Israel

Israel (ⁱ /ˈɪzriəl/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל‎‎, Yiśraˀel; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل‎, ʾIsrāʾīl), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew:  מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل‎, Dawlat ʾIsrāʾīl), is a parliamentary republic in Western Asia part of the Middle East. located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast,Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.^[6][7] Israel is the world's only Jewish-majority state,^[8] and is defined as "a Jewish and democratic state" by the Israeli government.

Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Israeli law was enacted within the Green Line, as defined in the 1949 Armistice Agreements. Following their internationally unrecognized annexation in 1980–81, Israeli law was extended to East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, although most Arabs in these areas have declined Israeli citizenship. Citizens of the State of Israel also live inIsraeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The population, defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics to include all citizens and permanent residents in within Israel, the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and all Israeli settlements, was estimated in May 2010 to be 7,602,400  people,^[9] of whom 5,776,500 are Jewish.^[9][10][11]Arab citizens of Israel form the country's second-largest ethnic group, which includes Muslims,Christians, Druze, and Samaritans. According to the May 2010 population estimate, including 300,000 non-citizen Arabs living in East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, this minority numbers 1,551,400.^[9]

The modern State of Israel was declared in 1948, and traces its historical and religious roots to the Biblical Land of Israel, also known as Zion, a concept central to Judaism since ancient times.^[12][13][14] Political Zionism took shape in the late-19th century Europe under Theodor Herzl, and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 formalized British policy preferring the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people. Following World War I, the League of Nations grantedGreat Britain the Mandate for Palestine, which included responsibility for securing "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people".^[15] In November 1947, the United Nations voted in favor of the partition of Palestine, proposing the creation of a Jewish state, an Arab state, and a UN-administered Jerusalem.^[16] Partition was accepted by the Zionist leadership but rejected by Arab leaders, and a civil war began. Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948 and neighboring Arab states invaded the next day. Since then, Israel has fought a series of wars with neighboring Arab states,^[17] and has occupied territories, including the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, beyond those delineated in the 1949 Armistice Agreements. The border between Israel and the neighboringWest Bank is not formally defined by the Israeli government, as a result of acomplex and unresolved political situation. Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt andJordan, but efforts by elements within both parties to diplomatically solve the problem have so far only met with limited success.

Israel is a developed country and a representative democracy with a parliamentary system anduniversal suffrage.^[22][23] The Prime Minister serves as head of government and the Knessetserves as Israel's legislative body. The economy, based on the nominal gross domestic product, was the 41st-largest in the world in 2008.^[24] Israel ranks highest among Middle Eastern countries on the UN Human Development Index,^[25] and it has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.^[26] Jerusalem is the country's capital, although it is not recognized internationally as such.^[a] Israel's main financial center is Tel Aviv, and its main industrial center is Haifa. In 2010, Israel joined the OECD.

History

Main article: History of Israel

Etymology

The Star of David, symbol of Judaism since the Middle Ages.

In 1948, the country was formally named Medinat Yisrael, or the State of Israel, referring to the ancientIsraelites of the region, after other proposed historical and religious names including Eretz Israel ("the Land of Israel"), Zion, and Judea, were considered and rejected.^[28] In the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term "Israeli" to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made byMinister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett.^[29]

The name Israel has historically been used, in common and religious usage, to refer to both the Land of Israeland the entire Jewish nation.^[30] According to the Bible, the name "Israel" was given to the patriarch Jacob(Standard Yisraʾel, Isrāʾīl; Septuagint Greek: Ἰσραήλ; "persevere with God"^[31]) after he successfully wrestled with an angel of God.^[32] Jacob's twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. According to the Bible, Jacob and his sons had lived in Canaan and were forced by famine to go into Egypt for four generations until Moses, a great-great grandson of Jacob, led theIsraelites back into Canaan in the Exodus. The earliest archaeological artifact to mention the word "Israel" is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated to the late 13th century BCE).^[33]

The area is also known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith. Prior to the 1948 Israeli Declaration of Independence, the region was known by various other names including Palestine, Southern Syria,Syria Palestina, Kingdom of Jerusalem, Iudaea Province, Coele-Syria, Retjenu and Canaan.

Iron Age I

Ancient city of Tel Hazor, UNESCO World Heritage Site. (laying ruins)

The name Israel first appears in the stele of the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah c. 1209 BCE, "Israel is laid waste and his seed is not."^[34] William Dever sees this "Israel" as a cultural and probably political entity of the central highlands, well enough established to be perceived by the Egyptians as a possible challenge to their hegemony, but an ethnic group rather than an organised state.^[35] Archaeologist Paula McNutt says: "It is probably ... during Iron Age I [that] a population began to identify itself as 'Israelite'," differentiating itself from its neighbours via prohibitions on intermarriage, an emphasis on family historyand genealogy, and religion.^[36]

The number of villages in the highlands increased from 25 in the Late Bronze Age to over 300 by the end of Iron I;^[37] in the same period the settled population doubled to 40,000.^[38] The villages, more and larger in the north, probably shared the highlands with other communities like pastoral nomads that left no remains.^[39] Archaeologists and historians see more continuity than discontinuity between Iron Age highlanders and Late Bronze Canaanites:^[40] features that have been said to be specifically Israelite – notably collared-rim jars and four-room houses, have now been identified outside the highlands and thus cannot be used to distinguish Israelite sites;^[41] and, while highland villages display a far more limited late–13th–century BCE ceramic repertoire than that of lowland Canaanite sites, it develops typologically out of Canaanite pottery that came before.^[42] Israel Finkelstein proposed that the oval or circular layout that distinguishes highland sites and the notable absence of pig bones from hill sites can be taken as a marker of ethnicity, but others have cautioned that these can be a "common-sense" adaptation to highland life and not necessarily revelatory of origins.^[43]

In the early 20th century three models emerged to explain the origin of these Israelites: the "conquest" model which essentially affirmed the historicity of the biblical narrative, the "peaceful infiltration" model which saw the Israelites as nomads who entered and settled the highlands over a long period, and the "peasants revolt" model which proposed that the early Israelites were a Canaanite underclass in revolt against their overlords.^[44] All three have been criticised extensively, and modern scholars see Israel arising peacefully and internally in the highlands.^[45]

Iron Age II

The ruins of Samaria, the city that served as the capital of the ancient kingdom of Israel.

