Portal:Israel

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Welcome to the Israel Portal
מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon and Syria to the north, the West Bank and Jordan to the east, the Gaza Strip and Egypt to the southwest, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. The country also has a small coastline on the Red Sea at its southernmost point, and part of the Dead Sea lies along its eastern border. Israel's proclaimed capital is in Jerusalem, while Tel Aviv is the country's largest urban area and economic center.

Israel is located in a region known to Jews as the Land of Israel, synonymous with the Palestine region and the Holy Land. In antiquity, it was home to the Canaanite civilization 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 galvanized 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 colonial policy led to intercommunal conflict between Jews and Arabs, which escalated into a civil war in 1947 after the United Nations (UN) proposed partitioning the land between them. Currently, Israel is the only country where Jews constitute more than 2% of the total population, and in which they are the largest demographic. (Full article...)

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The history of Israel covers an area of the Southern Levant also known as Canaan, Palestine or the Holy Land, which is the geographical location of the modern states of Israel and Palestine. From a prehistory as part of the critical Levantine corridor, which witnessed waves of early humans out of Africa, to the emergence of Natufian culture c. 10th millennium BCE, the region entered the Bronze Age c. 2,000 BCE with the development of Canaanite civilization, before being vassalized by Egypt in the Late Bronze Age. In the Iron Age, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were established, entities that were central to the origins of the Jewish and Samaritan peoples as well as the Abrahamic faith tradition. This has given rise to Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, Druzism, Baha'ism, and a variety of other religious movements. Throughout the course of human history, the Land of Israel has seen many conflicts and come under the sway or control of various polities and, as a result, it has historically hosted a wide variety of ethnic groups.

In the following centuries, the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian and Macedonian empires conquered the region. The Ptolemies and the Seleucids vied for control over the region during the Hellenistic period. However, with the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty, the local Jewish population maintained independence for a century before being incorporated into the Roman Republic. As a result of the Jewish-Roman Wars in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, many Jews were killed, displaced or sold into slavery. Following the advent of Christianity, which was adopted by the Greco-Roman world under the influence of the Roman Empire, the region's demographics shifted towards newfound Christians, who replaced Jews as the majority of the population by the 4th century. However, shortly after Islam was consolidated across the Arabian Peninsula under Muhammad in the 7th century, Byzantine Christian rule over the Land of Israel was superseded in the Muslim conquest of the Levant by the Rashidun Caliphate, to later be ruled by the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates, before being conquered by the Seljuks in the 1070s. Throughout the 12th and much of the 13th century, the Land of Israel became the centre for intermittent religious wars between European Christian and Muslim armies as part of the Crusades, with the Kingdom of Jerusalem being almost entirely overrun by Saladin's Ayyubids late in the 12th century, although the Crusaders managed to first expand from their remaining outposts, and then hang on to their constantly decreasing territories for another century. In the 13th century, the Land of Israel became subject to Mongol conquest, though this was stopped by the Mamluk Sultanate, under whose rule it remained until the 16th century. The Mamluks were eventually defeated by the Ottoman Empire, and the region became an Ottoman province until the early 20th century. (Full article...)

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This is a Featured picture that the Wikimedia Commons community has chosen as one of the highest quality on the site.

Image 1Dead 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 2Paratroopers at the Western Wall, an iconic photograph taken on June 7, 1967 by David Rubinger.
Image 3Reading 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 4David 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 5Young Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) on a stone wall by the edge of Makhtesh Ramon in Mitzpe Ramon.
Image 6A 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 7"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 8An 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 9Diving tourism site on the southern coast of Eilat, around a horseshoe-shaped reef. Many animal species are found in the area, including dolphins.
Image 10Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur, an 1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb
Image 11Northeast 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.
Image 12A 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 13Southern 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 14Ceramic tile on the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem
Image 15A view of Jaffa, from the beachfront of Tel Aviv
Image 16An aerial view of Masada in the Judaean Desert, with the Dead Sea and Jordan in the distance
Image 17The 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.

