This article is about the modern country. For other uses see Israel (disambiguation). State of Israel (Hebrew) Mednat Yisr'el (Arabic) Dawlat Isr'l Flag Emblem Anthem:  Hatikvah () Capital (and largest city) Jerusalema 3147N 3513E / 31.783N 35.217E / 31.783; 35.217 Official language(s) Hebrew Arabic1 Ethnic groups  75.3% Jewish 20.5% Arab 4.2% other2 Demonym Israeli Government Parliamentary democracy1  -  President Shimon Peres  -  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  -  Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin  -  Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch Legislature Knesset Independence from British Mandate for Palestine   -  Declaration May 14 1948  Area  -  Total 1 20770 / 22072 km2 (151st) 8019 / 8522 sq mi   -  Water (%) 2% Population  -  2011 estimate 77460002 (95th)  -  2008 census 74069003   -  Density 365.3/km2 (30th) 946.1/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate  -  Total $219.431 billion4   -  Per capita $295314  GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate  -  Total $213.147 billion4   -  Per capita $286854  Gini (2008) 39.21  HDI (2010) 0.8725 (very high) (15th) Currency Shekel () (ILS) Time zone IST (UTC+2)  -  Summer (DST) IDT (UTC+3) Drives on the right ISO 3166 code IL Internet TLD .il Calling code 972 1 Excluding / Including the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem; see below. 2 Includes all permanent residents in Israel the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. Also includes Israeli citizens living in the West Bank. Excludes non-Israeli population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Wikisource has original text related to this article: Israel

The State of Israel (Hebrew: (helpinfo) Mednat Yisr'el; Arabic: Dawlat Isrl) is a parliamentary republic in Western Asia located on the 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 contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.67 Israel is the world's only Jewish-majority state8 and is defined as a Jewish and democratic state in its Basic Laws.

Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948 and neighboring Arab states invaded the next day. Since then Israel has fought a series of wars with neighboring Arab states9 and has occupied territories including the West Bank Sinai Peninsula Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights beyond those delineated in the 1949 Armistice Agreements. The border between Israel and the neighboring West Bank is not formally defined by the Israeli government10111213 as a result of a complex and unresolved political situation. Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan but efforts by elements on both sides to solve the problem diplomatically have so far met with only limited success.

The population defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics to include all citizens and permanent residents within Israel and in Israeli settlements was estimated in February 2011 to be 7718600 people14 of whom 5818200 are Jewish.141516 Arab citizens of Israel form the country's second-largest ethnic group which includes Muslims and Christians. Other minorities are Druze Circassians and Samaritans. According to the May 2010 population estimate including 300000 non-citizen Arabs living in East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights these non-Jewish minorities number 1579700.14

Israel is a developed country and a representative democracy with a parliamentary system and universal suffrage.1718 The Prime Minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as Israel's unicameral legislative body. The economy based on the nominal gross domestic product was the 41st-largest in the world in 2008.19 Israel ranks highest among Middle Eastern countries on the UN Human Development Index20 and it has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.21 Jerusalem is the country's capital although it is not recognized internationally as such.a In 2010 Israel joined the OECD.22 Contents 1 History 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Jewish History in Israel and the Palestinian Territories 1.3 Zionism and the British Mandate 1.4 Independence and first years 1.5 Conflicts and peace treaties 2 Geography 2.1 Climate 2.2 Biodiversity 3 Politics 3.1 Legal system 3.2 Administrative divisions 3.3 Occupied territories 3.4 Foreign relations 3.5 Military 4 Economy 4.1 Tourism 4.2 Transport 4.3 Science and technology 5 Demographics 5.1 Languages 5.2 Religion 5.3 Education 6 Culture 6.1 Literature 6.2 Music and dance 6.3 Cinema and theatre 6.4 Museums 6.5 Sports 6.6 Cuisine 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 External links History Main article: History of Israel Etymology The Star of David symbol of Judaism since the Middle Ages.

In 1948 the country 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.23 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.24

The name Israel has historically been used in common and religious usage to refer to the Land of Israel the biblical Kingdom of Israel and the entire Jewish nation.25 According to the Bible the name "Israel" was given to the patriarch Jacob (Standard Yisrael Isrl; Septuagint Greek: ; "persevere with God"26) after he successfully wrestled with an angel of God.27 Jacob's twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. According to the Bible Jacob and his sons had lived in Canaan and were forced by famine to go into Egypt for four generations until Moses a great-great grandson of Jacob28 led the Israelites back into Canaan in 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).29

The area is also known as the Holy Land being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism Christianity Islam and the Bah' Faith. Prior to the 1948 Israeli Declaration of Independence the region was known by various other names including Palestine Southern Syria Syria Palestina Kingdom of Jerusalem Iudaea Province Coele-Syria Retjenu and Canaan. Jewish History in Israel and the Palestinian Territories Further information: History of ancient Israel and Judah History of Israel and History of Palestine This article contains Hebrew text. Without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols instead of Hebrew letters. This article contains Arabic text written from right to left in a cursive style with some letters joined. Without proper rendering support you may see unjoined Arabic letters written left-to-right instead of right-to-left or other symbols instead of Arabic script. Masada in the Judean Desert a national symbol

The Land of Israel known in Hebrew as Eretz Yisrael (or Eretz Yisroel) has been sacred and important to the Jewish people since Biblical times. According to the Torah God promised the Land of Israel to the three Patriarchs of the Jewish people.3031 On the basis of scripture the period of the three Patriarchs has been placed somewhere in the early 2nd millennium BCE.32 According to Biblical evidence the first Kingdom of Israel was established around the 11th century BCE. Subsequent Israelite kingdoms and states ruled intermittently over the next thousand years and are known from various extra-biblical sources.33343536

Between the time of the First Kingdom of Israel and the Muslim conquests of the 7th century the Land of Israel fell under Assyrian Babylonian Persian Greek Roman Sassanian and Byzantine rule.3738 Jewish presence in the region dwindled after the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE.39 Nevertheless Jewish presence in the Land of Israel remained continuous and the Galilee became its religious center.4041 The Mishnah and part of the Talmud central Jewish texts were composed during the 2nd to 4th centuries CE in Tiberias and Jerusalem.42 During the initial Muslim conquests in 635 CE the Land of Israel including Jerusalem was captured from the Byzantine Empire.43 Control of the region transferred between the Umayyads43 Abbasids43 and Crusaders throughout the next six centuries43 before falling in the hands of the Mamluk Sultanate in 1260.44 In 1516 the Land of Israel was conquered by the Ottoman Empire which ruled the region until the 20th century.44 An ancient synagogue (Kfar Bar'am) abandoned by the 13th century A.D.4546 Zionism and the British Mandate Further information: History of Zionism Many Jews living in the Diaspora have long aspired to return to Zion and the Land of Israel47 though the amount of human effort that should be spent towards such aim is a matter of dispute in Judaism.4849 That hope and yearning was articulated in the Bible50 and is an important theme of the Jewish belief system.48 After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 some communities settled in Palestine.51 During the 16th century communities struck roots in the Four Holy CitiesJerusalem Tiberias Hebron and Safedand in 1697 Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid led a group of 1500 Jews to Jerusalem.52 In the second half of the 18th century Eastern European opponents of Hasidism known as the Perushim settled in Palestine.535455 Aliyah to Israel and settlement Pre-Zionist Aliyah The Return to Zion Old Yishuv Before May 14 1948 First Aliyah  Second Aliyah During World War I Third Aliyah  Fourth Aliyah Fifth Aliyah During and after World War II Bricha After May 14 1948 Operation Magic Carpet Operation Ezra and Nehemiah Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries 1968 Polish aliyah 1970s Soviet Union aliyah Aliyah from Ethiopia 1990s CIS aliyah 2000s Latin America aliyah Concepts Judaism  Zionism Jewish homeland Jewish messianism Law of Return Galut  Yerida Persons and organizations Theodor Herzl  Knesset El Al  Nefesh B'Nefesh World Zionist Organization Related topics History of Israel History of Zionism Israeli Jews Jewish diaspora Jewish history Jews in the Land of Israel Religious Zionism Revival of the Hebrew language  Yishuv v d e Theodor Herzl visionary of the Jewish State in 1901 The first large wave of "modern" immigration known as the First Aliyah began in 1881 as Jews fled pogroms in Eastern Europe.56 Although the Zionist movement already existed in theory Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl is credited with founding political Zionism57 a movement which sought to establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel by elevating the Jewish Question to the international plane.58 In 1896 Herzl published Der Judenstaat (The State of the Jews) offering his vision of a future state; the following year he presided over the first World Zionist Congress.59 The Second Aliyah (19041914) began after the Kishinev pogrom; some 40000 Jews settled in Palestine but nearly half of them left.56 Both the first and second waves of migrants were mainly Orthodox Jews60 but those in the Second Aliyah included socialist pioneers who established the kibbutz movement.61 During World War I British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued what became known as the Balfour Declaration which "viewed with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". At the request of Edwin Samuel Montagu and Lord Curzon a line was also inserted stating "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country".62 The Jewish Legion a group of battalions composed primarily of Zionist volunteers assisted in the British conquest of Palestine. Arab opposition to the plan led to the 1920 Palestine riots and the formation of the Jewish organization known as the Haganah (meaning "The Defense" in Hebrew) from which the Irgun and Lehi paramilitary groups split off.63 In 1922 the League of Nations granted the United Kingdom a mandate over Palestine under terms similar to the Balfour Declaration.64 The population of the area at that time was predominantly Arab and Muslim with Jews accounting for about 11% of the population.65 The Third (19191923) and Fourth Aliyahs (19241929) brought an additional 100000 Jews to Palestine.56 Finally the rise of Nazism in the 1930s led to the Fifth Aliyah with an influx of a quarter of a million Jews. This caused the Arab revolt of 19361939 and led the British to cap immigration 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.56 By the end of World War II the Jewish population of Palestine had increased to 33% of the total population.66 Independence and first years After 1945 Britain found itself in fierce conflict with the Jewish community as the Haganah joined Irgun and Lehi in armed struggle against British rule.67 At the same time thousands of Jewish refugees from Europe sought shelter in Palestine and were turned away or rounded up and placed in detention camps by the British. In 1947 the British government withdrew from the Mandate of Palestine stating it was unable to arrive at a solution acceptable to both Arabs and Jews.68 The newly created United Nations approved the Partition Plan for Palestine (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181) on November 29 1947 which sought to divide the country into two statesone Arab and one Jewish. Jerusalem was to be designated an international citya corpus separatumadministered by the UN.69 The Jewish community accepted the plan70 but the Arab League and Arab Higher Committee rejected it.71 On December 1 1947 the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a three-day strike and Arab bands began attacking Jewish targets.72 Jews were initially on the defensive as civil war broke out but they gradually moved onto the offensive.73 The Palestinian Arab economy collapsed and 250000 Palestinian-Arabs fled or were expelled.74 David Ben-Gurion proclaiming Israeli independence on May 14 1948 below a portrait of Theodor Herzl On May 14 1948 the day before the expiration of the British Mandate the Jewish Agency proclaimed independence naming the country Israel.75 The following day the armies of four Arab countriesEgypt Syria Lebanon and Iraqattacked Israel launching the 1948 ArabIsraeli War;7677 Saudi Arabia sent a military contingent to operate under Egyptian command; Yemen declared war but did not take military action.78 After a year of fighting a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders known as the Green Line were established.79 Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank and East Jerusalem and Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip. About 700000 Palestinian refugees were expelled or fled the country during the conflict. Israel was accepted as a member of the United Nations by majority vote on May 11 1949.80 In the early years of the state the Labor Zionist movement led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion dominated Israeli politics.8182 These years were marked by an influx of Holocaust survivors and Jews from Arab lands many of whom faced persecution in and expulsion from their original countries.83 Consequently the population of Israel rose from 800000 to two million between 1948 and 1958.84 Some arrived as refugees with no possessions and were housed in temporary camps known as ma'abarot; by 1952 over 200000 immigrants were living in these tent cities.85 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 of Israel accepting financial compensation from Germany for the Holocaust.86 In the 1950s Israel was frequently attacked by Palestinian fedayeen mainly from the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip.87 In 1956 Israel joined a secret alliance with Great Britain and France aimed at regaining control of the Suez Canal which the Egyptians had nationalized (see the Suez Crisis). Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula but was pressured to withdraw by the United States and the Soviet Union in return for guarantees of Israeli shipping rights in the Red Sea and the Canal.8889 In the early 1960s Israel captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann an architect of the Final Solution in Argentina and brought him to trial.90 The trial had a major impact on public awareness of the Holocaust91 and Eichmann remains the only person ever to be executed by order of an Israeli court.92 Conflicts and peace treaties Further information: ArabIsraeli conflict IsraeliPalestinian conflict and Positions on Jerusalem See also: List of United Nations resolutions concerning Israel Israeli Paratroopers capture Jerusalem's Western Wall during the Six-Day War 1967 Arab nationalists led by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser refused to recognize Israel calling for its destruction.993 By 1966 Israeli-Arab relations had deteriorated to the point of actual battles taking place between official Israeli and Arab forces.94 In 1967 Egypt expelled UN peacekeepers stationed in the Sinai Peninsula since 1957 and announced a partial blockade of Israel's access to the Red Sea.95 Israel saw these actions as a casus belli for a pre-emptive strike that launched a Six-Day War in which Israel was able to occupy the West Bank Gaza Strip Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights.96 Jerusalem's boundaries were enlarged incorporating East Jerusalem and the 1949 Green Line became the administrative boundary between Israel and the occupied territories. As the Arab states lost in the 1967 war against Israel Arab non-state actors came to have a more central role in the conflict. Most important among them is the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) established in 1964 which initially committed itself to "armed struggle as the only way to liberate the homeland".9798 In the late 1960s and early 1970s Palestinian groups launched a wave of attacks99100 against Israeli targets around the world101 including a massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. On October 6 1973 as Jews were observing Yom Kippur the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack against Israel. The war ended on October 26 with Israel successfully repelling Egyptian and Syrian forces but suffering massive losses.102 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.103 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.104 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.105 In the two years that followed Sadat and Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords and the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.106 Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and agreed to enter negotiations over an autonomy for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.107 Begin's government encouraged Israelis to settle in the West Bank leading to friction with the Palestinians in that area.108 Israeli artillery at the Golan front during the Yom Kippur War 1973 Basic Law: Jerusalem the Capital of Israel passed in 1980 was widely believed to have reaffirmed Israel's 1967 annexation of Jerusalem by government decree and reignited international controversy over the status of the city. However there has never been an official act that defined the territory of Israel which specifically included East Jerusalem therein.109 The position of the majority of UN member states is reflected in numerous resolutions declaring that actions taken by Israel to impose its laws jurisdiction and administration on the whole of Jerusalem are illegal and have no validity.110 In 1982 Israel intervened in the Lebanese Civil War to destroy the bases from which the PLO launched attacks and missiles at northern Israel; that move developed into the First Lebanon War.111 Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1986 but maintained a borderland buffer zone until 2000. The First Intifada a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule112 broke out in 1987 with waves of violence occurring in the occupied territories. Over the following six years more than a thousand people were killed in the ensuing violence much of which was internal Palestinian violence.113 During the 1991 Gulf War the PLO and many Palestinians supported Saddam Hussein and Iraqi missile attacks against Israel though Israel did not participate in that war.114115 In 1992 Yitzhak Rabin became Prime Minister following an election in which his party promoted compromise with Israel's neighbors.116117 The following year Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas on behalf of Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords which gave the Palestinian National Authority the right to self-govern parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.118 The PLO also recognized Israel's right to exist and pledged an end to terrorism.119 In 1994 the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed making Jordan the second Arab country to normalize relations with Israel.120 Arab public support for the Accords was damaged by the continuation of Israeli settlements121 and checkpoints and the deterioration of economic conditions.122 Israeli public support for the Accords waned as Israel was struck by Palestinian suicide attacks.123 Finally while leaving a peace rally in November 1995 Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a far-right-wing Jew who opposed the Accords.124 Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat shake hands at the signing of the Oslo Accords with Bill Clinton behind them 1993 At the end of the 1990s Israel under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu withdrew from Hebron125 and signed the Wye River Memorandum giving greater control to the Palestinian National Authority.126 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 but Yasser Arafat rejected it.127 After the collapse of the talks and a controversial visit by Likud leader Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount the Second Intifada began. 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.128 In July 2006 a Hezbollah artillery assault on Israel's northern border communities and a cross-border abduction of two Israeli soldiers sparked the month-long Second Lebanon War.129130 Two years later in May 2008 Israel confirmed it had been discussing a peace treaty with Syria for a year with Turkey as a go-between.131 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.132133 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.134 Geography Main article: Geography of Israel JNF forest in the Jerusalem hills Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea bounded by Lebanon to the north Syria to the northeast Jordan to the east and Egypt to the southwest. It lies between latitudes 29 and 34 N and longitudes 34 and 36 E. The sovereign territory of Israel excluding all territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War is approximately 20770 square kilometers (8019 sq mi) in area of which two percent is water.1 The total area under Israeli law when including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights is 22072 square kilometers (8522 sq mi)135 and the total area under Israeli control including the military-controlled and partially Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank is 27799 square kilometers (10733 sq mi).136 Despite its small size Israel is home to a variety of geographic features from the Negev desert in the south to the 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 seventy percent of the nation's population. East of the central highlands lies the Jordan Rift Valley which forms a small part of the 6500-kilometer (4039 mi) Great Rift Valley. The Sea of Galilee seen from Tiberias at dusk 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.137 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.138 The largest makhtesh in the world is Ramon Crater in the Negev139 which measures 40 by 8 kilometers (25 by 5 mi).140 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.141 Climate Forest around the Ein Karem village Jerusalem. Temperatures in Israel vary widely especially during the winter. The more mountainous regions can be windy cold and sometimes snowy; Jerusalem usually receives at least one snowfall each year.142 Meanwhile coastal cities such as Tel Aviv and Haifa have a typical Mediterranean climate with cool rainy winters and long hot summers. The area of Beersheba and the Northern Negev has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and cool winter but with fewer rainy than the Mediterranean climate. The Southern Negev and the Arava areas have Desert climate with very hot and dry summers and mild winters with few days of rain. The highest temperature in the continent of Asia (53.7 C/128.7 F) was recorded in 1942 at Tirat Zvi kibbutz in the northern Jordan river valley.143 From May to September rain in Israel is rare.144145 With scarce water resources Israel has developed various water-saving technologies including drip irrigation.146 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).147 A Blanford's Fox in Southern Israel Biodiversity Main article: wildlife of Israel Four different phytogeographic regions exist in Israel due to the country's location between the temperate and the tropical zones bordering the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the desert in the east. For this reason the flora and fauna of Israel is extremely diverse. There are 2867 known species of plants found in Israel. Of these at least 253 species are introduced and non-native.148 As of May 2007 there are 190 Israeli nature reserves.149 Politics Main article: Politics of Israel See also: Criticism of the Israeli Government The Knesset building home of the Israeli parliament. Israel operates under a parliamentary system as a democratic republic with universal suffrage.1 The President of Israel is the head of state but his duties are limited and largely ceremonial.150 A Parliament Member supported by a majority in parliament becomes the Prime Minister usually the chairman of the largest party. The Prime Minister is the head of government and head of the Cabinet.150151 Israel is governed by a 120-member parliament known as the Knesset. Membership of the Knesset is based on proportional representation of political parties152 with a 2% electoral threshold which always results in coalition governments. Parliamentary elections are scheduled every four years but unstable coalitions or a no-confidence vote by the Knesset can dissolve governments 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.1153 Legal system Main article: Israeli judicial system The Israeli Supreme Court Givat Ram Jerusalem Israel has a three-tier court system. At the lowest level are magistrate courts situated in most cities across the country. Above them are district courts serving both as appellate courts and courts of first instance; they are situated in five of Israel's six districts. The third and highest tier in Israel is the Supreme Court seated in Jerusalem. It serves a dual role as the highest court of appeals and the High Court of Justice. In the latter role the Supreme Court rules as a court of first instance allowing individuals both citizens and non-citizens to petition against decisions of state authorities.154155 Although Israel supports the goals of the International Criminal Court it has not ratified the Rome Statute citing concerns about the ability of the court to remain free from political impartiality.156 Israel's legal system combines three legal traditions: English common law civil law and Jewish law.1 It is based on the principle of stare decisis (precedent) and is an adversarial system where the parties in the suit bring evidence before the court. Court cases are decided by professional judges rather than juries.154 Marriage and divorce are under the jurisdiction of the religious courts: Jewish Muslim Druze and Christian. A committee of Knesset members Supreme Court justices and Israeli Bar members carries out the election of judges.157 Administration of Israel's courts (both the "General" courts and the Labor Courts) is carried by the Administration of Courts situated in Jerusalem. It is to be noted that both the General and Labor courts are paperless courts i.e. storage of court files as well as court decisions are carried out electronically. Israel's Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty seeks to defend human rights and liberties in Israel. Israel is the only country in the region ranked "Free" by Freedom House based on the level of civil liberties and political rights; the "Israeli Occupied Territories/Palestinian Authority" was ranked "Not Free."158159 In 2010 Israel was also the only country in the Middle East to be ranked "free" by Freedom House's "Freedom of the Press" report ranking the highest in the region.160 Administrative divisions Main article: Districts of Israel Districts of Israel: (1) Northern (2) Haifa (3) Center (4) Tel Aviv (5) Jerusalem (6) Southern The State of Israel is divided into six main administrative districts known as mehozot (; singular: mahoz)  Center Haifa Jerusalem North Southern and Tel Aviv Districts. Districts are further divided into fifteen sub-districts known as nafot (; singular: nafa) which are themselves partitioned into fifty natural regions.161 Number District Main City Sub-District Number of Residents 1 North Nazareth Kinneret Safed Acre Golan Jezreel Valley 1242100 2 Haifa Haifa Haifa Hadera 880000 3 Center Ramla Rishon Lezion Sharon (Netanya) Petah Tikva Ramla Rehovot 1770200 4 Tel Aviv Tel Aviv Tel Aviv 1227000 5 Jerusalem Jerusalem Jerusalem 910300 6 South Beersheba Ashkelon Beersheba 1053600 A Golan Heights Katzrin 38900 B Judea and Samaria Modi'in Illit (Largest "settlement"/city) West Bank 304569162 C Gaza Strip Gaza Gaza Rafah 1657155 163 For statistical purposes the country is divided into three metropolitan areas: Tel Aviv metropolitan area (population 3206400) Haifa metropolitan area (population 1021000) and Beer Sheva metropolitan area (population 559700).164 Israel's largest municipality both in population and area165 is Jerusalem with 773800 residents in an area of 126 square kilometers (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.166 Tel Aviv Haifa and Rishon LeZion rank as Israel's next most populous cities with populations of 393900 265600 and 227600 respectively.165 Occupied territories Main article: Israeli-occupied territories In 1967 as a result of the Six-Day War Israel gained control of the West Bank (Judaea and Samaria) East Jerusalem the Gaza strip and the Golan Heights. Israel also took control of the Sinai Peninsula but returned it to Egypt as part of the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Map of Israel showing the West Bank the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights Following Israel's capture of these territories settlements consisting of Israeli citizens were established within each of them. Israel applied civilian law to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem incorporating them into its sovereign territory and granting their inhabitants permanent residency status and the choice to apply for citizenship. In contrast the West Bank has remained under military occupation and Palestinians in this area cannot become citizens. The Gaza Strip is independent of Israel with no Israeli military or civilian presence but Israel continues to maintain control of its airspace and waters. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are seen by the Palestinians and most of the international community as the site of a future Palestinian state.167168 The UN Security Council has declared the annexation of the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem to be "null and void" and continues to view the territories as occupied.169170 The International Court of Justice principal judicial organ of the United Nations asserted in its 2004 advisory opinion on the legality of the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier that the lands captured by Israel in the Six-Day War including East Jerusalem are occupied territory.171 The status of East Jerusalem in any future peace settlement has at times been a difficult hurdle in negotiations between Israeli governments and representatives of the Palestinians as Israel views it as its sovereign territory as well as part of its capital. Most negotiations relating to the territories have been on the basis of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 which emphasises "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war" and calls on Israel to withdraw from occupied territories in return for normalization of relations with Arab states a principle known as "Land for peace".172173174 The West Bank was annexed by Jordan in 1948 following the Arab rejection of the UN decision to create two states in Palestine. Only Britain recognized this annexation and Jordan has since ceded its claim to the territory to the PLO. The West Bank was occupied by Israel in 1967. The population are mainly Arab Palestinians including refugees of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.175 From their occupation in 1967 until 1993 the Palestinians living in these territories were under Israeli military administration. Since the Israel-PLO letters of recognition most of the Palestinian population and cities have been under the internal jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority and only partial Israeli military control although Israel has on several occasions redeployed its troops and reinstated full military administration during periods of unrest. In response to increasing attacks as part of the Second Intifada the Israeli government started to construct the Israeli West Bank barrier.176 When completed approximately 13 % of the Barrier will be constructed on the Green Line or in Israel with 87 % inside the West Bank.177178 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.179180181182183 Following June 2007 when Hamas assumed power in the Gaza Strip184 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.184 Gaza has a border with Egypt and an agreement between Israel the EU and the PA governed how border crossing would take place (it was monitored by European observers)185 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 Main article: Foreign relations of Israel Israel maintains diplomatic relations with 161 countries and has 94 diplomatic missions around the world.186 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.187 As a result of the 2009 Gaza War Mauritania Qatar Bolivia and Venezuela suspended political and economical ties with Israel.188189 Under Israeli law Lebanon Syria Saudi Arabia Iraq and Yemen are enemy countries190 and Israeli citizens may not visit them without permission from the Ministry of the Interior.191 The Soviet Union and the United States were the first two countries to recognize the State of Israel having declared recognition roughly simultaneously. The United States may regard Israel as its primary ally in the Middle East based on "common democratic values religious affinities and security interests".192 The United States has provided total economic and military funding to Israel of over $100bn since 1962 under the Foreign Assistance Act193 more than any other country193. Since 2003 Iraq and Afghanistan have become the two largest recipients of US overseas aid194. 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.195 India established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992 and has fostered a strong military technological and cultural partnership with the country since then.196 One study revealed that India was the most pro-Israel nation in the world.197 India is the largest customer of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest military partner of India after the Russian Federation.198 India is also the second-largest Asian economic partner of Israel199 and the two countries enjoy extensive space technology ties.200201 Germany's strong ties with Israel include cooperation on scientific and educational endeavors and the two states remain strong economic and military partners.202203 Under the reparations agreement as of 2007 Germany had paid 25 billion euros in reparations to the Israeli state and individual Israeli holocaust survivors.204 The UK has kept full diplomatic relations with Israel since its formation having had two visits from heads of state in 2007. Relations between the two countries were also made stronger by former prime minister Tony Blair's efforts for a two state resolution. The UK is seen as having a "natural" relationship with Israel on account of the British Mandate for Palestine.205 Iran had diplomatic relations with Israel under the Pahlavi dynasty206 but withdrew its recognition of Israel during the Iranian Revolution.207 Although Turkey and Israel did not establish full diplomatic relations until 1991208 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.209 Relations between Turkey and Israel took a downturn after the Gaza War and Israel's raid of the Gaza flotilla.210 IHH which organized the flotilla is a Turkish charity that some believe has ties to Hamas and Al-Qaeda.188211212213214 In Africa Ethiopia is Israel's main and closest ally in the continent due to common political religious and security interests.215 Israel provides expertise to Ethiopia on irrigation projects and thousands of Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) live in Israel. Military Main articles: Israel Defense Forces Israeli security forces and military operations conducted by the Israel Defense Forces See also: Israel and weapons of mass destruction Two Israeli Air Force F-16I Sufa The Israel Defense Forces consists of the Israeli Army Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy. It was founded during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War by consolidating paramilitary organizationschiefly the Haganahthat preceded the establishment of the state.216 The IDF also draws upon the resources of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) which works with the Mossad and Shabak.217 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.218219 The majority of Israelis are drafted into the military at the age of eighteen. Men serve three years and women serve two to three years.220 Following compulsory service Israeli men join the reserve forces and do 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.221222 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.223 As a result of its conscription program the IDF maintains approximately 168000 active troops and an additional 408000 reservists.224 Israeli soldiers training alongside the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit on the USS Kearsarge The nation's military relies heavily on high-tech weapons systems designed and manufactured in Israel as well as some foreign imports. The United States is a particularly notable foreign contributor; military aid to Israel is expected to increase by 6 billion over the next decade. US is expected to provide the country with $3.15 billion per year from 2013-2018.225226 The Israeli- and U.S.-designed Arrow missile is one of the world's only operational anti-ballistic missile systems.227 Since the Yom Kippur War Israel has developed a network of reconnaissance satellites.228 The success of the Ofeq program has made Israel one of seven countries capable of launching such satellites.229 Since its establishment Israel has spent a significant portion of its gross domestic product on defense. In 1984 for example the country spent 24%230 of its GDP on defense. Today that figure has dropped to 7.3%.1 The IDF Namer (Heavy IFV) introduced from 2008 IDF Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer - used for combat engineering and counter-terrorism missions. Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons.231 Israel has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treatycitation needed and maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity toward its nuclear capabilities.232 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 impermeable to chemical and biological substances.233 The IDF has also been deployed on humanitarian missions usually involving rescue workers and medical personnel along with relief workers and body identifiers from ZAKA and the Israel Police. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake a rescue team was dispatched to Haiti which consisted of 40 doctors 20 nurses and rescue workers and two rescue planes loaded with medical equipment and a field hospital with X-rays intensive care units and operating rooms. Other recipients of aid include Japan (a medical team after the 2011 tsunami) Congo 2008 Sri Lanka 2005 (tsunami) India and El Salvador 2001 (earthquakes) Ethiopia 2000 Turkey 1998 (earthquake) Kosovo 1999 (refugees) and Rwanda 1994 (refugees).234 Economy Main article: Economy of Israel Ramat Gan skyline Israel is considered one of the most advanced countries in Southwest Asia in economic and industrial development. In 2010 it joined the OECD.22235 The country is ranked 3rd in the region on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index236 as well as in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.237 It has the second-largest number of startup companies in the world (after the United States)238 and the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies outside North America.239 In 2009 Israel had the 49th-highest gross domestic product and 29th-highest gross domestic product per capita (at purchasing power parity) at $206.4 billion and $28393 respectively.4 The New Israeli Shekel is one of 17 freely convertible currencies according to the CLS list.240241 Azrieli Center In 2010 Israel ranked 17th among of the world's most economically developed nations according to IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook. The Israeli economy was ranked first 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.242 The Bank of Israel was ranked first among central banks for its efficient functioning up from the 8th place in 2009. Israel was also ranked as the worldwide leader in its supply of skilled manpower.242 Dizengof Center. 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. Other major imports to Israel totaling $47.8 billion in 2006 include fossil fuels raw materials and military equipment.1 Leading exports include fruits vegetables pharmaceuticals software chemicals military technology and diamonds; in 2006 Israeli exports reached $42.86 billion.1 Israel is a global leader in water conservation and geothermal energy243 and its development of cutting-edge technologies in software communications and the life sciences have evoked comparisons with Silicon Valley.244245 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.246 Intel247 and Microsoft248 built their first overseas research and development centers in Israel and other high-tech multi-national corporations such as IBM Cisco Systems and Motorola have opened facilities in the country. In July 2007 U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought an Israeli company Iscar its first non-U.S. acquisition for $4 billion.249 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 as of June 2009 stood at a surplus of US$54 billion.250251 Tourism Main article: Tourism in Israel Tourism especially religious tourism is an important industry in Israel with the country's temperate climate beaches archaeological and historical 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.252 In 2008 over 3 million tourists visited Israel.253 Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world.254 Transport Main article: Transport in Israel Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. Duty Free at Ben Gurion International Airport Israel has 18096 kilometers (11244 mi) of paved roads255 and 2.4 million motor vehicles.256 The number of motor vehicles per 1000 persons was 324 relatively low with respect to developed countries.256 Israel has 5715 buses on scheduled routes257 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 Railways258 (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.258 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.259 Ben Gurion Israel's largest airport handled over 12.1 million passengers in 2010.260 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.259 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.259 Science and technology Main articles: Science and technology in Israel and List of universities and colleges in Israel The particle accelerator at the Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot Israel's eight public universities are subsidized by the state.261262 The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel's oldest university houses the Jewish National and University Library the world's largest repository of books on Jewish subjects.263 The Hebrew University is consistently ranked among world's 100 top universities264265 by the prestigious ARWU academic ranking. Other major universities in the country include the Technion the Weizmann Institute of Science Tel Aviv University (TAU) Bar-Ilan University the University of Haifa The Open University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Israel's seven research universities (excluding the Open University) are consistently ranked among top 500 in the world.266 Israel ranks third in the world in the number of academic degrees per capita (20 percent of the population).267268 Israel has produced five Nobel Prize-winning scientists since 2002269 and publishes among the most scientific papers per capita of any country in the world.270271 The world's largest solar parabolic dish at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center.272 Israel leads world in stem cell research papers per capita since 2000.273 In addition Israeli universities are among 100 top world universities in mathematics (TAU Hebrew University and Technion) physics (TAU Hebrew University and Weizmann Institute of Science) chemistry (TAU Hebrew University and Technion) computer science (TAU Hebrew University Weizmann Institute of Science BIU and Technion) and economics (TAU and Hebrew University).274 In 2009 Israel was ranked 2nd among 20 top countries in space sciences by Thomson Reuters agency.275 Since 1988 Israel Aerospace Industries have indigenously designed and built at least 13 commercial research and spy satellites.276 Most were launched to orbit from Israeli air force base "Palmachim" by the Shavit space launch vehicle. Some of Israel's satellites are ranked among the world's most advanced space systems.277 In 2003 Ilan Ramon became Israel's first astronaut serving as payload specialist of STS-107 the fatal mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Israel has embraced solar energy its engineers are on the cutting edge of solar energy technology278 and its solar companies work on projects around the world.279280 Over 90% of Israeli homes use solar energy for hot water the highest per capita in the world.281282 According to government figures the country saves 8% of its electricity consumption per year because of its solar energy use in heating.283 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.278279280 Demographics Main article: Demographics of Israel Comparison of the changes in percentages of the main religious group in Israel between the years 1949-2008 In 2010 Israel's population was an estimated 7.6 million14 of whom 5776500 are Jews.141516284 As of 2008 Arab citizens of Israel comprise just under 20% of the country's total population.285 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 illegally286 but estimates run in the region of 200000.287 Over 16000 African asylum seekers have entered Israel in recent years.288 Retention of Israel's population since 1948 is about even or greater when compared to other countries with mass immigration.289 Emigration from Israel (yerida) to other countries primarily the United States and Canada is described by demographers as modest290 but is often cited by Israeli government ministries as a major threat to Israel's future.291292 As of 2009 over 300000 Israeli citizens live in West Bank settlements293 such as Ma'ale Adumim and Ariel and communities that predated the establishment of the State but were re-established after the Six-Day War in cities such as Hebron and Gush Etzion. 18000 Israelis live in Golan Heights settlements.294 In 2006 there were 250000 Jews living in East Jerusalem.295 The total number of Israeli settlers is over 500000 (6.5% of the Israeli population). Approximately 7800 Israelis lived in settlements in the Gaza Strip until they were evacuated by the government as part of its 2005 disengagement plan.296 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 lineage the right to Israeli citizenship.297 Just over three quarters or 75.5% of the population are Jews from a diversity of Jewish backgrounds. Approximately 68% of Israeli Jews are Israeli-born 22% are immigrants from Europe and the Americas and 10% are immigrants from Asia and Africa (including the Arab World).298299 Jews who left or fled Arab and Muslim lands and their descendants constitute approximately 50% of Jewish Israelis.300301302 Languages Main article: Languages of Israel Israel has two official languages Hebrew and Arabic.1 Hebrew is the primary language of the state and is spoken by the majority of the population and Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority. Many Israelis communicate reasonably well in English as many television programs are broadcast in this language and English is taught from the early grades in elementary school. 