Israel (country)

A

Principal Cities

With a population of 701,512 in 2004, Jerusalem is Israel’s largest city. Israel claims that all of Jerusalem is its capital, but Palestinians dispute the claim and the United Nations has not recognized it as such. Arabs make up about 30 percent of the population. Jerusalem’s economy depends on governmental administration, light industry, tourism, and higher education.

Tel Aviv-Yafo, with 368,635 residents in 2004, is the center of an urban region stretching along 15 km (9 mi) of the Mediterranean coast and 10 km (6 mi) inland, with a total population of about 2 million. It serves as a commercial and industrial capital and also plays an important role in the cultural and recreational life of modern Israel. Other cities in this urban area include Holon, Peta Tiqwa, and Ramat Gan. Farther north lies Haifa, containing the country’s busiest port and main naval base. With a population of 269,417, the city serves as a center of heavy industry as well as religious and educational activities. Beersheba serves as the administrative, industrial, and cultural center of the northern Negev. It had about 184,200 residents in 2004.

B

Ethnic Groups

Although Israel’s Jewish population shares a common ethnic heritage based on Judaism, it is composed almost entirely of immigrants and descendants of immigrants from all over the world. In 1997 some 38 percent of Israel’s Jewish population was born outside of Israel. Foreign-born and native-born Israeli Jews trace their recent roots to more than 100 different countries, providing Israel with extremely diverse cultural influences.

The two main groupings of Jews are Ashkenazim and Sephardim. The Ashkenazim, whose tradition was centered in Germany in the Middle Ages, now include Jews of Central and Eastern European origin. The Sephardim, whose tradition grew in Spain in the Middle Ages, now include Jews with ancestry from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean region. Historically the groups differ in religious rite, pronunciation of Hebrew, and social customs. Ashkenazic Jews, who formed a majority at the time of Israeli independence, continue to dominate political life as well as the upper levels of employment and education. Sephardic Jews immigrated rapidly to Israel in the decades after independence. The new state’s lack of resources to handle this flood, combined with cultural differences between the new immigrants and the Ashkenazic establishment, resulted in separate and usually poorer Sephardic communities. The Sephardim continue to struggle for greater economic and political influence. Beginning in the last years of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in the late 1980s and continuing well after its breakup, hundreds of thousands of Ashkenazic Jews immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union.

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Arabs, those Palestinians who remained in the region after Israel’s independence and their descendants, constitute almost all of Israel’s non-Jewish population. Following Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights in 1967, Arabs in Israel had increased contact, and an increased sense of identity, with fellow Palestinians in those occupied areas. Despite legal equality and increased integration into Israel’s economy, for the most part Arabs and Jews live in separate areas, attend separate schools, speak different languages, and follow different cultural traditions. Although constant tension exists between the two groups within Israel, it has been overshadowed in recent years by conflicts involving Israeli occupation and Jewish settlement in Palestinian areas outside of Israel.

C

Languages

Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages. The Jewish majority speaks a modernized derivative of the Hebrew language, a biblical Semitic language. Immigrants are given intensive instruction in Hebrew, but many continue to speak their native language at home. Israeli Arabs speak the Arabic language. Both Hebrew and Arabic are taught in schools and used in legal affairs and in the legislature. Many Israelis speak English, Russian, or any of a number of other European languages. Some older Ashkenazic immigrants speak Yiddish, a Germanic language. Radio broadcasts, newspapers, and periodicals use several languages in addition to Hebrew and Arabic.

D

Religion

For centuries the region of Palestine has been a focus for three world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jerusalem, Hebron, Ẕefat, and Tiberias are the four holy cities of Judaism. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth are sacred to Christians, and Jerusalem, as the location of the ascent of the prophet Muhammad to heaven, is also sacred to Islam. Haifa is the world center of the Baha’i religion, although there are few adherents in Israel today. The level of strict religious observance among all religions has declined in recent years, but religious affiliation remains very important socially and politically. Israeli law guarantees religious freedom.

Varying degrees of religious faith and practice exist among Israeli Jews. Ultra-Orthodox Jews (haredim) who wish to impose strict religious law on all aspects of life lie at one end of the spectrum. At the other end lie those who observe no religious practices. The majority lie somewhere in between, observing some religious principles some of the time according to personal preferences and ethnic traditions. Orthodox and non-Orthodox groups remain at odds, resulting in occasional violent incidents over observance of the Sabbath, a holy day of rest, and the ways in which it is acceptable for women to pray at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, the holiest site of Judaism. In recent years non-Orthodox Jewish groups have struggled against the exclusive rights of the Orthodoxy to perform conversions and other religious rites. Religion plays a significant role in politics, and religious parties hold many seats in the legislature.

About three-quarters of Israel’s non-Jewish population follows Sunni Islam. Most of the remainder are Christians or Druze, a distinct religious minority. The largest Christian denominations are Greek Catholic and Greek Orthodox; many other Christian denominations are also represented in Israel.

E

Education

The quality of Israel’s education system and the high literacy rate of its people reflect the importance of education in the Jewish tradition. Absorption and integration of immigrant Jewish children from many countries and cultures continue as the central challenges. The Compulsory Education Law of 1949 and subsequent amendments provide for free and compulsory schooling for children aged 5 to 16 and additional free but not compulsory education to age 18. In practice about 90 percent of school-age children complete compulsory education. Jewish children attend either state secular or religious schools, both with instruction in Hebrew. Arab and Druze children attend separate schools emphasizing their history, religion, and culture, with instruction in Arabic. Some secondary schools specialize in technological, agricultural, military, or religious studies. There are also private religious schools affiliated with ultra-Orthodox groups and Christian denominations. Literacy rates are very high among youth in both communities and for both sexes.

Postsecondary educational opportunities include universities as well as vocational and other adult education. Most students complete compulsory military service—three years for men and two years for women—before pursuing higher education. Universities, which operate under the authority of the Council for Higher Education, include the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv University, Haifa University, and Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba. The Open University of Israel, established in 1974 in Tel Aviv-Yafo, allows students to learn through distance education and other forms of self-study. Other forms of adult education are especially important in Israel due to the high number of adult immigrants with varying levels of education in their home countries. Vocational and adult education subjects include nursing, teacher training, architecture, Hebrew language, art, music, and architecture.

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