Israel

For other uses, see Israel (disambiguation).

מדינת ישראל Medīnat Yisrā'el دولة إسرائيل Dawlat Isrā'īl State of Israel
Flag Emblem of Israel Emblem
Anthem: Hatikvah The Hope
Capital and largest city	Jerusalem 31°47′N 35°13′E
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	7,150,0002 (98th)
• 1995 census	5,548,523
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
• Total	$177.3 billion (47th)
• Per capita	$26,200 (28th)
HDI (2006)	0.927  (23rd)
Currency	New Israeli Sheqel (₪) (ILS)
Time zone	UTC+2 (IST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3
Calling code	972
ISO 3166 code	IL
Internet TLD	.il
Includes Israeli population in the West Bank. Excluding / Including the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, see below.

Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Yisra'el), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: , Medinat Yisra'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةْ إِسْرَائِيل, 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.

Israel declared its independence in 1948. The population today is over seven million, with a large Jewish majority. While it is home to both Jews and Arabs, 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 the only country in the Middle East considered to be a liberal democracy. In addition, Israel is considered the most advanced in the region in terms of freedom of the press, business regulations, economic competition,, and overall human development, as well as among the most advanced in economic freedom.

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" is 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

Main article: History of the State of Israel

Historical roots

See also: History of ancient Israel and Judah, Jewish history, and History of the Jews in the Land of Israel

Jewish tradition holds that the Land of Israel has been a holy land and promised land for four thousand years, since the time of the biblical patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). 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 would intermittently maintain rule for the following one thousand years.

The Menorah sacked from Jerusalem, as seen on the Arch of Titus.

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

Main articles: Zionism, Aliyah, and British Mandate of Palestine

See also: 1922 Text: League of Nations Palestine Mandate, Jewish refugees, and Timeline of Zionism

Jews living in the diaspora had sought to emigrate to Israel for many centuries. Yehuda Halevi, a 12th-century philosopher and poet, was one of the first figures to promote the emigration of Jews to the land of Israel. In the centuries that followed, the land of Israel would see small waves of immigration from Europe. In 1881, the first large wave of modern immigration to Israel, or aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה), began as Jews fled growing persecution in Eastern Europe. However, Theodor Herzl (1860–1904), an Austro-Hungarian Jew, 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[ed] with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." Three years later, in 1920, Palestine became a League of Nations mandate — the British Mandate of Palestine.

File:Hagardom.jpeg

Monument in Ramat Gan commemorating the rebels hanged by the British.

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. The rise of Nazism throughout the 1930s led to the Fifth Aliyah, in which a quarter million Jews emigrated to the Palestine Mandate. In 1939, the British introduced limits to 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

Main articles: 1948 Arab-Israeli War and Declaration of Independence (Israel)

See also: Israel and the United Nations, Jewish exodus from Arab lands, and Palestinian exodus

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.

David Ben-Gurion, later the first Prime Minister of Israel, pronounces the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 in Tel Aviv.

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 and began the second phase of 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 was left with 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, an estimated 711,000 Arabs fled from the newly-created Jewish state. In response to the establishment of the State of Israel, Arab countries began persecution of their Jewish communities, precipitating the Jewish exodus from Arab lands; between 1948 and 2001, approximately six hundred thousand Jews would migrate from Arab lands to Israel.

The first five decades

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 scuffles 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.

Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat during the Oslo Accords on September 13, 1993.

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 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 twenty-first 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 and a subsequent visit by Ariel Sharon to Jerusalem's Temple Mount, 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. 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.

Districts

Districts of Israel

Main article: Districts of Israel

See also: List of cities in Israel

The State of Israel is divided into six main administrative districts, known in Hebrew as mehozot (מחוזות; singular: mahoz):

1. Center District
2. Haifa District
3. Jerusalem District
4. Northern District
5. Southern District
6. 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. Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), on the other hand, has not been annexed into one of Israel's administrative districts because Israel has not fully applied its jurisdiction there.

