Portal:Israel

Welcome to the Israel Portal
מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. Situated in the Southern Levant of the Middle East, it shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the southwest, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It occupies the Palestinian territories of the West Bank in the east and the Gaza Strip in the southwest. Israel also has a small coastline on the Red Sea at its southernmost point, and part of the Dead Sea lies along its eastern border. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while Tel Aviv is the country's largest urban area and economic center.

Israel is located in a region known as the Land of Israel, synonymous with the Canaan region and the Holy Land. In antiquity, it was home to the Canaanite civilisation 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 galvanised 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 foreign policy in the Middle East led to intercommunal conflict between Jews and Arabs, which escalated into a civil war in 1947 after a proposed partition by the United Nations was rejected by the Arabs. (Full article...)

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Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football (mainly) and basketball (secondly) – with the first being considered the national sport – in both of which Israeli professional teams have been competitive internationally. Israel is an international center for Jewish sport around the world and since 1932 the Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes, is held in the country. Despite Israel's location in the Asian continent, the Israeli sports associations in various sports belong to the European associations due to the refusal of many Arab Asian countries to compete with Israeli athletes.

The government's support and budgeting of sports in Israel is relatively low in comparison to other western countries. However, many Israeli athletes and teams managed to gain international success. The Israel national basketball team has won 2 gold medals in the Asian Games and 1 silver medal at the European Championship, and basketball club Maccabi Tel Aviv is considered one of the best teams in Europe with 6 European titles. The Israel national football team has won the AFC Asian Cup and the Israel Davis Cup team reached the semifinal of the 2009 Davis Cup. At the Olympic Games, Israel has won 20 medals. (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 1A 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 2Ceramic tile on the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem
Image 3"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 4An aerial view of Masada in the Judaean Desert, with the Dead Sea and Jordan in the distance
Image 5The 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.
Image 6David 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 7Young Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) on a stone wall by the edge of Makhtesh Ramon in Mitzpe Ramon.
Image 8Diving tourism site on the southern coast of Eilat, around a horseshoe-shaped reef. Many animal species are found in the area, including dolphins.
Image 9A view of Jaffa, from the beachfront of Tel Aviv
Image 10Dead 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 11An 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 12Northeast 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 13Paratroopers at the Western Wall, an iconic photograph taken on June 7, 1967 by David Rubinger.
Image 14A 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 15Southern 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 16Reading 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 17Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur, an 1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb

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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.

A view of the Western Wall

The Western Wall (Hebrew: הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, romanized: HaKotel HaMa'aravi, lit. 'the western wall', is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Its most famous section, known by the same name, often shortened by Jews to the Kotel or Kosel, is known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط ٱلْبُرَاق, Ḥā'iṭ al-Burāq ['ħaːʔɪtˤ albʊ'raːq]). In a Jewish religious context, the term Western Wall and its variations is used in the narrow sense, for the section used for Jewish prayer; in its broader sense it refers to the entire 488-metre-long (1,601 ft) retaining wall on the western side of the Temple Mount.

At the prayer section, just over half the wall's total height, including its 17 courses located below street level, dates from the end of the Second Temple period, and is believed to have been begun by Herod the Great. The very large stone blocks of the lower courses are Herodian, the courses of medium-sized stones above them were added during the Umayyad period, while the small stones of the uppermost courses are of more recent date, especially from the Ottoman period. (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) Haifa Eilat Airport AIL Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque Angel Bakeries Operation Pleshet Arrow (Israeli missile)

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Hamantashen served

A hamantash (pl.: hamantashen; also spelled hamantasch, hamantaschen; Yiddish: המן־טאַש homentash, pl.: המן־טאַשן homentashn, 'Haman pockets') is an Ashkenazi Jewish triangular filled-pocket pastry associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim. The name refers to Haman, the villain in the Purim story. In Hebrew, hamantashen are also known as אוזני המן (oznei Haman), meaning "Haman's ears". "Haman's ears" also refers to a Sephardic Purim pastry, "Orejas de Haman", thought to originate in Spain and Italy, that is made by frying twisted or rolled strips of dough.

Traditionally, the dough for hamantashen was made with yeast. With the invention of baking powder during the 1840s and its wide adoption during the first half of the twentieth century, baking powder supplanted yeast, and hamantashen dough became a cookie rather than pastry dough. To shape a hamantash, a filling is placed in the center of a circle of dough, which is then either folded in half and shaped into a triangle or the sides are brought to the center to form a triangle. The oldest and most traditional filling is mohn (poppy seed paste), with powidl or lekvar (prune jam) a close second. The cookie dough variety has spawned many different fillings, traditionally sweet (although savory varieties have become popular as well). Most popular are various jams, especially apricot and raspberry, but also date, raisins, apple, vanilla pastry cream with chocolate chips, cherry, fig, chocolate, dulce de leche, halva, caramel, or cheese. The dough varies from hard like shortbread to a soft yeast dough. (Full article...)

