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מדינת ישראל Medīnat Yisrā'el دولة إسرائيل Dawlat Isrā'īl State of Israel
Flag Emblem of Israel Emblem
Anthem: Hatikvah The Hope
Capitaland largest city	Jerusalem 31°47′N 35°13′E / 31.783°N 35.217°E / 31.783; 35.217
Official languages	Hebrew, Arabic
Government	Parliamentary republic
• President	Shimon Peres
• Prime Minister	Ehud Olmert
Independence from UK-administered League of Nations mandate
• Declaration	14 May 1948 (05 Iyar 5708)
• Water (%)	~2%
Population
• 2007 estimate	7,150,000 (96th)
• 1995 census	5,548,523
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
• Total	$177.3 billion (47th)
• Per capita	$26,200 (28th)
HDI (2006)	0.927 Error: Invalid HDI value (23rd)
Currency	New Israeli Sheqel (₪) (NIS)
Time zone	UTC+2 (IST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3
Calling code	972
ISO 3166 code	IL
Internet TLD	.il
Excluding / Including the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem; see below. Includes Israeli population in the West Bank.

Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Yisra'el), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medinat Yisra'el; Template:Lang-ar, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a country in the Middle East located on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It has borders with Lebanon in the north, Syria and Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.

Israel declared its independence in 1948 after the United Nations approved the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine into two states, Jewish and Arab, in November 1947. The Arab countries rejected the plan, and attacked the State of Israel the moment it was created. Israel's victory in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War expanded the borders of the Jewish state beyond those envisaged by the UN partition plan. In 1967, the military preparations of the neighboring Arab states preciptated a preemptive strike by Israel. The Six-Day War ended with the capture of the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. In 1973, Israel repelled a surprise attack by a coalition of Arab states in the Yom Kippur War. In 1979, Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel. Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula in return. Jordan and Israel signed a peace agreement in 1994. In the wake of the Oslo Accords in 1993, Palestinian National Authority was formed to administer the territories in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

The population of Israel today is over seven million, with a large Jewish majority. While Israel is home to both Jews and Arabs, as well as a large number of Christian and other minority groups, it is the world's only Jewish state. Jerusalem is the capital city and seat of government. Due to its broad array of political rights and civil liberties, Israel is considered the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. Despite Israel's political problems and the vast sums it spends on military defense, Israel is an active competitor in the global market and is considered the most progressive in the region in terms of freedom of the press, business regulations, economic competition, and overall human development.

Etymology

The name "Israel" has meant in common and liturgical usage over the past 3,000 years, both the Land of Israel and the entire Jewish nation, whether in Israel or the Diaspora. The name originated from a verse in the Bible, Genesis 32:28, where Jacob is renamed Israel (possibly śara + el or struggle with God) after successfully wrestling with an angel of God. Commentators differ on the meaning of the name. Some say the name comes from the verb śarar ("to rule, be strong, have authority over"), thereby making the name mean "God rules", "God heals", or "God judges". Other possible meanings include "the prince of God" (from the King James Version of the Bible) or "El fights/struggles". Regardless of the precise meaning of the name, the biblical nation fathered by Jacob thus became the "Children of Israel" or the "Israelites".

The first historical mention of the word "Israel" appears on an Egyptian stele documenting military campaigns in Canaan. This stele refers to Israel as a people, rather than a settled nation (the determinative for "country" being absent), and is dated to approximately 1209/1208 BCE. The modern country was named "Medinat Yisrael," or the State of Israel, and its citizens, Israelis. Other name proposals were Eretz Israel, Zion and Judea. The term "Israeli" to denote a citizen of Israel was chosen by the government in the early weeks of independence, and was formally announced by Foreign Minister Moshe Shertok Sharett.

History

State of Israel
Geography Land of Israel Districts Cities Transportation Mediterranean Sea Red Sea Dead Sea Sea of Galilee Jerusalem Tel Aviv Haifa
History Jewish history (timeline) Zionism Aliyah Theodor Herzl Balfour Declaration British Mandate UN Partition Plan for Palestine Independence Declaration Austerity
Conflicts Arab–Israeli conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Iran–Israel proxy conflict 1948 War 1949 Armistice Peace proposals Treaties with Egypt Jordan Israeli–Palestinian peace process International law Occupied territories * West Bank barrier Unilateral disengagement
Law Politics Basic Laws Law of Return Jerusalem Law Referendums Parties Elections Prime Minister President Knesset Supreme Court Courts Criticism of the government (comparisons with Nazi Germany)
Foreign relations United Nations United States Arab League France
Security forces Defense Forces Intelligence Community National Security Council Police Border Police Prison Service
Economy Companies Diamonds Agriculture Israel Aerospace Industries Kibbutz Tourism Wine Science and Technology Start-up Nation Silicon Wadi
Demographics Culture Israeli Jews Jewish immigration Jewish exodus from Arab countries Israeli Arabs Religion Islam Christianity Music Archaeology Universities Hebrew Literature Sports Israelis
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Ancient history

