SHOULD ISRAEL EXIST?
- Thread starter synical dj
- Start date
It was dominated a long time ago in history and given back to jewish people after WWII. I sympathize with the jewish people, but in essence another country's land was taken and given to the jewish people.
People in general need to open their minds up and not let religion hold them back. The whole reason the middle east is in a dilemma is because people can't think outside their religion.
People in general need to open their minds up and not let religion hold them back. The whole reason the middle east is in a dilemma is because people can't think outside their religion.
The Rightful owners are Hebrews, not Euro/Anglo Zionists. If you want to get technical about it in a religious sense, it does not belong to the palestinians but those true hebrew jews that have kept the convenant. But since many aren't even jews and those are really of hebrew decent like many orthodox and reform jews are, then NO! They won't accept the messiah who Christ was and Is so therefore, Israel doesn't deserve to exist. But don't take me wrong, when I say they don't deserve to exist that does not mean I'm implying that damage should be done to them.
Christ himself makes it quite clear, those who are born again and have accepted him are jews in a spiritual sense. Just because you are weened(circumsized) according to the abrahamic covenant does not mean you're spirit is circumsized. Christ also makes it quite clear that those who have accepted him and do his will are spiritually circumsized, in turn continuing the covenant between God and "his people" which are no longer just the Jews, but Gentiles who become Spiritual Jews through their commitment and servitude to Y'shua/Jesus Christ.
'should israel exist'
lol
Yes, Baruch Hashem
and anyone who thinks Israel is all anglo whities is a dumbass, along with a lot of other nonsense posted in this thread.... since a lot on here know jack shit about the country or how it came to exist heres a cut & paste of a little history...
NAME OF PLACE Israel
TYPE OF PLACE country, republic
LOCATION Israel
Israel, republic (7,992 sq mi/20,699 sq km; 1995 estimated population 5,607,900, of which 1,070,300 are not Jewish and mostly Arab; 2004 estimated population 6,199,008 of which 1,233,603 are not Jewish and mostly Arab), SW Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea; (cap.) Jerusalem. The area figure used above does not include the Golan Heights, the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip. Important cities include Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Haifa, Beersheba, and Netanya.
Geography
The country is a narrow, irregularly shaped strip of land bounded on the N by Lebanon, on the E by Syria and Jordan, on the W by the Mediterranean Sea, on the SW by Egypt, and on the S by the Gulf of Aqaba (an arm of the Red Sea). Israel has four principal regions: the plain along the Mediterranean coast; the mountains, which are E of this coastal plain; the Negev, which comprises the S half of the country; and the portion of Israel that forms part of the Jordan Valley, in turn a part of the Great Rift Valley. N of the Negev, Israel enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with long, hot, dry summers and short, cool, rainy winters. This N half of the country has a limited but adequate supply of water, except in times of drought. The N part of the Negev is semi-arid with an average annual rainfall of 8 in/20 cm–10 in/25 cm. The central and S parts are arid desert, most of which receives less than 4 in/10.2 cm of rainfall per year. Because Israel is plagued by a shortage of water, Israeli scientists have worked on the desalination of seawater; small desalination plants operate in the Elat region. Israel uses more than 90% of its available water supply. Over 60% of the water is consumed by agriculture. Israel has two main aquifers—the coastal aquifer which is shallow and therefore becomes polluted; and the mountain aquifer (between the West Bank and the coastal plain), which is deep and clean. The most important river in Israel is the Jordan. Other smaller rivers are the Hayarkon, the Kishon, and the Yarmuk, a tributary of the Jordan. In the S part of the country are many wadis, or riverbeds, that are dry except in the brief rainy spells during the winter. Other bodies of water include the Sea of Galilee, the main water reservoir for Israel’s national water carrier system, and the Dead Sea (part of which belongs to neighboring Jordan). Owing to interior drainage and an elevation below sea level, the waters of the Dead Sea have about eight times as much salt as the ocean. The draining in 1957 of Lake Hula, located in N Israel, served to increase both the farming area and the number of fish ponds in the region. Because of the unforeseen negative consequences to the environment, especially the polluting effects of chemicals in the runoff waters and damage to the natural ecology, a major effort is underway to restore part of the former lake area. The highest point in Israel is Mount Meron (3,960 ft/1,208 m) near Zefat. The lowest point is the surface of the Dead Sea, which is 1,321 ft/403 m below sea level and which is also the lowest point on land. As the result of an intensive reforestation program, well over 100 million trees (20% of the entire cultivated area) have been planted since 1948, the year the state of Israel came into being.
Population
Israel proper is made up of about 80.1% Jews, about 19.9% Arabs, including Druze. The Arab population is primarily Muslim; a smaller proportion are Christians. Hebrew and Arabic are both official languages of Israel.
