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Israel
Education
Education
The educational tradition of Israel reaches back to biblical times,
although the country did not become a modern independent state until
1948. During the ancient period, schools on all levels were organized,
and through the centuries elementary and secondary education and, to a
large extent, higher learning continued in Palestine under the various
ruling factions.
The Compulsory Education Law of 1949 provides for free and compulsory
elementary education for all children 5 to 15 years of age. Reform
continued with the State Education Law of 1953, which established a
national system of public secondary schools. Higher education is
governed by a law enacted in 1958, which set up a council to control
universities and other higher educational institutions, such as the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1918); the Technion—Israel Institute of
Technology (1912), in Haifa; Haifa University, also in Haifa; Bar-Ilan
University (1953), in Ramat Gan; Tel Aviv University (1953); Ben Gurion
University of the Negev (1965), in Beersheba; and the Weizmann Institute
of Science (1949), in Rehovot. Students in secondary schools receive aid
from state and local authorities in amounts up to 100 percent of costs,
depending on parents' incomes.
In addition to the secular system of elementary, secondary, and higher
education, a parallel system of Jewish religious schools exists,
culminating in postgraduate schools of independent study and research.
Mission schools conducted by various Christian groups are also widely
attended. An educational problem peculiar to Israel is that of assisting
immigrants of various backgrounds to adjust to Israeli society.
In the late 1980s about 761,400 Israeli children attended elementary
schools, and about 236,400 students were enrolled in general secondary
schools. In addition, about 105,300 students attended vocational
schools, and 98,800 persons were enrolled in institutions of higher
education.
Culture
Israeli culture reflects the diverse background of the people. The most
successful writers draw their inspiration from Jewish tradition. Such
writers have included the novelist Shmuel Yosef Agnon, co-winner of the
1966 Nobel Prize in literature, and the philosopher Martin Buber. The
impetus to create an indigenous Israeli literature is strong, but the
cultural diversity of their compatriots is a problem for Israeli writers
and artists. The foremost orchestra of the nation, the Israel
Philharmonic, attracts each year a number of world-famous conductors and
soloists. A vigorous tradition of folk song, in which the influence of
Oriental Jewish music is strongly felt, thrives in Israel, as does the
dance. The Israel National Theater, in Tel Aviv, is notable.
Israel has more than 130 museums, two of the most prominent being the
Tel Aviv Museum and the Israel Museum, in Jerusalem, which houses a
large collection of Jewish folk art, a collection of modern sculpture,
and biblical and archaeological artifacts. The Shrine of the Book, a
part of the Israel Museum, houses a notable collection of Dead Sea
Scrolls. Of the more than 500 public libraries in the country, the most
important is the Jewish National and University Library on the campus of
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with some 3.5 million
volumes.Israel, republic in the Middle East, established in 1948,
located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Israel is bounded
on the north by Lebanon, on the northeast by Syria, on the east by
Jordan, and on the southwest by Egypt. Its southernmost tip extends to
the Gulf of Aqaba, an arm of the Red Sea. Israel covers 21,946 sq km
(8473 sq mi). This figure includes East Jerusalem, which Israel captured
in the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed shortly afterward. However, most
countries do not recognize the annexation. Israel also seized other
areas during the war, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank region,
and the Golan Heights area of southwestern Syria. However, Palestinian
self-rule took effect in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of
Jericho in May 1994, following an historic peace agreement between
Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in September
1993. Jerusalem is Israel's capital and largest city.
Land and Resources
Israel has an extreme length of about 420 km (about 260 mi) and a width
that varies from about 16 to 115 km (about 10 to 70 mi); it can be
divided into five major topographical areas: the highlands of Galilee,
the Plain of Esdraelon (also called the Plain of Jezreel), the Judean
and Samarian hills, the coastal plains, and the Negev.
The hills of Galilee dominate the northern section of Israel, extending
east about 40 km (about 25 mi) from a narrow coastal plain across to
Lake Tiberias (also called Sea of Galilee). Israel's highest point,
Mount Meron (1208 m/3963 ft), is in this area. To the south of the
highlands of Galilee lies the Plain of Esdraelon, about 55 km (about 35
mi) long and about 25 km (about 15 mi) wide, running across Israel from
the vicinity of Haifa on the Mediterranean coast to the Jordan River.
Formerly a malarial swampland, the valley has been drained and is now a
densely populated and productive agricultural region.
