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State of Israel
  • מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (Hebrew)
  • دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل (Arabic)
Flag Emblem

Projection of Asia with Israel in green
and largest city
Jerusalem  (internationally unrecognized)
Official languages
Ethnic groups (2016[1])
Demonym Israeli
Government Unitary parliamentary republic
 •  President Reuven Rivlin
 •  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Legislature Knesset
 •  Declared 14 May 1948 
 •  Recognition 11 May 1949 
 •  Total 20,770 / 22,072 km2[a] (149th)
8,019 / 8,522 sq mi
 •  Water (%) 2.12 (440 km2 / 170 mi2)
 •  2016 estimate 8,502,900[2] (97th)
 •  2008 census 7,412,200[3] (99th)
 •  Density 387.63/km2 (34th)
1,004.00/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2015 estimate
 •  Total $281.939 billion[4] (55th)
 •  Per capita $33,656[4] (33rd)
GDP (nominal) 2015 estimate
 •  Total $296.073 billion[4] (35th)
 •  Per capita $35,343[4] (23rd)
Gini (2012) 42.8[5]
medium · 106th
HDI (2014) Increase 0.894[6]
very high · 18th
Currency New shekel (‎) (ILS[7])
Time zone IST (UTC+2)
 •  Summer (DST) IDT (UTC+3)
Date format
  • dd-mm-yyyy (CE)
Drives on the right
Calling code +972
ISO 3166 code IL
Internet TLD .il
a. ^ 20,770 is Israel within the Green Line. 22,072 includes the annexed Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.
This article contains Hebrew and Arabic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.
Israel (/ˈɪzrəl/ or /ˈɪzrəl/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל‎‎ Yisrā'el; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل‎‎ Isrāʼīl), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎‎ Medīnat Yisrā'el [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel] ( listen); Arabic: دولة إِسْرَائِيل‎‎ Dawlat Isrāʼīl [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a country in the Middle East, 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[8] to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. It contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.[9][10] Israel's financial center and technology hub is Tel Aviv.[11] Jerusalem is the proclaimed capital, although Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is internationally unrecognized.[note 1][12][13]
On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine. This specified borders for new Arab and Jewish states and an area of Jerusalem which was to be administered by the UN under an international regime.[14][15] The end of the British Mandate for Palestine was set for midnight on 14 May 1948. That day, David Ben-Gurion, the executive head of the Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel", which would start to function from the termination of the mandate.[16][17][18] The borders of the new state were not specified in the declaration.[15][19] Neighboring Arab armies invaded the former British mandate on the next day and fought the Israeli forces.[20][21] Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states,[22] in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula (1956–57, 1967–82), part of Southern Lebanon (1982–2000), Gaza Strip (1967–2005; still considered occupied after 2005 disengagement) and the Golan Heights. It extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank.[23][24][25][26] Efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in peace. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have successfully been signed. Israel's occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem is the world's longest military occupation in modern times.[note 2][28]
The population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was estimated in 2016 to be 8,502,900 people. It is the world's only Jewish-majority state, with 6,363,700 citizens, or 74.9%, being designated as Jewish. The country's second largest group of citizens are Arabs, numbering 1,766,500 people (including the Druze and most East Jerusalem Arabs).[1][2] The great majority of Israeli Arabs are Sunni Muslims, including significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins; the rest are Christians and Druze. Other minorities include Arameans, Assyrians, Samaritans, Armenians, Circassians, Dom people, Maronites and Vietnamese. The Black Hebrew Israelites are subject to a slow process of deeper integration, but are still in their majority permanent residents rather than citizens.[29][30][31][32] Israel also hosts a significant population of non-citizen foreign workers and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia,[33] including illegal migrants from Sudan, Eritrea and other Sub-Saharan Africans.
In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state.[34] Israel is a representative democracy[35] with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage.[36][37] The prime minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as the legislature. Israel is a developed country and an OECD member,[38] with the 35th-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product as of 2015[update]. The country benefits from a highly skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with the one of the highest percentage of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree.[39][40] The country has the highest standard of living in the Middle East and the fourth highest in Asia,[41][42][43] and has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.[44]




The Merneptah Stele (13th century BC). The majority of biblical archeologists translate a set of hieroglyphs as "Israel," representing the first instance of the name in the record.
The names Land of Israel and Children of Israel have historically been used to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel and the entire Jewish people respectively.[47] The name "Israel" (Standard Yisraʾel, Isrāʾīl; Septuagint Greek: Ἰσραήλ Israēl; 'El(God) persists/rules' though, after Hosea 12:4 often interpreted as "struggle with God"[48][49][50][51]) in these phrases refers to the patriarch Jacob who, according to the Hebrew Bible, was given the name after he successfully wrestled with the angel of the Lord.[52] Jacob's twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. Jacob and his sons had lived in Canaan but were forced by famine to go into Egypt for four generations, lasting 430 years,[53] until Moses, a great-great grandson of Jacob,[54] led the Israelites back into Canaan during the "Exodus". The earliest known archaeological artifact to mention the word "Israel" is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated to the late 13th century BCE).[55]
The area is also known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith. From 1920, the whole region was known as Palestine (under British Mandate)[note 3] until the Israeli Declaration of Independence of 1948.[56] Through the centuries, the territory was known by a variety of other names, including Judea, Samaria, Southern Syria, Syria Palaestina, Kingdom of Jerusalem, Iudaea Province, Coele-Syria, Djahy, and Canaan.


Main article: History of Israel


Map of the Kingdom of Israel, 1020 BCE–930 BCE as imagined from the Bible narrative[citation needed]
The notion of the "Land of Israel", known in Hebrew as Eretz Yisrael, has been important and sacred to the Jewish people since Biblical times. According to the Torah, God promised the land to the three Patriarchs of the Jewish people.[57][58] On the basis of scripture, the period of the three Patriarchs has been placed somewhere in the early 2nd millennium BCE,[59] and the first Kingdom of Israel was established around the 11th century BCE. Subsequent Israelite kingdoms and states ruled intermittently over the next four hundred years, and are known from various extra-biblical sources.[60][61][62][63]
The first record of the name Israel (as ysrỉꜣr) occurs in the Merneptah stele, erected for Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah c. 1209 BCE, "Israel is laid waste and his seed is not."[64] This "Israel" was 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;[65] Ancestors of the Israelites may have included Semites native to Canaan and the Sea Peoples.[66] McNutt says, "It is probably safe to assume that sometime during Iron Age a population began to identify itself as 'Israelite'", differentiating itself from the Canaanites through such markers as the prohibition of intermarriage, an emphasis on family history and genealogy, and religion.[67]
Villages had populations of up to 300 or 400,[68][69] which lived by farming and herding, and were largely self-sufficient;[70] economic interchange was prevalent.[71] Writing was known and available for recording, even in small sites.[72] The archaeological evidence indicates a society of village-like centres, but with more limited resources and a small population.[73] Modern scholars see Israel arising peacefully and internally from existing people in the highlands of Canaan.[74]
The Large Stone Structure, archaeological site of ancient Jerusalem
In 586 BCE King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon conquered Judah. According to the Hebrew Bible, he destroyed Solomon's Temple and exiled the Jews to Babylon. The defeat was also recorded by the Babylonians[76][77] (see the Babylonian Chronicles). In 538 BCE, Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon and took over its empire. Cyrus issued a proclamation granting subjugated nations (including the people of Judah) religious freedom (for the original text, which corroborates the biblical narrative only in very broad terms, see the Cyrus Cylinder). According to the Hebrew Bible 50,000 Judeans, led by Zerubabel, returned to Judah and rebuilt the temple. A second group of 5,000, led by Ezra and Nehemiah, returned to Judah in 456 BCE although non-Jews wrote to Cyrus to try to prevent their return.

Classical period

Main article: Second Temple period
Masada fortress, location of the final battle in the First Jewish–Roman War
With the decline of Herodians, Judea, transformed into a Roman province, became the site of a violent struggle of Jews against Greco-Romans, culminating in the Jewish-Roman Wars, ending in wide-scale destruction, expulsions, and genocide. Jewish presence in the region significantly dwindled after the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE.[78] Nevertheless, there was a continuous small Jewish presence and Galilee became its religious center.[79][80] The Mishnah and part of the Talmud, central Jewish texts, were composed during the 2nd to 4th centuries CE in Tiberias and Jerusalem.[81] The region came to be populated predominantly by Greco-Romans on the coast and Samaritans in the hill-country. Christianity was gradually evolving over Roman paganism, when the area stood under Byzantine rule. Through the 5th and 6th centuries, the dramatic events of the repeated Samaritan revolts reshaped the land, with massive destruction to Byzantine Christian and Samaritan societies and a resulting decrease of the population. After the Persian conquest and the installation of a short-lived Jewish Commonwealth in 614 CE, the Byzantine Empire reconquered the country in 628.