Economy - Agriculture
The economy of Israel is based on both state and private ownership and operation. Despite adverse conditions, agriculture in Israel has been developed to a degree that compares favorably with the agriculture of advanced countries. In 1948, Israel produced only 30% of the food it needed; by the early 1970s it produced enough fruits and vegetables, poultry and eggs, and milk and dairy products to meet all domestic needs, although most of the cereals and feed grains, as well as coffee, sugar, and beef, are still imported. The area of land under cultivation has been increased by over 250% since the founding of the state in 1948, and extensive irrigation (one-third of all field crops and half of total agricultural areas) has been provided to develop farmland and compensate for the shortage of rainfall. Greenhouses and hydroponics are other means through which agriculture has been intensified. While a major exporter of citrus, Israel’s fresh non-citrus fruits and vegetables now exceed citrus in export value, and citrus dropped from representing two-thirds of Israel’s agricultural exports in 1970 to 25% in 1991. Western Europe takes 85% of these exports, which include, in addition to citrus, flowers (such as roses, carnations, and gladioli), non-citrus fruits (such as avocados, melons, bananas, and peaches), and vegetables (such as eggplants and tomatoes). They are especially important as out-of-season crops in the winter. Other sizable crops are cotton, wheat, barley, peanuts, sunflowers, grapes, and olives. Poultry (chicken and turkeys) and livestock are raised. Agricultural production adds up to roughly 2.8% of Israel’s gross national product.
The Israel Lands Authority leases the land to kibbutzim, which are communal agricultural settlements; to moshavim, which are cooperative agricultural settlements; and to other agricultural or rural villages. On the kibbutz, members receive all the necessities of life (housing, food, clothing, medical care, education, recreation, vacations, and spending money) instead of wages in return for their labor. Industry and tourism are of major importance to most kibbutzim. In the cooperative moshav each family unit has its own home and cultivates its own plot of land, but the members own farming equipment collectively and market their crops as a group. Many moshav dwellers now hold non-farming jobs in projects developed on the moshav or outside the village, and some have developed manufacturing or service enterprises. Some moshav lands are now being made available for private residences for outsiders.
Economy - Industry
Israeli industry has developed in an explosive manner since 1948, despite a comparative scarcity of raw materials, many of which have to be imported. The owners of industry in Israel include individuals, the government, the Histadrut (which has been divesting itself of its enterprises through privatization), and other public organizations. Israel encourages foreign investment in its industry by low rates of taxation and by permitting the withdrawal abroad of most of the profits. The major industries include the cutting and polishing of diamonds, manufacturing of chemical fertilizers from the potash obtained from the Dead Sea and from the phosphates found in the Negev, apparel manufacturing, and the increasing production of military and electronic equipment. High-technology industries are Israel’s fastest-growing developments, with emphasis on computers, software, telecommunications, biotechnology, and medical electronics. These industries have matched diamonds in export importance. Several international research and development centers are located in Israel. The Dead Sea has other minerals of commercial value, such as magnesium, bromine, and salt. Building construction has become a very large industry, partly because of the need to provide homes for the over three million persons who have come to Israel since 1948, and more recently since 1989, as an influx of more than 600,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia were allowed to emigrate from their respective countries to Israel. A number of light industries also produce processed foods, precision instruments, shoes, clothing, and various plastic goods.
Economy - Exports/Imports
Diamonds and high-tech industrial products, including military hardware and weapons systems, are the major exports, followed by chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and apparel. The leading imports are military equipment, machinery, rough diamonds, crude oil, transport equipment, and wheat. Although Israel still imports more than it exports, the balance of trade is far more favorable now than it was in the early years of the state. Israel’s chief trading partners are the EU, especially the U.K. and Belgium, and the U.S. Israel also trades with countries in Asia, Africa, and South America.
Economy - Nuclear Power
Israel has two nuclear reactors: one S of Tel Aviv, and another near Dimona in the Negev, where scientists are conducting research on using atomic energy in the production of electricity and for the desalination of seawater. The plant at Dimona has been credited with nuclear- weapons capacities as well.
Economy - Tourism and GNP
Another major industry is tourism, which is one of Israel’s largest sources of revenue. The standard of living in Israel is high for a Middle Eastern nation and is comparable to that which prevails in Western Europe; its GNP is $19,800, but it has a growing trade deficit.
Education
Israel has major universities and technical and research institutes in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Haifa, Beersheva, and Rehovot, as well as many smaller colleges and other institutes of higher education located throughout the country. Arabs in Israel have their own schools in which the language of instruction is Arabic. Education at the primary level is free and compulsory for everyone.
