Israel (country)

C

Visual Arts

In 1906 the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts was founded in Jerusalem to encourage talented Jews to study art in Palestine. Like the country’s writers and performers, Israeli painters, sculptors, and photographers have examined personal and social issues relating to Jewish identity and statehood. Artist studios, galleries, and shops abound in Ẕefat and Yafo. Many Israeli artists and sculptors, including Yaacov Agam, Dani Karavan, and Reuvin Rubin, have gained international recognition for their work. Filmmaking began in Israel in the 1950s and has developed strongly under the Israel Film Center. Cinema exports are growing, and foreign productions are sometimes filmed in Israel.

D

Museums and Libraries

The Israel Museum in Jerusalem, founded in 1965 as the national museum, houses collections of Jewish art, modern sculpture, and archaeological artifacts. It also houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts. The Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem is dedicated to Jews who died in the Holocaust. Other important museums include the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and the Haifa Museum. Several museums, including the L. A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art in Jerusalem, display exhibits about the Arab and Islamic traditions of Palestine and Israel. Altogether there are more than 120 museums in Israel, which receive about ten million visitors each year. There are more than 400 libraries in Israel.

V

Economy

The challenges of maintaining national security while absorbing and integrating massive waves of immigrants have characterized the economy of Israel throughout its statehood. Defense spending remains one of the world’s highest per capita, and immigration strains the availability of jobs and housing. Lack of natural resources and economic isolation from surrounding Arab states add further challenges. In spite of these factors, Israel’s economy has grown rapidly, and Israelis enjoy a high standard of living. With a total gross domestic product (GDP) of $140.46 billion in 2006, Israel’s per capita GDP of $19,926.90 was one of the highest in the world. Economic diversification, high investment, a skilled and educated workforce, and a commitment to research and development have contributed to Israel’s economic success. Nevertheless, a steadily increasing trade deficit, high inflation (averaging 2.1 percent in the period 2006, down from more than 400 percent in 1984), and reliance on foreign loans and aid threatened the economy through the late 1990s. To offset its trade deficit, Israel continues to pursue the export of high-technology products. If lasting peace in the Middle East could be achieved, Israel would undoubtedly benefit from increased trade with its Arab neighbors and less of a need for defense spending. In 1998 Israel proposed a plan to phase out economic aid from the United States over a period of 10 to 12 years beginning in the year 2000.

A

Government Role in the Economy

Because of the pressing nature of Israel’s economic problems—national security and absorption of immigrants—the government has played a central role in economic policymaking and intervention throughout Israel’s history. For example, the government has been heavily involved in planning, subsidizing, and controlling agriculture since independence. The government has also taken decisive action to avert economic crises. For example, in the early 1980s it instituted an emergency program of spending cuts and austerity measures to counter hyperinflation. The government, including government-owned businesses, remains the largest employer, particularly in the public services sector. To reduce government spending and stimulate economic growth, the government began privatizing many of its enterprises in the 1990s.

---

---

B

Labor

In 2006 Israel’s active civilian labor force was 2.8 million, including about 250,000 Israeli Arabs. Women account for 47 percent of the workforce. In descending order, public services, manufacturing, retail and wholesale trade, and financial and business services employed the largest number of workers. Unemployment was 10.7 percent. About 100,000 foreign workers—mainly from Romania, Thailand, and the Philippines—worked in such fields as agriculture and construction, largely replacing Palestinian workers. (After a series of demonstrations, strikes, and riots known as the intifada began in 1987, many Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were prevented from going to their jobs in Israel.) In addition to the civilian labor force, about 180,000 Israelis served in the military.

Founded in 1920, the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor) represents most of Israel’s labor force. Serving as an umbrella group for separate trade unions, the Histadrut offers health insurance as well as recreational, educational, and other services to its members.

	More from Encarta
	•  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain