| Row 1: Ada Yonath • Robert Aumann • Natalie Portman • Amos Oz • Yossi Benayoun • Shahar Pe'er Row 2: Moshe Dayan • David Ben-Gurion • Yitzhak Rabin • Menachem Begin • Golda Meir • Ariel Sharon |
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| Predominant spoken languages Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian, Spanish |
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| Predominantly Judaism (minorities practicing Islam, Christianity, Druzism) |
Israelis (Hebrew: ישראלים, Yisra'elim), are citizens or nationals of the modern state of Israel. Although Israel is a Jewish state, it has a multiethnic society, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. The largest ethnic group is that of Israeli Jews, followed by Arab citizens, mostly Arab Muslims, with smaller numbers of Arab Christians in addition to Druze, Circassians, and others. As a result, some Israelis don't take their nationality as an ethnicity, but identify themselves with both their nationality and their ancestral origins.
Due to the multi-ethnic composition, Israel is a multicultural nation, home to a wide variety of traditions and values. Large-scale immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from Europe and Yemen and more recent Large-scale immigration from North Africa, Western Asia, North America, Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia introduced many new cultural elements and has had broad impact. The resulting cultural mix may be described as a melting pot.
Israelis and people of Israeli descent can be found internationally such as in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. As many as 750,000 Israelis are estimated to be living abroad, primarily in the United States and Canada - about 10 percent of the general population of Israel.[7]
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According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, as of May 2006, of Israel's 7 million people, 77% were Jews of any background, 18.5% non-Jewish Arabs, and 4.3% "others".[8] Israels official census includes Israeli settlers in the occupied territories.[9] 280,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements in the West Bank,[2] 190,000 in East Jerusalem,[2] and 20 000 in the Golan Heights.[5]
Among Jews, 68% were Sabras (Israeli-born), mostly second- or third-generation Israelis, and the rest are olim (Jewish immigrants to Israel) — 22% from Europe and the Americas, and 10% from Asia and Africa, including the Arab countries.[10] Nearly half of all Israeli Jews are descended from Jews who immigrated from Europe, while around the same number are descended from Jews who immigrated from Arab countries, Iran, Turkey and Central Asia. Over two hundred thousand are, or are descended from, Ethiopian and Indian Jews.[11]
Israel has two official languages; Hebrew and Arabic. Hebrew is the major and primary language of the state and is spoken by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority and by some members of the Mizrahi Jewish community. English is studied in school and is spoken by the majority of the population as a second language. Other languages spoken in Israel include Russian, Yiddish, Spanish, Ladino, Amharic, Armenian, Georgian, Romanian, Polish and French. American and European popular television shows are commonly presented. Newspapers can be found in all languages listed above as well as others, such as Persian.
In recent decades, considerable numbers of Israelis, estimated broadly from 653,000[12] to twice that figure, have moved abroad.[13] (see also Yerida). Reasons for emigration vary, but generally relate to a combination of economic and political concerns. Los Angeles is home to the largest community of Israelis out of Israel.
The most prominent ethnic and religious groups, who live in Israel at present and who are Israeli citizens or nationals, are as follows:
According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2008, of Israel's 7.3 million people, 75.6% were Jews of any background.[14] Among them, 70.3% were Sabras (Israeli-born), mostly second- or third-generation Israelis, and the rest are olim (Jewish immigrants to Israel) – 20.5% from Europe and the Americas, and 9.2% from Asia and Africa, including the Arab countries.[15]
The ethnic division of the Jewish population of Israel (including non Halackic Russians) as of 2008 is as follows.