Extending about 195 km (about 120 mi) along the Mediterranean, the
coastal plains range from a width of less than 1 km (0.6 mi) to a
maximum of about 32 km (about 20 mi). They consist of the Plain of
Zevulun, extending about 16 km (about 10 mi) north of Haifa along the
Bay of Haifa; the Plain of Sharon, extending south from the vicinity of
Haifa to Tel Aviv-Jaffa; and the Plain of Judea, from Tel Aviv-Jaffa to
the city of Gaza. The coastal plains contain most of Israel's large
cities, industry, and commerce. The Judean Hills, and north of them the
Samarian Hills, form a barrier running north and south throughout most
of Israel.
The Negev is a desert region to the south. The desert extends north from
the Gulf of Aqaba to a line from the southern end of the Dead Sea to the
Mediterranean, passing just south of Beersheba.
The chief river of Israel is the Jordan. It descends from Mount Hermon
on the Lebanon-Syrian border to Lake Tiberias, some 209 m (some 686 ft)
below sea level, and ultimately into the Dead Sea, approximately 395 m
(approximately 1296 ft) below sea level, the lowest point in Israel.
The coastline of Israel has few indentations. The only natural harbor on
the Mediterranean is Haifa, on the Bay of Haifa. A new port, Ashdod, has
been created in the south.
Climate
The climate of Israel is generally subtropical, with rainfall generally
limited to the winter months. In January, temperatures average 9° C (48°
F) in Jerusalem and 14° C (57° F) in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. In July, the
average temperature is 23° C (73° F) in Jerusalem and 27° C (81° F) in
Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Rainfall is poorly distributed, varying from about 1015
mm (about 40 in) annually in Galilee to about 541 mm (21.3 in) in Tel
Aviv-Jaffa and approximately 25 mm (approximately 1 in) at the southern
port of Elat.
Natural Resources
Known in biblical times as a land of milk and honey, the area that is
now Israel has more recently been regarded as barren and infertile.
Israel has both mineral and agricultural resources, however. Geological
surveys have indicated that minerals in the Negev include the following:
copper, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, granite, marble, mica,
feldspar, gypsum, glass, flint clay, and ball clay. Commercially
exploitable deposits of petroleum and natural gas in the Negev have also
been discovered. Vast quantities of bromine and potash are available in
the waters of the Dead Sea, and some peat and iron ore are to be found
in Galilee.
The soil of Israel is generally poor, but along the coastal plain are
rich alluvial soils, and the lands reclaimed from the swamps of the
Plain of Esdraelon are also extremely fertile.
Plants and Animals
The plant life of Israel is different in three distinct regions: the
Mediterranean coast, the Asian steppe, and the desert regions of the
Arabian Peninsula. The country has about 2500 species of plants, most of
them xerophytic—that is, able to survive prolonged dry spells.
Economically valuable products include citrus fruit, bananas, cotton,
tobacco, grapes, dates, figs, olives, plums, and almonds. Dwarf oak and
various other deciduous and coniferous trees have increased in number in
recent years. Over 200 million trees have been planted in Israel since
1948, and today reforested areas cover about 6 percent of the land.
The wildlife of Israel includes about 100 species of mammals and about
400 species of birds. Chief among the beasts of prey are the otter,
wolf, mongoose, jackal, and hyena. Gazelles, porcupines, and hedgehogs
are plentiful. Locusts, although not native to the area, invade it
periodically.
Water
The water supply of Israel is extremely limited and unevenly
distributed. The exploitation and allocation of water resources are the
responsibility of Mekorot, the national water-supply authority, the
responsibilities of which include the preservation of floodwaters,
purification of sewage, location and use of all natural deposits of
sweet water, and the desalinization of brackish and saline water. The
National Water Carrier, which is made up of canals, pipelines, and
tunnels, brings water to the Negev from Lake Tiberias.
Population
The population of Israel is predominantly urban and, although about 83
percent Jewish, contains a remarkable racial, cultural, and ethnic
diversity. More than half of the Jews in Israel are Israeli-born (called
Sabras), but their immediate forebears came from more than 100 different
countries and spoke, among them, about 85 different languages or major
dialects. Major groupings include the Ashkenazim, whose forebears lived
in European countries in the Middle Ages; Sephardim, some of whose
ancestors once lived in the Iberian Peninsula; and other people who
moved to Israel from North Africa and the Middle East. About 17 percent
of Israel's population is Arab.
Population Characteristics
The population of Israel was estimated at about 5.3 million in 1994. The
overall population density was about 242 people per sq km (about 626 per
sq mi). Non-Jews amounted to about 17 percent of the total population.
Muslims formed a majority among the non-Jewish population; Christians
and Druses composed most of the remaining population. The country is
overwhelmingly urban, with nearly 92 percent of the population living in
communities of 2000 or more inhabitants.
