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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
What does Israel transliterate into?
The correct transliteration of the Hebrew word is 'Yisroel'. Israel is the anglicised version of the Hebrew.
How long would it take to get to the holy land to England in 1290?
Whether by land or by sea, months. Your only choices for overland
transportation were: Ride on an animal, ride in a wagon pulled by an
animal, or walk.
Who did israel capture the Gaza strip from and when?
Since 1948 to 1967 Gaza strip was occupied by Egypt and Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem ( what some people out of ignorance call "West bank") were occupied by Jordan. In 20 years neither Egypt nor Jordan moved a finger to create any "palestinian State", and what is curious: it did not even occur to Arabs who lived in Gaza , Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem to demand it.
In 1967 Arabs attacked Israel again. In six days Israel totally defeated the armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan( that is why this war is often referred to as the Six-Day war) - and liberated the historical Jewish land of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. As Egypt refused to accept the responsibility for Gaza, Israel had to figure as the Occupying Power, although Israel from the start offered Gaza to Egypt. This situation continued until 2005, when Israel in a unilateral move withdrew from Gaza.
Since then, there is not a single Israeli citizen there, neither military nor civilian.
Gaza is ruled by the Islamic terrorist group called Hamas that since 2006 to 2009 were continuously launching rockets and mortar shells on the cities situated in the South of Israel. The total number of rockets launched by Hamas terrorists from Gaza on Israeli civilians since 2006 to 2009 exceeded 6,000, which made Israel first establish the naval blockade of Gaza and then launch the anti-terrorist operation "Cast lead". In the course of the anti-terrorist operation, Hamas suffered a heavy blow an until 2011 was relatively quiet. However, in 2011, with Iran´s support, Hamas re-armed and prepared for the second round. The attacks on Israeli cities from Gaza resumed and intensified and in 2012 Israel launched another anti-terrorist operation against Hamas called "Pillar of Cloud". After getting another heavy blow, Hamas asked for the Armistice, and now both sides keep it.
There are no "issues of the Holocaust". The Holocaust was an event that took six years in Europe (1939-1945) where the Nazi German government and its collaborators primarily targetted the Jewish population in the territories they occuppied for extermination, but also murdered nearly as many Non-Jews, for a total of 11 million dead (6 million Jews and 5 million Non-Jews).
Unfortunately, most Palestinians (like most other Arabs) are either (1) ignorant of the Holocaust, (2) believe incorrectly that the number of dead in the Holocaust is orders of magnitude smaller (100,000 or so), or (3) believe that the State of Israel was awarded to the Jews as recompense for the Holocaust - forcing the Arabs to "pick up the tab" for Europe's mistake. With regards to (1), the Arab media and the leaders of the Arab World intentionally ignore or mute discussion of the Holocaust and can be directly faulted for the mass ignorance of their people. With regards to (2), willful denial is a serious issue that plagues the Arab World and should be combatted with education (which requires (1) to be ameliorated.
With regards to (3), this is a much thornier issue, because many of the nations at the United Nations who approved UNGA Resolution 181 (II) did so in response to the Holocaust. It jolted them to the reality of the violence in Anti-Semitism. However, those votes did not create Israel; the Jewish Community of Palestine (the Yishuv) was already well-established before the Holocaust in 1939 and the Zionist movement existed all the way to the 1890s. The momentum to create a Jewish State was already beginning in the 1920s with the San Remo Conference of 1920 and the Declaration of the British Mandate for Palestine in 1922. The Holocaust was a tragedy in Jewish history but its occurrence played no role in the Jews' wishing to live in the State of Israel nor their creation of the state.
What were the results of the Israel-PLO Conflict?
Thousands dead and the Oslo Accords of 1993, granting the PLO the authority to form the Palestinian Authority and negotiate with Israel over the future of the Palestinian people.
Do Israeli people have blood-type O?
Not all Israelis are blood-type O, but there are certainly some who are.
What is the difference between Israel and Mesopotamia?
Though both are in the Middle East, they are two different regions. Israel borders the Mediterranean Sea, while Mesopotamia is the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (present-day Iraq).
What conflict caused Israel to split into two kingdoms?
After Solomon's death, the people approached his son Rehav'am (Rehoboam) and asked that he now lower the tax. He ignored the counsel of his elder advisers and refused the people's request. This led the Ten Tribes to turn away from him (1 Kings ch.12).
The background reason was because King Solomon had been less than perfectly righteous. This led God to punish him by diminishing his dynasty in the lifetime of his son (Rehoboam). 1 Kings ch.11. A deeper reason is that God wanted the more righteous people of Judah to be influenced by the Ten Tribes as little as possible.
Centuries later, by 738 B.C.E., both kingdoms faced new threats to their independence from the Assyrians. The Assyrians forced Israel and Judah to pay tribute. In 722 B.C.E., Assyria invaded Israel, whose army was weak, and conquered it. The kingdom of Israel ended. Around 612 B.C.E., the Assyrian Empire fell to the Babylonians.
For many years, King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylonia. In 586 B.C.E., Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. When Judah's leaders resisted his rule, the Babylonians destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. They took hundreds of thousands of Jews to Babylon, some as slaves.