Principal geographical features of Israel and the southeastern Mediterranean region

As of 2006, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics has defined 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.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Israel

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 20,770 km² (8,019 mi²) in area, of which 1% is water. The total area under Israeli law, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, is 22,145 km² or 8,550 mi². The total area under Israeli control, including the military-controlled and Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank, is 28,023 km² (10,820 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 District while the Judean Hills dominate central Israel and the West Bank. 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. Along the eastern edge of Israel, in the Rift Valley, are the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea with the Jordan River running between them.

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 two largest population centers, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, rarely receive rain.

Government

Main article: Politics of Israel

See also: List of political parties in Israel

The Knesset building, Israel's parliament.

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. As of 2007, twelve parties hold seats in the Knesset.

Human rights

Main article: Human rights in Israel

The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel proclaimed that the state "...will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations." However, like many democracies, Israel often struggles with issues of minority rights, especially when it comes to the often contentious issues surrounding the treatment of Israel's large Arab minority, which constitutes 15% of Israel's population. The Arab minority, however, is represented in Israel's cabinet.

While Israel does not have a constitution, it has a set of Basic Laws, intended to form the basis of a future constitution. One of those Basic Laws, Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, serves as one of the major tools for defending human rights and liberties. According to the 2005 US Department of State report on Israel, "The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas..." Various countries, international bodies, non-governmental organizations and individuals have evaluated and often criticized Israel's human rights record, often in relation to the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are highly critical of Israel's policies. By contrast, other organizations see Israel as one of the few free countries in the region. In 2006, Freedom House rated political rights in Israel as "1" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating); civil liberties as "2"; and it received a combined freedom rating of "Free." Most of the countries in the Middle East were classified as "Not Free". However, areas controlled by Israel through military occupation but not considered within the country's main territory were rated as "6," "5," and "Not Free" (territories administered by the Palestinian Authority were rated as "5", "5", and "Partly Free").

Within Israel, policies of its government are often subjected to criticism from the left and right by its press as well as by a vast variety of political, human rights and watchdog groups such as Association for Civil Rights in Israel, B'Tselem, Machsom Watch, Women in Black, Women for Israel's Tomorrow, among others. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Sephardi Jews "have long charged that they suffered social and economic discrimination at the hands of the state's Ashkenazi establishment." Btselem, the Israeli human rights organization, has stated that Israel has created in the West Bank a regime of separation based on discrimination, applying two separate systems of law in the same area and basing the rights of individuals on their nationality. Such criticism has also led to Israel's press being ranked as most free in the region. According to the Reporters Without Borders (RWB), "The Israeli media were once again in 2005 the only ones in the region that had genuine freedom to speak out." RWB ranked Israel 50th (tied with Grenada) out of 168 countries as regards freedom of the press, the highest of any country in the Middle East and just ahead of the United States (53rd). In addition, Israel is also the only country in the region to have its press ranked as "Free" (29 on the scale 1-100) by Freedom House, and what Freedom House termed "Israeli-Occupied Territories/ Palestinian Authority" were ranked "Not Free" (84 out of 100).

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Israel

The State of Israel joined the United Nations on May 11, 1949 (see Israel and the United Nations). Today, Israel has diplomatic relations with 161 states. Israel is still not recognized by several countries, most of which are Arab.

Israel is a member of many international agencies and organizations and is also a member of the Mediterranean Dialogue with NATO.

Legal system

Israel has not completed a written constitution. Its government functions according to the laws of the Knesset, including the "Basic Laws of Israel", of which there are presently fourteen. These are slated to become the foundation of a future official constitution. In mid-2003, the Knesset's Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee began drafting an official constitution. The effort is still underway as of early 2007.

Israel's legal system mixes influences from Anglo-American, Continental and Jewish law, as well as the declaration of the State of Israel.

As in Anglo-American law, the Israeli legal system is based on the principle of stare decisis (precedent). It is an adversarial system, not an inquisitorial one, in the sense that the parties (for example, plaintiff and defendant) are the ones that bring the evidence before the court. The court does not conduct any independent investigation on the case.

As in Continental legal systems, the jury system was not adopted in Israel. Court cases are decided by professional judges. Additional Continental Law influences can be found in the fact that several major Israeli statutes (such as the Contract Law) are based on Civil Law principles. Israeli statute body is not comprised of Codes, but of individual statutes. However, a Civil Code draft has been completed recently, and is planned to become a bill.

