Jews in the camps and taking them by truck to an airstrip. Planes designed to hold ninety passengers each were prepared at the American base near Frankfurt, West Germany. These camouflaged U.S. Hercules transports landed at twenty-minute intervals to pick up their passengers. Instead of going to an intermediate destination, the planes flew directly to an Israeli air force base outside Eilat. The organizers had prepared to airlift as many as two thousand Ethiopian Jews from the camps, but they found only 494, so three planes returned from Sudan empty.

Operation Solomon

On May 24, 1991, a total of 34 El Al jumbo jets and Hercules C-130s — seats removed to accommodate the maximum number of Ethiopians — began non-stop flights that continued for 36 hours to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel from Addis Ababa before the capital fell to rebel forces. A total of 14,324 Ethiopian Jews were rescued and resettled in Israel. The Likud government of Yitzhak Shamir authorized a special permit for the Israeli airline, El Al, to fly on the Jewish Sabbath.

Operation Uvda

On March 5, 1948, Israel captured additional territory in the Negev, extending its borders to the Gulf of Aqaba and securing a sea route from the south.

Operation Volcano

On November 2, 1955, Israel attacked As-Sabha on the Egyptian side of the Al-Auja Demilitarized Zone.

Operation Yiftach

On April 30, 1948, Jewish forces launched an operation to capture Tsfat. On May 11, they captured the city, resulting in a mass Arab exodus.

Operation Yoav

Ignoring the provisions of the second truce, the Egyptians denied Jewish convoys passage through the Hatta-Karatiya gap in their line. In addition, they captured positions beyond the truce demarcation lines and attacked several IDF posts that covered the pass. Following an Egyptian raid on inter-kibbutz communications routes and the firing on an Israeli convoy on October 15, the Israel Army and Air force took the offensive and launched Operation Yoav. In seven days they succeeded in opening the road to the Negev and capturing its capital, Beersheba.

Or Ha-Hayyim

Torah commentary by Hayyim ben Moshe Attar (1742); Morocco, Germany, land of Israel.

Oral Law

In traditional Jewish pharisaic/rabbinic thought, God reveals instructions for living through both the written scriptures and through a parallel process of orally transmitted traditions. Critics of this approach within Judaism include Sadducees and Karaites.The teachings of the Oral Law, which explain the gaps in the Written Law, were eventually written down to comprise the Mishnah by Rabbi yehudah HaNassi and the Gemara by Ravina and Rav Ashi.

Ordnungsdienst

(Ger. Order service) The ghetto police who were made up of Jewish ghetto residents.

Ordnungspolizei

The Order Police, abbreviated to Orpo.   These were the uniformed police who consisted of the Schutzpolizei (National Police), the Gendarmerie (Rural Police) and the Gemeindepolizei (Local Police)

Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC)

Founded in 1969 to protect Muslim holy sites. Also gets involved in political issues and historically has supported the Palestinian people. The group currently has 55 countries as members.

Orient House

Eastern Jerusalem building, owned by the prominent Husseini family, that has served as an informal center for Palestinian activities over the years. Members of the Palestinian Authority, which seeks to establish its capital in Jerusalem, have received foreign dignitaries at Orient House in an apparent attempt to create a symbol of Palestinian sovereignty over Jerusalem. Since the May 4, 1994, signing of the Cairo Agreement, which stipulated that the Palestinian Authority locate its offices in the Gaza Strip and Jericho, Israel has expressed strong opposition to the Palestinian Authority's operating out of Orient House or receiving dignitaries there. The U.S. Senate, too, has voiced its opposition to American officials' meeting with Palestinian officials “for the purpose of conducting official U.S. business” in any part of Jerusalem, including Orient House.

ORT

(Organization for Rehabilitation through Training), an international organization for developing skilled trades and agriculture among Jews. ORT established a vocational training network for Jewish Displaced Persons.

Orthodox

From the Greek for “correct opinion/outlook,” as opposed to heterodox or heretical. The judgment that a position is “orthodox” depends on what are accepted as the operative “rules” or authorities at the time. Over the course of history, the term “orthodox” has come to denote the dominant surviving forms that have proved themselves to be “traditional” or “classical” or “mainstream” (e.g., rabbinic Judaism, the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Christian churches, sunni Islam), although new, relative “orthodoxies” constantly emerge (and often disappear).

Orthopraxy

(Greek, correct action/activity) In contrast to orthodoxy (right belief), the emphasis in this term concerns conduct, both ethical and liturgical. Historically, Judaism and Islam have tended to emphasize orthopraxy relatively more than orthodoxy, while classical Christianity tended to shift the balance in the other direction.

Osiraq Bombing

Israel’s air raid on a nearly completed nuclear reactor near Baghdad, Iraq on June 7, 1981. The attack heralded the Begin Doctrine which expressed Israeli determination to prevent adversaries in the region from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Oslo

Capital of Norway, site of secret talks in 1993 between Israel and the PLO that led to mutual recognition and the signing of the Declaration of Principles. Refers generally to the multi-stage agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Oslo Process

The nomenclature referring to the peace talks that began in Oslo in 1993.

Ostara

A series of anti-Semitic pamphlets published by Lanz von Liebenfels between 1907 and 1910. Hitler bought these regularly and in 1909, Hitler sought out Lanz and asked for back copies.

Ostland

One of the two major administrative units of the German civil administration in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, headed by Alfred Rosenberg, as Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories; the other was Reichskommissariat Ukraine. Ostland included the three Baltic states -- Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia -- as well as western Belorussia and the western Minsk district in Soviet Belorussia.

Ostracon

(plural: ostraca) Ancient inscribed potsherd.

Oswiecim

City in southern Poland that translates to Auschwitz in German. It was 80 percent Jewish in 1939, with 11 synagogues. Also refers to the forced-labor camp that became a concentration camp in the suburbs of Cracow. Established in 1942, it was destroyed by departing Nazis on January 14, 1944, when the last of its prisoners went to Auschwitz.

Otiot

Weekly children's magazine.

Ottoman Empire Rule

(1517-1917) The land of Israel was conquered by the Turkish Ottoman Empire and divided into four districts. It was attached to the Province of Damascus and ruled from Istanbul.

Oz V'Shalom/Netivot Shalom

(Heb. Strength and Peace/Paths of Peace) Israeli religious peace movement that supports territorial compromise as a means to peace with the Palestinians.