Unusually favourable climatic conditions in the first two centuries of Iron Age II brought about an expansion of population, settlements and trade throughout the region.^[46] In the central highlands this resulted in unification in a kingdom with the city of Samaria as its capital,^[46] possibly by the second half of the 10th century BCE when an inscription of the Egyptian pharaoh Shoshenq I, the biblical Shishak, records a series of campaigns directed at the area.^[47] It had clearly emerged by the middle of the 9th century BCE, when the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III names "Ahab the Israelite" among his enemies at the battle of Qarqar (853), and the Mesha stele (c. 830) left by a king of Moab celebrates his success in throwing off the oppression of the "House of Omri" (i.e. Israel) and the Tel Dan stele tells of the death of a king of Israel, probably Jehoram, at the hands of an Aramaen king (c. 841).^[47] In the earlier part of this period Israel was apparently engaged in a three-way contest with Damascus and Tyre for control of the Jezreel Valley and Galilee in the north, and with Moab, Ammon and Damascus in the east for control of Gilead;^[46] from the middle of the 8th century BCE it came into increasing conflict with the expanding neo-Assyrian empire, which first split its territory into several smaller units and then destroyed its capital, Samaria (722). Both the biblical and Assyrian sources speak of a massive deportation of the people of Israel and their replacement with an equally large number of forced settlers from other parts of the empire – such population exchanges were an established part of Assyrian imperial policy, a means of breaking the old power structure. The former Israel never again became an independent political entity.^[48]

Surface surveys indicate that during the 10th and 9th centuries BCE the southern highlands were divided between a number of centres, none with clear primacy.^[49] Unification (i.e., state formation) seems to have occurred no earlier than the 9th century BCE, a period when Jerusalem was dominated by Israel, but the subject is the centre of considerable controversy and there is no definite answer to the question of when Judah emerged.^[50] In the 7th century BCE Jerusalem became a city with a population many times greater than before and clear dominance over its neighbours, probably in a cooperative arrangement with the Assyrians to establish Judah as a pro-Assyrian vassal state controlling the valuable olive industry.^[51] Judah prospered under Assyrian vassalage, (despite a disastrous rebellion against the Assyrian kingSennacherib), but in the last half of the 7th century BCE Assyria suddenly collapsed, and the ensuing competition between the Egyptian andNeo-Babylonian empires for control of Palestine led to the destruction of Judah in a series of campaigns between 597 and 582.^[51]

Babylonian period

The Ishtar Gate of Babylon

Babylonian Judah suffered a steep decline in both economy and population^[52] and lost the Negev, the Shephelah, and part of the Judean hill country, including Hebron, to encroachments from Edom and other neighbours.^[53] Jerusalem, while probably not totally abandoned, was much smaller than previously, and the town of Mizpah in Benjamin in the relatively unscathed northern section of the kingdom became the capital of the new Babylonian province of Yehud Medinata.^[54] (This was standard Babylonian practice: when the Philistine city of Ashkalon was conquered in 604, the political, religious and economic elite (but not the bulk of the population) was banished and the administrative centre shifted to a new location).^[55]There is also a strong probability that for most or all of the period the temple at Bethel in Benjamin replaced that at Jerusalem, boosting the prestige of Bethel's priests (the Aaronites) against those of Jerusalem (the Zadokites), now in exile in Babylon.^[56]

The Babylonian conquest entailed not just the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, but the liquidation of the entire infrastructure which had sustained Judah for centuries.^[57] The most significant casualty was the State ideology of "Zion theology,"^[58] the idea that the God of Israel had chosen Jerusalem for his dwelling-place and that the Davidic dynasty would reign there forever.^[59] The fall of the city and the end of Davidic kingship forced the leaders of the exile community – kings, priests, scribes and prophets – to reformulate the concepts of community, faith and politics.^[60] The exile community in Babylon thus became the source of significant portions of the Hebrew Bible: Isaiah 40–55, Ezekiel, the final version of Jeremiah, the work of the Priestly source in the Pentateuch, and the final form of the history of Israel from Deuteronomy to 2 Kings^[61] Theologically, they were responsible for the doctrines of individual responsibility and universalism (the concept that one god controls the entire world), and for the increased emphasis on purity and holiness.^[61] Most significantly, the trauma of the exile experience led to the development of a strong sense of identity as a people distinct from other peoples,^[62] and increased emphasis on symbols such as circumcision and Sabbath-observance to maintain that separation.^[63]

The concentration of the biblical literature on the experience of the exiles in Babylon disguises the fact that the great majority of the population remained in Judah, and for them life after the fall of Jerusalem probably went on much as it had before.^[64] It may even have improved, as they were rewarded with the land and property of the deportees, much to the anger of the exile community in Babylon.^[65] The assassination of the Babylonian governor around 582 by a disaffected member of the former royal house of David provoked a Babylonian crackdown, possibly reflected in the Book of Lamentations, but the situation seems to have soon stabilised again.^[66] Nevertheless, the unwalled cities and towns that remained were subject to slave raids by the Phoenicians and intervention in their internal affairs from Samaritans, Arabs and Ammonites.^[67]

Persian period

The extent of the Hasmoneankingdom

Main article: Yehud Medinata

Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Great in 539 and Judah (or Yehud medinata, the "province of Yehud") remained a province of the Persian empire until 332. Cyrus was succeeded as king byCambyses, who added Egypt to the empire, incidentally transforming Yehud and the Philistine plain into an important frontier zone; his death in 522 was followed by a period of turmoil until Darius the Greatseized the throne in about 521. Darius introduced a reform of the administrative arrangements of the empire including the collection, codification and administration of local law codes, and it is reasonable to suppose that this policy lay behind the redaction of the Jewish Torah.^[68] After 404 the Persians lost control of Egypt, which now became Persia's main enemy outside Europe, causing the Persian authorities to tighten their administrative control over Yehud and the rest of Palestine.^[69] Egypt was eventually reconquered, but soon afterward Persia fell to Alexander the Great, ushering in the Hellenistic period in the Levant.

Judah's population over the entire period was probably never more than about 30,000, and that of Jerusalem no more than about 1,500, most of them connected in some way to the Temple.^[70] According to the biblical history, one of the first acts of Cyrus, the Persian conqueror of Babylon, was to commission the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, a task which they are said to have completed c. 515.^[71] Yet it was probably only in the middle of the next century, at the earliest, that Jerusalem again became the capital of Judah.^[72] The Persians may have experimented initially with ruling Yehud as a Dividic client-kingdom under descendants of Jehoiachin,^[73] but by the mid–5th century BCE Yehud had become in practice a theocracy, ruled by hereditary High Priests^[74] and a Persian-appointed governor, frequently Jewish, charged with keeping order and seeing that tribute was paid.^[75] According to the biblical history Ezra and Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem in the middle of the 5th century BCE, the first empowered by the Persian king to enforce the Torah, the second with the status of governor and a royal mission to restore the walls of the city.^[76] The biblical history mentions tension between the returnees and those who had remained in Yehud, the former rebuffing the attempt of the "peoples of the land" to participate in the rebuilding of the Temple; this attitude was based partly on the exclusivism which the exiles had developed while in Babylon and, probably, partly on disputes over property.^[77] The careers ofEzra and Nehemiah in the 5th century BCE were thus a kind of religious colonisation in reverse, an attempt by one of the many Jewish factions in Babylon to create a self-segregated, ritually pure society inspired by the prophesies of Ezekiel and his followers.^[78]

