State Of Israel, that declared independence during 1948, is a nation in the
south-western Asia situated at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea.
This country is bounded by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
Even though this is a very small country but this is the real place to
have diverse topography including desert, coastal Plain and highland.
Jerusalem is the official capital of this
nation while its people are called as Jewish.
This nation has a very rich history and here we have
explained every little aspect of the country in detail.
So, have a read to know the history of Israel.
History
Israel is considered as one of the strong and powerful country of the
world today but their journey started long back around 3300 years back.
They had eventually to go through several ups and down to see the today’s Israel.
But it is only the Jewish people who ruled the
country 3000 years back and still they are present.
Israel is the one and only country on the earth
that inhabits the same land, speaks the same
language, bears the same name, and worships the same god that they did 3000 years back.
This is a very popular quote from Charles Krauthammer.
Israelis have their origin to Abraham, the founding father of
the Jewish culture, heritage and religion 3000 years back.
Abraham, his son Issac and grandson Jacob are the main Jewish
people who are considered as the patriarchs of Israel.
Israel was then known as Cannan and later the name changed to Israel.
Jacob had 12 sons and the name of Israel and Jewish derives from their name only.
The period from 1000-587 BCE is known as the period
of king when several kings have ruled the country.
But the rule of Israelites started with the conquest of Joshua in 1250 BCE.
Among all the kings who ruled the country during then,
King David was the most trustworthy and popular one.
He along with his son announced Jerusalem as the capital of the
State of Israel and built the first temple in the country Tanach.
But it was just after then during 587 BCE when Babylonian captured the
country, destroyed everything and exiled the Jewish people to modern day Iraq.
A new era started in Israel.
Several foreign empires including Babylonian, Persian, Roman, Byzantine,
Arab, Ottoman and British came and ruled the country one by one.
It was in 70 CE when the Jewish people were exiled by the Roman and
they migrated to neighbouring countries Europe and North Africa.
The Jewish started living there and built
eventually their economic lives, rich culture etc.
But they kept praying to come back to their own nation.
During the 1st half of 20th century a large number of Jewish
people came back to Israel from Arab and North Africa.
But it was during the time of British people
when the Jewish people became really violent.
Finally during 1948, the Israelites with the help of David Ben-Gurion re-established
their dominion and Israel was announced as the State of Israel, an Independent nation.
Geography
Already mentioned that Israel is one of the smallest countries but you will
still be able to witness varieties of geographic features in this small area.
The sovereign territory of Israel is around 20,770
sq kilometres in area while 2% of it is water.
This country is bounded by Mediterranean Sea
at the eastern end, West Bank and Jordan at
the east, Lebanon at the north side, Syria at the northeast and Egypt to the southwest.
This nation is real combination of coastline, hill range and desert.
They consists Negev desert at the south of Jezreel valley, Galilee, Carmel, Golan hill
at the north, the coastline at the shore of Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan valley.
The Jordan River flows alongside the Jordan Rift valley
forming a real border between Jordan and Israel.
This river runs through the Hulah Valley and the Sea of Galilee to the Dead
Sea which at 408 m below the sea level is the lowest surface of the earth.
Language
Hebrew is the official language of Israel and the Jewish
people use to interact with them using this language.
Anyways, English too is used as the second language while
this is preferred in the business and work place more.
Economy
The economic condition of Israel is pretty impressive.
This is one of the most advanced countries in the Southwest Asia and Middle East.
High quality education is only the reason for such development
that help the country to excel in technology and industrial area.
The country has secured the 4th position for the high skilled development while it has
also acquired 16th rank in the global
competitiveness report of the world economic Forum.
Israel has also the second largest number of start up companies after the US.
The Bank of Israel holds around $97.22 billion foreign exchange
reserves as of now which indicates how wealthy the country is.
Climate
The climate of Israel is very moderate combing
winter, hot, rainy season and snowfall as well.
January is the coldest month ranging a temperature between 4-10 degree Celsius.
August is the hottest month ranging a temperature between 18-29 degree Celsius.
Snowfall is witnessed in the hilly area.
But the temperature at the coastal Plain is bit different.
The sea breezes have a great impact on the temperature.
The temperature in January in the coastal Plain ranges between 8-18
degree C while August witness a temperature between 21-29 degree C.
But the South area becomes really horrible during August while
the temperature might cross even 49 degree C quite often.
Religion
Israel is the nation where two main religions
are cradled, Judaism and Christianity.
Anyways small part of the population also forms Muslim community but the
government of the country ensure that freedom of every religion is maintained.
As of today, 80% of the Israelites are Jewish whose religion is Judaism.
But 20% of the population are not Jewish.
80% of that non-Jewish people are Muslim while 10% are Christian and 10% are Druzes.
Most of the Muslims are from Arab while the Druzes are a complete separate community.
Druzes are those who got separated from Islam during the 11th century.
So, the inside picture of Israel is pretty impressive.
This nation even though had to go through a
lot of ups and downs and had to face several
fights with the neighbouring countries, but nothing could make it weaker over time.
Rather they have become much much stronger to call
themselves as one of the super powers in the world.