Portal:Israel

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Introduction

Israel (/ˈɪzriəl, ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل‎), officially 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, expulsion of 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 British Mandate Palestine.

Selected general articles

Jewish yishuv in Rishon Lezion, 1882

The Yishuv (Hebrew: ישוב‎, literally "settlement") or Ha-Yishuv (the Yishuv, Hebrew: הישוב‎) or Ha-Yishuv Ha-Ivri (the Hebrew Yishuv, Hebrew: הישוב העברי‎) is the body of Jewish residents in the land of Israel (corresponding to Ottoman Syria until 1917, OETA South 1917–1920 and later Mandatory Palestine 1920–1948) prior to the establishment of the State of Israel. The term came into use in the 1880s, when there were about 25,000 Jews living across the Land of Israel, then comprising the southern part of Ottoman Syria, and continued to be used until 1948, by which time there were some 630,000 Jews there. The term is used in Hebrew even nowadays to denote the Pre-State Jewish residents in the Land of Israel.

A distinction is sometimes drawn between the Old Yishuv and the New Yishuv. The Old Yishuv refers to all the Jews living there before the aliyah (immigration wave) of 1882 by the Zionist movement. The Old Yishuv residents were religious Jews, living mainly in Jerusalem, Safed, Tiberias and Hebron. Smaller communities were in Jaffa, Haifa, Peki'in, Acre, Nablus, Shfaram and until 1779 also in Gaza. In the final centuries before modern Zionism, a large part of the Old Yishuv spent their time studying the Torah and lived off charity (halukka), donated by Jews in the Diaspora. Read more...
Human rights in Israel refers to human rights in the State of Israel both legally and in practice. The subject has been evaluated by intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights activists, often in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the wider Arab–Israeli conflict and Israel internal politics.

Israel is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. It was described in its Declaration of Independence as a "Jewish state" – the legal definition "Jewish and democratic state" was adopted in 1985. In addition to its Jewish majority, Israel is home to religious and ethnic minorities, some of whom report discrimination. In the Palestinian territories, successive Israeli governments have been subject to international criticism from other countries as well as international human rights groups. One of the Basic Laws of Israel, intended to form the basis of a future constitution, Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, is a major tool for safeguarding human rights and civil liberties in the State of Israel. Read more...
The Knesset (Hebrew: הַכְּנֶסֶת [ha 'kneset] (listen); lit. ’the gathering’ or "assembly"; Arabic: الكنيست‎ al-K(e)neset) is the unicameral national legislature of Israel. As the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister (although the latter is ceremonially appointed by the President), approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government. In addition, the Knesset elects the State Comptroller. It also has the power to waive the immunity of its members, remove the President and the State Comptroller from office, dissolve the government in a constructive vote of no confidence, and to dissolve itself and call new elections. The Prime Minister may also dissolve the Knesset. However, until an election is completed, the Knesset maintains authority in its current composition. The Knesset is located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem. Read more...
Masada National Park

National parks of Israel are declared historic sites or nature reserves, which are mostly operated and maintained by the National Nature and Parks Authority. As of 2015, Israel maintains more than 400 nature reserves that protect 2,500 species of indigenous wild plants, 20 species of fish, 400 species of birds and 70 species of mammals.

Some parks are located at archaeological sites such as Tel Megiddo, Beit She'an, Ashkelon and Kursi. Others, such as the Alexander stream, Mount Carmel National Park or Hurshat Tal focus on nature and the preservation of local flora and fauna. Several parks and nature reserves have camping options, such as tent grounds and bungalows, open to small groups and individual campers. Some of them are located in the Israeli-occupied territories of the Golan Heights and the West Bank. Read more...
Borders of Israel

The current borders of the State of Israel are the result both of war and of diplomatic agreements among Israel, her neighbors, and colonial powers. Uniquely, only two of Israel's five potential land borders are internationally recognized while the other three are disputed. Israel's borders with Egypt and Jordan have now been formally recognized and confirmed as part of the peace treaties with those countries. The borders with Syria (Golan Heights), Lebanon (Shebaa farms) and the Palestinian territories (declared as the State of Palestine) are still in dispute.