The Persian era, and especially the period 538–400, laid the foundations of later Jewish and Christian religion and the beginnings of a scriptural canon.^[79] other important landmarks include the replacement of Hebrew by Aramaic as the everyday language of Judah (although it continued to be used for religious and literary purposes),^[80] and Darius's reform of the administrative arrangements of the empire, which may lie behind the redaction of the Jewish Torah.^[68] The Israel of the Persian period included descendants of the inhabitants of the old kingdom of Judah, returnees from the Babylonian exile community, Mesopotamians who had joined them or had been exiled themselves to Samaria at a far earlier period, Samaritans and others.^[81]

Hellenistic period

Main articles: Herodian Dynasty, Iudaea Province, and Samaria

On the death of Alexander the Great (322) his generals divided the empire between them. Ptolemy I, the ruler of Egypt, seized Palestine, but his successors lost it to the Seleucids of Syria in 198. At first relations between the Seleucids and the Jews were cordial, but the attempt ofAntiochus IV Epiphanes (174–163) to impose Hellenic culture sparked a national rebellion, which ended in the expulsion of the Syrians and the establishment of an independent Jewish kingdom under the Hasmonean dynasty. The Hasmonean kingdom was a conscious attempt to revive the Judah described in the Bible: a Jewish monarchy ruled from Jerusalem and stretching over all the territories once ruled by David and Solomon. In order to carry out this project the Hasmoneans forcibly converted to Judaism the one-time Moabites, Edomites and Ammonites, as well as the lost kingdom of Israel.^[82]

Hasmonean Kingdom

According to historical sources including the books 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees and the first book of The Wars of the Jews by the Jewish historian Josephus (37–c. 100 AD),^[83] the Hasmonean Kingdom rose after a successful revolt by the Jews against the Seleucid kingAntiochus IV. After Antiochus' successful invasion of Ptolemaic Egypt was turned back by the intervention of the Roman Republic^[84] he moved instead to assert strict control over Israel, sacking Jerusalem and its Temple, suppressing Jewish religious and cultural observances, and imposing Hellenistic practices.

The ensuing Maccabbee Revolt (167 BC) began a twenty-five-year period of Jewish independence potentiated by the steady collapse of the Seleucid Empire under attacks from the rising powers of the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire. However, the same power vacuum that enabled the Jewish state to be recognized by the Roman Senate c. 139 BC was next exploited by the Romans themselves. Hyrcanus IIand Aristobulus II, Simon's great-grandsons, became pawns in a proxy war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great that ended with the kingdom under the supervision of the Roman governor of Syria (64 BC). The deaths of Pompey (48 BC), Caesar (44 BC), and the relatedRoman civil wars relaxed Rome's grip on Israel, allowing a brief Hasmonean resurgence backed by the Parthian Empire. This short independence was rapidly crushed by the Romans under Mark Antony and Octavian. The installation of Herod the Great as king in 37 BC made Israel a Roman client state, ending the Hasmonean dynasty. In 44 AD, Rome installed the rule of a Roman procurator side by side with the rule of the Herodian kings (specifically Agrippa I 41-44 and Agrippa II 50-100, see also Iudaea province).

Jewish History in the Southern Levant

Further information: History of ancient Israel and Judah, History of the Jews in the Land of Israel, and History of the Southern Levant

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Masada in the Judean Desert, anational symbol

The Land of Israel, known in Hebrew as Eretz Yisrael, has been sacred to the Jewish people since Biblical times. According to the Torah, God promised the Land of Israel to the three Patriarchs of the Jewish people.^[85][86] Scholars place the period of the three Patriarchs somewhere in the early 2nd millennium BCE.^[87] According to Biblical evidence the first Kingdom of Israel was established around the 11th century BCE. Subsequent Israelite kingdoms and states ruled intermittently over the next thousand years, and are known from various extra-biblical sources.^{[88][89][90][91]}

Between the time of the First Kingdom of Israel and the Muslim conquests of the 7th century, the Land of Israel fell underAssyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Sassanian, andByzantine rule.^[12][92] Jewish presence in the region dwindled after the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE.^[93] Nevertheless, Jewish presence in the Land of Israel remained continuous and theGalilee became its religious center.^[94][95] The Mishnah and part of the Talmud, central Jewish texts, were composed during the 2nd to 4th centuries CE in Tiberias and Jerusalem.^[96] Following years of persecution at the hands of Byzantine rulers, the Jews revolted in 610 CE, allying themselves with the Persian invaders. After capturing Jerusalem, the Persians and Jews killed thousands of Christians and destroyed many churches.^[97] The Byzantine emperor Heracliusrecaptured Jerusalem in 628–629 CE, and was responsible for the massacre and expulsion of the Jews.^[98][99] During the initial Muslim conquests, in 635 CE, the Land of Israel, including Jerusalem, was captured from the Byzantine Empire.^[100] Control of the region transferred between the Umayyads,^[100] Abbasids,^[100] and Crusaders throughout the next six centuries,^[100] before falling in the hands of the MamlukSultanate, in 1260.^[101] In 1516, the Land of Israel was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, which ruled the region until the 20th century.^[101]

An ancient synagogue (Kfar Bar'am), abandoned by the 13th century A.D.^[102][103]

Zionism and the British Mandate

Further information: History of Zionism

Many Jews living in the Diaspora have long aspired to return to Zion and the Land of Israel,^[104] though the amount of human effort that should be spent towards such aim is a matter of dispute in Judaism.^[105][106]That hope and yearning was articulated in the Bible,^[107] and is an important theme of the Jewish belief system.^[105] After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, some communities settled inPalestine.^[108] During the 16th century, communities struck roots in the Four Holy Cities—Jerusalem,Tiberias, Hebron, and Safed—and in 1697, Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid led a group of 1,500 Jews to Jerusalem.^[109] In the second half of the 18th century, Eastern European opponents of Hasidism, known as the Perushim, settled in Palestine.^{[110][111][112]}

Aliyah to Israel and settlement
Pre-Zionist Aliyah
The Return to Zion The Old Yishuv
Before May 14, 1948
First Aliyah · Second Aliyah During World War I Third Aliyah · Fourth Aliyah Fifth Aliyah During and after World War II Berihah
After May 14, 1948
Operation Magic Carpet Operation Ezra and Nehemiah Jewish exodus from Arab lands 1968 Polish aliyah 1970s Soviet Union aliyah Aliyah from Ethiopia 1990s CIS aliyah 2000s Latin America aliyah
Concepts
Judaism · Zionism Law of Return Jewish homeland Yerida · Galut Jewish Messianism
Persons and organizations
Theodor Herzl · Knesset World Zionist Organization Nefesh B'Nefesh · El Al
Related topics
Jewish history Jewish diaspora Jews in the Land of Israel History of Israel Yishuv · Israeli Jews Revival of Hebrew language History of Zionism Religious Zionism
v · d · e