Middle Ages and modern history

Kfar Bar'am, an ancient Jewish village, abandoned some time between the 7th–13th centuries AD.[82]
In 634–641 CE, the region, including Jerusalem, was conquered by the Arabs who had just recently adopted Islam. It remained under Muslim control for the next 1,300 years under various dynasties.[83] Control of the region transferred between the Rashidun Caliphs, Umayyads,[83] Abbasids,[83] Fatimids, Seljuks, Crusaders, and Ayyubids throughout the next six centuries,[83] before the area was conquered in 1260 by the Mamluk Sultanate.[84]
The 15th-century Abuhav synagogue, established by Sephardic Jews in Safed.[85]
During the siege of Jerusalem by the First Crusade in 1099, the Jewish inhabitants of the city fought side by side with the Fatimid garrison and the Muslim population who tried in vain to defend the city against the Crusaders. When the city fell, about 60,000 people were massacred, including 6,000 Jews seeking refuge in a synagogue.[86] At this time, a full thousand years after the fall of the Jewish state, there were Jewish communities all over the country. Fifty of them are known and include Jerusalem, Tiberias, Ramleh, Ashkelon, Caesarea, and Gaza.[87] According to Albert of Aachen, the Jewish residents of Haifa were the main fighting force of the city, and "mixed with Saracen [Fatimid] troops", they fought bravely for close to a month until forced into retreat by the Crusader fleet and land army.[88][89] However, Joshua Prawer expressed doubt over the story, noting that Albert did not attend the Crusades and that such a prominent role for the Jews is not mentioned by any other source.[90][undue weight? discuss]
In 1165 Maimonides visited Jerusalem and prayed on the Temple Mount, in the "great, holy house".[91] In 1141 the Spanish-Jewish poet Yehuda Halevi issued a call for Jews to migrate to the Land of Israel, a journey he undertook himself. In 1187 Sultan Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, defeated the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin and subsequently captured Jerusalem and almost all of Palestine. In time, Saladin issued a proclamation inviting Jews to return and settle in Jerusalem,[92] and according to Judah al-Harizi, they did: "From the day the Arabs took Jerusalem, the Israelites inhabited it."[93] Al-Harizi compared Saladin's decree allowing Jews to re-establish themselves in Jerusalem to the one issued by the Persian king Cyrus the Great over 1,600 years earlier.[94]
In 1211, the Jewish community in the country was strengthened by the arrival of a group headed by over 300 rabbis from France and England,[95] among them Rabbi Samson ben Abraham of Sens.[96] Nachmanides, the 13th-century Spanish rabbi and recognised leader of Jewry greatly praised the land of Israel and viewed its settlement as a positive commandment incumbent on all Jews. He wrote "If the gentiles wish to make peace, we shall make peace and leave them on clear terms; but as for the land, we shall not leave it in their hands, nor in the hands of any nation, not in any generation."[97]
In 1260, control passed to the Mamluk sultans of Egypt. The country was located between the two centres of Mamluk power, Cairo and Damascus, and only saw some development along the postal road connecting the two cities. Jerusalem, although left without the protection of any city walls since 1219, also saw a flurry of new construction projects centred around the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound (the Temple Mount). In 1266 the Mamluk Sultan Baybars converted the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron into an exclusive Islamic sanctuary and banned Christians and Jews from entering, which previously would be able to enter it for a fee. The ban remained in place until Israel took control of the building in 1967.[98][99]
Jews at the Western Wall, 1870s
In 1470, Isaac b. Meir Latif arrived from Ancona and counted 150 Jewish families in Jerusalem.[100] Thanks to Joseph Saragossi who had arrived in the closing years of the 15th century, Safed and its environs had developed into the largest concentration of Jews in Palestine. With the help of the Sephardic immigration from Spain, the Jewish population had increased to 10,000 by the early 16th century.[101]

Zionism and British mandate

Black and white portrait of a long-bearded man.
Theodor Herzl, visionary of the Jewish State
Since the existence of the earliest Jewish diaspora, many Jews have aspired to return to "Zion" and the "Land of Israel",[104] though the amount of effort that should be spent towards such an aim was a matter of dispute.[105][106] The hopes and yearnings of Jews living in exile are an important theme of the Jewish belief system.[105] After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, some communities settled in Palestine.[107] During the 16th century, Jewish communities struck roots in the Four Holy CitiesJerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron, and Safed—and in 1697, Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid led a group of 1,500 Jews to Jerusalem.[108] In the second half of the 18th century, Eastern European opponents of Hasidism, known as the Perushim, settled in Palestine.[109][110][111]
Theodore Herzl, concluding words of The Jewish State, 1896[112]
The first wave of modern Jewish migration to Ottoman-ruled Palestine, known as the First Aliyah, began in 1881, as Jews fled pogroms in Eastern Europe.[113] Although the Zionist movement already existed in practice, Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl is credited with founding political Zionism,[114] a movement which sought to establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, thus offering a solution to the so-called Jewish Question of the European states, in conformity with the goals and achievements of other national projects of the time.[115] In 1896, Herzl published Der Judenstaat (The State of the Jews), offering his vision of a future Jewish state; the following year he presided over the first Zionist Congress.[116]
The Second Aliyah (1904–14), began after the Kishinev pogrom; some 40,000 Jews settled in Palestine, although nearly half of them left eventually.[113] Both the first and second waves of migrants were mainly Orthodox Jews,[117] although the Second Aliyah included socialist groups who established the kibbutz movement.[118] During World War I, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent the Balfour Declaration of 1917 to Baron Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, that stated that Britain intended for the creation of a Jewish "national home" within the Palestinian Mandate.[119][120]
The Jewish Legion, a group primarily of Zionist volunteers, assisted, in 1918, in the British conquest of Palestine.[121] Arab opposition to British rule and Jewish immigration led to the 1920 Palestine riots and the formation of a Jewish militia known as the Haganah (meaning "The Defense" in Hebrew), from which the Irgun and Lehi, or Stern Gang, paramilitary groups later split off.[122] In 1922, the League of Nations granted Britain a mandate over Palestine under terms which included the Balfour Declaration with its promise to the Jews, and with similar provisions regarding the Arab Palestinians.[123] The population of the area at this time was predominantly Arab and Muslim, with Jews accounting for about 11%,[124] and Arab Christians at about 9.5% of the population.[125]
The Third (1919–23) and Fourth Aliyahs (1924–29) brought an additional 100,000 Jews to Palestine.[113] Finally, the rise of Nazism and the increasing persecution of Jews in 1930s Europe led to the Fifth Aliyah, with an influx of a quarter of a million Jews. This was a major cause of the Arab revolt of 1936–39 during which the British Mandate authorities alongside the Zionist militias of Haganah and Irgun killed 5,032 Arabs and wounded 14,760,[126][127] resulting in over ten percent of the adult male Palestinian Arab population killed, wounded, imprisoned or exiled.[128] The British introduced restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine 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.[129] On July 22, 1946, Irgun attacked the British administrative headquarters for Palestine, which was housed in the southern wing[130] of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.[131][132][133] 91 people of various nationalities were killed and 46 were injured.[134] The hotel was the site of the central offices of the British Mandatory authorities of Palestine, principally the Secretariat of the Government of Palestine and the Headquarters of the British Armed Forces in Palestine and Transjordan.[134][135] The attack initially had the approval of the Haganah (the principal Jewish paramilitary group in Palestine). It was conceived as a response to Operation Agatha (a series of widespread raids, including one on the Jewish Agency, conducted by the British authorities) and was the deadliest directed at the British during the Mandate era (1920–1948).[134][135]

