Israel

Situated at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel spans barely one hundred kilometres at its widest point, yet within its borders lie deserts, fertile valleys, ancient cities and modern metropolises. Bounded by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, and touching both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, this slender nation occupies land that has witnessed millennia of human endeavour, conquest and renewal. Its declared capital is Jerusalem, while Tel Aviv pulses with commerce, culture and innovation. Though modest in scale, Israel’s landscapes and histories unfold with such density that they defy any simple account.

Stretching from the Negev Desert in the south through the Judaean and Samarian highlands to the verdant slopes of the Galilee, Israel’s terrain reveals stark contrasts. The Negev, which covers more than half the land under full sovereignty, is etched by wind‑carved makhteshim—erosion craters such as Ramon, some thirty‑eight kilometres long. Further north, the Jezreel Valley’s fertile plain opens to low coastal hills, while the inland ridge culminates in Jerusalem’s plateau at roughly seven hundred and fifty metres. Eastward lies the Jordan Rift Valley, part of the great rift system extending from Syria to Mozambique. Here the Jordan River threads from snow‑dusted Mount Hermon through the Sea of Galilee before tumbling into the Dead Sea, the planet’s lowest surface point. The coastal plain, narrow but populous, gives way south of Eilat to the Arabah and the Gulf, where desert meets the warm waters of the Red Sea.

Israel’s climate shifts equally dramatically. Along the Mediterranean coast, winters are mild and rainy, summers long and sun‑soaked. Inland, the semi‑arid Negev endures hot days and cool nights, while its southern reaches verge on true desert, where annual rainfall barely exceeds a few dozen millimetres. Snow falls most years on high peaks, including Jerusalem’s environs; in 1942, the kibbutz of Tirat Zvi recorded a blistering 54 °C. Rainfall gathers between October and April, fuelling aquifers and human agriculture, yet dwindling water resources have driven Israeli ingenuity: drip irrigation, solar water heating and desalination rank among the nation’s creative responses to scarcity.

Beneath its shifting skies, Israel hosts remarkable biodiversity. Four terrestrial ecoregions—Mediterranean forests to Arabian desert scrub—support nearly 2,900 plant species, more than any other country per square metre in the Mediterranean Basin. Forest cover has risen from 2 percent in 1948 to over 8 percent today, thanks chiefly to replanting efforts. Some 380 nature reserves punctuate the landscape, preserving endemic shrubs, migratory birds and rare wildlife that gather along Africa‑Eurasia flyways. In the Gulf of Eilat, coral reefs teem with underwater life, while the Dead Sea’s hyper‑saline waters permit only hardy microbes.

Human presence here stretches back to the Canaanites, whose settlements once dotted the coastal and highland zones. Over centuries, kingdoms rose and fell: ancient Israel and Judah, Hellenistic realms, Roman provinces, crusader enclaves, Ottoman districts. Each wave left fortresses, cisterns and temples, now revealed in archaeological parks across the land. Megiddo and Hatzor cradle subterranean water tunnels hewn by Israelites around the first millennium BCE; Caesarea’s amphitheatre and Beit She’an’s colonnaded streets evoke Roman grandeur; Masada crowns a rugged hill by the Dead Sea, memorial to a Jewish rebellion and later a symbol of resilience.

The modern State of Israel emerged amid the upheavals of the twentieth century. Zionism, galvanized by rising European antisemitism, sought a national homeland in Palestine. British mandate policies alternately encouraged and restricted Jewish immigration. Intercommunal tensions erupted into civil conflict following the 1947 United Nations partition proposal, rejected by Arab leaders. On 14 May 1948, Israel declared its independence. In the brief war that ensued, neighbouring Arab states invaded. By the 1949 armistice agreements, Israel held some seventy‑seven percent of the former mandate, while hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled in what they call the Nakba.

In subsequent decades, Israel’s population swelled as Jewish immigrants arrived from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, including those expelled or fleeing rising nationalist movements. The 1967 Six‑Day War marked another watershed: Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights. Over time, it returned Sinai to Egypt under a peace treaty of 1979, yet annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights—moves recognized by few nations. Peace with Jordan followed in 1994. Interim accords with the Palestinians in 1993 created limited self‑governance in parts of the West Bank and Gaza, but a comprehensive settlement remains elusive. In the 2020s, the Abraham Accords brought formal normalization with several Arab states, further altering regional alignments.

Governance rests on the Basic Laws, which define Israel as a parliamentary democracy. The Knesset, elected by proportional representation, selects the prime minister—head of government—and the president, largely ceremonial. While the country boasts one of Asia’s highest standards of living and ranks twenty‑fifth globally by nominal gross domestic product, its political landscape is complex. Coalition governments often span parties from secular liberals to religious conservatives, reflecting deep societal divides over the balance of Jewish tradition and democratic values.

