| A | B |
|---|
| Yasir Arafat | Was the head of the P.L.O, he lead the military wing in an armed struggle against Israel during the 1970's - 1980's. He was the first President of the Palestinian Authority. |
| Muhammed | Founder of Islam and prophet of Allah. He migrated from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D. |
| Suleiman | Ruler of Ottoman Empire during it's peak. He took the throne in 1520 and ruled for 46 years. He was famous for the splendor of his courts and his cultural achievements. |
| Theodore Herzel | Started Zionist movement in the 1800's. He wrote "The Jewish State" which was a pamphlet describing what life was like for the Jewish Europeans. |
| Menachem Begin | Israeli Prime Minister who signed Camp David Accords in 1978. He was the first Israeli to be involved in peace talks with the Arabs. He won the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| Yitzhak Rabin | Israeli Prime Minister who signed the Declaration of Principles, and agreed to grant the Palestinians self-rule in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. He was assassinated in1995 by a Jewish extremist. |
| Ariel Sharon | Current Prime Minister of Israel. He's a military man and anti Palestinian. There has been concern that he won't honor the Wye Accords. |
| Gamal Abdal Nassar | Egyptian President who ordered seizure of Suez Canal in 1956. He was angered by the loss of the U.S. and British financial support for building of the Aswan Dam. |
| Anwar Sadat | Egyptian President after Nassar, he planned a joint attack on Yom Kippur. He also signed Camp David Accords with Menachem Begin and was assassinated by a member of his army. He won the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| Shah Muhammed Reza Pahlavi | Leader of Iran after WWII who embraced western governments and wealthy western oil companies. Iranian nationalists resented these foreign alliances and overthrew him in 1979. |
| Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini | Leader of religious opposition in Iran who led Iranians to protest against the Shah. He had a hatred of the United States and gave his blessing for the taking of U.S. hostages. |
| Muammar al-Qaddafi | Libyan Political leader who ran his government as an anit-western dictatorship. He was anti Israel and associated with terrorism. He was overthrown and killed in 2011 as part of the "Arab spring" uprisings. |
| Saddam Hussein | President of Iraq in 1990. He invaded Kuwait for their oil and defied the U.N. This led to the Persian Gulf War. He was captured by the US in the 2nd Gulf War, tried by an Iraqi court and executed. |
| Osama bin Landen | Leader of al-Qaida, which he established in the 1980’s to bring Arabs together to fight the Soviets. He is also believed to be responsible for the attacks on September 11th. He was tracked down by US Navy seasl and killed in 2011. |
| Mohammed Omar | Leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban thought to have close personal ties to Bin Laden |