The Land of Israel, known in Hebrew as Eretz Yisrael, has been sacred to the Jewish people for four thousand years, ever since the time of the biblical patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). According to the Bible, it was promised to the Jews as their homeland, and the sites holiest to Judaism are located there, first and foremost the site of the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem. Around the 11th century BCE, the first of a series of Jewish kingdoms and states established rule over the region; these Jewish kingdoms and states ruled intermittently for the following one thousand years.

Between the time of the Jewish kingdoms and the seventh-century Muslim conquests, the land of Israel would fall under Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Sassanian, and Byzantine rule. Jewish presence in the region dwindled after the failure of Bar Kokhba's revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE and the resultant large-scale expulsion of Jews. Nevertheless, the Jewish presence in Palestine remained constant, although the main Jewish population shifted from the Judea region to the Galilee; the Talmud, one of Judaism's most important religious texts, was composed in the region during this period. The land of Israel was captured from the Byzantine Empire around 636 CE during the initial Muslim conquests. Control of the region transferred between the Umayyads, Abbasids, Crusaders, Khwarezmians, and Mongols over the next six centuries, before falling in the hands of the Mamluk Sultinate, in 1260. In 1517, the land of Israel become apart of the Ottoman Empire, which would rule the region until the 20th century.

Zionism and the British Mandate

Jews living in the diaspora have aspired over the ages to return to the Land of Israel and Zion. That aspiration was articulated in the Hebrew Bible in, among other places, the Book of Isaiah and the Book of Ezekiel. The longing for Zion is a major theme in the poetry of Yehuda Halevi, a 12th-century philosopher and poet who urged Jews to "go up" to the Land of Israel. In the centuries that followed, a small but steady stream of Jews left Europe to settle in the Land of Israel. In the 16th century, the pace stepped up, and large communities were established in Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and Tiberias. In the second half of the 18th century, Hasidic communities from Poland, Galicia and Ukraine settled in the Land of Israel with their rabbis.

The first large wave of modern immigration known in Hebrew as the First Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה), began in 1881, as Jews fled growing persecution in Eastern Europe. However, it is Theodor Herzl who is usually credited with founding the Zionist movement. In 1896, he published Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State), in which he called for the establishment of a Jewish state. The following year he helped convene the first World Zionist Congress. The establishment of Zionism led to the Second Aliyah (1904–1914) with an influx of around forty thousand Jews. In 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration that "view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." Arab opposition instigated riots and pogroms against Jews in 1920, leading to the formation of the defensive organization Haganah, from which later split the Irgun and Lehi.In 1922, the League of Nations granted the United Kingdom a mandate over Palestine the terms of which stipulated "secur the establishment of the Jewish national home". After World War I, until 1929, waves of Jewish immigration resumed with the Third and Fourth Aliyahs; together they brought over 100,000 Jews to the region, a factor in the massacres of Jews in 1929. The rise of Nazism throughout the 1930s led to the Fifth Aliyah, in which a quarter million Jews emigrated to the Palestine Mandate. The 1936-1939 Arab campaign against the Jews and British led the Yishuv to develop independent infrastructure. In 1939, the British introduced limits on Jewish immigration and land purchases over the course of World War II, but with The Holocaust occurring in Europe, many Jews fled to Israel illegally in a wave of immigration known as Aliyah Bet. By the end of World War II, Jews accounted for 33% of the population of Palestine, up from 11% in 1922.

Independence

In 1947, with increasing levels of Arab-Jewish violence in Palestine and a feeling of war fatigue following World War II, the British government decided to withdraw from the Mandate of Palestine. The newly-created United Nations approved Resolution 181 (the Partition Plan) on November 29, 1947, allocating just over half the land, including the Negev desert, for a Jewish state and most of the rest for an Arab country. Jerusalem was to be designated as an international city administered by the UN to avoid conflict over its status. The Jewish community immediately accepted the UN Partition Plan, but the Arab League rejected it. A subsequent series of riots and an insurgency organized by underground Jewish militias soon turned into widespread fighting between Arabs and Jews and the beginnings of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Regardless, the State of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948, one day before the expiry of the British Mandate of Palestine. Following the State of Israel's establishment, the adjacent Arab countries declared war on Israel, starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. After almost a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared in 1949 and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were instituted. Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank and Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip. Israel was admitted as a member of the United Nations on May 11, 1949. In the course of the hostilities, 711,000 Arabs fled from the newly-created Jewish state, according to the UN estimates. Arab persecution of Jewish communities precipitated a similar Jewish exodus from Arab lands. Between 1948 and 1951, Israel's Jewish population doubled with more than 600,000 refugees arriving from Europe and the Arab world.