Theodor Herzl, visionary of the Jewish State, in 1901

The first large wave of "modern" immigration, known as the First Aliyah, began in 1881, as Jews fled pogroms in Eastern Europe.^[113] Although the Zionist movement already existed in theory, Austro-Hungarian journalistTheodor Herzl is credited with founding political Zionism,^[114] a movement which sought to establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, by elevating the Jewish Question to the international plane.^[115] In 1896, Herzl published Der Judenstaat (The State of the Jews), offering his vision of a future state; the following year he presided over the first World Zionist Congress.^[116]

The Second Aliyah (1904–1914), began after the Kishinev pogrom; some 40,000 Jews settled in Palestine, but nearly half of them left.^[113] Both the first and second waves of migrants were mainly Orthodox Jews,^[117] but those in the Second Aliyah included socialist pioneers who established the kibbutz movement.^[118] During World War I, British Foreign SecretaryArthur 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". At the request of Edwin Samuel Montagu and Lord Curzon, a line was also inserted stating "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country".^[119]

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 Lehiparamilitary groups split off.^[120] In 1922, the League of Nations granted the United Kingdom a mandate over Palestine under terms similar to the Balfour Declaration.^[121] The population of the area at that time was predominantly Arab and Muslim, with Jews accounting for about 11% of the population.^[122]

The Third (1919–1923) and Fourth Aliyahs (1924–1929) brought an additional 100,000 Jews to Palestine.^[113]Finally, the rise of Nazism in the 1930s led to the Fifth Aliyah, with an influx of a quarter of a million Jews. This caused 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.^[113] By the end of World War II, the Jewish population of Palestine had increased to 33% of the total population.^[123]

Independence and first years

After 1945, Britain found itself in fierce conflict with the Jewish community, as the Haganah joined Irgun andLehi in armed struggle against British rule.^[124] At the same time, thousands of Jewish refugees from Europe sought shelter in Palestine and were turned away or rounded up and placed in detention camps by the British. In 1947, the British government withdrew from the Mandate of Palestine, stating it was unable to arrive at a solution acceptable to both Arabs and Jews.^[125] The newly created United Nations approved the Partition Plan for Palestine (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181) on November 29, 1947, which sought to divide 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.^[126]

The Jewish community accepted the plan,^[127] but the Arab League and Arab Higher Committee rejected it.^[128] On December 1, 1947, the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a three-day strike, and Arab bands began attacking Jewish targets.^[129] Jews were initially on the defensive as civil war broke out, but they gradually moved onto the offensive.^[130] The Palestinian Arab economy collapsed and 250,000 Palestinian-Arabs fled or were expelled.^[131]

David Ben-Gurion proclaiming Israeli independence on May 14, 1948, below a portrait of Theodor Herzl

On May 14, 1948, the day before the expiration of the British Mandate, the Jewish Agency proclaimed independence, naming the country Israel.^[132] The following day, the armies of four Arab countries—Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq—attacked Israel, launching the 1948 Arab–Israeli War;^[133][134] Saudi Arabia sent a military contingent to operate under Egyptian command; Yemen declared war but did not take military action.^[135] After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were established.^[136] Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank andEast Jerusalem, and Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip. About 700,000 Palestinian refugees were expelled or fled the country during the conflict.

Israel was accepted as a member of the United Nations by majority vote on May 11, 1949.^[137]

In the early years of the state, the Labor Zionist movement led by Prime Minister David Ben-Guriondominated Israeli politics.^[138][139] These years were marked by an influx of Holocaust survivors and Jews from Arab lands, many of whom faced persecution in and expulsion from their original countries.^[140] Consequently, the population of Israel rose from 800,000 to two million between 1948 and 1958.^[141] Some 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.^[142] 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 accepting financial compensation from Germany for the Holocaust.^[143]

In the 1950s, Israel was frequently attacked by Palestinian fedayeen, mainly from the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip.^[144] In 1956, Israel joined a secret alliance with Great Britain and France aimed at regaining control of the Suez Canal, which the Egyptians had nationalized (see the Suez Crisis). Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula but was pressured to withdraw by the United States and the Soviet Union in return for guarantees of Israeli shipping rights in the Red Sea and the Canal.^[145][146]

In the early 1960s, Israel captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Final Solution, in Argentina and brought him to trial.^[147] The trial had a major impact on public awareness of the Holocaust,^[148] and Eichmann remains the only person ever to be executed by order of an Israeli court.^[149]

Conflicts and peace treaties

Further information: Arab–Israeli conflict, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and Positions on Jerusalem

See also: List of United Nations resolutions concerning Israel

Arab nationalists led by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser refused to recognize Israel, calling for its destruction.^[17][150] By 1966, Israeli-Arab relations had deteriorated to the point of actual battles taking place between official Israeli and Arab forces.^[151] In 1967, Egypt expelled UN peacekeepers, stationed in the Sinai Peninsula since 1957, and announced a partial blockade of Israel's access to the Red Sea.^[152] Israel saw these actions as a casus belli for a pre-emptive strike that launched a Six-Day War, in which Israel was able to occupy the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights.^[153] Jerusalem's boundaries were enlarged, incorporating East Jerusalem, and the 1949 Green Line became the administrative boundary between Israel and the occupied territories.

As the Arab states lost in the 1967 war against Israel, Arab non-state actors came to have a more central role in the conflict. Most important among them is the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), established in 1964, which initially committed itself to "armed struggle as the only way to liberate the homeland".^[154][155] In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Palestinian groups launched a wave of attacks^[156][157] against Israeli targets around the world,^[158] including a massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

On October 6, 1973, as Jews were observing Yom Kippur, 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 massive losses.^[159] An internal inquiryexonerated the government of responsibility for failures before and during the war, but public anger forced Prime Minister Golda Meir to resign.^[160]

The 1977 Knesset elections marked a major turning point in Israeli political history as Menachem Begin's Likud party took control from theLabor Party.^[161] 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.^[162] In the two years that followed, Sadat and Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords and the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.^[163] Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and agreed to enter negotiations over an autonomy for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.^[164] Begin's government encouraged Israelis to settle in the West Bank, leading to friction with the Palestinians in that area.^[165]

Israeli artillery at the Golan front, during the Yom Kippur War, 1973

The Jerusalem Law, passed in 1980, was widely believed to have reaffirmed Israel's annexation of Jerusalem and reignited international controversy over the status of the city. However, there has never been an official act that has declared expanded East Jerusalem as having been annexed by the State of Israel.^[166] The position of the majority of UN member states is reflected in numerous resolutions declaring that actions taken by Israel to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the whole of Jerusalem are illegal and have no validity.^[167]

In 1982, Israel intervened in the Lebanese Civil War to destroy the bases from which the PLO launched attacks and missiles at northern Israel; that move developed into the First Lebanon War.^[168] 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,^[169] 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.^[170] During the 1991 Gulf War, the PLO and many Palestinians supported Saddam Hussein and Iraqi missile attacks against Israel, though Israel did not participate in that war.^[171][172]