After World War II

UN Map, "Palestine plan of partition with economic union"
After World War II, Britain found itself in intense conflict with the Jewish community over Jewish immigration limits, as well as continued conflict with the Arab community over limit levels. The Haganah joined Irgun and Lehi in an armed struggle against British rule.[136] At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Jewish Holocaust survivors and refugees sought a new life far from their destroyed communities in Europe. The Yishuv attempted to bring these refugees to Palestine but many were turned away or rounded up and placed in detention camps in Atlit and Cyprus by the British. Escalating violence culminated with the 1946 King David Hotel bombing which Bruce Hoffman characterized as one of the "most lethal terrorist incidents of the twentieth century".[137] In 1947, the British government announced it would withdraw from Mandatory Palestine, stating it was unable to arrive at a solution acceptable to both Arabs and Jews.
On 15 May 1947, the General Assembly of the newly formed United Nations resolved that a committee, United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP), be created "to prepare for consideration at the next regular session of the Assembly a report on the question of Palestine".[138] In the Report of the Committee dated 3 September 1947 to the UN General Assembly,[139] the majority of the Committee in Chapter VI proposed a plan to replace the British Mandate with "an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State, and the City of Jerusalem ... the last to be under an International Trusteeship System".[140] On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending the adoption and implementation of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union as Resolution 181 (II).[141] The Plan attached to the resolution was essentially that proposed by the majority of the Committee in the Report of 3 September 1947. The Jewish Agency, which was the recognized representative of the Jewish community, accepted the plan. The Arab League and Arab Higher Committee of Palestine rejected it, and indicated that they would reject any other plan of partition.[142][143]
On the following day, 1 December 1947, the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a three-day strike, and Arab gangs began attacking Jewish targets.[144] The Jews were initially on the defensive as civil war broke out, but in early April 1948 moved onto the offensive.[145][146] The Arab Palestinian economy collapsed and 250,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled.[147]
On 14 May 1948, the day before the expiration of the British Mandate, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel".[148][149] The only reference in the text of the Declaration to the borders of the new state is the use of the term Eretz-Israel ("Land of Israel").[150]
The following day, the armies of four Arab countries—Egypt, Syria, Transjordan and Iraq—entered what had been British Mandatory Palestine, launching the 1948 Arab–Israeli War;[151][152] Contingents from Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Sudan joined the war.[153][154] The apparent purpose of the invasion was to prevent the establishment of the Jewish state at inception, and some Arab leaders talked about driving the Jews into the sea.[155][156][157] According to Benny Morris, Jews felt that the invading Arab armies aimed to slaughter the Jews.[158] The Arab league stated that the invasion was to restore law and order and to prevent further bloodshed.[159]
Raising of the Ink Flag, marking the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

First years of the State of Israel

Israel was admitted as a member of the United Nations by majority vote on 11 May 1949.[162] On 1949 both Israel and Jordan were genuinely interested in a peace agreement but the British acted as a brake on the Jordanian effort in order to avoid damaging British interests in Egypt.[163]
In the early years of the state, the Labor Zionist movement led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion dominated Israeli politics.[164][165] The Kibbutzim, or collective farming communities, played a pivotal role in establishing the new state.[166]
Immigration to Israel during the late 1940s and early 1950s was aided by the Israeli Immigration Department and the non-government sponsored Mossad LeAliyah Bet ("Institution for Illegal Immigration"[167]). Both groups facilitated regular immigration logistics like arranging transportation, but the latter also engaged in clandestine operations in countries, particularly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where the lives of Jews were believed to be in danger and exit from those places was difficult. Mossad LeAliyah Bet continued to take part in immigration efforts until its disbanding in 1953.[168] An influx of Holocaust survivors and Jews from Arab and Muslim lands immigrated to Israel during the first 3 years and the number of Jews increased from 700,000 to 1,400,000,[169] many of whom faced persecution in their original countries.[170] The immigration was in accordance with the One Million Plan.
Consequently, the population of Israel rose from 800,000 to two million between 1948 and 1958.[169] Between 1948 and 1970, approximately 1,150,000 Jewish refugees relocated to Israel.[171] The immigrants came to Israel for differing reasons. Some believed in a Zionist ideology, while others moved to escape persecution. There were others that did it for the promise of a better life in Israel and a small number that were expelled from their homelands, such as British and French Jews in Egypt after the Suez Crisis.[172]
Some new immigrants 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.[173] During this period, food, clothes and furniture had to be rationed in what became known as the Austerity Period. 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 that Israel could accept monetary compensation for the Holocaust.[174]
In 1950 Egypt closed the Suez Canal to Israeli shipping and tensions mounted as armed clashes took place along Israel's borders. During the 1950s, Israel was frequently attacked by Palestinian fedayeen, nearly always against civilians,[175] mainly from the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip,[176] leading to several Israeli counter-raids. In 1956, Great Britain and France aimed at regaining control of the Suez Canal, which the Egyptians had nationalized (see the Suez Crisis). The continued blockade of the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, together with the growing amount of Fedayeen attacks against Israel's southern population, and recent Arab grave and threatening statements, prompted Israel to attack Egypt.[177][178][179][180] Israel joined a secret alliance with Great Britain and France and overran the Sinai Peninsula but was pressured to withdraw by the United Nations in return for guarantees of Israeli shipping rights in the Red Sea via the Straits of Tiran and the Canal[citation needed].[181][182] The war resulted in significant reduction of Israeli border infiltration.[183][184][185][186]
U.S. newsreel on the trial of Adolf Eichmann
The refugees were often treated differently according to where they had come from. Jews of European background were treated more favorably than Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries—housing units reserved for the latter were often re-designated for the former, with the result that Jews newly arrived from Arab lands generally ended up staying in transit camps for longer.[187] Tensions that developed between the two groups over such discrimination persist to the present day.[188]
In the early 1960s, Israel captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and brought him to Israel for trial.[189] The trial had a major impact on public awareness of the Holocaust.[190] Eichmann remains the only person executed in Israel by conviction by an Israeli civilian court.[191]

Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War

Further information: Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War
Territory held by Israel:
  before the Six-Day War
  after the war
The Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1982.
Since 1964, Arab countries, concerned over Israeli plans to divert waters of the Jordan River into the coastal plain,[192] had been trying to divert the headwaters to deprive Israel of water resources, provoking tensions between Israel on the one hand, and Syria and Lebanon on the other.
Arab nationalists led by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser refused to recognize Israel, and called for its destruction.[22][193][194] By 1966, Israeli-Arab relations had deteriorated to the point of actual battles taking place between Israeli and Arab forces.[195] In May 1967, Egypt massed its army near the border with Israel, expelled UN peacekeepers, stationed in the Sinai Peninsula since 1957, and blocked Israel's access to the Red Sea[citation needed]. Other Arab states mobilized their forces.[196] Israel reiterated that these actions were a casus belli. On 5 June 1967, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt. Jordan, Syria and Iraq responded and attacked Israel. In a Six-Day War, Israel defeated Jordan and captured the West Bank, defeated Egypt and captured the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula, and defeated Syria and captured the Golan Heights.[197] Jerusalem's boundaries were enlarged, incorporating East Jerusalem, and the 1949 Green Line became the administrative boundary between Israel and the occupied territories.
Following the 1967 war and the "three nos" resolution of the Arab League, during the 1967–1970 War of Attrition Israel faced attacks from the Egyptians in the Sinai, and from Palestinian groups targeting Israelis in the occupied territories, in Israel proper, and around the world. Most important among the various Palestinian and Arab groups was the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), established in 1964, which initially committed itself to "armed struggle as the only way to liberate the homeland".[198][199] In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Palestinian groups launched a wave of attacks[200][201] against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world,[202] including a massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The Israeli government responded with an assassination campaign against the organizers of the massacre, a bombing and a raid on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon.
On 6 October 1973, as Jews were observing Yom Kippur, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack against Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, that opened the Yom Kippur War. The war ended on 26 October with Israel successfully repelling Egyptian and Syrian forces but having suffered over 2,500 soldiers killed in a war which collectively took 10–35,000 lives in just 20 days.[203] An internal inquiry exonerated the government of responsibility for failures before and during the war, but public anger forced Prime Minister Golda Meir to resign.[204]