Religious tribunals (Jewish, Muslim, Druze and Christian) have exclusive jurisdiction on annulment of marriages.

Judiciary

Frontal view of The Supreme Court building.

Israel's Judiciary branch is made of a three-tier system of courts. At the lowest level are Magistrate Courts, situated in most cities. Above them are District Courts, serving both as appellate courts and as courts of first instance, situated in five cities: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Be'er Sheva and Nazareth. A new District Court is scheduled to open in Petah Tikva in 2008.

At the top of the judicial pyramid is the Supreme Court of Israel seated in Jerusalem. The current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is Dorit Beinisch. The Supreme Court serves a dual role as the highest court of appeals and as the body for a separate institution known as the High Court of Justice (HCOJ). The HCOJ has the unique responsibility of addressing petitions presented to the Court by individual citizens. The respondents to these petitions are usually governmental agencies (including the Israel Defense Forces). The result of such petitions, which are decided by the HCOJ, may be an instruction by the HCOJ to the relevant Governmental agency to act in a manner prescribed by the HCOJ.

A committee composed of Knesset members, Supreme Court Justices, and Israeli Bar members carries out the election of judges. The Courts Law requires judges to retire at the age of seventy. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, with the approval of the Minister of Justice, appoints registrars to all courts.

Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court as it fears it could lead to prosecution of Israeli settlers in the disputed territories.

Military

Main article: Israeli Security Forces

Israel's military consists of a unified Israel Defense Forces (IDF), known in Hebrew by the acronym Tzahal (צה"ל). The Navy and Air Force are subordinate to the Army. There are other paramilitary agencies that deal with different aspects of Israel's security (such as Magav and Shin Bet). The IDF was based on paramilitary underground armies, chiefly the Haganah.

File:Idf logo4.jpg

Emblem of the IDF.

The IDF is one of the best funded military forces in the Middle East and ranks among the most battle-trained armed forces in the world, having been involved in five major wars and numerous border conflicts. In terms of personnel, 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 technology weapons systems, some developed and manufactured in Israel for its specific needs, and others imported (largely from the United States).

Most Israelis (males and females) are drafted into the military at age 18. Also immigrants sometimes volunteer to join the IDF. An exception are Israeli Arabs, most of whom are not conscripted because of a possible conflict of interests, due to the possibility of war with neighbouring Arab states. Other exceptions are those who cannot serve because of injury or disability, women who declare themselves married, or those who are religiously observant. Compulsory service is three years for men, and two years for women. Circassians and Bedouin also actively enlist in the IDF. Since 1956, Druze men have been conscripted in the same way as Jewish men, at the request of the Druze community. Men studying full-time in religious institutions can get a deferment from conscription. Most Haredi Jews extend these deferments until they are too old to be conscripted, a practice that has fueled much controversy in Israel.

While Israeli Arabs are not conscripted, they are allowed to enlist voluntarily. The same policy applies to the Bedouin and many non-Jewish citizens of Israel.

Following compulsory service, Israeli men become part of the IDF reserve forces, and are usually required to serve several weeks every year as reservists until their forties. Women can volunteer to become reservists.

Nuclear capability

Main article: Israel and weapons of mass destruction

Israel's nuclear capabilities have been the subject of speculation for many years. The country's official policy is known as "nuclear ambiguity." The Negev Nuclear Research Center has been operational since the mid-twentieth century, and is believed to be capable of producing weapons grade nuclear material, but the Israeli government neither affirms nor denies this.

Data on Israeli nuclear deployment capability is more freely available than data on its nuclear program. Israel leads the Middle East in medium-range ballistic missile development. The Jericho series of ballistic missile was begun in the 1970s, with three major designs built to date; Jericho I, II, and III. The Jericho II series has been in service since the mid-1980s and has a confirmed range of 1500 km. The latest missile design, the Jericho III (based on the "Shavit" booster), has a conservative range estimate of 4500 km, other estimates suggest that the Jericho III have a maximum range of 7800 km.