In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became Prime Minister following an election in which his party promoted compromise with Israel's neighbors.^[173][174]The following year, Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, on behalf of Israel and the PLO, signed the Oslo Accords, which gave thePalestinian National Authority the right to self-govern parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.^[175] The PLO also recognized Israel's right to exist and pledged an end to terrorism.^[176] In 1994, the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed, making Jordan the second Arab country to normalize relations with Israel.^[177] Arab public support for the Accords was damaged by the continuation of Israeli settlements^[178] andcheckpoints, and the deterioration of economic conditions.^[179] Israeli public support for the Accords waned as Israel was struck byPalestinian suicide attacks.^[180] Finally, while leaving a peace rally in November 1995, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a far-right-wing Jew who opposed the Accords.^[181]

Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafatshake hands at the signing of theOslo Accords, with Bill Clintonbehind them, 1993

At the end of the 1990s, Israel, under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, withdrew from Hebron,^[182]and signed the Wye River Memorandum, giving greater control to the Palestinian National Authority.^[183]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 2000 Camp David Summit. During the summit, Barak offered a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state, but Yasser Arafat rejected it.^[184] After the collapse of the talks and a controversial visit by Likud leader Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount, the Second Intifada began. Sharon became 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.^[185]

In July 2006, a Hezbollah artillery assault on Israel's northern border communities and a cross-border abduction of two Israeli soldiers sparked the month-long Second Lebanon War.^[186][187] Two years later, in May 2008, Israel confirmed it had been discussing a peace treaty with Syria for a year, with Turkey as a go-between.^[188] However, at the end of the year, Israel entered another conflict as a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel collapsed. The Gaza War lasted three weeks and ended after Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire.^[189][190] Hamas announced its own ceasefire, with its own conditions of complete withdrawal and opening of border crossings. Despite neither the rocket launchings nor Israeli retaliatory strikes having completely stopped, the fragile ceasefire remained in order.^[191]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Israel

JNF forest in the Jerusalem hills

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. It lies between latitudes 29° and 34° N, and longitudes 34° and 36° E.

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.^[1] The total area under Israeli law, when including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, is 22,072 square kilometers (8,522 sq mi),^[192] and the total area under Israeli control, including the military-controlled and partiallyPalestinian-governed territory of the West Bank, is 27,799 square kilometers (10,733 sq mi).^[193] 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 toward 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 (4,039 mi) Great Rift Valley.

The Sea of Galilee, seen from Tiberias, at dusk

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.^[194] 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.^[195] The largest makhtesh in the world is Ramon Crater in the Negev,^[196] which measures 40 by 8 kilometers (25 by 5 mi).^[197] 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.^[198]

Climate

Forrest around the Ein Karem village, Jerusalem.

Temperatures in Israel vary widely, especially during the winter. The more mountainous regions can be windy, cold, and sometimes snowy;Jerusalem usually receives at least one snowfall each year.^[199] Meanwhile, coastal cities, such as Tel Aviv and Haifa, have a typical Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and long, hot summers. The area of Beersheba and the Northern Negev has a semi-arid climate with hot summers, and cool winter but with fewer rainy than the Mediterranean climate. The Southern Negev and the Arava areas have Desert climate with very hot and dry summers, and mild winters with few days of rain. The highest temperature in the continent of Asia (53.7 °C/128.7 °F) was recorded in 1942 at Tirat Zvi kibbutz in the northern Jordan river valley.^[200]

From May to September, rain in Israel is rare.^[201][202] With scarce water resources, Israel has developed various water-saving technologies, including drip irrigation.^[203] Israelis also take advantage of the considerable sunlight available for solar energy, making Israel the leading nation in solar energy use per capita (practically every house uses solar panels for water heating).^[204]

A Blanford's fox, in Southern Israel

Biodiversity

Four different phytogeographic regions exist in Israel, due to the country's location between the temperate and the tropical zones, bordering the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the desert in the east. For this reason the flora and fauna of Israel is extremely diverse.

There are 2,867 known species of plants found in Israel. Of these, at least 253 species are introducedand non-native.^[205] As of May 2007, there are 190 Israeli nature reserves.^[206]

Politics

Main article: Politics of Israel

See also: Criticism of the Israeli Government

The Knesset building, home of the Israeli parliament.

Israel operates under a parliamentary system as a democratic republic with universal suffrage.^[1] ThePresident of Israel is the head of state, but his duties are limited and largely ceremonial.^[207] AParliament 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 theCabinet.^[207][208] Israel is governed by a 120-member parliament, known as the Knesset. Membership of the Knesset is based on proportional representation of political parties,^[209] with a 2% electoral threshold, which commonly results in coalition governments.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled every four years, but unstable coalitions or a no-confidence voteby the Knesset often dissolves governments earlier. "The average life span of an Israeli government is 22 months. The peace process, the role of religion in the state, and political scandals have caused coalitions to break apart or produced early elections."^[210] The Basic Laws of Israel function as an uncodified constitution. In 2003, the Knesset began to draft an official constitution based on these laws.^[1][211]

Legal system

Main article: Israeli judicial system

The Israeli Supreme Court, Givat Ram, Jerusalem.

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 theSupreme 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.^[212][213]Although Israel supports the goals of the International Criminal Court, it has not ratified the Rome Statute, citing concerns about the ability of the court to remain free from political impartiality.^[214]

In addition to the three-tier court system described above (also known as the "General Court system") Israel has also a system of specialized Labour Courts, similar to those found in Continental Europe. The Labour Courts have unique jurisdiction over labour matters (both on the individual and collective spheres) as well as social welfare matters (e.g. law suits related to pensions, social security benefits, healthcare, etc.). Each one of the five judicial districts has one Regional Labour Court which serves as a first instance court for those matters described above.

Most matters in Labour Courts are adjudicated by a three-panel consisting of one professional judge, and two lay representatives nominated to the court with the consent of the largest employees and employers unions (one representative termed as "Employees Representative" and the other as "Employers Representative"). Some matters (e.g. criminal cases related to labour law) are adjudicated by a professional judge only. The National Labour Court, situated in Jerusalem, serves as an appeal court as well as a first-instance court for matters with national importance (e.g. collective bargaining disputes, on a national level, between employees and employers unions).

Israel's legal system combines three legal traditions: English common law, civil law, and Jewish law.^[1] 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.^[212] 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.^[215]Administration of Israel's courts (both the "General" courts and the Labor Courts) is carried by the Administration of Courts, situated in Jerusalem. It is to be noted that both the General and Labor courts are paperless courts, i.e. storage of court files, as well as court decisions, are carried out electronically.

