of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine.[9][10][11] Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states,[12] in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[13][14][15][16][17] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace. Israel's financial centre is Tel Aviv,[18] while Jerusalem is the country's most populous city, and its capital (although not recognized internationally as such). The population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was estimated in 2012 to be 7,869,900 people, of whom 5,923,500 are Jewish.[3] Arabs form the country's second-largest ethnic group, the great majority of whom are settled-Muslims, with smaller numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins and mostly city dwelling Arab Christians. Smaller minorities include Christians of various ethnicities (Russians, Maronites, Copts, Assyrians and others), Druze, Circassians and Samaritans. Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage.[19][20] The Prime Minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as Israel's unicameral legislative body. Israel has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.[21] It is a developed country, an OECD member,[22] and its economy, based on the nominal gross domestic product, was the 40th-largest in the world in 2011.[23] Israel has the highest standard of living in the Middle East.[24] Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Antiquity 2.2 Zionism and the British mandate 2.3 Independence and first years 2.4 Conflicts and peace treaties 3 Geography and climate 4 Politics 4.1 Legal system 4.2 Administrative divisions 4.3 Israeli-occupied territories 4.4 Foreign relations 4.5 Military 5 Economy 5.1 Trade 5.2 Tourism 5.3 Transport 5.4 Science and technology 6 Demographics 6.1 Languages 6.2 Religion 6.3 Education 7 Culture 7.1 Literature 7.2 Music and dance 7.3 Cinema and theatre 7.4 Museums 7.5 Sports 7.6 Cuisine 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Bibliography 12 External links Etymology The Star of David, symbol of Judaism since the Middle Ages. This article contains Hebrew text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hebrew letters. This article contains Arabic text, written from right to left in a cursive style with some letters joined. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined Arabic letters written left-to-right instead of right-to-left or other symbols instead of Arabic script. Upon independence in 1948, the new Jewish state was formally named Medinat Yisrael, or the State of Israel, after other proposed historical and religious names including Eretz Israel ("the Land of Israel"), Zion, and Judea, were considered and rejected.[25] In the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term "Israeli" to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett.[26] The name Israel has historically been used, in common and religious usage, to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel or the entire Jewish nation.[27] According to the Hebrew Bible the name "Israel" was given to the patriarch Jacob (Standard Yisra?el, Isra?il; Septuagint Greek: ?s?a??; "struggle with God"[28]) after he successfully wrestled with the angel of the Lord.[29] Jacob's twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. Jacob and his sons had lived in Canaan but were forced by famine to go into Egypt for four generations until Moses, a great-great grandson of Jacob,[30] led the Israelites back into Canaan in the "Exodus". The earliest archaeological artifact to mention the word "Israel" is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated to the late 13th century BCE).[31] The area is also known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith. Prior to the 1948 Israeli Declaration of Independence, the whole region was known by various other names including Southern Syria, Syria Palestina, Kingdom of Jerusalem, Iudaea Province, Coele-Syria, Retjenu, Canaan and, particularly, Palestine. History Main article: History of Israel Antiquity Further information: History of ancient Israel and Judah, History of Israel, and History of Palestine Masada, a national symbol The notion of the "Land of Israel", known in Hebrew as Eretz Yisrael (or Eretz Yisroel), has been important and sacred to the Jewish people since Biblical times. According to the Torah, God promised the land to the three Patriarchs of the Jewish people.[32][33] On the basis of scripture, the period of the three Patriarchs has been placed somewhere in the early 2nd millennium BCE,[34] and the first Kingdom of Israel was established around the 11th century BCE. Subsequent Israelite kingdoms and states ruled intermittently over the next four hundred years, and are known from various extra-biblical sources.[35][36][37][38] Between the fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE and the Muslim conquests of the 7th century CE (a period of over 1500 years), the region came under Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Sassanid, and Byzantine rule.[39][40] Jewish presence in the region significantly dwindled after the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE.[41] Nevertheless, there was a continuous small Jewish presence and Galilee became its religious center.[42][43] The Mishnah and part of the Talmud, central Jewish texts, were composed during the 2nd to 4th centuries CE in Tiberias and Jerusalem.[44] In 635 CE, the region, including Jerusalem, was conquered by the Arabs and was to remain under Muslim control for the next 1300 years.[45] Control of the region transferred between the Umayyads,[45] Abbasids,[45] and Crusaders throughout the next six centuries,[45] before being conquered by the Mamluk Sultanate, in 1260.[46] In 1516, the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, and remained under Turkish rule until the 20th century.