Israel

There is no particular city that can be credited as being the origin of Judaism. Jerusalem obviously played a part, but the religion as a set of sacred laws could be said to have originated in the deserts of the Sinai peninsula, when Moses received Gods law at Mount Sinai and gave it to the Israelites.

However, the faith and beliefs of Moses and the Israelites pre-dated those oustanding events in Judaism's history.

In order to trace the origins of Judaism, lets start from now and work back in time. This will show whether Judaism originated in a city, or somewhere else!

JUDAISM is widespread. Worldwide there are about 15 to 18 million adherents to this faith. There are various forms of Judaism e.g. Orthodox, Haredi, Hasidim, Ashkenazi, Reform (also known as 'Liberal' and 'Progressive'), Conservative, etc. HISTORY: The fundamental history and beliefs of Judaism are contained in the Tanakh, (which Christians call the Old Testament). Jews consider these writings to be sacred. Judaism also embraces the teachings written in their Talmud, a collection of commentaries on Scriptural Law. The different parts of the Talmud were compiled by Jewish Rabbis (teachers) from the second century A.D. onwards. ANCIENT ISRAELITES AND MOSES So Judaism, as a faith, with its customs, practices and beliefs can be traced to the ancient Israelites and even further back in time. As an ethnic/group religion, a significant moment in their founding history was at Mount Sinai, when Moses received Scriptural Law for the Jews from their God. This included the ten commandments and all the other laws contained in the Torah, i.e. the first five books of the Tanank/Bible. JACOB AND JUDAH However, Judaism didn't start with Moses. Moses was an Israelite, a member of a very large tribe of Semitic people descended from a man called Jacob, who was given the name Israel by God. Jacob/Israel had twelve sons, who in turn became the progenitors of the 'twelve tribes of Israel'. One of his sons was called Judah,and who became the paternal head of the tribe of Judah. The word Judaism may have come from Judah's name. In later times a federation of Israelite tribes became collectively known as Judah. ABRAHAM'S FAITH Even so, although Jacob played a significant role in the history of Judaism, Jews consider Jacob's grandfather Abraham to be the founding patriarch of the Israelites and the Jewish faith. Abraham lived in Ur of the Chaldees. (Genesis 11:28) Abraham was a prosperous man living in what was then a prosperous city, but his faith in God was so strong that he was prepared to make great personal sacrifices which showed his total trust in God. Because of Abraham's faith in God, God promised him that, through his offspring, all the nations of the earth would come to be blessed (Gen 12:3). So was Abraham the founder of the Jewish religion with its belief and faith in an invisible God who made the universe, and earth, and life and mankind? Abraham can trace his ancestry back to Noah, another righteous and faithful man of God (Gen chapters 5 to 11). One of Noah's sons was Shem, the progenitor of the Shemitic or Semitic races. Abraham came through Shem's line. NOAH, SETH AND ABEL Does this mean that Noah was the first to worship the God of the Jews? Noah was tenth in line from Adam, through Seth, one of Adam's sons. (Gen 5). Although Noah was a biological ancestor of Seth, he demonstrated the faith of Seth's brother Abel, who had been killed before Seth was born (Gen 4). Abel was favoured by God, although the Torah/Old Testament does not explicitly say why Abel met with God's special approval. Abel is given honourable mention in the New Testament as a righteous man of faith (Luke 11:48-51; Hebrews 11:4). Evidently the heart and mind of Abel was godly.

CONCLUSION: So, using Scriptural history as a basis, Abel's heart and mind would seem to be the place where faith in the God of the Jews was first demonstrated by a human. This God subsequently came to be worshipped by faithful Jews, descendants of Abel's brother, Seth.

Jacob, son of Isaac, in book of Genesis was renamed by God to Israel.

Genesis 35:10

God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. " So he named him Israel.

Judaism has many beliefs. Belief in one ethical God (though interpreted in many different ways today) is a central belief, but it is not the only one.

The following short list of Jewish beliefs apply mainly to traditional Jews, but modern and liberal Jews may share a these views in a similar way, or even a very different way:

• There is one God who created the universe (understood very differently by different people).
• The Torah and all its commandments come from God
• The Jews were chosen by God to receive the Torah (a view not held by reconstructionist Jews, and greatly downplayed by Reform and many Conservative Jews.
• The Land of Israel is the Jewish homeland
• Jews have a duty to love others as they love themselves
• Jews have a duty to repair the world (Tikkun Olam)
• Jews have a duty to maintain peace within their families (Shlom Habayit)

They were called 'Judges'. (For details, see the book of Judges.) Everything was ok while Joshua and the men of his generation were alive:-

Jdg 2:6...Joshua died at the age of one hundred ten. He was buried on his land in Timnath-Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. Even though Joshua was gone, the Israelites were faithful to the LORD during the lifetime of those men who had been leaders with Joshua and who had seen the wonderful things the LORD had done for Israel.

However, Israel then went on a cycle of disobedience, worshipping the gods of other nations, raids by those countries, always losing their battles, crying out to God, leaders [judges] raised up, enemies defeated, obedience while judge lived, peace, disobedience when judge died, then worshipping other gods again, etc and the whole cycle starts all over again.

Jdg 2:10 After a while the people of Joshua's generation died, and the next generation did not know the LORD or any of the things he had done for Israel.