History to 1949
The state of Israel is the culmination of nearly seventy years of activity in Zionism. Following World War I, Great Britain occupied (1917–1918) and later received (1922) Palestine as a mandate from the League of Nations. The struggle by Jews for a Jewish state in Palestine had begun in the late 19th century and had become quite active on the eve, during, and after World War I. The militant opposition of the Arabs to such a state and the inability of the British to solve the problem eventually led to a session of the General Assembly of the UN in April 1947, which established the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). UNSCOP reported a plan to divide Palestine into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and a small internationally administered zone including Jerusalem. The General Assembly adopted the UNSCOP recommendations on November 29, 1947. The Jews accepted the plan; the Arabs rejected it, leaving the meeting and asserting their intention to resist. On May 14, 1948, when the British high commissioner for Palestine departed, the state of Israel was proclaimed at Tel Aviv. On the same day it received the de facto recognition of the U.S. (on May 17 the USSR extended de jure recognition). The Arab states of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq invaded Israel with their regular armies on May 14, 1948. The Jews were prepared, however, through their self-defense force known as the Haganah, and the flight of most Palestinian Arabs from Jewish territory facilitated defense.
History - 1949 to 1956
Not until the spring of 1949 were armistice agreements reached. In this war of independence, Israel had increased its holdings by about half, although it lost about 6,000 of its 650,000 Jews. There seemed little likelihood of a new Arab state, for Jordan annexed the area adjoining its territory, which became known as the West Bank, and Egypt was occupying the SW coastal strip, known as the Gaza Strip. In January 1949, elections were held for the Knesset, and the Mapai (moderate socialist) and the religious parties formed a government. David Ben-Gurion (Mapai) became prime minister, and Chaim Weizmann was elected national president. The elected government received recognition from most European and American countries, Australia, New Zealand, and some Asian countries. On May 11, 1949, Israel was admitted to the UN. The Israelis moved their capital to Jerusalem on December 14, 1949, therefore strengthening their claim to the city. The ever-expanding Arab economic boycott hampered its growth, and continuous attacks by Arab border marauders threatened its security. One major aim of the government was to gather in all Jews who wished to immigrate to Israel. This led to the 1950 Law of Return, which provided for free and automatic citizenship for all immigrant Jews. Border incidents with Egypt, Syria, and Jordan continued, and bloody attacks and reprisals were sharply condemned by the UN.
History - 1956 to 1967
In 1956, Egyptian President Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. On Oct. 29, 1956, Israel made a preemptive attack on Egyptian territory in collusion with Great Britain and France; within a few days, Israel conquered the Gaza Strip and the Sinai peninsula, while Britain and France invaded the area of the Suez Canal. Israel eventually yielded to strong pressure from the U.S., the USSR, and the UN and removed its troops from Sinai in November 1956, and from Gaza by March 1957, as UN forces were sent to the Sinai and Gaza to keep peace between Egypt and Israel. By 1962, despite warning by the USSR and Egypt, most of the new nations of Africa had signed aid agreements with Israel. In 1963, Ben-Gurion resigned as prime minister and was succeeded in that office by Levi Eshkol. In May 1967, Nasser mobilized the Egyptian army in Sinai. He next demanded that the UN Emergency Force withdraw from the Israeli-Egyptian border, where it had been stationed since 1956. Nasser then blockaded the Israeli port of Elat (on the Gulf of Aqaba) by closing the Strait of Tiran. On June 5, 1967, Israel launched preemptive attacks against Egypt and Syria. It appealed to Jordan to remain neutral, but the latter launched an attack, which Israel countered. In just six days, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the Sinai peninsula of Egypt, the Golan Heights of Syria, and the West Bank and Arab sector of E Jerusalem (both under Jordanian rule), thereby giving the conflict the name of the Six-Day War. Israel unified the Arab and Israeli sectors of Jerusalem and annexed E Jerusalem.
History - 1967 to 1973
On November 22, 1967, the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Arab territories occupied in the war, the right of all states to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries, freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area, and a just settlement of the Arab refugee problem. After Eshkol’s death on February 26, 1969, Golda Meir became prime minister. In September 1970, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Then suddenly, on October 6, 1973, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli positions in the Sinai and the Golan Heights. Other Arab states sent contingents of soldiers to aid in the attack on Israel; among these states was Jordan, although Jordan did not attack Israel directly across their common border. Egypt succeeded in sending troops in force across the Suez Canal to the E bank before being halted by Israeli troops. Toward the end of the fighting, the Israelis managed to send their own troops across the Suez Canal to the W bank, encircling Egypt’s Third Army on the E bank and clearing a path to Cairo. They also drove the Syrians even further back toward Damascus.