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 120000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel)303 Russian and Amharic are widely spoken.304 Between 1990 and 1994 the Russian immigration increased Israel's population by twelve percent.305 Out of more than one million Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel306 about 300000 are considered gentile by the Orthodox rabbinate because under the Orthodox interpretation only children to Jewish mothers are considered Jews while the Law of Return accepts those with Jewish fathers grandparents and spouses.307308 Religion Main article: Religion in Israel Church of Transfiguration Mount Tabor The Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock Jerusalem International Bah' Archives building at Bah' World Centre overlooking the Shrine of the Bb and the Port of Haifa. Israel and the Palestinian territories comprise the major part of the Holy Land a region of significant importances to all Abrahamic religions - Jews Christians Muslims and Baha'is. 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."309 Only 5% of Israel's population in 1990310 the ultra-Orthodox or Haredim are expected to represent more than one-fifth of Israel's Jewish population in 2028311 Making up 16% of the population Muslims constitute Israel's largest religious minority. About 2% of the population are Christian and 1.5% are Druze.312 The Christian population primarily comprises Arab Christians but also includes post-Soviet immigrants and the Foreign Labourers of multi-national origins and followers of Messianic Judaism considered by most Christians and Jews to be a form of Christianity.313 Members of many other religious groups including Buddhists and Hindus maintain a presence in Israel albeit in small numbers.314 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 Israeli-controlled Old City that incorporates the Western Wall and the Temple Mount the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.315 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 Shechem the birthplace of Jesus and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The administrative center of the Bah' Faith and the Shrine of the Bb are located at the Bah' World Centre in Haifa and the leader of the faith is buried in Acre. Apart from maintenance staff there is no Bah' community in Israel although it is a destination for pilgrimages. Bah' staff in Israel do not teach their faith to Israelis following strict policy.316317 Education Main article: Education in Israel Israel has the highest school life expectancy in Southwest Asia and is tied with Japan for second-highest school life expectancy on the Asian continent (after South Korea).318 Israel similarly has the highest literacy rate in Southwest Asia according to the United Nations.319 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.320 Education is compulsory in Israel for children between the ages of three and eighteen.321322 Schooling is divided into three tiers  primary school (grades 16) middle school (grades 79) and high school (grades 1012)  culminating with Bagrut matriculation exams. Proficiency in core subjects such as mathematics Bible Hebrew language Hebrew and general literature English history and civics is necessary to receive a Bagrut certificate.261 In Arab Christian and Druze schools the exam on Biblical studies is replaced by an exam in Islam Christianity or Druze heritage.323 In 2003 over half of all Israeli twelfth graders earned a matriculation certificate.324 Culture Main article: Culture of Israel Israel's diverse culture stems from the diversity of the population: Jews from around the world have brought their cultural and religious traditions with them creating a melting pot of Jewish customs and beliefs.325 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.326 Israel's substantial Arab minority has also left its imprint on Israeli culture in such spheres as architecture327 music328 and cuisine.329 Literature Main article: Israeli literature Amos Oz's works have been translated into 36 languages more than any other Israeli writer.330 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 Jewish National and University Library at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2001 the law was amended to include audio and video recordings and other non-print media.331 In 2006 85 percent of the 8000 books transferred to the library were in Hebrew.332 The Hebrew Book Week (He: ) 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. In 1966 Shmuel Yosef Agnon shared the Nobel Prize in Literature with German Jewish author Nelly Sachs.333 Leading Israeli poets have been Yehuda Amichai Nathan Alterman and Rachel Bluwstein. Internationally famous contemporary Israeli novelists include Amos Oz and David Grossman. 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."334 Darwish was born and raised in northern Israel but lived his adult life in exile after joining the Palestine Liberation Organization. Music and dance Main article: Music of Israel Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. 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.335336 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.337 Among Israel's world-renowned338339 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.340 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. Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nearly every year since 1973 winning the competition three times and hosting it twice.341 Eilat has hosted its own international music festival the Red Sea Jazz Festival every summer since 1987.342 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 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. Israel is home to many Palestinian musicians including internationally acclaimed oud and violin virtuoso Taiseer Elias singer Amal Murkus and brothers Samir and Wissam Joubran. Israeli Arab musicians have achieved fame beyond Israel's borders: Elias and Murkus frequently play to audiences in Europe and America and oud player Darwish Darwish (Prof. Elias's student) was awarded first prize in the all-Arab oud contest in Egypt in 2003. The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance has an advanced degree program headed by Taiseer Elias in Arabic music. Cinema and theatre Main article: Cinema of Israel Diamond Theatre. Nine 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.343 Continuing the strong theatrical traditions of the Yiddish theater in Eastern Europe Israel maintains a vibrant theatre scene. Founded in 1918 Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv is Israel's oldest repertory theater company and national theater.344 Palestinian Israeli filmmakers have made a number of films some of them very controversial dealing with the Arab-Israel conflict and the status of Palestinians within Israel. Mohammed Bakri's 2002 film Jenin Jenin about an Israeli military action in the West Bank town of Jenin won the Best Film award at the Carthage International film festival but was widely criticized within Israel for distorting the story of the battle. Ajami a 2009 film about violence and discrimination in a mixed Jewish-Arab neighborhood in south Tel Aviv-Jaffa was written and directed jointly by Palestinain Scandar Copti and Jewish Israeli Yaron Shani. It won an honorable mention in the Cannes Film Festival. The Syrian Bride about a Druze wedding between families on opposite sides of the Israel-Syrian ceasefire line in the Golan Heights was directed by a Jewish Israeli (Eran Riklis) but had an almost completely Druze cast. Museums See also: List of museums in Israel 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 institutions345 and houses the Dead Sea scrolls346 along with an extensive collection of Judaica and European art.345 Israel's national Holocaust museum Yad Vashem houses the world's largest archive of Holocaust-related information.347 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.348 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.349 Several museums are devoted to Islamic culture including the Rockefeller Museum which specializes in archaeological remains from the Ottoman and other periods of Middle East history and the Museum for Islamic Art also in Jerusalem. Sports Main article: Sport in Israel Nokia Arena home of Maccabi Tel Aviv Sports and physical fitness have not always been paramount in Jewish culture. Athletic prowess which was prized by the ancient Greeks was looked down upon as an unwelcome intrusion of Hellenistic values. This changed in the 19th century from the physical culture campaign of Max Nordau and in the early 20th century when the Chief Rabbi of Palestine Abraham Isaac Kook declared that "the body serves the soul and only a healthy body can ensure a healthy soul".350 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. 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 the biggest achievement of Israeli football. Israel was excluded from the 1978 Asian Games due to Arab pressure on the organizers. The exclusion left Israel in limbo and it ceased competing in Asian competitions.351 In 1994 UEFA agreed to admit Israel and all Israeli sporting organizations now compete in Europe. Ramat Gan Stadium Israel's largest stadium The most popular spectator sports in Israel are association football and basketball.352 The Israeli Premier League is the country's premier soccer league and Ligat HaAl is the premier basketball league.353 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 final quarter in the UEFA Cup. Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. has won the European championship in basketball five times.354 Israeli tennis champion Shahar Pe'er ranked 19th in the world after competing in Dubai.355 Israeli grandmaster Boris Gelfand is the current Chess World Cup holder356 and winner of the 2011 Candidates Tournament. He will play against the World Champion in the World Chess Championship 2012. The Israeli chess team won the silver medal at the 2008 Chess Olympiad357 and the bronze at the 2010 Olympiad. Beersheba has become a national chess center; thanks to Soviet immigration it is home to the largest number of chess grandmasters of any city in the world.358 The city hosted the World Team Chess Championship in 2005 and chess is taught in the city's kindergartens.359 To date Israel has won seven Olympic medals since its first win in 1992 including a gold medal in windsurfing at the 2004 Summer Olympics.360 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.361 Cuisine Tilapia. Main article: Israeli cuisine Israeli cuisine comprises local dishes and dishes brought to the country by Jewish immigrants from around the world. Since the establishment of the State in 1948 and particularly since the late 1970s an Israeli fusion cuisine has developed. Israeli cuisine has adopted and continues to adapt elements of various styles of the Jewish cuisine particularly the Mizrahi Sephardic and Ashkenazi styles of cooking along with Moroccan Jewish Iraqi Jewish Ethiopian Jewish Indian Jewish Iranian Jewish and Yemeni Jewish influences. It incorporates many foods traditionally eaten in the Arab Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines as falafel hummus shakshouka couscous and za'atar have become essential dishes in Israel. See also Israel portal National symbols of Israel Outline of Israel Notes a.   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 (Aug. 20 1980; 140 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" University of Maryland). See Positions on Jerusalem for more information. References a b c d e f g h i j k "Israel" The World Factbook (Central Intelligence Agency) 19 June 2007 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html retrieved 20 July 2007  a b "63 to Israel: Population of Israel". Ynet!. 8 May 2011. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/07340L-406615300.html. Retrieved 8 May 2011.  Press release First data from the 2008 Population Census Completed in July 2009 Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) 30 September 2009 http://www.cbs.gov.il/hodaot2009n/1409192e.pdf retrieved 18 May 2010  a b c d e Israel International Monetary Fund http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspxsy2008&ey2011&scsm1&ssd1&sortcountry&ds.&br1&c436&sNGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp0&a&pr.x72&pr.y12 retrieved 21 April 2011  "Human development indices". United Nations Development Programme. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR2010ENTable1.pdf. Retrieved 4 November 2010.  "Israel" CIA Factbook (CIA) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html retrieved 13 April 2010  Skolnik 2007 pp. 132232 "Israel" Country Report (Freedom House) 2007 http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfmpage363&year2007&country7199 retrieved 15 July 2007  a b Gilbert Martn (2005) The Routledge Atlas of the ArabIsraeli conflict Routledge ISBN 978-0415359009  BBC News (29 March 2006). "Analysis: Kadima's big plans". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middleeast/4856762.stm. Retrieved 10 October 2010.  BC Kessner HS Today. "Israel's Hard-Learned Lessons". http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/891/92/. Retrieved 7 October 2010. dead link The Institute for National Security Studies. "The Legacy of Undefined Borders Tel Aviv Notes No. 40 June 5 2002". http://www.inss.org.il/publications.phpcat21&incat&read203. Retrieved 7 October 2010.  The Epoch Times. "Israel Journal: A Land Without Borders". http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/34590/. Retrieved 7 October 2010.  a b c d e "Population". http://www.cbs.gov.il/www/yarhon/b1e.htm.  a b "Israel closes decade with population of 7.5 million" Haaretz 31 December 2009 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1138784.html retrieved 31 December 2009  a b Time Series-DataBank Central Bureau of Statistics http://www.cbs.gov.il/ts/ retrieved 20 February 2009  Rummel 1997 p. 257. "A current list of liberal democracies includes: Andorra Argentina ... Cyprus ... Israel ..." Global Survey 2006: Middle East Progress Amid Global Gains in Freedom Freedom House 19 December 2005 http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfmpage70&release317 retrieved 1 July 2007  (PDF) Gross domestic product 2008 The World Bank 7 October 2009 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP.pdf retrieved 18 February 2010  Note: this links to the most up-to-date table of GDP and will therefore eventually cease to connect to the table for the year mentioned. Human Development Report 2007/2008 United Nations Development Programme http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR20072008ENComplete.pdf retrieved 25 June 2009  WHO: Life expectancy in Israel among highest in the world Haaretz May 2009. a b "Israel's accession to the OECD". Oecd.org. http://www.oecd.org/document/38/03343en26493448745697574111100.html. Retrieved 2010-09-29.  