Israel's 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 liberties and political rights; the "Israeli Occupied Territories/Palestinian Authority" was ranked "Not Free."^[216][217] In 2010, Israel was also the only country in the Middle East to be ranked "free" by Freedom House's "Freedom of the Press report, ranking the highest in the region.^[218]

Administrative divisions

Main article: Districts of Israel

Districts of Israel: (1) Northern, (2) Haifa, (3) Center, (4) Tel Aviv, (5) Jerusalem, (6) Southern

The State of Israel is divided into six main administrative districts, known as mehozot (מחוזות; singular:mahoz) – Center, Haifa, Jerusalem, North, Southern, and Tel Aviv Districts. Districts are further divided into fifteen sub-districts known as nafot (נפות; singular: nafa), which are themselves partitioned into fifty natural regions.^[219]

Number	District	Main City	Provinces	Number of Residents
1	North	Nazareth	Kinneret, Safed, Acre, Golan, Jezreel Valley	1,242,100
2	Haifa	Haifa	Haifa, Hadera	880,000
3	Center	Ramla	Rishon Lezion, Sharon (Netanya), Petah Tikva, Ramla, Rehovot	1,770,200
4	Tel Aviv	Tel Aviv	Tel Aviv	1,227,000
5	Jerusalem	Jerusalem	Jerusalem	910,300
6	South	Beersheba	Ashkelon, Beersheba	1,053,600
B	Judea and Samaria	Modi'in Illit (Largest "settlement"/city)	"B" is the West Bank,not part of Israel.	304,569‏‏[220]

For statistical purposes, the country is divided into three metropolitan areas: Tel Aviv metropolitan area(population 3,206,400), Haifa metropolitan area (population 1,021,000), and Beer Sheva metropolitan area(population 559,700).^[221] Israel's largest municipality, both in population and area,^[222] is Jerusalem with 773,800 residents in an area of 126 square kilometers (49 sq mi) (in 2009).

Israeli government statistics on Jerusalem include the population and area of East Jerusalem, which is widely recognized as part of the Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation.^[223] Tel Aviv, Haifa, andRishon LeZion rank as Israel's next most populous cities, with populations of 393,900, 265,600, and 227,600 respectively.^[222]

Occupied territories

Main article: Israeli-occupied territories

In 1967, as a result of the Six-Day War, Israel gained control of the West Bank (Judaea and Samaria), East Jerusalem, the Gaza strip and the Golan Heights. Israel also took control of the Sinai Peninsula, but returned it to Egypt as part of the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.

Map of Israel showing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights

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 permanent residency status and the possibility to become full citizen if they asked it. In contrast, the West Bank has remained under military occupation, and it and the Gaza Strip are seen by the Palestinians and most of the international community as the site of a future Palestinian state.^[224][225] The UN Security Council has declared the incorporation of the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem to be "null and void" and continues to view the territories as occupied.^[226][227] The International Court of Justice, principal judicial organ of the United Nations, asserted, in its 2004 advisory opinion on the legality of the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier, that the lands captured by Israel in the Six-Day War, including East Jerusalem, are occupied territory.^[228]

The status of East Jerusalem in any future peace settlement has at times been a difficult hurdle in negotiations between Israeli governments and representatives of the Palestinians. Most negotiations relating to the territories have been on the basis of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which emphasises "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war", and calls on Israel to withdraw from occupied territories in return for normalization of relations with Arab states, a principle known as "Land for peace".^{[229][230][231]}

The West Bank was annexed by Jordan in 1948, following the Arab rejection of the UN decision to create two states in Palestine. Only Britain recognized this annexation and Jordan has since ceded its claim to the territory to the PLO. The West Bank was occupied by Israel in 1967. The population are mainly Arab Palestinians, including refugees of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.^[232] 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 troopsand 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.^[233] When completed, approximately 13 % of the Barrier will be constructed on the Green Line or in Israel with 87 % inside the West Bank.^[234][235]

The Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt from 1948 to 1967 and then by Israel after 1967. In 2005, as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, Israel removed all of its settlers and forces from the territory. Israel does not consider the Gaza Strip to be occupied territory and declared it a "foreign territory". That view has been disputed by numerous international humanitarian organizations and various bodies of the United Nations.^{[236][237][238][239][240]} Following June 2007, when Hamas assumed power in the Gaza Strip,^[241] Israel tightened its control of the Gaza crossings along its border, as well as by sea and air, and prevented persons from entering and exiting the area except for isolated cases it deemed humanitarian.^[241] Gaza has a border with Egypt and an agreement between Israel, the EU, the PA and Egypt governed how border crossing would take place (it was monitored by European observers),^[242] until June 2006, following the abduction of the soldier Gilad Shalit, when the crossing agreement ceased to exist.^[241] As of 2010 the Rafah border crossing was controlled by Egypt.^[243] Internal control of Gaza is in the hands of Hamas.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Israel

Israel maintains diplomatic relations with 161 countries and has 94 diplomatic missions around the world.^[244] Only three members of theArab League have normalized relations with Israel; Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties in 1979 and 1994, respectively, and Mauritaniaopted 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.^[245] Since 2003, ties with Morocco have been improved, and Israel's foreign minister has visited the country.^[246] Despite the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, Israel is still widely considered an enemy country among Egyptians.^[247]

As a result of the 2009 Gaza War, Mauritania, Qatar, Bolivia, and Venezuela suspended political and economical ties with Israel.^[248][249]Under Israeli law, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Yemen are enemy countries^[250] and Israeli citizens may not visit them without permission from the Ministry of the Interior.^[251] 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.^[252] 

Shimon Peres, current President of Israel, greeted by U.S. PresidentBarack Obama at the White House.

Foreign relations with United States, Germany, and India are among Israel's strongest.

The United States was the first country to recognize the State of Israel, followed by the Soviet Union. The United States may regard Israel as its primary ally in the Middle East, based on "common democratic values, religious affinities, and security interests".^[253] The United States has provided total economic and military funding to Israel of over $100bn since 1962 under the Foreign Assistance Act,^[254] more than any other country,^[254] and Israel currently receives more than half of the total annual funds from the United States Foreign Military Financing program. Their bilateral relations are multidimensional and the United States is the principal proponent of the Arab-Israeli peace process. The United States and Israeli views differ on some issues, such as the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, and settlements.^[255]

India established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992 and has fostered a strong military, technological and cultural partnership with the country since then.^[256] One study revealed that India was the most pro-Israel nation in the world.^[257] India is the largest customer of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest military partner of India after the Russian Federation.^[258]India is also the second-largest Asian economic partner of Israel^[259] and the two countries enjoy extensive space technology ties.^[260][261]

Germany's strong ties with Israel include cooperation on scientific and educational endeavors and the two states remain strong economic and military partners.^[262][263] Under the reparations agreement, as of 2007 Germany had paid 25 billion euros in reparations to the Israeli state and individual Israeli holocaust survivors.^[264] The UK has kept full diplomatic relations with Israel since its formation having had two visits from heads of state in 2007. 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 for Palestine.^[265] Iran had diplomatic relations with Israel under the Pahlavi dynasty^[266] but withdrew its recognition of Israel during the Iranian Revolution.^[267]

Although Turkey and Israel did not establish full diplomatic relations until 1991,^[268] Turkey has cooperated with the State since its recognition of Israel in 1949. Turkey's ties to the other Muslim-majority nations in the region have at times resulted in pressure from Arab and Muslim states to temper its relationship with Israel.^[269] Relations between Turkey and Israel took a downturn after the Gaza War and Israel's raid of the Gaza flotilla.^[270] IHH, which organized the flotilla, is a Turkish charity that some believe has ties to Hamas and Al-Qaeda.^{[248][271][272][273][274]}

In Africa, Ethiopia is Israel's main and closest ally in the continent due to common political, religious and security interests.^[275] Israel provides expertise to Ethiopia on irrigation projects and thousands of Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) live in Israel.