History - 1973 to 1982
On December 21, 1973, the first Arab-Israeli peace conference opened in Geneva, Switzerland, under UN auspices. An agreement to disengage Israeli and Egyptian forces was reached in January 1974, largely through the “shuttle diplomacy” mediation of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Israeli troops withdrew several miles into the Sinai, a UN buffer zone was established, and Egyptian forces reoccupied the E bank of the Suez Canal and a small, adjoining strip of land in the Sinai. A similar agreement between Israel and Syria was achieved in May 1974, and a UN buffer zone was created. In July 1976 an Air France jetliner carrying a large number of Israeli citizens was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and taken to Entebbe, Uganda. The government authorized Israeli forces to make what became a remarkably successful rescue of 103 hostages; three hostages and one Israeli colonel were killed. On May 17, 1977, the Likud party under the leadership of Menachem Begin defeated the Labor party. As prime minister, Begin strongly supported the development of Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories, and he opposed Palestinian sovereignty. Egypt began peace initiatives with Israel in late 1977, when Sadat visited Jerusalem. A year later, with the help of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, terms of peace between Egypt and Israel were negotiated at Camp David, Maryland. It was here that self-rule for the Palestinians was also first discussed. A formal treaty, signed on March 26, 1979, in Washington, D.C., granted full recognition of Israel by Egypt, opened trade relations between the two countries, and limited Egyptian military buildup in the Sinai. Israel agreed to return the final portion of occupied Sinai to Egypt; the transfer was completed in 1982. Later negotiations resulted in the return of Taba to Israel.
History - 1982 to 1991
Begin ordered (June 1982) the bombing of the Osirak nuclear facility in Iraq, stunting Iraqi weapons capacity. On June 6, 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon full-scale to destroy PLO bases, and troops moved toward Beirut and surrounded the W part of the city, which housed PLO headquarters. Nearly 7,000 PLO members were forced to flee. In a surprising coalition between the Likud and Labor parties, Israeli troops began a gradual move out of Lebanon, completed in 1985. A 6-mi/9.7-km-deep security zone within S Lebanon, to be monitored by both Israeli troops and the Christian South Lebanese Army (SLA) forces, was established to protect N Israeli settlements. Begin was replaced in 1983 by Likud’s Yitzhak Shamir. Large numbers of emigrants, primarily from Ethiopia and the USSR, increased Israel’s population by some 10% in three years (1989–1992). Unemployment and lack of housing were major problems for the new immigrants. In December 1987, an accident involving a military vehicle that killed four Palestinians in the Gaza Strip triggered a number of protests in the occupied territories, which marked the beginning of the Intifada, a popular Arab uprising. Israel was affected by the Persian Gulf War in early 1991 when it was bombed regularly by Iraqi missiles, particularly in the areas of Tel Aviv and Haifa.
History - 1991 to 2002
With U.S. involvement, peace talks began in August 1991, with Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. Rabin reentered the political scene in June 1992, becoming prime minister after Labor’s defeat of the Likud party, and the establishment of a governing coalition. He began his tenure by halting Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and pursuing the Arab-Israeli peace talks. Agreements with the Palestinian Liberation Organization at Oslo and Taba in 1993 provided for the gradual transfer of six of the seven major towns in the West Bank and 30% of its land to Palestinian Authority control. A peace treaty with Jordan was signed in 1994, establishing full political and economic relations between the countries. Terms of the agreement include lease of small tracts of land and water rights to Israel (Naharayim area along the Jordan River in N, Zohar area in Arava). Peace negotiations with Syria, which were halted early in 1996, began in 1994 as well. Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995. Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres replaced him and called for early elections in mid-1996, while adamantly pursuing Rabin’s Labor party goals. General elections in May 1996 brought the Likud party back into power when Benjamin Netanyahu was narrowly elected in the first direct election for the office of prime minister. Labor remained the largest party, but was substantially weakened as a result.
History - 2002 to Present
In 2002, U.S. President Bush laid out a "road map" for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, which envisions a two-state solution. However, ongoing Palestinian-Israeli violence has undermined the agreement.
Government
The government of Israel consists of a legislature called the Knesset, a president, a prime minister, and the cabinet. The Knesset has a single chamber with 120 seats and is elected for four years by universal adult suffrage according to a system of proportional representation. The president is elected for five years by the Knesset. Since 1996, the prime minister is also elected by universial adult vote. He is the dominant figure in Israeli politics, and appoints a cabinet that must be approved by the Knesset; both the prime minister and the cabinet are responsible to the Knesset. Israel has an intricate party system consisting of an ever-growing number of small parties. The largest has been the Israel Labor party. The other major bloc, center-rightist in policy, is the Likud. Since 1977 when the Likud first defeated the Labor party, it has grown to be of proportionate size with Labor, each comprising approximately one-third of Israel’s party system. The remaining one-third is comprised of a conglomeration of smaller parties, such as religious, Communist, Arab, and ultra right- and left-wing factions. Arab members are elected to the Knesset both as members of Arab parties and within the framework of the larger parties. Israel has no constitution. Moshe Katsav has been president since July 2000. The head of government is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (March 2001).
CITATION "Israel." The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. http://www.columbiagazetteer.org/ . Accessed: May 30
lol
Yes, Baruch Hashem
and anyone who thinks Israel is all anglo whities is a dumbass, along with a lot of other nonsense posted in this thread.... since a lot on here know jack shit about the country or how it came to exist heres a cut & paste of a little history...
NAME OF PLACE Israel
TYPE OF PLACE country, republic
LOCATION Israel
Israel, republic (7,992 sq mi/20,699 sq km; 1995 estimated population 5,607,900, of which 1,070,300 are not Jewish and mostly Arab; 2004 estimated population 6,199,008 of which 1,233,603 are not Jewish and mostly Arab), SW Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea; (cap.) Jerusalem. The area figure used above does not include the Golan Heights, the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip. Important cities include Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Haifa, Beersheba, and Netanya.
Geography
The country is a narrow, irregularly shaped strip of land bounded on the N by Lebanon, on the E by Syria and Jordan, on the W by the Mediterranean Sea, on the SW by Egypt, and on the S by the Gulf of Aqaba (an arm of the Red Sea). Israel has four principal regions: the plain along the Mediterranean coast; the mountains, which are E of this coastal plain; the Negev, which comprises the S half of the country; and the portion of Israel that forms part of the Jordan Valley, in turn a part of the Great Rift Valley. N of the Negev, Israel enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with long, hot, dry summers and short, cool, rainy winters. This N half of the country has a limited but adequate supply of water, except in times of drought. The N part of the Negev is semi-arid with an average annual rainfall of 8 in/20 cm–10 in/25 cm. The central and S parts are arid desert, most of which receives less than 4 in/10.2 cm of rainfall per year. Because Israel is plagued by a shortage of water, Israeli scientists have worked on the desalination of seawater; small desalination plants operate in the Elat region. Israel uses more than 90% of its available water supply. Over 60% of the water is consumed by agriculture. Israel has two main aquifers—the coastal aquifer which is shallow and therefore becomes polluted; and the mountain aquifer (between the West Bank and the coastal plain), which is deep and clean. The most important river in Israel is the Jordan. Other smaller rivers are the Hayarkon, the Kishon, and the Yarmuk, a tributary of the Jordan. In the S part of the country are many wadis, or riverbeds, that are dry except in the brief rainy spells during the winter. Other bodies of water include the Sea of Galilee, the main water reservoir for Israel’s national water carrier system, and the Dead Sea (part of which belongs to neighboring Jordan). Owing to interior drainage and an elevation below sea level, the waters of the Dead Sea have about eight times as much salt as the ocean. The draining in 1957 of Lake Hula, located in N Israel, served to increase both the farming area and the number of fish ponds in the region. Because of the unforeseen negative consequences to the environment, especially the polluting effects of chemicals in the runoff waters and damage to the natural ecology, a major effort is underway to restore part of the former lake area. The highest point in Israel is Mount Meron (3,960 ft/1,208 m) near Zefat. The lowest point is the surface of the Dead Sea, which is 1,321 ft/403 m below sea level and which is also the lowest point on land. As the result of an intensive reforestation program, well over 100 million trees (20% of the entire cultivated area) have been planted since 1948, the year the state of Israel came into being.
Population
Israel proper is made up of about 80.1% Jews, about 19.9% Arabs, including Druze. The Arab population is primarily Muslim; a smaller proportion are Christians. Hebrew and Arabic are both official languages of Israel.
Economy - Agriculture
The economy of Israel is based on both state and private ownership and operation. Despite adverse conditions, agriculture in Israel has been developed to a degree that compares favorably with the agriculture of advanced countries. In 1948, Israel produced only 30% of the food it needed; by the early 1970s it produced enough fruits and vegetables, poultry and eggs, and milk and dairy products to meet all domestic needs, although most of the cereals and feed grains, as well as coffee, sugar, and beef, are still imported. The area of land under cultivation has been increased by over 250% since the founding of the state in 1948, and extensive irrigation (one-third of all field crops and half of total agricultural areas) has been provided to develop farmland and compensate for the shortage of rainfall. Greenhouses and hydroponics are other means through which agriculture has been intensified. While a major exporter of citrus, Israel’s fresh non-citrus fruits and vegetables now exceed citrus in export value, and citrus dropped from representing two-thirds of Israel’s agricultural exports in 1970 to 25% in 1991. Western Europe takes 85% of these exports, which include, in addition to citrus, flowers (such as roses, carnations, and gladioli), non-citrus fruits (such as avocados, melons, bananas, and peaches), and vegetables (such as eggplants and tomatoes). They are especially important as out-of-season crops in the winter. Other sizable crops are cotton, wheat, barley, peanuts, sunflowers, grapes, and olives. Poultry (chicken and turkeys) and livestock are raised. Agricultural production adds up to roughly 2.8% of Israel’s gross national product.