Jdg 2:11 The LORD had brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they had worshiped him. But now the Israelites stopped worshiping the LORD and worshiped the idols of Baal and Astarte, as well as the idols of other gods from nearby nations. The LORD was so angry

Jdg 2:12 (SEE 2:11)

Jdg 2:13 (SEE 2:11)

Jdg 2:14 at the Israelites that he let other nations raid Israel and steal their crops and other possessions. Enemies were everywhere, and the LORD always let them [ie Israel's enemies] defeat Israel in battle. The LORD had warned Israel he would do this, and now the Israelites were miserable.

Jdg 2:15 (SEE 2:14)

Jdg 2:16 From time to time, the LORD would choose special leaders known as judges. These judges would lead the Israelites into battle and defeat the enemies that made raids on them.

Jdg 2:17 In years gone by, the Israelites had been faithful to the LORD, but now they were quick to be unfaithful and to refuse even to listen to these judges. The Israelites would disobey the LORD, and instead of worshiping him, they would worship other gods.

Jdg 2:18 When enemies made life miserable for the Israelites, the LORD would feel sorry for them. He would choose a judge and help that judge rescue Israel from its enemies. The LORD would be kind to Israel as long as that judge lived.

Jdg 2:19 But afterwards, the Israelites would become even more sinful than their ancestors had been. The Israelites were stubborn--they simply would not stop worshiping other gods or following the teachings of other religions.

Jdg 2:20 The LORD was angry with Israel and said: The Israelites have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors. They won't obey me,

Jdg 2:21 so I'll stop helping them defeat their enemies. Israel still had a lot of enemies when Joshua died,

Jdg 2:22 and I'm going to let those enemies stay. I'll use them to test Israel, because then I can find out if Israel will worship and obey me as their ancestors did.

It depends on what you are referring to.

Old Testament

The Biblical Israel was founded around 1000 BCE, by the confederation of various Israelite tribes uniting behind one monarch. According the Biblical Narrative, that monarch was Saul, who was appointed to challenge the Philistine peoples along the Mediterranean coast.

Modern State of Israel

Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948.

Some individuals claim incorrectly that UNGA Resolution 181 (II), passed on November 29, 1947, "created" a Jewish State (Israel) and an Arab State (Palestine) on the map. This is not the case. What the UN Resolution does provide for is the permission for the different ethno-religious groups in Mandatory Palestine to declare a state. In the case of most mandates, the understanding was that the mandate would eventually become independent as one new state, like Iraq or Syria had. The case of Palestine was therefore unique and needed the permission to deviate from the traditional path of independence. Because of there being two states, provisional borders had to be provided, which is why a map was used, but those borders would only come into play if both sides decided to remain at peace, which, unfortunately, was not the case. There was internecine violence between the Jewish and Arab communities of Mandatory violence from November 30, 1947 on, in what has been termed the Palestinian Civil War of 1947-1948 and is the preliminary part of the Jewish-Arab Engagement of 1947-1949. After six months of fighting, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion made the executive decision to declare independence because it would allow for Israel to negotiate for foreign weapons purchases, even though it resulted in immediate declarations of war by Israel's Arab neighbors, thus expanding the Jewish-Arab Engagement from internecine strife to a "full-on" international war.

Answer 1

In contrast to a number of its neighbors, the present-day nation of Israel doesn't recognize an official state religion, although it was founded primarily as the place where Jews were at last free to live as Jews, and remains so today. The open expression of other religions is common in Israel, and is protected, often by state security forces when such practice is threatened.

If the question is asking about the religion of the people of Israel in history, the answer is that the phrase "Children of Israel" has always been synonymous with, and understood to mean, the people whose national character, goals, and aspirations are shaped by Judaism. In other words, they are the Jewish people.

Zionism is not a religion. It is the political and nationalist movement of those who seek to re-establish the recognized home of the Jewish people in the geographic region of ancient Israel, where there has been a continuous Jewish presence since shortly after the Exodus from Egypt, including the 2000 years since their nationhood was brought down by the Romans.

Answer 2

The primary religion in Israel is Judaism. However, Israel recognizes the other religions followed by its citizens including Islam, Christianity, Ba'hai, etc.

Israel has no official state religion, and there is no religious requirement, test, or qualification for such privileges as school admission, business or home ownership, voting, election to public office, or practice of law before the courts.

In early 2012, the breakdown of the country's population was listed as 75.3% Jewish, 20.6% Muslim, and the remaining 4.3% comprising Christian, Druze, Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, Other, Unspecified, and None of the above.
The nation of Israel is predominantly Jewish, although Christian and Muslim Israelis are accorded full civil rights.

Roughly 75% of Israel's population are Jews. The country has no 'official' religion,

and there is no religious requirement for citizenship, voting rights, land ownership,

public education, medical benefits, or public office (including the national parliament).

Answer 1

The United States may regard Israel as its primary ally in the Middle East, based on "common democratic values, religious affinities, and security interests". Their bilateral relations are multidimensional and the United States is the principal proponent of the Arab-Israeli peace process.

Answer 2

Israel is one of the US's largest allies. The two countries have also recently strengthened these ties greater, and will most likely support each other at any cost (at an exaggeration). The US and Israel are allies because the two share similar culture and history, the US has a large Israeli/Jewish population, the US was a major player for Israeli/Jewish support during times such as WWII, etc.