The first fifty years, 1950s-1990s

In 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, triggering the Suez Crisis during which Israel joined a secret alliance with the United Kingdom and France aimed at recapturing the Suez. Despite early military successes, the allies were forced to retreat due to pressure from the United States. More than a decade later, in 1967, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria initiated a series of actions that included amassing troops close to Israeli borders. Israel, interpreting these actions as a casus belli for pre-emptively attacking Egypt, therefore launched the Six-Day War, in which the country captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, and Golan Heights. The Green Line of 1949 became the administrative boundary between Israel and the occupied territories. East Jerusalem was later annexed into Israel's capital in the 1980 Jerusalem Law, although the law's validity has been contested.

Between 1969 and 1970, during a conflict known as the War of Attrition, numerous clashes erupted along the border between Israel and Syria and Egypt. During the early 1970s, Palestinian groups launched a wave of attacks against Israeli targets around the world, including a massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Israel responded with Operation Wrath of God, in which Mossad agents assassinated most of those responsible for the Munich massacre. Finally, on October 6, 1973, Yom Kippur, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack against Israel, which eventually repelled Egyptian and Syrian forces. The 1977 Knesset elections marked a major turning point in Israeli political history as Menachem Begin's Likud party took control. Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat later that year made a trip to Israel and spoke before the Knesset in what was the first recognition of Israel by an Arab head of state. In the two years that followed, Sadat and then Prime Minister Menachem Begin would sign the Camp David Accords and the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. As laid out in the treaty, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and lent autonomy to Palestinians across the Green Line.

In 1982, Israel launched an attack into Lebanon for the stated purpose of defending Israel's northernmost settlements from terrorism. Though Israel would withdraw from most of Lebanon in 1986, it maintained a borderland buffer zone until 2000. The First Intifada broke out in 1987 with waves of violence occurring in the occupied territories. Over the following six years, more than a thousand people, mostly Palestinians, would be killed in the ensuing violence, much of it internal Palestinian violence. Throughout the Gulf War, the PLO and many Palestinians supported Saddam Hussein and heralded Iraqi missile attacks against Israel.

In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became Prime Minister following an election in which his party promoted compromise with Israel's neighbors. The following year, Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, on behalf of Israel and the PLO, respectively, signed the Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinian National Authority the right to self-govern parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Not long after, in 1994, the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed, making Jordan the second Arab country to normalize relations with Israel. Public support for the Accords began to wane as Israel was struck by a wave of attacks from Palestinians, but support later began to increase as the November 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin led to a backlash against Oslo opponents. By the end of the 1990s, Israel, under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, would withdraw from Hebron and sign the Wye River Memorandum, giving greater control to the Palestinian National Authority.

The 21st century

Ehud Barak, elected Prime Minister in 1999, began the new millennium by withdrawing forces from Southern Lebanon and conducting negotiations with U.S. President Bill Clinton at the July 2000 Camp David Summit. During the summit, Barak offered a plan to form a Palestinian state, but Yasser Arafat rejected the deal. After the collapse of the talks, Palestinians began the al-Aqsa Intifada. Amid dismay over the failure of the Summit and the start of the Intifada, Ariel Sharon became the new prime minister in a 2001 special election. During his tenure, Sharon executed his plan to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and also spearheaded the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier. In January 2006, after Ariel Sharon suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke, the powers of the office were passed to Ehud Olmert. That summer, the kidnappings of Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah led to Operation Summer Rains and a five-week war in Lebanon and northern Israel, known as the Second Lebanon War. The latter conflict resulted in the deaths of over one thousand people, mostly civilians, and ended only after a ceasefire brokered by the United Nations.

Geography and climate

Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, bounded by Lebanon to the north, Syria and Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. The sovereign territory of Israel, excluding all territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, is approximately 20,700 km² (8,000 mi²) in area, of which two percent is water. The total area under Israeli law, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, is 21,920 km² (8,463 mi²). The total area under Israeli control, including the military-controlled and Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank, is 27,799 km² (10,733 mi²).

Despite its small size, Israel is home to a variety of geographic features. The Negev desert comprises the majority of the country's southern half, the Samarian and Judean Hills dominate central Israel and the West Bank, and the Carmel, Golan, and Galileean heights dominate the North. Low-lying areas include the Israeli Coastal Plain along the Mediterranean, home to seventy percent of the nation's population. East of the central highlands lies the Jordan Rift Valley, which forms a small part of the 6,500-kilometer (4,040-mi.) Great Rift Valley, through which the Jordan River runs from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, the lowest dry point on Earth.