Popular Opinion The Palestine Post 7 December 1947 p. 1 http://www.jpress.org.il/Repository/getFiles.aspStyleOliveXLib:LowLevelEntityToSaveGifMSIETAUEN&Typetext/html&Localeenglish-skin-custom&PathPLS/1947/12/07&ChunkNum-1&IDAr00105&PageLabel1  "On the Move" Time 31 May 1948 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/09171798687-200.html retrieved 6 August 2007  Levine Robert A. (7 November 2000) "See Israel as a Jewish Nation-State More or Less Democratic" The New York Times ISSN 0294-8052 http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/07/opinion/07iht-edlevine.t.html retrieved 19 January 2011 dead link Wells John C. (1990) Longman pronunciation dictionary Harlow England: Longman p. 381 ISBN 0582053838  entry "Jacob". From the King James Version of the Bible: "And he said Thy name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men and hast prevailed." (Genesis 32:28 35:10). See also Hosea 12:5. Exodus 6:16-20 Barton & Bowden 2004 p. 126. "The Merneptah Stele... is arguably the oldest evidence outside the Bible for the existence of Israel as early as the 13th century BCE." From the King James Version of the Bible: "And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good and multiply thee above thy fathers." (Deuteronomy 30:5). From the King James Version of the Bible: "But if ye turn unto me and keep my commandments and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven yet will I gather them from thence and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there." (Nehemiah 1:9). "Walking the Bible Timeline" Walking the Bible (Public Broadcast Television) http://www.pbs.org/walkingthebible/timeline.html retrieved 29 September 2007  Friedland & Hecht 2000 p. 8. "For a thousand years Jerusalem was the seat of Jewish sovereignty the household site of kings the location of its legislative councils and courts." Ben-Sasson 1985 Matthews Victor H. (2002) A Brief History of Ancient Israel Westminster John Knox Press p. 192 ISBN 978-0664224363  Miller J. Maxwell; Hayes John Haralson (1986) A History of Ancient Israel and Judah Westminster John Knox Press p. 523 ISBN 978-0664212629  Ben-Sasson 1985 p. 1232 Scheindlin Raymond P. (2000) A Short History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood Oxford University Press p. 288 ISBN 978-0195139419  Oppenheimer A'haron and Oppenheimer Nili. Between Rome and Babylon: Studies in Jewish Leadership and Society. Mohr Siebeck 2005 p. 2. Cohn-Sherbok Dan (1996) Atlas of Jewish History Routledge p. 58 ISBN 978-0415088008  "Palestine: History" The Online Encyclopedia of the Roman Provinces (The University of South Dakota) 22 February 2007 http://www.usd.edu/clehmann/erp/Palestine/palestin.htm retrieved 13 March 2009  Morl 2006 p. 304 a b c d Gil Moshe (1997) A History of Palestine 6341099 Cambridge University Press ISBN 978-0521599849  a b Kramer Gudrun (2008) A History of Palestine: From the Ottoman Conquest to the Founding of the State of Israel Princeton University Press p. 376 ISBN 978-0691118970  Judaism in late antiquity Jacob Neusner Bertold Spuler Hady R Idris BRILL 2001 p. 155 Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman world: toward a new Jewish archaeology Steven Fine Cambridge University Press 2005 pp. 13-14 Rosenzweig p. 1 "Zionism the urge of the Jewish people to return to Palestine is almost as ancient as the Jewish diaspora itself. Some Talmudic statements... Almost a millennium later the poet and philosopher Yehuda Halevi... In the 19th century..." a b Geoffrey Wigoder G.G. (ed.) "Return to Zion" The New Encyclopedia of Judaism (via Answers.Com) (The Jerusalem Publishing House) http://www.answers.com/topic/return-to-zion retrieved 8 March 2010  An invention called 'the Jewish people' Haaretz Israel News Ha'aretz archived from the original on 2008-08-01 http://web.archive.org/web/20080801082209/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/959229.html retrieved 9 March 2010  From the King James Version of the Bible: "the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity ... and gather you again from all the peoples ... and will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed and you shall possess it" (Deut. 30:15). Gilbert 2005 p. 2. "Jews sought a new homeland here after their expulsions from Spain (1492)..." Eisen Yosef (2004) Miraculous journey: a complete history of the Jewish people from creation to the present Targum Press p. 700 ISBN 1-56871-323-1  Morgenstern Arie (2006) Hastening redemption: Messianism and the resettlement of the land of Israel USA: Oxford University Press p. 304 ISBN 978-0195305784  Jewish and Non-Jewish Population of Palestine-Israel (15172004) Jewish Virtual Library http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society&Culture/israelpalestinepop.html retrieved 29 March 2010  Barnai Jacob (1992) The Jews in Palestine in the Eighteenth Century: Under the Patronage of the Istanbul committee of Officials for Palestine University Alabama Press p. 320 ISBN 978-0817305727  a b c d Immigration The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Immigration/immigtoc.html retrieved 12 July 2007  The source provides information on the First Second Third Fourth and Fifth Aliyot in their respective articles. The White Paper leading to Aliyah Bet is discussed Jewishvirtuallibrary.org Kornberg 1993 "How did Theodor Herzl an assimilated German nationalist in the 1880s suddenly in the 1890s become the founder of Zionism" Herzl 1946 p. 11 Chapter One: The Heralders of Zionism Jewish Agency for Israel http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Eye+on+Israel/120/Chapter+One+The+Heralders+of+Zionism.htm retrieved 12 July 2007  Stein 2003 p. 88. "As with the First Aliyah most Second Aliyah migrants were non-Zionist orthodox Jews..." Romano 2003 p. 30 Macintyre Donald (26 May 2005) "The birth of modern Israel: A scrap of paper that changed history" The Independent (London) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-birth-of-modern-israel-a-scrap-of-paper-that-changed-history-492084.html retrieved 7 January 2009  Scharfstein 1996 p. 269. "During the First and Second Aliyot there were many Arab attacks against Jewish settlements... In 1920 Hashomer was disbanded and Haganah ("The Defense") was established." "League of Nations: The Mandate for Palestine July 24 1922" Modern History Sourcebook (Fordham University) 24 July 1922 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1922mandate.html retrieved 27 August 2007  J. V. W. Shaw "A Survey of Palestine Vol 1: Prepared in December 1945 and January 1946 for the Information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry" Reprinted 1991 by The Institute for Palestine Studies Washington D.C. page 148 The Population of Palestine Prior to 1948 MidEastWeb archived from the original on June 27 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20070627173238/http://www.mideastweb.org/palpop.htm retrieved 12 July 2007  Fraser 2004 p. 27 Background Paper No. 47 (ST/DPI/SER.A/47) United Nations 20 April 1949 http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/2248AF9A92B498718525694B007239C6 retrieved 31 July 2007.  Best 2003 pp. 118119 History: Foreign Domination Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1 October 2006 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/History/HISTORY-+Foreign+Domination.htm retrieved 6 July 2007  Bregman 2002 pp. 4041 Gelber Yoav (2006) Palestine 1948 Brighton: Sussex Academic Press p. 17 ISBN 978-1902210674  Tal David (2003) War in Palestine 1948: Israeli and Arab Strategy and Diplomacy Routledge p. 471 ISBN 978-0714652757  Morris Benny (2008) 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War New Haven Conn.: Yale University Press ISBN 0300151128  Clifford Clark "Counsel to the President: A Memoir" 1991 P 20. Karsh Efraim (2002) The ArabIsraeli conflict: The Palestine War 1948 Osprey Publishing p. 50 ISBN 978-1841763729  Ben-Sasson 1985 p. 1058 Rabinovich Itamar; Reinharz Jehuda (2007) Israel in the Middle East: Documents and Readings on Society Politics and Foreign Relations Pre-1948 to the Present Brandeis p. 74 ISBN 978-0874519624  Karsh Efraim (2002) The ArabIsraeli conflict: The Palestine War 1948 Osprey Publishing ISBN 978-1841763729  Two Hundred and Seventh Plenary Meeting The United Nations 11 May 1949 http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/1ce874ab1832a53e852570bb006dfaf6/0b3ab8d2a7c0273d8525694b00726d1b retrieved 13 July 2007.  Lustick 1988 pp. 3739 "Israel (Labor Zionism)" Country Studies (Library of Congress) http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html retrieved 12 February 2010  Shulewitz Malka Hillel (2001) The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands Continuum ISBN 978-0826447647  Population by Religion and Population Group Israel Central Bureau of Statistics 2006 http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templshnatone.htmlnumtabst0201&CYear2006 retrieved 7 August 2007  Hakohen Devorah (2003) Immigrants in Turmoil: Mass Immigration to Israel and Its Repercussions in the 1950s and After Syracuse University Press ISBN 978-0815629696 ; for ma'abarot population see p. 269. Shindler 2002 pp. 4950 Gilbert 2005 p. 58 The Suez Crisis University of San Diego 5 December 2005 http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/20th/suez.html retrieved 15 July 2007 dead link Gorst Anthony; Johnman Lewis (1997) The Suez Crisis Routledge ISBN 978-0415114493  Adolf Eichmann Jewish Virtual Library http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/eichmann.html retrieved 18 September 2007  Cole 2003 p. 27. "...the Eichmann trial which did so much to raise public awareness of the Holocaust..." Justice Ministry Reply to Amnesty International Report Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 5 July 1995 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Law/Legal%20Issues%20and%20Rulings/JUSTICE%20MINISTRY%20REPLY%20TO%201995%20AMNESTY%20INTERNATION retrieved 10 August 2007  Maoz Moshe (1995) Syria and Israel: From War to Peacemaking USA: Oxford University Press p. 70 ISBN 978-0198280187  Segev 2007 p. 178 Segev 2007 p. 289 Smith 2006 p. 126. "Nasser the Egyptian president decided to mass troops in the Sinai...casus belli by Israel." Bennet James (13 March 2005) "The Interregnum" The New York Times Magazine http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/magazine/13PALESTINIANS.htmlpagewanted2 retrieved 11 February 2010  Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Palestinian National Covenant- July 1968 Mfa.gov.il http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign+Relations/Israels+Foreign+Relations+since+1947/1947-1974/33+The+Palestinian+National+Covenant-+July+1968.htm retrieved 13 March 2009  Silke Andrew (2004) Research on terrorism: trends achievements & failures Routledge p. 149 ISBN 978-0714653112 http://books.google.com/idrSpfNJQ4CbAC&pgPA149&dqpalestinian+terror+1970s&cd1#vonepage&q retrieved 8 March 2010  Gilbert Martin (2002) The Routledge Atlas of the ArabIsraeli conflict: The Complete History of the Struggle and the Efforts to Resolve It Routledge p. 82 ISBN 978-0415281164 http://books.google.com/idUNvJ1FOwiAwC&pgPA82&dqpalestinian+terror+1970s&cd4#vonepage&q retrieved 8 March 2010  Andrews Edmund L. and John Kifner."George Habash Palestinian Terrorism Tactician Dies at 82." The New York Times. 27 Jan 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008. "1973: Arab states attack Israeli forces" On This Day (The BBC) 6 October 1973 http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/6/newsid2514000/2514317.stm retrieved 15 July 2007  Agranat Commission Knesset 2008 http://www.knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/agranateng.htm retrieved 8 April 2010  Bregman 2002 pp. 169170 "In hindsight we can say that 1977 was a turning point..." Bregman 2002 pp. 171174 Bregman 2002 pp. 186187 Bregman 2002 pp. 186 Cleveland William L. (1999) A history of the modern Middle East Westview Press p. 356 ISBN 978-0813334899  Ian Lustick (January 1997) "Has Israel Annexed East Jerusalem" Middle East Policy V (1) archived from the original on 2008-08-01 http://web.archive.org/web/20080801164123/http://www.mepc.org/journalvol5/9701lustick.asp retrieved 2007-07-08.  See for example UN General Assembly resolution 63/30 2009 Jan 23 passed 163 for 6 against 1 Bregman 2002 p. 199 Tessler Mark A. (1994) A History of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict Indiana University Press p. 677 ISBN 978-0253208736  Stone & Zenner 1994 p. 246. "Toward the end of 1991... were the result of internal Palestinian terror." Haberman Clyde (9 December 1991) After 4 Years Intifada Still Smolders The New York Times http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.htmlres9D0CE7DB173EF93AA35751C1A967958260 retrieved 28 March 2008  Mowlana Gerbner & Schiller 1992 p. 111 Bregman 2002 p. 236 From the End of the Cold War to 2001 Boston College archived from the original on 2007-09-14 http://web.archive.org/web/20070914065512/http://www.bc.edu/research/cjl/meta-elements/texts/cjrelations/resources/education/IsraelPalestine/coldwarends.htm retrieved 16 July 2007  The Oslo Accords 1993 U.S. Department of State http://history.state.gov/milestones/1990-2000/Oslo retrieved 30 March 2010  Israel-PLO Recognition Exchange of Letters between PM Rabin and Chairman Arafat Sept 9- 1993 Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Israel-PLO%20Recognition%20-%20Exchange%20of%20Letters%20betwe retrieved 31 March 2010  Harkavy & Neuman 2001 p. 270. "Even though Jordan in 1994 became the second country after Egypt to sign a peace treaty with Israel..." Settlements information Foundation for Middle East Peace Sources of Population Growth: Total Israeli Population and Settler Population 19912003 archived from the original on 11 May 2008 http://web.archive.org/web/20080511203844/http://www.fmep.org/settlementinfo/statsdata/settlerpopulationgrowth/sourcespopulationgrowth1991-2003.html retrieved 12 December 2007  Kurtzer Daniel; LasenskyScott (2008) Negotiating Arab-Israeli peace: American leadership in the Middle East United States Institute of Peace Press p. 44 ISBN 978-1601270306  Cleveland William L. (1999) A history of the modern Middle East Westview Press p. 494 ISBN 978-0813334899  "Israel marks Rabin assassination". BBC News. 12 November 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middleeast/4431728.stm.  Bregman 2002 p. 257 The Wye River Memorandum U.S. Department of State 23 October 1998 http://www.state.gov/www/regions/nea/981023interimagmt.html retrieved 30 March 2010  Gelvin 2005 p. 240 "West Bank barrier route disputed Israeli missile kills 2". The Associated Press (via USA Today). 29 July 2004. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004%20Jul%2029-west-bankx.htm. Retrieved 16 July 2007. dead link "Permanent Ceasefire to Be Based on Creation Of Buffer Zone Free of Armed Personnel Other than UN Lebanese Forces" United Nations Security Council August 11 2006 Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon and in Israel since Hizbollah's attack on Israel on July 12 2006 Harel Amos (13 July 2006) "Hezbollah kills 8 soldiers kidnaps two in offensive on northern border" Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtmlitemNo737825 retrieved 13 August 2006  Walker Peter; News Agencies (21 May 2008) "Olmert confirms peace talks with Syria" The Guardian (London) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/21/israelandthepalestinians.syria retrieved 21 May 2008 "Israel and Syria are holding indirect peace talks with Turkey acting as a mediator..."  