Israel

A Country Whose Modern Existence Reshaped the Middle East

Israel is one of the world’s most internationally consequential small countries. Founded as a state for the Jewish people on 14 May 1948 following the UN partition plan for British Mandatory Palestine, Israel emerged from the ashes of the Holocaust to become a regional military and technological power within decades. The country’s establishment was immediately contested — five Arab armies invaded the day after independence, and the First Arab-Israeli War (1948-1949) displaced approximately 700,000 Palestinians, creating a refugee question that remains central to Middle Eastern politics 76 years later.

Israel is geographically tiny — about the size of New Jersey — but contains some of the most contested terrain on earth. Jerusalem, claimed by Israel as its capital but recognised as such by very few countries, is sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The country’s relationships with the Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza Strip) remain unresolved through multiple wars, intifadas, and failed peace negotiations.

The country has built an exceptional technology sector — Israel has more startups per capita than any other country and is sometimes called “Startup Nation”. Sectors including cybersecurity, agritech, medical devices, and AI have drawn substantial international investment. The economy is also one of the world’s most service- and knowledge-intensive.

The October 2023 Hamas attacks and subsequent Israel-Hamas war have caused devastation in Gaza and reshaped Israel’s regional security calculus.

A Brief History

Ancient Israel

The territory has been continuously inhabited for over 10,000 years. Hebrew kingdoms of Israel and Judah existed from approximately the 11th century BC. Roman rule from the 1st century BC included the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. Subsequent rulers included Byzantine, Arab Muslim, Crusader, Mamluk, and Ottoman powers across two millennia.

British Mandate and Zionism

The Zionist movement — Jewish nationalism advocating return to the historical homeland — emerged in late 19th-century Europe. British Mandatory Palestine (1920-1948) saw substantial Jewish immigration alongside indigenous Arab/Palestinian population. The 1947 UN Partition Plan proposed dividing the territory into Jewish and Arab states; Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948.

Wars and Settlements

Major Arab-Israeli wars: 1948-49 (Independence/Nakba), 1956 (Suez), 1967 (Six-Day War — Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai, Golan Heights), 1973 (Yom Kippur), 1982 (Lebanon), plus the First Intifada (1987-1993), Second Intifada (2000-2005), and conflicts with Hamas in Gaza in 2008-09, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2023-ongoing.

Peace Agreements

Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994), and the Abraham Accords (2020) normalised relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.

Geography and Climate

Israel covers 22,072 km² (excluding occupied territories) — about the size of New Jersey. The country has remarkable geographical variety: the Mediterranean coast, the Jordan Rift Valley containing the Dead Sea (the lowest point on land at 430 m below sea level), the Negev Desert in the south, and the Galilee mountains in the north.

Culture, Language and Religion

Hebrew and Arabic are co-official; Hebrew was revived as a spoken language in the late 19th-early 20th centuries, an unusual case of language revitalisation.

Religion: approximately 74% Jewish, 18% Muslim (mostly Palestinian), 2% Christian, 2% Druze.

The Economy

Israel has a highly developed knowledge economy (~$525 billion GDP in 2024). Key sectors: technology (over 350 multinational R&D centres), defence and aerospace (Israel is a major arms exporter), diamonds, pharmaceuticals, agriculture (the country invented modern drip irrigation).

Cuisine

Israeli cuisine combines Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Eastern European Jewish, and North African Sephardic influences:

• Falafel — fried chickpea balls in pita
• Hummus — chickpea-tahini dip
• Shakshuka — eggs poached in spiced tomato sauce
• Sabich — pita with fried eggplant, eggs, and salad
• Israeli salad — finely chopped tomato, cucumber, onion, parsley with lemon and olive oil

Nature and UNESCO Sites

Israel has 9 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Masada, the Old City of Acre, the White City of Tel Aviv, Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and Western Galilee, Beit She’arim Necropolis, and the Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin.

Travel Guide

Entry & Best Seasons

Most Western nationalities enter visa-free for 90 days. March-May and September-November are optimal.

Budget

Mid-range $130-$220 per day.

Surprising Facts

1. The Dead Sea is 34% salt — about 10 times saltier than the ocean — making swimmers float effortlessly.¹
2. Hebrew was effectively a dead spoken language for 1,800 years before Eliezer Ben-Yehuda’s late-19th-century revival movement; modern Hebrew is now the daily language of millions.⁶
3. Tel Aviv has the largest concentration of Bauhaus architecture in the world — over 4,000 buildings, designed by German Jewish architects fleeing Nazism in the 1930s.¹
4. Israel has more museums per capita than any other country — over 200 for a population under 10 million.³
5. Drip irrigation — now used globally to grow crops with minimal water — was invented in Israel in the 1960s.⁶
6. The Western Wall (Wailing Wall) in Jerusalem is the last surviving structure of the Second Temple, destroyed by Roman forces in 70 AD.⁶

Sources and References

See the list of cited sources in the page frontmatter.