According to the Green Line of the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Israel borders Lebanon in the north, the Golan Heights and Syria in the northeast, the West Bank and Jordan in the east, the Gaza Strip and Egypt in the southwest. The border with Egypt is the international border demarcated in 1906 between the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire, confirmed in the 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, and the border with Jordan is based on the border defined in the 1922 Trans-Jordan memorandum, confirmed in the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty. Read more...
Science and technology in Israel

Science and technology in Israel is one of the country's most developed sectors. Israel spent 4.2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on civil research and development in 2013, one of the highest ratios in the world. In 2019, Israel was ranked the world's fifth most innovative country by the Bloomberg Innovation Index. It ranks thirteenth in the world for scientific output as measured by the number of scientific publications per million citizens. In 2014, Israel's share of scientific articles published worldwide (0.9%) was much higher than its share of the global population (0.1%). It also has one of the highest per capita rates of filed patents.

Israel counts 140 scientists and technicians per 10,000 employees, one of the highest ratios in the world. In comparison, there are 85 per 10,000 in the United States and 83 per 10,000 in Japan. In 2012, Israel counted 8,337 full-time equivalent researchers per million inhabitants. This compares with 3,984 in the US, 6,533 in the Republic of South Korea and 5,195 in Japan. Israel's high technology industry has benefited from both the country's highly educated and technologically skilled workforce coupled with the strong presence of foreign high-tech firms and sophisticated research centres. Read more...
Cinema of Israel (Hebrew: קולנוע ישראלי‎ Kolnoa Yisraeli) refers to film production in Israel since its founding in 1948. Most Israeli films are produced in Hebrew. Israel has been nominated for more Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film than any other country in the Middle East. Read more...
Israel's standard of living is significantly higher than that of most other countries in the region, and is comparable to that of other highly developed countries. Israel was ranked 19th on the 2016 UN Human Development Index, indicating "very high" development. It is considered a high-income country by the World Bank. Israel also has a very high life expectancy at birth. The population still suffers from poverty, though these rates vary. Read more...
This is a list of years in Israel. Read more...
The Israel Security Agency (ISA, Hebrew: שירות הביטחון הכללי Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali "the General Security Service"; Arabic: جهاز الأمن العام‎), better known by the acronym Shabak (Hebrew: שב״כ, IPA: [ʃaˈbak] (listen), Arabic: شاباك‎) or the Shin Bet (a two-letter Hebrew abbreviation of "Security Service"), is Israel's internal security service. Its motto is "Magen veLo Yera'e" (מגן ולא יראה, lit. "Defender that shall not be seen" or "The unseen shield").

It is one of three principal organizations of the Israeli intelligence community, alongside Aman (military intelligence) and the Mossad (foreign intelligence service). Read more...
Animals of Israel

The wildlife of Israel includes the flora and fauna of Israel, which is extremely diverse 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. Species such as the Syrian brown bear and the Arabian ostrich have become extinct in Israel because of their loss of habitat. As of May 2007, 190 nature reserves have been established in Israel. Read more...
Map showing languages in Israel, West Bank and Gaza Strip. Blue shows dominantly Hebrew speaking areas, lighter blue shows mixed Hebrew and Arabic speaking areas, white shows dominantly Arabic speaking areas.

The Israeli population is linguistically and culturally diverse. Hebrew is the country's official language, and almost the entire population speaks it either as native speakers or proficiently as a second language. Its standard form, known as Modern Hebrew, is the main medium of life in Israel. Arabic, used mainly by Israel's Arab minority, which comprises about one-fifth of the population. Arabic has a special status under Israeli law.

Russian is spoken by about 20% of the Israeli population, mainly by the large immigrant population from the former Soviet Union, and English is a known foreign language by a significant proportion of the Israeli population as English is used widely in official logos and road signs alongside Hebrew and Arabic. In addition, the 19th edition of Ethnologue lists 36 languages and dialects spoken through Israel. Read more...
The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government (also known as the cabinet). Legislative power is vested in the Knesset. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The political system of the State of Israel and its main principles are set out in 11 Basic Laws. Israel does not have a written constitution. Read more...
Israeli Supreme Court at night

The judicial system of Israel consists of secular courts and religious courts. The law courts constitute a separate and independent unit of Israel's Ministry of Justice. The system is headed by the President of the Supreme Court and the Minister of Justice.

