Indians in Israel Total population approx. 75,000 Regions with significant populations Jerusalem Languages Hebrew, Malayalam, Marathi Religion Judaism Related ethnic groups Dravidian peoples, Indo-Aryan peoples Indians in Israel Jump to: navigation, search Indians in Israel Total population approx. 75,000 Regions with significant populations Jerusalem Languages Hebrew, Malayalam, Marathi Religion Judaism Related ethnic groups Dravidian peoples, Indo-Aryan peoples Indians in Israel almost exclusively consist of Indian Jews who migration to Israel upon the formation of the modern state of Israel in 1948. There are now an estimated 75,000 Indians who live in Israel. They are primarily Cochin Jews of Kerala, Bene-Israel of Maharashtra and Baghdadi Jews. Jews have a long history in India. See Judaism in India. It is believed that Jews did not face any discrimination in India. They were a successful and influential merchant group. The Indians in Israel have formed several associations, namely Indo-Israel Cultural Association, The Central Organisation on Indian Jews and the Centre of Jewish Heritage. Besides the Indian Jewry, there exists a small NRI population consisting mainly of Gujarati businessmen, professionals and students.
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Indians in Israel Total population approx. 75,000Regions with significant populations Jerusalem Languages Hebrew, Malayalam, Marathi Religion Judaism Related ethnic groups Dravidian peoples, Indo-Aryan peoples
Indians in IsraelJump to: navigation, searchIndians in IsraelTotal populationapprox. 75,000Regions with significant populationsJerusalem
LanguagesHebrew, Malayalam, Marathi
ReligionJudaism
Related ethnic groupsDravidian peoples, Indo-Aryan peoples
Indians in Israel almost exclusively consist of Indian Jews who migration to Israel upon the formation of the modern state of Israel in 1948. There are now an estimated 75,000 Indians who live in Israel. They are primarily Cochin Jews of Kerala, Bene-Israel of Maharashtra and Baghdadi Jews.Jews have a long history in India. See Judaism in India. It is believed that Jews did not face any discrimination in India. They were a successful and influential merchant group.The Indians in Israel have formed several associations, namely Indo-Israel Cultural Association, The Central Organisation on Indian Jews and the Centre of Jewish Heritage.Besides the Indian Jewry, there exists a small NRI population consisting mainly of Gujarati businessmen, professionals and students.
Judæo-MarathiFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Judæo-Marathi (जु�दा�व मरा�ठी) is a form of Marathi spoken by the Bene Israel, a Jewish ethnic group that developed a unique identity in India and in Pakistan. Judæo-Marathi is, like other Marathi, written in the Devanagari script. It may not be sufficiently different
from Marathi as to constitute a distinct language, although it is characterized by a number of loanwords from Hebrew and Aramaic as a result of influence from the Cochin Jewish community, Judæo-Malayalam and Portuguese.
The Judish-Marathi Community mainly resides in Raigad and Thane districts and the city of Mumbai in Mahaashtra.
BMM on-line - Brihan Maharashtra Mandal of North America. Dallas/Fort Worth Maharashtra Mandal - Website of Dallas/Fort Worth Maharashtra Mandal. Delaware Valley Marathi Mitra Mandal - Delaware Valley Marathi Mitra Mandal (DVMMM) , a non-profit organization, trying to add to the richness and cultural diversity of the region by fostering the rich cultural heritage of Maharashtra.. Maharashtra Mandal -- London - Website of Maharashtra Mandal - London. Maharashtra Mandal Los Angeles - Web site for Maharashtra Mandal of Los Angeles California. Maharashtra Mandal Milwaukee - Maharashtra Mandal Milwaukee site to serve as a link to Maharashtra and Maharashtra mandals. Maharashtra Mandal of Columbus - Website of Maharashtra Mandal Columbus. Maharashtra Mandal Pittsburgh - Website of Maharashtra Mandal Pittsburgh. Maharashtra Mandal Singapore - Another site of Maharashtra Mandal in Singapore with photo gallary, cultural events, greeting cards etc.. Maharashtra Mandal, NY - Maharashtra Mandal, a non-profit Organization was established in 1970 for convening Marathi-speaking people from India who reside in the Tri-state area. .Marathi - Good site for marathi site visitors. Marathi Association of Minnesota - Marathi Association of Minnesota. Marathi Association Sydney Incorporated - Website of Marathi Association of Sydney. Marathi Kala Mandal - Marathi Kala Mandal of Greater Washington-USA. Marathi People in Gulf Countries - Marathi population in Gulf countries. Marathi Sahitya Sanskruti Va Kala Mandal - The Marathi Sahitya, Sanskruti and Kala Mandal of Vashi, Navi Mumbai is a non-profit organization .Millennium Konkani Sammelan - Site of American Konkani Association for Millennium Konkani Sammelan in July 2000. Mitra UK - The first ever website dedicated to Marathi youth community in the UK. New England Maharashtra Mandal - Website of New England Maharashtra Mandal - Boston -USA. Singapore Maharashtra Mandal - Website of Singapore Maharashtra Mandal, giving information about their members, events organized by them, photo gallary, sightseeing in Singapore etc. . Tokyo Marathi Mandal - Tokyo Marathi Mandal's site for Marathi language-culture interested people.Welcome to Marathi Vishwa - Site hosted by a non-profit organization for the people in New York-New Jersey and tri-state area.
The Population BOMB that can devastate India
1. India's Population Policy - much to catch up & learn from others!India has 1000 million people. China has 1260 million. Nearly 22 million are born every year in India and ONLY 10 million in China. China has had a more effective population
policy than India, although they started in 1970. India's population policy started much earlier, in 1952. By 2045, we shall overtake the Chinese population, with an Indian population of 1550 millions! Life expectancy in China is now 71 years vs 62 years in India. In China the average family size was 3.63 members, in 1998, in India it is 5.63.
2. Literacy in China & India - where are we in 2001?In the last Century, India's population has increased from 250 to 1000 million, an increase of about 400%! In India, in the last 100 years the actual number of poor people, has steadily increased. In China, all young children go through 9 years of schooling, this ensures 100% literacy. In India it is hardly 50%. China's per capita is US$845 vs US$425 for an Indian. Their GDP is 2.5 times of India.
3. Percentage of people below poverty line - China & India in 2001Because of China's successful Population Policy, China has added 300 million LESS people, in the last 30 years. China has been able to reduce the people below poverty line to 3%, i.e. only 40 million people. India has 40% or 400 million below the poverty line. We fail to understood the fact why some thinkers and leaders, in India, mention that our population is our strength. How can they make such statements, with so much poverty, illiteracy & a low standard of living? It's a nightmare for the POOR in India! The average age in China, for women to get married, the first time, was 23.57 years, in 1998.
4. India's economic parameters - the simple truth!India has 17% of the world's population, 2.2% of the land area, 1.4% of the world's GDP and only 0.6% of the world trade. This means that 98.6% of the World's GDP [Buying Power] & 99.4% of the World's Trade is not with India! India must plan larger exports, for increasing the standard of living of its people.
5. Adding population but without the required GDP growth - where are we heading?Due to a very poorly administered Population Policy, we are adding one Australia per year or one each of all the following countries per year, -- Switzerland + Singapore + Hong Kong + UAE + Bahrain + Oman + Saudi Arabia + Qatar + Kuwait, every year, year after year, but without the GDP, health, literacy and standard of living, that they have! Lack of knowledge of Global Economics, Poor Governance and Inefficient Administration of our Leadership, both political as well as administrative, are very much responsible for this sad and terrible state of affairs in India.
