10
yom ha’atzmaut
May 2019
Modern Israel at a Glance
An overview of the Jewish state and its many accomplishments and challenges.
I
srael is a small country, covering roughly 8,000 square miles and home to 8.65 million people. But it plays a disproportionately large role on the world stage — a function of its longstanding conflict with its Arab neighbors, its vast accomplishments in the high-tech sector and its religious significance for the world’s three monotheistic religions. And while its population is overwhelmingly Jewish, it is also extremely diverse, representing a wide range of religious and ethnic identities.
Religious Outlook Of Israeli Jews (Self-Identified)
Religious Identity of Israel’s NonJewish Citizens
Traditional: 37 percent
Christian: 9 percent
Religious (Orthodox): 11 percent
Druze: 9 percent
Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox): 9 percent
Other: 4 percent
Secular: 43 percent
Muslim: 82 percent
DEMOGRAPHICS
S
eventy-five percent of Israel’s citizens are Jewish, and 25 percent are nonJews, of which most are Arab. Since its founding, Israel has welcomed millions of Jewish immigrants from all over the world, with large immigration waves from Europe in the late 1940s, from North Africa and the Middle East in the 1950s, from Ethiopia in the 1980s and ’90s and from the former Soviet Union in the ’90s. All Jews who settle in Israel are entitled to citizenship under the Law of Return.
ECONOMY I
DISTINCTIONS
srael has a highly developed industrial economy with a GDP of $311 billion in 2016, the 35th largest in the world. Its GDP per capita is nearly $35,000, ahead of several European countries. Its dominant sectors include hightechnology, where the “start-up nation” has emerged as one of the world’s most dominant players, attracting many of the largest tech companies to establish research facilities. Israel is also among the world’s largest exporters of military hardware and technology and is a major center for diamond cutting and pharmaceuticals.
• Israel was the third country to elect a female head of state, Golda Meir, who served as prime minister from 1969-1974. (The first two were Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] and India, in 1960 and 1966 respectively.) • Israel’s largest city, Tel Aviv, is considered an international hub for LGBTQ culture. Its annual gay pride celebration, which draws tens of thousands of Israelis and tourists, lasts a full week , with a parade that attracts more than 150,000 and is the largest such parade in Asia. In 2016, Tel Aviv was pronounced “the gayest city on earth” by the Boston Globe.
Thanks in large part to its rich history and numerous biblical and other archaeological sites, Israel enjoys a vibrant tourism industry. It has welcomed approximately 3 million tourists annually in recent years, although the number fluctuates significantly depending on the political situation and the level of violence and terrorism.
CULTURE
I
srael’s official languages are Hebrew and Arabic. The country boasts several internationally translated writers, and has a diverse array of cultural institutions, such as orchestras, dance troupes, theater companies and museums — the highest number of museums per capita in the world. The country’s film and television industries have gained international attention in recent years, with several TV shows adapted into American programs or broadcast internationally via streaming services like Netflix. Israeli cuisine, with its mix of cultural influences and use of fresh Mediterranean produce, has also become popular in many Western countries. Sports in Israel is dominated by soccer, but basketball, tennis and other sports also enjoy sizable followings.
GOVERNMENT I
srael is a parliamentary democracy in which parties are awarded legislative seats based on the proportion of votes received. Individual parties rarely earn enough votes to form a legislative majority, and coalition politics are the norm. Elections must take place by law at least every four years, though in practice they occur more often. Israel has no formal constitution, relying instead on a series of Basic Laws that govern the essential functions of state institutions. The executive branch is headed by the prime minister and legislative authority is vested in the parliament, known as the Knesset , which has 120 seats. Israel has an independent judiciary whose highest authority is the Supreme Court.
• Israel has more vegans per capita than any other country. A 2014 survey found that 8 percent of Israelis are vegetarian and nearly 5 percent are vegan, meaning they abstain from all animal products. Just .05 percent of the world’s population is vegan. • Israel has the world’s highest rate of venture capital investment as a percentage of GDP. • Israel ranks 15th globally for overall number of Nobel Prize laureates • Israel is home to both the lowest spot on earth, the Dead Sea, and the world’s lowest freshwater lake, the Sea of Galilee. • After Canada, Israel was the world’s thirdbest educated country in 2017, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Jewish Population By Country/Region of Birth Native born: 70 percent Former Soviet Union: 12 percent Africa: 6 percent Europe: 5 percent Asia: 3 percent North and South America: 3 percent