Political Divisions
Israel is divided into six administrative districts: Central District,
Haifa, Jerusalem, the Northern District, the Southern District, and Tel
Aviv. Each is administered by a commissioner appointed by the minister
of the interior. In practice the influence of the central government is
directly evident in every part of the country. Local government is
carried out through municipal, local, and regional councils.
Principal Cities
The capital and largest city of Israel is Jerusalem (population, 1990
estimate, 524,500, including the Old City). Other major cities include
Tel Aviv-Jaffa (339,400), an industrial center; Haifa (245,900), the
country's busiest seaport; and Holon (156,700) and Ramat Gan (119,500),
both manufacturing centers.
Religion
The affairs of the three major religions, Judaism, Islam, and
Christianity, are overseen by the ministry of religious affairs through
councils established by the various religions. Jewish holy days and the
Sabbath are, by law, observed throughout the country, and only kosher
food is served in the army, hospitals, and other official institutions.
About 82 percent of Israel's Arabs are Muslim, and most of the rest are
Christian.
Languages
Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages. The most widely spoken
language is Hebrew, but Arabic is also used in schools, in legal
affairs, and in the legislature. Many people speak English, Yiddish,
Russian, or any of a number of other European languages.
Economy
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Israeli economy was beset by a very high
annual rate of inflation and by a chronic foreign trade imbalance. High
expenditures were devoted to arms and to the task of absorbing large
numbers of immigrants. Living standards are generally high in Israel. In
the early 1990s, the annual national budget included revenue of about
$33.9 billion and expenditure of about $36.8 billion.
Agriculture
Israeli agriculture meets some three-fourths of the national food needs,
and certain items, chiefly citrus fruit and eggs, are exported.
Agricultural production in the early 1990s included about 887,000 metric
tons of oranges, 523,000 metric tons of tomatoes, 213,000 metric tons of
potatoes, 291,000 metric tons of wheat, 104,000 metric tons of apples,
66,300 metric tons of melons, 48,000 metric tons of avocados, and 98,000
metric tons of grapes. The livestock population included 331,000 cattle,
375,000 sheep, 115,000 goats, and 27 million chickens.
The success of Israeli agriculture has been made possible by reliance on
scientific research and advanced technology, particularly in land
reclamation and irrigation programs. Israeli farming settlements are
organized into three principal types. In the collective settlement
(kibbutz), people share equally in the work and its profits. In the
cooperative settlement (moshav), individual farms are worked separately
but the produce is pooled and marketed by the settlement. In the
smallholders' settlement (moshava), individual farms are worked as
private enterprises. The first two types of settlement are established
on land owned by one of the various colonizing organizations,
principally the Jewish National Fund, and leased to the settlers.
Forestry and Fishing
A major portion of the land reclamation and conservation program in
Israel is afforestation, or the establishment of forest cover, mainly in
the hilly areas; by the early 1990s about 6 percent of Israel was
forested. During the same period the annual fish catch was about 26,100
metric tons. More than half of this quantity consisted of freshwater
fish raised mainly in artificial fishponds.
Mining
The chief assets of the Israeli mining industry are the huge quantities
of potash, bromine, magnesium, and other minerals extracted from the
salt deposits of the Dead Sea. Potash production in the early 1990s
amounted to about 2.1 million metric tons annually; some 2.5 million
tons of phosphate rock were produced yearly. Extensive quarrying of
marble and granite meets domestic construction needs. The output of
crude petroleum supplies less than 1 percent of Israel's consumption.
Manufacturing
Factories are mainly concentrated in Haifa and Tel Aviv-Jaffa, although
an important industrial complex is developing around the new port of
Ashdod. The principal industrial products are processed food, beverages,
and tobacco; chemical, petroleum, and coal products, metal products,
textiles and clothing, construction materials, precision instruments,
and electronic equipment. Wines and olive oil are also produced, and the
diamond-processing industry flourishes.
Energy
All of Israel's electricity is generated in thermal facilities. In the
late 1980s the country had an installed electricity generating capacity
of about 4.1 million kilowatts and annual output was some 17.5 billion
kilowatt-hours. All new homes in Israel are required to install solar
panels for heating water.
Currency and Banking
Israel has a flourishing banking industry. The official bank, the Bank
of Israel, issues currency and is the sole bank of the government. The
unit of currency is the new shekel, consisting of 100 agorot (2.54
shekel equal U.S.$1; 1994).