6. Over population + poverty - can unbalance the world!High population growth can DEVASTATE a Nation and also cause an UNBALANCE in the world, leading to UNSTABILITY in world economics and world peace. When will the Indian Leadership open its eyes & realize the real TRUTH? When will we start really taking more effective action? Hello? Hello?
7. Over population and availability of land?At the present rate of population growth, the existing grain land will become inadequate to supply food and water to the increasing population. In 1960 the cultivable land was
0.21 hectare per person, this has dropped to about 0.10 hectare in 1999. The water tables are depleting at twice the rate that they are being replenished. Is anybody listening or worried?
8. The poor are exploited in India - do we really care enoughEven today, nearly 400 million people, in India, are below the poverty line. What will happen in the next 45 years, in 2045, when we have added another 550 million people! Overpopulation can ONLY benefit some of the well to do, some of the rich and some Powerful Politicians, as they can then EXPLOIT the Weak and Poor. This is the case in India today. Because of poverty, the poor men, women & children have to bear it!
9. The complacency in India about overpopulation - is frightening!Are the POOR really enjoying poverty? The 400 million poor would love to have a better life. It is NOT on the top priority agenda of any political party, inspite of the above facts. After 53 years of Independence we are still very poor, where 400 million earn less than Rs. 10 per day or Rs. 3650/yr. or about US$80 per year! What will be the scene, after we add another 550 million people by 2045? This is like adding another USA + Europe, but without the standard of living that they have. Can't we see the disaster ahead?
10. The World is worried - are we?International agencies, such as the World Watch Institute and others are MORE worried about India than India itself! India is sitting on a Time Bomb, which it refuses to accept, inspite of the extreme poverty of its 400 million poor people, below the poverty line!
11. Media coverage about disadvantages of overpopulation - totally inadequate!There is inadequate media coverage in TV, Talk Shows, Radio, Cinemas, magazines, newspapers, schools, villages, about, for example, the China-India comparison & about the ill affects on health, drinking water, jobs, sickness, food, education, transport, housing and other aspects of life, due to over population. Everyone agrees, that the way Sanjay Gandhi started solving the Population Problem, was wrong. But does it mean that we should IGNORE it, especially, as we are reeling under the bad and terrible effects of a very high & unmanageable population, and all the disadvantages associated with it?
12. Awareness programs about disadvantages of overpopulation - too few & far apart!AWARENESS PROGRAMMS, showing the disadvantages due to over population, need to be intensified, by 80 to 100 times. Let the people understand the burden of overpopulation. There must be gentle and indirect disincentives for having large families. Successful examples of other countries, even other states, MUST be communicated. Newspapers & media should be full of it EVERY Hour, EVERY Day & NOT only on World Population Day! The poor are misled to having more and more children.
13. Per capita of India - very close to the poverty line as per World Bank norms!India has to go in for a very strong and Effective Population Policy. We should learn from others who are better than us. We should NOT only aim to survive, as we have done in the past, but plan to improve the standard of living of all our people. The present per
capita, in India, of US$425 per head, is only slightly higher than the World Bank minimum poverty line of US$1 per day or US$365 per year!
14. World Class Governance & Admin. - Foundation Stone to effective implementation!All this is ONLY possible with Good Governance & Efficient Administration and a very high priority long term Effective Population Policy. Future generations of Indians depend upon us. The attached note attempts to emphasize the crying need for World Class Governance and Good Administration. As it ensures Excellence in all areas of the economy, including Family Planning.
15. Comparison between China-India - This should wake us up!A comparison between China & India, in the basic economic parameters of annual production & activity, will hopefully, force us to think and act that we need to put our "House in Order", ASAP. Steel 103million/ton/yr vs 19. - Cement 650m/t/y vs 95. - Crude oil 150m/t/y vs 30. - Coal 1300m/t/y vs 300. Tourist arrivals 60m vs 2.5. - FDI US$46billion vs 2. - Exports US$260billion vs 42.- Telephones 220m vs 27. - Food Grain 410 m/t/y vs 208. - Color TV's 400million vs 75. In other basic areas, which benefit the masses, such as Literacy improvement, Population control, Health Care programs, Infrastructure development, Olympic medals, etc, -- China is way ahead of India. At the present rate of growth, it may take India more than 100 years, in some areas, just to catch up!
16. Communication to the Political Parties of India - Party time is over!We are writing this letter with the firm belief, that you will take suitable action, to make India what it should be. Kindly help us to get the mailing lists of the Think Tanks of the PMO, MOF, RBI & NDA, BJP, RSS, Congress & other parties; so that we could communicate to them and pass on this information.
17. Adjustment for Population increase - The hard facts!If the GDP grows by 6% per year, as in 2000-2001, the per capita does NOT grow at 6%. It is reduced due to the yearly population increase, and due to inflation and other issues. Therefore the final per capita increase, would be much lesser. This is only, one of the disadvantages, of a ballooning population. The facts need to be communicated to the people of India, as explained above!
Israel (Hebrew: ל bא cר dִיש, Yisra'el; Arabic: إسرائيل, Isrā'īl) officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: ל bא cר dת ִיש fינ gד dמ (help·info), Medinat Yisra'el; Arabic: يل� ائ ر �س� إ ة� ,(Dawlat Isrā'īl ,د و�لis a country in Western Asia located on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.[5] The West Bank and Gaza Strip are also adjacent. With a population of about 7.28 million,[3] the majority of whom are Jews, Israel is the world's only Jewish state.[6] It is also home to Arabs Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Samaritans, as well as other religious and ethnic minority groups.
The modern state of Israel has its roots in the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), a concept central to Judaism for over 3000 years.[7] After World War I, the League of Nations approved the British Mandate of Palestine with the intent of creating a "national home for the Jewish people."[8] In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab.[9] The Arab League rejected the plan, but on May 14, 1948, the Jewish provisional government declared Israel's independence. Subsequently, Israel's Arab neighbors invaded the new nation with the hope of regaining territory previously held by the Ottoman Empire and preventing the creation of an independent Jewish state. The Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars confirming their independence and expanding the borders of the Jewish state beyond those in the UN Partition Plan. Since then, Israel has been in conflict with many of the neighboring Arab countries, resulting in several major wars and decades of violence that continue to this day.[10] Since its foundation, Israel's boundaries and even the State's very right to exist have been subject to dispute, especially among its Arab neighbors. However, Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and efforts are being made to reach a permanent accord with the Palestinians.[11]
Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system and universal suffrage.[12][13] The Prime Minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as Israel's legislative body. In terms of nominal gross domestic product, the nation's economy is estimated as being the 44th-largest in the world.[14] Israel ranks high among Middle Eastern countries on the bases of human development,[15] freedom of the press,[16] and economic competitiveness.[17] Jerusalem is the country's capital, seat of government, and largest city, while Israel's main financial center is Tel Aviv.