Further conflict and peace process

The 1977 Knesset elections marked a major turning point in Israeli political history as Menachem Begin's Likud party took control from the Labor Party.[205] 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.[206] In the two years that followed, Sadat and Begin signed the Camp David Accords (1978) and the Israel–Egypt Peace Treaty (1979).[207] In return, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had captured during the Six-Day War in 1967, and agreed to enter negotiations over an autonomy for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[208]
Israel's 1980 Jerusalem Law declared Jerusalem to be Israel's "eternal and indivisible capital".
Meanwhile, Begin's government provided incentives for Israelis to settle in the occupied West Bank, increasing friction with the Palestinians in that area.[209] The Basic Law: Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel, passed in 1980, was believed by some to reaffirm Israel's 1967 annexation of Jerusalem by government decree, and reignited international controversy over the status of the city. No Israeli legislation has defined the territory of Israel and no act specifically included East Jerusalem therein.[210] The position of the majority of UN member states is reflected in numerous resolutions declaring that actions taken by Israel to settle its citizens in the West Bank, and impose its laws and administration on East Jerusalem, are illegal and have no validity.[211] In 1981 Israel annexed the Golan Heights, although annexation was not recognized internationally.[212]
On 7 June 1981, the Israeli air force destroyed Iraq's sole nuclear reactor, in order to impede Iraq's nuclear weapons program. The reactor was under construction just outside Baghdad. Following a series of PLO attacks in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon that year to destroy the bases from which the PLO launched attacks and missiles into northern Israel.[213] In the first six days of fighting, the Israelis destroyed the military forces of the PLO in Lebanon and decisively defeated the Syrians. An Israeli government inquiry – the Kahan Commission – would later hold Begin, Sharon and several Israeli generals as indirectly responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacre. In 1985, Israel responded to a Palestinian terrorist attack in Cyprus by bombing the PLO headquarters in Tunis. Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1986, but maintained a borderland buffer zone in southern Lebanon until 2000, from where Israeli forces engaged in conflict with Hezbollah.
Israel's ethnic diversity expanded in the 1980s and 1990s due to immigration. Several waves of Ethiopian Jews immigrated to Israel in the 1980s and 1990s, while between 1990 and 1994, Russian immigration to Israel increased Israel's population by twelve percent.[214]
The First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule,[215] broke out in 1987, with waves of uncoordinated demonstrations and violence occurring in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Over the following six years, the Intifada became more organised and included economic and cultural measures aimed at disrupting the Israeli occupation. More than a thousand people were killed in the violence.[216] During the 1991 Gulf War, the PLO supported Saddam Hussein and Iraqi Scud missile attacks against Israel. Despite public outrage, Israel heeded US calls to refrain from hitting back and did not participate in that war.[217][218]
In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became Prime Minister following an election in which his party called for compromise with Israel's neighbors.[219][220] The following year, Shimon Peres on behalf of Israel, and Mahmoud Abbas for the PLO, signed the Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinian National Authority the right to govern parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[221] The PLO also recognized Israel's right to exist and pledged an end to terrorism.[222] In 1994, the Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed, making Jordan the second Arab country to normalize relations with Israel.[223] Arab public support for the Accords was damaged by the continuation of Israeli settlements[224] and checkpoints, and the deterioration of economic conditions.[225] Israeli public support for the Accords waned as Israel was struck by Palestinian suicide attacks.[226] Finally, while leaving a peace rally in November 1995, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a far-right-wing Jew who opposed the Accords.[227]
At the end of the 1990s, Israel, under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, withdrew from Hebron,[228] and signed the Wye River Memorandum, giving greater control to the Palestinian National Authority.[229] 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. The proposed state included the entirety of the Gaza Strip and over 90% of the West Bank with Jerusalem as a shared capital,[230] although some argue that the plan was to annex areas which would lead to a cantonization of the West Bank into three blocs, which the Palestinian delegation likened to South African "bantustans", a loaded word that was disputed by the Israeli and American negotiators.[231] Each side blamed the other for the failure of the talks.
The Tel Aviv Dolphinarium, the site of the 2001 Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing, in which 21 Israelis, mostly teenagers, were killed.
After the collapse of the talks and a controversial visit by Likud leader Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount, the Second Intifada began. Some commentators contend that the uprising was pre-planned by Yasser Arafat due to the collapse of peace talks.[232][233][234][235] 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,[236] ending the Intifada.[237][238] By this time 1,100 Israelis had been killed, mostly in suicide bombings.[239] The Palestinian fatalities, by 30 April 2008, reached 4,745 killed by Israeli security forces, 44 killed by Israeli civilians, and 577 killed by Palestinians.[240]
In July 2006, a Hezbollah artillery assault on Israel's northern border communities and a cross-border abduction of two Israeli soldiers precipitated the month-long Second Lebanon War.[241][242] On 6 September 2007, the Israeli Air Force destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria. In May 2008, Israel confirmed it had been discussing a peace treaty with Syria for a year, with Turkey as a go-between.[243] 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.[244][245] 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.[246] In what Israel described as a response to more than a hundred Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities,[247] Israel began an operation in Gaza on 14 November 2012, lasting eight days.[248] Israel started another operation in Gaza following an escalation of rocket attacks by Hamas in July 2014.[249]

Geography and environment

Satellite images of Israel and neighboring territories during the day (left) and night (right)
The sovereign territory of Israel (according to the demarcation lines of the 1949 Armistice Agreements and 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.[9] However Israel is so narrow that the exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean is double the land area of the country.[250] The total area under Israeli law, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, is 22,072 square kilometers (8,522 sq mi),[251] and the total area under Israeli control, including the military-controlled and partially Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank, is 27,799 square kilometers (10,733 sq mi).[252] Despite its small size, Israel is home to a variety of geographic features, from the Negev desert in the south to the inland fertile Jezreel Valley, 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 57 percent of the nation's population.[253][254][255] 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 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.[256] 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.[257] The largest makhtesh in the world is Ramon Crater in the Negev,[258] which measures 40 by 8 kilometers (25 by 5 mi).[259] 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.[260]

Tectonics and seismicity

The most catastrophic earthquakes we know of occurred in 31 BCE, 363, 749, and 1033 CE, that is every ca. 400 years on average.[262] Destructive earthquakes leading to serious loss of life strike about every 80 years.[263] While stringent construction regulations are currently in place and recently built structures are earthquake-safe, as of 2007[update] the majority of the buildings in Israel were older than these regulations and many public buildings as well as 50,000 residential buildings did not meet the new standards and were "expected to collapse" if exposed to a strong quake.[263] Given the fragile political situation of the Middle East region and the presence there of major holy sites, a quake reaching magnitude 7 on the Richter scale could have dire consequences for world peace.[262]


Israel map of Köppen climate classification.
At the other extreme mountainous regions can be windy, cold, and areas at elevation of 750 meters or more (same elevation as Jerusalem) will usually receive at least one snowfall each year.[266] From May to September, rain in Israel is rare.[267][268] With scarce water resources, Israel has developed various water-saving technologies, including drip irrigation.[269] 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).[270]


Pictogram voting info.svg Note: Until 1995, figures for Christians also included Others.[273]
In 2016, Israel's population was an estimated 8,502,900 million people, of whom 6,363,700 (74.9%) were recorded by the civil government as Jews. 1,766,500 Arabs comprised 20.7% of the population, while non-Arab Christians and people who have no religion listed in the civil registry made up 4.4%.[1][2] 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,[274] but estimates run in the region of 203,000.[33] By June 2012, approximately 60,000 African migrants had entered Israel.[275] About 92% of Israelis live in urban areas.[276]
Retention of Israel's population since 1948 is about even or greater, when compared to other countries with mass immigration.[277] Jewish emigration from Israel (called yerida in Hebrew), primarily to the United States and Canada, is described by demographers as modest,[278] but is often cited by Israeli government ministries as a major threat to Israel's future.[279][280]
In 2009[update], over 300,000 Israeli citizens lived in West Bank settlements[281] such as Ma'ale Adumim and Ariel, including settlements that predated the establishment of the State of Israel and which were re-established after the Six-Day War, in cities such as Hebron and Gush Etzion. In 2011, there were 250,000 Jews living in East Jerusalem.[282] 20,000 Israelis live in Golan Heights settlements.[212] 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.[283]
Immigration to Israel in the years 1948–2008. The two peaks, of at least 200,000 each, were in 1949 and 1990.
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 ancestry the right to Israeli citizenship.[284] Over three quarters, or 75.5%, of the population are Jews from a diversity of Jewish backgrounds. Around 4% of Israelis (300,000), ethnically defined as "others", are Russian descendants of Jewish origin or family who are not Jewish according to rabbinical law, but were eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.[285][286][287] Approximately 75% of Israeli Jews are born in Israel, 17% are immigrants from Europe and the Americas, and 8% are immigrants from Asia and Africa (including the Arab World).[288][289] Jews from Europe and the former Soviet Union and their descendants born in Israel, including Ashkenazi Jews, constitute approximately 50% of Jewish Israelis. Jews who left or fled Arab and Muslim countries and their descendants, including both Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews,[290] form most of the rest of the Jewish population.[291][292][293] Jewish intermarriage rates run at over 35% and recent studies suggest that the percentage of Israelis descended from both Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews increases by 0.5 percent every year, with over 25% of school children now originating from both communities.[294]
  • v ·
  • t ·
  • e ·
Rank Name District Pop. Rank Name District Pop.
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
1 Jerusalem Jerusalem 849,800a 11 Ramat Gan Tel Aviv 150,900 Haifa
Rishon LeZion
Rishon LeZion
2 Tel Aviv Tel Aviv 426,100 12 Rehovot Central 128,900
3 Haifa Haifa 277,100 13 Bat Yam Tel Aviv 128,500
4 Rishon LeZion Central 240,700 14 Ashkelon Southern 126,800
5 Petah Tikva Central 225,400 15 Beit Shemesh Jerusalem 98,100
6 Ashdod Southern 218,000 16 Kfar Saba Central 94,200
7 Netanya Central 202,400 17 Herzliya Tel Aviv 90,700
8 Beersheba Southern 201,100 18 Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut Central 87,000
9 Holon Tel Aviv 187,300 19 Hadera Haifa 86,800
10 Bnei Brak Tel Aviv 178,300 20 Nazareth Northern 74,600
^a This number includes East Jerusalem and West Bank areas. Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is internationally unrecognized.