Religious courts include Jewish batei din, Muslim and Druze courts, and courts for ten recognized Christian communities. Read more...
Ballot slips used in Israeli elections

Elections in Israel are based on nationwide proportional representation. The electoral threshold is currently set at 3.25%, with the number of seats a party receives in the Knesset being proportional to the number of votes it receives. The Knesset is elected for a four-year term, although most governments have not served a full term and early elections are a frequent occurrence. Israel has a multi-party system based on coalition governments as no party has ever won a majority of seats in a national election, although the Alignment briefly held a majority following its formation by an alliance of several different parties prior to the 1969 elections. The legal voting age for Israeli citizens is 18. Elections are overseen by the Central Elections Committee and are held according to the Knesset Elections Law. Read more...
Note: for exact dates in the Gregorian calendar see Jewish holidays 2000-2050.
Public holidays in Israel refers to national holidays officially recognized by the Knesset, Israel's parliament. The State of Israel has adopted most traditional religious Jewish holidays as part of its national calendar, while also having established new modern holiday observances since its founding in 1948. Of the religious and modern holidays below, some are bank holidays / federal holidays requiring all schools, government institutions, financial sector, and most retailers in Jewish Israeli society to be closed, while other holidays are marked as days of note or memorial remembrances with no breaks in public or private sector activities. Read more...
Conscription exists in Israel for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18 who are Jewish, Druze, or Circassian; Arab citizens of Israel are not conscripted. Other exceptions are made on religious, physical, or psychological grounds. The normal length of compulsory service is currently two years and eight months for men (with some roles requiring an additional four months of service), and two years for women.

In 2013, 26% of potential conscripts were exempt from military service: 13.5% for religious reasons, 4% for mental health reasons, 2% for physical health reasons, 3% due to criminal records, and 3% due to residing abroad. Read more...
Solar field, Kibbutz Elifaz, Israel

Most energy in Israel comes from hydrocarbon fuels. The country's total primary energy demand is significantly higher than its total primary energy production, relying heavily on imports to meet its energy needs. Total primary energy consumption was 1.037 quad (304 TWh) in 2016, or 26.2 Mtoe (million tonne of oil equivalent).

Electricity consumption in Israel was 57,149 GWh in 2017, while production was 64,675 GWh, with net exports of 4.94 TWh. The installed generating capacity was about 16.25 GW in 2014, almost all from hydrocarbon fuel plants, mostly coal and gas fueled. Renewable energy accounted for a minor share of electricity production, with a small photovoltaic installed capacity. However, there are a total of over 1.3 million solar water heaters installed as a result of mandatory solar water heating regulations. Read more...
The President of the State of Israel (Hebrew: נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or Hebrew: נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, Arabic: رئيس دولة إسرائيل‎; literally, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely a ceremonial figurehead role, with executive power vested in the Government and the Prime Minister. The current president is Reuven Rivlin, who took office on 24 July 2014. Presidents are elected by the Knesset for a single seven-year term. Read more...
Hallelujah, Moshe Castel

Visual arts in Israel refers to plastic art created in the Land of Israel/Palestine region, from the later part of the 19th century until today, or art created by Israeli artists. Visual art in Israel encompasses a wide spectrum of techniques, styles and themes reflecting a dialogue with Jewish art throughout the ages and attempts to formulate a national identity. Read more...
Former Russian Embassy on Rothschild Boulevard flanked by modern glass tower

The architecture of Israel has been influenced by the different styles of architecture brought in by those who have occupied the country over time, sometimes modified to suit the local climate and landscape. Fortified Crusader castles, Islamic madrassas, Byzantine churches, Templer houses, Arab arches and minarets, Russian Orthodox onion domes, Bauhaus-style modernist buildings, sculptural concrete Brutalist architecture, and soaring glass-sided skyscrapers all are part of the architecture of Israel. Read more...
The music of Israel is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical culture. For almost 150 years, musicians have sought original stylistic elements that would define the emerging national spirit. In addition to creating an Israeli style and sound, Israel's musicians have made significant contributions to classical, jazz, pop rock and other international music genres. Since the 1970s, there has been a flowering of musical diversity, with Israeli rock, folk and jazz musicians creating and performing extensively, both locally and abroad. Many of the world's top classical musicians are Israelis or Israeli expatriates. The works of Israeli classical composers have been performed by leading orchestras worldwide.