Over the past three thousand years, the name "Israel" has meant in common and religious usage both the Land of Israel and the entire Jewish nation.[18]According to the Bible the origin of the name is where Jacob is renamed Israel after successfully wrestling with an angel of God.[19]
The first historical mention of the word "Israel" is in the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated the late 13th century BCE), which appears to refer to a people.[20] The modern country was named Medinat Yisrael, or the State of Israel, after other proposed names, including Eretz Israel ("the Land of Israel"), Zion, and Judea, were rejected.[21] In the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term "Israeli" to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett.[22]
HistoryMain articles: History of Israel and History of the Jews in the Land of Israel
Further information: History of ancient Israel and Judah
Roman garrison ruins at the foot of Masada
The Land of Israel, known in Hebrew as Eretz Yisrael, has been sacred to the Jewish people since the time of the biblical patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Scholars have placed this period in the early 2nd millennium BCE.[23] According to the Torah, the Land of Israel was promised to the Jews, by God, as their homeland,[24][25] and the sites holiest to Judaism are located there. According to the traditional view, around the 11th century BCE, the first of a series of Israelite kingdoms and states established rule over the region; these Israelite kingdoms and states ruled intermittently for the following one thousand years.[26]
Between the time of the Israelite kingdoms and the 7th-century Muslim conquests, the Land of Israel fell under Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Sassanian, and Byzantine rule.[27] Jewish presence in the region dwindled after the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE and the resultant large-scale expulsion of Jews. In 628/9, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius conducted a massacre and expulsion of the Jews, at which point the Jewish population probably reached its lowest point. Nevertheless, a continuous Jewish presence in Palestine remained. Although the main Jewish population shifted from the Judea region to the Galilee,[28] the Mishnah and part of the Talmud, among Judaism's most important religious texts, were composed in Israel during this period.[29] 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,[30] Abbasids,[31] and Crusaders over the next six centuries, before falling in the hands of the Mamluk Sultanate, in 1260. In 1516, the Land of Israel became a part of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled the region until the 20th century.[32]
Prior to the founding of Israel First Aliyah Second Aliyah During WWI Third Aliyah Fourth Aliyah Fifth Aliyah During and after WWII Berihah
After the founding of Israel Operation Magic Carpet Operation Ezra and Nehemiah Jewish exodus from Arab lands Polish aliyah in 1968 Aliyah from the Soviet Union in
the 1970s Aliyah from Ethiopia Aliyah from the Commonwealth
of Independent States in the 1990s Aliyah from Latin America in the
2000s
Concepts Judaism Zionism Law of Return Homeland for the Jewish people
People/Organizations involved Theodor Herzl World Zionist Organization Knesset Nefesh B'Nefesh The Oleh El Al
Related topicsJewish history • Jewish diaspora • History of the Jews in the Land of Israel • Yishuv • History of Zionism (Timeline) • Revival of Hebrew language • Religious Zionism • Haredim and Zionism • Anti-Zionism
v • d • e
Main articles: History of Zionism and British Mandate of Palestine
Jews living in the Diaspora have long aspired to return to Zion and the Land of Israel.[33] That hope and yearning was articulated in the Bible,[34] and is a central theme in the Jewish prayer book. Beginning in the 12th century, Catholic persecution of Jews led to a steady stream leaving Europe to settle in the Holy Land, increasing in numbers after Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492.[35] During the 16th century large communities struck roots in the Four Holy Cities, and in the second half of the 18th century, entire Hasidic communities from eastern Europe settled in the Holy Land.[36]
Theodor Herzl, visionary of the Jewish State
The first large wave of modern immigration, known as the First Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה), began in 1881, as Jews fled pogroms in Eastern Europe.[37] While the Zionist movement
already existed in theory, Theodor Herzl is credited with founding political Zionism,[38] a movement which sought to establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, by elevating the Jewish Question to the international plane.[39] In 1896, Herzl published Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State), offering his vision of a future state; the following year he presided over the first World Zionist Congress.[40]
The Second Aliyah (1904–1914), began after the Kishinev pogrom. Some 40,000 Jews settled in Palestine.[37] Both the first and second waves of migrants were mainly Orthodox Jews,[41] but those in the Second Aliyah included socialist pioneers who established the kibbutz movement.[42] During World War I, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued what became known as the Balfour Declaration, which "view[ed] with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."[43] The Jewish Legion, a group of battalions composed primarily of Zionist volunteers, assisted in the British conquest of Palestine. Arab opposition to the plan led to the 1920 Palestine riots and the formation of the Jewish organization known as the Haganah (meaning "The Defense" in Hebrew), from which the Irgun and Lehi split off.[44]
In 1922, the League of Nations granted the United Kingdom a mandate over Palestine for the express purpose of "placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home".[45] The population of the area at this time was predominantly Muslim Arab, while the largest urban area in the region, Jerusalem, was predominantly Jewish.[46]
Jewish immigration continued with the Third Aliyah (1919–1923) and Fourth Aliyah (1924–1929), which together brought 100,000 Jews to Palestine.[37] In the wake of the Jaffa riots in the early days of the Mandate, the British restricted Jewish immigration and territory slated for the Jewish state was allocated to Transjordan.[47] The rise of Nazism in the 1930s led to the Fifth Aliyah, with an influx of a quarter of a million Jews. This influx resulted in the Arab revolt of 1936–1939 and led the British to cap immigration with the White Paper of 1939. With countries around the world turning away Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust, a clandestine movement known as Aliyah Bet was organized to bring Jews to Palestine.[37] By the end of World War II, Jews accounted for 33% of the population of Palestine, up from 11% in 1922.[48][49]
Independence and first years
David Ben-Gurion proclaiming Israeli independence on May 14, 1948 below a portrait of Theodor Herzl
Main articles: 1948 Palestine war and Declaration of Independence (Israel)
After 1945 the United Kingdom became embroiled in an increasingly violent conflict with the Jews.[50] In 1947, the British government withdrew from commitment to the Mandate of Palestine, stating it was unable to arrive at a solution acceptable to both Arabs and Jews.[51] The newly-created United Nations approved the UN Partition Plan (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181) on November 29, 1947, dividing the country into two states, one Arab and one Jewish. Jerusalem was to be designated an international city – a corpus separatum – administered by the UN to avoid conflict over its status.[52] The Jewish community accepted the plan,[53] but the Arab League and Arab Higher Committee rejected it.[54]
Regardless, the State of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948, one day before the expiry of the British Mandate for Palestine.[55] Not long after, five Arab countries – Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq – attacked Israel, launching the 1948 Arab-Israeli War,[55] although conflict between the Jews and Arabs of Palestine started earlier. After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were established. Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip. Israel was admitted as a member of the United Nations on May 11, 1949.[56] During the war 711,000 Arabs, according to UN estimates, or about 80% of the previous Arab population, fled the country.[57] The fate of the Palestinian refugees today is a major point of contention in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[58][59]
In the early years of the state, the Labor Zionist movement led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion dominated Israeli politics.[60][61] These years were marked by mass immigration of Holocaust survivors and an influx of Jews persecuted in Arab lands. The population of Israel rose from 800,000 to two million between 1948 and 1958.[62] Most arrived as refugees with no possessions and were housed in temporary camps known as ma'abarot. By 1952, over 200,000 immigrants were living in these tent cities. The need to solve the crisis led Ben-Gurion to sign a reparations agreement with West Germany that triggered mass protests by Jews angered at the idea of Israel "doing business" with Germany.[63]
During the 1950s, Israel was frequently attacked by Palestinian fedayeen, mainly from the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip.[64] In 1956, Israel joined a secret alliance with The United Kingdom and France aimed at recapturing the Suez Canal, which the Egyptians had nationalized (see the Suez Crisis). Despite capturing the Sinai Peninsula, Israel was forced to retreat due to pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union in return for guarantees of Israeli shipping rights in the Red Sea and the Canal.[65]
At the start of the following decade, Israel captured Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Final Solution hiding in Argentina, and brought him to trial.[66] The trial had a major impact on public awareness of the Holocaust,[67] and to date Eichmann remains the only person sentenced to death by Israeli courts.[68]
Main articles: Arab-Israeli conflict and Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Arab countries over the years refused to acknowledge Israel's right to exist, and Arab nationalists led by Nasser called for the destruction of the state.[69] In 1967, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan massed troops close to Israeli borders, expelled UN peacekeepers and blocked Israel's access to the Red Sea. Israel saw these actions as a casus belli for a pre-emptive strike that launched the Six-Day War, Israel achieved a decisive victory in which it captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights.[70] The 1949 Green Line became the administrative boundary between Israel and the occupied territories. Jerusalem's boundaries were enlarged, incorporating East Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Law, passed in 1980, reaffirmed this measure and reignited international controversy over the status of Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Golda Meir, who resigned following the Yom Kippur War
The failure of the Arab states in the 1967 war led to the rise of Arab non-state actors in the conflict, most importantly the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) which was committed to what it called "armed struggle as the only way to liberate the homeland".[71]
[72] In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Palestinian groups launched a wave of attacks [73] against Israeli targets around the world,[74] including a massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Israel responded with Operation Wrath of God, in which those responsible for the Munich massacre were tracked down and assassinated.[75]
On October 6, 1973, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack against Israel. The war ended on October 26 with Israel successfully repelling Egyptian and Syrian forces but suffering great losses.[76]
An internal inquiry exonerated the government of responsibility for the war, but public anger forced Prime Minister Golda Meir to resign.
