Portal:Israel

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Welcome to the Israel Portal
מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, the Red Sea to the south, Egypt to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and the Palestinian territories – the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest. Tel Aviv is the country's financial, economic, and technological center. Israel's governmental seat is in its proclaimed capital of Jerusalem, although Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is of limited international recognition.

Israel is located in a region known historically as Canaan, Palestine, and the Holy Land. In antiquity, it was home to several Canaanite, and later, Israelite and Judahite states, and is referred to as the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition. Situated at a continental crossroad, the region subsequently came under the rule of many different empires, and was gradually Islamized from the 7th century. The late 19th century saw the rise of Zionism in Europe, a movement seeking a Jewish homeland, which garnered British support during World War I. During the war, British occupation led to the setting up of Mandatory Palestine in 1920. Increased Jewish immigration combined with British colonial policy led to intercommunal conflict between Jews and Arabs. The 1947 UN Partition Plan triggered a civil war between the two groups, which saw the expulsion and flight of most of Mandatory Palestine's predominantly Arab population, known as the Nakba, A minority remained and became Arab citizens of Israel. (Full article...)

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The Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa) in the Old City of Jerusalem

The Dome of the Rock (Arabic: قبة الصخرة, romanized: Qubbat aṣ-Ṣaḵra) is an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, the earliest archaeologically attested religious structure to be built by a Muslim ruler and its inscriptions contain the earliest epigraphic proclamations of Islam and of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Its initial construction was undertaken by the Umayyad Caliphate on the orders of Abd al-Malik during the Second Fitna in 691–692 CE, and it has since been situated on top of the site of the Second Jewish Temple (built in c. 516 BCE to replace the destroyed Solomon's Temple and rebuilt by Herod the Great), which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022–23. (Full article...)

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This is a Featured picture that the Wikimedia Commons community has chosen as one of the highest quality on the site.

Image 1Dead Tree in Sea of Life is an installation artwork from 2017 by Amiram Dora, a travel guide from the nearby city Arad. The work consists of a tree planted on a salt pile in the Dead Sea. The purpose of the work is to show that as opposed to its common name, the Dead Sea is actually a place of rich tourist activity, healing and relaxation.
Image 2Northeast exposure of Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, in the Old City of Jerusalem. Considered to be the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina.
Image 3Young Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) on a stone wall by the edge of Makhtesh Ramon in Mitzpe Ramon.
Image 4An aerial view of Masada in the Judaean Desert, with the Dead Sea and Jordan in the distance
Image 5Paratroopers at the Western Wall, an iconic photograph taken on June 7, 1967 by David Rubinger.
Image 6A view of Jaffa, from the beachfront of Tel Aviv
Image 7Southern aerial view of the Temple Mount, a hill located in the Old City of Jerusalem that for thousands of years has been venerated as a holy site, in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Image 8A view of Jerusalem from southeast, showing the Walls of Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This image was taken sometime between 1900 and 1940.
Image 9David Ben-Gurion's room at Ben-Gurion's Hut, the retirement home of Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and his wife Paula (Pola) from the years 1953 until Ben-Gurion's death in 1973.
Image 10Diving tourism site on the southern coast of Eilat, around a horseshoe-shaped reef. Many animal species are found in the area, including dolphins.
Image 11"The Nile and the Sinai, to Israel and beyond. One sweeping glance of human history." Caption by astronaut Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station.
Image 12Ceramic tile on the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem
Image 13Reading Power Station, built in Tel Aviv in 1938, was named for Rufus Isaacs, the 1st Marquess of Reading. Reading Light is pictured on the left.
Image 14Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur, an 1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb
Image 15A more recent section of the Israel-Egypt barrier fence, north of Eilat, June 2012. It is a border barrier built by Israel along its border with Egypt. It was originally an attempt to curb illegal migrants from African countries.^[1] Construction was approved on 12 January 2010^[2] and began on 22 November 2010.^[3]
Image 16An aerial view of Makhtesh Ramon, a geological feature of Israel's Negev desert. Located some 85 km south of the city of Beersheba, the landform is not an impact crater from a meteor nor a volcanic crater formed by a volcanic eruption, but rather is the world's largest "erosion cirque" (steephead valley or box canyon).
Image 17The Jerusalem Railway Station c. 1900. The locomotive on the turntable is "Ramleh" (J&J No. 3), a Baldwin 2-6-0. The station was the terminus of the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway until its closure in 1998. Today, the station is abandoned and suffering from neglect and vandalism, although it is one of 110 buildings selected for preservation in Jerusalem.

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Did you know - show different entries

...that Motza (pictured), founded in 1859, was the first modern village established near Jerusalem?
...that Mickey Marcus is the only person buried at the United States Military Academy who died fighting under a foreign flag?
...that the tenth emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly has been resumed more times than any other?

