User:Matin Luther/Israel
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Israel (Hebrew: ⓘ; Medinat Yisra'el; 阿拉伯语：دَوْلَةْ إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrā'īl), officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Lebanon in the north, Syria and Jordan in the east, and Egypt in the south-west[1] and has a population of over seven million people.[2]
Proclaimed independent in 1948, Israel is the world's only Jewish state, although its population includes citizens of many ethnic and religious backgrounds. (See also Israelis.) According to the international data reported by Freedom House, the degree of political rights and civil liberties in Israel makes it the only liberal democracy in the Middle East, consisting of a multi-party system and separation of powers.[3]
Israel has a vibrant cultural life and a technologically and industrially advanced economy. Israel was ranked 23rd out of 177 countries in the 2006 United Nations Human Development Index, the highest ranking in the Middle East and 3rd highest in all of Asia.
Name
The name "Israel" is rooted in the Hebrew Bible, Genesis 32:28, where Jacob is renamed Israel after successfully wrestling with an angel of God.[4] The biblical nation fathered by Jacob was then called "The Children of Israel" or the "Israelites."
The modern country was named State of Israel, and its citizens are referred to as Israelis in English. Other rejected name proposals included Eretz Israel, Zion, Judea and New Judea.[5] The use of the term Israeli to refer to a citizen of Israel was decided by the Government of Israel in the weeks immediately after independence and announced by Foreign Minister Moshe Shertok.[6]
Geography and Climate
Main article: Geography of Israel Israel is bordered by Lebanon in the north, Syria and Jordan in the east, and Egypt in the south-west. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean in the west and the Gulf of Eilat (also known as the Gulf of Aqaba) in the south.
During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the West Bank from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, Gaza Strip (which was under Egyptian occupation), and Sinai from Egypt. It withdrew all troops and settlers from Sinai by 1982 and from the Gaza Strip by September 12, 2005. The future status of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights remains to be determined.
The sovereign territory of Israel — excluding all territories captured by Israel in 1967 — is 20,770 km² or 8,019 mi² in area. (1% is water). The total area under Israeli law — including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights — is 22,145 km² or 8,550 mi²; with a little less than one per cent being water. It should be noted however that UN resolution 497 states the application of Israeli law to the Golan Heights is "null and void and without international legal effect". The total area under Israeli control — including the military-controlled and Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank — is 28,023 km² or 10,820 mi² (~1% water).
The climate of the coastal areas can be very different from that of the mountainous areas, particularly during the winter months. The high mountains in the north, like Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, can get cold, wet and often snowy and even Jerusalem experiences snow spells every couple of years. The coastal regions, where Tel Aviv and Haifa are located, have a typical Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.
- ^ http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/facts%20about%20israel/land/
- ^ CBS, STATISTICAL ABSTRACT OF ISRAEL 2006 (PDF). Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. 2006 [2006-10-02].
- ^ Country Report - Israel (2006). Freedom House. 2006 [2006-10-17].
- ^ this adversary was "a man", and later "God" according to Genesis 32:24–30; or "the angel", according to Hosea 12:4
- ^ The Palestine Post December 7, 1947, page 1. "Popular Opinion" column.
- ^ On the Move. TIME Magazine. May 31, 1948.