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Israel
Located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel is the only Jewish-majority state in the world. It has a total land area of 22,072 sq km with an estimated population of approximately 7.7 million as of 2010.
6,421 Questions
Why do Mormons feel that Israel has the right to kill Palestineans?
They don't. That might be the opinion of a few Mormons, but not most Mormons. The Church itself has said nothing on the matter. Mormons are encouraged to form their own political opinions.
How did geography influence the settlement of Israel?
rivers and mountains kept ancient Isrealies in the spot they are in today but many wars have almost fled them out
What is the distance in miles from Israel to Cairo?
The distance between the above places is 226. miles. This distance is point to point straight distance as seen on the map. The actual distance covered by a flight may vary according to the flight path chosen. Also this is not the airport to airport distance.
How do you access a map of northern Israel?
When you open up the homepage of the site listed in the Related Links below, you will see a map of Israel that is divided into various sections. Click on the section of your choice; an enlarged map of that area will appear on your screen.
Is the Karbala Located in Jerusalem?
Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about 100 km southwest of Baghdad.
Jerusalem is a city in Israel, located more than 850 km from Baghdad.
Why did the tribes of israel need to become a nation?
During the era of the Judges, the Israelite Tribes were united only through their Torah. Politically, they were a very loosely-bound confederation. They sought to establish a monarchy that would have the power to put an end to the repeated depredations of neighboring nations (see 1 Samuel 8:20).
The Israelites at that time were coming to the end of an era which was unique in world history. They had undertaken a grand experiment: whether a nation could govern themselves for centuries without a king or organized government.
Instead, there were the officers of tens, fifties, hundreds and thousands (Exodus ch.18), and the court of Elders (Sanhedrin), who were Torah-scholars that provided Torah-rulings and guidance. Each of the leading Judges (Gideon, Deborah etc.) was a private citizen (not a head of government) who led the nation only during a brief episode of battle. (See: The Judges)
During that era (of the Judges, about 360 years), when someone raised the possibility of having a king, the answer was: God will rule over you, not a king (Judges 8:23). The events of the Exodus and the Giving of the Torah were so fresh in the nation's memory that they didn't need a king; God was their King. (The missteps which did take place in that era, is a subject beyond the scope of the present question.)
In Samuel's old age, over four centuries after the Exodus, the people (including their Torah-scholars) felt that the time had come to take a regular government. The Torah itself permitted this (Deuteronomy ch.17); and they saw that Samuel's sons didn't seem to have reached his spiritual level (1 Samuel 8:2-3).
Their usage of the expression "like the other nations around us" need not be a problem, since they were deliberately quoting the Torah itself (Deuteronomy 17:14).
What then was their mistake (why did Samuel criticize them)?
According to the Malbim commentary (on 1 Samuel), they should have waited at least until Samuel was too old to function.
According to the K'li Yakar commentary (on Deuteronomy), their precise choice of language ("for us," instead of the "over us" which the Torah had said), hinted that they wanted a king who might be affected by public pressure (which later happened with Rehoboam). See Talmud, Yoma 22b.
According to Samuel himself (1 Samuel 8:10-18), they were taking a regrettable risk because later kings might be overbearing.
One more point: in Judaism we have a general rule which is called "the descent of the generations." This means that according to our tradition, the earlier a generation lived, the higher was their spiritual level (Talmud, Shabbat 112b). No Talmud-sage would dare to negate a verse of the Prophets; and no later Rabbi would dare to belittle a Talmud-sage.
For this reason, we must not judge that generation. And concerning Saul, our tradition explicitly states that he was a righteous man (Talmud, Moed Katan 16b; and Midrash Breishit Rabah 54:4); and he unified the Israelites and defeated their enemies round about (1 Samuel 14:47).
See also:
Why is israel considered to be an outlier?
Israel is adjacent to Africa but not part of it. Israel is European in some ways and is not far from Europe but is not part of it.
Israel is at the far (western) edge of Asia and is unlike many Asian countries.
Israel is a coastal country.
Israel is at the far edge of the Syrian and Sinai Deserts and parts of it share some of their characteristics.
What are the Palestinian demands in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
General Overview of Demands
At one extreme, Palestinians would like the Israelis to move out of Palestine and give back the land they have taken since 1948. A more moderate demand is for Israelis to give back only the land they have taken since 1967. The most basic demand in Gaza is for Israel to end its blockade of the Gaza coast. Even small fishing boats have been attacked by the Israeli navy.