Main article: Languages of Israel
Road sign in Hebrew, Arabic, and English
Israel has two official languages, Hebrew and Arabic.[9] Hebrew is the primary language of the state and is spoken every day by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority, with Hebrew taught in Arab schools. English was an official language during the Mandate period; it lost this status after the creation of Israel, but retains a role comparable to that of an official language,[296][297][298] as may be seen in road signs and official documents. Many Israelis communicate reasonably well in English, as many television programs are broadcast in English with subtitles and the language is taught from the early grades in elementary school. In addition, Israeli universities offer courses in the English language on various subjects.[299] 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 130,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel),[300][301] Russian and Amharic are widely spoken.[302] More than one million Russian-speaking immigrants arrived in Israel from the former Soviet Union states between 1990 and 2004.[303] French is spoken by around 700,000 Israelis,[304] mostly originating from France and North Africa (see Maghrebi Jews).


A large open area with people bounded by old stone walls. To the left is a mosque with large golden dome.
The Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall, Jerusalem.
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".[305] Haredi Jews are expected to represent more than 20% of Israel's Jewish population by 2028.[306]
9th Station of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa street in Jerusalem. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the background is venerated by Christians as the site of the Burial of Jesus.[307]
Making up 16% of the population, Muslims constitute Israel's largest religious minority. About 2% of the population is Christian and 1.5% is Druze.[308] The Christian population primarily comprises Arab Christians, but also includes post-Soviet immigrants, the foreign laborers of multinational origins, and followers of Messianic Judaism, considered by most Christians and Jews to be a form of Christianity.[309] Members of many other religious groups, including Buddhists and Hindus, maintain a presence in Israel, albeit in small numbers.[310] Out of more than one million immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel, about 300,000 are considered not Jewish by the Orthodox rabbinate.[311]
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 Old City that incorporates the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.[312] Other locations of religious importance in Israel are Nazareth (holy in Christianity as the site of the Annunciation of Mary), Tiberias and Safed (two of the Four Holy Cities in Judaism), the White Mosque in Ramla (holy in Islam as the shrine of the prophet Saleh), and the Church of Saint George in Lod (holy in Christianity and Islam as the tomb of Saint George or Al Khidr). A number of other religious landmarks are located in the West Bank, among them Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, the birthplace of Jesus and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, 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; 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.[313][314][315] A few miles south of the Bahá'í World Centre is the Middle East centre of the reformist Ahmadiyya movement. Its mixed neighbourhood of Jews and Ahmadi Arabs is the only one of its kind in the country.[316][317]


Main article: Education in Israel
Education in Israel is highly valued in the national culture with its historical values dating back to Ancient Israel and was viewed as one fundamental blocks of ancient Israelite life.[318] Israeli culture views higher education as the key to higher mobility and socioeconomic status in Israeli society.[319] The emphasis of education within Israeli society goes to the gulf within the Jewish diaspora from the Renaissance and Enlightenment Movement all the way to the roots of Zionism in the 1880s. Jewish communities in the Levant were the first to introduce compulsory education for which the organized community, not less than the parents, was responsible for the education of the next generation of Jews.[320] With contemporary Jewish culture's strong emphasis, promotion of scholarship and learning and the strong propensity to promote cultivation of intellectual pursuits as well as the nations high university educational attainment rate exemplifies how highly Israeli society values higher education.[321][322][323][324][325][326] The Israeli education system has been praised for various reasons, including its high quality and its major role in spurring Israel's economic development and technological boom.[327] Many international business leaders and organizations such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates have praised Israel for its high quality of education in helping spur Israel's economic development.[328][329] In 2012, the country ranked second among OECD countries (tied with Japan and after Canada) for the percentage of 25- to 64-year-olds that have attained tertiary education with 46 percent compared with the OECD average of 32 percent. In addition, nearly twice as many Israelis aged 55–64 held a higher education degree compared to other OECD countries, with 47 percent holding an academic degree compared with the OECD average of 25%.[39][40] In 2012, the country ranked third in the world in the number of academic degrees per capita (20 percent of the population).[330][331]
Israel has a school life expectancy of 15.5 years[332] and a literacy rate of 97.1% according to the United Nations.[333] 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.[334] Education is compulsory in Israel for children between the ages of three and eighteen.[335][336] 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, the Hebrew language, Hebrew and general literature, the English language, history, Biblical scripture and civics is necessary to receive a Bagrut certificate.[337] In Arab, Christian and Druze schools, the exam on Biblical studies is replaced by an exam on Muslim, Christian or Druze heritage.[338] Christian Arabs are one of the most educated groups in Israel.[339] Maariv have describe the Christian Arabs sectors as "the most successful in education system",[339] since Christian Arabs fared the best in terms of education in comparison to any other group receiving an education in Israel.[340] Israeli children from Russian-speaking families have a higher bagrut pass rate at high-school level.[341] Although amongst immigrant children born in the FSU, the bagrut pass rate is highest amongst those families from Western FSU states of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova (at 62.6%), and lower amongst those from Central Asian and Caucasian FSU states.[342] In 2003, over half of all Israeli twelfth graders earned a matriculation certificate.[343]
Israel has nine public universities that are subsidized by the state and 49 private colleges.[337][344][345] The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel's second-oldest university after the Technion,[346][347] houses the National Library of Israel, the world's largest repository of Judaica and Hebraica.[348] The Technion, the Hebrew University, and the Weizmann Institute consistently ranked among world's 100 top universities by the prestigious ARWU academic ranking.[349][350][351] The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University are ranked among the world's top 100 universities by Times Higher Education magazine.[352] Other major universities in the country include Bar-Ilan University, the University of Haifa, The Open University, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Ariel University, in the West Bank, is the newest university institution, upgraded from college status, and the first in over thirty years. Israel's seven research universities (excluding the Open University) are consistently ranked among top 500 in the world.[353]


The Knesset chamber, home to the Israeli parliament
Israel operates under a parliamentary system as a democratic republic with universal suffrage.[9] A member of parliament supported by a parliamentary majority becomes the prime minister—usually this is the chair of the largest party. The prime minister is the head of government and head of the cabinet.[354][355] Israel is governed by a 120-member parliament, known as the Knesset. Membership of the Knesset is based on proportional representation of political parties,[356] with a 3.25% electoral threshold, which in practice has resulted in coalition governments.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled every four years, but unstable coalitions or a no-confidence vote by the Knesset can dissolve a government earlier. The Basic Laws of Israel function as an uncodified constitution. In 2003, the Knesset began to draft an official constitution based on these laws.[9][357] The president of Israel is head of state, with limited and largely ceremonial duties.[354]
Israel has no official religion,[358][359][360] but the definition of the state as "Jewish and democratic" creates a strong connection with Judaism, as well as a conflict between state law and religious law. Interaction between the political parties keeps the balance between state and religion largely as it existed during the British Mandate.[361]

Legal system

Supreme Court of Israel, Givat Ram, Jerusalem

Administrative divisions

Main article: Districts of Israel
District Capital Largest city Population[368]
Jews Arabs Total
Jerusalem Jerusalem 7001670000000000000♠67% 7001320000000000000♠32% 1034200 !1,034,200 a
North Nazareth Illit Nazareth 7001430000000000000♠43% 7001540000000000000♠54% 1358600 !1,358,600
Haifa Haifa 7001690000000000000♠69% 7001250000000000000♠25% 0966700 !966,700
Center Ramla Rishon LeZion 7001880000000000000♠88% 7000800000000000000♠8% 2024500 !2,024,500
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv 7001930000000000000♠93% 7000100000000000000♠1% 1350000 !1,350,000
South Beersheba Ashdod 7001740000000000000♠74% 7001200000000000000♠20% 1192300 !1,192,300
Judea and Samaria Ariel Modi'in Illit 7001980000000000000♠98% 5000000000000000000♠0% 0370700 !370,700 b
^a Including approximately 200,000 Israeli settlers and 208,000 Palestinians.[369][370][371]
^b Israeli citizens only.
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).[373] Israel's largest municipality, in population and area,[374] is Jerusalem with 773,800 residents in an area of 126 square kilometres (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.[375] Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Rishon LeZion rank as Israel's next most populous cities, with populations of 393,900, 265,600, and 227,600 respectively.[374]

Israeli-occupied territories

Israeli West Bank barrier separating Israel and the West Bank
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.[387][388][389][390][391] Following June 2007, when Hamas assumed power in the Gaza Strip,[392] 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.[392] Gaza has a border with Egypt and an agreement between Israel, the European Union and the PA governed how border crossing would take place (it was monitored by European observers).[393] Egypt adhered to this agreement under Mubarak and prevented access to Gaza until April 2011 when it announced it was opening its border with Gaza.

