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Coordinates: 31°N 35°E From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Israel (pron.: /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/), officially the State of Medīnat Yisrā'el, State of Israel , ְמ ִד ַינת ִי ְשׂ ָר ֵאל :Israel (Hebrew (Hebrew) ְמ ִד ַינת ִי ְשׂ ָר ֵאל Dawlat , َد ْولَة إِ ْس َرائِيل :IPA: [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel] ( listen); Arabic (Arabic) َد ْولَة إِ ْس َرائِيل Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary democracy in the Middle East, on the south-eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.[1][6] In its Basic Laws Israel defines itself as a Jewish and Democratic Flag Emblem State; it is the world's only Jewish-majority state.[7] However ( ַה ִתּ ְק ָוה ;less that half of the population in areas under its control are Anthem: Hatikvah (The Hope Jewish.[8] 0:00 MENU On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly recommended the adoption and implementation of the United Nations partition plan of Mandatory Palestine. On 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization[9] 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," a state independent upon the termination of the British Mandate for Capital Jerusalem[a] Palestine, 15 May 1948.[10][11][12] Neighboring Arab states and largest city 31°47′N 35°13′E invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Official languages Hebrew · Arabic[1] Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states,[13] in the course of which it has occupied the West Ethnic groups 75.4% Jewish [2] Bank, Sinai Peninsula (between 1967 and 1982), Gaza Strip (2012 ) 20.6% Arab 4.0% other and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including East Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border Demonym Israeli with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been Government Parliamentary permanently defined.[14][15][16][17][18] Israel has signed democracy[1] peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in - President Shimon Peres peace. - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - Speaker of the Reuven Rivlin Israel's financial center is Tel Aviv,[19] while Jerusalem is the Knesset country's most populous city and its capital (although not - President of the Asher Grunis Supreme Court recognized internationally as such). The population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was Legislature Knesset estimated in 2013 to be 7,980,900 people, of whom Independence from Mandatory Palestine 6,014,400 are Jewish. Arabs form the country's second- - Declaration 14 May 1948 largest ethnic group with 1,648,000 people (including Druze and Bedouins).[2][3] The great majority of Israeli Arabs are Area settled-Muslims, with smaller but significant numbers of - Total 20,770 / [a] semi-settled Negev Bedouins and Arab Christians. Other 22,072 km2 (153rd) minorities include various ethnic and ethno-religious 8,019 / 8,522 sq mi denominations such as Druze, Circassians, African Hebrew - Water (%) 2 [20] Israelites of Jerusalem, Samaritans, Maronites and others. Population - 2013 estimate [b][2][3] Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary 7,980,900 (97th) [b] system, proportional representation and universal suffrage. - 2008 census 7,412,200 [4] [21][22] The Prime Minister serves as head of government and - Density 359/km2 (35th) the Knesset serves as Israel's unicameral legislative body. 930/sq mi Israel has one of the highest life expectancies in the GDP (PPP) 2011[5] estimate world.[23] It is a developed country, an OECD member,[24] - Total $236.994 billion (50th) and its economy, based on the nominal gross domestic - Per capita $31,467 (26th) product, was the 40th-largest in the world in 2011. Israel has the highest standard of living in the Middle East, and the third GDP (nominal) 2011[5] estimate [25] highest in Asia. - Total $243.654 billion (41st) - Per capita $32,351 (27th) Gini (2008) 39.2[1] medium · 65th HDI (2011) 0.888 1 Etymology very high · 17th 2 History 2.1 Antiquity Currency New shekel (₪) (ILS) 2.2 Classical period Time zone IST (UTC+2) 2.3 Muslim rule - Summer (DST) IDT (UTC+3) 2.4 Zionism and the British mandate 2.5 Independence and first years Date format dd/mm/yyyy (AD) 2.6 Conflicts and peace treaties 3 Geography and climate Drives on the right 4 Politics Calling code +972 4.1 Legal system 4.2 Administrative divisions ISO 3166 code IL 4.3 Israeli-occupied territories Internet TLD .il 4.4 Foreign relations 4.5 Military a. ^ Excluding / including the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem (see 5 Economy below). 5.1 Science and technology b. ^ Includes all permanent residents in Israel, the Golan Heights and East 5.2 Transport Jerusalem. Also includes Israeli citizens living in the West Bank. Excludes non-Israeli population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. 5.3 Tourism 6 Demographics 6.1 Language 6.2 Religion 6.3 Education 7 Culture 7.1 Literature 7.2 Music and dance 7.3 Cinema and theatre 7.4 Museums 7.5 Cuisine 7.6 Sports 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Bibliography 12 External links Upon independence in 1948, the new Jewish state was formally named Medinat Yisrael, or the State of Israel, after other proposed historical and religious names including Eretz Israel ("the Land of Israel"), Zion, and Judea, were considered and rejected.[26] In the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term "Israeli" to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett.[27] The name Israel has historically been used, in common and religious usage, to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel or the entire Jewish nation.[28] According to the Hebrew Bible the name "Israel" was given to the patriarch Jacob (Standard Yisraʾel, Isrāʾīl; Septuagint Greek: Ἰσραήλ Israēl; "struggle with The Star of David in the God"[29]) after he successfully wrestled with the angel of the Lord.[30] Jacob's Leningrad Codex, 1008 CE 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 until Moses, a great-great grandson of Jacob,[31] led the Israelites back into Canaan during the "Exodus". The earliest archaeological artifact to mention the word "Israel" is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated to the late 13th century BCE).[32] The area is also known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith. Prior to the Israeli Declaration of Independence of 1948, the whole region was known by various other names including Southern Syria, Syria Palestina, Kingdom of Jerusalem, Iudaea Province, Coele-Syria, Retjenu, Canaan and, particularly, Palestine. Main article: History of Israel Antiquity Further information: History of ancient Israel and Judah The notion of the "Land of Israel", known in Hebrew as Eretz Yisrael (or Eretz Yisroel), 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.[33][34] On the basis of scripture, the period of the three Patriarchs has been placed somewhere in the early 2nd millennium BCE,[35] 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.[36][37][38][39] The northern Kingdom of Israel, as well as Philistine city-states, fell in 722 BCE, though the southern Kingdom of Judah and several Phoenician city-states continued their existence as the region came under Assyrian rule. With the emergence of Babylonians, Judah was eventually conquered as well. Masada, a national symbol Classical period With successive Persian rule, the region, divided between Syria-Coele province and later the autonomous Yehud Medinata, was gradually developing back into urban society, largely dominated by Judeans. The Greek conquests largely skipped the region without any resistance or interest. Incorporated into Ptolemaic and finally Seleucid Empires, southern Levant was heavily hellenized, building the tensions between Judeans and Greeks. The conflict erupted in 167 BCE with the Maccabean Revolt, which succeeded in establishing an independent Hasmonean Kingdom in Judah, which later expanded over much of modern Israel, as the Seleucids gradually lost control in the region. The Roman Empire invaded the region in 63 BCE, first taking control of Syria, and then intervening in the Hasmonean civil war. The struggle between pro-Roman and pro-Parthian factions in Judea eventually led to the installation of Herod the Great and consolidation of the Herodian Kingdom as a vassal Judean state of Rome. 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 Treasures, including the Menorah, Jewish-Roman Wars, ending in wide-scale destruction and genocide. carried in a Roman triumph after the Jewish presence in the region significantly dwindled after the failure of [40] 70 CE Siege of Jerusalem.