Portal:Israel

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Introduction

Israel (/ˈɪzriəl, ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل‎), also known as the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's economic and technological center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, although the state's sovereignty over Jerusalem has only partial recognition.

Israel has evidence of the earliest migration of hominids out of Africa. Canaanite tribes are archaeologically attested since the Middle Bronze Age, while the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged during the Iron Age. The Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed Israel around 720 BCE. Judah was later conquered by the Babylonian, Persian and Hellenistic empires and had existed as Jewish autonomous provinces. The successful Maccabean Revolt led to an independent Hasmonean kingdom by 110 BCE, which in 63 BCE however became a client state of the Roman Republic that subsequently installed the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE, and in 6 CE created the Roman province of Judea. Judea lasted as a Roman province until the failed Jewish revolts resulted in widespread destruction, the expulsion of the Jewish population and the renaming of the region from Iudaea to Syria Palaestina. Jewish presence in the region has persisted to a certain extent over the centuries. In the 7th century CE, the Levant was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Arabs and remained in Muslim control until the First Crusade of 1099, followed by the Ayyubid conquest of 1187. The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt extended its control over the Levant in the 13th century until its defeat by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. During the 19th century, national awakening among Jews led to the establishment of the Zionist movement in the diaspora followed by waves of immigration to Ottoman Syria and later Mandatory Palestine.

Selected article

Operation Wrath of God was a covert operation directed by Israel and the Mossad to assassinate those who directly or indirectly perpetrated the 1972 Munich massacre. Their targets included members of the Palestinian militant group Black September, which was responsible for the Munich attack, and members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization accused of being involved. Authorized to begin by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the autumn of 1972, the operation may have continued for more than 20 years. During this time covert Israeli assassination units killed tens of Palestinians and Arabs across Europe, including the mistaken killing of an innocent waiter in Lillehammer, Norway. An additional military assault was launched by Israeli commandos deep inside Lebanon to kill several high profile Palestinian targets. This string of assassinations spurred retaliation attacks by Black September against a variety of Israeli government targets. It has also prompted criticism of Israel for its choice of targets, tactic of assassination, and overall effectiveness. Because of the secretive nature of the operation, some details are unverifiable beyond a single source, including the story of an Israeli who claims to have led an Israeli assassination squad.

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'History, people, places'

Operation Entebbe, also known as the Entebbe Raid or Operation Thunderbolt, was a counter-terrorism hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on the night of July 3 and early morning of July 4, 1976. In the wake of the hijacking of Air France flight 139 and the hijackers' threats to kill the hostages if their prisoner release demands were not met, a plan was drawn up to airlift the hostages to safety. These plans took into account the likelihood of armed resistance from Ugandan military troops.

Originally codenamed Operation Thunderbolt (or Operation Thunderball) by the IDF, the operation was retroactively renamed Operation Yonatan in memory of the Sayeret Matkal commander Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu who was killed in action. Three hostages were killed and five Israeli commandos were wounded. A fourth hostage was murdered by Ugandan army officers at a nearby hospital. (more...)

Archive – More Israeli history

'Culture, arts, cuisine'

Matza (also Matzah, Matzoh, or Matsah) Hebrew מַצָּה, in Ashkenazi matzo or matzoh, and, in Yiddish, matze) is a cracker-like flatbread made of white plain flour and water. The dough is pricked in several places and not allowed to rise before or during baking, thereby producing a hard, flat bread. It is similar in preparation to the Southwest Asian lavash and the Indian chapati

Matza is the substitute for bread during the Jewish holiday of Passover, when eating chametz—bread and leavened products—is forbidden. Eating matza on the night of the seder is considered a positive mitzvah, i.e., a commandment. In the context of the Passover Seder meal, certain restrictions additional to the chametz prohibitions are to be met for the matza to be considered "mitzva matza", that is, matza that meets the requirements of the positive commandment to eat matza at the seder. (more...)

