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Location of Israel The flag of Israel Map of Israel The emblem of Israel Israel State of Israel , is a country in West Asia . Situated in the Southern Levant of the Middle East , it shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the southwest, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It occupies the Palestinian territories of the West Bank in the east and the Gaza Strip in the southwest. Israel also has a small coastline on the Red Sea at its southernmost point, and part of the Dead Sea lies along its eastern border. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem , while Tel Aviv is the country's largest urban area and economic center .
Israel is located in a region known as the Land of Israel , synonymous with the Canaan region and the Holy Land . In antiquity, it was home to the Canaanite civilisation followed by the kingdoms of Israel and Judah . Situated at a continental crossroad , the region experienced demographic changes under the rule of empires from the Romans to the Ottomans . European antisemitism in the late 19th century galvanised Zionism , which sought a Jewish homeland in Palestine and gained British support . After World War I , Britain occupied the region and established Mandatory Palestine in 1920. Increased Jewish immigration in the leadup to the Holocaust and British foreign policy in the Middle East led to intercommunal conflict between Jews and Arabs , which escalated into a civil war in 1947 after a proposed partition by the United Nations was rejected by the Arabs. (Full article...
2018 United Nations OCHA map of the area, showing Israeli occupation arrangements East Jerusalem Arabic : القدس الشرقية , al-Quds ash-Sharqiya Hebrew : מִזְרַח יְרוּשָׁלַיִם , Mizraḥ Yerushalayim Jerusalem that was held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , as opposed to West Jerusalem , which was held by Israel . Captured and occupied in 1967, this area was unilaterally annexed by Israel in 1980. Under international law , East Jerusalem is considered part of the West Bank , and Palestinian territories , and under illegal occupation by Israel. Many states recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine (such as Brazil, China, Russia, and all 57 members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ), whereas other states (such as Australia, France and others) assert that East Jerusalem "will be the capital of Palestine", while referring to it as "an occupied territory ". In 2020, East Jerusalem had a population of 595,000 inhabitants, of which 361,700 (61%) were Palestinian Arabs and 234,000 (39%) Jewish settlers . Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem are illegal under international law and in the eyes of the international community .
Jerusalem was envisaged as a separate, international city under the 1947 UN partition plan . It was, however, divided by the 1948 war that followed Israel's declaration of independence . As a result of the 1949 Armistice Agreements , the city's western half came under Israeli control, while its eastern half, containing the famed Old City , fell under Jordanian control, at the exception of Mount Scopus enclave. Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War ; since then, the entire city has been under Israeli control. The 1980 Jerusalem Law declared unified Jerusalem the capital of Israel, formalizing the effective annexation of East Jerusalem . Palestinians and many in the international community consider East Jerusalem to be the future capital of the State of Palestine. The status of Jerusalem has been described as "one of the most intractable issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict ", with conflicting claims to sovereignty over the city or parts of it, and access to its holy sites. (Full article...
Image 1 A more recent section of the
Israel-Egypt barrier fence, north of
Eilat , June 2012. It is a
border barrier built by Israel along its border with Egypt. It was originally an attempt to curb
illegal migrants from African countries .
[ 1] Construction was approved on 12 January 2010
[ 2] and began on 22 November 2010.
[ 3]
Image 2 Ceramic tile on the
Dome of the Rock , an Islamic shrine located on the
Temple Mount in the
Old City of Jerusalem
Image 3 An aerial view of
Makhtesh Ramon , a geological feature of Israel's
Negev desert . Located some 85 km south of the city of
Beersheba , the landform is not an
impact crater from a
meteor nor a
volcanic crater formed by a
volcanic eruption , but rather is the world's largest "erosion cirque" (
steephead valley or
box canyon ).
Image 4 "The
Nile and the
Sinai , to
Israel and beyond. One sweeping glance of human history." Caption by astronaut
Chris Hadfield on board the
International Space Station .
Image 5 Reading Power Station , built in
Tel Aviv in 1938, was named for
Rufus Isaacs , the 1st Marquess of Reading.
Reading Light is pictured on the left.
Image 6 Diving tourism site on the southern coast of
Eilat , around a horseshoe-shaped reef. Many animal species are found in the area, including
dolphins .
Image 7 The
Jerusalem Railway Station c. 1900. The locomotive on the
turntable is "Ramleh" (J&J No. 3), a
Baldwin 2-6-0 . The station was the terminus of the
Jaffa–Jerusalem railway until its closure in 1998. Today, the station is abandoned and suffering from neglect and vandalism, although it is one of 110 buildings selected for preservation in
Jerusalem .
