Israel

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel's western coast lies on the Mediterranean Sea, its southern tip reaches the Red Sea, and to the east is Earth's lowest point near the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is the government seat and proclaimed capital, while Tel Aviv is Israel's largest urban area and economic centre.

The Land of Israel, also called Palestine or the Holy Land, was home to the ancient Canaanites and later the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and Hasmonean Judea. Located near continental crossroads, its demographics shifted under various empires. 19th-century European antisemitism fuelled the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland, which gained British support with the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

Israel declared independence as the British Mandate ended on 14 May 1948. The Basic Laws of Israel establish the Knesset as a proportionally elected parliament. Israel has one of the Middle East's largest economies, one of Asia's highest living standards, and is one of the world's most technologically advanced countries. The culture of Israel combines Jewish traditions with Arab influences.

Etymology

The terms Land of Israel and Children of Israel have been used for a long time to talk about an old place called the Kingdom of Israel and all the Jewish people. The word Israel comes from a man named Jacob. In stories, Jacob got his name after he wrestled with an angel and won. The oldest known object that writes the word Israel is called the Merneptah Stele, from very old ancient Egypt.

Before the country of Israel started in 1948, the area was called Palestine during a time called the British Mandate. When Israel was created, leaders chose the name State of Israel. Other names were suggested, like Land of Israel, but Israel was chosen by a vote.

History

Main article: History of Israel

Further information: History of Israel (1948–present)

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Israeli history

Prehistory

Further information: Prehistory of the Levant

The Ubeidiya prehistoric site in northern Israel shows the presence of archaic humans around 1.5 million years ago. The second-oldest evidence of anatomically modern humans outside Africa is a 200,000-year-old fossil from Misliya Cave on Mount Carmel. The Natufian culture (c. 10,000 BCE) may be linked to the Proto-Afroasiatic language and is notable for adopting sedentism before the advent of agriculture and the Neolithic Revolution.

Bronze and Iron Ages

Further information: Ancient Israel and Judah

Early references to "Canaan" and "Canaanites" appear in ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian texts (c. 2000 BCE); these populations were structured as politically independent city-states. During the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE), large parts of Canaan formed vassal states of the New Kingdom of Egypt. As a result of the Late Bronze Age collapse, Canaan fell into chaos, and Egyptian control over the region collapsed. Ancestors of the Israelites are thought to have included ancient Semitic-speaking peoples native to this area.^: 78–79  Modern archaeological accounts suggest that the Israelites and their culture branched out of the Canaanite peoples through the development of a distinct monolatristic—and later monotheistic—religion centered on Yahweh. They spoke an archaic form of Hebrew, known as Biblical Hebrew. Around the same time, the Philistines settled on the southern coastal plain.

Most modern scholars agree that the Exodus narrative in the Torah and Old Testament did not take place as depicted; however, some elements of these traditions do have historical roots. There is debate about the earliest existence of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah and their extent and power. While it is unclear if there was a United Kingdom of Israel, historians and archaeologists agree that the northern Kingdom of Israel existed by ca. 900 BCE^{: 169–195}  and the Kingdom of Judah by ca. 850 BCE. The Kingdom of Israel was the more prosperous of the two and soon developed into a regional power, with a capital at Samaria; during the Omride dynasty, it controlled Samaria, Galilee, the upper Jordan Valley, the plain of Sharon and large parts of Transjordan. The Kingdom of Israel was conquered around 720 BCE by the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Kingdom of Judah, under Davidic rule with its capital in Jerusalem, later became a client state of first the Neo-Assyrian Empire and then the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It is estimated that the region's population was around 400,000 in the Iron Age II. In 587/6 BCE, following a revolt in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar II besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple, dissolved the kingdom and exiled much of the Judean elite to Babylon.

Classical antiquity

Further information: Second Temple period

After capturing Babylon in 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, issued a proclamation allowing the exiled Judean population to return. The construction of the Second Temple was completed c. 520 BCE. The Achaemenids ruled the region as the province of Yehud Medinata. In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered the region as part of his campaign against the Achaemenid Empire. After his death, the area was controlled by the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires as a part of Coele-Syria. Under the Hellenistic kingdoms, ongoing Hellenisation generated cultural tensions among the Jewish population that culminated under Antiochus IV, whose decrees outlawed Jewish practices and triggered the Maccabean Revolt in 167 BCE. The revolt weakened Seleucid control over Judea; by 142/141 BCE the Hasmoneans had secured autonomy and soon established an independent Jewish kingdom that, in the late 2nd–early 1st century BCE, expanded into neighbouring territories. The Hasmonean civil war ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 63 BCE.

In 37 BCE, Herod the Great was installed as a dynastic vassal of Rome following the Roman–Parthian Wars. In 6 CE, the area was annexed as the Roman province of Judaea; tensions with Roman rule led to a series of Jewish–Roman wars, resulting in widespread destruction. The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE) resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple and a sizable portion of the population being killed or displaced. A second uprising known as the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) initially allowed the Jews to form an independent state, but the Romans brutally crushed the rebellion, devastating and depopulating Judea's countryside. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a Roman colony (Aelia Capitolina), and the province of Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina. Jews were expelled from the districts surrounding Jerusalem. Nevertheless, there was a continuous small Jewish presence, and Galilee became its religious center.

