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Location of Israel The flag of Israel Map of Israel The emblem of Israel Israel State of Israel , is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia . It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, the Red Sea to the south, Egypt to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and the Palestinian territories – the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest. Tel Aviv is the country's financial , economic , and technological center. Israel's governmental seat is in its proclaimed capital of Jerusalem , although recognition of Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is limited internationally .
Israel is located in a region known historically as Canaan , Palestine , and the Holy Land . In antiquity, it was home to several Canaanite , and later, Israelite and Judahite states, and is referred to as the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition . Situated at a continental crossroad , the region subsequently came under the rule of many different empires . The late 19th century saw the rise of Zionism in Europe, a movement seeking a Jewish homeland , which garnered British support during World War I . During the war, British occupation led to the setting up of Mandatory Palestine in 1920. Rapid immigration of primarily European Jews displaced during the Holocaust , combined with British colonial policy , led to intercommunal conflict between Jews and Arabs . The 1947 UN Partition Plan triggered a civil war between the two groups, which saw the expulsion and flight of most of Mandatory Palestine's predominantly Arab population , known as the Nakba . A minority remained and became Arab citizens of Israel . (Full article...
Levant The Levant lə-VANT historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of West Asia and core territory of the political term Middle East archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is equivalent to Cyprus and a stretch of land bordering the Mediterranean Sea in western Asia: i.e. the historical region of Syria ("Greater Syria"), which includes present-day Israel , Jordan , Lebanon , Syria , the Palestinian territories and most of Turkey southwest of the middle Euphrates . Its overwhelming characteristic is that it represents the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia . In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all of the Eastern Mediterranean with its islands; that is, it included all of the countries along the Eastern Mediterranean shores, extending from Greece in Southern Europe to Cyrenaica , Eastern Libya in Northern Africa.
In the
13th and
14th centuries, the term
levante was used for Italian maritime commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece,
Anatolia ,
Syria-Palestine , and
Egypt , that is, the lands east of
Venice . Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt. The term entered English in the late
15th century from French. It derives from the Italian
levante , meaning "rising", implying the rising of the Sun in the east, and is broadly equivalent to the term
al-Mashriq (
Arabic :
ٱلْمَشْرِق ,
[ʔal.maʃ.riq] ), meaning "the eastern place, where the Sun rises". (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
Image 1 Ceramic tile on the
Dome of the Rock , an Islamic shrine located on the
Temple Mount in the
Old City of Jerusalem
Image 2 Paratroopers at the Western Wall , an iconic photograph taken on June 7, 1967 by
David Rubinger .
Image 3 An aerial view of
Masada in the
Judaean Desert , with the
Dead Sea and
Jordan in the distance
Image 4 The
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 5 Southern 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 6 A 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 Dead 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 8 Reading 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 9 David 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 10 Northeast 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 11 Young
Nubian ibex (
Capra nubiana ) on a stone wall by the edge of
Makhtesh Ramon in Mitzpe Ramon.
Image 12 An 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 13 A view of
Jaffa , from the beachfront of
Tel Aviv
Image 14 "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 16 A 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 17 Diving tourism site on the southern coast of
Eilat , around a horseshoe-shaped reef. Many animal species are found in the area, including
dolphins .
Gefilte fish topped with thin slices of carrot
Gefilte fish Yiddish : געפֿילטע פֿיש , German : Gefüllter Fisch / Gefüllte Fische , lit. "stuffed fish") is a dish made from a poached mixture of ground deboned fish, such as carp , whitefish , or pike . It is traditionally served as an appetizer by Ashkenazi Jewish households. Popular on Shabbat and Jewish holidays such as Passover , it may be consumed throughout the year. It is typically garnished with a slice of cooked carrot on top.
Historically, gefilte fish was a stuffed whole fish consisting of minced-fish
forcemeat stuffed inside the intact fish skin. By the 16th century, cooks had started omitting the labor-intensive stuffing step, and the seasoned fish was most commonly formed into
patties similar to
quenelles or
fish balls . (
Full article... )
List of fare/cuisine articles
The following are images from various Israel-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Protest in
Tel Aviv on 6 August 2011 (from
History of Israel )
Image 2 Ecclesiastes is known for its
incipit vanity of vanities; all is vanity and concepts of
Vanitas (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 3 Yitzhak 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 4 The opening ceremony of The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem visited by
Arthur Balfour , 1 April 1925 (from
History of Israel )
Image 5 Visual History of Israel by
Arthur Szyk , 1948 (from
History of Israel )
Image 6 Hebrew ulpan in
Dimona , 1955 (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 7 Jewish Yemenite bride in traditional bridal vestment, adorned with a henna wreath, 1958 (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 9 "
Hezekiah ... king of
Judah " –
Royal seal written in the
Paleo-Hebrew alphabet , unearthed in Jerusalem (from
History of Israel )
Image 10 Intel core i7-940. Intel developed its
dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center in
Haifa . (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 11 Heraclius returning the True Cross to Jerusalem, 15th-century painting by Miguel Ximénez (from
History of Israel )
Image 13 Menahem Zion synagoge,
Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 17 A portion of the
Isaiah scroll . One of the earliest known manuscripts of biblical literature (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 18 Tiles in the
Bezalel style , 1920s (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 19 Aerial 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 20 Nahal Brigade soldiers returning after the
2006 Lebanon War (from
History of Israel )
Image 21 The
Merneptah Stele . According to mainstream archeology, it represents the first instance of the name "Israel" in the historical record. (from
History of Israel )
Image 26 Patriot missiles launched to intercept an Iraqi Scud over Tel Aviv during the Gulf War (from
History of Israel )
Image 27 Supply convoy on its way to
besieged Jerusalem , April 1948 (from
History of Israel )
Image 28 Buchenwald survivors arrive in
Haifa to be arrested by the British, 15 July 1945 (from
History of Israel )
Image 29 Simulated view of a
black hole .
Jacob Bekenstein predicted and co-discovered
black hole entropy (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 31 Illustration 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 32 Jewish workers in
Kerem Avraham neighbourhood of Jerusalem (c. 1850s) (from
History of Israel )
Image 34 Cultural 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 35 Jewish symbols in Israeli artworks (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 36 The Bahri Mamluk dynasty 1250–1382 (from
History of Israel )
Image 37 The
Gaza–Israel barrier route built (red), under construction (pink) and proposed (white), (from
History of Israel )
Image 38 Tzofim Israeli scout movement fire ceremony in Tel Aviv (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 39 16th-century
Safed rabbi
Joseph Karo , author of the
Jewish law book (from
History of Israel )
Image 41 Ofek-7 satellite launch through
Shavit vehicle (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 42 Israeli paratroopers dig in near the
Mitla Pass , 31 October 1956 (from
History of Israel )
Image 44 Kingdoms of
Israel and
Judah (from
History of Israel )
Image 46 Neo-Assyrian Empire at its greatest territorial extent. (from
History of Israel )
Image 47 Jewish youth
dancing the Horah in the kibboutz
Ein Harod in 1936 (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 48 Sermon on the Mount . The New Testament was authored by Christian Jews during
Roman-ruled Judea (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 49 Painting of the
siege of Jerusalem during the
First Crusade (1099) (from
History of Israel )
Image 51 Gal Fridman , winner of Israel's first Olympic gold medal (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 52 A
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 53 Silver 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 54 Habimah Theater in Tel Aviv (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 56 The route of the exiles to
Babylon (from
History of Israel )
Image 57 Remains of the Roman theater in
Caesarea Maritima (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 59 143rd Division crossing the
Suez Canal in the direction of
Cairo during the
Yom Kippur War , 15 October 1973 (from
History of Israel )
Image 61 Dedication ceremony of the
Embassy of the United States in
Jerusalem in 2018 (from
History of Israel )
Image 62 David dictating the Psalms . The practice of psalms is referred to as a philosophical and theological problem (from
Culture of Israel )
Image 63 Menachem Begin addressing a mass demonstration in Tel Aviv against
negotiations with Germany in 1952 (from
History of Israel )
Image 64 Gen.
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 65 Portion of the
Temple Scroll , one of the
Dead Sea Scrolls written by the Essenes (from
History of Israel )
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![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]](/wiki/File:ISR-EGY_border_6521a.jpg)
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