| TOTAL | 5,818,000 | 100% |
| Mizrahi Jews and Sephardic Jews | 2,921,000 | 50.2% |
| Morocco | 800,000 | 15.2% |
| Iraq | 404,000 | 7.7% |
| Yemen | 295,000 | 4.9% |
| Iran | 236,000 | 4.0% |
| Algeria/Tunisia | 224,000 | 3.8% |
| Other Asia | 150,000 | 2.5% |
| Turkey | 147,000 | 2.5% |
| Libya | 136,000 | 2.3% |
| Egypt | 112,000 | 1.9% |
| Other Asia | 200,000 | 1.7% |
| India/Pakistan | 76,000 | 1.3% |
| Latin America | 25,000 | 0.04% |
| Other Africa (Not South Africa) | 3,000 | 0.05% |
| Beta Israel (Ethiopia) | 130,000 | 2.2% |
| Ashkenazi Jews | 2,767,000 | 47.5% |
| Russia | 1,018,000 | 20.9% |
| Poland | 400,000 | 8.3% |
| Romania | 351,000 | 7.6% |
| Other Europe | 168,000 | 3.7% |
| North America (Including 4,000 African American Black Hebrews) | 165,000 | 2.8% |
| Germany/Austria | 160,000 | 2.7% |
| Bulgaria/Greece | 97,000 | 1.9% |
| Latin America | 82,000 | 1.4% |
| Hungary | 63,000 | 1.3% |
| Czechoslovakia | 60,000 | 1.2% |
| South Africa | 20,000 | 0.4% |
The errors occurring due to these calculations were:
Arab citizens of Israel are those Arabs who remained within Israel's borders following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the establishment of the state of Israel, including those born within the state borders subsequent to this time, as well as those who had left during the exodus (or their descendants) who have since re-entered by means accepted as lawful residence by the Israeli state (primarily family reunifications).
In 2006, the official number of Arab residents in Israel was 1,413,500 people, about 20% of Israel’s population. This figure include 209,000 Arabs (14% of the Israeli-Arab population) in east Jerusalem, also counted in the Palestinian statistics, although 98% of East Jerusalem Palestinians have either Israeli residency or Israeli citizenship.[16]
Most Arab citizens of Israel are Muslim, particularly of the Sunni branch of Islam, and there is a significant Arab Christian minority from various denominations, as well as Arab Druze, among other religious communities.
As of 2008, Arab citizens of Israel comprise just over 20% of the country's total population. About 82.6% of the Arab population in Israel is Sunni Muslim (with a very small minority of Shia), another 9% is Druze, and around 9% is Christian (mostly Eastern Orthodox and Catholic denominations).
The Arab citizens of Israel include also the Bedouins who are divided into two main groups: the Bedouin in the north of Israel, who live in villages and towns for the most part, and the Bedouin in the Negev, who include half-nomadic and inhabitants of towns and Unrecognized villages. According to the Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel, currently, 110,000 Bedouins live in the Negev, 50,000 in the Galilee and 10,000 in the central region of Israel.[17]
The Arab citizens of Israel include also the Druze who were numbered at an estimated 117,500 at the end of 2006.[18] All of the Druze living in what was then British Mandate Palestine became Israeli citizens after the declaration of the State of Israel. Though some individuals identify themselves as "Palestinian Druze",[19] most Druze do not consider themselves to be Palestinian, and consider their Israeli identity stronger than their Arab identity; indeed, Druze serve prominently in the Israel Defense Forces, and are represented in mainstream Israeli politics and business as well, unlike Muslim Arabs who are not required to and choose not to serve in the Israeli army.
The Maronite Christian community in Israel of several thousands resides mostly in Galilee. It is largely composed of former pro-Israeli Lebanese militia members and their families, who fled Lebanon after 2000 withdrawal of IDF from South Lebanon, though some originate from local Galilee communities, like one in Jish.
The African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem is a small spiritual group whose members believe they are descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. With a population of over 5,000, most members live in their own community in Dimona, Israel, with additional families in Arad, Mitzpe Ramon, and the Tiberias area. At least some of them consider themselves to be Jewish, but mainstream Judaism does not consider them to be Jewish. Their ancestors were African Americans who after several years in Liberia migrated to Israel in the late 1960s.
The number and status of African refugees in Israel is disputed and controversial but it is estimated that at least 16,000 refugees mainly from Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia and the Ivory Coast reside and work in Israel.