The 1977 Knesset elections marked a major turning point in Israeli political history as Menachem Begin's Likud party took control from the Labor Party.[77] Later that year, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat made a trip to Israel and spoke before the Knesset in what was the first recognition of Israel by an Arab head of state.[78] In the two years that followed, Sadat and Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords and the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.[79] Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and agreed to enter
negotiations over an autonomy for Palestinians across the Green Line, a plan which was never implemented. Begin's government encouraged Israelis to settle in the West Bank, leading to friction with the Palestinians in those areas.
On June 7, 1981, Israel heavily bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in Operation Opera, disabling it. Israel intelligence had suspected Iraq was intending to use it for weapons development. In 1982, Israel intervened in the Lebanese Civil War to destroy the bases from which the Palestine Liberation Organization launched attacks and missiles at northern Israel. That move developed into the First Lebanon War.[80] Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1986, but maintained a borderland buffer zone until 2000. The First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule,[81] broke out in 1987 with waves of violence occurring in the occupied territories. Over the following six years, more than a thousand people were killed in the ensuing violence, much of which was internal Palestinian violence.[82] During the 1991 Gulf War, the PLO and many Palestinians supported Saddam Hussein and Iraqi missile attacks against Israel.[83][84]
Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat shake hands, presided over by Bill Clinton, at the signing of the Oslo Accords, September 13, 1993
In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became Prime Minister following an election in which his party promoted compromise with Israel's neighbors.[85][86] The following year, Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, on behalf of Israel and the PLO, signed the Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinian National Authority the right to self-govern parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[87] A declared intent was recognition of Israel's right to exist and an end to terrorism.[88] In 1994, the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed, making Jordan the second Arab country to normalize relations with Israel.[89]
Arab public support for the Accords was damaged by the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, continuation of settlements,[90] and checkpoints, and the deterioration of economic conditions. Israeli public support for the Accords waned as Israel was struck by Palestinian suicide attacks. The November 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin by a far-right-wing Jew, as he left a peace rally, shocked the country.
At the end of the 1990s, Israel, under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, withdrew from Hebron,[91] and signed the Wye River Memorandum, giving greater control to the Palestinian National Authority.[92]
Ehud Barak, elected Prime Minister in 1999, began the new millennium by withdrawing forces from Southern Lebanon and conducting negotiations with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton at the July 2000 Camp David
Summit. During the summit, Barak offered a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state, but Yasser Arafat rejected it.[93] After the collapse of the talks, Palestinians began the Second Intifada.
Ariel Sharon became the new prime minister in a 2001 special election. During his tenure, Sharon carried out his plan to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and also spearheaded the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier.[94] In January 2006, after Ariel Sharon suffered a severe stroke which left him in a coma, the powers of office were transferred to Ehud Olmert.
In July 2006, a Hezbollah artillery assault on Israel's northern border communities and a cross border abduction of two Israeli soldiers sparked the Second Lebanon War.[95][96] The clashes were brought to end a month later by a ceasefire (United Nations Resolution 1701) brokered by the United Nations Security Council.
On November 27, 2007, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to negotiate on all issues and strive for an agreement by the end of 2008. In April 2008, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad told a Qatari newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year, with Turkey as a go-between. This was confirmed by Israel in May 2008. [97]
Geography and climateMain article: Geography of Israel
The Sakhne
Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, bounded by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, 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 20,770 square kilometers (8,019 sq mi) in area, of which two percent is water.[2] The total area under Israeli law, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, is 22,072 square kilometers (8,522 sq mi).[98]
The total area under Israeli control, including the military-controlled and partially Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank, is 27,799 square kilometers (10,733 sq mi).[99]
Despite its small size, Israel is home to a variety of geographic features, from the Negev desert in the south to the mountain ranges of the Galilee, Carmel, and the Golan in the north. The Israeli Coastal Plain on the shores of the Mediterranean is 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. The Jordan River runs along the Jordan Rift Valley, from Mount Hermon through the Hulah Valley and the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the surface of the Earth.[100] Further south is the Arabah, ending with the Gulf of Eilat, part of the Red Sea. Unique to Israel and the Sinai Peninsula are makhteshim, or erosion cirques.[101] The largest makhtesh in the world is Ramon Crater in the Negev,[102] which measures 40 kilometers by 8 kilometers (25 mi by 5 mi).[103]A report on the environmental status of the Mediterranean basin states that Israel has the largest number of plant species per square meter of all the countries in the basin.[104]
Temperatures in Israel vary widely, especially during the winter. The more mountainous regions can be windy, cold, and sometimes snowy; Mount Hermon's peak is covered with snow most of the year and Jerusalem usually receives at least one snowfall each year.[105] Meanwhile, coastal cities, such as Tel Aviv and Haifa, have a typical Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and long, hot summers. The highest temperature in the continent of Asia (53.7°C or 129 °F) was recorded in 1942 at Tirat Zvi kibbutz in the northern parts of the Jordan-valley.[106] From May to September, rain in Israel is rare.[107]
[108] With scarce water resources, Israel has developed various water-saving technologies, including drip irrigation.[109] Israelis also take advantage of the considerable sunlight available for solar energy, making Israel the leading nation in solar energy use per capita.[110]
Government and politicsMain article: Politics of Israel
The Knesset building, home of the Israeli parliament
Israel operates under a parliamentary system as a democratic country with universal suffrage.[2] The President of Israel is the head of state, but his duties are largely ceremonial.[111] A Parliament Member supported by a majority in parliament becomes the Prime Minister, usually the chairman of the largest party. The Prime Minister is the head of government and head of the Cabinet.[111][112] Israel is governed by a 120-member parliament, known as the Knesset. Membership in the Knesset is based on proportional representation of political parties.[113] Parliamentary elections are held every four years, but the Knesset can dissolve the government at any time by a no-confidence vote. The Basic Laws of Israel function as an unwritten constitution. In 2003, the Knesset began to draft an official constitution based on these laws.[2][114]
Wikinews has related news: Shimon Peres discusses the future of Israel
Office of the President of Israel in 2007.