[46] Zionism and the British mandate Further information: History of Zionism Aliyah to Israel Pre-Zionist Aliyah The Return to Zion Old Yishuv Before 14 May 1948 First Aliyah · Second Aliyah During World War I Third Aliyah · Fourth Aliyah Fifth Aliyah During and after World War II Bricha After 14 May 1948 Operation Magic Carpet Operation Ezra and Nehemiah 1968 Polish aliyah 1970s Soviet Union aliyah Aliyah from Ethiopia 1990s CIS aliyah 2000s Latin America aliyah Concepts Judaism · Zionism Jewish homeland Jewish messianism Law of Return Galut · Yerida Persons and organizations Theodor Herzl · Knesset El Al · Nefesh B'Nefesh World Zionist Organization Related topics History of Israel History of Zionism Israeli Jews Jewish diaspora Jewish history Jews in the Land of Israel Religious Zionism Revival of the Hebrew language · Yishuv v t e Theodor Herzl, visionary of the Jewish State, in 1901 Since the Diaspora, some Jews have aspired to return to "Zion" and the "Land of Israel",[47] though the amount of effort that should be spent towards such an aim was a matter of dispute.[48][49] The hopes and yearnings of Jews living in exile were articulated in the Hebrew Bible,[50] and is an important theme of the Jewish belief system.[48] After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, some communities settled in Palestine.[51] During the 16th century, Jewish communities struck roots in the Four Holy Cities—Jerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron, and Safed—and in 1697, Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid led a group of 1,500 Jews to Jerusalem.[52] In the second half of the 18th century, Eastern European opponents of Hasidism, known as the Perushim, settled in Palestine.[53][54][55] The first wave of modern Jewish migration to Ottoman-ruled Palestine, known as the First Aliyah, began in 1881, as Jews fled pogroms in Eastern Europe.[56] Although the Zionist movement already existed in practice, Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl is credited with founding political Zionism,[57] a movement which sought to establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, by elevating the Jewish Question to the international plane.[58] In 1896, Herzl published Der Judenstaat (The State of the Jews), offering his vision of a future Jewish state; the following year he presided over the first World Zionist Congress.[59] The Second Aliyah (1904–14), began after the Kishinev pogrom; some 40,000 Jews settled in Palestine, although nearly half of them later left.[56] Both the first and second waves of migrants were mainly Orthodox Jews,[60] although the Second Aliyah included socialist groups who established the kibbutz movement.[61] During World War I, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent a letter that stated:[62] His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."[63] The Jewish Legion, a group primarily of Zionist volunteers, assisted in the British conquest of Palestine in 1917. Arab opposition to British rule and Jewish immigration led to the 1920 Palestine riots and the formation of a Jewish militia known as the Haganah (meaning "The Defense" in Hebrew), from which the Irgun and Lehi, or Stern Gang, paramilitary groups later split off.[64] In 1922, the League of Nations granted Britain a mandate over Palestine under terms similar to the Balfour Declaration.[65] The population of the area at this time was predominantly Arab and Muslim, with Jews accounting for about 11% of the population.[66] The Third (1919–1923) and Fourth Aliyahs (1924–1929) brought an additional 100,000 Jews to Palestine.[56] Finally, the rise of Nazism and the increasing persecution of Jews in the 1930s led to the Fifth Aliyah, with an influx of a quarter of a million Jews. This was a major cause of the Arab revolt of 1936–1939 and led the British to introduce restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine with the White Paper of 1939. With countries around the world turning away Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust, a clandestine movement known as Aliyah Bet was organized to bring Jews to Palestine.[56] By the end of World War II, the Jewish population of Palestine had increased to 33% of the total population.[67] Independence and first years Further information: Israeli Declaration of Independence David Ben-Gurion proclaiming Israeli independence on 14 May 1948, below a portrait of Theodor Herzl in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, now Israel's Independence Hall Wikisource has original text related to this article: Israel After World War II, Britain found itself in fierce conflict with the Jewish community, as the Haganah joined Irgun and Lehi in an armed struggle against British rule.[68] At the same time, thousands of Jewish Holocaust survivors and refugees from Europe sought a new life in Palestine, but were turned away or rounded up and placed in detention camps by the British. In 1947, the British government announced it would withdraw from Mandatory Palestine, stating it was unable to arrive at a solution acceptable to both Arabs and Jews.[69] A plan was proposed to replace the British Mandate with "Independent Arab and Jewish States" and a "Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem" administered by the United Nations. On 29 November 1947 the General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending the adoption and implementation of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union as Resolution 181 (II).[70] The Jewish community accepted the plan,[71] but the Arab League and Arab Higher Committee of Palestine rejected it.[72] On 1 December 1947, the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a three-day strike, and Arab bands began attacking Jewish targets.[73] The Jews were initially on the defensive as civil war broke out, but gradually moved onto the offensive.[74] The Palestinian Arab economy collapsed and 250,000 Palestinian-Arabs fled or were expelled.[75] On 14 May 1948, the day before the expiration of the British Mandate, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency declared, "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel".[76][77] The only reference in the text of the Declaration to the borders of the new state is the use of the term, Eretz-Israel. Avraham Adan raising the Ink Flag marking the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War The following day, the armies of five Arab countries—Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq—attacked Israel, launching the 1948 Arab–Israeli War;[78][79] Saudi Arabia sent a military contingent to operate under Egyptian command; Yemen declared war but did not take military action.