In addition to ballistic missile technology, Israel maintains a fleet of Dolphin class submarines that may be equipped with Israeli-made medium range (1450 km) cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

On 9 December 2006, the incoming U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested at a Senate confirmation hearing that Israel had atomic weapons. Gates said Iran might want an atomic bomb because it is "surrounded by powers with nuclear weapons: Pakistan to their east, the Russians to the north, the Israelis to the west and us in the Persian Gulf".

On 11 December 2006, Prime Minister Olmert made a statement some see as an admission of Israel's possession of nuclear weapons. While commenting on Iran's nuclear program, Olmert said: "Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you say that this is the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons as America, France, Israel, Russia?" Olmert's aides said he was misunderstood and a grammatical nuance of the sentence was lost in translation.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Israel

Israel is the most industrially and economically developed country in the Middle East.

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.

A main business district in Gush Dan where the diamond stock exchange is located.

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

File:Weizmann Institute.jpg

The particle accelerator at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot

Main article: Science and technology in Israel

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.

Sand Mountains in the Negev.

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.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Israel

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

Israeli soldiers chat with Arab civilians in Galilee, 1978.

Main article: Demographics of Israel

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 towns 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.

Language

Main article: Languages of Israel

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.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Israel

Jewish prayer at the Western Wall

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.

See also: Holidays and events in Israel

Culture of Israel

Leo Roth, Flute Players, oil on canvas, 1967.

Main article: Culture of Israel

The culture of Israel is inseparable from long history of Judaism and Jewish history which preceded it being diverse and abundant. Tel Aviv, Haifa, Herzliya, and Jerusalem have excellent art museums, and many towns and kibbutzim have smaller high-quality museums. The Israel Museum in Jerusalem houses the Dead Sea Scrolls along with an extensive collection of Jewish religious and folk art and the Museum of the Diaspora is located on the campus of Tel Aviv University. Many museums display artefacts from the many archaeological sites across Israel, whilst the country has artist colonies in Safed, Jaffa, and Ein Hod. Israel is home to three major repertory companies, the most famous being Habima Theater which was founded in 1917. In regards to gay rights, Israel remains the most tolerant country in the Middle East.

See also: Archaeology of Israel, Israel Antiquities Authority, Jewish cuisine, Israeli wine, and Kibbutz

Literature

Main article: Israeli 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

Main article: Music of Israel

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).

See also: Hatikvah

Education

Main article: Education in Israel

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 9. 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).

See also: List of universities and colleges in Israel

Sports

Gal Fridman won Israel's first Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Main article: Sports in Israel

Sports in Israel, as in other countries, are an important part of the national culture. The Israeli sporting culture is much like that of European countries. Israeli athletics go back as far as before the establishment of the state of Israel. While football (soccer) and basketball are considered the most popular sports in Israel, the nation has attained achievements in other sports, such as American Football, handball and athletics. Israelis are also involved in hockey, rugby, chess, and, as exemplified by Israeli born Sagi Kalev, bodybuilding. To date, Israel has won six Olympic medals.

Annotated list of Israeli media sources

General references to the Israeli media

• The Printed Media: Israel's Newspapers Summary from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• List of Israeli newspapers

English-language newspapers and magazines

• Azure [1] English edition of the quarterly journal offering essays and criticism on Israeli and Jewish public policy, culture and philosophy
• Globes [2] English-language website of Israel's business and technology daily
• Haaretz [3] English edition of liberal Hebrew-language newspaper, Haaretz
• IsraelInsider [4] - Independent outlet. Targets American Jewry.
• Jerusalem Newswire [5] Independent Christian-run news outlet
• The Jerusalem Post [6] Israel's oldest English-language newspaper
• The Jerusalem Report [7]English weekly magazine
• YNetNews [8] English-language website of Yedioth Ahronoth
• ISRAEL21c [9] English-language website reporting on Israel "beyond the conflict."