The climate of the coastal areas can be very different from that of the mountainous areas, particularly during the winter months. During the winter, the northern mountains can get cold, wet and often snowy and even Jerusalem experiences snow every few years. The coastal regions, where Tel Aviv and Haifa are located, have a typical Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. In the summer months between June and September, Israel's largest population centers rarely receive rain.

Government and politics

Israel operates under a parliamentary system as a democratic republic with universal suffrage. The President of Israel is the country's head of state, but serves as a largely ceremonial figurehead. The President selects the leader of the majority party or ruling coalition in the Knesset as the Prime Minister, who serves as head of government and leads the Cabinet.

Israel's unicameral legislative branch is a 120-member parliament known as the Knesset. Membership in the Knesset is allocated to parties based on their proportion of the vote, via a proportional representation voting system. Elections to the Knesset are normally held every four years, but the Knesset can decide to dissolve itself ahead of time by a simple majority, known as a vote of no-confidence. Israel has no written constitution, although the Basic Laws of Israel, passed by the Knesset, tend to function as an unwritten constitution. In 2003, the Knesset began to draft an official constitution based on the Basic Laws.

Israel's judicial system is comprised of a three-tier system of courts. At the lowest level are magistrate courts, situated in most cities across the country. Above them are district courts, serving both as appellate courts and as courts of first instance; they are situated in five of Israel's six districts. The third and highest court in Israel is the Supreme Court, seated in Jerusalem. It serves a dual role as both the highest court of appeals and as the body for a separate institution known as the High Court of Justice. As the High Court of Justice, the Supreme Court rules as a court of first instance, primarily in matters regarding the legality of decisions of State authorities. Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court as it fears the court would be biased due to political pressure.

Israel's legal system mixes influences from English common law, civil law, and Jewish law, as well as the declaration of the State of Israel. As in English law, the Israeli legal system is based on the principle of stare decisis (precedent). It is an adversarial system (as opposed to an inquisitorial system) whereby parties are responsible for bringing evidence before a court. Court cases are decided by professional judges instead of juries in accordance with the practices of civil law. Meanwhile, religious tribunals (Jewish, Muslim, Druze, and Christian) have exclusive jurisdiction on annulment of marriages. A committee composed of Knesset members, Supreme Court Justices, and Israeli Bar members carries out the election of judges.

Groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been highly critical of Israel's human rights record, especially in regards to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Others have taken issue with Israel's treatment of its Arab citizens. Nevertheless, the Israeli Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty seeks to defend human rights and liberties. Israel is the only country in the region to be ranked "Free" by Freedom House based on the nation's level of civil and political rights. Similarly, Reporters Without Borders rated Israel 50th out of 168 countries in terms of freedom of the press, highest among Middle Eastern countries and just ahead of Japan.

Administrative districts

The State of Israel is divided into six main administrative districts, known in Hebrew as mehozot (מחוזות; singular: mahoz) – Center District, Haifa District, Jerusalem District, Northern District, Southern District, and Tel Aviv District. Districts are further divided into fifteen sub-districts known as nafot (נפות; singular: nafa), which are themselves partitioned into fifty natural regions. The Golan sub-district, coincident with the Golan Heights, is included within the North District, although it is not recognized by the United Nations to be Israeli territory. On the other hand, Judea and Samaria Area, which includes most of the West Bank, maintains a status distinct from administrative districts because Israel has not fully applied its jurisdiction there.

For statistical purposes, the country is divided into three metropolitan areas: Tel Aviv and the Gush Dan (population 3,040,400), Haifa (population 996,000), and Beersheba (population 531,600). However, Israel's largest city, both in population and area, is Jerusalem with 732,100 residents in an area of 126 square kilometers (49 sq mi). Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Rishon LeZion rank as Israel's next most populous cities, with populations of 384,600, 267,000, and 222,300 respectively.

Foreign relations and military

The United States, Germany, Turkey and Iran have been at various times among Israel's closest allies. The first two countries provided arms and financial support while the latter two cooperated on regional defence concerns, though relations with both have changed significantly. Relations with India have also gained importance. Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Yemen are termed enemy countries according to Israeli law, and Israeli citizens are prohibited from visiting them. Thirty-four countries, including the five enemy countries and most Arab countries, do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Egypt and Jordan are currently the only members of the Arab League to have normalized relations with Israel, having signed peace treaties in 1979 and 1994, respectively. Since 1995, Israel has been a member of the Mediterranean Dialogue, which fosters cooperation between seven countries in the Mediterranean Basin and the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

The Israel Defense Forces forms Israel's military and consists of the Israeli Army, Air Force and Sea Corps. It was founded during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and derived from paramilitary organizations (chiefly the Haganah) that preceded Israel's founding. Today the Israel Defense Forces is among the most battle-trained armed forces in the world, having been involved in several major wars and numerous border conflicts. The IDF's main resource is the training quality of its soldiers and expert institutions, rather than sheer numbers of soldiers. It also relies heavily on high-tech weapons systems, some of which are developed and manufactured in Israel for its specific needs and others which are imported (especially from Turkey and the United States).

