Israel

Israel, officially the state of Israel, is situated in Western Asia. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the west. It shares its border with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel is world’s only Jewish state. The country ranks 44 in economy in the world. It ranks first on human development, and freedom of the press among Middle East countries. The capital city Jerusalem (31 46 N, 35 14 E) is the largest city. Tel Aviv is the heart of finance in Israel. Israeli defense force comprises Israeli Army, Israeli Air Force and Israeli Sea Corps. Israel is the only country in the world to maintain the Hebrew calendar. The weekly holiday is Saturday according to that calendar.


HISTORY:-The land of Israel was ruled by the Jewish kingdom around the 11th century BC. Later the land was invaded and ruled by Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Sassanian, Byzantine Umayyad, Abbasid, and Crusader empires subsequently. Mamluk Sultanate reigned the land since 1260. Ottoman Empire conquered the region in 1516 and ruled until 20th century. During World War I, UK army took over the region under a League of Nations mandate in 1923. Third Aliyah (1919–1923) and Fourth Aliyah (1924–1929) Fifth Aliyah (1930s) had migrated more than 100000 Jews to Palestine. Arab revolt (1936-1939) led The UK to stop Jews immigration with the White Paper of 1939. UK mandate over Palestine ended with the end of the World War II. On 14th May 1948, the independence of Israel was declared as the State of Israel.

 

GEOGRAPHY:-The geographic location of Israel is 31 30 N, 34 45 E. The total area of Israel is 27,799 sq km (land-20,330 sq km, water-440 sq km), including the military and Palestinian controlled territory in the West Bank. The coast line is 273 km long along with the Mediterranean Sea. In the north, there are mountain ranges- Galilee, Carmel, and Golan. Negev desert is situated in the south. Jordan Rift Valley lies in the eastern part of central highlands. Coastal plains are low. Israel’s lowest point is Dead Sea (-408 m) and the highest point is Har Meron (1,208 m). Ramon Crater in the Negev is the largest makhtesh in the world.

 

CLIMATE:- The climate of Israel is temperate. But the southern and eastern desert areas are hot and dry.

 

GOVERNMENT:-The state of Israel is parliamentary democracy. There is no formal constitution in Israel. The so called constitution is composed of the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law. Since 2003 the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Knesset has been working to form a constitution. The three branches of the Government are:

1. Executive branch consists of the President (chief of state) the Prime Minister (head of government), cabinet.

2. Legislative branch consists of the unicameral Knesset (120 seats).

3. Judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court.

Labor party, Likud, Kadima, and some secular and religious parties exist. Voting rights are universal at and above 18.

President  Shimon Peres

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert

 

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:-Israel is divided into 6 administrative districts, known as mehozot (Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv).

 

CULTURE:-Israeli poems are written in Hebrew. Shmuel Yosef Agnon won the Nobel Prize in Literature with German Jewish author Nelly Sachs in 1966. Yemenite music, Hasidic melodies, Arabic music, Greek music, jazz, pop, rock- all influence Israeli music. Folk songs, known as “Songs of the Land of Israel” tell the tale of formation of the Jewish land. Israel Museum in Jerusalem is very prominent in Israeli cultural institutions.

 

ECONOMY:- Israel is among the strongest countries in Southwest Asia in the sector of economy and industry. Israel ranks first in the Ease of Doing Business Index by World Bank and Global Competitiveness Report by World Economic Forum. Israel possesses the second-largest number of startup companies in the world and the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies, apart from North America.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $184.9 billion; per capita $28,800.

Real growth rate: 7.6%.

Inflation: 0.4%.

Unemployment: 8.9%.

Arable land: 16%.

Agriculture: citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products.

Labor force: 2.88 million; agriculture 18.5%; industry 23.7%; services 50%; other 7.8% (2002).

Industries: high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear.

Natural resources: timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand.

Budget:  

Revenues: $57.08 billion

Expenditures: $57.81 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt:82.7% of GDP (2007 est.)

Exports: $48.6 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel.

Imports: $52.8 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods.

Major trading partners: U.S., Belgium, Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland, UK, China (2006).

Monetary unit: Shekel

 

LANGUAGE:- The official language is Hebrew. But Arabic and English are widely spoken.

 

CITIES:-The capital and largest city is Jerusalem. Other large cities are Tel Aviv, Haifa.

 

POPULATION:-Israeli population is 6,426,679 with a growth rat of 1.2%.

Density per sq mi: 819

Literacy rate: 97% (2004 est.)

RACE:-

Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%)

Non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004)

 

RELIGION:-

Jewish 76.4%

Muslim 16%

Arab Christians 1.7%

Other Christian 0.4%

Druze 1.6%

Unspecified 3.9% (2004)

 

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 20.02 births/ 1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 5.41 deaths/ 1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 4.28 deaths/ 1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 80.61 years

Total fertility rate: 2.77 children born/ woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 100 (2001 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 2,143

 

UNICEF:-UNICEF in Israel is working on the areas like- child nutrition, education, protection of child rights, broaden the awareness on HIV etc.

 

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 853 km (2006).

Highways: total: 17,446 km (2004).

Ports and harbors: Ashdod, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa.

Airports: 53 (2007).


Posted by subhasis on Friday Jun 06  reply


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