Late antiquity and the medieval period

Further information: Byzantine Palestine, Bilad al-Sham, and Kingdom of Jerusalem

During the Byzantine period, Early Christianity displaced Roman paganism in the 4th century CE, with Constantine embracing and promoting the Christian religion and Theodosius I making it the state religion. A series of laws were passed that discriminated against Jews and Judaism, and Jews were persecuted by both the church and the authorities. Many Jews had emigrated to flourishing diaspora communities, while locally there was both Christian immigration and local conversion. By the middle of the 5th century, there was a Christian majority. Towards the end of the 5th century, Samaritan revolts erupted, continuing until the late 6th century and resulting in a large decrease in the Samaritan population. After the Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem and the short-lived Jewish revolt against Heraclius in 614 CE, the Byzantine Empire reconsolidated control of the area in 628.

In 634–641 CE, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Levant. Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (r. 634–644) lifted the Christian ban on Jews entering Jerusalem and permitted them to worship there. Over the next six centuries, control of the region transferred between the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates, and subsequently the Seljuk and Ayyubid dynasties. The population drastically decreased during the following several centuries, dropping from an estimated 1 million during Roman and Byzantine periods to about 300,000 by the early Ottoman period, and there was steady Arabisation and Islamisation. The end of the 11th century brought the Crusades, papally-sanctioned incursions of Christian crusaders intent on wresting Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim control and establishing crusader states. The Ayyubids pushed back the crusaders before Muslim rule was fully restored by the Mamluk sultans of Egypt in 1291.

Modern period and the emergence of Zionism

Main articles: Jerusalem Sanjak and Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem

Further information: Old Yishuv and Zionism

In 1516, the Ottoman Empire conquered the region and ruled it as part of Ottoman Syria. Two violent incidents took place against Jews, the 1517 Safed attacks and the 1517 Hebron attacks, after the Turkish Ottomans ousted the Mamluks during the Ottoman–Mamluk War. Under the Ottoman Empire, the Levant was fairly cosmopolitan, with religious freedoms for Christians, Muslims, and Jews. In 1561 the Ottoman sultan invited Sephardic Jews escaping the Spanish Inquisition to settle in and rebuild the city of Tiberias.

Under the Ottoman Empire's millet system, Christians and Jews were considered dhimmi ("protected") under Ottoman law in exchange for loyalty to the state and payment of the jizya tax. Non-Muslim Ottoman subjects faced geographic and lifestyle restrictions, though these were not always enforced. The millet system organised non-Muslims into autonomous communities on the basis of religion.

The concept of an eventual return to Zion remained a symbol within religious Jewish belief which emphasised that their return should be determined by Divine Providence rather than human action. The Jewish population of Palestine from the Ottoman rule to the beginning of the Zionist movement, known as the Old Yishuv, comprised a minority and fluctuated in size. During the 16th century, Jewish communities struck roots in the Four Holy Cities—Jerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron, and Safed—and in 1697, Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid led 1,500 Jews to Jerusalem. A 1660 Druze revolt against the Ottomans destroyed Safed and Tiberias. In the second half of the 18th century, Eastern European Jews who were opponents of Hasidism, known as the Perushim, settled in Palestine.

In the late 18th century, local Arab Sheikh Daher al-Umar created a de facto independent emirate in the Galilee. Ottoman attempts to subdue the sheikh failed. After Daher's death the Ottomans regained control of the area. In 1799, governor Jazzar Pasha repelled an assault on Acre by Napoleon's troops, prompting the French to abandon the Syrian campaign. In 1834, a revolt by Palestinian Arab peasants against Egyptian conscription and taxation policies under Muhammad Ali was suppressed; Muhammad Ali's army retreated and Ottoman rule was restored with British support in 1840. The Tanzimat reforms were implemented across the Ottoman Empire.

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. The 1882 May Laws increased economic discrimination against Jews, and restricted where they could live. In response, political Zionism took form, a movement that sought to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, thus offering a solution to the Jewish question of the European states.^{[better source needed]} Antisemitism, pogroms and official policies in tsarist Russia led to the emigration of three million Jews in the years between 1882 and 1914, only 1% of whom went to Palestine. Those who went to Palestine were driven primarily by ideas of self-determination and Jewish identity, rather than as a response to pogroms or economic insecurity.

The Second Aliyah (1904–1914) began after the Kishinev pogrom; some 40,000 Jews settled in Palestine, although nearly half left eventually. Both the first and second waves of migrants were mainly Orthodox Jews. The Second Aliyah included Zionist socialist groups who established the kibbutz movement based on the idea of establishing a separate Jewish economy based exclusively on Jewish labour. Those of the Second Aliyah who became leaders of the Yishuv in the coming decades believed that the Jewish settler economy should not depend on Arab labour. This would be a dominant source of antagonism with the Arab population, with the new Yishuv's nationalist ideology overpowering its socialist one. Though the immigrants of the Second Aliyah largely sought to create communal Jewish agricultural settlements, Tel Aviv was established as the first planned Jewish town in 1909. Jewish armed militias emerged during this period, the first being Bar-Giora in 1907. Two years later, the larger Hashomer organisation was founded as its replacement.

British Mandate for Palestine

Main article: Mandatory Palestine

Further information: Yishuv, Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine, and 1948 Palestine war

See also: Jewish land purchase in Palestine

Chaim Weizmann's efforts to garner British support for the Zionist movement eventually secured the Balfour Declaration of 1917, stating Britain's support for the creation of a Jewish "national home" in Palestine. Weizmann's interpretation of the declaration was that negotiations on the future of the country were to happen directly between Britain and the Jews, excluding Arabs. Jewish-Arab relations in Palestine deteriorated dramatically in the following years.