What Arab countries are the most democratic?
If current Tunisia continues to behave the way it did in the previous election by the time the next election comes, the Arab World will have added "Modern Functional Democracy" to its list of various regime types. However, up to the present day there are no Arab States that are Liberal Democracies.
There are numerous Illiberal Democracies in the Arab World, though. In those cases, the Arab Nations were Liberal Democracies on paper with guaranteed voting rights, freedoms of speech and religion, constitutions that bind the authority of the Executive. However, in nearly every Arab regime that this describes (like Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Mubarak's Egypt, ben Ali's Tunisia) these paper rights and limitations did not exist. These rulers used an apparent mechanism of democracy to perpetuate a dictatorship.
No. The United States has invaded enough countries in recent memory. It does not need to launch a war against a regional ally.
In first century Israel what were Vessels of Honor and Vessels of Dishonor?
NOTE on the QUESTION...
These phrases are used symbolically in the Bible (Romans 9 and 2 Timothy 2); but I'm wondering what the metaphors were actually rooted in. Were there actually such vessels in ancient homes and what was their literal usage?
The Greek phrases used are, "σκεῦος εἰς τιμή" (vessel for honor) and "σκεῦος εἰς ἀτιμία" (vessel for disonor).
Edited Side Note:
This is in regard to mentioned scripture Romans 9 and the honor system of the first century.
In the first century honor was foundational to the society. Children were raised to seek honor and avoid disgrace, and this honor would come from the pronouncement of a person's worth by his peers. It was actually common and quite acceptable for men to boast about their deeds, which if accurate would bring them more honor. (But if inaccurate would simply make them look like a fool) As for Romans 9, verse 21 it was referring to mankind as the vessel, and God as the potter. In this chapter Paul was talking to the church in Rome about God's power over our lives and how He makes us how He wishes. (He gives the example with pharaoh) A question is returned about the justice behind our free-will and His judgment and Paul uses the example with the potter and the clay. The clay has no right to tell the potter how or what to make it into, implying the same how we have no right to tell God how He should make us. Thus he says God can make some "vessels" (men/women) for honor, while others for dishonor depending on His will.
Can Arabs serve in the Israeli armed serves?
Yes, Israeli Arabs can served in the Israeli armed services. However, they are not required to do so, it's on a voluntary basis.
Israeli Arab minorities like the Druze and the Circassians do have mandatory male service in the Israeli army. The Bedouins serve voluntarily, but have a relatively high service rate. It is ethnic Palestinians, especially ethnic Muslim Palestinians, who often do not serve in the Israeli Army. Many of them, especially in the older generation, see service in the Israeli Army as a betrayal of their ethnic Palestinian nature.
Why did the Jews receive the modern state of Israel?
It is important to note that Jews did not "receive" Israel as if it were some sort of pre-wrapped gift. Israel was created in 1948 by its own leaders and citizens. What the United Nations and the International Community did provide was the legal legitimacy for the Jews to declare a State. There are several reasons why they felt this way.
1) Be Gone & Good Riddance: (written by someone else) Many nations looked on with favor and relief, assuming that all Jews would eventually migrate there, and the nations would finally be rid of them. But even that fond hope was not enough for most Muslim nations, who bitterly opposed the creation of Israel, and after 64 years, still do.
2) Holocaust Pity: The Holocaust bore out two major truths as concerned the Jewish people. The first was that without a government loyal to their interests, they could easily be targeted against and brutally murdered. The second major truth was that such an event was no longer a hypothetical since 6 million Jews were intentionally mass-murdered by what had previously been seen as one of the most progressive modern countries: Germany.
3) Middle East Control: Although it seems odd to say it today, both the United States and the Soviet Union believed that Israel could be converted to "their side" in the Cold War. Given that any Jewish State in the Arab World would be isolated, it would be natural for such a state to create a strategic relationship with one of the major powers. Additionally, a Jewish State might be able to influence neighboring Arab states and make them more pliant as concerns oil shipments. Both the USA and USSR supported the Creation of the State of Israel for these strategic reasons.
4) Solidarity with the Oppressed: Many nations in Latin America supported Israel because they sympathized with the oppressed Jewish people and saw the Independence of Israel as akin to their wars against Spain/Portugal and the internal fights for more indigenous equality.
5) Because It's the Right Thing to Do: There was certainly support for a Jewish State because some just saw it as the proper thing to return Palestine to the Jews. Churchill, who was no longer Prime Minister, held many pro-Zionist views out of respect for the Jews and their contribution to that region of the world.
6) Diplomatic Pressure: Both the United States and Soviet Union pressured their allies and third world countries to support the United Nations Resolution. This does not make the vote any less valid, but is worth noting.
What is the use of the Israel retractor?
Israel retractors are used to retract thick soft tissue during surgical procedures.
Can biafra be recorganize and when?
It is still possible to have Biafra, because the ills that brought about the proclamation of the state of Biafra from Nigeria are still very much alive and being sustained by who created the problems. There is also growing awarness on the side of the entire people that made up what was call Eastern Nigeria that the Biafran state would have prvided for them better than Nigeria does. Biafra will emerge but in a different way other than civil war. This time around it is more likely to be through the ballot box.