Most Israelis, male and female, are drafted into the military at age eighteen; men are required to serve for three years, while women are required to serve for two years. Following compulsory service, Israeli men become part of the reserve forces, and are usually required to serve several weeks every year as reservists until their forties; women are exempt from doing reserve duty, although some volunteer. Israeli Arabs are not drafted but a growing number have begun to volunteer. A source of controversy since the early days of the state is the exemption from military service of yeshiva students who declare that "Torah is their vocation." Religious girls may also opt out of military service. An alternative for those who receive exemptions on various grounds is "sherut leumi," or national service, which involves a program of service in hospitals, schools and other social welfare frameworks.

Israel has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity toward its nuclear capabilities, though it is widely regarded as possesing nuclear weapons.

Economy

Israel is the most industrially and economically developed country in the Middle East.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the United States, which is its major source of economic and military aid. Israel receives approximately 5.5 billion USD in aid from the United States per year. A relatively large fraction of Israel's external debt is held by individual investors, via the Israel Bonds program. The combination of American loan guarantees and direct sales to individual investors, allow the state to borrow at competitive and sometimes below-market rates.

The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR topped 750,000 during the period 1989–1999, bringing the population of Israel from the former Soviet Union to one million, one-sixth of the total population, many of them highly educated, adding scientific and professional expertise of substantial value for the economy's future. The influx, coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s. But growth began slowing in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Those policies brought inflation down to record low levels in 1999.

Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees, ranking Israel third in the industrialized world after the United States and Netherlands. Twelve percent hold advanced degrees.

The important diamond industry has been affected by changing industry conditions and shifts of certain industry activities to the Far East.

As Israel has liberalized its economy and reduced taxes and spending, the gap between the rich and poor has grown. As of 2005, 20.5% of Israeli families (and 34% of Israeli children) are living below the poverty line, though around 40% of those are lifted above the poverty line through transfer payments.

Israel's nominal GDP per capita, as of 28 July, 2005, was $19,248 per person (30th in the world), and its GDP per capita at purchase power parity was 26,200 (26th in the world). Israel's overall productivity was $54,510.40, and the amount of patents granted was 74/1,000,000 people. At the end of September 2006, Israel's population was 7.1 million, of whom 2.6 million were employed during the second quarter of 2006. As of August 2006, average monthly wages per employee were 7,521 Shekels or 1,749 USD, whilst private consumption expenditure per capita (2006, second quarter) was 12,208 Shekels or 2,839 USD. In Israel, 7.6% of people are unemployed (2007, first quarter).

Science and technology

Israeli contributions to science and technology have been significant. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, Israel has worked in science and engineering. Israeli scientists have contributed in the areas of genetics, computer sciences, electronics, optics, engineering and other high-tech industries. Israeli science is well known for its military technology, as well as its work in advancing fields such as agriculture, physics, and medicine.

Four Israelis have won science Nobel Prizes. Biologists Avram Hershko and Aaron Ciechanover of the Technion shared the Chemistry prize in 2004. Israeli-American psychologist Daniel Kahneman had previously won the 2002 prize in Economics. In 2005, Robert Aumann from The Hebrew University also won the prize in Economics.

High technology industries have taken a pre-eminent role in the economy, particularly in the last decade. Israel's limited natural resources and strong emphasis on education have also played key roles in directing industry towards high technology fields. As a result of the country’s success in developing cutting edge technologies in software, communications and the life sciences, Israel is frequently referred to as a second Silicon Valley. As of 2004, Israel receives more venture capital investment than any country in Europe, and has the largest VC/GDP rate in the world, seven times that of the United States. Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world after the United States. Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies. Israel also has one of the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.

Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation: 109 per 10,000 people. It also boasts one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.

Israel is ranked third in research and development (R&D) spending; eighth in technological readiness (companies spending on R&D, the creativity of its scientific community, personal computer and internet penetration rates); eleventh in innovation; sixteenth in high technology exports; and seventeenth in technological achievement in Nation Master's list of countries in the world by economy standards.