Foreign relations

  Diplomatic relations
  Diplomatic relations suspended
  Former diplomatic relations
  No diplomatic relations, but former trade relations
  No diplomatic relations
Israel maintains diplomatic relations with 158 countries and has 107 diplomatic missions around the world;[394] countries with whom they have no diplomatic relations include most Muslim countries.[395] Only three members of the Arab League have normalized relations with Israel: Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties in 1979 and 1994, respectively, and Mauritania opted for full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1999. Despite the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, Israel is still widely considered an enemy country among Egyptians.[396] Under Israeli law, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, and Yemen are enemy countries,[397] and Israeli citizens may not visit them without permission from the Ministry of the Interior.[398] Iran had diplomatic relations with Israel under the Pahlavi dynasty[399] but withdrew its recognition of Israel during the Islamic Revolution.[400] As a result of the 2008–09 Gaza War, Mauritania, Qatar, Bolivia, and Venezuela suspended political and economic ties with Israel.[401][402]
The United States and the Soviet Union were the first two countries to recognize the State of Israel, having declared recognition roughly simultaneously.[403] The United States regards Israel as its "most reliable partner in the Middle East,"[404] based on "common democratic values, religious affinities, and security interests".[405] 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.[406] The United States has provided $68 billion in military assistance and $32 billion in grants to Israel since 1967, under the Foreign Assistance Act (period beginning 1962),[407] more than any other country for that period until 2003.[407][408][409]
Germany's strong ties with Israel include cooperation on scientific and educational endeavors and the two states remain strong economic and military partners.[410][411] Under the reparations agreement, by 2007[update] Germany had paid 25 billion euros in reparations to the Israeli state and individual Israeli Holocaust survivors.[412] The UK has kept full diplomatic relations with Israel since its formation having had two visits from heads of state in 2007. The UK is seen as having a "natural" relationship with Israel on account of the British Mandate for Palestine.[413] Relations between the two countries were also made stronger by former prime minister Tony Blair's efforts for a two state resolution. Israel is included in the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbours closer.[414]
Although Turkey and Israel did not establish full diplomatic relations until 1991,[415] 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.[416] Relations between Turkey and Israel took a downturn after the 2008–09 Gaza War and Israel's raid of the Gaza flotilla.[417] IHH, which organized the flotilla, is a Turkish charity that has been challenged on ties to Hamas and Al-Qaeda.[401][418][419][420][421] Relations between Israel and Greece have improved since 1995 due to the decline of Israeli-Turkish relations.[422] The two countries have a defense cooperation agreement and in 2010, the Israeli Air Force hosted Greece's Hellenic Air Force in a joint exercise at the Uvda base. Israel is the second largest importer of Greek products in the Middle East.[423] The joint Cyprus-Israel oil and gas explorations centered on the Leviathan gas field are an important factor for Greece, given its strong links with Cyprus.[424] Cooperation in the world's longest sub-sea electric power cable, the EuroAsia Interconnector, has strengthened relations between Cyprus and Israel.[425][426][427]
India established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992 and has fostered a strong military, technological and cultural partnership with the country since then.[428] According to an international opinion survey conducted in 2009 on behalf of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, India is the most pro-Israel country in the world.[429][430] India is the largest customer of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest military partner of India after the Russian Federation.[431] India is also the third-largest Asian economic partner of Israel[432] and the two countries have military as well as extensive space technology ties.[433][434] India became the top source market for Israel from Asia in 2010 with 41,000 tourist arrivals in that year.[435] Azerbaijan is one of the few majority Muslim countries to develop bilateral strategic and economic relations with Israel. Azerbaijan supplies Israel with a substantial amount of its oil needs, and Israel has helped modernize the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. In Africa, Ethiopia is Israel's main and closest ally in the continent due to common political, religious and security interests.[436] Israel provides expertise to Ethiopia on irrigation projects and thousands of Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) live in Israel.

International humanitarian efforts

Israeli foreign aid ranks very low among OECD nations, spending less than 0.1% of its GNI on foreign aid, as opposed to the recommended 0.7%. Individual international charitable donations are also very low, with only 0.1% of charitable donations being sent to foreign causes.[437] However, Israel has a history of providing emergency aid and humanitarian response teams to disasters across the world.[438] Israel's humanitarian efforts officially began in 1958, with the establishment of MASHAV, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Agency for International Development Cooperation.[439]
Between 1985 and 2015, Israel sent 24 delegations of IDF search and rescue unit to 22 countries.[440] In Haiti, immediately following the 2010 earthquake, Israel was the first country to set up a field hospital capable of performing surgical operations.[441] Israel sent over 200 medical doctors and personnel to start treating injured Haitians at the scene.[442] At the conclusion of its humanitarian mission 11 days later,[443] the Israeli delegation had treated more than 1,110 patients, conducted 319 successful surgeries, delivered 16 births and rescued or assisted in the rescue of four individuals.[444][445] Despite radiation concerns, Israel was one of the first countries to send a medical delegation to Japan following the earthquake and tsunami disaster.[446] Israel dispatched a medical team to the tsunami-stricken city of Kurihara in 2011. A medical clinic run by an IDF team of some 50 members featured pediatric, surgical, maternity and gynecological, and otolaryngology wards, together with an optometry department, a laboratory, a pharmacy and an intensive care unit. After treating 200 patients in two weeks, the departing emergency team donated its equipment to the Japanese.[447]
There are additional Israeli humanitarian and emergency response groups that work with the Israel government, including IsraAid, a joint programme run by 14 Israeli organizations and North American Jewish groups,[448] The Fast Israeli Rescue and Search Team (FIRST),[449] Israeli Flying Aid (IFA),[450] Save a Child's Heart (SACH)[451] and LATET.[452]


The Israel Defense Forces is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and is headed by its Chief of General Staff, the Ramatkal, subordinate to the Cabinet. The IDF consist of the army, air force and navy. It was founded during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War by consolidating paramilitary organizations—chiefly the Haganah—that preceded the establishment of the state.[453] The IDF also draws upon the resources of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman), which works with Mossad and Shabak.[454] 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.[455][456]
Most Israelis are drafted into the military at the age of 18. Men serve two years and eight months and women two years.[457] Following mandatory service, Israeli men join the reserve forces and usually do up to 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 the exemption of yeshiva students has been a source of contention in Israeli society for many years.[458][459] 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.[460] As a result of its conscription program, the IDF maintains approximately 176,500 active troops and an additional 445,000 reservists.[461]
Iron Dome is the world's first operational anti-artillery rocket defense system.
The nation's military relies heavily on high-tech weapons systems designed and manufactured in Israel as well as some foreign imports. The Arrow missile is one of the world's few operational anti-ballistic missile systems.[462] The Python air-to-air missile series is often considered one of the most crucial weapons in its military history.[463] Israel's Spike missile is one of the most widely exported ATGMs in the world.[464] Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile air defense system gained worldwide acclaim after intercepting hundreds of Qassam, 122 mm Grad and Fajr-5 artillery rockets fire by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip.[465][466] Since the Yom Kippur War, Israel has developed a network of reconnaissance satellites.[467] The success of the Ofeq program has made Israel one of seven countries capable of launching such satellites.[468]
Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons[469] as well as chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction.[470] Israel has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons[471] and maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity toward its nuclear capabilities.[472] The Israeli Navy's Dolphin submarines are believed to be armed with nuclear Popeye Turbo missiles, offering nuclear second strike capability.[473] Since the Gulf War in 1991, when Israel was attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles, all homes in Israel are required to have a reinforced security room, Merkhav Mugan, impermeable to chemical and biological substances.[474]
Israel has one of the highest ratios of defense spending to GDP of all developed countries, only topped by Oman and Saudi Arabia.[475] In 1984, for example, the country spent 24%[476] of its GDP on defense. By 2006, that figure had dropped to 7.3%.[9] Israel is one of the world's largest arms exporters, and was ranked fourth in the world for weapons exports in 2007.[477] The majority of Israel's arms exports are unreported for security reasons.[478] Since 1967, the United States has been a particularly notable foreign contributor of military aid to Israel: the US is expected to provide the country with $3.15 billion per year from 2013 to 2018.[479][480] Israel is consistently rated low in the Global Peace Index, ranking 148th out of 162 nations for peacefulness in 2015.[481]