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...that the Palestinians consider the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Jabel Mukaber (pictured) as the site of their future capital?
...that the 1966–68 Liga Leumit season was played over two years in an effort to rid Israeli football of corruption and violence, which included riots on the field?
...that the American Palestine Line claimed that its ship the SS President Arthur was the first ocean liner to fly the Israeli flag when it began service in 1925?

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WikiProject Israel – WikiProject Jewish history – WikiProject Judaism – WikiProject Jewish culture – WikiProject Hebrew

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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Downtown and Port of Haifa

Haifa (/ˈhaɪfə/ HY-fə; Hebrew: חֵיפָה, romanized: Ḥēyfā, IPA: [ˈχajfa]; Arabic: حَيْفَا, romanized: Ḥayfā) is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of 290,306 in 2022. The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area in Israel. It is home to the Baháʼí Faith's Baháʼí World Centre, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a destination for Baháʼí pilgrimage.

Built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the settlement has a history spanning more than 3,000 years. The earliest known settlement in the vicinity was Tell Abu Hawam, a small port city established in the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE). In the 3rd century CE, Haifa was known as a dye-making center. Over the millennia, the Haifa area has changed hands: being conquered and ruled by the Canaanites, Israelites, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Hasmoneans, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, and the British. During the Battle of Haifa in the 1948 Palestine war, most of the city's Arab population fled or were expelled. That year, the city became part of the then-newly-established state of Israel. (Full article...)

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Israeli cuisine Joseph's Tomb Kashrut Clal Center Zion Square Black Hebrew Israelites Robinson's Arch Abergil crime family Chaim Topol Birket Israel Joshua Prawer Mamilla Schwester Selma Ir Ovot Downtown Triangle (Jerusalem) Western Wall Eilat Airport AIL Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque Angel Bakeries Operation Pleshet Arrow (Israeli missile)

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Shkedei marak

Shkedei marak (Hebrew: שקדי מרק, lit. 'soup almonds'), known as mandlakh (Yiddish: מאַנדלאַך or מאַנדלעך, lit. 'little almonds') in Yiddish, or as "soup mandels" or "soup nuts" in the United States, is an Israeli food product consisting of crisp mini crouton used as a soup accompaniment. Shkedei marak are small yellow squares made from flour and palm oil. As a parve product, they can be used in either meat or cream soups. Despite the name, they contain no almonds. (Full article...)

List of fare/cuisine articles
Challah Ancient Israelite cuisine Israeli wine Cholent Israeli salad Kreplach Israeli breakfast Jachnun Kugel Jerusalem mixed grill Charoset Bamba (snack) Ktzitzot Khubeza Gefilte fish Hamantash Seven Species Matzah ball

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The following are images from various Israel-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Remains of the Roman theater in Caesarea Maritima (from Culture of Israel)
Image 2Avraham Adan raising the Ink Flag marking the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War (from History of Israel)
Image 3Jewish Settlement Police members watching the settlement Nesher during 1936–1939 Arab revolt (from History of Israel)
Image 4Israeli paratroopers dig in near the Mitla Pass, 31 October 1956 (from History of Israel)
Image 5Jewish youth dancing the Horah in the kibboutz Ein Harod in 1936 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 616th-century Safed rabbi Joseph Karo, author of the Jewish law book (from History of Israel)
Image 7Breads in Mahane Yehuda market (from Culture of Israel)
Image 8The Merneptah Stele. According to mainstream archeology, it represents the first instance of the name "Israel" in the historical record. (from History of Israel)
Image 9David Ben-Gurion proclaiming the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 10Yitzhak 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 11The Gaza–Israel barrier route built (red), under construction (pink) and proposed (white), as of June 2011^[update] (from History of Israel)
Image 12Ecclesiastes is known for its incipit vanity of vanities; all is vanity and concepts of Vanitas (from Culture of Israel)
Image 13United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, 1947 (from History of Israel)
Image 14Detail of the Siloam inscription (from History of Israel)
Image 15Ofek-7 satellite launch through Shavit vehicle (from Culture of Israel)
Image 16Jewish workers in Kerem Avraham neighbourhood of Jerusalem (c. 1850s) (from History of Israel)
Image 17Visual History of Israel by Arthur Szyk, 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 18Simulated view of a black hole. Jacob Bekenstein predicted and co-discovered black hole entropy (from Culture of Israel)
Image 19The Bahri Mamluk dynasty 1250–1382 (from History of Israel)
Image 20Tzofim Israeli scout movement fire ceremony in Tel Aviv (from Culture of Israel)
Image 21Heraclius returning the True Cross to Jerusalem, 15th-century painting by Miguel Ximénez (from History of Israel)
Image 22143rd Division crossing the Suez Canal in the direction of Cairo during the Yom Kippur War, 15 October 1973 (from History of Israel)
Image 23Patriot missiles launched to intercept an Iraqi Scud over Tel Aviv during the Gulf War (from History of Israel)
Image 24Buchenwald survivors arrive in Haifa to be arrested by the British, 15 July 1945 (from History of Israel)
Image 25David dictating the Psalms. The practice of psalms is referred to as a philosophical and theological problem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 26Aerial 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 27Menachem Begin addressing a mass demonstration in Tel Aviv against negotiations with Germany in 1952 (from History of Israel)
Image 28"Hezekiah ... king of Judah" – Royal seal written in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, unearthed in Jerusalem (from History of Israel)
Image 29Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 30Tel Aviv Cinematheque (from Culture of Israel)
Image 31Sermon on the Mount. The New Testament was authored by Christian Jews during Roman-ruled Judea (from Culture of Israel)
Image 32Illustration 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 33Jewish Brigade headquarters under both Union Flag and Jewish flag (from History of Israel)
Image 34Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, 2006 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 35Menahem Zion synagoge, Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 36Silver 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 37Painting of the siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade (1099) (from History of Israel)
Image 38Skhul Cave (from History of Israel)
Image 39The route of the exiles to Babylon (from History of Israel)
Image 40The Arch of Titus in Rome depicts the Roman triumph celebrating the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE (from History of Israel)
Image 41Obverse of Yehud silver coin (from History of Israel)
Image 42Occupied Enemy Territory Administration, 1918 (from History of Israel)
Image 43Supply convoy on its way to besieged Jerusalem, April 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 44Nahal Brigade soldiers returning after the 2006 Lebanon War (from History of Israel)
Image 45Intel core i7-940. Intel developed its dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center in Haifa. (from Culture of Israel)
Image 46Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter and Anwar Sadat celebrating the signing of the Camp David Accords (from History of Israel)
Image 47A 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 48Cultural 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 49Gen. 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 50The opening ceremony of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem visited by Arthur Balfour, 1 April 1925 (from History of Israel)
Image 51Jewish symbols in Israeli artworks (from Culture of Israel)
Image 52Gal Fridman, winner of Israel's first Olympic gold medal (from Culture of Israel)
Image 53Israeli breakfast (from Culture of Israel)
Image 54Hiking near Lake Kinneret (from Culture of Israel)
Image 55Neo-Assyrian Empire at its greatest territorial extent. (from History of Israel)
Image 56Dedication ceremony of the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem in 2018 (from History of Israel)
Image 57Habimah Theater in Tel Aviv (from Culture of Israel)
Image 58Portion of the Temple Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls written by the Essenes (from History of Israel)
Image 59Tiles in the Bezalel style, 1920s (from Culture of Israel)
Image 60Protest in Tel Aviv on 6 August 2011 (from History of Israel)
Image 61Hebrew ulpan in Dimona, 1955 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 621949 Green Line (from History of Israel)
Image 63A portion of the Isaiah scroll. One of the earliest known manuscripts of biblical literature (from Culture of Israel)
Image 64Jewish Yemenite bride in traditional bridal vestment, adorned with a henna wreath, 1958 (from Culture of Israel)

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28 December 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Winter of 2024–25 in the Gaza Strip, Gaza Strip evacuations; The Gaza Strip Government Media Office reports that 110,000 out of 135,000 tents used as shelters by displaced Palestinians have "completely deteriorated" and are now unusable due to strong winter winds and heavy rainfall. (Al Jazeera)
27 December 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Kamal Adwan Hospital sieges; Israeli forces forcibly evacuate the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza. (BBC News)

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Israel}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.