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The International Court of Justice , principal judicial organ of the UN, asserted, in its advisory opinion on the legality of the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier , that the lands captured by Israel in the Six-Day War, including East Jerusalem, are occupied territory. State Department , [] mass arbitrary arrests, torture, unlawful killings, systemic abuses and impunity by Amnesty International and others [] [] [] [] [] [] and a denial of the right to Palestinian self-determination.
It has diplomatic missions around the world; [] countries with whom they have no diplomatic relations include most Muslim countries. Despite the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, Israel is still widely considered an enemy country among Egyptians. The United States and the Soviet Union were the first two countries to recognize the State of Israel, having declared recognition roughly simultaneously. Although Turkey and Israel did not establish full diplomatic relations until , [] Turkey has cooperated with the Jewish state since its recognition of Israel in Turkey's ties to the other Muslim-majority nations in the region have at times resulted in pressure from Arab and Muslim states to temper its relationship with Israel.
The joint Cyprus-Israel oil and gas explorations centered on the Leviathan gas field are an important factor for Greece, given its strong links with Cyprus. Azerbaijan is one of the few majority Muslim countries to develop bilateral strategic and economic relations with Israel. Azerbaijan supplies Israel with a substantial amount of its oil needs, and Israel has helped modernize the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. India established full diplomatic ties with Israel in and has fostered a strong military, technological and cultural partnership with the country since then.
Israel has a history of providing emergency aid and humanitarian response teams to disasters across the world. The program's focus subsequently shifted to Africa. In recent years Israel has tried to reestablish its aid to Africa. In six nations reached the UN target.
The IDF consists of the army , air force and navy. It was founded during the Arab—Israeli War by consolidating paramilitary organizations—chiefly the Haganah —that preceded the establishment of the state. Most Israelis are drafted into the military at the age of Men serve two years and eight months and women two years. Most women are exempt from reserve duty. Arab citizens of Israel except the Druze and those engaged in full-time religious studies are exempt from military service , although the exemption of yeshiva students has been a source of contention in Israeli society for many years.
The nation's military relies heavily on high-tech weapons systems designed and manufactured in Israel as well as some foreign imports. The Arrow missile is one of the world's few operational anti-ballistic missile systems.
Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons [] as well as chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. Since Israel's establishment, military expenditure constituted a significant portion of the country's gross domestic product , with peak of Israel is considered the most advanced country in Western Asia and the Middle East in economic and industrial development. Despite limited natural resources, intensive development of the agricultural and industrial sectors over the past decades has made Israel largely self-sufficient in food production, apart from grains and beef.
Israel has one of the lowest external debts in the developed world, and is a lender in terms of net external debt assets vs. Israel has the second-largest number of startup companies in the world after the United States, [] and the third-largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies after the U. Days of working time in Israel are Sunday through Thursday for a five-day workweek , or Friday for a six-day workweek.
In observance of Shabbat , in places where Friday is a work day and the majority of population is Jewish, Friday is a "short day", usually lasting until in the winter, or in the summer. Several proposals have been raised to adjust the work week with the majority of the world, and make Sunday a non-working day, while extending working time of other days or replacing Friday with Sunday as a work day. Israel's development of cutting-edge technologies in software, communications and the life sciences have evoked comparisons with Silicon Valley.
The ongoing shortage of water in the country has spurred innovation in water conservation techniques, and a substantial agricultural modernization , drip irrigation , was invented in Israel. Israel is also at the technological forefront of desalination and water recycling. The Sorek desalination plant is the largest seawater reverse osmosis SWRO desalination facility in the world. As a result of innovations in reverse osmosis technology, Israel is set to become a net exporter of water in the coming years. Israel has embraced solar energy ; its engineers are on the cutting edge of solar energy technology [] and its solar companies work on projects around the world.
It was thought that this would have lowered Israel's oil dependency and lowered the fuel costs of hundreds of Israel's motorists that use cars powered only by electric batteries. Israel is served by two international airports , Ben Gurion Airport , the country's main hub for international air travel near Tel Aviv, and Ramon Airport , which serves the southernmost port city of Eilat.
There are several small domestic airports as well. Tourism, especially religious tourism , is an important industry in Israel, with the country's temperate climate, beaches , archaeological , other historical and biblical sites, and unique geography also drawing tourists. Israel's security problems have taken their toll on the industry, but the number of incoming tourists is on the rebound. Israel began producing natural gas from its own offshore gas fields in Between and , Israel had imported gas from Egypt via the al- Arish—Ashkelon pipeline , which was terminated due to Egyptian Crisis of — In , a natural gas reserve, Tamar , was found near the coast of Israel.