Main article: Economy of Israel
Israeli new shekel banknotes and coins (currently being replaced)
Israel is considered the most advanced country in Southwest Asia and the Middle East in economic and industrial development.[482] Israel's quality university education and the establishment of a highly motivated and educated populace is largely responsible for spurring the country's high technology boom and rapid economic development.[327] In 2010, it joined the OECD.[38][483] The country is ranked 3rd in the region and 38th worldwide on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index[484] as well as in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.[485] It has the second-largest number of startup companies in the world (after the United States)[486] and the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies outside North America.[487] In 2010, Israel ranked 17th among the world's most economically developed nations, according to IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook. The Israeli economy was ranked 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.[488] The Bank of Israel was ranked first among central banks for its efficient functioning, up from 8th place in 2009. Israel was also ranked as the worldwide leader in its supply of skilled manpower.[488] The Bank of Israel holds $78 billion of foreign-exchange reserves.[489]
Despite limited natural resources, intensive development of the agricultural and industrial sectors over the past decades has made Israel largely self-sufficient in food production, apart from grains and beef. Imports to Israel, totaling $77.59 billion in 2012, include raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods.[9] Leading exports include electronics, software, computerized systems, communications technology, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, fruits, chemicals, military technology, and cut diamonds;[490] in 2012, Israeli exports reached $64.74 billion.[9]
Israel is a leading country in the development of solar energy.[491][492] Israel is a global leader in water conservation and geothermal energy,[493] and its development of cutting-edge technologies in software, communications and the life sciences have evoked comparisons with Silicon Valley.[494][495] According to the OECD, Israel is also ranked 1st in the world in expenditure on Research and Development (R&D) as a percentage of GDP.[496] Intel[497] and Microsoft[498] built their first overseas research and development centers in Israel, and other high-tech multi-national corporations, such as IBM, Google, Apple, HP, Cisco Systems, and Motorola, have opened R&D facilities in the country.
In July 2007, American business magnate and investor Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway bought an Israeli company, Iscar, its first non-U.S. acquisition, for $4 billion.[499] Since the 1970s, Israel has received military aid from the United States, as well as economic assistance in the form of loan guarantees, which now account for roughly half of Israel's external debt. Israel has one of the lowest external debts in the developed world, and is a net lender in terms of net external debt (the total value of assets vs. liabilities in debt instruments owed abroad), which in December 2015[update] stood at a surplus of US$118 billion.[500]

Science and technology

Dan Shechtman, a materials science professor from the Technion, one of six Israelis to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in under a decade.[502][503]
Israeli universities are among 100 top world universities in mathematics (Hebrew University, TAU and Technion), physics (TAU, Hebrew University and Weizmann Institute of Science), chemistry (Technion and Weizmann Institute of Science), computer science (Weizmann Institute of Science, Technion, Hebrew University, TAU and BIU) and economics (Hebrew University and TAU).[504] Israel has produced six Nobel Prize-winning scientists since 2002[502][505][505] and has been frequently ranked as one of the countries with the highest ratios of scientific papers per capita in the world.[506][507][508] Israel has led the world in stem-cell research papers per capita since 2000.[509]
The Israeli Space Agency coordinates all Israeli space research programs with scientific and commercial goals. In 2012 Israel was ranked ninth in the world by the Futron's Space Competitiveness Index.[510] Israel is one of only seven countries that both build their own satellites and launch their own launchers. The Shavit is a space launch vehicle produced by Israel to launch small satellites into low earth orbit.[511] It was first launched in 1988, making Israel the eighth nation to have a space launch capability. Shavit rockets are launched from the spaceport at the Palmachim Airbase by the Israeli Space Agency. Since 1988 Israel Aerospace Industries have indigenously designed and built at least 13 commercial, research and spy satellites.[512] Some of Israel's satellites are ranked among the world's most advanced space systems.[513] In 2003, Ilan Ramon became Israel's first astronaut, serving as payload specialist of STS-107, the fatal mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia.[514]
The world's largest solar parabolic dish at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center.[520]
Israel has embraced solar energy; its engineers are on the cutting edge of solar energy technology[492] and its solar companies work on projects around the world.[491][521] Over 90% of Israeli homes use solar energy for hot water, the highest per capita in the world.[270][522] According to government figures, the country saves 8% of its electricity consumption per year because of its solar energy use in heating.[523] 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.[491][492][521] Israel had a modern electric car infrastructure involving a countrywide network of recharging stations to facilitate the charging and exchange of car batteries. It was thought that this would have lowered Israel's oil dependency and lowered the fuel costs of hundreds of Israel's motorists that use cars powered only by electric batteries.[524][525][526] The Israeli model was being studied by several countries and being implemented in Denmark and Australia.[527] However, Israel's trailblazing electric car company Better Place shut down in 2013.[528]


Main article: Transport in Israel
Reception hall at Ben Gurion Airport
Israel has 18,096 kilometers (11,244 mi) of paved roads,[529] and 2.4 million motor vehicles.[530] The number of motor vehicles per 1,000 persons was 324, relatively low with respect to developed countries.[530] Israel has 5,715 buses on scheduled routes,[531] 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[532] (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.[532]
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.[533] Ben Gurion, Israel's largest airport, handled over 12.1 million passengers in 2010.[534] 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.[533] 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.[533]


Main article: Tourism in Israel
Cableway at Masada, popular tourist attraction
Tourism, especially religious tourism, is an important industry in Israel, with the country's temperate climate, beaches, archaeological, other historical and biblical 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.[535] In 2013, a record of 3.54 million tourists visited Israel with the most popular site of attraction being the Western Wall with 68% of tourists visiting there.[536][537] Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world.[538]


Main article: Energy in Israel
In 2009, two natural gas reserves, Tamar and Leviathan, were found near the coast of Israel.[539] In 2015, Israel located massive oil reserves in the occupied Golan Heights, internationally regarded as Syrian territory.[540][541][542]


Main article: Culture of Israel
Israel's diverse culture stems from the diversity of its population: Jews from diaspora communities around the world have brought their cultural and religious traditions back with them, creating a melting pot of Jewish customs and beliefs.[543] Israel is the only country in the world where life revolves around the Hebrew calendar. Work and school holidays are determined by the Jewish holidays, and the official day of rest is Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.[544] Israel's substantial Arab minority has also left its imprint on Israeli culture in such spheres as architecture,[545] music,[546] and cuisine.[547]


Main article: Israeli literature
Amos Oz's works have been translated into 36 languages, more than any other Israeli writer.[548]
Israeli literature is primarily poetry and prose written in Hebrew, as part of the renaissance of Hebrew as a spoken language since the mid-19th century, although a small body of literature is published in other languages, such as English. By law, two copies of all printed matter published in Israel must be deposited in the National Library of Israel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2001, the law was amended to include audio and video recordings, and other non-print media.[549] In 2013, 91 percent of the 7,863 books transferred to the library were in Hebrew.[550] The Hebrew Book Week is held each June and features book fairs, public readings, and appearances by Israeli authors around the country. During the week, Israel's top literary award, the Sapir Prize, is presented.[citation needed]
In 1966, Shmuel Yosef Agnon shared the Nobel Prize in Literature with German Jewish author Nelly Sachs.[551] Leading Israeli poets have been Yehuda Amichai, Nathan Alterman and Rachel Bluwstein. Internationally famous contemporary Israeli novelists include Amos Oz, Etgar Keret and David Grossman. The Israeli-Arab satirist Sayed Kashua (who writes in Hebrew) is also internationally known.[citation needed] Israel has also been the home of two leading Palestinian poets and writers: Emile Habibi, whose novel The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist, and other writings, won him the Israel prize for Arabic literature; and Mahmoud Darwish, considered by many to be "the Palestinian national poet."[552] Darwish was born and raised in northern Israel, but lived his adult life abroad after joining the Palestine Liberation Organization.[citation needed]

Music and dance

Main article: Music of Israel
Israeli music contains musical influences from all over the world; Sephardic music, Hasidic melodies, Belly dancing music, Greek music, jazz, and pop rock are all part of the music scene.[553][554] Among Israel's world-renowned[555][556] orchestras is the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, which has been in operation for over seventy years and today performs more than two hundred concerts each year.[557] Israel has also produced many musicians of note, some achieving international stardom. Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Ofra Haza are among the internationally acclaimed musicians born in Israel.[citation needed] Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nearly every year since 1973, winning the competition three times and hosting it twice.[558][559] Eilat has hosted its own international music festival, the Red Sea Jazz Festival, every summer since 1987.[560]
Celebrated Israeli ballet dancers, Valery and Galina Panov, who founded the Ballet Panov, in Ashdod[561]
The nation's canonical folk songs, known as "Songs of the Land of Israel," deal with the experiences of the pioneers in building the Jewish homeland.[562] The Hora circle dance introduced by early Jewish settlers was originally popular in the Kibbutzim and outlying communities. It became a symbol of the Zionist reconstruction and of the ability to experience joy amidst austerity. It now plays a significant role in modern Israeli folk dancing and is regularly performed at weddings and other celebrations, and in group dances throughout Israel.[citation needed] Modern dance in Israel is a flourishing field, and several Israeli choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Rami Beer, Barak Marshall and many others, are considered[by whom?] to be among the most versatile and original international creators working today. Famous Israeli companies include the Batsheva Dance Company and the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company.[citation needed]

Cinema and theatre

Main article: Cinema of Israel
Ten Israeli films have been final nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards since the establishment of Israel. The 2009 movie Ajami was the third consecutive nomination of an Israeli film.[563] Palestinian Israeli filmmakers have made a number of films dealing with the Arab-Israel conflict and the status of Palestinians within Israel, such as Mohammed Bakri's 2002 film Jenin, Jenin and The Syrian Bride.[citation needed]


Main article: Media of Israel
In 2014, Israel proper was ranked 96th of 180 according to Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Index, 2nd below Kuwait (at 91) in the Middle East and North Africa region.[565] The 2013 Freedom in the World annual survey and report by U.S.-based Freedom House, which attempts to measure the degree of democracy and political freedom in every nation, ranked Israel as the Middle East and North Africa's only free country.[566]


Shrine of the Book, repository of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is one of Israel's most important cultural institutions[567] and houses the Dead Sea scrolls,[568] along with an extensive collection of Judaica and European art.[567] Israel's national Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, is the world central archive of Holocaust-related information.[569] Beth Hatefutsoth (the Diaspora Museum), on the campus of Tel Aviv University, is an interactive museum devoted to the history of Jewish communities around the world.[570] Apart from the major museums in large cities, there are high-quality artspaces in many towns and kibbutzim. Mishkan Le'Omanut on Kibbutz Ein Harod Meuhad is the largest art museum in the north of the country.[571]
Several Israeli museums are devoted to Islamic culture, including the Rockefeller Museum and the L. A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art, both in Jerusalem. The Rockefeller specializes in archaeological remains from the Ottoman and other periods of Middle East history. It is also the home of the first hominid fossil skull found in Western Asia called Galilee Man.[572] A cast of the skull is on display at the Israel Museum.[573]


Main article: Israeli cuisine
A meal including falafel, hummus, French fries and Israeli salad
Israeli cuisine includes local dishes as well as dishes brought to the country by Jewish immigrants from the diaspora. Since the establishment of the State in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli fusion cuisine has developed.[574] Roughly half of the Israeli-Jewish population attests to keeping kosher at home.[575][576] Kosher restaurants, though rare in the 1960s, make up around 25% of the total as of 2015[update], perhaps reflecting the largely secular values of those who dine out.[574] Hotel restaurants are much more likely to serve kosher food.[574] The non-kosher retail market was traditionally sparse, but grew rapidly and considerably following the influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Russia during the 1990s.[577] Together with non-kosher fish, rabbits and ostriches, pork—often called "white meat" in Israel[577]—is produced and consumed, though it is forbidden by both Judaism and Islam.[578]


Main article: Sport in Israel
Israel has won seven Olympic medals since its first win in 1992, including a gold medal in windsurfing at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[579] Israel has won over 100 gold medals in the Paralympic Games and is ranked about 15th in the all-time medal count. The 1968 Summer Paralympics were hosted by Israel.[580] The Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes and Israeli athletes, was inaugurated in the 1930s, and has been held every four years since then.
Teddy Stadium of Jerusalem
The most popular spectator sports in Israel are association football and basketball.[581] The Israeli Premier League is the country's premier football league, and the Israeli Basketball Super League is the premier basketball league.[582] Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem are the largest sports clubs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel Aviv have competed in the UEFA Champions League and Hapoel Tel Aviv reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. has won the European championship in basketball six times.[583] In 2016, the country was chosen as a host for the official 2017 EuroBasket.
In 1964 Israel hosted and won the Asian Nations Cup; in 1970 the Israel national football team managed to qualify to the FIFA World Cup, which is still considered[by whom?] the biggest achievement of Israeli football.[citation needed] The 1974 Asian Games held in Tehran, were the last Asian Games in which Israel participated, and was plagued by the Arab countries which refused to compete with Israel, and Israel since ceased competing in Asian competitions.[584] Israel was excluded from the 1978 Asian Games due to security and expense involved if they were to participate.[585] In 1994, UEFA agreed to admit Israel and all Israeli sporting organizations now compete in Europe.[citation needed]
Boris Gelfand, chess Grandmaster
Chess is a leading sport in Israel and is enjoyed by people of all ages. There are many Israeli grandmasters and Israeli chess players have won a number of youth world championships.[586] Israel stages an annual international championship and hosted the World Team Chess Championship in 2005. The Ministry of Education and the World Chess Federation agreed upon a project of teaching chess within Israeli schools, and it has been introduced into the curriculum of some schools.[587][588][589] The city of Beersheba has become a national chess center, with the game being taught in the city's kindergartens. Owing partly to Soviet immigration, it is home to the largest number of chess grandmasters of any city in the world.[590][591] The Israeli chess team won the silver medal at the 2008 Chess Olympiad[592] and the bronze, coming in third among 148 teams, at the 2010 Olympiad. Israeli grandmaster Boris Gelfand won the Chess World Cup in 2009[593] and the 2011 Candidates Tournament for the right to challenge the world champion. He only lost the World Chess Championship 2012 to reigning world champion Anand after a speed-chess tie breaker.[citation needed]
Israeli tennis champion Shahar Pe'er ranked 11th in the world on 31 January 2011.[citation needed] Krav Maga, a martial art developed by Jewish ghetto defenders during the struggle against fascism in Europe, is used by the Israeli security forces and police. Its effectiveness and practical approach to self-defense, have won it widespread admiration and adherence around the world.[citation needed]

See also


  1. Jump up ^ The Jerusalem Law states that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel" and the city serves as the seat of the government, home to the President's residence, government offices, supreme court, and parliament. United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 (20 August 1980; 14–0, U.S. abstaining) declared the Jerusalem Law "null and void" and called on member states to withdraw their diplomatic missions from Jerusalem. The United Nations and all member nations refuse to accept the Jerusalem Law (see Kellerman 1993, p. 140) and maintain their embassies in other cities such as Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Herzliya (see the CIA Factbook and Map of Israel). The U.S. Congress subsequently adopted the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which said that the U.S. embassy should be relocated to Jerusalem and that it should be recognized as the capital of Israel. However, the US Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the provisions of the act "invade exclusive presidential authorities in the field of foreign affairs and are unconstitutional". Since passage of the act, all Presidents serving in office have determined that moving forward with the relocation would be detrimental to U.S. national security concerns and opted to issue waivers suspending any action on this front. The Palestinian Authority sees East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. The city's final status awaits future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (see "Negotiating Jerusalem," Palestine–Israel Journal). See Positions on Jerusalem for more information.
  2. Jump up ^ The majority of the international community (including the UN General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, the International Criminal Court, and the vast majority of human rights organizations) considers Israel to be occupying Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Gaza is still considered to be "occupied" by the United Nations, international human rights organisations, and the majority of governments and legal commentators, despite the 2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza, due to various forms of ongoing military and economic control.[27]
    For an explanation of the differences between an annexed but disputed territory (e.g., Tibet) and a militarily occupied territory, please see the article Military occupation.
  3. Jump up ^ (פלשתינה (א״י in Hebrew (translation: Palestine (Eretz Israel))


  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Latest Population Statistics for Israel". Jewish Virtual Library. American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. January 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016. 
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Population, by Population Group" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016. 
  3. Jump up ^ "The 2008 Israel Integrated Census of Population and Housing" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2012. 
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c <