Hebrew-language newspapers and magazine

• Globes [10] Business daily
• Haaretz [11]
• Hamodia Daily serving Israel's Haredi community; English editions published in the U.S. and U.K.
• Hazofe [12] Daily religious Zionist newspaper
• Maariv [13] Second largest daily
• Makor Rishon [14] conservative national and religious daily newspaper

Hebrew-language newspapers and periodicals (continued)

• Tchelet [15] Hebrew edition of Azure, a quarterly journal covering Israeli public policy
• Yated Ne'eman Daily newspaper serving the Haredi community
• Yedioth Ahronoth [16] Israel's largest newspaper

German-language newspapers:

• Israel Nachrichten [17] The German-language daily from Tel Aviv for the 100,000 German-speaking Jews in Israel

French-language newspapers:

• Guysen News about Israel in French

Arabic-language newspapers

• Al-Ittihad Arabic-language daily newspaper

Israeli broadcast media

• Israel Broadcasting Authority, TV News in Hebrew, some English.
• JerusalemONLINE video news update from Israel in English by Channel 2 News.
• Radio Israel
• Arutz Sheva news site representing the settler community, right-wing religious (English)
• Kol Israel - Voice of Israel Also produced by the IBA. In Hebrew, Arabic, French, English, Spanish, Ladino, Russian, Persian, Yiddish, etc.
• IsraCast - Independent, multimedia broadcast and distribution network that focuses on Israeli foreign affairs and defense issues (in English).
• Israelisms Podcast [18] Weekly podcast (in English) about everyday life and politics in Israel.

Notable Internet sources

• DailyAlert [19] daily digest of Israeli and world media reports on Israel and the Middle East prepared by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs for The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
• Israel Habara Committee

Related non-Israeli media

• Jewish Telegraphic Agency [20], New York-based news agency covering worldwide Jewish news, centrist (English)

See also

• Basic Laws of Israel
• Religion in Israel
• List of Israelis
• Cities in Israel
• Communications in Israel
• Transportation in Israel
• Israel Defense Forces
• Foreign relations of Israel
• Israeli-occupied territories

• Israel and the United Nations
• List of universities in Israel
• Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
• Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
• Music of Israel
• Mechanical biological treatment - Israeli leading area of innovation in waste technology

• Israel-United States relations
• Accession of Israel to the European Union
• List of the UN resolutions concerning Israel
• Israeli passport
• Sport in Israel
• Same-sex marriage in Israel
• Gathering of Israel
• Salute to Israel Parade

Notes and references

Bibliography

• Best, Anthony (2003), International History of the Twentieth Century, Routledge, ISBN 0415207398
• 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
• Kornberg, Jacques (1993), Theodor Herzl: From Assimilation to Zionism, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253332036
• Laqueur, Walter (2003), The History of Zionism, Tauris Parke Paperbacks, ISBN 1860649327
• Lustick, Ian (1988), For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, Council on Foreign Relations Press, ISBN 0876090366
• Morçöl, Göktuğ (2006), Handbook of Decision Making, CRC Press, ISBN 1574445480
• Mowlana, Hamid; Gerbner, George; Schiller, Herbert I. (1992), Triumph of the Image: The Media's War in the Persian Gulf — A Global Perspective, Westview Press, ISBN 0813316103
• Rosenzweig, Rafael (1997), The Economic Consequences of Zionism, Brill Academic Publishers, ISBN 9004091475
• Scharfstein, Sol (1996), Understanding Jewish History, KTAV Publishing House, ISBN 0881255459
• Smith, Derek (2006), Deterring America: Rogue States and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521864658
• Wenham, Gordon J. (1994), Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 2 (Genesis 16-50), ISBN 0849902010

External links

• 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

Government

• Government Portal of Israel
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel
• The President of the state of Israel
• Prime Minister's Office
• Bureau of Statistics
• Israel Defence Force site
• Israel Security Fence Project
• Israel's official Blog
• Israel is a democracy in which Arabs vote

Legislation and the legal system

• The Knesset (Parliament)
• Basic Laws, legal code of Israel
• Israeli Commercial, Banking, Tort and Insurance Laws (in English)

History

• State of Israel The Jewish History Resource Center, Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• The birth of Israel from the BBC
• Israel Museum, Jerusalem
• Historical documents (MFA)
• Authentic historical recordings (Isracast)
• State of Israel History
• Original Document: Press Release Announcing US Recognition of Israel

Economy, science, and technology

• Standard and Poor's Israel Economic Information
• Israel Science and Technology Directory
• IsraCast: Israeli Science and Technology News

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