Education

Israel has the highest school life expectancy in the Greater Middle East and Western Asia, and is tied with South Korea for highest school life expectancy in the entire Asian continent. It is ranked 22 out of 111 nations. Israel also has the highest literacy rate in the Middle East according to the UN.

The education system in Israel, up to secondary education level, consists of three tiers: the primary education (grades 1-6), followed by a middle school (grades 7-9), then high school (grades 10-12). Compulsory education is from grades 1 to 12. The secondary education mostly consists of preparation for the Israeli matriculation exams (bagrut). The exams consist of a multitude of subjects, some of them mandatory (Hebrew language, English language, mathematics, Bible studies, civics and literature), and some optional (e.g. Chemistry, Music, French). In 2003, 56.4% of Israeli grade 12 students received a matriculation certificate: 57.4% in the Hebrew sector and 50.7% in the Arab sector.

Any Israeli with a full matriculation certificate can proceed to higher education, as in any country. Institutions generally require a certain grade average, as well as a good grade in the psychometric exam (similar to the American SAT). As all universities (and some colleges) are subsidized by the state, students pay only a small part of the actual cost as tuition. Israel has eight universities and several dozen colleges. According to Webometrics (2006), of the top ten universities in the Middle East, seven out of ten are in Israel, including the top four. However, as of January 2007, Webometrics ranks Israeli (and Turkish) schools among European universities, boasting four in its top 100. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is the only university in the Middle East ranked in the Webometrics top-200 in the world. Israel is the only country in the Middle East (and one of only two in Asia, the other being Japan) that is home to a university listed in SJTU's Top 100 Academic Ranking of World Universities (Hebrew University, #60).

Tourism

Another leading industry in Israel is tourism, which benefits from the plethora of important historical sites for Judaism, Christianity and Islam and from Israel's warm climate and access to water resources. Tourism in Israel includes a rich variety of historical and religious sites in the Holy Land, as well as modern beach resorts, archaeological tourism, heritage tourism and ecotourism. Indeed, Israel is known for having the largest number of museums per capita of any country.

Demographics

According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, as of December 2006, of Israel's 7.1 million people, 76% were Jews, 20% Arabs, and 4% "others". Among Jews, 68% were Israeli-born, mostly second or third-generation Israelis, and the rest are foreign-born: 22% from Europe and the Americas, and 10% from Asia and Africa, including the Arab countries.

As of 2004, 224,200 Israeli citizens lived in the West Bank in numerous Israeli settlements, (including cities such as Ma'ale Adummim and Ariel, and a handful of communities that were present long before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and were re-established after the Six-Day War such as Hebron and Gush Etzion). Around 180,000 Israelis lived in East Jerusalem, which came under Israeli control following its capture from Jordan during the Six-Day War. About 8,500 Israelis lived in settlements built in the Gaza Strip, prior to their forcible removal by the government in the summer of 2005 as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.

Religion

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 76.1% of Israelis are Jewish; 16.2% are Muslim; 2.1% are Christian; 1.6% are Druze; and 3.9% unclassified.

Roughly 8% of Israeli Jews are defined as haredim (ultra-orthodox religious); an additional 17% are Orthodox; 55% consider themselves "traditionalists" (mostly, but not strictly adhering to Halakha); and 20% are "secular" (termed "hiloni"). Among the seculars, 75% follow the most common Jewish religious practices. Israelis tend not to align themselves with any particular movement within Judaism (such as Reform Judaism or Conservative Judaism) but instead tend to define their religious affiliation by degree of their religious practice.

Among Arab Israelis, 82.6% were Muslim, 8.8% were Christian and 8.4% were Druze. There is also a small community of Ahmadi Muslims in the country.

There are fourteen diverse Buddhist groups presently active in Israel, catering to Israeli Jubus as well as a tiny number of Vietnamese Buddhists who came to Israel as refugees from the crisis in their homeland and were granted citizenship. A small Hindu presence exists in Israel, including Vaishnavite Krishna Consciousness devotees (mainly on the Ariel settlement) Brahma Kumaris, and others. There are also small numbers of Ismailis and Sikhs. The Bahá'í world centre, which includes the Universal House of Justice, is situated in Haifa and attracts pilgrimage from all over the world. Apart from a few hundred staff, Bahá'ís do not live in Israel.

Language

Israel has two official languages: Hebrew and Arabic. Hebrew is the major and primary language of the state and is spoken by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority and by some members of the Mizrahi Jewish community. English is studied in school and is spoken by the majority of the population as a second language. Other languages spoken in Israel include Russian, Yiddish, Ladino, Romanian, Polish, French, Italian, Dutch, German, Amharic and Persian. American and European popular television shows are commonly presented. Newspapers can be found in all languages listed above as well as others.