Military

Main articles: Israel Defense Forces, Israeli security forces, and military operations conducted by the Israel Defense Forces

Two Israeli Air Force F-16I Sufa

The Israel Defense Forces consists of the Israeli Army, Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy. It was founded during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War by consolidating paramilitary organizations—chiefly the Haganah—that preceded the establishment of the state.^[276] The IDF also draws upon the resources of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman), which works with the Mossad and Shabak.^[277] The Israel Defense Forces have been involved in several major wars and border conflicts in its short history, making it one of the most battle-trained armed forces in the world.^[278][279]

The majority of Israelis are drafted into the military at the age of eighteen. Men serve three years and women serve two to three years.^[280] Following compulsory service, Israeli men join the reserve forcesand do several weeks of reserve duty every year until their forties. Most women are exempt from reserve duty. Arab citizens of Israel (except the Druze) and those engaged in full-time religious studies are exempt from military service, although theexemption of yeshiva students has been a source of contention in Israeli society for many years.^[281][282] 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.^[283] As a result of its conscription program, the IDF maintains approximately 168,000 active troops and an additional 408,000 reservists.^[284]

Israeli soldiers training alongside the 26th Marine Expeditionary Uniton the USS Kearsarge

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; military aid to Israel is expected to increase by 6 billion over the next decade. US is expected to provide the country with $3.15 billion per year from 2013-2018.^[285][286] The Israeli- and U.S.-designed Arrow missile is one of the world's only operational anti-ballistic missile systems.^[287]

Since the Yom Kippur War, Israel has developed a network of reconnaissance satellites.^[288] The success of the Ofeq program has made Israel one of seven countries capable of launching such satellites.^[289] 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%^[290] of its GDP on defense. Today, that figure has dropped to 7.3%.^[1]

The IDF Namer (Heavy IFV), introduced from 2008

IDF Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer - used for combat engineering and counter-terrorismmissions.

Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons.^[291] Israel has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty^{[citation needed]} and maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity toward its nuclear capabilities. Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity may have played an important role in subduing Israel's enemies.^[292]

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.^[293]

The IDF has also been deployed on humanitarian missions. After the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, Israel mobilized a team of 150 IDF doctors and rescue and relief teams, which were to set up a field hospital in Sri Lanka. After the Sri Lankan government rejected this offer, Israel instead flew in 82 tonnes of humanitarian aid along with a small number of IDF personnel. Israel also sent in rescue workers and medical personnel to other countries, along with relief workers and body identifiers from ZAKA and theIsrael Police. Israel also donated USD 100,000 to each affected country.^[294]

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, a rescue team was dispatched to Haiti, which consisted of 40 doctors, 20 nurses and rescue workers, and two rescue planes loaded with medical equipment and a field hospital with X-rays, intensive care units, and operating rooms. The Israel Defense Forces set up a satellite communications room with phone and wireless internet access and video conference systems so that surgeons could consult medical experts in Israel.^[295] A Magen David Adom delegation arrived on January 17 to establish field clinics in cooperation with local rescue services.^[296] The Israeli rescue team remained in Haiti until January 28. Following a request from the United States and United Nations, Israel sent 100 police officers as peacekeepers to Haiti. A group of police forensics investigators to assist in the identification of victims was also sent, along with 220 Home Front Command search and rescue teams and Israeli Medical Corps personnel.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Israel

Tel Aviv skyline

Israel is considered one of the most advanced countries in Southwest Asia in economic and industrial development. In 2010, it joined the OECD.^[27][297] The country is ranked 3rd in the region on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index^[298] as well as in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.^[299] It has the second-largest number of startup companies in the world (after the United States)^[300] and the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies outside North America.^[301]

In 2009, Israel had the 49th-highest gross domestic product and 29th-highest gross domestic product per capita (at purchasing power parity) at $206.4 billion and $28,393, respectively.^[4] The New Israeli Shekelis one of 17 freely convertible currencies according to the CLS list.^[302][303]

Azrieli Center.

In 2010, Israel ranked 17th among of the world's most economically developed nations, according to IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook. The Israeli economy was ranked first as the world's most durable economy in the face of crises, and was also ranked first in the rate of research and development center investments.^[304]

The Bank of Israel was ranked first among central banks for its efficient functioning, up from the 8th place in 2009. Israel was also ranked as the worldwide leader in its supply of skilled manpower.^[304]

Dizengof Center.

Despite limited natural resources, intensive development of theagricultural 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 $47.8 billion in 2006, include fossil fuels, raw materials, and military equipment.^[1] Leading exports include fruits, vegetables, pharmaceuticals, software, chemicals, military technology, and diamonds; in 2006, Israeli exports reached $42.86 billion.^[1] Israel is a global leader in water conservation and geothermal energy,^[305] and its development of cutting-edge technologies in software, communications and the life sciences have evoked comparisons with Silicon Valley.^[306][307]Intel^[308] and Microsoft^[309] 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.^[310] Since the 1970s, Israel has received economic and military aid from the United States, whose loans account for the bulk of Israel's external debt.^[1]

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Israel

Tourism, especially religious tourism, is an 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.^[311] In 2008, over 3 million tourists visited Israel.^[312] Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world.^[313]

Transport

Main article: Transport in Israel

Tel Aviv Central Bus Station.