In 1918, the Jewish Legion, primarily Zionist volunteers, assisted in the British conquest of Palestine. In 1920, the territory was divided between Britain and France under the mandate system, and the British-administered area (including modern Israel) was named Mandatory Palestine. 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 as an outgrowth of Hashomer, from which the Irgun and Lehi paramilitaries later split. In 1922, the League of Nations granted Britain the Mandate for Palestine under terms which included the Balfour Declaration with its promise to the Jews and with similar provisions regarding the Arab Palestinians. The population of the area was predominantly Arab and Muslim, with Jews accounting for about 11% and Arab Christians about 9.5% of the population.

The Third (1919–1923) and Fourth Aliyahs (1924–1929) brought an additional 100,000 Jews to Palestine. 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, which was suppressed by British security forces and Zionist militias. Several hundred British security personnel and Jews were killed; 5,032 Arabs were killed, 14,760 wounded, and 12,622 detained. An estimated ten per cent of the adult male Palestinian Arab population was killed, wounded, imprisoned, or exiled.

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 organised to bring Jews to Palestine. During World War II, Palestine was repeatedly bombed by Axis aircraft, causing casualties among both Jews and Arabs. About 30,000 Jews from Palestine served in the British military during the war, of whom around 700 were killed. Some 12,000 Palestinian Arabs also served in the British military during the war. At the end of the war, about 31% of the population of Palestine was Jewish. The UK found itself facing a Jewish insurgency over immigration restrictions from 1944, which intensified following the end of the war, and continued conflict with the Arab community over limit levels. The Haganah joined Irgun and Lehi in an armed struggle against British rule. The Haganah attempted to bring tens of thousands of Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors to Palestine by ship. Most of the ships were intercepted by the Royal Navy and the refugees placed in detention camps in Atlit and Cyprus.

On 22 July 1946, Irgun bombed the British administrative headquarters for Palestine, killing 91. The attack was a response to Operation Agatha (a series of raids, including one on the Jewish Agency, by the British) and was the deadliest directed at the British during the Mandate era. The Jewish insurgency continued throughout 1946 and 1947 despite concerted efforts by the British military and Palestine Police Force to suppress it.

British efforts to mediate with Jewish and Arab representatives were not successful as the Jews were unwilling to accept any solution that did not involve a Jewish state and suggested a partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, while the Arabs were adamant that a Jewish state in any part of Palestine was unacceptable and that the only solution was a unified Palestine under Arab rule. In February 1947, the British referred the Palestine issue to the newly formed United Nations. On 15 May 1947, the UN General Assembly resolved that a Special Committee be created "to prepare ... a report on the question of Palestine". The Report of the Committee 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".

Meanwhile, the Jewish insurgency continued and peaked in July 1947, with a series of widespread guerrilla raids culminating in the Sergeants affair, in which the Irgun took two British sergeants hostage as attempted leverage against the planned execution of three Irgun operatives. After the executions were carried out, the Irgun killed the two British soldiers, hanged their bodies from trees, and left a booby trap at the scene which injured a British soldier. The incident caused widespread outrage in the UK. In September 1947, the British cabinet decided to evacuate Palestine as the Mandate was no longer tenable.

On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 (II). The plan attached to the resolution was essentially that proposed in the report of 3 September. The Jewish Agency, the recognised representative of the Jewish community, accepted the plan, which assigned 55–56% of Mandatory Palestine to the Jews. At the time, the Jews were about a third of the population and owned around 6–7% of the land. Arabs constituted the majority and owned about 20% of the land, with the remainder held by the Mandate authorities or foreign landowners.

The Arab League and Arab Higher Committee of Palestine rejected the partition plan on the basis that the partition plan privileged European interests over those of the Palestinians, and indicated that they would reject any other plan of partition. On 1 December 1947, the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a three-day strike, and riots broke out in Jerusalem. The situation spiralled into a civil war. Colonial Secretary Arthur Creech Jones announced that the British Mandate would end on 15 May 1948, at which point the British would evacuate. As Arab militias and gangs attacked Jewish areas, they were faced mainly by the Haganah as well as the smaller Irgun and Lehi. In April 1948, the Haganah moved onto the offensive.

Independence and early years

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". The following day, the armies of four Arab countries—Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, and Iraq—entered what had been Mandatory Palestine, launching the 1948 Arab–Israeli War; contingents from Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan joined the war. The purpose of the invasion was to prevent the establishment of the Jewish state. The Arab League stated the invasion was to restore order and prevent further bloodshed.

After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were established. Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip. Over 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled by Zionist militias and the Israeli military—what would become known in Arabic as the Nakba ('catastrophe'). The events also led to the destruction of most of Palestine's Arab culture, identity, and national aspirations. Some 156,000 Arabs remained and became Arab citizens of Israel.

By United Nations General Assembly Resolution 273, Israel was admitted as a member of the UN on 11 May 1949. In the early years of the state, the Labour Zionist movement led by Prime Minister Ben-Gurion dominated Israeli politics. 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 (lit. "Institute for Immigration B"). The latter engaged in clandestine operations in countries, particularly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where the lives of Jews were in danger and exit was difficult. Mossad LeAliyah Bet was disbanded in 1953. The immigration was in accordance with the One Million Plan. Some immigrants held Zionist beliefs or came for the promise of a better life, while others moved to escape persecution or were expelled from their homes.