Foreign Trade
Each year Israel usually spends much more on imports than it earns from
exports; in the early 1990s annual imports cost about $19.6 billion, and
exports earned about $11.8 billion. The principal imports are rough
diamonds, military equipment, crude petroleum and petroleum products,
machinery and machine parts, chemicals, iron and steel, transportation
equipment, and foodstuffs. The leading exports are processed diamonds,
chemicals, citrus fruit, textiles and clothing, fabricated metal, and
machinery and machine parts. Israel's main trade partners are the United
States, countries of the European Union (formerly the European
Community), Japan, Canada, Switzerland, and Hong Kong. Much foreign
exchange is derived from expenditures by foreign tourists in Israel as
well as from the donations of Jews living in other countries, especially
the United States. During the late 1980s, Israel was the principal
beneficiary of U.S. foreign aid, receiving about $3 billion annually.
Transportation
Haifa and the artificial harbor at Ashdod are the chief Israeli ports. A
third port is Elat, on the Gulf of Aqaba. Railroads are state-owned and
operate on about 530 km (about 330 mi) of main-line track. There are
some 13,351 km (some 8296 mi) of roads. Most passenger and freight
transportation within Israel is by truck and automobile. In addition to
its own airline El Al, Israel is served by several other international
airlines. Internal service is supplied by Arkia airlines. The principal
airport is at Ben Gurion, outside Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Communications
The Israel Broadcasting Authority provides domestic and international
radio services and domestic television service. The country also has a
separate national educational television network. Postal, telephone, and
telegraph services are operated by the government.
Israel has more than 25 daily newspapers, the most influential being
Ha'aretz, Davar, Ma'ariv, Yedioth Aharonoth, and the Jerusalem Post.
Many other periodicals also are issued. Tel Aviv is the leading
publishing center.
Labor
The total number of persons employed in the early 1990s was about 1.7
million, of whom roughly one-third were women. The most distinctive
feature of Israeli labor is the Histadrut, the General Federation of
Labor. In the late 1980s it had an estimated 1.6 million members, of
whom 11 percent were Arabs. The Histadrut not only functions as a labor
union but is also one of the largest employers in the country, with a
variety of commercial and industrial enterprises.
Government
Israel is a parliamentary republic with supreme authority vested in the
legislature. The nation has no written constitution, but a number of
laws passed by the parliament regulate how the government operates.
Executive
Israel's head of state, the president, is elected by the legislature for
a five-year term. The president has little power. The country's main
executive body is a cabinet of about 25 ministers headed by a prime
minister. The cabinet remains in office as long as it retains the
confidence of the legislature. However, beginning in 1996, when the next
national elections are scheduled, the prime minister will be chosen by
popular vote.
Legislature
The Israeli legislature, or Knesset, is a unicameral body of 120 members
elected for four years under a system of proportional representation.
All citizens 18 years of age and over are entitled to vote.
Political Parties
Two major political alignments were dominant as Israel entered the
1990s. These were the Likud, a conservative group formed in 1973 by the
merger of several organizations, including the Gahal and Free Center
parties; and the Israel Labor Party, a social-democratic grouping
established in 1968 with the merger of the Mapai, Rafi, and Achdut
Ha'avoda parties. The third largest party in the Knesset is Meretz, a
coalition of leftist groups. Shas, a party of Orthodox Sephardic Jews,
is currently the religious group with the largest representation in the
Knesset. Other parties represented in the legislature included the
National Religious party (NRP), formed in 1956 to advocate strict
adherence to the Jewish religion and tradition; Agudat Israel, a party
of Orthodox Jews founded in 1912; and about two dozen other groups
ranging from the extreme right to the extreme left.
Judiciary
Israel has two court systems, one civil and one religious. The civil
court consists of a supreme court, the chief administrative and highest
appellate court of the land. Beneath it are the district courts, which
hear major civil and criminal cases and appeals from lower courts, and
magistrates and municipal courts, which have limited jurisdiction.
Religious courts have control of marriage, divorce, alimony, and
confirmation of wills.
Defense
In the early 1990s Israel maintained a standing army of 176,000 members
and an additional 430,000 in army reserve forces. Men and women are
inducted into the army at age 18. Men serve for a period of three years;
women serve for two. Annual reserve duty for men continues until age 55,
and averages between 1 and 2 months a year. Most Arab citizens are
exempt from military service, as are some religious Jews. An air force
of about 32,000 persons equipped with some 575 first-line jet planes
(many Israeli-made) and a 10,000-member navy augment the land forces.
Health and Welfare
The overall administrative and coordinating authority is the ministry of
health. Medical insurance funds are largely private or cooperative, the
largest, covering two of every three Israelis, being run by the
Histadrut, the Israeli labor federation. The government provides
insurance, pensions, maternity benefits, and aid to dependent children.
Average life expectancy at birth was 77 years in the early 1990s.