The Israel Lands Authority leases the land to kibbutzim, which are communal agricultural settlements; to moshavim, which are cooperative agricultural settlements; and to other agricultural or rural villages. On the kibbutz, members receive all the necessities of life (housing, food, clothing, medical care, education, recreation, vacations, and spending money) instead of wages in return for their labor. Industry and tourism are of major importance to most kibbutzim. In the cooperative moshav each family unit has its own home and cultivates its own plot of land, but the members own farming equipment collectively and market their crops as a group. Many moshav dwellers now hold non-farming jobs in projects developed on the moshav or outside the village, and some have developed manufacturing or service enterprises. Some moshav lands are now being made available for private residences for outsiders.
Economy - Industry
Israeli industry has developed in an explosive manner since 1948, despite a comparative scarcity of raw materials, many of which have to be imported. The owners of industry in Israel include individuals, the government, the Histadrut (which has been divesting itself of its enterprises through privatization), and other public organizations. Israel encourages foreign investment in its industry by low rates of taxation and by permitting the withdrawal abroad of most of the profits. The major industries include the cutting and polishing of diamonds, manufacturing of chemical fertilizers from the potash obtained from the Dead Sea and from the phosphates found in the Negev, apparel manufacturing, and the increasing production of military and electronic equipment. High-technology industries are Israel’s fastest-growing developments, with emphasis on computers, software, telecommunications, biotechnology, and medical electronics. These industries have matched diamonds in export importance. Several international research and development centers are located in Israel. The Dead Sea has other minerals of commercial value, such as magnesium, bromine, and salt. Building construction has become a very large industry, partly because of the need to provide homes for the over three million persons who have come to Israel since 1948, and more recently since 1989, as an influx of more than 600,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia were allowed to emigrate from their respective countries to Israel. A number of light industries also produce processed foods, precision instruments, shoes, clothing, and various plastic goods.
Economy - Exports/Imports
Diamonds and high-tech industrial products, including military hardware and weapons systems, are the major exports, followed by chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and apparel. The leading imports are military equipment, machinery, rough diamonds, crude oil, transport equipment, and wheat. Although Israel still imports more than it exports, the balance of trade is far more favorable now than it was in the early years of the state. Israel’s chief trading partners are the EU, especially the U.K. and Belgium, and the U.S. Israel also trades with countries in Asia, Africa, and South America.
Economy - Nuclear Power
Israel has two nuclear reactors: one S of Tel Aviv, and another near Dimona in the Negev, where scientists are conducting research on using atomic energy in the production of electricity and for the desalination of seawater. The plant at Dimona has been credited with nuclear- weapons capacities as well.
Economy - Tourism and GNP
Another major industry is tourism, which is one of Israel’s largest sources of revenue. The standard of living in Israel is high for a Middle Eastern nation and is comparable to that which prevails in Western Europe; its GNP is $19,800, but it has a growing trade deficit.
Education
Israel has major universities and technical and research institutes in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Haifa, Beersheva, and Rehovot, as well as many smaller colleges and other institutes of higher education located throughout the country. Arabs in Israel have their own schools in which the language of instruction is Arabic. Education at the primary level is free and compulsory for everyone.
History to 1949
The state of Israel is the culmination of nearly seventy years of activity in Zionism. Following World War I, Great Britain occupied (1917–1918) and later received (1922) Palestine as a mandate from the League of Nations. The struggle by Jews for a Jewish state in Palestine had begun in the late 19th century and had become quite active on the eve, during, and after World War I. The militant opposition of the Arabs to such a state and the inability of the British to solve the problem eventually led to a session of the General Assembly of the UN in April 1947, which established the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). UNSCOP reported a plan to divide Palestine into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and a small internationally administered zone including Jerusalem. The General Assembly adopted the UNSCOP recommendations on November 29, 1947. The Jews accepted the plan; the Arabs rejected it, leaving the meeting and asserting their intention to resist. On May 14, 1948, when the British high commissioner for Palestine departed, the state of Israel was proclaimed at Tel Aviv. On the same day it received the de facto recognition of the U.S. (on May 17 the USSR extended de jure recognition). The Arab states of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq invaded Israel with their regular armies on May 14, 1948. The Jews were prepared, however, through their self-defense force known as the Haganah, and the flight of most Palestinian Arabs from Jewish territory facilitated defense.