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WikiProjects

WikiProject Israel – WikiProject Jewish history – WikiProject Judaism – WikiProject Jewish culture – WikiProject Hebrew

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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

The Downtown Triangle (Hebrew: המשולש, Ha-Meshulash, lit. "The Triangle"; Arabic: مثلث وسط المدينة) is a commercial and entertainment district in central Jerusalem. Measuring 29,000 square metres (310,000 sq ft), the area is bounded by Jaffa Road on the north, King George Street on the west, and Ben Yehuda Street on the southeast. Its vertices are the intersections of Jaffa Road and King George Street, King George and Ben Yehuda Streets, and Ben Yehuda Street and Jaffa Road (the latter known as Zion Square).

From the mid-1940s through the 1960s, the Triangle was the commercial and cultural heart of Jerusalem, with many upscale shops and restaurants operated by German-Jewish immigrant businessmen that appealed to an affluent clientele. Following the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967 and the expansion of the city away from the downtown core, the commercial viability of the Triangle declined. The area was revitalized by the conversion of Ben Yehuda Street and the interior streets of the Triangle to an open-air pedestrian mall in 1982. Over the next two decades, outdoor cafes and souvenir shops moved in, cementing the reputation of the Triangle as a popular shopping and entertainment venue for tourists and young Israelis. (Full article...)

List of Good articles
Israeli cuisine Joseph's Tomb Kashrut Clal Center Zion Square Black Hebrew Israelites Robinson's Arch Abergil crime family Chaim Topol Birket Israel Joshua Prawer Mamilla Schwester Selma Ir Ovot Haifa Western Wall Eilat Airport AIL Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque Angel Bakeries Operation Pleshet Arrow (Israeli missile)

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Matzah balls or matzo balls are Ashkenazi Jewish soup morsels made from a mixture of matzah meal, beaten eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil, margarine, or chicken fat. Known as knaidel in Yiddish (Yiddish: קניידלעך kneydlekh pl., singular קניידל kneydl; with numerous other transliterations), they resemble a matzah meal version of knödel, bread dumplings popular throughout Central European and East European cuisine.

Matzah balls are traditionally served in chicken soup and are a staple food on the Jewish holiday of Passover, though they are not eaten during Passover by those who observe a prohibition on soaking matzah products. (Full article...)

List of fare/cuisine articles
Challah Ancient Israelite cuisine Israeli wine Cholent Israeli salad Kreplach Israeli breakfast Jachnun Kugel Shkedei marak Jerusalem mixed grill Charoset Bamba (snack) Ktzitzot Khubeza Gefilte fish Hamantash Seven Species