Koutsoukis Jason (5 January 2009) Battleground Gaza: Israeli ground forces invade the strip smh.com.au http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/battleground-gaza/2009/01/04/1231003847085.html retrieved 5 January 2009  Ravid Barak (19 January 2009) "IDF begins Gaza troop withdrawal hours after ending 3-week offensive" Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1056246.html retrieved 29 January 2009  Azoulay Yuval (1 February 2009) Two IDF soldiers civilian lightly hurt as Gaza mortars hit Negev Haaretz http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1060562.html retrieved 12 April 2009  "Area of Districts Sub-Districts Natural Regions and Lakes" (PDF) Statistical Abstract of Israel (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics) 2006 http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton57/st0101.pdf  "Israel (Geography)" Country Studies (The Library of Congress) 7 May 2009 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html retrieved 12 February 2010  The Living Dead Sea Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1 April 1999 ISBN 0826404065 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/19901999/1999/4/FOCUS%20on%20Israel-%20The%20Living%20Dead%20Sea retrieved 20 July 2007  Makhteshim Country UNESCO ISBN 9546421359 http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1486/ retrieved 19 September 2007  Jacobs 1998 p. 284. "The extraordinary Makhtesh Ramon  the largest natural crater in the world..." Makhtesh Ramon Jewish Virtual Library http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Ramon.html retrieved 12 February 2010  Rinat Zafrir (2 June 2008) "More endangered than rain forests" Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988204.html retrieved 29 July 2008  Goldreich 2003 p. 85 Watzman Haim (8 February 1997) Left for dead http://environment.newscientist.com/article/mg15320684.400-left-for-dead--plans-to-rescue-the-rapidly-shrinking-dead-sea-may-be-good-news-forindustry-and-tourists-but-the-strange-life-forms-that-thrive-in-its-supersaltywaters-still-face-a-perilous-future-says-ithaim-watzmanit.html retrieved 29 July 2008  Average Weather for Tel Aviv-Yafo The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/ISXX0026 retrieved 11 July 2007  Average Weather for Jerusalem The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/weddings/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/ISXX0010 retrieved 11 July 2007  Sitton Dov (20 September 2003) Development of Limited Water Resources- Historical and Technological Aspects Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/facts%20about%20israel/land/focus%20on%20israel-%20development%20of%20limited%20water%20reso retrieved 7 November 2007  Grossman Gershon; Ayalon Ofira; Baron Yifaat; Kaufman Debby Solar energy for the production of heat Samuel Neaman Institute http://www.neaman.org.il/neaman/publications/publicationitem.aspfid590&parentfid490&iid3639 retrieved 7 November 2007  "Flora of Israel Online". Flora.huji.ac.il. http://flora.huji.ac.il/browse.aspactionbrowse&group1070. Retrieved 2010-09-29.  "The Israel Nature and Parks Authority- ". Parks.org.il. 2009-04-28. http://www.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/datacard.phpCat660964978Card13&ru&SiteNameparks&Clt&Bur351331723. Retrieved 2010-09-29.  a b "Field Listing  Executive Branch" The World Factbook (Central Intelligence Agency) 19 June 2007 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2077.html retrieved 20 July 2007  In the 1990s direct elections for Prime Minister were inaugurated but the system was declared unsatisfactory and the old one was brought back. See Israel's election process explained BBC News 23 January 2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middleeast/2683259.stm retrieved 31 March 2010  The Electoral System in Israel The Knesset http://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/engmimshalbeh.htm retrieved 8 August 2007  Mazie 2006 p. 34 a b The Judiciary: The Court System Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1 August 2005 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Branches%20of%20Government/Judicial/The%20Judiciary-%20The%20Court%20System retrieved 5 August 2007  Israels high court unique in region The Boston Herald 9 September 2007 http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorial/view.bgarticleid1030205 retrieved 15 September 2007  Israel and the International Criminal Court Office of the Legal Adviser to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs 30 June 2002 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/20002009/2002/6/Israel%20and%20the%20International%20Criminal%20Court retrieved 20 July 2007  The State  Judiciary  The Court System Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1 October 2006 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/State/THE+STATE-+Judiciary-+The+Court+System.htm retrieved 9 August 2007  Freedom in the World 2008 Israel Freedom House 2008 http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfmpage22&year2008&country7416 retrieved 27 May 2009  Freedom in the World 2008 Palestinian Authority-Administered Territories (Israel) Freedom House 2008 http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfmpage363&year2008&country7535 retrieved 27 May 2009  http://freedomhouse.org/images/File/fop/2010/FOTP2010Global&RegionalTables.pdf (doc) Introduction to the Tables: Geophysical Characteristics Central Bureau of Statistics http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton53/download/steng01.doc retrieved 4 September 2007  "More than 300.000 settlers live in west bank". http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-more-than-300-000-settlers-live-in-west-bank-1.280778.  "CIA world factbook".  (PDF) Localities Population and Density http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton60/st0216.pdf retrieved 30 January 2010  a b (PDF) Population of localities numbering above 2000 residents and other rural population Central Bureau of Statistics 30 September 2009 http://www.cbs.gov.il/population/new2010/table3.pdf retrieved 19 February 2010  Roberts 1990 p. 60 Although East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights have been brought directly under Israeli law by acts that amount to annexation both of these areas continue to be viewed by the international community as occupied and their status as regards the applicability of international rules is in most respects identical to that of the West Bank and Gaza. Primor Adar (24 October 2009) "Solana: EU aims to establish a Palestinian state at the earliest possible moment within the 1967 borders." Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1123034.html dead link United States: "an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines with agreed swaps" U.S. Department of State 25 November 2009 http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/11/132434.htm retrieved 10 April 2010  Golan Heights: UNSC Res. 497 UN 1981 http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/418/84/IMG/NR041884.pdfOpenElement retrieved 10 April 2010  East Jerusalem: UNSC Res. 478 UN 1980 http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/dde590c6ff232007852560df0065fddbOpenDocument retrieved 10 April 2010  Arabs will ask UN to seek razing of Israeli wall msnbc.com 9 July 2004 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5400559/ retrieved 7 July 2010  Olmert: Willing to trade land for peace Ynetnews 16 December 2006 http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/07340L-334064100.html retrieved 26 September 2007  "Syria ready to discuss land for peace" The Jerusalem Post 12 June 2007 archived from the original on 21 November 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20071121060510/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellitecid1181570258086&pagenameJPost/JPArticle/ShowFull retrieved 26 September 2007  "Egypt: Israel must accept the land-for-peace formula" The Jerusalem Post 15 May 2007 archived from the original on 1 May 2008 http://web.archive.org/web/20080501231415/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/SatellitepagenameJPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid1173879095966 retrieved 26 September 2007  (PDF) UNRWA in Figures: Figures as of 30 June 2009 United Nations June 2009 http://www.unrwa.org/userfiles/uif-june09.pdf retrieved 27 September 2007  "Questions and Answers" Israels Security Fence (The State of Israel) 22 February 2004 http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/questions.htm retrieved 17 April 2007  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "accessed 20 June 2010". Unhcr.org. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4875de625.html. Retrieved 2010-09-29.  "Under the Guise of Security: Routing the Separation Barrier to Enable Israeli Settlement Expansion in the West Bank" Publications (B'Tselem) December 2005 http://www.btselem.org/english/Publications/summaries/200512UndertheGuiseofSecurity.asp retrieved 16 April 2007  Gaza humanitarian situation (22-23 January) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN) 23 January 2009 The occupied Palestinian territories: Dignity Denied International Committee of the Red Cross 13 December 2007 Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): Country Summary 2006 Human Rights Watch January 2006. p. 1 Human rights in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories: Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict United Nations Human Rights Council 15 September 2009. p. 85 Israel and the Occupied Territories: Road to nowhere Amnesty International 1 December 2006 a b The scope of Israeli control in the Gaza Strip Btselem.org http://www.btselem.org/english/GazaStrip/GazaStatus.asp retrieved 31 March 2010  Eubam-rafah.eu portal and Eubam-rafah.eu files Israel's Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of Relations Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 12 July 2006 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About%20the%20Ministry/Diplomatic%20missions/Israel-s%20Diplomatic%20Missions%20Abroad retrieved 13 March 2009  "Massive Israel protests hit universities" (Egyptian Mail March 16 2010) "According to most Egyptians almost 31 years after a peace treaty was signed between Egypt and Israel having normal ties between the two countries is still a potent accusation and Israel is largely considered to be an enemy country" a b Qatar Mauritania cut Israel ties Al-Jazeera English 17 January 2009 http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/2009116151135307776.html retrieved 18 May 2009  Abn Abi (14 January 2009) (in Spanish) Bolivia rompe relaciones diplomticas con Israel y anuncia demanda por genocidio en Gaza YVKE Mundial Radio http://www.radiomundial.com.ve/yvke/noticia.php17621 retrieved 14 April 2010  (PDF) Initial Periodic Report of the State of Israel Concerning the Implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) Israel Ministry of Justice February 2001 pp. 147 (173 using pdf numbering) http://www.justice.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/129A5B6A-20D6-4C3B-9785-1C6B6763394A/0/CRCengfull.pdf retrieved 9 August 2007  (Hebrew) Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2004 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFAHeb/MFAArchive/2004/horaot+din+israeli0304.htm retrieved 9 August 2007  Israel: Background and Relations with the United States Updated Defense Technical Information Center http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDocADADA470003&LocationU2&docGetTRDoc.pdf retrieved 19 October 2009  a b http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdfdocs/PNADR900.pdf http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s1296.pdf see also http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/foreigncommerceaid/foreignaid.html Migdalovitz Carol (6 July 2007) (PDF) Israel: Background and Relations with the United States Congressional Research Service (via the U.S. Mission to Italy) p. 23 archived from the original on 25 September 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20070925201208/http://italy.usembassy.gov/pdf/other/RL33476.pdf retrieved 23 September 2007  Kumar Dinesh India and Israel: Dawn of a New Era Jerusalem Institute for Western Defense archived from the original on September 22 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20070922185121/http://www.westerndefense.org/bulletins/Dec-01.htm retrieved 23 September 2007  Eichner Itamar (4 March 2009) "From India with love" Ynetnews http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/07340L-369688700.html retrieved 4 May 2010  TNN Jan 19 2010 01.45am IST (2010-01-19). "India to hold wide-ranging strategic talks with US Israel - India - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-to-hold-wide-ranging-strategic-talks-with-US-Israel/articleshow/5474033.cms. Retrieved 2010-06-27.  India-Israel Commercial Relationsdead link Koshy Ninan. "India and Israel Eye Iran". Fpif.org. http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4959. Retrieved 2010-06-01.  "India to launch Israel-backed satellite". Edition.cnn.com. 2009-03-21. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/21/india.satellite/index.htmlirefmpstoryview. Retrieved 2010-06-01.  "Germany and Israel" Background Papers (German Embassy Washington D.C.) http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/archives/background/israel.html retrieved 23 September 2007 dead link Boyes Roger (17 March 2008) Israel welcomes new Germany to a celebration of its 60th birthday London: Times Online http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middleeast/article3564572.ece retrieved 13 March 2009  "Congressional Research Service: Germanys Relations with Israel: Background and Implications for German Middle East Policy Jan 19 2007. (page CRS-2)" (PDF). http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33808.pdf. Retrieved 2010-09-29.  "UK and Israel" Background Papers (Uk Foreign and Commonwealth Office.) http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/FrontpagenameOpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&cPage&cid1007029394365&aKCountryProfile&aid1031532656768 retrieved 19 December 2007  Abadi 2004 pp. 3739 47 Abadi 2004 pp. 4749 Abadi 2004 p. 3. "However it was not until 1991 that the two countries established full diplomatic relations." Abadi 2004 pp. 46 Colum Lynch (May 30 2010). "Turkey urges U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli attack on aid flotilla". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/31/AR2010053102860.html. Retrieved June 23 2010.  Israel Navy commandos: Gaza flotilla activists tried to lynch us AP (2010-04-07). "Israeli Officials Claim Aid Flotilla Had Ties to Al Qaeda PM Gives Military 'Full Support'". Foxnews.com. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/30/reports-israeli-ships-attack-aid-flotilla-dead/. Retrieved 2010-09-29.  Mark Lavie (June 3 2010). "Israel trying to limit diplomatic damage from raid". Taiwan News. http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/newscontent.phpid1275811&langengnews&cateimg1037.jpg&caterssGeneral.  Anshel Pfeffer (June 6 2010). "IDF: Five Gaza flotilla activists linked to Hamas Al-Qaida". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-five-gaza-flotilla-activists-linked-to-hamas-al-qaida-1.294546.  "A search for allies in a hostile world" Economist 4 February 2010 http://www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/displaystory.cfmstoryid15453225 retrieved 4 May 2010  History: 1948 Israel Defense Forces 2007 http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/History/40s/1948/default.htm retrieved 31 July 2007  Henderson 2003 p. 97 The State: Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 13 March 2009 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/State/THE+STATE-+Israel+Defense+Forces+-IDF-.htm retrieved 9 August 2007  Israel Defense Forces GlobalSecurity.org http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/idf.htm retrieved 16 September 2007  The Israel Defense Forces Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts%20About%20Israel/State/The%20Israel%20Defense%20Forces retrieved 21 October 2006  Stendel 1997 pp. 191192 Shtrasler Nehemia (16 May 2007) "Cool law for wrong population" Haaretz archived from the original on October 1 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20071001050353/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ArticleContent.jhtmlitemNo860256 retrieved 21 July 2007  Sherut Leumi (National Service) Nefesh B'Nefesh 4 July 2007 http://www.nbn.co.il/site/kb/questions/68/Sherut+Leumi+%28National+Service%29 retrieved 31 July 2007  Wheeler Carolynne (6 September 2007) Stars take the shine off military service The Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070906.DRAFT06/TPStory/TPInternational/Africa/ retrieved 16 September 2007  "U.S. Aid To Israel". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/foreignaid.html. Retrieved 2010-09-29.  