most pressing concern
11Social Protection — ▪ 2006 Introduction With medical costs skyrocketing and government programs scaled back, citizens bore more responsibility for their health care costs; irregular migration, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling posed challenges for… …
12environment — environmental, adj. environmentally, adv. /en vuy reuhn meuhnt, vuy euhrn /, n. 1. the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu. 2. Ecol. the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors… …
13Spain — /spayn/, n. a kingdom in SW Europe. Including the Balearic and Canary islands, 39,244,195; 194,988 sq. mi. (505,019 sq. km). Cap.: Madrid. Spanish, España. * * * Spain Introduction Spain Background: Spain s powerful world empire of the 16th and… …
14colonialism, Western — ▪ politics Introduction a political economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world. The age of modern colonialism began about 1500, following the European… …
15ALIYAH AND ABSORPTION — GENERAL SURVEY Introduction Aliyah, ascension or going up, is the coming of Jews as individuals or in groups, from exile or diaspora to live in the Land of Israel. Those who go up for this purpose are known as olim – a term used in the Bible for… …
16REFORM JUDAISM — REFORM JUDAISM, first of the modern interpretations of Judaism to emerge in response to the changed political and cultural conditions brought about by the emancipation . The Reform movement was a bold historical response to the dramatic events of …
17death — /deth/, n. 1. the act of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism. Cf. brain death. 2. an instance of this: a death in the family; letters published after his death. 3. the state of being …
18Judaism — /jooh dee iz euhm, day , deuh /, n. 1. the monotheistic religion of the Jews, having its ethical, ceremonial, and legal foundation in the precepts of the Old Testament and in the teachings and commentaries of the rabbis as found chiefly in the… …
19literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… …
20Italy — /it l ee/, n. a republic in S Europe, comprising a peninsula S of the Alps, and Sicily, Sardinia, Elba, and other smaller islands: a kingdom 1870 1946. 57,534,088; 116,294 sq. mi. (301,200 sq. km). Cap.: Rome. Italian, Italia. * * * Italy… …