Specific Discussion of Demands
1) Hallowed Land: Palestinian Moslems consider Jerusalem holy because of Mohammed ascending to Heaven on the Buraq over Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The Arabs want to ensure maintenance and access to the sites which they feel have been limited by the Israelis who arbitrarily close off access to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The City of the Jerusalem is considered by many Palestinians to be their city and representative of their historical identity.
2) End of the Palestinian Exodus & UNRWA: This is probably the most thorny issue between Israel and Palestine. During the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9 (in which Palestinian militias also participated), many Palestinians were forced out of their homes by Israeli soldiers due to brutal atrocities. In addition, many left because they feared similar outcomes. Also Arab leaders encouraged the exodus, because they believed that they could destroy Israel and safely return all of the Palestinians after the conflict. However, this did not happen and a large number of Palestinians (some estimate four million) are in UNRWA Refugee Camps and there is a large Palestinian Diaspora. They have not forgiven Israel for not allowing them to return after the War and greatly desire the Right for Palestinians to return to what is now Israel.
3) End of the Occupation of the West Bank & Gaza: In 1967, Israel fought the Six-Day War against the Arab States and took over control of the West Bank and Gaza. These territories did not come under Israeli Civil Authority and have been instead militarily controlled. Palestinians who live in these territories have to contend with Israeli checkpoints, military provisions, and incoming settlers (from the Hallowed Land section). This occupation is perceived by Palestinians to be a repression of their Right to a State and their ability to lead normal productive lives. Settlers in the territories act in a very cavalier fashion (similar to cowboys in the Wild West) and steal property owned by Palestinian families for generations in the name of Religious Zionism. Zionist Squatters are a huge problem in cities like Hebron where these individuals have "liberated" over a quarter of the city from its Palestinian inhabitants and begun to drive a wedge into those communities.
4) End of the Blockade of Gaza & Dependence of the West Bank: Due to the militancy of Hamas, Israel has found it necessary for defense to form a blockade around Gaza and to only allow certain materials into the territory. This has resulted in a Human Relief Crisis in the Gaza where the average Palestinian caught in the struggle barely has enough food, heat, and light to adequately survive. On a different token, the West Bank (as controlled by the Palestine Authority) is a patchwork of separate unconnected jurisdictions. As a result, the West Bank leaders depend on Israel for defense coordination, tax collection, and assurances of safety from settlers. This creates a secondary occupation-dynamic where the Palestinian government is bound to the desires and wishes of the Israeli people in addition to its actual constituency. Palestinians in both cases want governments that are able to make their own decisions without an Israeli say-so to lift a finger.
Why was there a southern and northern kingdom of Israel?
According to the Bible, the source of the division between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel and Judah respectively comes from Solomon's successor Rehoboam failing to lift the tax burden on Israelites as well as his lead general Jeroboam's charisma in leading ten of the Israelite tribes to secede from Rehoboam's country and establish another dominion.
Archaeologically, there is insufficient evidence at this point to say whether or not the Northern and Southern Israelite Kingdoms were ever united. (This is not to say that they were not or that they were, but that we do not have enough evidence to be sure either way.)
They remained politically divided as there was never an attempt by either state to conquer the other state. They were far more useful to one another as allies against other secondary powers like Aram, Moab, and Phoenicia as well as against the larger powers like Assyria (which eventually destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel), Egypt, and Babylonia (which eventually destroyed the Southern Kingdom of Judah).
Who was given Golan Heights in 1981?
Nobody was "given" the Golan Heights in 1981.
Israel conquered the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and repelled a Syrian invasion to retake the Golan Heights in 1973. By the end of the Arab-Israeli population of 1973, the Arab population of the Golan Heights and its strategic value was immense. Therefore, in 1981, Prime Minister Menachem Begin decided to annex the territory of the Golan Heights to the Israel. This has been seen by most international observers as a violation of UNSC Resolution 242 and 338 which requires that Israel return the Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for peace, not to acquire it. Israel has responded by saying that it fully intends to return the territory to Syria should a peace treaty be struck, but it sees no reason why it has to leave the Golan Heights under military administration pending such a resolution as opposed to a civilian one.
What is the meaning of 555 in Hebrew?
It is just a number, so it has the same meaning in Hebrew that it does in all other languages.
- If you write 555 using Hebrew letters, it comes out as ×ª×§× ×´×”
- If you speak it, it's pronounced chamesh me'ot chamishim vechamesh (חמש מ×ות ×—×ž×™×©×™× ×•×—×ž×©).