History
Although the state of Israel (Medinat Israel) declared its independence
on May 14, 1948, its modern history begins with the Zionist movement
started by Theodor Herzl at Basel, Switzerland, in 1897. Israel's basic
ideology, many of its contemporary political institutions and parties,
and the individuals who established it came from the Zionist movement,
which adopted as its goal the creation “for the Jewish people [of] a
home in Palestine secured by public law.” For more details on the
Zionist movement, see ZIONISM. For previous history of the territory
that is now Israel, see PALESTINE.
The Period Before Independence
The number of Jews in Palestine was small in the early 20th century; it
increased from 12,000 in 1845 to nearly 85,000 by 1914. Most people in
Palestine were Arabic-speaking Muslims and Christians. Support for the
Zionist movement came largely from Jews in Europe and North America.
By World War I (1914-1918) the Zionist movement had won backing from
Great Britain, which wanted support from world Jewry for its struggle
against Germany. The British government therefore issued the Balfour
Declaration on November 2, 1917, in the form of a letter to a British
Zionist leader from the foreign secretary Arthur J. Balfour: “His
Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of
a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best
endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being
clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the
civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in
Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any
other country.”
The Jewish Community Under the Mandate
After World War I the terms of the Balfour Declaration were included in
the mandate for Palestine approved by the League of Nations in 1922. The
mandate entrusted Great Britain with administering Palestine and with
assisting the Jewish people in “reconstituting their national home in
that country.”
Large-scale Jewish settlement and development of extensive Zionist
agricultural and industrial enterprises in Palestine began during the
British mandatory period, which lasted until 1948. The Jewish community,
or Yishuv, increased tenfold during this era, especially during the
1930s, when large numbers of Jews fled Europe to escape persecution by
the Nazis. Tel Aviv became the country's largest all-Jewish city, dozens
of other towns and villages were founded, and hundreds of Jewish
agricultural collectives (kibbutzim) and cooperatives were established.
Many Jewish political parties founded in Eastern Europe as part of the
world Zionist movement developed bases in mandatory Palestine. They
included labor, orthodox religious, and nationalist groups whose leaders
emigrated from Europe and after 1948 became political leaders and
officials in the new Jewish state.
The Yishuv extended its democratic, representative institutions after
World War I. Among these institutions was an elected assembly with a
National Council that managed the community's day-to-day affairs in
education, health, social welfare, and other services. Jewish religious
life was supervised by a Rabbinical Council that controlled marriage,
divorce, and other family matters. Local government institutions were
also developed to run the city of Tel Aviv and many smaller Jewish
settlements. The educational system, cultivating Hebrew language and
culture, expanded, and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem was founded.
The World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Palestine
assisted the Yishuv by raising funds abroad, recruiting Jewish
immigrants, and seeking political support from Western governments.
Arab and Jewish Revolts
British officials, under the high commissioner for Palestine appointed
by the government in London, were responsible for defense and security,
immigration, postal service, transportation, and port facilities. They
were the highest authorities, ultimately responsible for governing the
country.
The British attempted to maintain a delicate balance between the
interests and demands of the Yishuv and those of the country's
predominantly Arab population. As Jewish immigration to Palestine
increased and as Jewish settlement spread, Arab opposition to British
rule and to Zionism grew. During the mandate several nationalist
uprisings culminated in a general Arab revolt (1936-39) that was finally
suppressed by British troops on the eve of World War II.
More than 5 million Jews were killed by German Nazis during World War II
(see HOLOCAUST). When Zionist leaders realized the extent of persecution
and liquidation of Jews by Nazi Germany, their demands for
self-government greatly intensified, as did their efforts to facilitate
immigration to Palestine and land settlement there. In Palestine the
Yishuv was galvanized in opposition to the British mandatory authorities
to support illegal immigration of refugees from war-torn Europe. By the
end of the war most of the Yishuv was in revolt against Great Britain.
The Attainment of Independence
Exhausted by seven years of war and eager to withdraw from overseas
colonial commitments, Great Britain in 1947 decided to leave Palestine
and called on the United Nations (UN) to make recommendations. In
response, the UN convened its first special session in 1947, and on
November 29, 1947, it adopted a plan calling for partition of Palestine
into Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international zone
under UN jurisdiction; the Jewish and Arab states would be joined in an
economic union. The partition resolution was endorsed by a vote of 33 to
13, supported by the United States and the Soviet Union. The British
abstained.
In Palestine, Arab protests against partition erupted in violence, with
attacks on Jewish settlements that soon led to a full-scale civil war.
The British generally refused to intervene, intent on leaving the
country no later than August 1, 1948, the date in the partition plan for
termination of the mandate.