Israel has a three-tier court system. 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 courts of first instance; they are situated in five of Israel's six districts. The third and highest tier in Israel is the Supreme Court, seated in Jerusalem. It serves a dual role as the highest court of appeals and the High Court of Justice. In the latter role, the Supreme Court rules as a court of first instance, allowing individuals, both citizens and non-citizens, to petition against decisions of state authorities.[115][116] Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court as it fears the court would be biased against it due to political pressure.[117] Israel's legal system combines English common law, civil law, and Jewish law.[2] It is based on the principle of stare decisis (precedent) and is an adversarial system, where the parties in the suit bring evidence before the court. Court cases are decided by professional judges rather than juries.[115] Marriage and divorce are under the jurisdiction of the religious courts: Jewish, Muslim, Druze, and Christian. A committee of Knesset members, Supreme Court justices, and Israeli Bar members carries out the election of judges.[118]
Districts of Israel: (1) Northern, (2) Haifa, (3) Center, (4) Tel Aviv , (5) Jerusalem, (6) Southern
Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty seeks to defend human rights and liberties in Israel. Israel is the only country in the region ranked "Free" by Freedom House based on the level of civil and political rights; the "Israeli Occupied Territories/Palestinian Authority" was ranked "Not Free."[119] Similarly, Reporters Without Borders rated Israel 50th out of 168 countries in terms of freedom of the press and highest among Southwest Asian countries.[120] Nevertheless, groups such as Amnesty International [121] and Human Rights Watch [122] have often disapproved of Israel's human rights record in regards to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel's civil liberties also allow for self-criticism, from groups such as B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization.[123] Israel's system of socialized medicine, which guarantees equal health care to all residents of the country, was anchored in law in 1995.[124]
Administrative districts
Main articles: Districts of Israel and List of cities in Israel
The State of Israel is divided into six main administrative districts, known as mehozot ( singular: mahoz) – Center, Haifa, Jerusalem, North, Southern, and Tel Aviv ;מחוזותDistricts. Districts are further divided into fifteen sub-districts known as nafot (נפות; singular: nafa), which are themselves partitioned into fifty natural regions.[125] For statistical purposes, the country is divided into three metropolitan areas: Tel Aviv and Gush Dan (population 3,150,000), Haifa (population 996,000), and Beersheba
(population 531,600).[126] However, Israel's largest city, both in population and area,[127] 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.[128]
Occupied territories
Main articles: Israeli-occupied territories and Political status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Map of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 2007
The Israeli-occupied territories are the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. They are areas Israel captured from Jordan, and Syria during the Six-Day War. The term was also used to describe the Sinai Peninsula, which was returned to Egypt as part of the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
The term of 'Israeli-occupied territories' was also used to encompass the Gaza strip which was occupied by Egypt and captured by Israel in 1967. In 2005, Israel removed all of its residents and forces in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the West Bank as part of its unilateral disengagement plan. Israel still controls Gaza's airspace and sea access. Israel also regulates Gaza's travel and trade with the rest of the world[129]. Inner control of the area is in the hands of the Hamas government.
Following Israel's capture of these territories, settlements consisting of Israeli citizens were established within each of them. Israel has applied civilian law to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, incorporating them into its territory and offering their inhabitants Israeli citizenship. In contrast, the West Bank has remained under military occupation, and is widely seen – by Israel, the Palestinians, and the international community alike – as the site of a future Palestinian state. Most negotiations relating to the territories have been on the basis of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which calls on Israel to withdraw from occupied territories in return for normalization of relations with Arab states, a principle known as "Land for peace".[130][131][132]
The West Bank has a population consisting primarily of Arab Palestinians, including historic residents of the territories and refugees of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.[133] From their occupation in 1967 until 1993, the Palestinians living in these territories were under Israeli military administration. Since the Israel-PLO letters of recognition, most of the Palestinian population and cities have been under the internal jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, and only partial Israeli military control, although Israel has on several occasions redeployed its troops and reinstated full military administration during periods of unrest. In response to increasing attacks as part of the Second Intifada, the Israeli government started to construct the Israeli West Bank barrier,[134] which opponents note is partially built within the West Bank.[135]
Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of Israel
Chaim Weizmann, the first President of Israel, presenting U.S. President Harry S. Truman with a Torah scroll in 1948
Israel maintains diplomatic relations with 161 countries and has 94 diplomatic missions around the world.[136] Only three members of the Arab League have normalized relations with Israel; Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties in 1979 and 1994, respectively, and Mauritania opted for full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1999. Two other members of the Arab League, Morocco and Tunisia, which had some diplomatic relations with Israel, severed them at the start of the Second Intifada in 2000.[137] Since 2003, however, ties with Morocco have been on the upswing, and Israel's foreign minister has visited the country.[138] Under Israeli law, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Yemen are enemy countries[139] and Israeli citizens may not visit them without permission from the Ministry of the Interior.[140] 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 Organization.[141]
The United States, Turkey, Germany, the UK and India are among Israel's closest allies. The United States was the first country to recognize the State of Israel, followed by the Soviet Union. It may regard Israel as its primary ally in Southwest Asia, based on shared political and religious values.[142] Although Turkey and Israel did not establish full diplomatic relations until 1991,[143] Turkey has cooperated with the State since its recognition of Israel in 1949. However, Turkey's ties to the other Muslim-majority nations in the region have at times resulted in pressure from Arab states to temper its relationship with Israel.[144] Germany's strong ties with Israel include cooperation on
scientific and educational endeavors and the two states remain strong economic and military partners.[145][146] India established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992 and has fostered a strong military and cultural partnership with the country since then.[147] The UK has kept full diplomatic relations with Israel since its formation having had two visits from heads of state in 2007. It also has a strong trade relationship, Israel being the 23rd largest market. Relations between the two countries were also made stronger by former prime minister Tony Blair's efforts for a two state resolution. The UK is seen as having a "natural" relationship with Israel on account of the British Mandate of Palestine.[148] Iran had diplomatic relations with Israel under the Pahlavi dynasty [149] but withdrew its recognition of Israel during the Iranian Revolution.[150]
MilitaryMain articles: Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Security Forces
Israeli Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle
The Israel Defense Forces consists of the Israeli Army, Israeli Air Force and Israeli Sea Corps. It was founded during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War out of paramilitary organizations – chiefly the Haganah – that preceded the establishment of the state.[151] The IDF also draws upon the resources of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman), which works with the Mossad and Shabak.[152] The involvement of the Israel Defense Forces in major wars and border conflicts has made it one of the most battle-trained armed forces in the world.[153][154]
The majority of Israelis are drafted into the military at the age of eighteen. Men serve three years and women serve two years.[155] Following compulsory service, Israeli men join the reserve forces and do several weeks of reserve duty every year until their forties. Most women are exempt from reserve duty. Israeli Arabs (except the Druze) and those engaged in full-time religious studies are exempt from military service, although the exemption of yeshiva students has been a source of contention in Israeli society for many years.[156][157] 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.[158] As a result of its conscription program, the IDF maintains approximately 168,000 active troops and an additional 408,000 reservists.[159]