History - 1949 to 1956
Not until the spring of 1949 were armistice agreements reached. In this war of independence, Israel had increased its holdings by about half, although it lost about 6,000 of its 650,000 Jews. There seemed little likelihood of a new Arab state, for Jordan annexed the area adjoining its territory, which became known as the West Bank, and Egypt was occupying the SW coastal strip, known as the Gaza Strip. In January 1949, elections were held for the Knesset, and the Mapai (moderate socialist) and the religious parties formed a government. David Ben-Gurion (Mapai) became prime minister, and Chaim Weizmann was elected national president. The elected government received recognition from most European and American countries, Australia, New Zealand, and some Asian countries. On May 11, 1949, Israel was admitted to the UN. The Israelis moved their capital to Jerusalem on December 14, 1949, therefore strengthening their claim to the city. The ever-expanding Arab economic boycott hampered its growth, and continuous attacks by Arab border marauders threatened its security. One major aim of the government was to gather in all Jews who wished to immigrate to Israel. This led to the 1950 Law of Return, which provided for free and automatic citizenship for all immigrant Jews. Border incidents with Egypt, Syria, and Jordan continued, and bloody attacks and reprisals were sharply condemned by the UN.
History - 1956 to 1967
In 1956, Egyptian President Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. On Oct. 29, 1956, Israel made a preemptive attack on Egyptian territory in collusion with Great Britain and France; within a few days, Israel conquered the Gaza Strip and the Sinai peninsula, while Britain and France invaded the area of the Suez Canal. Israel eventually yielded to strong pressure from the U.S., the USSR, and the UN and removed its troops from Sinai in November 1956, and from Gaza by March 1957, as UN forces were sent to the Sinai and Gaza to keep peace between Egypt and Israel. By 1962, despite warning by the USSR and Egypt, most of the new nations of Africa had signed aid agreements with Israel. In 1963, Ben-Gurion resigned as prime minister and was succeeded in that office by Levi Eshkol. In May 1967, Nasser mobilized the Egyptian army in Sinai. He next demanded that the UN Emergency Force withdraw from the Israeli-Egyptian border, where it had been stationed since 1956. Nasser then blockaded the Israeli port of Elat (on the Gulf of Aqaba) by closing the Strait of Tiran. On June 5, 1967, Israel launched preemptive attacks against Egypt and Syria. It appealed to Jordan to remain neutral, but the latter launched an attack, which Israel countered. In just six days, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the Sinai peninsula of Egypt, the Golan Heights of Syria, and the West Bank and Arab sector of E Jerusalem (both under Jordanian rule), thereby giving the conflict the name of the Six-Day War. Israel unified the Arab and Israeli sectors of Jerusalem and annexed E Jerusalem.
History - 1967 to 1973
On November 22, 1967, the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Arab territories occupied in the war, the right of all states to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries, freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area, and a just settlement of the Arab refugee problem. After Eshkol’s death on February 26, 1969, Golda Meir became prime minister. In September 1970, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat. Then suddenly, on October 6, 1973, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli positions in the Sinai and the Golan Heights. Other Arab states sent contingents of soldiers to aid in the attack on Israel; among these states was Jordan, although Jordan did not attack Israel directly across their common border. Egypt succeeded in sending troops in force across the Suez Canal to the E bank before being halted by Israeli troops. Toward the end of the fighting, the Israelis managed to send their own troops across the Suez Canal to the W bank, encircling Egypt’s Third Army on the E bank and clearing a path to Cairo. They also drove the Syrians even further back toward Damascus.
History - 1973 to 1982
On December 21, 1973, the first Arab-Israeli peace conference opened in Geneva, Switzerland, under UN auspices. An agreement to disengage Israeli and Egyptian forces was reached in January 1974, largely through the “shuttle diplomacy” mediation of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Israeli troops withdrew several miles into the Sinai, a UN buffer zone was established, and Egyptian forces reoccupied the E bank of the Suez Canal and a small, adjoining strip of land in the Sinai. A similar agreement between Israel and Syria was achieved in May 1974, and a UN buffer zone was created. In July 1976 an Air France jetliner carrying a large number of Israeli citizens was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and taken to Entebbe, Uganda. The government authorized Israeli forces to make what became a remarkably successful rescue of 103 hostages; three hostages and one Israeli colonel were killed. On May 17, 1977, the Likud party under the leadership of Menachem Begin defeated the Labor party. As prime minister, Begin strongly supported the development of Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories, and he opposed Palestinian sovereignty. Egypt began peace initiatives with Israel in late 1977, when Sadat visited Jerusalem. A year later, with the help of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, terms of peace between Egypt and Israel were negotiated at Camp David, Maryland. It was here that self-rule for the Palestinians was also first discussed. A formal treaty, signed on March 26, 1979, in Washington, D.C., granted full recognition of Israel by Egypt, opened trade relations between the two countries, and limited Egyptian military buildup in the Sinai. Israel agreed to return the final portion of occupied Sinai to Egypt; the transfer was completed in 1982. Later negotiations resulted in the return of Taba to Israel.