An influx of Holocaust survivors and Jews from Arab and Muslim countries to Israel during the first three years increased the number of Jews from 700,000 to 1,400,000. By 1958, the population had risen to two million. Between 1948 and 1970, approximately 1,150,000 Jewish refugees relocated to Israel. Some immigrants arrived as refugees and were housed in temporary camps known as ma'abarot; by 1952, over 200,000 people were living in these tent cities. Jews of European background were often treated more favourably than Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries—housing units reserved for the latter were often re-designated for the former, so Jews newly arrived from Arab lands generally ended up staying longer in transit camps. During this period, food, clothes and furniture were 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.

Arab–Israeli conflict

Main article: Arab–Israeli conflict

There were further expulsions of Palestinians after the establishment of Israel. During the 1950s, Israel was frequently attacked by Palestinian fedayeen, nearly always against civilians, mainly from the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip, leading to several Israeli reprisal operations. In 1956, the UK and France aimed at regaining control of the Suez Canal, which Egypt had nationalised. The continued blockade of the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, together with increasing fedayeen attacks against Israel's southern population and recent Arab threatening statements, prompted Israel to attack Egypt. Israel joined a secret alliance with the UK and France and overran the Sinai Peninsula in the Suez Crisis but was pressured to withdraw by the UN in return for guarantees of Israeli shipping rights. The war resulted in significant reduction of Israeli border infiltration.

In the early 1960s, Israel captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and brought him to Israel for trial. Eichmann remains the only person executed in Israel by conviction in an Israeli civilian court. In 1963, Israel was engaged in a diplomatic standoff with the United States in relation to the Israeli nuclear programme.

Since 1964 Arab countries, concerned over Israeli plans to divert waters of the Jordan River into the coastal plain, 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 recognise Israel and called for its destruction. By 1966, Israeli-Arab relations had deteriorated to the point of battles taking place between Israeli and Arab forces.

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. Other Arab states mobilised their forces. Israel reiterated that these actions were a casus belli and launched a pre-emptive strike (Operation Focus) against Egypt in June. Jordan, Syria and Iraq attacked Israel.

In the ensuing Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Israeli forces expelled ~300,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Jerusalem's boundaries were enlarged, incorporating East Jerusalem. 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, Israel faced attacks from the Egyptians in the Sinai Peninsula during the 1967–1970 War of Attrition, and from Palestinian groups targeting Israelis in the occupied territories, globally, and in Israel. Most important among the Palestinian and Arab groups was the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), established in 1964, which initially committed itself to "armed struggle as the only way to liberate the homeland". In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Palestinian groups launched attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world, including a massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The Israeli government responded with an assassination campaign against the organisers of the massacre, a bombing and a raid on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon.

On 6 October 1973, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack against Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, opening the Yom Kippur War. The war ended on 25 October with Israel repelling Egyptian and Syrian forces but suffering great losses. 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.^{[better source needed]} On 27 June 1976, Air France Flight 139 was hijacked in flight from Israel to France by Palestinian guerrillas; Israeli commandos rescued 102 of 106 Israeli hostages days later.

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. 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. Sadat and Begin signed the Camp David Accords (1978) and the Egypt–Israel peace treaty (1979). In return, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and agreed to enter negotiations over autonomy for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

On 11 March 1978, a PLO guerilla raid from Lebanon led to the Coastal Road massacre. Israel responded by launching an invasion of southern Lebanon to destroy PLO bases. Begin's government meanwhile provided incentives for Israelis to settle in the occupied West Bank, increasing friction with the Palestinians there.

The 1980 Jerusalem Law 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. In 1981 Israel effectively annexed the Golan Heights. The international community largely rejected these moves, with the UN Security Council declaring both the Jerusalem Law and the Golan Heights Law null and void. Several waves of Ethiopian Jews immigrated to Israel since the 1980s, while between 1990 and 1994, immigration from the post-Soviet states increased Israel's population by twelve per cent.

On 7 June 1981, during the Iran–Iraq War, the Israeli air force destroyed Iraq's sole nuclear reactor, then under construction, in order to impede the Iraqi nuclear weapons programme. Following a series of PLO attacks in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to destroy the PLO bases. In the first six days, Israel destroyed the military forces of the PLO in Lebanon and decisively defeated the Syrians. An Israeli government inquiry (the Kahan Commission) held Begin and several Israeli generals indirectly responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacre and held defence minister Ariel Sharon as bearing "personal responsibility". Sharon was forced to resign.

In 1985, Israel responded to a Palestinian terrorist attack in Cyprus by bombing the PLO headquarters in Tunisia. Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1986 but continued to occupy a borderland buffer zone in southern Lebanon until 2000, from where Israeli forces engaged in conflict with Hezbollah. The First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule, broke out in 1987, with waves of uncoordinated demonstrations and violence 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. Over 1,000 people were killed. During the 1991 Gulf War, the PLO supported Saddam Hussein and Iraqi missile attacks against Israel. Despite public outrage, Israel heeded American calls to refrain from hitting back.

In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became prime minister following an election in which his party called for compromise with Israel's neighbours. The following year, Shimon Peres on behalf of Israel and Yasser Arafat for the PLO signed the Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) the right to govern parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The PLO also recognised Israel's right to exist and pledged an end to terrorism. In 1994, the Israel–Jordan peace treaty was signed, making Jordan the second Arab country to normalise relations with Israel. Arab public support for the Accords was damaged by the continuation of Israeli settlements and checkpoints, and the deterioration of economic conditions. Israeli public support for the Accords waned after Palestinian suicide attacks. In November 1995, Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a far-right Jew who opposed the Accords.