Archive – More Israeli culture

'Selected quote'

Obama meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres, 2009

"America’s commitment to Israel’s security flows from a deeper place -- and that’s the values we share." - Barack Obama [1]

Archive

'Categories'

▼ Israel

► Israel-related lists

► Buildings and structures in Israel

► Israeli culture

► Economy of Israel

► Education in Israel

► Environment of Israel

► Geography of Israel

► Government of Israel

► Health in Israel

► History of Israel

► Israeli people

► Politics of Israel

► Israeli society

► Images of Israel

► Israel stubs

'WikiProjects'

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

Selected images

Tiles in the Bezalel style, 1920s
The world's largest solar parabolic dish at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center.
Map of Israel and Judah in the 9th century BCE
Supreme Court of Israel, Givat Ram, Jerusalem
Shimon Peres (left) with Yitzhak Rabin (center) and King Hussein of Jordan (right), prior to signing the Israel–Jordan peace treaty in 1994.
Intel core i7-940. Intel developed its dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center in Haifa.
Illustration 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
Ofek-7 satellite launch through Shavit vehicle
A portion of the Isaiah scroll. One of the earliest known manuscripts of biblical literature
Köppen climate classification map of Israel
Israel's 1980 law declared that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel."
Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee
The 13th-century Ramban Synagogue in Jerusalem
Population pyramid of Israel
Habimah Theater in Tel Aviv
Immigration to Israel in the years 1948–2015. The two peaks were in 1949 and 1990.
Teddy Stadium of Jerusalem
Jews at the Western Wall, 1870s
Mount Scopus Campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Map of Israel showing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights
The site of the 2001 Tel Aviv Dolphinarium discotheque massacre, in which 21 Israelis were killed.
Territory held by Israel:
before the Six-Day War

after the war
The Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1982.
Squad commanders exercise at Eliakim training base in 2012
Tel Aviv Cinematheque
The Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall, Jerusalem.
Yemenite Jewish bride at her henna party, 1958
1967 border (Green Line)
David dictating the Psalms. The practice of psalms is referred to as a philosophical and theological problem
Snow in Galilee
Flowers of Israel
Iron Dome is the world's first operational anti-artillery rocket defense system.
Sermon on the Mount. The New Testament was authored by Christian Jews during Roman-ruled Judea
Ben Gurion International Airport
Road sign in Hebrew, Arabic, and English
The Diamond Exchange District in Ramat Gan
Hiking near Lake Kinneret
Portion of the Temple Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, written during the Second Temple period
Shrine of the Book, repository of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem
Shrine of the Báb, built between 1949 and 1953, is an example of the architecture in Israel
The Merneptah Stele (13th century BCE). The majority of biblical archeologists translate a set of hieroglyphs as "Israel," the first instance of the name in the record.
Tzofim Israeli scout movement fire ceremony in Tel Aviv
David Ben-Gurion proclaiming the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948
Ein Bokek resort on the shore of the Dead Sea
Ecclesiastes is known for its incipit vanity of vanities; all is vanity and concepts of Vanitas
Hebrew ulpan in Dimona, 1955
Boris Gelfand, chess Grandmaster
The Knesset chamber, home to the Israeli parliament
A meal including falafel, hummus, French fries and Israeli salad
Area C of the West Bank, controlled by Israel under Oslo Accords, in blue and red, in December 2011
Israeli breakfast
Israeli West Bank barrier separating Israel and the West Bank
Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center at Bar-Ilan University
Raising of the Ink Flag, marking the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their press conference in the White House, 2017.
Shmuel Yosef Agnon, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, 2006
Simulated view of a black hole. Jacob Bekenstein predicted and co-discovered black hole entropy
A 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
Field of Anemone coronaria, national flower of Israel
Gal Fridman, winner of Israel's first Olympic gold medal
Remains of the Roman theater in Caesarea Maritima
Makhtesh Ramon, a type of crater unique to Israel and the Sinai Peninsula
Matam high-tech park in Haifa
Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
The Large Stone Structure, archaeological site in Jerusalem
  Diplomatic relations

  Diplomatic relations suspended

  Former diplomatic relations

  No diplomatic relations, but former trade relations

  No diplomatic relations
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Its building is optimized for computer trading, with systems located in an underground bunker to keep the exchange active during emergencies.
Theodor Herzl, visionary of the Jewish state
UN Map, Palestine plan of partition with economic union
Kfar Bar'am, an ancient Jewish village, abandoned some time between the 7th–13th centuries CE.