History - 1982 to 1991
Begin ordered (June 1982) the bombing of the Osirak nuclear facility in Iraq, stunting Iraqi weapons capacity. On June 6, 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon full-scale to destroy PLO bases, and troops moved toward Beirut and surrounded the W part of the city, which housed PLO headquarters. Nearly 7,000 PLO members were forced to flee. In a surprising coalition between the Likud and Labor parties, Israeli troops began a gradual move out of Lebanon, completed in 1985. A 6-mi/9.7-km-deep security zone within S Lebanon, to be monitored by both Israeli troops and the Christian South Lebanese Army (SLA) forces, was established to protect N Israeli settlements. Begin was replaced in 1983 by Likud’s Yitzhak Shamir. Large numbers of emigrants, primarily from Ethiopia and the USSR, increased Israel’s population by some 10% in three years (1989–1992). Unemployment and lack of housing were major problems for the new immigrants. In December 1987, an accident involving a military vehicle that killed four Palestinians in the Gaza Strip triggered a number of protests in the occupied territories, which marked the beginning of the Intifada, a popular Arab uprising. Israel was affected by the Persian Gulf War in early 1991 when it was bombed regularly by Iraqi missiles, particularly in the areas of Tel Aviv and Haifa.
History - 1991 to 2002
With U.S. involvement, peace talks began in August 1991, with Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. Rabin reentered the political scene in June 1992, becoming prime minister after Labor’s defeat of the Likud party, and the establishment of a governing coalition. He began his tenure by halting Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and pursuing the Arab-Israeli peace talks. Agreements with the Palestinian Liberation Organization at Oslo and Taba in 1993 provided for the gradual transfer of six of the seven major towns in the West Bank and 30% of its land to Palestinian Authority control. A peace treaty with Jordan was signed in 1994, establishing full political and economic relations between the countries. Terms of the agreement include lease of small tracts of land and water rights to Israel (Naharayim area along the Jordan River in N, Zohar area in Arava). Peace negotiations with Syria, which were halted early in 1996, began in 1994 as well. Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995. Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres replaced him and called for early elections in mid-1996, while adamantly pursuing Rabin’s Labor party goals. General elections in May 1996 brought the Likud party back into power when Benjamin Netanyahu was narrowly elected in the first direct election for the office of prime minister. Labor remained the largest party, but was substantially weakened as a result.
History - 2002 to Present
In 2002, U.S. President Bush laid out a "road map" for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, which envisions a two-state solution. However, ongoing Palestinian-Israeli violence has undermined the agreement.
Government
The government of Israel consists of a legislature called the Knesset, a president, a prime minister, and the cabinet. The Knesset has a single chamber with 120 seats and is elected for four years by universal adult suffrage according to a system of proportional representation. The president is elected for five years by the Knesset. Since 1996, the prime minister is also elected by universial adult vote. He is the dominant figure in Israeli politics, and appoints a cabinet that must be approved by the Knesset; both the prime minister and the cabinet are responsible to the Knesset. Israel has an intricate party system consisting of an ever-growing number of small parties. The largest has been the Israel Labor party. The other major bloc, center-rightist in policy, is the Likud. Since 1977 when the Likud first defeated the Labor party, it has grown to be of proportionate size with Labor, each comprising approximately one-third of Israel’s party system. The remaining one-third is comprised of a conglomeration of smaller parties, such as religious, Communist, Arab, and ultra right- and left-wing factions. Arab members are elected to the Knesset both as members of Arab parties and within the framework of the larger parties. Israel has no constitution. Moshe Katsav has been president since July 2000. The head of government is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (March 2001).
CITATION "Israel." The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. http://www.columbiagazetteer.org/ . Accessed: May 30
The Torah itself says the Ashkenaz are from Japheth. And if anyone wants to see you get destroyed all they have to do is do a search on your name or look at your pasts posts, and they will see several instances where you were defeated and had no leg to stand on.
Sorry man, those guys living on that land aren't the "jews", and if it weren't for the Balfour Declaration Argentina or Uganda would be "the promised land."
BTW, here is a present for you smitty.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v20/i4/noah.asp
Sorry man, those guys living on that land aren't the "jews", and if it weren't for the Balfour Declaration Argentina or Uganda would be "the promised land."
BTW, here is a present for you smitty.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v20/i4/noah.asp