The nation's military relies heavily on high-tech weapons systems designed and manufactured in Israel as well as some foreign imports. The United States is a particularly notable foreign contributor; they are expected to provide the country with $30 billion in military aid between 2008 and 2017.[160] The Israeli- and U.S.-designed Arrow missile is one of the world's only operational anti-ballistic missile systems.[161] Since the Yom Kippur War, Israel has developed a network of reconnaissance satellites.[162] The success of the Ofeq program has made Israel one of seven countries capable of launching such satellites.[163] The country has also developed its own main battle tank, the Merkava. Since its establishment, Israel has spent a significant portion of its gross domestic product on defense. In 1984, for example, the country spent 24%[164] of its GDP on defense. Today, that figure has dropped to 7.3%.[2]
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 possessing nuclear weapons.[165] After the Gulf War in 1991, when Israel was attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles, a law was passed requiring all apartments and homes in Israel to have a mamad, a reinforced security room impermeable to chemical and biological substances.[166]
EconomyMain articles: Economy of Israel and Tourism in Israel
A main business district in Ramat Gan outside Tel Aviv, where the diamond stock exchange is located
Israel is considered one of the most advanced countries in Southwest Asia in economic and industrial development. The country has been ranked highest in the region on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index [167] as well as in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.[17] It has the second-largest number of startup companies in the world (after the United States) and the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies outside North America.[168] In 2007, Israel had the 44th-highest gross domestic product and 22nd-highest gross domestic product per capita (at purchasing power parity) at US$232.7 billion and US$33,299, respectively.[4] In 2007, Israel was invited to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,[169] which promotes cooperation between countries that adhere to democratic principles and operate free market economies.[170]
Despite limited natural resources, intensive development of the agricultural and industrial sectors over the past decades has made Israel largely self-sufficient in food production,
apart from grains and beef. Other major imports to Israel, totaling US$47.8 billion in 2006, include fossil fuels, raw materials, and military equipment.[2] Leading exports include fruits, vegetables, pharmaceuticals, software, chemicals, military technology, and diamonds; in 2006, Israeli exports reached US$42.86 billion.[2] Israel is a global leader in water conservation and geothermal energy,[171] and its development of cutting-edge technologies in software, communications and the life sciences have evoked comparisons with Silicon Valley.[172][173] Intel [174] and Microsoft [175] built their first overseas research and development centers in Israel, and other high-tech multi-national corporations, such as IBM, Cisco Systems, and Motorola, have opened facilities in the country. In July 2007, U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought an Israeli company Iscar, its first non-U.S. acquisition, for $4 billion.[176] Since the 1970s, Israel has received economic aid from the United States, whose loans account for the bulk of Israel's external debt,[2] although that aid is expected to end in 2008.[160]
Tourism, especially religious tourism, is another important industry in Israel, with the country's temperate climate, beaches, archaeological and historical sites, and unique geography also drawing tourists. Israel's security problems have taken their toll on the industry, but the number of incoming tourists is on the rebound.[177]
Science and educationMain articles: Education in Israel, Science and technology in Israel, and List of universities and colleges in Israel
The particle accelerator at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot
Israel has the highest school life expectancy in Southwest Asia, and is tied with Japan for second-highest school life expectancy on the Asian continent (after South Korea).[178] Israel similarly has the highest literacy rate in Southwest Asia, according to the United Nations.[179] The State Education Law, passed in 1953, established five types of schools: state secular, state religious, ultra orthodox, communal settlement schools, and Arab schools. The public secular is the largest school group, and is attended by the majority of Jewish and non-Arab pupils in Israel. Most Arabs send their children to schools where Arabic is the language of instruction.[180]
Education is compulsory in Israel for children between the ages of three and eighteen.[181]
[182] Schooling is divided into three tiers – primary school (grades 1–6), middle school (grades 7–9), and high school (grades 10–12) – culminating with Bagrut matriculation exams. Proficiency in core subjects such as mathematics, Bible, Hebrew language, Hebrew and general literature, English, history, and civics is necessary to receive a Bagrut certificate.[183] In Arab, Christian and Druze schools, the exam on Biblical studies is replaced by an exam in Islam, Christianity or Druze heritage.[184] In 2003, over half of all Israeli twelfth graders earned a matriculation certificate.[185]
Israel's eight public universities are subsidized by the state.[183][186] The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel's oldest university, houses the Jewish National and University Library, the world's largest repository of books on Jewish subjects.[187] In 2006, the Hebrew University was ranked 60th[188] and 119th[189] in two surveys of the world's top universities. Other major universities in the country include the Technion, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University, the University of Haifa, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Israel's seven research universities (excluding the Open University) have been ranked in the top 500 in the world.[190] Israel ranks third in the world in the number of citizens who hold university degrees (20 percent of the population).[191][192] During the 1990s, an influx of a million immigrants from the former Soviet Union (forty percent of whom were university graduates) helped boost Israel's high-tech sector.[191] Israel has produced four Nobel Prize-winning scientists[193] and publishes among the most scientific papers per capita of any country in the world.[194][195] In 2003, Ilan Ramon became Israel's first astronaut, serving as payload specialist of STS-107, the fatal mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia .
DemographicsMain article: Demographics of Israel
Israel's population, as of 2008, is 7.28 million.[3] Of those, over 260,000 Israeli citizens lived in the West Bank settlements[196][197][198] such as Ma'ale Adumim and Ariel, and communities that predated the establishment of the State but were re-established after the Six-Day War, in cities such as Hebron and Gush Etzion. 18,000 Israelis live in the Golan Heights.[199] In 2006, there were 250,000 Jews living in East Jerusalem.[200] The total number of Israeli settlers is over 500,000 (6.5 % of the Israeli population). Approximately 7,800 Israelis lived in settlements in the Gaza Strip until they were evacuated by the government as part of its 2005 disengagement plan.[201]
Israel has two official languages, Hebrew and Arabic.[2] Hebrew is the primary language of the state and spoken by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority and Jews who immigrated to Israel from Arab lands. Most Israelis can communicate reasonably well in English, as many television programs are in English and many schools begin to teach English in the early grades. As a country of immigrants, dozens of languages can be heard on the streets of Israel. A large influx of people from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia have made Russian and Amharic widely spoken in Israel. Between 1990 and 1994, the immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union increased Israel's population by twelve percent.[202] Over the last decade, immigration
flows have also included significant numbers of workers from countries such as Romania, Thailand, China, and a number of countries in Africa and South America; gauging precise numbers is difficult because of the presence of "undocumented" immigrants, but estimates run in the region of 200,000.[203] Retention of Israel's population since 1948 when compared to population retention of other mass immigration countries is about on par, or Israel has better retention of its population.[204] Emigration from Israel (yerida) to other countries, primarily the United States and Canada, is described by demographers as modest[205] but is often cited by Israeli government ministries as a major threat to Israel's future.[206] [207]
Religion
Main article: Religion in Israel
The Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
Israel was established as a homeland for the Jewish people and is often referred to as the Jewish state. The country's Law of Return grants all Jews and those of Jewish lineage the right to Israeli citizenship.[208] Just over three quarters, or 75.5%, of the population are Jews from a diversity of Jewish backgrounds. Approximately 68% of Israeli Jews are Israeli-born, 22% are immigrants from Europe and the Americas, and 10% are immigrants from Asia and Africa (including the Arab World).[209] The religious affiliation of Israeli Jews varies widely: 55% say they are "traditional," while 20% consider themselves "secular Jews," 17% define themselves as "Orthodox Jews"; the final 8% define themselves as "Haredi Jews."[210]
Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa
Making up 16.2% of the population, Muslims constitute Israel's largest religious minority. Israeli Arabs, who comprise 19.8% of the population, contribute significantly to that figure as over four fifths (82.6%) of them are Muslim. Of the remaining Israeli
Arabs, 8.8% are Christian and 8.4% are Druze.[211] Members of many other religious groups, including Buddhists and Hindus, maintain a presence in Israel, albeit in small numbers.[212] Christians make up 2.1% of the total population of Israel and consist of both Arab Christians and Messianic Jews.[213]
The city of Jerusalem enjoys a special place in the hearts of Jews, Muslims, and Christians as the home of sites that are pivotal to their religious beliefs, such as the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Other landmarks of religious importance are located in the West Bank, among them the birthplace of Jesus and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The administrative center of the Bahá'í Faith and the Shrine of the Báb are located at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa and the leader of the faith is buried in Acre. Apart from maintenance staff, there is no Bahá'í community in Israel, although it is a destination for pilgrimages. Bahá'í staff in Israel doesn't teach their faith to Israelis following strict policy.[214][215]
CultureMain article: Culture of Israel
Hebrew Book Week 2005 in Jerusalem
Israel's diverse culture stems from the diversity of the population: Jews from around the world have brought their cultural and religious traditions with them, creating a melting pot of Jewish customs and beliefs.[216] Israel is the only country in the world where life revolves around the Hebrew calendar. Work and school holidays are determined by the Jewish holidays, and the official day of rest is Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.[217] Israel's substantial Arab minority has also left its imprint on Israeli culture in such spheres as architecture,[218] music,[219] and cuisine.[220]
Israeli literature is primarily poetry and prose written in Hebrew, as part of the renaissance of Hebrew as a spoken language since the mid-19th century, although a small body of literature is published in other languages, such as Arabic and English. By law, two copies of all printed matter published in Israel must be deposited in the Jewish National and University Library at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2001, the law was amended to include audio and video recordings, and other non-print media.[221] In 2006, 85 percent of the 8,000 books transferred to the library were in Hebrew.[222] The Hebrew Book Week (He: שבוע הספר) is held each June and features book fairs, public readings, and appearances by Israeli authors around the country. During the week,
Israel's top literary award, the Sapir Prize, is presented. In 1966, Shmuel Yosef Agnon shared the Nobel Prize in Literature with German Jewish author Nelly Sachs.[223]
Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv
Israeli music contains musical influences from all over the world; Yemenite music, Hasidic melodies, Arabic music, Greek music, jazz, and pop rock are all part of the music scene.[224][225] The nation's canonical folk songs, known as "Songs of the Land of Israel," deal with the experiences of the pioneers in building the Jewish homeland.[226] Among Israel's world-renowned[227] orchestras is the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, which has been in operation for over seventy years and today performs more than two hundred concerts each year.[228] Israel has also produced many musicians of note, some achieving international stardom. Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Ofra Haza are among the internationally-acclaimed musicians born in Israel. Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nearly every year since 1973, winning the competition three times and hosting it twice.[229] Eilat has hosted its own international music festival, the Red Sea Jazz Festival, every summer since 1987.[230] Continuing the strong theatrical traditions of the Yiddish theater in Eastern Europe, Israel maintains a vibrant theatre scene. Founded in 1918, Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv is Israel's oldest repertory theater company and national theater.[231]
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is one of Israel's most important cultural institutions[232] and houses the Dead Sea scrolls,[233] along with an extensive collection of Judaica and European art.[232] Israel's national Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, houses the world's largest archive of Holocaust-related information.[234] Beth Hatefutsoth (the Diaspora Museum), on the campus of Tel Aviv University, is an interactive museum devoted to the history of Jewish communities around the world.[235] Apart from the major museums in large cities, there are high-quality artspaces in many towns and kibbutzim. Mishkan Le'Omanut on Kibbutz Ein Harod Meuhad is the largest art museum in the north of the country.[236]
Ramat Gan Stadium, Israel's largest stadiumMain article: Sports in Israel
Sports and physical fitness have not always been paramount in Jewish culture. Athletic prowess, which was prized by the ancient Greeks, was looked down upon as an unwelcome intrusion of Hellenistic values. Maimonides, however, who was both a rabbi and a physician, emphasized the importance of physical activity and keeping the body in shape. This approach received a boost in the 19th century from the physical culture campaign of Max Nordau, and in the early 20th century when the Chief Rabbi of Palestine, Abraham Isaac Kook, declared that "the body serves the soul, and only a healthy body can ensure a healthy soul".[237]
The Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes, was inaugurated in the 1930s, and has been held every four years since then. The most popular spectator sports in Israel today are association football and basketball.[238] In 1964 Israel hosted and won the Asian Nations Cup before joining UEFA in 1994. Ligat ha'Al is the country's premier soccer league, and Ligat HaAl is the premier basketball league.[239] Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. has won the European championship in basketball five times.[240] Beersheba has become a national chess center and home to many chess champions from the former Soviet Union. The city hosted the World Team Chess Championship in 2005, and chess is taught in the city's kindergartens.[241]
Two years later, in 2007, an Israeli tied for second place in the World Chess Championship.[242] To date, Israel has won six Olympic medals since its first win in 1992, including a gold medal in windsurfing at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[243] For sports, Israel mainly belongs to Europe.[244]
MFA Facts About Israel History Facts about Israel: History
Facts About Israel: History1 Apr 2008
Israel's 60th Anniversary Edition
Note: The 2008 edition is currently available only in English. Links to other languages are to previous editions.
Below: Section of an illuminated late-medieval map of the Tribes of Israel (Courtesy R. Ben-Haim)
TIMELINE | BIBLICAL TIMES | SECOND TEMPLE | FOREIGN DOMINATION | STATE OF ISRAEL | PEACE PROCESS | ISRAEL IN MAPS
Section of an illuminated late-medieval map of the Tribes of Israel (Courtesy R. Ben-Haim)
זכר ימות עולם בינו שנות דור ודור... - דברים ל"ב:ז
Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations... (Deuteronomy 32:7)
The birthplace of the Jewish people is the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael). There, a significant part of the nation's long history was enacted, of which the first thousand years are recorded in the Bible; there, its cultural, religious, and national identity was formed; and there, its physical presence has been maintained through the centuries, even after the majority was forced into exile. During the many years of dispersion, the Jewish people never severed nor forgot its bond with the Land. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish independence, lost 2,000 years earlier, was renewed.
Archeology in Israel involves the systematic investigation of all the remains of the country's past - from prehistory to the end of Ottoman rule. The profusion of material remains is evidence of the many cultures that have left their imprint on the Land.
Above all archeological research clearly reveals the historical link between the Jewish people, the Bible and the Land of Israel, uncovering the remains of the cultural heritage of the Jewish people in its homeland. These visible remains, buried in the soil, constitute
the physical link between the past, the present and the future of the Jewish people in its country.
This unbroken chain of history can be observed at sites all over the country. Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, has been the focus of extensive archeological activity and remains of 5,000 years of history have been revealed.
TIMELINE OF HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS17th-6th C. BCE BIBLICAL TIMES(BCE - Before the Common Era)
c.17th century
Drawings byNoam Nadav
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - patriarchs of the Jewish people and bearers of a belief in one God - settle in the Land of Israel.Famine forces Israelites to migrate to Egypt.c.13th century Exodus from Egypt: Moses leads Israelites from Egypt, followed by 40 years of wandering in the desert.Torah, including the Ten Commandments, received at Mount Sinai.13th-12thcenturies Israelites settle in the Land of Israelc.1020 Jewish monarchy established; Saul, first king.c.1000 Jerusalem made capital of David's kingdom.c.960 First Temple, the national and spiritual center of the Jewish people, built in Jerusalem by King Solomon.c. 930 Divided kingdom: Judah and Israel722-720 Israel crushed by Assyrians; 10 tribes exiled (Ten Lost Tribes).586
Judah conquered by Babylonia; Jerusalem and First Temple destroyed; most Jews exiled.
THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD538-142 Persian and Hellenistic periods538-515 Many Jews return from Babylonia; Temple rebuilt.332 Land conquered by Alexander the Great; Hellenistic rule.166-160
Maccabean (Hasmonean) revolt against restrictions on practice of Judaism and desecration of the Temple142-129 Jewish autonomy under Hasmoneans.129-63 Jewish independence under Hasmonean monarchy.63 Jerusalem captured by Roman general, Pompey.
63 BCE-313CE
Roman rule63-4 BCE
Herod, Roman vassal king, rules the Land of Israel;Temple in Jerusalem refurbished
(CE - The Common Era)c. 20-33 Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth66 Jewish revolt against the Romans70 Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple.73 Last stand of Jews at Masada.132-135 Bar Kokhba uprising against Rome.c. 210 Codification of Jewish oral law (Mishna) completed. FOREIGN DOMINATION313-636 Byzantine rulec. 390 Commentary on the Mishna (Jerusalem Talmud) completed.614 Persian invasion 636-1099 Arab rule691 On site of First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock built by Caliph Abd el-Malik. 1099-1291 Crusader domination(Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem) 1291-1516 Mamluk rule 1517-1917 Ottoman rule1564 Code of Jewish law (Shulhan Arukh) published.1860 First neighborhood built outside walls of Jerusalem's Old City.1882-1903 First Aliya (large-scale immigration), mainly from Russia.1897
First Zionist Congress convened by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland; Zionist Organization founded.1904-14 Second Aliya, mainly from Russia and Poland.1909 First kibbutz, Degania, and first modern all-Jewish city, Tel Aviv, founded.1917 400 years of Ottoman rule ended by British conquest;British Foreign Minister Balfour pledges support for establishment of a "Jewish national home in Palestine"
1918-48British rule
1919-23 Third Aliya, mainly from Russia1920 Histadrut (General Federation of Labor) and Haganah (Jewish defense organization) founded.Vaad Leumi (National Council) set up by Jewish community (Yishuv) to conduct its affairs.1921 First moshav (cooperative village), Nahalal, founded.1922 Britain granted Mandate for Palestine (Land of Israel) by League of Nations; Transjordan set up on three-fourths of the area, leaving one fourth for the Jewish national home.Jewish Agency representing Jewish community vis-a-vis Mandate authorities set up.1924
Technion, first institute of technology, founded in Haifa.1924-32 Fourth Aliya, mainly from Poland.1925 Hebrew University of Jerusalem opened on Mount Scopus.1929 Hebron Jews massacred by Arab terrorists.1931 Etzel, Jewish underground organization, founded.1933-39 Fifth Aliya, mainly from Germany.1936-39 Anti-Jewish riots instigated by Arab terrorists.1939 Jewish immigration severely limited by British White Paper.1939-45 World War II; Holocaust in Europe.1941 Lehi underground movement formed; Palmach, strike force of Haganah, set up.1944 Jewish Brigade formed as part of British forces.1947 UN proposes the establishment of Arab and Jewish states in the Land. STATE OF ISRAEL1948
End of British Mandate (14 May)State of Israel proclaimed (14 May).Israel invaded by five Arab states (15 May).Israel Defense Forces (IDF) established.War of Independence (May 1948-July 1949).1949
Armistice agreements signed with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon.Jerusalem divided under Israeli and Jordanian rule.First Knesset (parliament) elected.Israel admitted to United Nations as 59th member.1948-52
Mass immigration from Europe and Arab countries.1956 Sinai Campaign1962 Adolf Eichmann tried and executed in Israel for his part in the Holocaust.1964
National Water Carrier completed, bringing water from Lake Kinneret in the north to the semi-arid south.1967
Six-Day War; Jerusalem reunited.1968-70 Egypt's War of Attrition against Israel1973 Yom Kippur War1975 Israel becomes an associate member of the European Common Market.1977 Likud forms government after Knesset elections, end of 30 years of Labor rule.Visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem.1978 Camp David Accords include framework for comprehensive peace in the Middle East and proposal for Palestinian self-government.1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty signed.Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat awarded Nobel Peace Prize.1981 Israel Air Force destroys Iraqi nuclear reactor just before it is to become operative.1982 Israel's three-stage withdrawal from Sinai Peninsula completed.Operation Peace for Galilee removes Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) terrorists from Lebanon.1984 National unity government (Likud and Labor) formed after elections.Operation Moses, immigration of Jews from Ethiopia.1985 Free Trade Agreement signed with United States.1987 Widespread violence (Intifada) starts in Israeli-administered areas.1988 Likud government wins elections.1989
Four-point peace initiative proposed by Israel.Start of mass immigration of Jews from former Soviet Union.1991 Israel attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles during Gulf war.Middle East peace conference convened in Madrid;Operation Solomon, airlift of Jews from Ethiopia.1992 Diplomatic relations established with China and India.New government headed by Yitzhak Rabin of Labor Party.1993 Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements for the Palestinians signed by Israel and PLO, as representative of the Palestinian people (Oslo Accords).1994
Implementation of Palestinian self-government in Gaza Strip and Jericho area.Full diplomatic relations with the Holy See.Morocco and Tunisia interest offices set up.Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty signed.Rabin, Peres, Arafat awarded Nobel Peace Prize.1995 Broadened Palestinian self-government implemented in West Bank and Gaza Strip; Palestinian Council elected.Prime Minister Rabin assassinated at peace rally.Shimon Peres becomes prime minister.1996 Fundamentalist Arab terrorism against Israel escalates.Operation Grapes of Wrath, retaliation for Hizbullah terrorists' attacks on northern Israel.Trade representation offices set up in Oman and Qatar.Likud forms government after Knesset elections.Binyamin Netanyahu elected prime minister.Omani trade representation office opened in Tel Aviv.1997 Hebron Protocol signed by Israel and the PA.1998
Israel celebrates its 50th anniversary.Israel and the PLO sign the Wye River Memorandum to facilitate implementation of the Interim Agreement.1999 Ehud Barak (left-wing One Israel party) elected prime minister; forms coalition government.Israel and the PLO sign the Sharm-el-Sheikh Memorandum.2000 Visit of Pope Paul II.Israel withdraws from the Security Zone in southern Lebanon.Israel admitted to UN Western European and Others Group.Renewed violence (Second Intifada). Prime Minister Barak resigns.2001 Ariel Sharon (Likud) elected Prime Minister; forms broad-based unity government.The Sharm-el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee report (Mitchell Report) issued.Palestinian-Israeli Security Implementation Work Plan (Tenet ceasefire plan) proposed.Rechavam Ze'evy, Minister of Tourism, assassinated by Palestinian terrorists.
2002Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield in response to massive Palestinian
terrorist attacks.Israel begins building the anti-terrorist fence to stop West Bank terrorists from killing Israeli citizens.Prime Minister Sharon disperses the Knesset, calling for new elections to be held on 28 January 2003.
2003Right-of-center coalition government formed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Israel accepts the Roadmap.
2005Israel carries out the Disengagement Plan, ending Israel's presence in the Gaza
Strip.
2006
After Prime Minister Sharon suffers a stroke, Ehud Olmert becomes acting prime minister.Following elections on 28 March, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert forms new government led by the Kadima Party.Israel carried out military operations against Palestinian terrorists in Gaza after kidnapping of Israeli soldier.The Second War in Lebanon, during which Israel carried out military operations against Hizbullah terrorism from southern Lebanon, following missile attacks and kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers.
2007
Shimon Peres elected President by the Knesset.Israel declares Gaza "hostile territory" following Hamas violent takeover of Gaza Strip.
