Israel

Israel's national anthem is entitled "Hatikvah", loosely translated in English as "The Hope".

The text of Hatikvah was written by the Galician Jewish poet Naphtali Herz Imber

in Zolochiv in 1878 as a nine-stanza poem "Tikvateynu" ... "Our Hope". In this poem,

Imber puts into words his thoughts and feelings in the wake of the establishment

of Petah Tikva, one of the first Jewish settlements in Ottoman Palestine. Published

in Imber's first book, the poem was subsequently adopted as the anthem of

Chovevei Zion, and later of the Zionist Movement at the First Zionist Congress

in 1897. The text was later revised by the settlers of Rishon LeZion, subsequently

undergoing a number of other changes.

The melody has appeared in the folk music of many cultures, dating back at least

to 17th Century Italy, and was famously used by the Czech composer Bedrich

Smetana as the second movement ... entitled "The Moldau" ... of his Symphonic

poem "Ma Vlast", celebrating his native Bohemia. As Israel's anthem, it was arranged

by Samuel Cohen, an immigrant from Bessarabia.

The British Mandate government briefly banned the public performance of Hatikvah

in 1919, in response to an increase in Arab anti-Zionist political activity.

When the State of Israel was established in 1948, Hatikvah was unofficially

proclaimed the national anthem. However, it did not officially become the national

anthem until November 2004, when it was sanctioned by the Knesset.

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The future of the peace process is uncertain because of:

1. The intransigence of both sides;
2. The uneven balance of military and economic power between the Israelis and Palestinians;
3. Incursion of Jewish settlements into the West Bank;
4. Division of Power in the Palestinian terriories

One of the reasons for the intransigence is that the politicians on both sides are not free agents. They can not make important concessions because these would be opposed by their own electorates. Also, the Israeli side knows that time is on their side: the longer a settlement can be delayed, the more Jewish settlements can be built on Palestinian land.

The uneven balance of military and economic power means that one side can act in a way that some would see as arrogant, and at the very least demand concessions that would otherwise be seen as inappropriate. It also means that the Israelis can dictate to a large extent whom within Palestine they are willing to negotiate with. The use of military and economic power to lower the quality of life in the Palestinian territories may have once been intended to encourage as many as possible to depart, or to make the Palestinian Authority more amenable to an uneven agreement, but the outcome has been to increase the hostility of Palestians towards Jews.

Unless the Jews building settlements in the Palestinian territories see themselves as future citizens of a Palestian state, each settlement is really the theft of sovereignty, as well as the appropriation of a productive resource. The incursion of Jewish settlements into the West Bank not only creates resentment, but steadily makes Palestine less and less viable as a separate state. Unless Palestinians can see a future for themselves in a viable state, their hopes for a successful resolution are reduced. Sooner or later, it must be accepted that a two-state solution means the return of the settlements to the Palestinians.

Government of the Palestinian territories is split between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Fatah in the West Bank. This makes it even more difficult for the President to negotiate on behalf of all Palestinians. This was not always so - in a relatively free and fair election, Hamas gained the majority of seats in the Parliament, but Israel and the West refused to accept the Hamas victory, with Israel making it clear that they would never negotiate with Hamas. Whatever the past, this is an abnegation of democracy on the part of the very countries that deride Arab nations for supposedly being unable to build democracies. Hamas was denied its role on the West Bank, but was able, in response, to create an autonomous dictatorship in the Gaza Strip.

Hebrew is the national language of Israel, and one of two official languages (along with Arabic). More than 6 million Israelis speak Hebrew.

About 200,000 people speak Yiddish in Israel, mainly among the Haredi communities. Only about 1 million people speak Yiddish in the entire world.

A:

The creation of the modern state of Israel resulted in the displacement of many Arabs, both Christian and Muslim, into the remnant Palestinian territories of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip, or into refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Some Christians and Muslims have been allowed to remain in Israel, but they are always aware of their second-class status and the risk of deportation should they speak out too openly.

In recent decades, the Palestinian territories have been under Israeli colonial control. At first, Christians were at the forefront of resistance and efforts to achieve rights to return to their ancestral homes. However, the bulk of the Palestinian Christian population has emigrated, leaving Palestine as a largely Muslim territory. Some Muslims and some of the remaining Christians continue a futile resistance against Israel.

An important issue is the creation of Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands. Israel has withdrawn from settlements on the Gaza strip, as it is already too crowded and provides too little economic value. Palestinians living in the West Bank are at constant risk of the best land being annexed for further Israeli settlements.

One thing about spiders is that they are all venomous, but only some have poison which is dangerous to humans. Try an image search with the keywords "spiders" and "Israel." The text should tell you which ones to watch out for.

A few informative links are given below, and there are some great photos, although many of the photos are also of spiders which are not dangerous to humans. You may have to use a list of the dangerous spiders of Israel and then look for some photos individually.