Israel (country)

C

Agriculture and Fishing

The earliest Zionist settlers in Palestine viewed agriculture as a key ingredient of successful colonization, for meeting food needs and for fostering an ideological bond between Jews and the land. Since independence the Israeli government has promoted agriculture to attain self-sufficiency and to provide new immigrants with food and employment. Between 1948 and the late 1990s the land area under cultivation has almost tripled, in large part because of modern irrigation, mechanization, and other technologies. About 750 kibbutzim and moshavim, although occupied by only 6 percent of the total population, produce a large portion of Israel’s crops. While many Israeli Arab farmers have adopted many Israeli farming methods with considerable success, others continue to use less mechanized, more traditional methods.

Because of extensive investment in these methods and technologies, Israel meets most of its food needs through domestic production and grows several crops for export. Industrial crops (groundnuts, sugar beets, cotton), cereals, tomatoes, a wide variety of fruit, dairy products, poultry, and eggs are the main food crops. Primary exports include citrus and other fruit, cotton, avocados, and potatoes. Flowers account for almost a quarter of agricultural exports by value. The majority of Israel’s annual fish catch consists of freshwater fish raised in artificial ponds. Although in recent decades the relative importance of agriculture has declined—in terms of GDP, percentage of the population it employs, and percentage of total export revenues—it remains essential to Israel’s economy. In 1996 agriculture, including forestry and fishing, accounted for about 2 percent of the GDP and employed about 3 percent of the workforce.

D

Mining

The chief assets of the Israeli mining industry are the huge quantities of bromine, potash, magnesium, and other minerals extracted from the salt deposits of the Dead Sea. Israel is the world’s largest exporter of bromine. Extensive quarrying of marble and granite fulfills domestic construction needs. Copper, phosphates, bromine, and clay are mined in the Negev.

E

Manufacturing

Despite limited natural resources, Israel’s manufacturing sector is the most diversified and most technologically advanced of any country in the Middle East. The needs of the defense industry, together with a desire to boost export earnings, have encouraged government investment in industry, especially in research and development. A skilled and educated workforce, continually renewed by immigration, also aids manufacturing. Israel’s industrial output is among the fastest growing in the world. In 1996 the industrial sector, including mining and construction, accounted for 27 percent of GDP and 80 percent of export earnings, and employed 28 percent of the workforce.

---

---

Until the 1970s manufacturing was concentrated on traditional branches such as food processing, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and metal products. Since then Israel has moved into high-technology fields such as medical electronics, telecommunications, computer hardware and software, and diamond polishing. Cut diamonds and electronic equipment are now among Israel’s biggest export earners, together with chemical products, textiles, transport equipment, and machinery. The Tel Aviv-Yafo metropolitan area and Haifa serve as the primary manufacturing centers.

F

Services

The service sector remains the largest in terms of GDP and percentage of labor force it employs. In the late 1990s it contributed about 60 percent of GDP and employed 69 percent of Israel’s workforce. Mainly because of the continuing task of absorbing immigration, public services such as education, health, and welfare remain the primary service industries. Business and financial services, wholesale and retail trade, and transportation, storage, and communication services are also important.

G

Tourism

Historical and religious sites as well as the favorable Mediterranean climate make Israel a popular tourist destination. In 2005, 1,902,700 tourists visited Israel, spending $2.9 billion. Tourism tends to decline after terrorist incidents occur or when political unrest intensifies. Western European tourists account for more than half of all visitors, followed by North Americans (20 percent), Eastern Europeans (11 percent), and Asians (10 percent). Many Christian pilgrims visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth, and many Jews come to see Israel’s Jewish culture and holy sites. Apart from cultural and religious sites, the Dead Sea region, Elat, and the Mediterranean coast are popular destinations.