Israel

The State of Israel is a state in Asia, in the Middle East, with a
predominantly Jewish population, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It is a
geographically small country, but has a population of over six million.

Israel's 1948 founding and continued existence has been a source of many
conflicts with its neighbouring countries, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and
Egypt. Israel is also currently experiencing an on-going dispute regarding
Palestinian territorial claims.

History

Israel's history is both long and controversial.

Israel is considered the spiritual home of many Jews. A Jewish state existed
in the region for over a millenium until expulsion by the Roman authourities
in the second century. The Romans then renamed the land to Palestine, as if
to say the land belong to the Philistines instead of the Jews. It was
conquered from the Romans by the Caliphate in the seventh century and became
populated by Arabs.

Following centuries of diaspora, the nineteenth century saw the rise of
Zionism, a desire to see the creation of a Jewish State in the region. Jews
began moving to the Turkish and later British controlled region.

In 1947, the British government agreed to withdraw from their mandate of
Palestine. The 1947 UN Partition Plan split the mandate into two states,
giving about half the land to each state. Arab authourities rejected the plan.

On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed in territory given for
the Jewish state in the UN plan. The armies of five Arab nations attacked
the new state (see: Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel,
May 14, 1948, 1948 Arab-Israeli War). Israel captured an additional 20% of
the mandate territory, and annexed it to the new state. Much of its Arab
population subsequently ceased to live within this area; at the same time,
many Jews were made refugees from the surrounding Arab nations. As with many
states, Israel has minority ethnic groups that do not consider themselves
properly part of the "Israeli nation," though they do hold Israeli
citizenship. Prominent among these are the Israeli Arabs, many of whom
consider themselves as belonging to a Palestinian nation. How to adjust the
Israeli state to accomodate the sense of identity of this grouping, without
endangering the state's security or the sense of identity of those who
identify with the Israeli nation, is an important issue in modern-day
Israeli-Palestinian relations. Detailed discussions on the related issue of
Arab and Jewish refugees may be found here: Palestine, Palestinian refugee
and Jewish refugees

In 1967, the Six-Day War resulted in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the
Gaza Strip coming under Israeli control.

Interpretation of the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict depends on how
one interprets these events.

Politics

Israel is a constitutional, parliamentary republic. The nation's head of
state is the president, who is a largely powerless figurehead. The nation's
head of government is the prime minister, who is the leader of the majority
party or ruling coalition in the legislature but is appointed by the
president.2 Israel's legislative branch is a 120-member parliament known as
the Knesset. Elections to the Knesset are normally held every four years,
but the Knesset can decide to dissolve itself ahead of time by a simple
majority.

Israel has no written constitution and its government functions based on the
laws of the Knesset and constitutional conventions.

All Israeli citizens have the right to vote and to run for office. The right
of Israeli minorities to practice their religion is protected. However,
there have been some cases in which Israel has been accused of denying
certain rights to Arabs. See Alleged apartheid in Israel for details.

Military

Most Israelis over the age of 18 are drafted into the military shortly after
completing high school. Service is for two or three years, and can widely
vary, depending on the soldier and current political climate.

Israel is possibly an undeclared nuclear power -- it operates nuclear
facilities and is believed by some to be in the possession of nuclear
warheads, while it is not a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, no
inspections from the outside take place, and the nation maintains a public
policy of "nuclear ambiguity".

Israel is technically at war with Lebanon and Syria, with previous
declarations of war never being repealed by either side.

Territory

Israel is a country whose exact territorial boundaries and borders are
widely disputed.

The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in
the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. In keeping with the
framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral
negotiations are being conducted between Israeli and Palestinian
representatives (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) and
Israel and Syria, to achieve a permanent settlement. On April 25, 1982,
Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt
Peace Treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were
resolved in the 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace.

Economy

Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial
government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil and gas,
grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural
resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial
sectors over the past 20 years. Israel is largely self-sufficient in food
production except for grains. Diamonds, high-technology equipment, and
agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are leading exports. Israel
usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large
transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the
government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of
economic and military aid. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former
USSR topped 750,000 during the period 1989-1999, bringing the population of
Israel from the former Soviet Union to 1 million, one-sixth of the total
population, and adding scientific and professional expertise of substantial
value for the economy's future. The influx, coupled with the opening of new
markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy, which grew
rapidly in the early 1990s. But growth began slowing in 1996 when the
government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration
bonus petered out. Those policies brought inflation down to record low
levels in 1999.

Demographics

As of 2001, 81% of Israel's population is of Jewish nationality. Among Jews,
26% have at least one Israeli-born parent, 37% are first-generation
Israelis, 27% are immigrants from the West, and 30% are from developing
countries in Asia and Africa, including Arab countries.

6% of Israeli Jews define themselves as haredim (ultra-orthodox religious);
an additional 9% are "religious"; 34% consider themselves "traditionalists"
(not strictly adhering to Jewish halacha) ; and 51% are "secular". Among the
seculars, 53% believe in God.

Arabs make up 18% of Israel's population. Within this group is a minority of
Palestinian Christians who make 9% of the Israeli Arab population.

There are also a number of smaller minorities, including Druze (1.5%) and a
tiny Armenian community.

As of 2001, 201,000 Israeli citizens live in settlements in the West Bank
and 7,000 in the Gaza Strip. They are subject to Israeli law and lead lives
similar to other Jewish Israelis.

Culture

                                  Holidays

   Date         English Name         Local Name   Range of possible datesin Julian calendar
 Tishri 1 Head of the Year         Rosh Hashanah  between Sept 6 & Oct 5
 Tishri 10Day of Atonement         Yom Kippur     between Sept 15 & Oct 14
 Tishri 15Feast of Tabernacles     Sukkot         between Sept 20 & Oct 19 (Booths)
 Tishri 22Assembly of the Eighth   Shemini Atzeretbetween Sept 27 & Oct 26

 Nissan 15Passover                 Pesach         between March 27 & April 25
 Nissan 21Passover                 Pesach         between April 2 & May 1
 Iyar 5   Independence Day         Yom Ha-Atzmaut between April 16 & May 15
 Sivan 6  Pentecost                Shavuot        between May 16 & June 14

Wars

   * 1948 Arab-Israeli War (see also: 1949 Armistice Agreements)
   * 1956 Suez War
   * 1967 Six Day War
   * 1970 War of Attrition
   * 1973 Yom Kippur War
   * 1982 Lebanon War
   * 1990/1 Gulf War

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