'News'

Wikinews Israel portal

16 June 2019 – Israel–United States relations: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally unveils Trump Heights, a new settlement in the Golan Heights, named after U.S. President Donald Trump for his decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied territory. (BBC)
2 June 2019 – Syrian Civil War: Israel kills ten people in airstrikes conducted against Syrian military targets in the Golan Heights in response to two rockets fired at Mount Hermon late Saturday. (The Guardian)
2 June 2019 –: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked and Minister of Education Naftali Bennett from the interim government. (AP via Fox News)
29 May 2019 – Elections in Israel: Israel is expected to hold a new election on September 17 as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails to form a government. (The Jerusalem Post)

'Did you know?'

...That Israel has the 8th longest life expectancy in the world: 82.0 years. More than the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.

...That there are 26 official Muslim States, 18 official Christian States, but there is only 1 Jewish State - Israel.

...That relative to its size, Israel is the largest immigrant absorbing nation on Earth, it has absorbed 350% of its population in 60 years.

...That Israel has more Nobel Prizes per capita than the United States, France and Germany. It has more laureates, in real numbers, than India, Spain and China.^[1]

...That Israel's capital city, Jerusalem, is a holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

...That Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain of trees, made more remarkable by the fact that it is 60% desert.^[1]

...That 93% of Israeli homes use Solar energy for water heating, the highest percentage in the world.^[1]

...That Israeli scientific research institutions are ranked 3rd in the world.^[1]

...That Israel is ranked 2nd in space sciences.^[1]

...That Israel is one of the ten countries in the world capable of launching its own satellites.^[2]^[3]

...That Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin -109 per 10,000 people - as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.^[1]

...That Israel has the 3rd highest rate of entrepreneurship amongst women in the world.^[1]

...That Israel has attracted the most venture capital investment per capita in the world, 30 times more than Europe.^[1]

...That Israel leads the world in patents for medical equipment.^[1]

...That Israel has more NASDAQ listed companies than any other country, besides the US. More than all of Europe, India, China and Japan combined.^[1]

...That in proportion to its population Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute numbers Israel has more startup companies than any other country besides the US.^[1]

...That Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world.^[4]

...That Israel is the 8th happiest country on Earth.^[5]

...That Israel has one of the best healthcare systems in the world according to OECD.^[6]

...That Israel is ranked 16th in the Human Development Index. It's the highest standard of living in the Middle East, and the third highest in Asia.^[7]

...That Israel is ranked 27th in terms of Gross domestic product per capita with $32,297.^[8]

...That Israel is among the top three countries in cyber attack defense.^[9]

...That Israel is the country which offers the best conditions for clean technology startup companies after Denmark.^[10]

...That Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to population in the world.^[11]

...That Israeli universities are among the best of the world.^[12]^[13]

...That Israel is the second-most educated country after Canada.^[14]

...That Israel is the Middle East’s only "free" state, according to Freedom House annual report.^[15]

...That almost 1/3 of all Israelis do volunteer work.^[16]

...That Israel's $300 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.^[17]

...That Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.^[17]

...That Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as "conflict free."^[17]

...That Israel has the largest fleet of F-16 aircraft outside of the US, numbering 250.^[17]

...That the proportion of women among R&D workers in Israel is approximately 23.4%. This puts Israel in second place behind Denmark. Women earned 37% of all degrees granted in science and engineering in Israel, one of the highest proportions in the world.^[18]