Music in Israel is an integral part of national identity. Beginning in the days of the pioneers, Hebrew songs and public singalongs (Shira beTsibur) were encouraged and supported by the establishment. "Public singalongs were a common pastime [of the early settlers], and were for them a force in defining their identity", wrote Nathan Shahar. This view of music as nation-building continues to this day. "We are in the midst of creating a culture", says Nahum Heyman, one of Israel's leading music composers and music historians. Jewish immigrants from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere brought with them their musical traditions, melding and molding them into a new Israeli sound. Read more...
The Israel Police (Hebrew: משטרת ישראל‎, translit. Mišteret Yisra'el; Arabic: شرطة إسرائيل‎, translit. Shurtat Isrāʼīl) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Public Security.

The Israel Police operates throughout Israel, and the Area C of the West Bank, in all places in which Israel has civilian control. There are no local or "municipal" police departments in Israel. Read more...
Approximate map of the Iron Age kingdom of Israel (blue) and kingdom of Judah (yellow), with their neighbors (tan) (9th century BCE)

The Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah were related kingdoms from the Iron Age period of the ancient Levant. The Kingdom of Israel emerged as an important local power by the 10th century BCE before falling to the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 722 BCE. Israel's southern neighbor, the Kingdom of Judah, emerged in the 8th or 9th century BCE and later became a client state of first the Neo-Assyrian Empire and then the Neo-Babylonian Empire before a revolt against the latter led to its destruction in 586 BCE. Following the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE, some Judean exiles returned to Jerusalem, inaugurating the formative period in the development of a distinctive Judahite identity in the province of Yehud Medinata.

During the Hellenistic classic period, Yehud was absorbed into the subsequent Hellenistic kingdoms that followed the conquests of Alexander the Great, but in the 2nd century BCE the Judaeans revolted against the Seleucid Empire and created the Hasmonean kingdom. This, the last nominally independent kingdom of Israel, gradually lost its independence from 63 BCE with its conquest by Pompey of Rome, becoming a Roman and later Parthian client kingdom. Following the installation of client kingdoms under the Herodian dynasty, the Province of Judea was wracked by civil disturbances, which culminated in the First Jewish–Roman War, the destruction of the Second Temple, the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity. The name Judea (Iudaea) ceased to be used by Greco-Romans after the revolt of Simon Bar Kochba in 135 CE. Read more...
Beit She'an ruins

The archaeology of Israel is the study of the archaeology of the present-day Israel, stretching from prehistory through three millennia of documented history. The ancient Land of Israel was a geographical bridge between the political and cultural centers of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Despite the importance of the country to three major religions, serious archaeological research only began in the 15th century. The first major work on the antiquities of Israel was Adriaan Reland's Palestina ex monumentis veteribus, published in 1709. Edward Robinson, an American theologian who visited the country in 1838, published the first topographical studies. Lady Hester Stanhope performed the first modern excavation at Ashkelon in 1815. A Frenchman, Louis Felicien de Saucy, embarked on early "modern" excavations in 1850.

In discussing the state of archaeology in Israel in his time, David Ussishkin commented in the 1980s that the designation "Israeli archeology" no longer represents a single uniform methodological approach; rather, its scope covers numerous different archaeological schools, disciplines, concepts, and methods currently in existence in Israel. Read more...

Did you know...

... that the journalist behind the Narada sting operation was inspired by Israeli Mossad officer Mike Harari?
... that Israeli scholar Esther Farbstein and a colleague discovered more than 100 personal Holocaust accounts in rabbinical works, a resource previously overlooked by Holocaust researchers?
... that as CEO of Intel Israel, Maxine Fassberg encouraged women, Arabs, Druze, and Haredi Jews to enter the high-tech sector?
... that Israel Beltrán Montes was elected twice to the Chamber of Deputies and twice as municipal president of Ciudad Cuauhtémoc?
... that the Assyrian captivity of the Israelites was one instance of forced resettlement carried out by the Neo-Assyrian Empire?
... that Oskar Gottlieb Blarr, "the composer with the hat", visited Israel to experience where Jesus lived as a Jew?