During Benjamin Netanyahu's premiership at the end of the 1990s, Israel agreed to withdraw from Hebron, though this was never ratified or implemented, and he signed the Wye River Memorandum. The agreement dealt with further redeployments in the West Bank and security issues. The memorandum was criticised by major international human rights organisations for its "encouragement" of human rights abuses. Ehud Barak, elected prime minister in 1999, withdrew forces from southern Lebanon and conducted negotiations with PNA Chairman Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton at the 2000 Camp David Summit. Barak offered a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state, including the entirety of the Gaza Strip and over 90% of the West Bank with Jerusalem as a shared capital. Each side blamed the other for the failure of the talks.

21st century

Further information: Iran–Israel proxy conflict, Gaza–Israel conflict, and Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)

In late 2000, after a controversial visit by Sharon to the Temple Mount, the Second Intifada began. The popular uprising faced disproportionate repression from the Israeli state. Palestinian suicide bombings eventually developed into a recurrent feature of the intifada. Some commentators contend that the intifada was pre-planned by Arafat after the collapse of peace talks. Sharon became prime minister in a 2001 election; he carried out his plan to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and spearheaded the construction of the West Bank barrier, ending the intifada. Between 2000 and 2008, 1,063 Israelis, 5,517 Palestinians and 64 foreign citizens were killed.

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, including an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The war wound down in August 2006 after the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701; Israeli forces mostly withdrew from Lebanon by October 2006 but continued to occupy the Lebanese portion of Ghajar village. In 2007 the Israeli Air Force destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria.

In 2008, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel collapsed, resulting in the three-week Gaza War. In what Israel described as a response to over a hundred Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities, Israel began an operation in the Gaza Strip in 2012, lasting eight days. Israel started another operation in Gaza following an escalation of rocket attacks by Hamas in July 2014. In May 2021, another round of fighting took place in Gaza and Israel, lasting eleven days. By the 2010s, increasing regional cooperation between Israel and Arab League countries have been established, culminating in the signing of the Abraham Accords. The Israeli security situation shifted from the traditional Arab–Israeli conflict towards the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and direct confrontation with Iran during the Syrian civil war.

On 7 October 2023, Palestinian militant groups from Gaza, led by Hamas, launched a series of coordinated attacks on Israel, leading to the start of the Gaza war. On that day, approximately 1,300 Israelis, predominantly civilians, were killed in communities near the Gaza Strip border and during a music festival. Over 200 hostages were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. Studies modeling trauma exposure and assessing mental health outcomes estimated that approximately 5.3% of Israelis may develop PTSD, with national data showing that probable PTSD nearly doubled from 16.2% to 29.8% and rates of anxiety and depression also rising sharply.

After clearing militants from its territory, Israel launched one of the most destructive bombing campaigns in modern history and invaded Gaza on 27 October with the stated objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing hostages. The fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, it has been the deadliest for Palestinians in the entire Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. A United Nations Special Committee, multiple governments, and various experts and human rights organisations have concluded that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people due to the harm and loss of life inflicted on civilians during the Gaza War.

In April 2024, Israel initiated a wave of airstrikes on Iran, after Iranian strikes targeted Israel, marking the 2024 Iran–Israel conflict the first time in which the two countries have ever directly exchanged fire. In October 2024, Israel invaded Lebanon and exchanged missile barrages with Iran three weeks later, in response of Iranian strikes earlier in that month. After nearly a year of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict from October 2023 due to Hezbollah shooting rockets at Israel to support Hamas in Gaza, Israel assassinated Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah in September 2024. A November 2024 ceasefire agreement instructed Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, which Israel mostly did by February 2025, but against the agreement, Israeli forces stayed in five military outposts on highlands in Southern Lebanon. In June 2025, Israel launched a renewed series of airstrikes on Iran, targeting Iran's air defence systems, missile launchers, their military leadership, and their nuclear programme, which escalated into a full-scale war. In February 2026, Israel and the United States launched extensive airstrikes on Iran, assassinating Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and sparking the 2026 Iran war and the 2026 Lebanon war. The strikes aimed to destroy the Iranian military, nuclear programme, and achieve regime change.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Israel

See also: Agriculture in Israel, Wildlife of Israel, List of forests in Israel, and Yatir Forest

Satellite images of Israel and neighbouring territories during the day and night

Israel is in the Levant area of the Fertile Crescent. It sits at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea and is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank to the east, and Egypt and the Gaza Strip to the southwest. It lies between latitudes 29° and 34° N, and longitudes 34° and 36° E.

Israel is small but has many different landscapes. It has deserts, valleys, and mountains. The Negev desert is in the south, while fertile valleys and mountain ranges are in the north. Most people live along the coast by the Mediterranean Sea. The Jordan River runs through a valley and ends at the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth.

Further information: List of earthquakes in the Levant

The land in this area moves, which can cause earthquakes. Big earthquakes happen about every 400 years, and smaller damaging ones happen more often. Many newer buildings are built to withstand earthquakes, but some older ones might not be safe.

Further information: Climate change in Israel

The weather changes a lot. Coastal cities have cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. In the desert areas, summers are very hot and dry, while winters are mild with little rain. Some mountains get snow each year. Israel has many different plants and animals because of its location between different climate zones. The country has developed smart ways to save water and uses a lot of solar energy.

Government and politics

Israel has a parliamentary system where a member of parliament supported by a majority becomes the prime minister, usually the leader of the largest party. The prime minister is the head of government and of the cabinet. The president is the head of state, with mostly ceremonial duties.