Economic dynamism is among Israel’s defining traits. Despite scant natural resources, heavy investment in agriculture, technology and industry has propelled it from austerity to prosperity. Israel spends more on research and development relative to its economy than any other nation, earning its “start‑up nation” moniker. It hosts the world’s second‑highest number of startups after the United States and ranks third in NASDAQ‑listed firms. Intel and Microsoft established their first overseas R&D centres here; today, multinational giants and domestic innovators alike drive breakthroughs in cybersecurity, medical devices, artificial intelligence and renewable energy.

Agriculture, once limited by arid soils, has flourished through drip irrigation, greenhouse technologies and biotechnology. Israel achieved near self‑sufficiency in many crops—citrus, olives, dates—though grains and beef remain imports. Exports exceed a hundred billion dollars annually, spanning machinery, software, pharmaceuticals, cut diamonds and agricultural produce. Tourism, too, is vital: in 2017, a record 3.6 million visitors arrived, drawn by religious, historical and natural attractions.

Transportation infrastructure mirrors the nation’s growth. Over 19,000 kilometres of paved roads link cities and towns, while rail lines, revitalized since the 1990s, carried over fifty million passengers in 2015. Three international airports—Ben Gurion, Ramon and Haifa—connect Israel globally, with Ben Gurion alone handling more than twenty‑one million passengers in 2023. Ports at Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat facilitate cargo and leisure vessels alike.

Demographically, Israel counts some 9 million inhabitants. Jews form approximately 74 percent, Arabs about 21 percent, and other groups the remainder. Within the Jewish majority, religious identities range from secular (Hiloni) to ultra‑Orthodox (Haredi), the latter group growing swiftly and projected to exceed 20 percent of Jewish Israelis by 2028. Arabic, once an official language, now holds special status alongside Hebrew; English, Russian, Amharic and French are widely spoken, reflecting the tapestry of immigrant communities from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia and North Africa.

Religious diversity extends beyond demographic statistics into the very geography of belief. Jerusalem’s walled Old City contains landmarks sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity: the Western Wall, the al‑Aqsa Mosque compound and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee and Safed attract Christian and Jewish pilgrims alike, while the Baha’i World Centre in Haifa adorns terraced gardens above the Mediterranean. Druze pilgrimage sites, Armenian enclaves and emerging devotional movements contribute further layers to the spiritual landscape.

Cultural life in Israel interweaves Jewish traditions with Arab influences. Music ranges from the Sephardi chants of Sefardic Jews to the percussion of Mizrahi songs, while Arabic maqam informs many local melodies. Architecture recalls Ottoman domes alongside Bauhaus townhouses in Tel Aviv, known as the White City. Cuisine, too, is a fusion: falafel, hummus and shakshouka share menus with schnitzel and cakes brought by European immigrants, all enlivened by za’atar, olive oil and fresh produce. Roughly half of Jewish households observe kosher dietary laws; nevertheless, pork farms and non‑kosher fish find a niche in a largely secular market.

Daily life is shaped by the Hebrew calendar. The official rest day is Saturday, the Sabbath, when public transport in many areas ceases and shops close. Workweeks run Sunday through Thursday—some sectors include Friday as a half‑day—while national holidays mark agricultural, historical and religious milestones. Social norms prize directness in communication, a trait sometimes perceived as brusque by outsiders but valued domestically for its clarity.

Visitors encounter both warm hospitality and firm boundaries. Strangers often offer help freely, yet certain behaviours—improper attire in religious quarters, photography in Haredi neighbourhoods during the Sabbath—invite rebuke. In Jerusalem’s Orthodox enclaves, for instance, modest dress is required and vehicles are banned from streets on Saturday. Tourism guides underscore respectful conduct as essential to positive exchanges.

Navigating Israel’s complexities—its contested territories, its diverse populace, its spirited public debates—demands openness and curiosity. The West Bank and Gaza remain under varying degrees of Israeli control and Palestinian administration, with international law deeming settlement expansion there illegal. East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights stand annexed, though most countries do not recognize these moves. Conversations about politics or the Israeli–Palestinian conflict can be charged, reflecting convictions born of history and hardship.

Yet alongside these tensions lies an impulse toward innovation, coexistence and preservation. Water‑saving technologies pioneered here now serve arid regions worldwide; urban renewal projects in Tel Aviv preserve Bauhaus heritage while fostering creative startup hubs. Environmental initiatives aim to combat climate change’s looming threats, from expanding solar energy to protecting dwindling wetlands. Academic institutions, hospitals and cultural festivals draw visitors and participants from across the globe.

In less than a century, Israel has transformed from a fledgling state into one of the world’s most technologically advanced societies, while stewarding ancient ruins and sacred sites that echo with layers of human story. Its peaks and valleys, deserts and coasts, cities and kibbutzim offer countless stages upon which to witness resilience, reinvention and complexity. For the traveller—or the scholar, or the pilgrim—Israel resists any single narrative. Its essence emerges in the interplay of past and present, faith and modernity, conflict and creativity, all compressed into a land so small that sometimes the sea, the desert and the city seem to touch at a single horizon.