Erlanger Steven (17 August 2007) Israel to Get $30 Billion in Military Aid From U.S. The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/17/world/middleeast/17israel.html retrieved 23 September 2007  Katz Yaakov (30 March 2007) "'Arrow can fully protect against Iran'" The Jerusalem Post archived from the original on 2008-05-29 http://web.archive.org/web/20080529042937/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellitecid1173879211495&pagenameJPost/JPArticle/ShowFull retrieved 16 September 2007  Zorn E. L. (8 May 2007) Israel's Quest for Satellite Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/docs/v44i5a04p.htm retrieved 16 September 2007 dead linkdead link Katz Yaakov (11 June 2007) "Analysis: Eyes in the sky" The Jerusalem Post archived from the original on 2 May 2008 http://web.archive.org/web/20080502000559/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellitecid1181570245958&pagenameJPost/JPArticle/ShowFull retrieved 16 September 2007  Seitz Charmaine (30 January 2001) Israels Defense Budget: The Business Side of War The Jerusalem Fund http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/www.thejerusalemfund.org/carryover/pubs/20010130ib.html retrieved 16 September 2007  (first appeared in Information Brief No. 64) Mohamed ElBaradei (27 July 2004) Transcript of the Director General's Interview with Al-Ahram News International Atomic Energy Agency http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Transcripts/2004/alahram27072004.html retrieved 19 July 2007  Ziv Guy "To Disclose or Not to Disclose: The Impact of Nuclear Ambiguity on Israeli Security" Israel Studies Forum Vol. 22 No. 2 (Winter 2007): 7694 Israel Homeowner Glossary Israelhomeowner.com 3 January 2007 archived from the original on 2008-04-06 http://web.archive.org/web/20080406045307/http://www.israelhomeowner.com/Glossary.asp retrieved 13 March 2009  http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Mashav+%E2%80%93+International+Development/Activities/Israeli+Humanitarian+Relief-+MASHAV+-+the+Israel+F.htm "Current list of OECD members". Oecd.org. 1970-01-01. http://www.oecd.org/countrieslist/03351en33873108338444301111100.html. Retrieved 2010-09-29.  Economy Rankings  Middle East & North Africa The World Bank Group http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/default.aspxregionid4 retrieved 13 March 2009  Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007 World Economic Forum 14 February 2007 ISBN 1403996369 http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%20Competitiveness%20Report/index.htm retrieved 15 July 2007  Bounfour Ahmed; Edvinsson Leif (2005) Intellectual Capital for Communities: Nations Regions and Cities Butterworth-Heinemann p. 47 ISBN 978-0750677738  NASDAQ Appoints Asaf Homossany as New Director for Israel NASDAQ 6 February 2005 http://www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/news/pr2005/nesection05019.stm retrieved 4 August 2007  CLS Bank live with Israeli Shekel and Mexican Peso CLS Group 26 May 2008 http://www.cls-group.com/Media/Pages/NewsArticle.aspxid15 retrieved 11 November 2009  Bassok Moti (14 February 2008) "Israelis can soon travel the world with shekels in their pockets" Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/954033.html retrieved 12 February 2010  a b "'Israel's economy most durable in face of crises' Ynet 05.20.2010". Ynetnews.com. 1995-06-20. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/07340L-389180100.html. Retrieved 2010-09-29.  Ginsburg Mitch (28 May 2007) A Hotter Holy Land The Jerusalem Report http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jrep/access/1271587481.htmldids1271587481:1271587481&FMTABS&FMTSABS:FT&dateMay+28%2C+2007&authorMitch+Ginsburg&pubThe+Jerusalem+Report&edition&startpage13&de/ retrieved 30 August 2007  Israel keen on IT tie-ups The Hindu Business Line 10 January 2001 http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/2001/01/11/stories/151139ue.htm retrieved 4 August 2007  Israel: Punching above its weight Economist 14 November 2005 http://www.ebusinessforum.com/index.aspdocid7798&layoutrichstory retrieved 4 August 2007  "OECD Factbook 2010: Economic Environmental and Social Statistics". Oecd-ilibrary.org. http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/factbook-2010-en/07/01/01/07-01-01-g1.htmlcontentType&itemId/content/chapter/factbook-2010-55-en&containerItemId/content/serial/18147364&accessItemIds&mimeTypetext/html. Retrieved 2011-03-22.  Krawitz Avi (27 February 2007) "Intel to expand Jerusalem R&D" The Jerusalem Post archived from the original on 2007-09-29 http://web.archive.org/web/20070929212346/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellitecid1171894528658&pagenameJPost/JPArticle/ShowFull retrieved 4 August 2007  Israel R&D Center: Leadership Team Microsoft archived from the original on July 8 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20070708084346/http://www.microsoft.com/Israel/RnD/about/team.html retrieved 4 August 2007  Berkshire Announces Acquisition New York Times 6 May 2006 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.htmlres9C02E7DB1F3FF935A35756C0A9609C8B63 retrieved 15 May 2010  "Israel's International Investment Position (IIP) June 2009". Bank of Israel. http://www.bankisrael.gov.il/press/eng/090917/090917e.htm.  "The world owes the Israeli economy $16.9 billion". I.B.I. http://www.ibi.co.il/SIPSTORAGE/FILES/4/924.pdf. dead link Burstein Nathan (14 August 2007) "Tourist visits above pre-war level" The Jerusalem Post archived from the original on 29 September 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20070929222428/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellitecid1186557443251&pagenameJPost/JPArticle/ShowFull retrieved 4 September 2007  "Pope to visit Holy Land" Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1069604.html retrieved 13 March 2009  "Interesting Facts about Israel". Jewishnorthshore.org. http://www.jewishnorthshore.org/page.aspxid43769. Retrieved 2010-10-30.  Roads(1)(2) By Length and Area Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics 2008 http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton60/st2412.pdf retrieved 5 February 2010  a b 2008  2.4 Million motor vehicles in Israel Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics 29 June 2009 http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/newhodaot/hodaatemplate.htmlhodaa200927133 retrieved 5 February 2010  Bus Services on Scheduled Routes Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics 2009 http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton60/st2404.pdf retrieved 5 February 2010  a b Israeli Railway Services Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics 2009 http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton60/st2405.pdf retrieved 5 February 2010  a b c Transportation in Israel Jewish Virtual Library 1 November 2001 ISBN 0080434487 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Economy/transport.html retrieved 5 February 2010  IAA: Official airport statistics for Ben Gurion Airport a b (PDF) Education Ministry of Immigrant Absorption http://www.moia.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/9FBC4448-CB15-4309-BA82-96DC681E7A11/0/educationen.pdf retrieved 5 August 2007  Higher Education in Israel Embassy of Israel in Washington DC http://www.israelemb.org/highered/highed.html retrieved 10 September 2007 dead link About the Library Jewish National and University Library http://www.jnul.huji.ac.il/eng/history.html retrieved 5 August 2007  Top 500 World Universities (1100) Institute of Higher Education Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2006 http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2006/ARWU2006Top100.htm retrieved 2 July 2007  Academic Ranking of World Universities 2009 Institute of Higher Education Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2009 http://www.arwu.org/ARWU2009.jsp retrieved 14 November 2009  Top 500 World Universities Institute of Higher Education Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2006 http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2006/ARWU2006TOP500list.htm retrieved 1 August 2007  Top Ten Reasons to Invest in Israel Israeli Consulate New York City archived from the original on 2007-07-16 http://web.archive.org/web/20070716015552/http://www.israelfm.org/economic/investing/topten.htm retrieved 1 August 2007  "Israel: IT Workforce" Information Technology Landscape in Nations Around the World (American University) http://www.american.edu/initeb/as5415a/IsraelICT/itWork.html retrieved 14 August 2007  Prof. Ada Yonath awarded 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 7 October 2009 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/ProfYonath2009NobelPrizeChemistry7-Oct-2009 retrieved 8 February 2010  Heylin Michael (27 November 2006) "Globalization Of Science Rolls On" Chemical & Engineering News (American Chemical Society): pp. 2631 http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/84/8448sci1.html retrieved 21 August 2007  Gordon Evelyn (24 August 2006) "Kicking the global oil habit" The Jerusalem Post archived from the original on 29 September 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20070929222456/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellitecid1154525933299&pagenameJPost/JPArticle/Printer retrieved 4 August 2007  Giant solar plants in Negev could power Israel's future John Lettice The Register 2008 Jan 25 "Stem cell density highest in Israel" The Scientist 21 March 2009 http://www.the-scientist.com/news/print/23240/ retrieved 14 November 2009  Academic Ranking of World Universities 2009 Institute of Higher Education Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2009 archived from the original on May 1 2008 http://web.archive.org/web/20080501183117/http://www.arwu.org/# retrieved 14 November 2009  Top countries in space sciences The Times Higher Education supplemmentary 8 October 2009 http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.aspsectioncode26&storycode408577&c1 retrieved 8 October 2009  Barbara Opall-Rome (19 November 2009) Israel Readies for Ofeq-8 Launch Defense News http://www.defensenews.com/story.phpi4379028&cMID&sAIR retrieved 8 February 2010  Tran Mark (21 January 2008) "Israel launches new satellite to spy on Iran" Guardian Unlimited (London) http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0224432400.html retrieved 22 January 2008  a b Israel Pushes Solar Energy Technology Linda Gradstein National Public Radio 2007 October 22. a b At the Zenith of Solar Energy Neal SandlerBusinessWeek 2008 March 26. a b Looking to the sun Tom Parry Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 15 August 2007 Del Chiaro Bernadette; Telleen-Lawton Timothy (PDF) Solar Water Heating (How California Can Reduce Its Dependence on Natural Gas) Environment California Research and Policy Center http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/uploads/at/56/at563bKwmfrtJI6fKl9Uw/Solar-Water-Heating.pdf retrieved 29 September 2007  Gershon Grossman; Ofira Ayalon (2007) Solar energy for the production of heat Summary and recommendations of the 4th assembly of the energy forum at SNI The Samuel Neaman Institute for Advanced Research in Science and Technology http://www.neaman.org.il/neaman/publications/publicationitem.aspfid590&parentfid490&iid3639 retrieved 12 February 2010  "Israel Special: Solar what else!" Sun & Wind Energy January 2008 http://roma.mfa.gov.il/mfm/Data/156237.pdf retrieved 15 May 2010  Israel at 62: Population of 7587000 Ynet 18 April 2010 http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/07340L-387757400.html  Johnathan Marcus (2 May 2005) "Israeli Arabs: 'Unequal citizens'" BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middleeast/4493525.stm retrieved 6 December 2007  Israel: Crackdown on illegal migrants and visa violators. Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). 14 July 2009 Adriana Kemp "Labour migration and racialisation: labour market mechanisms and labour migration control policies in Israel" Social Identities 10:2 267292 2004 Israel Struggles With African Refugee Dilemmadead link ABC News 12 August 2009 DellaPergola Sergio (2000) 2000 Still Moving: Recent Jewish Migration in Comparative Perspective Daniel J. Elazar and Morton Weinfeld eds. ed. The Global Context of Migration to Israel New Brunswick New Jersey: Transaction Publishers pp. 1360 ISBN 1-56000-428-2  Herman Pini (1 September 1983) "The Myth of the Israeli Expatriate" Moment Magazine 8 (8): 6263  Gould Eric; Moav Omer (July 2006). "Brain Drain From Israel (Brichat Mochot M'Yisrael)" (in Hebrew) (PDF). Jerusalem: Mercaz Shalem  The Shalem Center The Social-Economic Institute. p. 26. Archived from the original on 2008-08-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20080803015957/http://www.shalem.org.il/Admin/FileServer/df4b061c96a6fbceb95026260cb4de8a.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-12.  Rettig Haviv (6 April 2008) "Officials to US to bring Israelis home" Jerusalem Post archived from the original on 2 June 2008 http://web.archive.org/web/20080602204820/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/SatellitepagenameJPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid1207238165607 retrieved 29 April 2008  "Settlements in the West Bank" Settlement Information (Foundation for Middle East Peace) archived from the original on 24 February 2008 http://web.archive.org/web/20080224233451/http://www.fmep.org/settlementinfo/statsdata/westbanksettlements.html retrieved 12 December 2007  "Settlements in the Golan Heights" Settlement Information (Foundation for Middle East Peace) http://www.fmep.org/settlementinfo/settlement-info-and-tables/stats-data/settlements-in-the-golan-heights retrieved 12 December 2007  "Settlements in East Jerusalem" Settlement Information (Foundation for Middle East Peace) archived from the original on 2008-04-20 http://web.archive.org/web/20080420070744/http://www.fmep.org/settlementinfo/statsdata/eastjerusalemsettlements.html retrieved 12 December 2007  "Settlements in the Gaza Strip" Settlement Information (Foundation for Middle East Peace) http://www.fmep.org/settlementinfo/settlement-info-and-tables/stats-data/settlements-in-the-gaza-strip-1 retrieved 12 December 2007  The Law of Return Knesset http://www.knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/return.htm retrieved 14 August 2007  Central Bureau of Statistics Government of Israel (PDF) Jews and others by origin continent of birth and period of immigration http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st0224.pdf retrieved 8 April 2006  Aharoni Ada "The Forced Migration of Jews from Arab Countries" Historical Society of Jews from Egypt website. Retrieved 1 February 2009. "The myth of the Mizrahim" Guardian.co.uk 3 April 2009 Jacqueline Shields. "Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries". http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/jewref.html.  "Missing Mizrahim". http://www.jewcy.com/post/missingmizrahim.  Israel may admit 3000 Ethiopia migrants if Jews. Reuters. 