When it became clear that the British intended to leave by May 15,
leaders of the Yishuv decided to implement that part of the partition
plan calling for establishment of a Jewish state. In Tel Aviv on May 14
the Provisional State Council, formerly the National Council,
“representing the Jewish people in Palestine and the World Zionist
Movement,” proclaimed the “establishment of the Jewish State in
Palestine, to be called Medinat Israel (the State of Israel) … open to
the immigration of Jews from all the countries of their dispersion.”
On May 15 the armies of Egypt, Transjordan (now Jordan), Syria, Lebanon,
and Iraq joined Palestinian and other Arab guerrillas who had been
fighting Jewish forces since November 1947. The civil war now became an
international conflict, the first Arab-Israeli War, called the war of
independence by Israel. The Arabs failed to prevent establishment of a
Jewish state, and the war ended with four UN-arranged armistice
agreements between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The
frontiers defined in the armistice agreements remained until they were
altered by Israel's conquests during the Six-Day War in 1967.
The Early Years of the Jewish State
The population balance in the new state of Israel was drastically
altered during the 1948 war. The armistice agreements extended the
territory under Israel's control beyond the UN partition boundaries from
approximately 15,500 to 20,700 sq km (about 6,000 to 8,000 sq mi). The
small Gaza Strip on the Egypt-Israel border was left under Egyptian
occupation, and the West Bank was annexed by Jordan. Of the more than
800,000 Arabs who lived in Israeli-held territory before 1948, only
about 170,000 remained. The rest became refugees in the surrounding Arab
countries, ending the threat of an Arab majority in the Jewish state.
Israel's Provisional State Council organized elections for the first
Knesset (parliament) in 1949. Chaim Weizmann, the most prominent Zionist
leader of the prewar period, became the country's first president.
Ben-Gurion's Premiership
The first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, leader of the Mapai (largest
labor party), who had led the Yishuv during the last days of the
mandate, exercised the strongest influence on Israel's history during
the first decade. He placed great emphasis on national security and
development of modern armed forces. Both men and women were conscripted,
and the army became a center for educating hundreds of thousands of new
immigrants in the country's Hebrew culture. Private military forces
associated with different political movements were disbanded or
integrated into the Israeli army.
Immigration
Immediately after gaining independence Israel was opened to Jewish
immigrants from all over the world; by 1952 the population had doubled.
Most of the new citizens were survivors of Adolf Hitler's concentration
camps. During the 1950s, however, a shift occurred in immigration
patterns, as increasing numbers of Jews came from the Muslim countries
of the Middle East and North Africa. By the late 1960s Jews from Asia
and Africa began to outnumber the Europeans. In three decades Israel's
population increased fivefold, and about two-thirds of that increase
came from Jewish immigration.
Because many new immigrants came to Israel without skills or occupations
required for development of the country and because of the heavy burdens
of defense and the need to expand industry and agriculture more rapidly,
the country was faced with serious economic problems. Recession and
currency devaluations shook the economy in the early 1950s. World Jewry
and the U.S. government provided extensive economic aid, and Ben-Gurion
also negotiated agreements with West Germany (now part of the united
Federal Republic of Germany), providing reparation payments to
individual Jewish victims of the Nazis and to the Jewish state.
The Suez-Sinai War
Attempts to convert the Israeli-Arab armistice agreements into peace
treaties were unsuccessful. The Arabs insisted that the refugees be
permitted to return to their homes, that Jerusalem be internationalized,
and that Israel make territorial concessions before they entered peace
talks. Israel charged that these demands would undermine its security
and refused them. Frequent incursions by refugee guerrilla bands and
attacks by Arab military units were made, which Israel answered with
forceful retaliation. Egypt refused to permit Israeli ships to use the
Suez Canal and blockaded the Straits of Tiran (Israel's access to the
Red Sea), which was seen as an act of war. Border incidents along the
frontiers with Egypt escalated until they erupted in the second
Arab-Israeli War in October and November of 1956.
Great Britain and France ostensibly joined the attack because of their
dispute with Egypt's president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had just
nationalized the Suez Canal. Nasser took over the canal after Great
Britain and France withdrew offers to finance the construction of the
Aswân High Dam. Israel scored a quick victory, seizing the Gaza Strip
and the Sinai Peninsula within a few days. As Israeli forces reached the
banks of the Suez Canal, the British and French started their attack.
The fighting was halted by the UN after a few days, and a UN Emergency
Force (UNEF) was sent to supervise the cease-fire in the Canal zone. In
a rare instance of cooperation, the United States and the Soviet Union
supported the UN resolution forcing the three invading countries to
leave Egypt and Gaza. By the end of the year their forces withdrew from
Egypt, but Israel refused to leave Gaza until early 1957, and only after
the United States had promised to help resolve the conflict and keep the
Straits of Tiran open.