Culture of Israel

Literature

Israeli literature is mostly written in Hebrew and the history of Israeli literature is mostly the product of the revival of the Hebrew language as a spoken language in modern times. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, the Hebrew language was increasingly used for speaking as well as writing modern forms of prose, poetry and drama. Every year thousands of new books are published in Hebrew and most of them are original to the Hebrew language. Shmuel Yosef Agnon won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1966.

Music

Israeli music is diverse as it combines elements of both western and eastern music. It tends to lean towards eclecticism and contains a wide variety of influences from today's Jewish Diaspora. It also makes use of modern cultural importation. Hassidic songs, Asian and Arab pop, especially Yemenite singers, hip hop and heavy metal are all part of the musical scene.

Israel's canonical folk songs often deal with Zionist hopes and dreams and glorify the life of idealistic Jewish youth who intend on building a home and defending their homeland. These are usually known as Songs of the land of Israel (י ארץ ישראל). Israel is also well-known for its famous classical orchestras and the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra under the management of Zubin Mehta has a worldwide reputation. Dudu Fisher, Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman are some of the more renowned classical musicians from Israel.

Music styles popular in Israel include pop, rock, heavy metal, hip hop and rap, trance (especially Goa trance and psychedelic trance), Oriental Mizrahi music and ethnic music of various sorts. Israel has won the Eurovision Song Contest three times (1978, 1979, 1998).

Art and theater

Nearly every Israeli city has an art museum. Apart from major museums in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Herzliya and Jerusalem, there are small but high-quality art museums in many towns and kibbutzim. The Israel Museum in Jerusalem houses the Dead Sea Scrolls along with an extensive collection of Jewish and European art, including important Old Masters. Israel's national Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, has an art museum with permanent and changing exhibitions of artwork by artists who perished in the Holocaust. There are artist colonies in Old Jaffa, Safed, Ein Hod and other locations around the country. Tel Aviv has numerous art galleries and a lively art scene.

Beit Hatefutsot, also known as the Diaspora Museum, an interactive museum devoted to the history of Jewish communities around the world, is located on the campus of Tel Aviv University.

The Rockefeller Museum and the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem display important archeological collections from excavations around Israel.

Israel is home to three major repertory theater companies. Habima Theater was founded in 1917.

Sports

The most popular sports in Israel are soccer and basketball. The interest in athletics goes back to before the establishment of the state. The World Team Chess Championship was held in Beersheba in 2005. Israeli chess players have won numerous cups and awards. Chess is taught in 20 kindergartens in Beersheba and the city has a large network of chess clubs. (http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=861) To date, Israel has won six Olympic medals. Israeli windsurfer Gal Fridman won Israel's first gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. (http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enZone=Culture&enDispWho=Articles%5El763&enPage=BlankPage)