16 July 2009 Aug 16-1816635503x.htm Israel's Welcome for Ethiopian Jews Wears Thindead link. USA Today 16 August 2008 Friedberg Rachel M. (November 2001) "The Impact of Mass Migration on the Israeli Labor Market" The Quarterly Journal of Economics 116 (4): 1373 doi:10.1162/003355301753265606 http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/003355301753265606journalCodeqjec  Study: Soviet immigrants outperform Israeli students Haaretz 10 February 2008 "Israel's disputatious Avigdor Lieberman: Can the coalition hold together" The Economist 11 March 2010 Q&A Lily Galili on 'The Russians in Israel'. Haaretz Elazar Daniel J. Religion in Israel: A Consensus for Jewish Tradition Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/relinisr-consensus.htm retrieved 6 September 2007  "The other Israeli conflict: with itself" CSMonitor.com July 9 2009. "At the edge of the abyss" Haaretz.com November 24 2009 Central Bureau of Statistics Government of Israel (PDF) Population by religion and population group http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st0201.pdf retrieved 6 August 2007  Bassok Moti (25 December 2006) "Israel's Christian population numbers 148 000 as of Christmas Eve" Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/805277.html retrieved 29 July 2008  (PDF) National Population Estimates Central Bureau of Statistics p. 27 http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton53/steng02.pdf retrieved 6 August 2007  Levine Lee I. (1999) Jerusalem: its sanctity and centrality to Judaism Christianity and Islam Continuum International Publishing Group p. 516 ISBN 978-0826410245  The Bah' World Centre: Focal Point for a Global Community The Bah' International Community http://info.bahai.org/article-1-6-0-5.html retrieved 2 July 2007  Teaching the Faith in Israel Bah' Library Online 23 June 1995 http://bahai-library.com/uhjteachinginisrael retrieved 6 August 2007  "Comparing Education Statistics Across the World" (PDF) Global Education Digest 2004 (UNESCO Institute for Statistics): pp. 75 77 2004 http://www.unesco.org/education/docs/ENGD2004v2.pdf retrieved 4 August 2007  "Human Development Indicators" (PDF) Human Development Report 2005 (United Nations) 2005 archived from the original on 2 July 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20070702184520/http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/pdf/HDR05HDI.pdf retrieved 4 August 2007  ED250227 Israeli Schools: Religious and Secular Problems Eric.ed.gov 10 October 1984 http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jspnfpbtrue&&ERICExtSearchSearchValue0ED250227&ERICExtSearchSearchType0ericaccno&accnoED250227 retrieved 13 March 2009  Kashti Or; Shahar Ilan (19 July 2007) "Knesset raises school dropout age to 18" Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/883341.html retrieved 5 August 2007  Summary of the Principal Laws Related to Education Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 26 January 2003 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/20002009/2003/1/Summary+of+the+principal+laws+relating+to+educatio.htm retrieved 4 August 2007  The Israeli Matriculation Certificate United States-Israel Educational Foundation via the University of Szeged University Library January 1996 http://www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/oseas/bagrut.html retrieved 5 August 2007  (PDF) Pupils in Grade XII matriculation examinees and entitled to a certificate Central Bureau of Statistics http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton56/st0821.pdf retrieved 2 July 2007  Immigration and Social and Cultural Diversity Among the Jewish Population International Youth Foundation archived from the original on October 10 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20071010072008/http://www.iyfnet.org/document.cfm/92/97/243 retrieved 6 September 2007  Jewish Festivals and Days of Remembrance in Israel Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts%20About%20Israel/People/Jewish%20Festivals%20in%20Israel retrieved 16 September 2007  Ran Ami (25 August 1998) Encounters: The Vernacular Paradox of Israeli Architecture Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA+Publications/Photo+exhibits/Encounters-+The+Vernacular+Paradox+of+Israeli+Arch-+Intro.htm retrieved 6 September 2007  Brinn David (23 October 2005) Israeli Palestinian and Jordanian DJs create bridge for peace Israel21c http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jspenDispWhoArticles%5El1126&enPageBlankPage&enDisplayview&enDispWhatobject&enVersion0&enZoneCulture retrieved 16 September 2007  The International Israeli Table Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Modern%20History/Israel%20at%2050/The%20International%20Israeli%20Table retrieved 26 June 2009  Amos Oz is most translated Israeli author Ynet Published: 02.10.09 07:50 Depositing Books to The Jewish National & University Library Jewish National and University Library http://jnul.huji.ac.il/eng/lgd.html retrieved 21 August 2007  Israeli Book Statistics for 2006 Jewish National and University Library http://jnul.huji.ac.il/eng/lgd-statistics-2007.html retrieved 12 August 2007  The Nobel Prize in Literature 1966 Nobel Foundation http://nobelprize.org/nobelprizes/literature/laureates/1966/index.html retrieved 12 August 2007  BBC News 9 August 2008 Palestinian 'national poet' dies Broughton Ellingham & Trillo 1999 pp. 365369 "Israel" World Music (National Geographic Society) http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/country/content.country/israel36 retrieved 13 August 2007  "Israeli Folk" World Music (National Geographic Society) http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/genre/content.genre/israelifolk735 retrieved 13 August 2007  Ben-Sasson 1985 p. 1095 Ewbank Alison J.; Papageorgiou Fouli T. (1997) Whose Master's Voice: The Development of Popular Music in Thirteen Cultures Greenwood Press p. 117 ISBN 978-0313277726  Davis Barry (5 February 2007) Israel Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates 70th anniversary Ministry of Foreign Affairs (from Israel21c) http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/Israel+Philharmonic+Orchestra+celebrates+70th+anniversary+5-Feb-2007.htm retrieved 13 August 2007  "Israel" Eurovision Song Contest (Eurovision Broadcasting Union) archived from the original on 2007-06-22 http://web.archive.org/web/20070622035651/http://www.eurovision.tv/content/view/537/1 retrieved 13 August 2007  About Us Red Sea Jazz Festival archived from the original on 2007-08-12 http://web.archive.org/web/20070812185754/http://www.redseajazzeilat.com/EN/aboutus.html retrieved 13 August 2007  Brown Hannah (2 February 2010) "Ajami nominated for Oscar" Jerusalem Post http://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Entertainment/Article.aspxid167582  (Hebrew) Habima National Theatre http://www.habima.co.il/ retrieved 13 August 2007  a b About the Museum The Israel Museum Jerusalem http://www.imj.org.il/eng/about/index.html retrieved 13 August 2007  Shrine of the Book The Israel Museum Jerusalem http://www.imj.org.il/eng/shrine/index.html retrieved 13 August 2007  About Yad Vashem: The Yad Vashem Library Yad Vashem archived from the original on 6 July 2007 http://web.archive.org/web/20070706175402/http://www1.yadvashem.org/aboutyad/indexaboutyad.html retrieved 13 August 2007  Museum Information Beth Hatefutsoth http://www.bh.org.il/about-us.aspx retrieved 13 August 2007  TravelNet in cooperation with Israel museums Mishkan LeOmanut Ein Harod Ilmuseums.com http://www.ilmuseums.com/museumeng.aspid183 retrieved 13 March 2009  Griver Simon (June 1999) Sports in Israel Jewish Virtual Library http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society&Culture/sports.html retrieved 13 August 2007  Montague James (27 Feb 2008) "Time is right for Israel to return to its Asian roots" Guardian (London) http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/feb/27/worldcup2010 retrieved 4 May 2010  Torstrick 2004 p. 141 Basketball Super League Profile Winner Basketball Super League http://www.basket.co.il/Data.aspid1&langen retrieved 13 August 2007  Bouskila Daniel (13 May 2005) "Israel Wins More Than Hoop Crown" The Jewish Journal http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/israelwinsmorethanhoopcrown20050513/ retrieved 21 August 2007  "Israeli tennis stars return to action" The Jerusalem Post 26 December 2006 http://www.jpost.com/Sports/Article.aspxid45927 retrieved 4 May 2010  Shvidler Eli (15 December 2009) "Israeli grand master Boris Gelfand wins Chess World Cup" Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1135219.html  Tzahor Uri (26 November 2008) "Israel takes silver medal at Chess Olympiad" Ynewnews.com http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/07340L-362876500.html  Bekerman Eitan (4 September 2006) "Chess masters set to compete in world blitz championship" Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/758461.html dead link World Team Championship in Beer Sheva Israel World Chess Federation 1 November 2005 http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/9-other/2182-673-world-team-championship-in-beer-sheva-israel retrieved 13 March 2009  Olympic Medal Winners (under Europe / Israel) International Olympic Committee http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/results/searchruk.asp retrieved 13 August 2007  Tel Aviv 1968 International Paralympic Committee http://www.paralympic.org/ParalympicGames/PastGames/TelAviv1968/index.html retrieved 20 September 2008  Bibliography Abadi Jacob (2004) Israel's Quest for Recognition and Acceptance in Asia: Garrison State Diplomacy Routledge ISBN 0-7146-5576-7  Ausubel Natan (1964) The Book of Jewish Knowledge New York New York: Crown Publishers ISBN 0-517-09746-X  Barton John; Bowden Julie (2004) The Original Story: God Israel and the World Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company ISBN 0-8028-2900-7  Barzilai Gad (1996) Wars Internal Conflicts and Political Order: A Jewish Democracy in the Middle East State University of New York Press ISBN 0-7914-2943-1  Barzilai Gad (2010) The Attorney General and the State Prosecutor-Is Institutional Separation Warrented The Israel Democracy Institute  Ben-Sasson Hayim (1985) A History of the Jewish People Harvard University Press ISBN 978-0-674-39731-6  Best Anthony (2003) International History of the Twentieth Century Routledge ISBN 0-415-20739-8  Bregman Ahron (2002) A History of Israel Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 0-333-67631-9  Broughton Simon; Ellingham Mark; Trillo Richard (1999) World Music: The Rough Guide Rough Guides ISBN 1-85828-635-2  Cole Tim (2003) Holocaust City: The Making of a Jewish Ghetto Routledge ISBN 0-415-92968-7  Crowdy Terry (2006) The Enemy Within: A History of Espionage Osprey Publishing ISBN 1-84176-933-9  Dekmejian R. Hrair (1975) Patterns of Political Leadership: Egypt Israel Lebanon State University of New York Press ISBN 0-87395-291-X  Friedland Roger; Hecht Richard (2000) To Rule Jerusalem University of California Press ISBN 0-520-22092-7  Gelvin James L. (2005) The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-85289-7  Gilbert Martin (2005) The Routledge Atlas Of The ArabIsraeli conflict (8th ed.) Routledge ISBN 0-415-35900-7  Goldreich Yair (2003) The Climate of Israel: Observation Research and Application Springer ISBN 0-306-47445-X  Hamilton Victor P. (1995) The Book of Genesis (2nd revised ed.) Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company ISBN 0-8028-2309-2  Harkavy Robert E.; Neuman Stephanie G. (2001) Warfare and the Third World Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 0-312-24012-0  Henderson Robert D'A. (2003) Brassey's International Intelligence Yearbook (2003 ed.) Brassey's Inc. ISBN 1-57488-550-2  Herzl Theodor (1946) The Jewish State American Zionist Emergency Council ISBN 0-486-25849-1  Howe Kathleen Stewart (1997) Revealing the Holy Land: the photographic exploration of Palestine University of California Press p. 144 ISBN 978-0-89951-095-8 http://books.google.com/idw0mml-378QQC&printsecfrontcover&q  Jacobs Daniel (1988) Israel and the Palestinian Territories: The Rough Guide (2nd revised ed.) Rough Guides ISBN 1-85828-248-9  Kellerman Aharon (1993) Society and Settlement: Jewish Land of Israel in the Twentieth Century State University of New York Press ISBN 0-7914-1295-4  Kornberg Jacques (1993) Theodor Herzl: From Assimilation to Zionism Indiana University Press ISBN 0-253-33203-6  Liebreich Fritz (2005) Britain's Naval and Political Reaction to the Illegal Immigration of Jews to Palestine 19451948 Routledge ISBN 0-7146-5637-2  Lustick Ian (1988) For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel Council on Foreign Relations Press ISBN 0-87609-036-6  Mazie Steven (2006) Israel's Higher Law: Religion and Liberal Democracy in the Jewish State Lexington Books ISBN 0-7391-1485-9  Morl Gktu (2006) Handbook of Decision Making CRC Press ISBN 1-57444-548-0  Mowlana Hamid; Gerbner George; Schiller Herbert I. (1992) Triumph of the File: The Media's War in the Persian Gulf  A Global Perspective Westview Press ISBN 0-8133-1610-3  Roberts Adam (1990) "Prolonged Military Occupation: The Israeli-Occupied Territories Since 1967" The American Journal of International Law (American Society of International Law) 84 (1): 44103 doi:10.2307/2203016 JSTOR 2203016 http://jstor.org/stable/2203016  Romano Amy (2003) A Historical Atlas of Israel The Rosen Publishing Group ISBN 0-8239-3978-2  Reveron Derek S.; Murer Jeffrey Stevenson (2006) Flashpoints in the War on Terrorism Routledge ISBN 0-415-95490-8  Rosenzweig Rafael (1997) The Economic Consequences of Zionism T Brill Academic Publishers ISBN 90-04-09147-5  Rummel Rudolph J. (1997) Power Kills: Democracy As a Method of Nonviolence Transaction Publishers ISBN 0-7658-0523-5  Sampter Jessie (2007) 1933 "Jewish Colonization Before 1917" in Sampter Jessie Modern Palestine A Symposium READ BOOKS p. 444 ISBN 978-1-4067-3834-6 http://books.google.com/booksid3QZ8wqJUfgEC&pgPA93&dq%22four+holy+cities%22+1800&lr&hlpt-PT&cd7#vonepage&q%22four%20holy%20cities%22%201800&ffalse  Scharfstein Sol (1996) Understanding Jewish History KTAV Publishing House ISBN 0-88125-545-9  Shindler Colin (2002) The Land Beyond Promise: Israel Likud and the Zionist Dream I.B.Tauris Publishers ISBN 1-86064-774-X  Skolnik Fred (2007) Encyclopedia Judaica 9 (2nd ed.) Macmillian ISBN 0-02-865928-7  Smith Derek (2006) Deterring America: Rogue States and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-86465-8  Stein Leslie (2003) The Hope Fulfilled: The Rise of Modern Israel Greenwood Press ISBN 0-275-97141-4  Stendel Ori (1997) The Arabs in Israel Sussex Academic Press ISBN 1-898723-23-0  Stone Russell A.; Zenner Walter P. (1994) Critical Essays on Israeli Social Issues and Scholarship SUNY Press ISBN 0-7914-1959-2  Torstrick Rebecca L. (2004) Culture and Customs of Israel Greenwood Press ISBN 0-313-32091-8  Wenham Gordon J. (1994) Word Biblical Commentary 2 (Genesis 1650) Dallas Texas: Word Books ISBN 0-8499-0201-0  External links Find more about Israel on Wikipedia's sister projects: Definitions from Wiktionary Images and media from Commons Learning resources from Wikiversity News stories from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Source texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Israel Government Portal (with links to Arabic Hebrew versions) Israel entry at The World Factbook Israel web resources provided by GovPubs at the University of ColoradoBoulder Libraries Israel at the Open Directory Project Israel travel guide from Wikitravel Wikimedia Atlas of Israel Coordinates: 31N 35E / 31N 35E / 31; 35 v d eIsrael topics History Jewish history  Zionism  Aliyah  Herzl  Balfour Declaration  British Mandate  UN General Assembly Resolution 181  Declaration of Independence  Austerity  Years in Israel Conflict Israeli-Palestinian History  Peace process  Israeli peace camp  First Intifada  Oslo Accords  Second Intifada  Israeli West Bank barrier  Israel's unilateral disengagement plan  Palestinian territories  Israel and the apartheid analogy Arab-Israeli History  1948 Arab-Israeli War  1949 Armistice Agreements  Jewish exodus from Arab lands  Suez Crisis  Six-Day War  War of Attrition  Yom Kippur War  1982 Lebanon War  2006 Lebanon War  Peace proposals  Treaties with Egypt / Jordan  Israeli-occupied territories Government Basic Laws of Israel (Law of Return  Jerusalem Law)  Knesset  Prime Minister  President  Judicial system (Supreme Court) Security Israel Defense Forces  Israeli Intelligence Community  Israeli National Security Council  Israel Police  Israel Border Police  Israel Prison Service  Civil defense in Israel Politics Political parties (right-wing  left-wing  centre)  Elections   Criticism of the Israeli Government Geography Borders  Cities (Jerusalem  Tel Aviv  Haifa)  Districts  Regions (Mediterranean Sea  Red Sea  Judea and Samaria  Sea of Galilee)  Mountains  Rivers (Jordan River)  Nature reserves   Wildlife Economy Israeli new sheqel  Companies  Tel Aviv Stock Exchange  Bank of Israel  Banking  Standard of living (Personal / household income  Homeownership)  Transport  Agriculture (research)  Tourism  Science and technology  Wine  Diamond industry  Israel Military Industries  Israel Aerospace Industries Culture and society Israelis  Jewish citizens  Arab citizens  Archaeology  Architecture  Cinema  Demographics   Education (universities and colleges)  Health care  Human rights  Jewish holidays  Kibbutz  LGBT rights  Languages (Hebrew  Arabic)  Israeli Law  Literature  Media  Music  Personalities  Postage stamps and history  Religion  Social class (middle class  poverty)  Sports  Women Foreign affairs International criticism of Israel  International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict  Israel Palestinians and the United Nations  Israel-United States relations  Arab League and the Arab-Israeli conflict Portal Template:Template group