Ben-Gurion's Last Years
Israel continued to modernize its army, placing special emphasis on the
air force, which received the latest French planes. The economic
situation improved, and a national water distribution system was created
to facilitate development of new settlements in the southern part of the
country. Although immigration declined from the heights it had during
the first four years, it increased substantially by the 1960s with a new
wave of arrivals from Morocco. One of the major problems facing the
country was the economic absorption and integration of newcomers from
Muslim countries. The wide social and economic gap between them and the
earlier settlers from Europe remained one of the country's greatest
dilemmas.
The major political movements were transformed during this era by party
splits and reunifications. Ben-Gurion resigned in 1963 and was succeeded
by Levi Eshkol. In 1965 the former prime minister left the Mapai party
to help form an opposition group called Rafi. In the same year Mapai and
other labor groups united to form the Labor Alignment, which controlled
the government until 1977. The two largest opposition parties, Liberals
and Herut, also merged during 1965 in the Gahal bloc led by Menachem
Begin.
The Six-Day War and After
After the Suez-Sinai war Arab nationalism increased dramatically, as did
demands for revenge led by Egypt's president Nasser. The formation of a
united Arab military command that massed troops along the borders,
together with Egypt's closing of the Straits of Tiran and Nasser's
insistence in 1967 that the UNEF leave Egypt, led Israel to attack
Egypt, Jordan, and Syria simultaneously on June 5 of that year.
The war ended six days later with a decisive Israeli victory. Israel's
French-equipped air force wiped out the air power of its antagonists and
was the chief instrument in the destruction of the Arab armies.
The Six-Day War left Israel in possession of Gaza and the Sinai
Peninsula, which it took from Egypt; Arab East Jerusalem and the West
Bank, which it took from Jordan; and the Golan Heights, taken from
Syria. Land under Israel's jurisdiction after the 1967 war was about
four times the size of the area within its 1949 armistice frontiers. The
occupied territories included an Arab population of about 1.5 million.
The Occupied Territories and Arab Resistance
The occupied territories became a major political issue in Israel after
1967. The right and leaders of the country's orthodox religious parties
opposed withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza, which they considered
part of Israel. In the Labor Alignment, opinion was divided; some
Laborites favored outright annexation of the occupied territories,
others favored withdrawal, and some advocated retaining only those areas
vital to Israel's military security. Several smaller parties, including
the Communists, also opposed annexation. The majority of Israelis,
however, supported the annexation of East Jerusalem and its unification
with the Jewish sectors of the city, and the Labor-led government
formally united both parts of Jerusalem a few days after the 1967 war
ended. In 1980 the Knesset passed another law, declaring Jerusalem
“complete and united,” Israel's eternal capital.
The 1967 war was followed by an upsurge of Palestinian Arab nationalism.
Several guerrilla organizations within the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) carried out terrorist attacks on Israeli schools,
marketplaces, bus stations, and airports, with the stated objective of
“redeeming Palestine.” Terrorist attacks on Israelis at home and abroad
unified public opinion against recognition of and negotiation with the
PLO, but the group nevertheless succeeded in gaining widespread
international support, including UN recognition as the “sole legitimate
representative of the Palestinians.” At the 1972 Summer Olympics in
Munich, Germany, Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes.
The Yom Kippur War and Its Aftermath
In 1973 Egypt joined Syria in a war on Israel to regain the territories
lost in 1967. The two Arab states struck unexpectedly on October 6,
which fell on Yom Kippur, Israel's holiest fast day. Israeli forces
managed to defeat the attackers after a three-week struggle, but at the
cost of many casualties, and the Arabs' strong showing won them support
from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and most of the
world's developing countries. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait financed the Arab
forces, making it possible for Egypt and Syria to receive the most
sophisticated Soviet weapons, and the Arab oil-producing states cut off
petroleum exports to the United States and other Western nations in
retaliation for their aid to Israel.
Israel, forced to compete with the nearly unlimited Arab resources, was
faced with a serious financial setback. Only massive U.S. economic and
military assistance enabled it to redress the balance, but even American
aid was unable to prevent a downward spiral of the economy.
In an effort to encourage a peace settlement, U.S. President Richard M.
Nixon charged his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, with the task of
negotiating agreements between Israel and Egypt and Syria. Kissinger
managed to work out military disengagements between Israel and Egypt in
the Sinai and between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights during 1974.
The Yom Kippur War was followed by increased unrest in Israel and
growing criticism of its leaders. In the aftermath of the “earthquake,”
as the 1973 events were called, an investigation commission, headed by
the president of Israel's supreme court, was highly critical of the army
command for its conduct of the war. General dissatisfaction led to the
resignation of Prime Minister Golda Meir and her cabinet in April 1974.