Israel is governed by a 120-member parliament called the Knesset. Membership is based on proportional representation of political parties, with a small percentage needed to enter parliament. This often leads to coalition governments. The Knesset schedules elections every four years, but unstable coalitions or special votes can end a government early. The first party led by someone from an Arab background was created in 1988, and as of 2022, such parties hold about 10% of the seats. A party cannot run for the Knesset if its goals or actions go against the existence of Israel as a Jewish state.

The Basic Laws of Israel act like an uncodified constitution. They define Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and the nation-state of the Jewish people. In 2003, the Knesset began drafting an official constitution based on these laws. Israel has no official religion, but being a Jewish and democratic state creates a strong link with Judaism. In 2018, a Basic Law declared Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People and Hebrew as its official language, giving Arabic a special status. This law also emphasizes Jewish settlement as a national interest.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Districts of Israel

Israel is divided into six main areas known as districts—Center, Haifa, Jerusalem, North, South, and Tel Aviv—as well as an area in the West Bank. Some parts of these districts are not internationally recognized as part of Israel. These districts are further split into smaller regions.

Israeli citizenship law

A law from 1950 allows Jews to move to Israel and become citizens. People born in the country can become citizens if at least one parent is a citizen. Israeli law sees Jewish nationality as different from Israeli nationality, and the Supreme Court has ruled that Israeli nationality does not officially exist. A Jewish national is defined as someone who practices Judaism and their descendants.

Israeli-occupied territories

In 1967, after the Six-Day War, Israel took control of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights. Israel also took the Sinai Peninsula but returned it to Egypt in 1979. Between 1982 and 2000, Israel controlled part of southern Lebanon. Since then, Israeli settlements and military bases have been built in these areas, except in Lebanon.

The Golan Heights and East Jerusalem are fully under Israeli law, but this is not accepted internationally. Israel applies its laws to these areas and allows people there to apply for citizenship. The United Nations says this annexation is not valid and considers these areas occupied. The status of East Jerusalem remains a difficult issue in peace talks between Israel and Palestinian representatives.

The West Bank, apart from East Jerusalem, is known as the Judea and Samaria Area. About 400,000 Israeli settlers live there. They are part of Israel’s population, have representation in the Knesset, and follow many of Israel’s laws. However, the land is not legally part of Israel. Israel has not officially annexed it but claims it. The international community views Israel’s control of the West Bank as the longest military occupation in modern history. The West Bank was once occupied by Jordan, which only Britain recognized. Jordan has since given up its claim to the area to the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Most of the population there are Palestinians, including refugees from the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. From 1967 to 1993, Palestinians in these areas were under Israeli military rule. Since then, most live under the Palestinian Authority, with some areas still under Israeli control. Israel’s claim to equal voting rights has been questioned due to its control over these areas and the different treatment of Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents.

The Gaza Strip is considered foreign territory under Israeli law. Israel and Egypt control its borders by land, air, and sea. Israel occupied Gaza after 1967 but withdrew its settlers and forces in 2005. However, Israel still controls Gaza’s airspace and waters. The international community, including UN bodies, still considers Gaza occupied. After Hamas took control in 2007, Israel tightened its control over Gaza, limiting who can enter or leave. Gaza shares a border with Egypt, and agreements between Israel, the European Union, and the Palestinian Authority govern how people and goods move across the borders. The application of Israel’s democratic rules to its Palestinian citizens and the different rules in the areas Israel controls have been criticized.

International opinion

See also: Israeli war crimes

The International Court of Justice said that the lands Israel took in the Six-Day War, including East Jerusalem, are occupied territory. Most talks about these areas are based on a UN resolution that says acquiring land by war is not allowed and calls for Israel to withdraw from these areas in exchange for peace with Arab states.

Israel has faced criticism for how it treats people in the occupied territories, including claims of breaking international laws. Reports from groups like Amnesty International and the UN have talked about issues such as mass arrests and unfair treatment. The United States has called some reports of abuses credible.

The international community widely sees Israeli settlements in these areas as against international law. A UN resolution in 2016 said Israel’s settlement building is a clear violation and demanded it stop. A UN expert said the settlement program could be a war crime. Amnesty International also found that the settlement program breaks international laws.

In 2024, the International Court of Justice said Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories breaks international law, and Israel should end its occupation and pay for damage. The court also said Israel is breaking rules against racial discrimination.

Accusations of apartheid

How Israel treats Palestinians in the occupied territories and, to a lesser extent, within Israel itself has led many to say Israel acts like it is practicing apartheid, which is against international law. Surveys and reports from human rights groups have supported these claims. Some Israeli and international groups have also accused Israel of apartheid.

Foreign relations

Main articles: Foreign relations of Israel and International recognition of Israel

Israel has diplomatic ties with 165 UN member states, the Holy See, Kosovo, the Cook Islands, and Niue. It has 107 diplomatic missions. Countries it does not have ties with include most Muslim nations. Six out of 22 nations in the Arab League have normalized relations with Israel. Israel is still officially at war with Syria and Lebanon.

The United States and the Soviet Union were the first to recognize Israel. The U.S. sees Israel as a key partner in the Middle East, based on shared values and security interests. The U.S. has provided billions in military aid and grants to Israel. The United Kingdom has a natural relationship with Israel because of its history in Palestine. Germany has paid billions in reparations to Israel and Holocaust survivors. Turkey had good ties with Israel until recent conflicts affected their relationship. Greece and Israel have improved ties and work together on defense and energy projects. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan also have strong ties with Israel. India established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992 and has a strong partnership in military and technology. Ethiopia is an important ally for Israel in Africa.