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The following are images from various Israel-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Ecclesiastes is known for its incipit vanity of vanities; all is vanity and concepts of Vanitas (from Culture of Israel)
Image 2Habimah Theater in Tel Aviv (from Culture of Israel)
Image 3The Bahri Mamluk dynasty 1250–1382 (from History of Israel)
Image 4Heraclius returning the True Cross to Jerusalem, 15th-century painting by Miguel Ximénez (from History of Israel)
Image 5David dictating the Psalms. The practice of psalms is referred to as a philosophical and theological problem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 6Tel Aviv Cinematheque (from Culture of Israel)
Image 7Remains of the Roman theater in Caesarea Maritima (from Culture of Israel)
Image 8Detail of the Siloam inscription (from History of Israel)
Image 9Israeli paratroopers dig in near the Mitla Pass, 31 October 1956 (from History of Israel)
Image 10Jewish youth dancing the Horah in the kibboutz Ein Harod in 1936 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 11Intel core i7-940. Intel developed its dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center in Haifa. (from Culture of Israel)
Image 12Portion of the Temple Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls written by the Essenes (from History of Israel)
Image 13Menahem Zion synagoge, Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 14Cultural map of the world according to the World Values Survey, describing Israel as a whole at parity in "Rational-Secular Values" and also at parity in "Self-expression values". (from Culture of Israel)
Image 15Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter and Anwar Sadat celebrating the signing of the Camp David Accords (from History of Israel)
Image 16Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (from History of Israel)
Image 17Hebrew ulpan in Dimona, 1955 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 18Jewish workers in Kerem Avraham neighbourhood of Jerusalem (c. 1850s) (from History of Israel)
Image 19Gen. Uzi Narkiss, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, Chief of staff Yitzhak Rabin and Gen. Rehavam Ze'evi in the Old City of Jerusalem, 7 June 1967 (from History of Israel)
Image 20Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 21Patriot missiles launched to intercept an Iraqi Scud over Tel Aviv during the Gulf War (from History of Israel)
Image 2216th-century Safed rabbi Joseph Karo, author of the Jewish law book (from History of Israel)
Image 23A portion of the Isaiah scroll. One of the earliest known manuscripts of biblical literature (from Culture of Israel)
Image 24Breads in Mahane Yehuda market (from Culture of Israel)
Image 25Illustration for the Song of Songs. Along with the Book of Esther, the ancient poem is an example of an ancient Israeli literature with no mention of God, and is traditionally read as an allegory of the relationship between God and Israel (from Culture of Israel)
Image 26Nahal Brigade soldiers returning after the 2006 Lebanon War (from History of Israel)
Image 27Hiking near Lake Kinneret (from Culture of Israel)
Image 28Protest in Tel Aviv on 6 August 2011 (from History of Israel)
Image 29Obverse of Yehud silver coin (from History of Israel)
Image 30Neo-Assyrian Empire at its greatest territorial extent. (from History of Israel)
Image 31Jewish Settlement Police members watching the settlement Nesher during 1936–1939 Arab revolt (from History of Israel)
Image 32David Ben-Gurion proclaiming the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 33Gal Fridman, winner of Israel's first Olympic gold medal (from Culture of Israel)
Image 34Avraham Adan raising the Ink Flag marking the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War (from History of Israel)
Image 35143rd Division crossing the Suez Canal in the direction of Cairo during the Yom Kippur War, 15 October 1973 (from History of Israel)
Image 36Visual History of Israel by Arthur Szyk, 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 37Occupied Enemy Territory Administration, 1918 (from History of Israel)
Image 38Israeli breakfast (from Culture of Israel)
Image 39The opening ceremony of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem visited by Arthur Balfour, 1 April 1925 (from History of Israel)
Image 40Buchenwald survivors arrive in Haifa to be arrested by the British, 15 July 1945 (from History of Israel)
Image 41Simulated view of a black hole. Jacob Bekenstein predicted and co-discovered black hole entropy (from Culture of Israel)
Image 421949 Green Line (from History of Israel)
Image 43United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, 1947 (from History of Israel)
Image 44Dedication ceremony of the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem in 2018 (from History of Israel)
Image 45Jewish Yemenite bride in traditional bridal vestment, adorned with a henna wreath, 1958 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 46Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, 2006 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 47The route of the exiles to Babylon (from History of Israel)
Image 48Jewish Brigade headquarters under both Union Flag and Jewish flag (from History of Israel)
Image 49Painting of the siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade (1099) (from History of Israel)
Image 50Aerial view of the Temple Mount showing the Dome of the Rock in the center and the al-Aqsa mosque to the south (from History of Israel)
Image 51Sermon on the Mount. The New Testament was authored by Christian Jews during Roman-ruled Judea (from Culture of Israel)
Image 52The Gaza–Israel barrier route built (red), under construction (pink) and proposed (white), (from History of Israel)
Image 53Ofek-7 satellite launch through Shavit vehicle (from Culture of Israel)
Image 54Silver coin (gerah) minted in the Persian province of Yehud, dated c. 375-332 BCE. Obv: Bearded head wearing crown, possibly representing the Persian Great King. Rev: Falcon facing, head right, with wings spread; Paleo-Hebrew YHD to right. (from History of Israel)
Image 55The Merneptah Stele. According to mainstream archeology, it represents the first instance of the name "Israel" in the historical record. (from History of Israel)
Image 56"Hezekiah ... king of Judah" – Royal seal written in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, unearthed in Jerusalem (from History of Israel)
Image 57Tzofim Israeli scout movement fire ceremony in Tel Aviv (from Culture of Israel)
Image 58A Bookplate done for Martin Buber; The plate is adorned with the walls of Jerusalem in the shape of a Shield of David, viewed from above (from Culture of Israel)
Image 59Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat during the Oslo Accords signing ceremony at the White House on 13 September 1993 (from History of Israel)
Image 60Tiles in the Bezalel style, 1920s (from Culture of Israel)
Image 61Jewish symbols in Israeli artworks (from Culture of Israel)
Image 62Es Skhul cave (from History of Israel)
Image 63Supply convoy on its way to besieged Jerusalem, April 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 64The Arch of Titus in Rome depicts the Roman triumph celebrating the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE (from History of Israel)
Image 65Menachem Begin addressing a mass demonstration in Tel Aviv against negotiations with Germany in 1952 (from History of Israel)

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17 May 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Humanitarian aid during the Israel–Hamas war; Humanitarian aid deliveries begin arriving at the U.S.-built Gaza floating pier. (Reuters); Rafah offensive; The Israeli army recovers from Rafah the bodies of three people killed in the Re'im music festival massacre last October, including Shani Louk. (The New York Times)

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Israel}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.