What is the capital of israel in the 900's BC?
Israel did not exist as a state until 1948!
In 1947, the British concluded that they could no longer manage Palestine and handed the issue over to the United Nations. On November 29, 1947, after much debate and discussion, the UN recommended the partition of Palestine into two states one Jewish and one Arab. The Jews accepted the UN resolution while the Arabs rejected it.
The British mandate over Palestine officially terminated on May 14, 1948 at midnight. Earlier in the day, at 4:00 p.m., David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the creation of the State of Israel and became its first prime minister. Longtime advocate of Zionism in Britain Chaim Weizmann (1874-1952) became Israel's first president. On May 15, 1948, the United States recognized the State of Israel as a nation and the Soviet Union followed suit the next day.
Why was Moses denied entry into the promised Land of Israel?
"Despite living to 120, he did not enter the Land of Israel,or the promised land, because he hit the rock twice instead of speaking to the rock" An alternate answer: Moses's function as the deliverer of the Israelites (they weren't "Jews" yet) from Egypt to the promised land had concluded. The Israelites now had to conquer the land - fighting some tribes and making peace with others. This phase required a completely different persona, embodied in the young, charismatic military tactician, Joshua. An alternative to this theory is that Moses had been "building up" the promised land in the imaginations of the Israelites for 40 years. Moses knew that the reality on the ground would be much more difficult and complex. Had Moses crossed the Jordan river with his people, they might have rebelled against him and the LORD for misleading them. This is why a new leader, one that could start with a "clean slate" was needed.
What was the name of Israel at the time of Jesus' birth?
What do the Palestinians want to do with the land of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip?
A number of Palestinians would like to create an independent Palestinian State on the lands of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. This aspiration is seen as legitimate by the United Nations, which currently recognizes the early elements of this state as the State of Palestine and previously recognized it as the Palestinian Authority.
However, the majority of Palestinians who support the full independence of the State of Palestine do not believe that the territory of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are sufficient and lay claim to all or part of the current State of Israel as a longer-term ambition.
What countries are Israelis from?
Israelis are from a variety of different places around the world, similar to Americans. There is also a lot intermarriage between Jews from different areas, which makes the demographics difficult to hash out. However, the most common ethnicities in Israel are listed below:
1) Endemically Palestinian: The largest ethnicity of Israeli citizens (approximately 1.7 million Israelis) are those who can trace their ancestry to the territory of the former Mandate of Palestine while it was still under Ottoman occupation. The majority of these citizens are non-Jewish and are identified as Israeli Arabs.
2) Russian: After the Russian mass immigration to Israel in the early 1990s, Russians make up the largest Jewish ethnicity (at approximately 1.4 million Israelis).
3) Moroccan: Due to the large Moroccan Jewish immigration in the early 1950s and continuing trickle into the 1970s, the Moroccan Jewish community in Israel is still very large (at approximately 1.2 million Israelis).
The remainder of Israelis hail mostly from Europe, North America, the Arab World, and small minorities from Africa, South America, and East Asia. However, this geographic mixing and matching refers to people's ethnicities. Most Israelis are Israeli-born, not foreign-born.
Are Israel and Iran mostly similar?
The Israeli people and Iranian people are actually rather similar. They both are very cultured with a "European" disposition. They like to read and write, have on-average a high degree of commerce and education, and a strong feeling of a national historic narrative.
The governments and social organization of Israel and Iran, though, could not be more different. Israel is a secular Parliamentary Democracy, where all citizens, including minorities, have the right to vote for the political party that will best represent them. The governing authority forms through various coalitions of different parties which between them select a Prime Minister. Israel protects most basic freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom from unwarranted searches and seizures, personal freedom (permission of homosexuality and abortions), trial by jury, and numerous other rights. Iran is an Islamic Republic which means that while it has a legislature, its power is strongly circumscribed by an unelected judiciary: the Supreme Council of Ayatollahs. These religious leaders have prevented basic civil rights by repressing minorities, banning freedom of speech and assembly, and executing individuals for violations of Islamic Law. They also have a veto over the candidacy of any politician running for office, meaning that they can effectively prevent any politician who wishes to push Iran in a different direction than they do. Iran has become increasingly religious and apocalyptic in its world view.
Which of the two Israelite kingdoms went into exile first - Israel or Judah?
Israel, comprising ten of the twelve Jewish tribes, was exiled 133 years before Judah was exiled.