List of Israeli media sources

See also

Notes and references

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5. Jerusalem is the capital city and seat of government of Israel: it is home to the President's residence, government offices, supreme court, and parliament. The Jerusalem Law states that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel" although the Palestinian Authority sees East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian State and the United Nations and most countries do not accept the Jerusalem Law, arguing that Jerusalem's final status must await future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Most countries maintain their embassies in other cities such as Tel Aviv, Ramat-Gan, and Herzliya(see the CIA Factbook and Map of Israel) See Positions on Jerusalem for more information.
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13. Hamilton 1995, p. 334
14. Wenham 1994, pp. 296–97
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16. In The Palestine Post December 7, 1947, page 1. "Popular Opinion" column, the name New Judea was even discussed.
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21. Morçöl 2006, p. 304
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23. From the King James Version of the Bible: "For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah, 2:3)
24. Rosenzweig 1997, p. 1
25. Ausubel 1964, pp. 142–4
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41. Smith 2006, p. 126. "Nasser, the Egyptian president, decided to mass troops in the Sinai...casus belli by Israel."
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43. Crowdy 2006, p. 333
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45. Bregman 2002, pp. 169–70. "In hindsight we can say that 1977 was a turning point..."
46. Bergman 2002, pp. 171–4 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFBergman2002 (help)
47. Bregman 2002, pp. 186–7
48. Bregman 2002, p. 199
49. Haberman, Clyde (1991-12-09). "After 4 Years, Intifada Still Smolders". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
50. Mowlana, Gerbner & Schiller 1992, p. 111
51. Bregman 2002, p. 236
52. "From the End of the Cold War to 2001". Boston College. 2007-07-16.
53. "Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements". U.S. Department of State. 1993-09-13. Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
54. Harkavy & Neuman 2001, p. 270. "Even though Jordan in 1994 became the second country, after Egypt to sign a peace treaty with Israel..."
55. Bregman 2002, p. 257
56. "The Wye River Memorandum". U.S. Department of State. 1998-10-23. Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
57. Gelvin 2005, p. 240
58. "West Bank barrier route disputed, Israeli missile kills 2". The Associated Press (via USA Today). 2004-07-29. Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
59. The majority of deaths during the 2006 Lebanon War were that of civilians:
    • "PM 'says Israel pre-planned war'". BBC. 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2007-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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    • "The Inconclusive War: Lebanon 2006". Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. 2006-08-28. Retrieved 2007-07-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
60. "Israel (country)". Encarta Online Encyclopedia. Microsoft. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
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62. "The Living Dead Sea". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1999-04-01. Retrieved 2007-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
63. "Average Weather for Tel Aviv-Yafo". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
64. "Average Weather for Jerusalem". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
65. ^ "Field Listing - Executive Branch". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2007-06-19. Retrieved 2007-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
66. For a short period in the 1990s, the Prime Minister was directly elected by the electorate. This change was not viewed a success and was abandoned.
67. Mazie 2006, p. 34
68. "Israel and the International Criminal Court". Office of the Legal Adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2002-06-30. Retrieved 2007-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
69. "Israel and the Occupied Territories". Amnesty International Report 2006. Amnesty International. 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
70. "Israel/Palestinian Authority". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
71. "A Status Report — Equality for Arab Citizens of Israel". The Association for Civil Rights In Israel. 2002-11-14. Retrieved 2007-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
72. "Press Freedom Rankings by Region 2007". Freedom House. 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
73. "Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006". Reporters Without Borders. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
74. "Localities, Population, and Density" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-07-02.
75. "Press Release: Jerusalem Day" (pdf). Central Bureau of Statistics. 2006-05-24. Retrieved 2007-03-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
76. "Population of Localities numbering above 1,000 residents and other rural population on 31/12/2006" (pdf). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2006-12-31. Retrieved 2007-04-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
77. "The Israel Defense Forces". Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
78. Mohamed ElBaradei (2004-07-27). "Transcript of the Director General´s Interview with Al-Ahram News". International Atomic Energy Agency. Retrieved 2007-07-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
79. "Top Ten Reasons to Invest in Israel". Israel Consulate in New York. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
80. "NII: 1.4 m Israelis below poverty line". Retrieved 2007-07-02.
81. "NII report: Number of poor in Israel climbs to 1.63 million". Retrieved 2007-07-02.
82. "January 2007 Preliminary Trend Data of the Unemployment Rate - From the Labour Force Survey".
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84. "Israel: Punching above its weight". The Economist. 2005-11-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
85. "Venture capital invests in Israeli techs Recovering from recession, country ranks behind only Boston, Silicon Valley in attracting cash for startups". San Francisco Chronicle. 2004-04-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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Bibliography

• Best, Anthony (2003), International History of the Twentieth Century, Routledge, ISBN 0415207398
• Ausubel, Natan (1964), The Book of Jewish Knowledge, New York, New York: Crown Publishers, ISBN 051709746X
• Bregman, Ahron (2002), A History of Israel, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 0333676319
• Crowdy, Terry (2006), The Enemy Within: A History of Espionage, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1841769339
• Dekmejian, R. Hrair (1975), Patterns of Political Leadership: Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, State University of New York Press, ISBN 087395291X
• Gelvin, James L. (2005), The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521852897
• Hamilton, Victor P. (1995), The Book of Genesis (2nd revised ed.), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, ISBN 0802823092
• Harkavy, Robert E.; Neuman, Stephanie G. (2001), Warfare and the Third World, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 0312240120
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• Wenham, Gordon J. (1994), Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 2 (Genesis 16-50), ISBN 0849902010

External links

Template:Israel portal

• Template:Wikitravel
• Wikimedia Atlas of Israel

General information

• The Jewish History Resource Center Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• BBC News Country Profile - Israel and Palestinian Territories
• Israel (Jewish Virtual Library)
• CIA World Factbook - Israel
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Israel - Country Page
• US State Department - Israel includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
• Israel - Moshav a sample of an Israeli Moshav.
• Columbia University Libraries - Israel directory category of the WWW-VL
• Israel Lexicon definitions, events and terms related to Israel, Israel Profile (Ynet News)
• Israel21c: A focus beyond the conflict
• Hutchinson Country Facts: Israel
• Israel information at middle-east-info.org

Society

• Israel Women's Network
• Gay Middle East - Israel section
• National Council of the Child Israel
• Freedom of Religion in Israeli Society and Politics by Prof. Shimon Shetreet, former minister of Religious Affairs.
• Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam the Oasis of Peace, an experimental Arab-Jewish cooperative village.
• Zionist Youth Movement (Bne Akiwa)
• Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, Reform Judaism in Israel

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