As of 2025, Israel is the only UN member state to recognize the Republic of Somaliland.

Foreign aid

Israel has a history of providing emergency aid and help after disasters around the world. It began in 1955 in Burma and then shifted to Africa. Its official aid program started in 1957. Since the late 1970s, Israel’s aid has decreased, but it still sends help through groups like IsraAid, ZAKA, and Save a Child's Heart. Between 1985 and 2015, Israel sent rescue teams to 22 countries. Currently, Israel spends less than 0.1% of its national income on development aid.

Military

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is the military of Israel, led by the Chief of the General Staff. It includes the army, air force, and navy. It was created during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Most Israelis are required to serve when they turn 18. Men serve about two and a half years, and women serve about two years. After service, men can be called back for reserve duty until their forties. Most women do not serve in the reserves. Some Arab citizens and people studying religion are exempt, but they can choose to serve in social programs instead. A small number of Israeli Arabs also volunteer. Because of this system, the IDF has about 176,500 active soldiers and 465,000 reservists.

The military uses advanced technology made in Israel and some from other countries. Israel has developed missile defense systems like the Iron Dome, which has successfully intercepted many rockets. Israel is believed to have nuclear weapons and maintains a policy of not confirming or denying this. Since the Gulf War in 1991, all homes in Israel must have a secure room to protect against chemical and biological attacks.

Military spending has been a big part of Israel’s economy. In 2021, Israel spent $24.3 billion on its military, ranking 15th in the world. The United States provides about $3.8 billion each year to Israel’s defense budget. Israel is also a top exporter of arms.

Legal system

Israel has a three-level court system. The lowest level is magistrate courts in most cities. Above them are district courts, which also act as appellate courts. The highest court is the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, which serves as the highest appeals court and also as the High Court of Justice, allowing people to challenge government decisions.

Israel’s legal system mixes English common law, civil law, and Jewish law. It follows the principle of precedent and is an adversarial system where judges decide cases. Marriage and divorce are handled by religious courts for Jewish, Muslim, Druze, and Christian communities. Judges are chosen by a committee led by the justice minister. Israel’s Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty aims to protect human rights, though it does not include a general rule for equality. Some Israeli laws apply to settlements and residents in occupied territories, but these areas are mostly under military rule, and Israeli law is rarely enforced there.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Israel

Israel is a very advanced country in West Asia and the Middle East for its economy and industry. In 2023, experts thought the country's money value was about 521 billion dollars, with each person having around 53,200 dollars. It is one of the richest countries in Asia and has a lot of very wealthy people. Israel is known for having many new businesses, more than almost any other country. Big companies like Intel and Microsoft have important offices here.

Even though Israel does not have many natural resources, it has become very good at growing food and making things. The country exports many products, such as machines, software, and diamonds, and imports things like raw materials and fuels. Israel also gets help from the United States for its military.

Science and technology

Main articles: Science and technology in Israel and List of Israeli inventions and discoveries

Israel is very good at creating new technologies, especially in computer programs, communication, and medicine. The country spends a lot of money on research and development. Many scientists work here, and some have won important prizes for their discoveries. Israel has made important advances in space technology too, with its own space agency and satellites.

Israel has also made big improvements in saving water, with special ways to make sure not to waste it. The country uses a lot of solar energy, with most homes having solar panels to heat water.

Energy

Main article: Energy in Israel

Israel began getting natural gas from its own ocean fields in 2004. Big discoveries in 2009 and 2010 mean the country has enough natural gas for many years. Israel also has its first big solar power field, which helps save energy.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Israel

Israel has many roads and buses. The country has train services too, which have become very popular. There are three big airports and three main ports for ships.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Israel

See also: List of archaeological sites in Israel and Palestine

Tourism is very important to Israel, with many people visiting to see historical places, beaches, and other interesting sites. In 2017, over 3 million tourists visited the country.

Real estate

Main article: Housing in Israel

Housing in Israel is expensive, with many people needing to save a lot to buy a home. There are not enough houses for everyone, so prices keep going up. In 2021, many people took out big loans to buy homes.

Demographics

Israel has the largest Jewish population in the world and is the only country where Jews make up most of the people. As of April 2025, the population was about 10,094,000. In 2025, about 72% of people were Jews, 21% were Arabs, and 7% were from other groups. Many people from places like Romania, Thailand, China, Africa, and South America have moved to Israel, though some live there without permission.

Most people in Israel, about 93%, live in cities. Many Arab families live in 139 towns and villages in areas called the Galilee, Triangle, and Negev. Others live in cities with both Jewish and Arab families. People in Israel live longer than many other places, with an average age of about 83 years. Israel also has more babies than many countries.

Most Jewish people in Israel, about 80%, were born there. Some came from Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Different groups of Jewish families live together, like those from Europe and those from Arab countries. Some families have both types of backgrounds.

There are also over 600,000 Jewish people living in places beyond where most of Israel is recognized. Some live in areas called the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

Israeli Arabs make up about 21% of the people, or about 1,995,000. Many feel proud to call themselves part of Israel.

Major urban areas

For a more comprehensive list, see List of cities in Israel.

View over the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area

Israel has four big city areas: Gush Dan (around Tel Aviv; population 3,854,000), Jerusalem (1,253,900), Haifa (924,400), and Beersheba (377,100). Jerusalem is the largest city with 1,050,153 people living in 125 square kilometers. Tel Aviv and Haifa are also big cities. The city of Bnei Brak is very crowded, one of the most crowded cities in the world.