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Selected images

  Diplomatic relations

  Diplomatic relations suspended

  Former diplomatic relations

  No diplomatic relations, but former trade relations

  No diplomatic relations
A meal including falafel, hummus, French fries and Israeli salad
Portion of the Temple Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, written during the Second Temple period
Raising of the Ink Flag, marking the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Köppen climate classification map of Israel
Field of Anemone coronaria, national flower of Israel
Israel's 1980 law declared that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel."
Immigration to Israel in the years 1948–2015. The two peaks were in 1949 and 1990.
Snow in Galilee
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Diamond Exchange District in Ramat Gan
UN Map, Palestine plan of partition with economic union
Territory held by Israel:
before the Six-Day War

after the war
The Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1982.
The Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall, Jerusalem.
Area C of the West Bank, controlled by Israel under Oslo Accords, in blue and red, in December 2011
Theodor Herzl, visionary of the Jewish state
Shmuel Yosef Agnon, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature
The 13th-century Ramban Synagogue in Jerusalem
The site of the 2001 Tel Aviv Dolphinarium discotheque massacre, in which 21 Israelis were killed.
Supreme Court of Israel, Givat Ram, Jerusalem
Matam high-tech park in Haifa
Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee
1967 border (Green Line)
Israeli West Bank barrier separating Israel and the West Bank
Boris Gelfand, chess Grandmaster
Teddy Stadium of Jerusalem
The Knesset chamber, home to the Israeli parliament
Jews at the Western Wall, 1870s
Squad commanders exercise at Eliakim training base in 2012
Iron Dome is the world's first operational anti-artillery rocket defense system.
Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center at Bar-Ilan University
Makhtesh Ramon, a type of crater unique to Israel and the Sinai Peninsula
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta
Ben Gurion International Airport
Population pyramid of 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.
Shrine of the Book, repository of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem
Map of Israel showing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights
The Large Stone Structure, archaeological site in Jerusalem
Map of Israel and Judah in the 9th century BCE
Shimon Peres (left) with Yitzhak Rabin (center) and King Hussein of Jordan (right), prior to signing the Israel–Jordan peace treaty in 1994.
Ein Bokek resort on the shore of the Dead Sea
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.
Road sign in Hebrew, Arabic, and English
The world's largest solar parabolic dish at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center.
David Ben-Gurion proclaiming the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948
Flowers of Israel
Kfar Bar'am, an ancient Jewish village, abandoned some time between the 7th–13th centuries CE.

In the news

11 April 2019 –: Israel's Beresheet lunar lander crashes at Mare Serenitatis on the surface of the Moon. The crash resulted from a failure in the lander's main engine, resulting in the total loss of the spacecraft. (The New York Times)
9 April 2019 – 2019 Israeli legislative election: Israelis go to the polls to elect the new members of the Knesset (Israel's parliament) and a new Prime Minister. (Reuters)
31 March 2019 – United States recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel: During the 30th Arab League summit held in Tunisia, leaders condemn the United States' claim that the Golan Heights belong to Israel, and stated the establishment of a Palestinian state is essential for stability. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (The Washington Post)
30 March 2019 – 2019 Midwestern U.S. floods: This month, at least 400,000 hectares (1 million acres) of U.S. farmland were flooded from the early March blizzard storm that affected nine major grain-producing states, according to Israel Cleantech Ventures' Gro Intelligence. (Reuters)
30 March 2019 – 2018 Gaza border protests, Gaza–Israel conflict: On the one year anniversary of the Gaza border protests, tens of thousands of Palestinians gather on the border to commemorate the weekly gatherings. Four Palestinian protesters have been killed and more than 300 wounded according to Palestinian health officials. (BBC) (Sky News)
26 March 2019 – Iran–Israel proxy conflict, Gaza–Israel conflict, Iran and state-sponsored terrorism: Acording to Israel Today, a senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that Iran's rulers ordered the rocket attack on Mishmeret in central Israel on March 25, 2019, which injured seven Israelis. The rocket attack was carried out by Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, which is heavily financed by Iran. The Hamas official said that Hamas's goal was to hurt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chances of getting reelected in the April 9 elections. (The Jerusalem Post) (Israel National News)