Portal:Israel/Introduction
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Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל ; Medinat Yisra'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةْ إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrā'īl), officially the State of Israel, is a small country in Western Asia on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria and Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the south-west and has a population of over seven million people. The capital of Israel is Jerusalem.
The Land of Israel was the birthplace of Judaism in the 10th century BCE or earlier and of Christianity at the beginning of the 1st century CE. The modern State of Israel was founded in 1948.
Today, Israel is the world's only Jewish state, although its population is incredibly diverse, including citizens from many ethnic and religious backgrounds. Israel is a parliamentary democracy with multi-party system and separation of powers, and is consistently rated as "Free" by Freedom House. In 2006 Reporters Without Borders ranked it 50th out of 168 countries in freedom of the press, the highest of any country in the Middle East. Israel has a technologically advanced economy as well as a vibrant cultural life. The country is widely regarded as the most open in the region. Israel was ranked 23rd out of 177 countries in the 2005 United Nations Human Development Index, the highest ranking in the Middle East and 3rd highest in all of Asia.