About 4,000 Armenians reside in Israel mostly in Jerusalem (including in the Armenian Quarter), but also in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jaffa. Armenians have a Patriarchate in Jerusalem and churches in Jerusalem, Haifa and Jaffa. Although Armenians of Old Jerusalem have Israeli identity cards, they are officially holders of Jordanian passports.[20]
There are around 1,000 ethnic Assyrians living in Israel, mostly in Jerusalem and Nazareth. Assyrians are an Aramaic speaking, Eastern Rite Christian minority who are descended from the ancient Mesopotamians. The old Syriac Orthodox monastery of Saint Mark lies in Jerusalem. Other than followers of the Syriac Orthodox Church, there are also followers of the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church living in Israel.
In Israel, there are also a few thousand Circassians, living mostly in Kfar Kama (2,000) and Reyhaniye (1,000).[21] These two villages were a part of a greater group of Circassian villages around the Golan Heights. The Circassians in Israel enjoy, like Druzes, a status aparte. Male Circassians (at their leader's request) are mandated for military service, while females are not.
Some Eastern European Roma are known to have arrived in Israel in the late 1940s and early 1950s, being from Bulgaria or having intermarried with Jews in the post-WWII displaced persons camps or, in some cases, having pretended to be Jews when Zionist representatives arrived in those camps. The exact numbers of these Romanies living in Israel are unknown, since such individuals tended to assimilate into the Israeli Jewish environment. According to several recent accounts in the Israeli press, some families preserve traditional Romani lullabies and a small number of Romani expressions and curse words, and pass them on to generations born in Israel who, for the most part, are Jews and speak Hebrew. The Romani community in Israel has grown since the 1990s, as some Roma immigrated there from the former Soviet Union. A community related to the Romanies and living in Israel and the Palestinian territories and in neighboring countries are known as Dom people.
The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Ancestrally, they claim descent from a group of Israelite inhabitants who have connections to ancient Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the beginning of the Common Era. 2007 population estimates show that 712 Samaritans live half in Holon, Israel and half at Mount Gerizim in the West Bank.
The number of Vietnamese people in Israel is estimated at 200. Most of them came to Israel between 1976 and 1979, after prime minister Menachem Begin authorized their admission to Israel and granted them political asylum. The Vietnamese living in Israel are Israeli citizens who also serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Today, the majority of the community lives in the Gush Dan area in the center of Israel.
Smaller prominent ethnic and religious groups, who currently live in the Israel and whom are Israeli citizens or nationals, include:
Through the years, the majority of Israelis who emigrated from Israel went to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
For many years definitive data on Israeli emigration was unavailable.[22] In The Israeli Diaspora sociologist Stephen J. Gold maintains that calculation of Jewish emigration has been a contentious issue, explaining, "Since Zionism, the philosophy that underlies the existence of the Jewish state, calls for return home of the world's Jews, the opposite movement - Israelis leaving the Jewish state to reside elsewhere - clearly presents an ideological and demographic problem."[23]
Among the most common reasons for emigration of Israelis from Israel are most often due to economic constraints, economic characteristics (U.S. and Canada have always been richer nations than Israel), disappointment of the Israeli government, Israel's ongoing security Issues, as well as the excessive role of religion in the lives of Israelis.
Many Israelis emigrated to the United States throughout the period of the declaration of the state of Israel and until today. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-Americans. According to the 2000 United States Census as many as 106,839 Israelis lived in the United States in 2000.[24]
Many Israelis emigrated to the Canada throughout the period of the declaration of the state of Israel and until today. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-Canadians. According to the Canada 2006 Census as many as 21,320 Israelis lived in the Canada in 2006.[4]
Many Israelis emigrated to the United Kingdom throughout and since the period of the declaration of the state of Israel. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Israeli-British. According to the United Kingdom 2001 Census as many as 11,892 Israelis lived in the United Kingdom in 2001. The majority of Israelis in the UK live in London.[25]
The first account of an Israeli nation is a state which dominated the modern land of Israel, the Kingdom of Israel; its latest capital was known as the Davidian city (Jerusalem). According to the biblical account, the United Monarchy was formed when there was a large popular expression in favour of introducing a monarchy to rule over the previously decentralised Israelite tribal confederacy. Increasing pressure from the Philistines (originally from Greece) and other neighboring tribes is said by the Bible to have forced the Israelites to unite as a more singular state.
Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire until it was taken by British forces in 1918. The British establishment of colonial political boundaries allowed the Jews to develop autonomous institutions such as the Histadrut and the Knesset.[26] Since the late nineteenth century, the Zionist movement encouraged Jews to immigrate to Palestine and refurbish its land area, considerable but partially uninhabitable due to an abundance of swamps and desert. The resulting influx of Jewish immigrants, as well as the creation of many new settlements, was crucial for the functioning of these new institutions in what would, on May 14, 1948, become the State of Israel.[27]
The largest cities in the country Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem are also the major cultural centers, known for art museums, and many towns and kibbutzim have smaller high-quality museums. Israeli music is very versatile and combines elements of both western and eastern, religious and secular music. It tends to be very eclectic and contains a wide variety of influences from the Diaspora and more modern cultural importation: Hassidic songs, Asian and Arab pop, especially by Yemenite singers, and Israeli hip hop or heavy metal. Folk dancing, which draws upon the cultural heritage of many immigrant groups, is popular. There is also flourishing modern dance.
According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2004, 76.2% of Israelis were Jewish by religion (Judaism), 16.1% were Muslims, 2.1% Christian, 1.6% Druze and the remaining 3.9% (including Russian immigrants and some ethnic Jews) were not classified by religion.[8]
Roughly 12% of Israeli Jews defined as haredim (ultra-orthodox religious); an additional 9% are "religious"; 35% consider themselves "traditionalists" (not strictly adhering to Jewish Halakha); and 43% are "secular" (termed "hiloni"). Among the seculars, 53% believe in God. However, 78% of all Israelis (and virtually all Israeli Jews) participate in a Passover seder.[28]
Unlike North American Jews, Israelis tend not to align themselves with a movement of Judaism (such as Reform Judaism or Conservative Judaism) but instead tend to define their religious affiliation by degree of their religious practice.
Among Arab Israelis, 82.6% were Muslim, 8.8% were Christian and 8.4% were Druze.[8]
The Bahá'í World Centre, which includes the Universal House of Justice, in Haifa attracts pilgrims from all over the world.[29] Apart from a few hundred volunteer staff, Bahá'ís do not live in Israel.
| Religion | Population | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Jewish | 5,435,900 | 76.0% |
| Muslim | 1,142,000 | 15.9% |
| Christian | 120,000 | 1.8% |
| Druze | 115,200 | 1.7% |
| Unclassified by choice | 302,400 | 4.6% |
Official figures do not exist as to the number of atheists or otherwise non-affiliated individuals, who may comprise up to a quarter of the population referred to as Jewish. According to a 2004 Israel Central Bureau of Statistics Study on Israelis aged over 8% of Israeli Jews define themselves as haredim (or Ultra-Orthodox); an additional 9% are "religious" (predominantly orthodox, also known in Israel as: Zionist-religious, national-religious and kippot srugot); 12% consider themselves "religious-traditionalists" (mostly adhering to Jewish Halakha); 27% are "non-religious traditionalists" (only partly respecting the Jewish Halakha), and 43% are "secular". Among the seculars, 53% say they believe in God. Due to the higher natality rate of religious and traditionalists over seculars, the share of religious and traditionalists among the overall population is even higher.
Due to its immigrant nature, Israel is one of the most multicultural and multilingual societies in the world. Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages in the country, while English and Russian are the two most widely spoken non official languages. Georgian, Yiddish, Romanian, Ukrainian, Amharic, Armenian, Bulgarian, Ladino, French, Persian, Hungarian, Spanish, German, Vietnamese, Thai, Tagalog and Polish are the most commonly used foreign languages. A certain degree of English is spoken widely, and is the language of choice for many Israeli businesses. Courses of Hebrew and English language are mandatory in the Israeli school system, and most schools offer either Arabic, Spanish, German or French.
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