Image 8 Southern aerial view of the
Temple Mount , a hill located in the
Old City of Jerusalem that for thousands of years has been venerated as a holy site, in
Judaism ,
Christianity , and
Islam .
Image 9 A view of
Jerusalem from southeast, showing the
Walls of Jerusalem , the
Dome of the Rock , and the
Al-Aqsa Mosque . This image was taken sometime between 1900 and 1940.
Image 10 Dead Tree in Sea of Life is an installation artwork from 2017 by Amiram Dora, a travel guide from the nearby city
Arad . The work consists of a tree planted on a salt pile in the
Dead Sea . The purpose of the work is to show that as opposed to its common name, the Dead Sea is actually a place of rich tourist activity, healing and relaxation.
Image 11 An aerial view of
Masada in the
Judaean Desert , with the
Dead Sea and
Jordan in the distance
Image 12 A view of
Jaffa , from the beachfront of
Tel Aviv
Image 13 Young
Nubian ibex (
Capra nubiana ) on a stone wall by the edge of
Makhtesh Ramon in Mitzpe Ramon.
Image 14 Paratroopers at the Western Wall , an iconic photograph taken on June 7, 1967 by
David Rubinger .
Image 15 David Ben-Gurion's room at
Ben-Gurion's Hut , the retirement home of Israeli Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion and his wife
Paula (Pola) from the years 1953 until Ben-Gurion's death in 1973.
Image 17 Northeast exposure of
Al-Aqsa Mosque on the
Temple Mount , in the
Old City of Jerusalem . Considered to be the third holiest site in
Islam after
Mecca and
Medina .
This is a Good article , an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards. Zion Square Hebrew : כיכר ציון , romanized : Kikar Tziyon Jerusalem , located at the intersection of Jaffa Road , Ben Yehuda Street , Herbert Samuel Street, and Yoel Moshe Salomon Street.
The square is one of the vertices of the Downtown Triangle commercial district. Since the British Mandate era , Zion Square has been the focal point of the cultural life of downtown Jerusalem. The square is busy day and night with tourists, elderly immigrants, overseas students, local youth, street performers , and religious activists. In recent decades, the square has become a hangout for disaffected and homeless youth. (Full article...
Matzah balls matzo balls are Ashkenazi Jewish soup morsels made from a mixture of matzah meal , beaten eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil, margarine , or chicken fat . Known as knaidel in Yiddish (Yiddish : קניידלעך , romanized : kneydlekh קניידל kneydl Knödel , bread dumplings popular throughout Central European and East European cuisine .
Matzah balls are traditionally served in chicken soup and are a staple food on the Jewish holiday of Passover . However, they are not eaten during Passover by those who observe a prohibition on soaking matzah products . (Full article...
The following are images from various Israel-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Ofek-7 satellite launch through
Shavit vehicle (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 2 Tiles in the
Bezalel style , 1920s (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 3 The
Merneptah Stele . According to mainstream archeology, it represents the first instance of the name "Israel" in the historical record. (from
History of Israel )
Image 4 143rd Division crossing the
Suez Canal in the direction of
Cairo during the
Yom Kippur War , 15 October 1973 (from
History of Israel )
Image 6 Israeli paratroopers dig in near the
Mitla Pass , 31 October 1956 (from
History of Israel )
Image 7 Simulated view of a
black hole .
Jacob Bekenstein predicted and co-discovered
black hole entropy (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 8 Visual History of Israel by
Arthur Szyk , 1948 (from
History of Israel )
Image 9 Yitzhak Rabin ,
Bill Clinton , and
Yasser Arafat during the
Oslo Accords signing ceremony at the
White House on 13 September 1993 (from
History of Israel )
Image 12 Jewish workers in
Kerem Avraham neighbourhood of Jerusalem (c. 1850s) (from
History of Israel )
Image 13 Menachem Begin addressing a mass demonstration in Tel Aviv against
negotiations with Germany in 1952 (from
History of Israel )
Image 14 Silver coin (
gerah ) minted in the Persian province of Yehud, dated
c. 375-332 BCE.
Obv : Bearded head wearing crown, possibly representing the Persian Great King.