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

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

Image 1Jewish youth dancing the Horah in the kibboutz Ein Harod in 1936 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 2United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, 1947 (from History of Israel)
Image 3Occupied Enemy Territory Administration, 1918 (from History of Israel)
Image 4Protest in Tel Aviv on 6 August 2011 (from History of Israel)
Image 5Yitzhak 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 6Jewish Brigade headquarters under both Union Flag and Jewish flag (from History of Israel)
Image 7Avraham Adan raising the Ink Flag marking the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War (from History of Israel)
Image 8Jewish symbols in Israeli artworks (from Culture of Israel)
Image 9Detail of the Siloam inscription (from History of Israel)
Image 10Jewish Yemenite bride in traditional bridal vestment, adorned with a henna wreath, 1958 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 11Visual History of Israel by Arthur Szyk, 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 12Aerial 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 13Skhul Cave (from History of Israel)
Image 14Patriot missiles launched to intercept an Iraqi Scud over Tel Aviv during the Gulf War (from History of Israel)
Image 15Menachem Begin addressing a mass demonstration in Tel Aviv against negotiations with Germany in 1952 (from History of Israel)
Image 16Painting of the siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade (1099) (from History of Israel)
Image 17Ofek-7 satellite launch through Shavit vehicle (from Culture of Israel)
Image 18Dedication ceremony of the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem in 2018 (from History of Israel)
Image 19Gal Fridman, winner of Israel's first Olympic gold medal (from Culture of Israel)
Image 20A 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 21Jewish Settlement Police members watching the settlement Nesher during 1936–1939 Arab revolt (from History of Israel)
Image 22The Gaza–Israel barrier route built (red), under construction (pink) and proposed (white), as of June 2011^[update] (from History of Israel)
Image 23Hiking near Lake Kinneret (from Culture of Israel)
Image 24A portion of the Isaiah scroll. One of the earliest known manuscripts of biblical literature (from Culture of Israel)
Image 25Portion of the Temple Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls written by the Essenes (from History of Israel)
Image 26Breads in Mahane Yehuda market (from Culture of Israel)
Image 27The Bahri Mamluk dynasty 1250–1382 (from History of Israel)
Image 28The Arch of Titus in Rome depicts the Roman triumph celebrating the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE (from History of Israel)
Image 29The opening ceremony of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem visited by Arthur Balfour, 1 April 1925 (from History of Israel)
Image 30Hebrew ulpan in Dimona, 1955 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 31Israeli breakfast (from Culture of Israel)
Image 32Silver 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 33Sermon on the Mount. The New Testament was authored by Christian Jews during Roman-ruled Judea (from Culture of Israel)
Image 34Habimah Theater in Tel Aviv (from Culture of Israel)
Image 35Heraclius returning the True Cross to Jerusalem, 15th-century painting by Miguel Ximénez (from History of Israel)
Image 36Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter and Anwar Sadat celebrating the signing of the Camp David Accords (from History of Israel)
Image 37Nahal Brigade soldiers returning after the 2006 Lebanon War (from History of Israel)
Image 38The Merneptah Stele. According to mainstream archeology, it represents the first instance of the name "Israel" in the historical record. (from History of Israel)
Image 39Tzofim Israeli scout movement fire ceremony in Tel Aviv (from Culture of Israel)
Image 40Illustration 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 41Ecclesiastes is known for its incipit vanity of vanities; all is vanity and concepts of Vanitas (from Culture of Israel)
Image 42Cultural 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 43Tel Aviv Cinematheque (from Culture of Israel)
Image 44Remains of the Roman theater in Caesarea Maritima (from Culture of Israel)
Image 451949 Green Line (from History of Israel)
Image 46Buchenwald survivors arrive in Haifa to be arrested by the British, 15 July 1945 (from History of Israel)
Image 47David Ben-Gurion proclaiming the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 48143rd Division crossing the Suez Canal in the direction of Cairo during the Yom Kippur War, 15 October 1973 (from History of Israel)
Image 49Supply convoy on its way to besieged Jerusalem, April 1948 (from History of Israel)
Image 50Neo-Assyrian Empire at its greatest territorial extent. (from History of Israel)
Image 51Israeli paratroopers dig in near the Mitla Pass, 31 October 1956 (from History of Israel)
Image 52Menahem Zion synagoge, Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 53Gen. 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 54Tiles in the Bezalel style, 1920s (from Culture of Israel)
Image 55Intel core i7-940. Intel developed its dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center in Haifa. (from Culture of Israel)
Image 56Simulated view of a black hole. Jacob Bekenstein predicted and co-discovered black hole entropy (from Culture of Israel)
Image 57Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, 2006 (from Culture of Israel)
Image 58Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 59David dictating the Psalms. The practice of psalms is referred to as a philosophical and theological problem (from Culture of Israel)
Image 60Obverse of Yehud silver coin (from History of Israel)
Image 61Jewish workers in Kerem Avraham neighbourhood of Jerusalem (c. 1850s) (from History of Israel)
Image 62The route of the exiles to Babylon (from History of Israel)
Image 63"Hezekiah ... king of Judah" – Royal seal written in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, unearthed in Jerusalem (from History of Israel)

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22 April 2025 – Gaza war: Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip; Israeli airstrikes kill at least 25 people across the Gaza Strip. (RTÉ News)
19 April 2025 –: At least 178 people are arrested in Pakistan after over 10 group attacks on KFC restaurants occur during protests against United States support for Israel in the Gaza war, with one employee shot dead. (Al Jazeera) (Al Arabiya)
17 April 2025 – Gaza war: The Israel Defense Forces begins the expansion of the recently-established Morag Corridor buffer zone to include the southern Gaza city of Rafah, intending to connect it with the Philadelphi Corridor. Witnesses report the Israeli demolition of structures in Rafah. (Al Jazeera) (RBC Ukraine)

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