[80] After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were established.[81] Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip. The United Nations estimated that more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled from what would become Israel during the conflict.[82] Israel was accepted as a member of the United Nations by majority vote on 11 May 1949.[83] In the early years of the state, the Labor Zionist movement led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion dominated Israeli politics.[84][85] These years were marked by an influx of Holocaust survivors and Jews from Arab lands, many of whom faced persecution and expulsion from their original countries.[86] Consequently, the population of Israel rose from 800,000 to two million between 1948 and 1958.[87] During this period, food, clothes and furniture had to be rationed in what became known as the Austerity Period. Between 1948–1970, approximately 1,151,029 Jewish refugees relocated to Israel.[88] Some arrived as refugees with no possessions and were housed in temporary camps known as ma'abarot; by 1952, over 200,000 immigrants were living in these tent cities.[89] The need to solve the crisis led Ben-Gurion to sign a reparations agreement with West Germany that triggered mass protests by Jews angered at the idea that Israel could accept monetary compensation for the Holocaust.[90] In the 1950s, Israel was frequently attacked by Palestinian fedayeen, mainly from the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip,[91] leading to several Israeli counter-raids. In 1950 Egypt closed the Suez Canal to Israeli shipping and tensions mounted as armed clashes took place along Israel's borders. In 1956, Israel joined a secret alliance with Great Britain and France aimed at regaining control of the Suez Canal, which the Egyptians had nationalized (see the Suez Crisis). Israel overran the Sinai Peninsula but was pressured to withdraw by the United Nations in return for guarantees of Israeli shipping rights in the Red Sea and the Canal.[92][93] In the early 1960s, Israel captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and brought him to Israel for trial.[94] The trial had a major impact on public awareness of the Holocaust.[95] Eichmann remains the only person ever to be executed by an Israeli court.[96] Conflicts and peace treaties Main articles: Wars involving Israel, Arab–Israeli conflict, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and Positions on Jerusalem See also: List of United Nations resolutions concerning Israel Since 1964, Arab countries were trying to divert the headwaters of the Jordan to deprive Israel of water resources, provoking tensions with Syria and Lebanon. Arab nationalists led by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser refused to recognize Israel, and called for its destruction.[12][97] By 1966, Israeli-Arab relations had deteriorated to the point of actual battles taking place between Israeli and Arab forces.[98] In 1967, Egypt expelled UN peacekeepers, stationed in the Sinai Peninsula since 1957, and announced a partial blockade of Israel's access to the Red Sea. In May 1967 a number of Arab states began to mobilize their forces.[99] Israel saw these actions as a casus belli. On 5 June 1967, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. In a Six-Day War, Israeli military superiority was clearly demonstrated against their more numerous Arab foes. Israel succeeded in capturing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights.[100] Jerusalem's boundaries were enlarged, incorporating East Jerusalem, and the 1949 Green Line became the administrative boundary between Israel and the occupied territories. Following the war, Israel faced much internal resistance from the Arab Palestinians and Egyptian hostilities in the Sinai. Most important among the various Palestinian and Arab groups was the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), established in 1964, which initially committed itself to "armed struggle as the only way to liberate the homeland".[101][102] In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Palestinian groups launched a wave of attacks[103][104] against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world,[105] including a massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The Israeli government responded with an assassination campaign against the organizers and a raid on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon. On 6 October 1973, as Jews were observing Yom Kippur, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack against Israel. The war ended on 26 October with Israel successfully repelling Egyptian and Syrian forces but suffering significant losses.[106] An internal inquiry exonerated the government of responsibility for failures before and during the war, but public anger forced Prime Minister Golda Meir to resign.[107] In July 1976 Israeli commandos carried out a daring mission which succeeded in rescuing 102 hostages who were being held by PLO guerillas at Entebbe International Airport close to Kampala, Uganda. The 1977 Knesset elections marked a major turning point in Israeli political history as Menachem Begin's Likud party took control from the Labor Party.[108] Later that year, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat made a trip to Israel and spoke before the Knesset in what was the first recognition of Israel by an Arab head of state.[109] In the two years that followed, Sadat and Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords (1978) and the Israel–Egypt Peace Treaty (1979).[110] Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and agreed to enter negotiations over an autonomy for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[111] On 11 March 1978, a PLO guerilla raid from Lebanon led to the Coastal Road Massacre, in which 38 Israeli civilians were killed and 71 injured. Israel responded by launching an invasion of southern Lebanon to destroy the PLO bases south of the Litani River. Most PLO fighters withdrew, but Israel was able to secure southern Lebanon until a UN force and the Lebanese army could take over. However, the PLO soon resumed its policy of attacks against Israel. In the next few years the PLO infiltrated back south and kept up a sporadic shelling across the border. Israel carr