Meir (who had succeeded Eshkol in 1969) was replaced by Yitzhak Rabin.
Rabin was unable to arrest inflation or the deterioration of the
economy, and his reputation was hurt by the revelation that he and other
Labor members had been involved in illicit financial dealings. As a
result, the Labor Alignment lost the Knesset elections of 1977. Menachem
Begin, the new prime minister, headed the Likud movement, a Knesset bloc
formed in 1973 by nationalist groups opposed to any territorial
concessions.
The Begin Government
Begin's conservative, free-enterprise economic program failed to prevent
an even greater increase in inflation and further deterioration of the
economy caused largely by escalating defense outlays. Begin, however,
was the first Israeli leader to achieve a peace settlement with an Arab
state. It resulted from the surprise initiative of President Anwar
al-Sadat of Egypt, who in November 1977 flew to Jerusalem, where he
addressed the Knesset and called on Begin to begin peace talks. After
protracted negotiations sponsored by U.S. President Jimmy Carter at Camp
David, Maryland, the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty was signed in
Washington, D.C., on March 26, 1979. Although the treaty ended the
prospects for war between Israel and Egypt, many issues remained between
the two countries, including the problem of arranging for Arab autonomy
in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Israel in the 1980s
Begin's Likud bloc won a narrow reelection in June 1981. Shortly before,
Israel startled the world by sending bombers to destroy a nuclear
reactor under construction near Baghdad, Iraq, claiming that it was
intended to produce nuclear weapons for use against Israel. The
annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights the following December similarly
strained Israel's relations with friendly countries. Despite these
developments and the complications caused by the assassination of Anwar
al-Sadat in October 1981, the final Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai
was completed on schedule in April 1982. Two months later Israel
launched an invasion of Lebanon aimed at wiping out the PLO presence
there. By mid-August, after intensive fighting in and around Bayrut, the
PLO agreed to withdraw its guerrillas from the city. Israeli troops
remained in southern Lebanon, however, and the cost of the war and
subsequent occupation drained the already troubled Israeli economy.
Begin announced his resignation as prime minister and Likud leader in
August 1983; he was succeeded in both positions by Foreign Minister
Yitzhak Shamir. Elections in July 1984 proved inconclusive, with Labor
winning 44 seats and Likud 41 in the 120-member Knesset. When neither
major party was able to forge a governing coalition on its own, Labor
and Likud formed a government of national unity. Shimon Peres, leader of
the Labor party, served as prime minister until October 1986, when
Shamir resumed office.
Palestinian Uprisings
Relations between Israel and the Palestinians entered a new phase in the
late 1980s with the intifada, a series of uprisings in the occupied
territories that included demonstrations, strikes, and rock-throwing
attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians. The harsh response by the
Israeli government drew criticism from both the United States and the
UN.
The Likud-Labor coalition collapsed in March 1989. Shamir then headed a
caretaker cabinet until June 1990, when he formed a new government.
During 1989 and 1990 more than 200,000 Soviet Jews settled in Israel.
This wave of immigration—encouraged by the Israeli government but
resented by many Palestinians and Israeli Arabs—severely strained the
nation's economy. During the Persian Gulf War, in which many
Palestinians openly favored Iraq, Scud missiles repeatedly struck
Israel, wounding more than 200 people and damaging nearly 9000 homes in
the Tel Aviv area. Contrary to its usual policy, Israel did not
retaliate, in part because the U.S. sent antimissile missiles to aid in
Israel's defense.
Strides Toward Peace
The first comprehensive peace talks between Israel and delegations
representing the Palestinians and neighboring Arab states began in
October 1991. After Likud lost the parliamentary election of June 1992,
Labor party leader Yitzhak Rabin formed a new government.
Events in the Middle East took a surprising turn in 1993. After secret
negotiations, Prime Minister Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat flew to
Washington, D.C., and agreed to the signing of an historic peace
agreement. Israel agreed to allow for Palestinian self-rule, first in
the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, and later in other
areas of the West Bank that are not settled by Jews. In early 1994,
negotiations for self-rule were temporarily derailed after a Jewish
settler massacred at least 29 Palestinian Arabs at a mosque in Hebron,
in the West Bank. In May 1994, Israeli troops withdrew from Jericho and
the towns and refugee camps of the Gaza Strip, and the areas came under
Palestinian control. In July 1994 Prime Minister Rabin and King Hussein
of Jordan signed a peace agreement ending 46 years of war and strained
relations. The agreement, which was signed at the White House in the
presence of U.S. President Bill Clinton, laid the groundwork for a full
peace treaty.
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