Rev : Falcon facing, head right, with wings spread;
Paleo-Hebrew YHD to right. (from
History of Israel )
Image 15 "
Hezekiah ... king of
Judah " –
Royal seal written in the
Paleo-Hebrew alphabet , unearthed in Jerusalem (from
History of Israel )
Image 16 Dedication ceremony of the
Embassy of the United States in
Jerusalem in 2018 (from
History of Israel )
Image 17 Portion of the
Temple Scroll , one of the
Dead Sea Scrolls written by the Essenes (from
History of Israel )
Image 20 Intel core i7-940. Intel developed its
dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center in
Haifa . (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 22 Jewish youth
dancing the Horah in the kibboutz
Ein Harod in 1936 (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 24 The route of the exiles to
Babylon (from
History of Israel )
Image 26 A
Bookplate done for Martin Buber; The plate is adorned with the walls of Jerusalem in the shape of a Shield of David, viewed from above (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 27 Buchenwald survivors arrive in
Haifa to be arrested by the British, 15 July 1945 (from
History of Israel )
Image 28 Illustration for the
Song of Songs . Along with the
Book of Esther , the ancient poem is an example of an ancient Israeli literature with no mention of God, and is traditionally read as an allegory of the relationship between God and Israel (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 29 Jewish symbols in Israeli artworks (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 30 Patriot missiles launched to intercept an Iraqi Scud over Tel Aviv during the Gulf War (from
History of Israel )
Image 34 Cultural map of the world according to the World Values Survey, describing Israel as a whole at parity in "Rational-Secular Values" and also at parity in "Self-expression values". (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 36 Gal Fridman , winner of Israel's first Olympic gold medal (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 38 Habimah Theater in Tel Aviv (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 39 The Bahri Mamluk dynasty 1250–1382 (from
History of Israel )
Image 40 Remains of the Roman theater in
Caesarea Maritima (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 41 Heraclius returning the True Cross to Jerusalem, 15th-century painting by Miguel Ximénez (from
History of Israel )
Image 42 David dictating the Psalms . The practice of psalms is referred to as a philosophical and theological problem (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 43 Painting of the
siege of Jerusalem during the
First Crusade (1099) (from
History of Israel )
Image 44 Sermon on the Mount . The New Testament was authored by Christian Jews during
Roman-ruled Judea (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 45 Supply convoy on its way to
besieged Jerusalem , April 1948 (from
History of Israel )
Image 46 Gen.
Uzi Narkiss , Defense Minister
Moshe Dayan , Chief of staff
Yitzhak Rabin and Gen.
Rehavam Ze'evi in the
Old City of Jerusalem , 7 June 1967 (from
History of Israel )
Image 47 The
Gaza–Israel barrier route built (red), under construction (pink) and proposed (white), as of June 2011
[update] (from
History of Israel )
Image 48 A portion of the
Isaiah scroll . One of the earliest known manuscripts of biblical literature (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 49 Protest in
Tel Aviv on 6 August 2011 (from
History of Israel )
Image 50 Ecclesiastes is known for its
incipit vanity of vanities; all is vanity and concepts of
Vanitas (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 53 Neo-Assyrian Empire at its greatest territorial extent. (from
History of Israel )
Image 54 Nahal Brigade soldiers returning after the
2006 Lebanon War (from
History of Israel )
Image 55 The opening ceremony of The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem visited by
Arthur Balfour , 1 April 1925 (from
History of Israel )
Image 56 Jewish Yemenite bride in traditional bridal vestment, adorned with a henna wreath, 1958 (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 57 Tzofim Israeli scout movement fire ceremony in Tel Aviv (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 58 Menahem Zion synagoge,
Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 61 Aerial view of the Temple Mount showing the
Dome of the Rock in the center and the
al-Aqsa mosque to the south (from
History of Israel )
Image 63 Hebrew ulpan in
Dimona , 1955 (from
Culture of Israel )
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![Image 1A more recent section of the Israel-Egypt barrier fence, north of Eilat, June 2012. It is a border barrier built by Israel along its border with Egypt. It was originally an attempt to curb illegal migrants from African countries.[1] Construction was approved on 12 January 2010[2] and began on 22 November 2010.[3]](/wiki/File:ISR-EGY_border_6521a.jpg)
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![Image 47The Gaza–Israel barrier route built (red), under construction (pink) and proposed (white), as of June 2011[update] (from History of Israel)](/wiki/File:Westbank_barrier.png)
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1940 Mandatory Palestine v Lebanon football match
6th Airborne Division in Palestine
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