Duty Free at Ben Gurion International Airport

Israel has 18,096 kilometers (11,244 mi) of paved roads,^[314] and 2.4 million motor vehicles.^[315] The number of motor vehicles per 1,000 persons was 324, relatively low with respect to developed countries.^[315] Israel has 5,715 buses on scheduled routes,^[316]operated by several carriers, the largest of which is Egged, serving most of the country. Railways stretch across 949 kilometers (590 mi) and are operated solely by government-owned Israel Railways^[317] (All figures are for 2008). Following major investments beginning in the early-to-mid 1990s, the number of train passengers per year has grown from 2.5 million in 1990, to 35 million in 2008; railways are also used to transport 6.8 million tons of cargo, per year.^[317]

Israel is served by two international airports, Ben Gurion International Airport, the country's main hub for international air travel near Tel Aviv-Yafo, Ovda Airport in the south, as well as several small domestic airports.^[318] Airports served 11.1 million passengers (entries and departures) in 2008, 11 million passing through Ben Gurion airport.^[319][320]

On the Mediterranean coast, Haifa Port is the country's oldest and largest port, while Ashdod Port is one of the few deep water ports in the world built on the open sea.^[318] In addition to these, the smaller Port of Eilat is situated on the Red Sea, and is used mainly for trading with Far East countries.^[318]

Science and technology

Main articles: Science and technology in Israel and List of universities and colleges in Israel

The particle accelerator at theWeizmann Institute of Science,Rehovot

Israel's eight public universities are subsidized by the state.^[321][322] 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.^[323] The Hebrew University is consistently ranked among world's 100 top universities^[324][325] by the prestigious ARWU academic ranking. Other major universities in the country include the Technion, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Tel Aviv University (TAU), Bar-Ilan University, theUniversity of Haifa, The Open University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Israel's seven research universities (excluding the Open University) are consistently ranked among top 500 in the world.^[326] Israel ranks third in the world in the number of academic degrees per capita (20 percent of the population).^[327][328] Israel has produced five Nobel Prize-winning scientists since 2002^[329] and publishes among the most scientific papers per capita of any country in the world.^[330][331]

The world's largest solar parabolic dish at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center.^[332]

Israel leads world in stem cell research papers per capita since 2000.^[333] In addition, Israeli universities are among 100 top world universities in mathematics (TAU, Hebrew University and Technion),physics (TAU, Hebrew University and Weizmann Institute of Science),chemistry (TAU, Hebrew University and Technion), computer science(TAU, Hebrew University, Weizmann Institute of Science, BIU andTechnion) and economics (TAU and Hebrew University).^[334]

In 2009 Israel was ranked 2nd among 20 top countries in space sciences by Thomson Reuters agency.^[335]Since 1988 Israel Aerospace Industries have indigenously designed and built at least 13 commercial, research and spy satellites.^[336] Most were launched to orbit from Israeli air force base "Palmachim" by theShavit space launch vehicle. Some of Israel's satellites are ranked among the world's most advanced space systems.^[337] In 2003, Ilan Ramon became Israel's first astronaut, serving as payload specialist of STS-107, the fatal mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Israel has embraced solar energy, its engineers are on the cutting edge of solar energy technology^[338] and its solar companies work on projects around the world.^[339][340] Over 90% of Israeli homes use solar energy for hot water, the highest per capita in the world.^[341][342]According to government figures, the country saves 8% of its electricity consumption per year because of its solar energy use in heating.^[343]The high annual incident solar irradiance at its geographic latitude creates ideal conditions for what is an internationally renowned solar research and development industry in the Negev Desert.^{[338][339][340]}

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Israel

Comparison of the changes in percentages of the main religious group in Israel between the years 1949-2008

In 2010, Israel's population was an estimated 7.6 million,^[9] of whom 5,776,500 are Jews.^{[9][10][11][344]} As of 2008, Arab citizens of Israel comprise just under 20% of the country's total population.^[345]

Over the last decade, large numbers of migrant workers from Romania, Thailand, China, Africa and South America have settled in Israel. Exact figures are unknown as many of them are living in the country illegally,^[346] but estimates run in the region of 200,000.^[347] Over 16,000 African asylum seekers have entered Israel in recent years.^[348] The main language amongst deaf Israelis is Israeli Sign Language(ISL).^[349]

Retention of Israel's population since 1948 is about even or greater, when compared to other countries with mass immigration.^[350] Emigration from Israel (yerida) to other countries, primarily the United States and Canada, is described by demographers as modest,^[351] but is often cited by Israeli government ministries as a major threat to Israel's future.^[352][353]

As of 2009 over 300,000 Israeli citizens live in West Bank settlements^[354] such as Ma'ale Adumim andAriel, 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 Golan Heights settlements.^[355] In 2006, there were 250,000 Jews living in East Jerusalem.^[356] 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.^[357]

Israel was established as a homeland for the Jewish people and is often referred to as a Jewish state. The country's Law of Return grants all Jews and those of Jewish lineage the right to Israeli citizenship.^[358] Just over three quarters, or 75.5%, of the population are Jews from adiversity 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).^[359][360] Jews who left or fled Arab and Muslim lands and their descendants constitute approximately 50% of Jewish Israelis.^{[361][362][363]}

Languages

Main article: Languages of Israel

Israel has two official languages, Hebrew and Arabic.^[1] Hebrew is the primary language of the state and is spoken by the majority of the population, and Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority. Many Israelis communicate reasonably well in English, as many television programs are broadcast in this language and English is taught from the early grades in elementary school. As a country of immigrants, many languages can be heard on the streets. Due to mass immigration from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia (some 120,000 Ethiopian Jewslive in Israel),^[364] Russian and Amharic are widely spoken.^[365] Between 1990 and 1994, the Russian immigration increased Israel's population by twelve percent.^[366] Out of more than one million Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel,^[367] about 300,000 are considered gentile by the Orthodox rabbinate, because, under the Orthodox interpretation, only children to Jewish mothers are considered Jews.^[368][369]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Israel

The Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

Bahá'í World Centre, the spiritual and administrative centre of the Bahá'í Faith.

The religious affiliation of Israeli Jews varies widely: A Social Survey for those over the age of 20 indicates that 55% say they are "traditional," while 20% consider themselves "secular Jews," 17% define themselves as "Religious Zionists"; 8% define themselves as "Haredi Jews."^[370] Only 5% of Israel's population in 1990,^[371] the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredim, are expected to represent more than one-fifth of Israel's Jewish population in 2028^[372]

Making up 16% of the population, Muslims constitute Israel's largest religious minority. About 2% of the population are Christian and 1.5% are Druze.^[373]

Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor

The Christian population includes both Arab Christians, Post-Soviet immigrants and the Foreign Labourers of multi-national origins and Messianic Jews.^[374] Members of many other religious groups, including Buddhists and Hindus, maintain a presence in Israel, albeit in small numbers.^[375]

The city of Jerusalem is of special importance to Jews, Muslims and Christians as it is the home of sites that are pivotal to their religious beliefs, such as the Israeli-controlled Old City that incorporates theWestern Wall and the Temple Mount, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre.^[376] Other landmarks of religious importance are located in the West Bank, among them Joseph's tomb in Shechem, the birthplace of Jesus and Rachel's Tomb inBethlehem, 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 do not teach their faith to Israelis following strict policy.^[377][378]

Education

Main article: Education in Israel

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).^[379] Israel similarly has the highest literacy rate in Southwest Asia, according to the United Nations.^[380]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.^[381]

Education is compulsory in Israel for children between the ages of three and eighteen.^[382][383] 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.^[321] In Arab, Christian and Druze schools, the exam on Biblical studies is replaced by an exam in Islam,Christianity or Druze heritage.^[384] In 2003, over half of all Israeli twelfth graders earned a matriculation certificate

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