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A second natural gas reserve, Leviathan , was discovered in In , Israel began commercial production of natural gas from the Tamar field. As of [update] , Israel produced over 7. Ketura Sun is Israel's first commercial solar field. Built in early by the Arava Power Company on Kibbutz Ketura , Ketura Sun covers twenty acres and is expected to produce green energy amounting to 4. The field consists of 18, photovoltaic panels made by Suntech , which will produce about 9 gigawatt-hours GWh of electricity per year.
Israel's diverse culture stems from the diversity of its population. Jews from diaspora communities around the world brought their cultural and religious traditions back with them, creating a melting pot of Jewish customs and beliefs.
Work and school holidays are determined by the Jewish holidays , and the official day of rest is Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. Israeli literature is primarily poetry and prose written in Hebrew , as part of the renaissance of Hebrew as a spoken language since the midth century, although a small body of literature is published in other languages, such as English.
By law, two copies of all printed matter published in Israel must be deposited in the National Library of Israel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In , the law was amended to include audio and video recordings, and other non-print media. Israeli music contains musical influences from all over the world; Mizrahi and Sephardic music , Hasidic melodies, Greek music , jazz , and pop rock are all part of the music scene. Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nearly every year since , winning the competition four times and hosting it twice.
The movie Ajami was the third consecutive nomination of an Israeli film. Continuing the strong theatrical traditions of the Yiddish theatre in Eastern Europe, Israel maintains a vibrant theatre scene. Founded in , Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv is Israel's oldest repertory theater company and national theater.
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is one of Israel's most important cultural institutions [] and houses the Dead Sea Scrolls , [] along with an extensive collection of Judaica and European art. Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art , both in Jerusalem. The Rockefeller specializes in archaeological remains from the Ottoman and other periods of Middle East history. It is also the home of the first hominid fossil skull found in Western Asia, called Galilee Man.
Israeli cuisine includes local dishes as well as Jewish cuisine brought to the country by immigrants from the diaspora. Since the establishment of the state in , and particularly since the late s, an Israeli fusion cuisine has developed. It incorporates many foods traditionally eaten in the Levantine , Arab , Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, such as falafel , hummus , shakshouka , couscous , and za'atar. Schnitzel , pizza , hamburgers , French fries , rice and salad are also common in Israel. Roughly half of the Israeli-Jewish population attests to keeping kosher at home.
The most popular spectator sports in Israel are association football and basketball. The Asian Games , held in Tehran, were the last Asian Games in which Israel participated , plagued by the Arab countries that refused to compete with Israel. Israel was excluded from the Asian Games and since then has not competed in Asian sport events.
Chess is a leading sport in Israel and is enjoyed by people of all ages. There are many Israeli grandmasters and Israeli chess players have won a number of youth world championships. The Ministry of Education and the World Chess Federation agreed upon a project of teaching chess within Israeli schools, and it has been introduced into the curriculum of some schools.
Owing partly to Soviet immigration, it is home to the largest number of chess grandmasters of any city in the world. Israeli grandmaster Boris Gelfand won the Chess World Cup [] and the Candidates Tournament for the right to challenge the world champion. He only lost the World Chess Championship to reigning world champion Anand after a speed-chess tie breaker. Israel has won nine Olympic medals since its first win in , including a gold medal in windsurfing at the Summer Olympics. The Summer Paralympics were hosted by Israel.
Israeli tennis champion Shahar Pe'er ranked 11th in the world on 31 January Its effectiveness and practical approach to self-defense, have won it widespread admiration and adherence around the world.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Country in Western Asia. This article is about the State of Israel. For other uses, see Israel disambiguation. Website www. Main article: History of Israel. Further information: Prehistory of the Levant.
Main article: History of ancient Israel and Judah. Main article: Second Temple period. Further information: Hasmonean dynasty , Herodian dynasty , and Jewish—Roman wars. The Maccabaeans will rise again. Let me repeat once more my opening words: The Jews wish to have a State, and they shall have one. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own home. The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness.
And whatever we attempt there to accomplish for our own welfare will react with beneficent force for the good of humanity. Further information: Arab—Israeli conflict. Play media. Further information: Israeli—Palestinian peace process and Iran—Israel proxy conflict. Main articles: Geography of Israel and Wildlife of Israel.