Israel has 16 cities with more than 100,000 people. As of 2018 there were 77 places called "municipalities" or "cities" allowed to give services to people, four of which are in the West Bank.

^a This number includes East Jerusalem and West Bank areas, which had a total population of 617,580 inhabitants in 2023. Israeli control over East Jerusalem is not accepted by most other countries.

Language

Main article: Languages of Israel

The main language in Israel is Hebrew, and most people speak it every day. Before 1948, some people did not like the language Yiddish, which some Jewish families spoke, because they wanted Hebrew to be the main language for everyone. Arabic used to be an official language too, but now it has a “special status”. Arabic is spoken by Arab families, and both Arabic and Hebrew are taught in Arab schools. Arabic is also studied in most Jewish schools and used on signs and announcements.

Because many people moved to Israel from places like the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, languages like Russian and Amharic are also spoken. Over one million people who moved from the former Soviet Union now live in Israel. French is spoken by about 700,000 people, mostly from France and North Africa. English used to be an official language long ago, but it is still used a lot. Many Israelis can speak English well because they watch TV shows with subtitles and learn it in school. Israeli universities teach courses in English.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Israel

See also: Abrahamic religions

In 2022, about 73.5% of people in Israel were Jewish, 18.1% were Muslim, 1.9% were Christian, 1.6% were Druze, and 4.9% were from other groups. Jewish people in Israel have different beliefs; some are very religious, some are not. Muslims are the biggest group after Jews. There are also Christians and Druze people. Small groups of people follow other religions too.

Israel is part of a very important area for Jewish, Muslim, and Christian beliefs. Jerusalem is very important to all three groups because of special places there, like the Western Wall and the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque compound) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Other important places are Nazareth (where an important event happened for Mary), Tiberias and Safed (important cities for Jewish beliefs), and many others.

Education

Main article: Education in Israel

In 2015, Israel was one of the top countries for people aged 25 to 64 having gone to college or university. In 2012, Israel had many people with college degrees.

Children in Israel go to school for 16 years on average and most can read and write very well. Schools in Israel can be different; some are for Jewish families, some for Arab families. All children must go to school from age three to eighteen. School has three parts: primary school (grades 1–6), middle school (grades 7–9), and high school (grades 10–12). At the end of high school, students take important tests called Bagrut to show what they learned.

Jewish families in Israel often go to college or university. Many Jewish people aged 25 and older have gone to college. In schools for Arab, Christian, and Druze families, students learn about their own traditions instead of some Jewish history.

Israel has many universities and colleges. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has a big library about Jewish history and books. The Technion and the Hebrew University are known around the world. Other big universities are the Weizmann Institute of Science, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Bar-Ilan University, the University of Haifa, and the Open University of Israel.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Israel

Israel's culture is rich and varied, shaped by the many different groups of people who live there. Jews from many parts of the world have brought their own traditions, and there are also influences from Arab culture in areas like music, food, and building styles. Life in Israel follows the Hebrew calendar, which decides when public holidays occur. The official day of rest is Saturday, known as the Jewish Sabbath.

Literature

Israeli writers mostly create poetry and stories in Hebrew, reflecting the revival of the Hebrew language. Two copies of every book published in Israel must be kept in the National Library. Famous Israeli writers include Shmuel Yosef Agnon, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, as well as Amos Oz, Etgar Keret, and David Grossman.

Music and dance

Further information: Music of Israel and Dance in Israel

Israeli music includes many styles such as Mizrahi, Sephardic, Hasidic, Greek, jazz, and pop rock. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performs hundreds of concerts each year. Israeli musicians like Itzhak Perlman and Ofra Haza are known around the world. Israel has taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest many times and has won it four times.

Cinema and theatre

Main article: Cinema of Israel

Ten Israeli films have been nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. Israel has a lively theatre scene, with famous theatres such as Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv.

Visual arts

Main article: Visual arts in Israel

Israeli art has been influenced by Jewish religious texts and modern European styles. Artists often paint scenes from cities like Safed and Jerusalem, as well as biblical stories. Today, Israeli artists explore many new areas such as digital art and optical art.

Architecture

Main article: Architecture of Israel

Architects in Israel have brought many different building styles. In the early 20th century, they mixed European and Eastern designs. Later, the Bauhaus style became popular, especially in Tel Aviv, which is a UNESCO heritage site. Many government buildings were constructed in a bold, concrete style after Israel became a country.

Museums

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Israeli museums.

The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is one of the country's most important museums, housing the Dead Sea Scrolls and many valuable collections. Yad Vashem is a memorial and museum dedicated to remembering the Holocaust. ANU - Museum of the Jewish People tells the story of Jewish communities around the world.

Mass media

Main article: Mass media in Israel

Israel has many newspapers, television channels, and other media outlets. The media is free to criticize the government. However, during the 2023 Gaza war, there were reports of difficulties for journalists trying to report from certain areas.

Cuisine

Israeli food comes from many cultures, including Jewish, Arab, and Mediterranean traditions. Popular dishes include falafel, hummus, shakshouka, couscous, and za'atar. Schnitzel, pizza, hamburgers, and French fries are also common. Many Israelis keep kosher at home, though some non-kosher foods like pork are also available.

Sports

Main article: Sport in Israel

Football (soccer) and basketball are the most popular sports in Israel. The country has teams that compete in European leagues. Israel has won Olympic medals since 1992, including a gold medal in windsurfing in 2004. The country is also strong in chess and has many grandmasters.